Athletic footwear sole construction enabling enhanced energy storage, retrieval and guidance

In an athletic footwear having an upper and a sole, said sole having heel and midfoot regions wherein said sole comprises:

• (a) a foundation layer made of a semi-flexible material, attached to said upper, and defining a centrally-located stretch chamber underlying a heel of a wearer's foot, wherein said foundation layer has a central hole defined therein providing an entrance to a space constituting said centrally-located stretch chamber;
• (b) a stretch layer attached to said foundation layer and having a central portion made of elastic stretchable material underlying said centrally-located stretch chamber of said foundation layer, wherein said stretch layer is in the form of a flexible thin substantially flat stretchable sheet attached to a bottom surface of said foundation layer and extending across said central hole defined therein;
• and
• (c) a thrustor layer attached to said stretch layer and having a central thrustor portion made of stiff material underlying and aligned with said centrally-located stretch chamber of said foundation layer and with said central portion of said stretch layer disposed between said thrustor layer and said foundation layer such that interaction can occur between said foundation layer, stretch layer and thrustor layer in response to compressive forces applied thereto upon contact of said heel and midfoot regions of said sole with a support surface so as to convert and store energy applied to said heel and midfoot regions of said sole by a wearer's foot into mechanical stretching of said central portion of said stretch layer into said centrally-located stretch chamber, said stored applied energy being thereafter retrieved in the form of rebound of said stretched central portion of said stretch layer and said thrustor portion of said thrustor layer therewith;
• wherein said thrustor layer is disposed below said flat stretchable sheet and includes a thrustor plate having a peripheral profile matching that of said central hole of said foundation layer and attached to a bottom surface of a central portion of said stretchable sheet in alignment with said central hole in said foundation layer such that upon compression of said thrustor layer toward said foundation layer from a relaxed condition toward a loaded condition of said sole, as occurs upon impact of said heel and midfoot regions of said sole of said footwear with the support surface during normal activity, said central portion of said stretchable sheet is forcibly stretched by said thrustor layer upwardly into said centrally-located stretch chamber.

In an athletic footwear having an upper and a sole, said sole having heel and midfoot regions wherein said sole comprises:

• (a) a footbed layer made of a semi-flexible material, attached to said upper, and defining a plurality of peripherally-located stretch chambers underlying a heel and midfoot of a wearer's foot;
• (b) an upper stretch layer attached to said footbed layer and having portions made of elastic stretchable material underlying said peripherally-located stretch chambers of said footbed layer;
• (c) an upper thrustor layer attached to said upper stretch layer and having peripheral portions made of stiff material underlying and aligned with said peripherally-located stretch chambers of said footbed layer and with said portions of said upper stretch layer disposed between said upper thrustor layer and said footbed layer, said upper thrustor layer also having a central hole formed therein defining a centrally-located stretch chamber underlying the heel of the wearer's foot;
• (d) a lower stretch layer attached to said upper thrustor layer and having a central portion made of elastic stretchable material and underlying said centrally-located stretch chamber of said upper thrustor layer;
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• (e) a lower thrustor layer attached to said lower stretch layer and having a central thruster portion made of stiff material underlying and aligned with said centrally-located stretch chamber of said upper thrustor layer and with said central portion of said lower stretch layer disposed between said lower thrustor layer and said upper thrustor layer such that interaction in said heel and midfoot regions of said sole between said upper thrustor layer, lower stretch layer and lower thrustor layer occur concurrently with interactions between said footbed layer, upper stretch layer and upper thrustor layer in response to compressive forces applied thereto upon contact of said heel and midfoot regions of said sole with a support surface so as to convert and store energy applied to said heel and midfoot regions of said sole by a wearer's foot into concurrent mechanical stretching of said central portion of said lower stretch layer and of said spaced portions of said upper stretch layer respectively in said centrally-located and peripherally-located stretch chambers, said stored applied energy is thereafter retrieved in the form of concurrent rebound of said stretched central portion of said lower stretch layer and said central thrustor portion of said lower thrustor layer and of said stretched spaced peripheral portions of said upper stretch layer and said peripheral thrustor portions therewith.

In an athletic footwear having an upper and sole, said sole having metatarsal and toe regions wherein said sole comprises:

• (a) a pair of foundation layers each made of semiflexible material, attached to said upper and defining a plurality of stretch chambers respectively underling metatarsals and toes of a wearer;
• (b) a common stretch layer attached to each of said foundation layers and having portions of elastic stretchable material underlying said stretch chambers of a respective one of said foundation layers;
• and
• (c) a pair of thrustor layers each attached to said stretch layer and having portions of stiff material underlying and aligned with a respective one of said pluralities of said stretch chambers of said foundation layers and with said portions of said stretch layer disposed between said thrustor layers and foundation layers such that interactions can occur between said respective ones of said foundation layers, stretch layers and thrustor layers of said metatarsal and toe regions of said sole in response to compressive forces applied thereto upon contact of said metatarsal and toe regions of said sole with a support surface that convert and temporarily store energy applied to said metatarsal and toe regions of said sole by a wearer's foot into mechanical stretching of said portions of said respective stretch layers into said stretch chambers, said stored applied energy thereafter being retrieved in the form of rebound of said stretched portions of said respective stretch layers and portions of said respective thrustor layers therewith;
• wherein each of said thrustor layers includes a thrustor plate having a peripheral profile matching that of said interconnected interior slots in a respective one of said foundation layers and attached to a bottom surface of a respective central portion of said common stretch layer in alignment with said interior slots in said respective one foundation layer such that upon compression of said thrustor layers toward said foundation layers from a relaxed condition toward a loaded condition of said sole, as occurs upon impact of said metatarsal and toe regions of said sole of said footwear with the support surface during normal activity, said central portions of said common stretch layer are forcibly stretched by said thrustor plates upwardly into said stretch chambers underlying said metatarsals and toes of the wearer's foot.