Patent ID: 7174658

Claim:
A shoe sole suitable for an athletic shoe, comprising: a sole inner surface and a sole outer surface; a heel portion at a location substantially corresponding to the location of a heel of the intended wearer's foot when inside the shoe; a forefoot portion at a location substantially corresponding to the location of a forefoot of the intended wearer's foot when inside the shoe; a third portion at a location between said heel portion and said forefoot portion; a sole lateral side, a sole medial side, and a sole middle portion located between the sole lateral side and the sole medial side; a bottom sole; the shoe sole comprising at least one convexly rounded portion of the sole inner surface, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, said convexity being determined relative to a section of the shoe sole directly adjacent to the convexly rounded portion of the sole outer surface; the shoe sole comprising at least one concavely rounded portion of the sole outer surface, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, said concavity being determined relative to an inner section of the shoe sole directly adjacent to the concavely rounded portion of the sole outer surface; each said concavely rounded portion of the sole outer surface being located on a side of the shoe sole at a location corresponding to the location of at least one convexly rounded portion of the sole inner surface; and at least one compartment defined by an outer surface and located at a location selected from the group consisting of the heel portion of the shoe sole and portions of the shoe sole located at locations substantially corresponding to the location of each of the following support elements of the intended wearer's foot when inside the shoe: a base of the fifth metatarsal, a head of one of the metatarsals, and a first distal phalange; and wherein at least part of said outer surface of said at least one compartment is movable relative to an adjacent interior surface of said shoe sole.