Patent ID: 8256146
Filing Date: 2012-09-04
Classification: A43B

Abstract:
1. An infant shoe comprising: a shoe outsole having a forefoot region and an opposite heel region and defining a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, the outsole defining a substantially arcuate shape along the longitudinal axis from a frontmost portion of the forefoot region to a rearmost portion of the heel region, and the outsole defining a substantially arcuate shape along the transverse axis from a first lateral side edge of the outsole to a second lateral side edge of the outsole; and a shoe upper secured to the shoe outsole, the shoe upper and the shoe outsole together defining curved side surfaces that extend within a substantially continuous curved plane such that the outsole and the shoe upper together form a substantially ellipsoid shape and allow an infant wearing the shoe to roll his or her foot to either side and forward and backward without rolling over a sharp edge, wherein a bottom surface of the shoe outsole defines a plurality of nested elliptical grooves substantially in the forefoot region, a plurality of substantially parallel curved grooves in the forefoot region, and a plurality of nested substantially circular grooves substantially in the heel region, each of the curved grooves extending substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shoe outsole and intersecting at least one of the elliptical grooves, and at least some of the elliptical grooves intersecting at least some of the substantially circular grooves, and wherein the elliptical grooves allow the forefoot region of the shoe outsole to flex in every direction when the shoe is rolled side to side along the transverse axis, the substantially parallel grooves allow the forefoot region of the shoe outsole to flex longitudinally when the shoe is rocked forward and backward along the longitudinal axis, and the substantially circular grooves allow the heel region of the shoe outsole to flex in every direction when the shoe is rolled side to side along the transverse axis.