Boots – shoes – and leggings – Soles – Cushion
Patent
1994-02-18
1997-01-21
Patterson, Marie D.
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Soles
Cushion
36 27, 36 31, 36 35R, 36 37, A43B 1318
Patent
active
055950035
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field
This invention is in the field of athletic shoes which provide a cushioning effect on the feet during motions such as walking, jumping, and running.
2. State of the Art
Shoes with cushioned soles are well known in the art. The majority of these, however, rely on a cushioned sole made of a foam-type material. The problems associated with a sole comprising such a material are twofold. First, the sole loses its cushioning abilities and wears out after a relatively short time. This creates the added expense and inconvenience of replacing either the individual sole or the entire shoe at a more frequent rate than is desirable. Second, cushioned soles made of foam-type material do not always provide adequate support for the arch, ball, heel and other critical areas of the foot. Such lack of support can cause innumerable foot and leg injuries like shin splints, bone spurs, and muscle spasms and tears.
Other systems for cushioning the foot are becoming quite common. For example, at least one shoe manufacturer produces a shoe which has inflatable chambers actuated by a push-button pump. These chambers are inflated in anticipation of strenuous activity and deflated after completion thereof. Theoretically, the chambers are filled only to the level which will provide the proper amount of support for the intended activity and thus provide the advantage of variable support. Some problems, however, have been associated with this system as well. Inadvertent leakage of the pumped air has required an increase in the wall thickness of the chambers, resulting in a decreased level of responsiveness in the chambers' performance. Furthermore, the pumps are easily broken, which negates any advantage the system may have provided in the first place.
Another system calls for the provision of gel or compressed air to be placed in closed pockets in the sole of the shoe, which has disadvantages.
Other known systems have various features in common with the present invention, e.g. the systems of Fowler U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,046 of Sep. 10, 1974, and of LICO Sportschuhfabriken, German DE 3507295 A1 of Sep. 4, 1986, but lack the combination of features that have made the present invention operatively superior.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved sole construction for an athletic shoe which not only provides cushioning for the foot of the wearer, but also provides a high degree of energy return or rebound to the wearer of the shoe.
The shoe includes a first sole portion having spaced cleats extending therefrom and a second sole portion having correspondingly spaced apertures for receiving the cleats. Resilient means are held between the first and second sole portions at least partially covering the apertures and cooperable with the cleats for normally maintaining the first and second sole portions spaced apart with the cleats of the first sole portion aligned with the receiving apertures of the second sole portion. Cleat guide means restricts lateral relative movement of the first and second sole portions to maintain alignment of the cleats with the apertures and to stabilize the shoe during athletic activities. Means interconnect the first and second sole portions and a shoe upper for receiving a wearer's foot is secured to one of the sole portions while a ground-contacting receiving surface is secured to the other sole portion.
In one embodiment of the shoe, the shoe includes a top sole portion with downwardly extending cleats and a substantially coextensive bottom sole portion with apertures corresponding to the cleats so as to receive therein the cleats of the top sole portion. A resilient membrane is positioned and held between the top and bottom sole portions to normally maintain such top and bottom sole portions in a spaced apart, rest configuration wherein the cleats of the top sole portion are held by the membrane above and in alignment with the receiving apertures of the bottom sole portion. When force is applied to the sole of the shoe, such as by a person standing,
REFERENCES:
patent: 904891 (1908-11-01), Otlerstedt
patent: 1778089 (1930-10-01), Pomerantz
patent: 1993208 (1935-03-01), Cohn
patent: 3834046 (1974-09-01), Fowler
patent: 4187620 (1980-02-01), Selner
patent: 4798009 (1989-01-01), Colonel et al.
patent: 4843735 (1989-07-01), Nakanishi
patent: 4888887 (1989-12-01), Solow
patent: 4897937 (1990-02-01), Misevich et al.
patent: 4956927 (1990-09-01), Misevich et al.
patent: 4999931 (1991-03-01), Vermeulen
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