Patent ID: 7069671

Claim:
A shoe comprising: a bottom; a major longitudinal axis; an upper with a heel region and an arch region; a rear sole below at least a portion of the heel region of the upper, the rear sole having a forward portion and an opposite rearward portion; a plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, an interior portion and peripheral portions and positioned between at least a portion of the outsole of the rear sole and at least a portion of the heel region of the upper, at least one of the peripheral portions of the plate being proximate at least one of a medial side of the shoe, a lateral side of the shoe and a rear of the shoe, the interior portion of the plate being positioned over a void and exposed to the void, at least a portion of the plate capable of being deflected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the major longitudinal axis of the shoe; at least one opening in the shoe, the opening being in air communication with the void to expose the interior portion of the plate from outside the shoe through the opening and the void; an arch bridge integral with the plate extending from a position proximate a forward portion of the plate, forward beneath at least a portion of the arch region of the upper, the arch bridge having a lower surface that is at least in part visible from outside the shoe, the lower surface of a peripheral region of the arch bridge along the lateral side of the shoe being approximately planar with the lower surface of the plate for at least a substantial portion of the full extension of the arch bridge as measured along an axis that is parallel with the major longitudinal axis of the shoe; and at least one wall integral with the arch bridge proximate at least one of the medial side and the lateral side of the shoe and extending in an upwardly direction from the arch bridge, the at least one wall of the arch bridge being made of the same material as the plate.