Shoe sole structures with deformation sipes

A shoe comprising:

• a shoe upper with flexible portions;
• a shoe sole having a heel portion including a bottom sole and a midsole, at least a portion of the heel bottom sole portion includes sipe means for providing flexibility of the sole, said shoe sole portion having a contoured side portion with an upper concavely rounded surface and a lower concavely rounded surface such that at least a lateral part of the upper surface of said shoe sole heel portion deforms to conform to the shape of a curved side of a wearer's foot sole when said shoe is worn on said wearer's unloaded foot, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section of the sole, the concavity existing with respect to the wearer's foot location in the shoe, wherein
• the sipe means originate at a ground-contacting surface of said sole and extend both in a shoe sole longitudinal direction and laterally beyond an adjacent side of the wearer's foot heel when the shoe is worn on the wearer's unloaded foot, and wherein the longitudinal extending sipe means extend into the contoured side portion of the sole;
• and
• the shoe sole further includes a bottom layer, the flexible portions of the shoe upper are connected to said bottom layer of said shoe sole along an outer surface of said shoe sole,
• said flexible portions providing a tension force along an outside surface of said shoe during eversion and inversion motion of the wearer's foot,
• said flexible portions serving to control the eversion and inversion motion of the shoe sole, said motion paralleling that of the foot when bare, and
• said flexible portions ensuring that said shoe sole conforms to the shape of the wearer's foot sole, including at least portions of both the bottom and the sides.

A shoe sole comprising:

• a shoe sole having a heel portion including a bottom sole and a midsole, at least a portion of the heel bottom sole portion includes sipe means for providing flexibility of the sole, said shoe sole portion having a contoured side portion with an upper concavely rounded surface and a lower concavely rounded surface such that at least an inner part of the upper surface of said shoe sole portion conforms to at least a proximate curved part of a sole of a wearer's foot when said shoe is worn on said foot when unloaded, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section of the sole, the concavity existing with respect to the wearer's foot location in the shoe, wherein
• the sipe means originate at a ground contacting surface of said sole and extend both in a shoe sole longitudinal direction and laterally beyond an adjacent side of the wearer's foot heel when the shoe is worn on the wearer's unloaded foot and wherein the longitudinal extending sipe means extend into the contoured side portion of the sole;
• and
• the shoe sole includes a bottom layer, at least portions of a flexible shoe upper are connected to said bottom layer of said shoe sole along an outer surface of said shoe sole;
• said flexible shoe upper portions providing a tension force along the outside surface of said shoe during eversion and inversion motion of the wearer's foot;
• said flexible shoe upper portions serving to control the eversion and inversion motion of the shoe sole, said motion paralleling that of the foot when bare;
• and said flexible shoe upper portions ensuring that said shoe sole conforms to the natural shape of the wearer's foot sole, including at least portions of both the bottom and the sides.