Patent ID: 6820353
Filing Date: 2004-11-23
Classification: A43B

Abstract:
An application-specific shoe midsole, comprising:a support structure along a bottom of the midsole comprising a generally flat foot-shaped lower portion having a peripheral boundary, wherein the lower portion comprises an upper surface and a lower surface; a plurality of cells that extend generally upward from the upper surface of the lower portion, and at least one groove positioned between the cells, the cells comprising a top cross-section area and a bottom cross-section area; and a plurality of midsole zones, wherein at least one of the midsole zones comprises a performance zone and at least one of the midsole zones comprises a comfort zone, the performance zone comprising a first cell having a first bottom cross-section area that is at least as large as a corresponding first top cross-section area, the comfort zone comprising a second cell having a second bottom cross-section area that is at least as large as a corresponding second top cross-section area; wherein the first cell has a top cross-section area to bottom cross-section ratio that is greater than that of the second cell; and wherein the performance zone has a vertical deceleration level higher than that for the comfort zone.