Patent ID: 11877625
Assignee: WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
Field: Other consumer goods (Other fields)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. In an athletic footwear appliance for engaging a planar sole surface with a playing surface in a high impact manner responsive to competitive athletic activities, a ground interface having a force mitigation device, comprising: a ground interface member extending from the planar sole surface, the ground interface member coupled to a force mitigation assembly, the force mitigation assembly having: an elastic field of a resilient, compressible material; a planar member slidably disposed in communication with the elastic field, the planar member slidably engaged with and directly in contact with the planar sole surface and including an inclined surface around a circumferential edge of the planar member, the inclined surface disposed against the elastic field and oriented to compress the elastic field in a direction perpendicular to the planar sole surface by slidable travel of the planar member along the planar sole surface and between the planar sole surface and the elastic field for disposing the inclined surface in a direction parallel to the planar sole surface in response to receiving a lateral displacement force from the ground interface member, the inclined surface defining a compression region having a constant size resulting from an area moving with the inclined surface from travel of the planar member parallel to the planar sole surface as the inclined surface compresses the compression region in a direction perpendicular to the travel of the planar member; and a linkage for transmitting the lateral displacement force from the ground interference member for disposing the inclined surface to counter the displacement force with a counterforce proportional to the compressed area of the elastic field.