EP1483981A1 - Sole structure for a shoe - Google Patents

Sole structure for a shoe Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1483981A1
EP1483981A1 EP04253346A EP04253346A EP1483981A1 EP 1483981 A1 EP1483981 A1 EP 1483981A1 EP 04253346 A EP04253346 A EP 04253346A EP 04253346 A EP04253346 A EP 04253346A EP 1483981 A1 EP1483981 A1 EP 1483981A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
curved surface
sole
sole assembly
sole body
elastic
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP04253346A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Takaya c/o Mizuno Corporation Kimura
Kenji c/o Mizuno Corporation Araki
Yasunori c/o Mizuno Corporation Kaneko
Natsuki c/o Mizuno Corporation Sato
Takeshi c/o Mizuno Corporation Takeshita
Takao c/o Mizuno Corporation Oda
Kazuhiko c/o Mizuno Corporation Suzuki
Kenjiro C/O Mizuno Corporation Kita
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Mizuno Corp
Original Assignee
Mizuno Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mizuno Corp filed Critical Mizuno Corp
Publication of EP1483981A1 publication Critical patent/EP1483981A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
    • A43B13/02—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the material
    • A43B13/026—Composites, e.g. carbon fibre or aramid fibre; the sole, one or more sole layers or sole part being made of a composite
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
    • A43B13/02—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the material
    • A43B13/12—Soles with several layers of different materials
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
    • A43B13/14—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the constructive form
    • A43B13/141—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the constructive form with a part of the sole being flexible, e.g. permitting articulation or torsion
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
    • A43B13/14—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the constructive form
    • A43B13/16—Pieced soles
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
    • A43B13/14—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the constructive form
    • A43B13/18—Resilient soles
    • A43B13/181—Resiliency achieved by the structure of the sole
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
    • A43B7/14—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts
    • A43B7/1405—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form
    • A43B7/141—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form having an anatomical or curved form
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
    • A43B7/14—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts
    • A43B7/1405—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form
    • A43B7/1415—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot
    • A43B7/142—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot situated under the medial arch, i.e. under the navicular or cuneiform bones
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
    • A43B7/14—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts
    • A43B7/1405—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form
    • A43B7/1415—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot
    • A43B7/1425—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot situated under the ball of the foot, i.e. the joint between the first metatarsal and first phalange
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
    • A43B7/14—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts
    • A43B7/1405—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form
    • A43B7/1415—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot
    • A43B7/1435—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot situated under the joint between the fifth phalange and the fifth metatarsal bone
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
    • A43B7/14—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts
    • A43B7/1405—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form
    • A43B7/1415—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot
    • A43B7/1445—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with foot-supporting parts with pads or holes on one or more locations, or having an anatomical or curved form characterised by the location under the foot situated under the midfoot, i.e. the second, third or fourth metatarsal

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a sole structure for a shoe, and more particularly, to an improvement in bendability of a sole forefoot portion.
  • a sole of a shoe is typically formed of a soft elastic material to achieve cushioning properties and bendability or flexibility is also required at a sole forefoot portion to get a smooth 'ground-kicking' of the sole forefoot portion during running or walking.
  • bendability or flexibility of a sole forefoot portion is achieved by decreasing the thickness of the sole forefoot portion or forming a laterally extending bent groove at the sole forefoot portion.
  • a conventional sole assembly bending motion of a forefoot of a shoe wearer is transmitted to a sole forefoot portion of a shoe via an upper of the shoe at the time of bending of the forefoot portion of the shoe wearer. That is, a conventional sole assembly is not structured in such a way that bending motion of a forefoot of a shoe wearer does not directly bend the sole forefoot portion of a shoe.
  • the present invention has been made in view of these circumstances and its object is to provide a novel sole assembly for a shoe that is structured in such a way that bending motion of a forefoot of a shoe wearer directly bends the sole forefoot portion of a shoe.
  • the current invention is directed to providing a sole assembly having an improved bendability.
  • the present invention is directed to a sole assembly for a shoe that has a sole body.
  • the sole body has a flat-shaped cavity formed at a forefoot region thereof.
  • the cavity is defined by a first and second curved surface that is formed of elastic material, connected to each other at a front and rear end and spaced apart at an intermediate portion.
  • a path between the front end and the rear end of the first curved surface is substantially equal to a path between the front end and the rear end of the second curved surface.
  • the sole body deforms in such a way that when the first curved surface is pressed downwardly a rear side region of the sole body is lifted upwardly.
  • the first curved surface deforms to come closer to the second curved surface and the sole body bends in such a way that rear side region of the cavity e.g. a rear foot region of the sole body is lifted upwardly.
  • the sole body bends or buckles when it senses the bending motion of the forefoot portion of a wearer's foot, bending of the forefoot portion of the foot can be smoothly and directly transmitted to the sole body. In other words, loading of the weight of a shoe wearer causes bending of the sole body. Thereby, bendability of the sole body can be improved. Also, in this case, since the sole body bends with the cavity between the first and second curved surface contracted, wrinkles hardly occur on the top surface of the sole body at the time of bending of the sole body thereby preventing occurrence of blister or shoe sore of a foot and elongation of an outsole can be lessened at the time of bending of the sole body to prevent separation of the outsole.
  • the cavity formed by the first and second curved surface may be parallelogrammatical in shape.
  • the sole body may have an elastic body at the forefoot region, which has the cavity formed therein and is harder than the sole body.
  • the elastic body may have an upper area including the first curved surface and a lower area including the second curved surface.
  • the bending rigidity of a front side portion of the upper area may be lower than that of a rear side portion of the upper area, and the bending rigidity of a rear side portion of the lower area is lower than that of a front side portion of the lower area.
  • a thickness of the front side portion of the upper area may be smaller than that of the rear side portion of the upper area, and a thickness of the rear side portion of the lower area may be smaller than that of the front side portion of the lower area.
  • bending rigidity is modified by the variation of the thickness of the entire area.
  • a groove or through hole may be formed at a portion with a lower bending rigidity, or a rib may be formed at a portion with a higher bending rigidity.
  • bending rigidity is modified by the variation of the thickness of the local area.
  • the rear side portion of the upper area and the front side portion of the lower area may have a FRP (or Fiber Reinforced Plastics) sheet interposed therein.
  • FRP includes fibers such as carbon, glass, aramid fiber or the like.
  • the rear side portions of the upper area and the lower area of the elastic body may be united into a unit on the rear side of the first and second curved surface and may extend further rearward.
  • a rearmost end of an extension of the unit may be disposed at a heel region of the sole body.
  • the extension of the elastic body facilitates upward movement of a rearfoot region of the sole body during bendingmotion of the forefoot portion of awearer' s foot.
  • bending motion of the forefoot portion of the foot can be more smoothly transmitted to the sole body and bendability of the sole body can be further improved.
  • the cavity defined by the first and second curved surface may have a reinforced member to increase the rigidity of the sole body or the elastic body in a lateral direction.
  • the reinforced member prevents the cavity from being collapsed easily.
  • the reinforcement member may be composed of laterally extending one or more ribs provided on the second curved surface.
  • the forefoot portion of the sole body is easy to bend at a portion between the adjacent ribs, thereby displaying a 'navigating effect' relative to the foot during walking or running.
  • An elastic structure may be provided at the forefoot region of the sole body that is composed of a first plate having the first curved surface and a second plate having the second curved surface whose front and rear end is coupled to a front and rear end of the first plate respectively.
  • bending rigidity of the forefoot region of the sole body may be adapted to change at two stages of a first bending rigidity to a second bending rigidity as the progress of bending during bending motion of the forefoot region of the sole body.
  • Two-stage change of the bending rigidity of the sole body may be caused by substantially closing the cavity.
  • the first bending rigidity is rigidity before the first curved surface contacts the second curved surface during bending motion of the sole body
  • the second bending rigidity is rigidity when the first curved surface is in contact with the second curved surface with the cavity closed and both surfaces are integrated with each other.
