Patent ID: 8474154

Claim:
Footwear sole assembly for enabling a wearer to walk or run with a rolling action, comprising a resilient rolling element arranged in the sole assembly, the rolling element extending along at least part of the length axis of the sole assembly and across at least part of the width of the sole assembly ( 5 ), the rolling element being arranged in the upper part of the sole assembly and extending over at least a mid-portion of the sole assembly facing the arch of the wearer's foot during walking or running, and an elastically compressible midsole element, the rolling element having a substantially convex lower rolling surface in mechanical contact with the elastically compressible midsole element and a mid-portion of the midsole element including a significant thickness of elastically compressible material underneath the lowest section of the convex lower surface of the rolling element, the rolling surface and said midsole element being shaped and arranged such that load forces incurred during walking or running cause the rolling element to rotate, relative to the sole assembly, about a rolling axis substantially transverse to the length axis of the sole assembly, thereby elastically compressing the midsole element over at least the mid-portion for at least part of a stride of the wearer.