Patent ID: 8225534

Claim:
An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising: a forefoot outsole structure connected to the upper and disposed at a forward portion of the article of footwear, the forefoot outsole structure having a forefoot ground-contacting surface at a bottom region; a rear outsole structure connected to the upper and disposed at a rear portion of the article of footwear, the rear outsole structure being spaced apart from the forefoot outsole structure to a form a gap in an arch region of the article of footwear, the rear outsole structure having a rear ground-contacting surface at a bottom region; and a directionally flexible arch support extending between the forefoot outsole structure and the rear outsole structure, the flexible arch support permitting bending movement along its length in a first direction such that the forefoot ground-contacting surface and the rear ground-contacting surface flex toward each other and resisting bending movement in an opposite second direction, the directionally flexible arch support comprising: a plurality of segments arranged seriatim along the length of the flexible arch support with gaps being formed on a top surface of the flexible arch between adjacent ones of the segments, a bottom surface of the flexible arch being free of gaps; and a plurality of hinge structures, each one of the hinge structures being disposed between adjacent ones of the segments and oriented in a direction transverse to the length of the arch support, a width of each of the hinge structures in the transverse direction being less than a width of the arch support at the adjacent segments, each segment including shoulder regions extending inwardly from opposed sides of each of the gaps in a direction along the length the directionally flexible shank.