  • the second bending rigidity is far greater than the first bending rigidity with a cavity formed and it functions generally as a rigid body relative to the deformation of the sole body.
  • the sole body when the first curved surface is in contact with the second curved surface, the sole body is hard to further deform and the sole body moves onto the motion of kicking the ground in the state of a rigid body, thereby improving ground-kicking motion of the sole body.
  • the cavity may be defined by a first curved surface formed of elastic material and including a downwardly convex curve and a second curved surface disposed under the first curved surface, formed of elastic material and including a downwardly convex curve.
  • a front and rear end of the second curved surface is coupled to a front and rear end of the first curved surface respectively and an intermediate portion of the second curved surface is located downwardly away from an intermediate portion of the first curved surface.
  • the sole body deforms in such a way that when the first curved surface is pressed downwardly a rear side region of the sole body is lifted upwardly.
  • the sole body deforms in such a way that a rear foot region of the sole body is lifted upwardly. Thereby, bending of the forefoot portion of the foot can be smoothly and directly transmitted to the sole body, thus improving bendability of the sole body.
  • a soft elastic member e.g. foamed material such as sponge
  • softer than the sole body may be inserted into at least a portion of the cavity.
  • suitable variation of position or expansion rate of the soft elastic member to be inserted into the cavity can modify the way of deformation of the first and second curved surface such as the amount of elastic deformation or restorative speed after elastic deformation of the first and second curved surface.
  • the elastic member may be composed of a plurality of members each extending substantially in a lateral direction.
  • a bottom surface of the sole body may constitute a sole ground contact surface.
  • deformation of the bottom surface of the sole body becomes deformation of the ground contact surface, so that bending motion of the forefoot portion of a foot comes to bend the sole ground contact surface more directly.
  • the first and second curved surface may be adapted to cross a thenar eminence of a wearer's foot in a longitudinal direction.
  • the first and second curved surface is adapted to cross a first proximal phalanx of a wearer's foot in a lateral direction.
  • the second surface deforms so as to promote the motion of the first toe toward the medial side.
  • load transfer toward a sole edge portion is conducted smoothly, and a sole assembly can be achieved that is suitable for a golf shoe in which the motion of the first toe of the foot toward the medial side is required at the time of impacting a golf ball.
  • the first and second curved surface is adapted to cross a fifth proximal phalanx of a wearer's foot in a lateral direction.
  • the second curved surface deforms so as to restrain the motion of the fifth toe toward the lateral side.
  • a stop wall can be formed on the lateral side of the sole body that restrains downward deformation toward the lateral side relative to the sideways motion such as sidestepping.
  • a sole assembly can thus be achieved that is suitable for a tennis shoe or basketball shoe.
  • the cavity may penetrate the sole body in a lateral direction so that bendability of the entire sole body in a lateral direction can be improved.
  • FIGS. 1 to 5 show a sole assembly of a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • a sole assembly 1 in use for a shoe includes a sole body that is comprised of a sole body forefoot portion 2 disposed mainly at a forefoot region F of the sole assembly 1 and a sole body heel portion 3 disposed at a heel region H to a midfoot or plantar arch region M of the sole assembly 1.
  • An outsole 4 that contacts the ground G is attached to the bottom surface of the sole body.
  • a region including the heel region H and the midfoot region M of the sole assembly 1 is herein referred to as a 'rearfoot' region R.
  • the sole body may be formed of a soft elastic material.
  • thermoplastic synthetic resin foam such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)
  • thermosetting resin foam such as polyurethane (PU)
  • rubber material foam such as butadiene or chloroprene rubber
  • an elastic body 10 having a flat shaped cavity or void 13 formed therein and extending in a longitudinal direction.
  • the elastic body 10 is preferably formed of a hard elastic material having a greater modulus of elasticity than the sole body.
  • the elastic body 10 may be formed of thermoplastic resin such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyamide elastomer (PAE), ABS resin and the like. Alternatively, it may be formed of thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin and the like.
  • the cavity 13 of the elasticbody 10 is preferably a through hole penetrating through the elastic body 10 in a lateral or shoe width direction.
  • the cavity 13 is formed of a first curved surface 11 extending curvedly in a longitudinal direction and a second curved surface 12 disposed under the first curved surface and extending curvedly in a longitudinal direction as well.
  • the first and second curved surfaces 11, 12 are coupled to each other at points P and Q disposed at a front end and a rear end respectively. Intermediate portions of the first and second curved surfaces 11, 12 disposed between points P and Q are spaced apart from each other.
  • a path between points P and Q of the first curved surface 11 i.e. a distance PQ 1 measured along the first curved surface 11 is substantially equal to a path between points P and Q of the second curved surface 12 i. e. a distance PQ 2 measured along the second curved surface 12.
  • the first curved surface 11 includes a generally flat surface or slightly curved surface extending from a front end toward a rear end thereof and a downwardly convexly curved surface disposed at a rear end of the first curved surface 11.
  • the second curved surface 12 includes an upwardly convexly curved surface disposed at a front end thereof and a downwardly convexly, slightly curved surface extending from a front end toward a rear end of the second curved surface 12.
  • the elastic body 10 includes an upper area 10A having the first curved surface 11 and a lower area 10B having the second curved surface 12.
  • the bending rigidity of a front side portion 10A f of the upper area 10A is lower than that of a rear side portion 10A r of the upper area 10A.
  • the bending rigidity of a front side portion 10B f of the lower area 10B is higher than that of a rear side portion 10B r of the lower area 10B.
  • a thickness of the front side portion 10A f of the upper area 10A is smaller than that of the rear side portion 10A r of the upper area 10A.
  • a thickness of the front side portion 10B f of the lower area 10B is greater than that of the rear side portion 10B r of the lower area 10B. That is, in this case, modification of the thickness of the entire area changes the bending rigidity of the elastic body 10.
  • a groove or through hole may be formed at areas where a lower bending rigidity is required.
  • ribs may be formed at areas where a higher bending rigidity is required. That is, in this case, modification of the thickness of the local area changes the bending rigidity of the elastic body 10.
  • the rear side portions 10A r , 10B r of the upper and lower areas 10A, 10B of the elastic body 10 are united into a unit at the rear ends of the first and second curved surface 11, 12 and extend over the rear ends.
  • a rear end of the extended portion 10C extends to the heel region H of the sole body (see FIG. 1).
  • a compressive load W (FIG. 1) deforms the first curved surface 11 to bend downwardly toward the second curved surface 12, as shown in FIG. 4.
  • the sole assembly 1 buckles in such a way that the rearfoot region R of the sole assembly 1 is lifted upwardly (see FIG. 4) .
  • the sole assembly senses bending motion of a forefoot portion of a wearer's foot to buckle, bending motion of the forefoot portion of the foot can be directly and smoothly transmitted to the sole assembly.
  • bending or buckling of the sole assembly can be caused in conjunction with loading of shoe wearer's weight. Thereby, bendability of the sole assembly can be improved.
  • the front side portion 10A f of the upper area 10A of the elastic body 10 has a lower bending rigidity than the rear side portion 10A r of the upper area 10A and the rear side portion 10B r of the lower area 10B has a lower bending rigidity than the front side portion 10B f of the lower area 10B
  • the front side portion 10A f easily bends downwardly, and a front side portion of the first curved surface 11 comes toward the second curved surface 12 and thus, the rear side portion 10B r , or a lower rigidportion of the lower area 10B easily buckles upwardly.
  • bending motion of the forefoot portion of a wearer's foot can be more smoothly transmitted to the sole assembly, thereby enhancing bendability of the sole body.
  • a gripping area of the sole assembly relative to the ground surface G can be enlarged, thereby increasing gripping force at the time of kicking and leaving the ground.
  • the sole assembly 1 deforms as the cavity 13 encompassed by the first and second curved surface 11, 12 contracts, a wrinkle is hard to occur on the top surface of the sole body at the time of bending motion of the sole assembly thereby preventing occurrence of a blister or shoe sore on a shoe wearer's foot, and also, elongation of the outsole 4 is decreased at the time of bending motion of the sole assembly thereby preventing separation of the outsole 4 from the sole body.
  • a first bending rigidity of the elastic body 10 in the state of FIGS. 1 to 4 differs from a second bending rigidity of the elastic body 10 in the state of FIGS. 4 to 5. That is, the bending rigidity of the elastic body 10 and thus the sole assemblyvaries from the first bending rigidity to the second bending rigidity at two stages as the progress of bending motion. Also, the second bending rigidity is far greater than the first bending rigidity in the case where a cavity 13 is formed. Therefore, when the bending rigidity shifts from the first rigidity to the second rigidity during bending deformation of the sole assembly, the elastic body 10 acts like a rigid body relative to deformation of the sole assembly, thereby improving hard elastic property at the time of kicking and leaving the ground.
  • the present invention is not limited to such an example.
  • the present invention can be applied to cases of PQ 1 ⁇ PQ 2 (i.e. PQ 1 ⁇ PQ 2 and PQ 1 >PQ 2 )
  • a path between points P and Q of the first curved surface 11 after elastic elongation may be substantially equal to a path between points P and Q of the second curved surface 12.
  • FIGS. 6 and 7 show a sole assembly of a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
  • a soft elastic block 20 such as foamed material (e.g. sponge) softer than the sole body 2 is interposed at least at a portion of the cavity 13 of the elastic body 10.
  • the way of deformation of the first and second curved surface 11, 12 such as the amount of elastic deformation or restorative speed after elastic deformation of the first and second curved surface 11, 12 can be adjusted by suitably changing expansion rate of the elastic block 10 inserted into the cavity 13 or the inserted position thereof.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates the state in which the first and second curved surface 11, 12 is elastically deformed similarly to the state shown in FIG. 4.
  • FIGS. 8 shows an elastic structure constituting a sole assembly of a third embodiment of the present invention.
  • like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
  • the elastic body 10 was shown that has a cavity 13 formed of the first and second curved surface 11, 12, whereas in this third embodiment, an elastic structure shown in FIG. 8 is used that comprises a band-shaped first and second plate 10A', 10B' whose opposite ends are coupled to each other. That is, in this case, a first curved surface 11 is formed of an inner surface of the first plate 10A' and a second curved surface 12 is formed of an inner surface of the second plate 10B'.
  • the elastic structure is preferably formed of a single loop member in which a first plate 10A' and a second plate 10B' are integrally formed with each other.
  • This elastic structure is formed of a similar material to the elastic body 10 of the first and second embodiment.
  • modification of thickness or formation of grooves, through holes and ribs may be adopted in order to alter the rigidity of a front and rear side portion of the first and second plate 10A' , 10B' .
  • the rigidity of a midsole into which the elastic structure is inserted may be locally altered.
  • the outsole 4 is provided on the bottom surface of the elastic body 10 or the second plate 10B' . At least a portion of the bottom surface of the elastic body 10 or the second plate 10B' may constitute a sole ground contact surface.
  • deformation of the second curved surface 12 becomes deformation of the ground contact surface, so that bending motion of the forefoot portion of a foot comes to bend the sole ground contact surface more directly.
  • FIGS. 9A and 9B show an elastic structure of a sole assembly of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
  • like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
  • the elastic structure is formed of first and second plates 10A', 10B' that are coupled to each other at respective opposite ends.
  • a connecting portion on the front side (or right side of FIG. 9A) of the first and second plate 10A', 10B' is integrated with each other.
  • Each of the plates 10A' , 10B' extends rearward (or to the left of FIG. 9A) and a connecting element 5 that connects the first and second plates 10A', 10B' on their rear sides constitutes a rear-side connecting portion. Therefore, in this case, points P, Q on the first and second curved surface 11, 12 are disposed at positions shown in FIG. 9A.
  • a cavity formed by the first curved surface 11 of the first plate 10A' and the second curved surface 12 of the second plate 10B' is generally parallelogrammatical shaped. Therefore, in this case, distances between points P, Q along the first and second curved surfaces 11, 12 are nearly equal to each other.
