Patent ID: 6591519
Filing Date: 2003-07-15
Classification: A43B

Abstract:
An athletic shoe sole for supporting a foot of an intended wearer, the shoe sole comprising:a sole outer surface; a sole inner surface, the sole surfaces of the athletic shoe together defining a sole medial side, a sole lateral side, and a sole middle portion between the sole sides, the sole comprising a heel portion at a location substantially corresponding to a calcaneus of the intended wearer's foot, a forefoot portion at a location substantially corresponding to a forefoot of the intended wearer's foot and a midtarsal portion at a location between the heel and forefoot portions; the heel portion having a lateral heel part at a location substantially corresponding to the lateral tuberosity of the calcaneus of the intended wearer's foot, and a medial heel part at a location substantially corresponding to the base of the calcaneus of the intended wearer's foot; the midtarsal portion having a lateral midtarsal part at a location substantially corresponding to the base of a fifth metatarsal of the intended wearer's foot, and a main longitudinal arch part at a location substantially corresponding to the longitudinal arch of the intended wearer's foot; the forefoot portion having a forward medial forefoot part at a location substantially corresponding to the head of the first distal phalange of the intended wearer's foot, and rear medial and rear lateral forefoot parts at locations substantially corresponding to the heads of medial and lateral metatarsal of the intended wearer's foot; the sole further comprising at least three rounded bulges, as viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition; each of said at least three rounded bulges being located at different positions on the sole sides, the different positions comprising positions near to at least one of the medial heel part, the lateral heel part, the forward medial forefoot part, the rear medial forefoot part, the rear lateral forefoot part, the lateral midtarsal part, and the main longitudinal arch part; each of said at least three rounded bulges having a convexly rounded portion of an inner surface of a midsole component, as viewed in a show sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, the convexity existing with respect to a section of the midsole component directly adjacent to each said convexly rounded portion; each of said at least three rounded bulges having a concavely rounded portion of the sole outer surface, as viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, the concavity existing with respect to an inner section of the shoe sole directly adjacent to each said concavely rounded portion; the sole having a lateral sidemost section and a medial sidemost section, each sidemost section being located at a location outside of a straight vertical line extending through the shoe sole at a respective sidemost extent of a midsole component inner surface, as viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition; each of said at least three rounded bulges further comprises a tapered portion having a thickness that decreases gradually from a first thickness to a lesser thickness on a side of the bulge, as viewed in a shoe sole horizontal plane when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition; each of said at least three rounded bulges comprises midsole component extending into the sidemost section of the same sole side as said bulge, as viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe is upright and in an unloaded condition; each of said at least three rounded bulges further comprises a midsole component upper part extending up each said rounded bulge to above a level corresponding to a lowest point of a midsole component inner surface of the same sole side as each said bulge, as viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition; at least part of the sole midtarsal portion comprises an indentation relative to a straight line between a lowermost part of the sole outer surface of the sole heel portion and a lowermost part of the sole outer surface of the sole forefoot portion, all as viewed in a shoe sole sagittal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition; and a heel portion sole thickness that is greater than a forefoot portion sole thickness, as viewed in a shoe sole sagittal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition.