Sole assembly for article of footwear

Abstract

A sole assembly generally including a flex plate, a heel spring and a heel cup. The flex plate may extend from the rear of the sole through the arch into the forefoot. The heel spring may be an elliptical spring and may have internal resilient stoppers that prevent the spring from bottoming out. The height of the stoppers may increase toward the rear of the sole. The stoppers may be extensions of the outsole fitted up through apertures in the elliptical spring. The heel spring may be disposed beneath the flex plate in the heel region. The heel cup may be disposed above the flex plate in the heel region. The heel cup may have an extension that extends upwardly a sufficient distance to cradle the wearer's heel to provide an enhanced forefoot lever. The flex plate, heel spring and heel cup may be a single unitary component.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to footwear and more particularly to a sole assembly for an article of footwear.[0002]The technical performance of shoes, boots, sandals and other articles of footwear is dependent in large part on the sole assembly. The sole assembly not only provides a protective barrier between the wearer's foot and the ground, but can also play an important role in the way that energy is utilized by the wearer. The construction of a sole assembly is complicated by the fact that the human gait cycle transitions through four different phases. Although gaits vary to some degree between different people and different activities, a typical human gait includes the following phases: (1) heel impact (or heel strike), (2) heel to toe transition, (3) forefoot compression and (4) toe off. The soles in many shoes suffer in that they are configured to focus only on absorbing force during heel strike and providing cushioning to the forefoot region...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]In one embodiment, the sole component may also include a heel cup that is shaped to closely receive a heel. The heel cup may be integral with the heel spring and flex plate. In one embodiment, the heel cup is an extension of the flex plate and it includes a heel extension that extends upwardly along a gradual curve to embrace the wearer's heel and provide an enhanced forefoot lever. The heel cup may have upper flanges that extend forwardly in an arcuate path selected to closely follow the expected shape of the wearer's heel. In one embodiment, the heel extension follows a gradual curve that is undercut in the sense that it curves back in a forward direction above a portion of the wearer's heel to help resist separation of the wearer's

Problems solved by technology

The construction of a sole assembly is complicated by the fact that the human gait cycle transitions through four different phases.

The soles in many shoes suffer in that they are configured to

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