Sole assembly for article of footwear

Abstract

A sole assembly for an article of footwear having a midsole defining a sidewall channel in the forefoot and a sidewall channel in the heel. The forefoot and heel channels terminate at the arch. The sole assembly includes a plate disposed below the midsole. The plate may include an arch portion, forefoot legs extending along the medial and lateral sides of the forefoot and heel legs extending along the medial and lateral sides of the heel. The medial forefoot leg may extend almost the full length of the forefoot. The lateral forefoot leg may extend about half-way through the forefoot. The lateral heel leg may extend almost the full length of the heel. The medial heel leg may extend about half-way through the heel. The sole assembly may include an outsole with slots in the heel and forefoot. The slots may terminate short of the peripheral edge.

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]A typical article of footwear includes an upper and a sole assembly. The general function of the upper is to receive the wearer's foot and secure it to the sole assembly. Uppers are available in a wide variety of shapes and style for forming a broad range of categories of footwear, such as casual shoes, dress shoes, athletic shoes, work boots, dress boots, outdoor boots, casual sandals, dress sandals and performance sandals. The sole assembly is affixed to the undersurface of the upper and its general function is to provide a layer of protection for the wearer's foot. The sole assembly can be designed not only to protect the foot from contact with the ground, but also to provide improved comfort and support for the foot.[0003]There is an ongoing effort to develop new and improved sole constructions that provide optimal performance acro...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]The present invention provides a sole assembly for an article of footwear having a midsole with sidewall channels in the forefoot and the heel, and a plate that is disposed below the midsole. The sidewall channels may be of sufficient depth to enhance forefoot and heel compression—particularly around the peripheral edges of the midsole in the forefoot and heel. The forefoot and heel channels may terminate at or short of the arch so that the compression characteristics of the arch are essentially unaffected by the channels. The plate may include forefoot legs that extend along the medial and lateral s

Problems solved by technology

Conventional plate constructions can suffer from a number of typical problems.

Because plates are relatively rigid, it can be d

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