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US 5,909,948 AGranted
Shoe sole structures
OwnerFrampton E. Ellis, IIIinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A construction for a shoe, specifically a shoe sole, particularly the structure of an athletic shoe sole. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a lateral stability sipe that allows any shoe sole to provide significantly improved lateral support to the foot. Still more particularly, this invention relates to the use of a lateral stability sipe in an athletic shoe sole to provide it with sufficient flexibility along a natural axis so as to allow the shoe heel to remain relatively flat under the foot heel even when most of the forefoot of the shoe is lifted off the ground when tilted out sideways to a maximum in natural supination motion.
Claims14
A shoe sole, comprising:
- a shoe sole having a load-bearing portion, including a side portion, proximate to at least one of the following bones of a wearer's foot:
- a head of a fifth metatarsal;
- a base of a fifth metatarsal;
- a lateral tuberosity of a calcaneus;
- a base of a calcaneus;
- a head of a first metatarsal;
- and a head of a first distal phalange;
- said load-bearing portion of the shoe sole has a width that provides structural support for said at least one wearer's foot bone throughout at least a full range of said wearer's pronation and supination foot motion on the ground, including extreme pronation and extreme supination;
- said load-bearing side portion is bent up toward a sole of the wearer's foot proximate to said at least one wearer's foot bone;
- said load-bearing side portion has a lower surface, which becomes ground-contacting during sideways motion of said shoe sole on the ground;
- and
- wherein said shoe sole has a hinge including at least one lateral stability sipe and said at least one lateral stability sipe is oriented substantially in a longitudinal direction, originates on a sole side of an area of the shoe sole corresponding to a wearer's heel, and terminates at a forefoot area of the shoe sole on a sole side opposite the originating sole side.
9 more elements
A shoe sole, comprising:
- a shoe sole having a load-bearing portion, including a side portion, proximate to at least one of the following bones of a wearer's foot:
- a head of a fifth metatarsal;
- a base of a fifth metatarsal;
- a lateral tuberosity of a calcaneus;
- a base of a calcaneus;
- a head of a first metatarsal;
- and a head of a first distal phalange;
- said load-bearing portion of the shoe sole has a width that provides structural support for said at least one wearer's foot bone throughout at least a full range of said wearer's pronation and supination foot motion on the ground, including extreme pronation and extreme supination;
- said load-bearing side portion is bent up toward a sole of the wearer's foot proximate to said at least one wearer's foot bone;
- said load-bearing side portion has a lower surface, which becomes ground-contacting during sideways motion of said shoe sole on the ground;
- wherein said shoe sole has a hinge including at least one lateral stability sipe and said at least one lateral stability sipe is oriented substantially in a longitudinal direction, originates on a sole side of an area of the shoe sole corresponding to a wearer's heel, and terminates at a forefoot area of the shoe sole on a sole side opposite the originating sole side;
- and
- wherein said sole includes only one sipe.
10 more elements
A shoe sole, comprising:
- a shoe sole having a load-bearing portion, including a side portion, approximate to at least one of the following bones of a wearer's foot:
- a head of a fifth metatarsal;
- a base of a fifth metatarsal;
- a lateral tuberosity of a calcaneus;
- a base of a calcaneus;
- a head of a first metatarsal;
- and a head of a first distal phalange;
- said load-bearing portion of the shoe sole has a width that provides structural support for said at least one wearer's foot bone throughout at least a full range of said wearer's pronation and supination foot motion on the ground, including extreme pronation and extreme supination;
- said load-bearing side portion is bent up toward a sole of the wearer's foot proximate to said at least one wearer's foot bone;
- said load-bearing side portion has a lower surface, which becomes ground-contacting during sideways motion of said shoe sole on the ground;
- and
- wherein said shoe sole has a hinge including at least one lateral stability sipe and said at least one lateral stability sipe is oriented substantially in a longitudinal direction, originates on a sole side of an area of the shoe sole corresponding to a wearer's heel, and terminates at a forefoot area of the shoe sole on a sole side opposite the originating sole side;
- and
- wherein said at least one lateral stability sipe penetrates most of the thickness of said shoe sole.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.