Patent ID: 8490297

Claim:
A pressure-responsive footwear system, comprising: a substantially-inclined shoe having a posterior portion and an anterior portion and a middle portion disposed therebetween, and further having a foot-supporting portion comprising: a unitary, rigid sole portion that is generally incompressible in response to a force applied by a user's foot during use, wherein: the rigid sole portion is either a midsole, or an outsole, or a unitary combination of a midsole and an outsole; the rigid sole portion includes and extends for at least a first thickness between each of an upwardly-orientated foot-engaging surface and a downwardly-orientated ground-engaging surface, the foot-engaging surface includes a first outer boundary, and either or both of a posterior portion and a middle portion of the foot-engaging surface is inclined at an angle equal to or greater than approximately fifteen degrees (15°) along an approximately anterior-posterior axis, a first recess formed into the foot-engaging surface of the rigid sole portion and positioned within the outer boundary thereof, the recess presenting an opening at the foot-engaging surface and further extending into but not fully through the rigid sole portion, wherein: a cross-sectional depth profile of the recess is asymmetric along an anterior-posterior plane extending through the recess, a deeper first portion or the recess is disposed closer to the anterior end of the shoe than is a second shallower portion of the recess, and inner surfaces of the recess are concavely curved rather thin angular; a first leak-resistant, flexible bladder disposed mainly within and conforming dimensionally relative to an inner configuration of the recess; a volume of relatively viscous filler material disposed within and filling the bladder, wherein: the filler material imparts a suitably high tension at a surface of the bladder, a portion of the bladder extends above the foot-engaging surface immediately surrounding the opening of the recess, and in response to a three applied downwardly by a portion of a user's foot upon a portion of the bladder during use, the rigid sole portion prevents downward and lateral displacement of the filler material, and instead redirects displacement of the filler material upwardly toward portions of the user's foot located adjacently to the force-applying portion of the user's foot.