Patent ID: 7000334

Claim:
A shoe comprising: an outsole having an upper surface, an opposite lower surface, and a heel section, the upper surface being positioned relatively closer to a wearer's foot and the lower surface being positioned to engage upon a floor or ground surface when the shoe is worn during walking, the lower surface of the outsole having at least one groove formed therein to enhance the flexibility of the outsole, the outsole further defining an aperture in the heel section extending from the upper surface to the opposite lower surface; and a resilient, deformable first cushion disposed in said aperture, with an upper cushion surface of said first cushion disposed at a region of the upper surface of the outsole in the heel section and a lower cushion surface of said first cushion exposed at a region of the lower surface of the outsole in the heel section, said first cushion being adapted to deform and flow toward the floor or ground surface under the wearer's weight and force of heel strike, and the outsole having a perimeter, and at least one of said at least one groove having a closed-loop shape substantially parallel to the perimeter of the outsole, the outsole, further comprising a recessed wall surface extending generally upwards from the lower surface toward the upper surface and defining a recessed region in communication, at its upper reaches, with said aperture, said lower cushion surface of said first cushion, exposed at the aperture within said recessed region, being spaced by said recessed wall surface of said outsole above the floor or ground surface at all times, including when said first cushion deforms and flows under the wearer's weight and force of heel strike.