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

The present invention provides a sole assembly that can improve the performance of various stages of a person's gait cycle. It includes an elliptical spring, a flex plate, and resilient stoppers that work together to store and release energy during different phases of the gait cycle. The elliptical spring helps to cushion the impact of the foot strike and store some of the impact energy. The flex plate bends along its length to store energy during the forefoot compression phase and returns to its original non-deformed shape during the toe-off phase, which helps to propel the person forward. The resilient stoppers play a role during the forefoot compression phase, assisting in energy storage. The present invention can be adjusted for different application scenarios by changing the characteristics of various parts of the sole assembly.

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 focus only on absorbing force during heel strike and providing cushioning to the forefoot region.

If not implemented properly these technologies can prove to be a detriment rather than an aid.

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