Patent ID: 11864631
Assignee: WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
Field: Other consumer goods (Other fields)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 12:
13. A method for mitigating harmful or detrimental forces in a shoe assembly, comprising:
disposing an actuator from a shoe sole surface responsive to downward forces from ambulatory activities, the actuator responsive to a displacement force from the shoe sole surface;
engaging an inclined surface on the actuator with an elastic field of resilient, compressible material, the elastic field elongated in a direction aligned with the displacement force, the elastic field disposed in a heel region of the shoe assembly, the elastic field extending above a top of the sole surface, the top of the sole surface configured to directly bear a load of a wearer of the shoe assembly; and
disposing the inclined surface against the elastic field, the actuator adapted for movement adjacent to and parallel to the elastic field, the inclined surface oriented to compress the elastic field in a direction perpendicular to actuator displacement by slidably engaging and compressing the elastic field in the perpendicular direction to the actuator movement above the sole surface;
the elastic field disposed to exert a counterforce against the inclined surface, the counterforce based on a volume of a compression zone defined by an area of the elastic field engaging the inclined surface, in response to the displacement force exerted on the actuator.