Patent ID: 8656610

Claim:
An article of footwear, comprising: an upper; a sole member attached to the upper, the sole member having a plurality of openings in a bottom surface thereof; and a traction element insert contained in the sole member, wherein the insert includes a plate member having a plurality of deformable and upwardly-curved walls formed therein, each of the walls having an upper surface and a lower surface, the insert further includes a plurality of extendable ground-contacting traction elements, each of the ground-contacting traction elements attached to a different one of the lower surfaces at or near a crest of a concave region formed by the different one of the lower surfaces, and the sole member and plate member are configured such that downward force on the upper surfaces from a foot of a wearer of the article at least partially flattens the deformable walls to reduce concavity of the concave regions and extend the ground-contacting traction elements through the plurality of openings.