Article of footwear with shock absorbing heel system
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsAndrew Caine, Emily B. Dennison, Fred G. Fagergren, Mihwa Hong, Scott Portzline, Blake Rhulen
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Abstract
An article of footwear with a shock absorbing heel system is disclosed. The heel system includes a lower heel plate, a set of support members, and an upper heel plate. Also, the heel system includes a heel cover configured to hide the upper heel plate from view. The lower heel plate is associated with a cantilever portion that supports the upper heel plate laterally. As force is applied to the heel system, the support members may compress slightly and the cantilever portion may lower, absorbing energy and or shocks applied by the ground.
Claims20
An article of footwear, comprising:
- a heel system including a support member;
- the support member including a top side and a bottom side;
- the top side being associated with a first centroid and the bottom side being associated with a second centroid;
- wherein the first centroid and the second centroid are misaligned with respect to a vertical axis;
- and
- wherein the heel system includes a heel cover, an upper heel plate, and a cantilever portion configured to receive the heel cover and the upper heel plate.
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper having a rear portion;
- an upper heel plate disposed adjacent the rear portion of the upper;
- a heel cover disposed over the upper heel plate along an outer surface of the upper;
- at least one support member associated with the heel cover;
- and
- a heel base including a lower heel plate and a cantilever portion extending from a forward region of the heel plate, the heel plate and the cantilever portion being integrally formed as a one-piece structure, wherein the lower heel plate is configured to receive the at least one support member and the cantilever portion is substantially u-shaped with an inner surface configured to receive the upper heel plate and the heel cover.
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper having a rear portion;
- an upper heel plate disposed adjacent the rear portion of the upper and having an outer surface;
- a heel cover disposed over the upper heel plate along an outer surface of the upper, the heel cover having a first hole;
- a first support member associated with the heel cover;
- a second support member associated with the heel cover;
- a heel base including a lower heel plate configured to receive both the first support member and the second support member and a cantilever portion configured to receive both the heel cover and the upper heel plate;
- wherein the hole of the heel cover is configured to receive the first support member, wherein the first support member extends through the first hole and contacts the lower side of the upper heel plate;
- and
- wherein the movement of the upper heel plate and the heel cover is restrained in the first direction by both the first support member and the second support member and wherein the movement of the upper heel plate and the heel cover is restrained in a second direction by the cantilever portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.