  • hatched regions of the rear side portion of the first plate 10A' and the front side portion of the second plate 10B' are reinforced by FRP (i.e. Fiber Reinforced Plastic) sheets 14, 15 including carbon fibers, glass fibers, aramid fibers or the like.
  • FRP Fiber Reinforced Plastic
  • melted resin may be introduced into the molds with the FRP sheet inserted and held into the molds.
  • the FRP sheet provided inside the elastic structure can enhance the rigidity of the desired portion of the elastic structure.
  • the rigidity of the midsole 2' can be made locally greater by increasing the thickness t 1 of the midsole 2' on the rear side of the first plate 10A' or increasing the thickness t 2 of the midsole 2' on the front side of the second plate 10B' .
  • FIGS. 10A and 10B show an elastic structure of a sole assembly of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
  • like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
  • FIG. 10B there is also shown a portion of a foot-leaving curve, which indicates boundaries of ground contact regions of a plantar surface of a foot when the foot leaves the ground.
  • one or more ribs 16 are provided on the second curved surface 12 of the second plate 10B' .
  • Each of the ribs 16 is formed of the similarmaterial (preferably a soft elastic material) to the second plate 10B' , extends substantially along a lateral direction or shoe width direction perpendicular to the page of FIG. 10A and are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction or left to right direction of FIG. 10A.
  • Such ribs 16 can increase the rigidity of the elastic structure in a lateral direction, thereby restraining deformation of the cavity 13 to prevent collapse of the cavity 13.
  • ribs may be provided on the inner surface 11 of the first plate 10A', but the second plate 10B' on the lower surface side of the midsole 2' (or on the outsole side) is easier to deform than the first plate 10A' on the upper surface side of the midsole 2'. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10A, in the case where ribs are provided on the second plate 10B'. the rigidity of the elastic structure is effectively improved.
  • each of the ribs 16 is disposed along the foot-leaving curve Lc of the forefoot portion of a foot, the forefoot portion is easy to bend at positions between the adjacent ribs 16. Thereby, weight transfer during walking or running is navigated or controlled by the ribs 16 and foot navigation effect can be achieved.
  • each of the ribs 16 may extend linearly in a shoe width direction.
  • a plurality of notches 16c may be formed on the bottom surface of the second plate 10B'.
  • the notches 16c are located at positions corresponding to the positions of the ribs 16. In this case, a certain degree of rigidity is secured by the ribs 16 and bendability of the elastic structure can be improved by the notches 16c.
  • FIGS. 11A and 11B show an elastic structure of a sole assembly of a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
  • like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
  • a plurality of protrusions 17 formed of soft elastic materials are provided on the second curved surface 12 of the second plate 10B'.
  • Each of the protrusions 17 extends substantially in a lateral direction and spaced apart in a longitudinal direction.
  • FIGS. 12A and 12B show an elastic structure of a sole assembly of an eighth embodiment of the present invention.
  • like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
  • a protrusion 18 formed of soft elastic material is provided on the second curved surface 12 of the second plate 10B'.
  • the protrusion 18 is formed with a plurality of grooves 18a that extend substantially in a lateral direction and that are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction.
  • FIGS. 13 to 16 schematically illustrate examples where an upper area 10A and a lower area 10B constituting an elastic body 10 of the sole assembly of the present invention are applied to an actual shoe.
  • the elastic body 10 of the first embodiment is adopted in each shoe.
  • like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
  • a segment DE indicates the position and direction of the elastic body 10 and a side view of the elastic body as viewed from the arrow direction relative to the segment DE is also shown.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates a running shoe in which the upper area 10A and the lower area 10B cross a thenar eminence of a wearer's foot in a longitudinal direction.
  • a load is applied from the thenar eminence of the foot to the sole assembly and the front side portion 10A f of the upper area 10A deforms downwardly, the rear side portion 10B r of the lower area 10B deforms upwardly and the rear side portion of the sole forefoot portion is lifted upwardly.
  • a sole assembly can be achieved that is suitable for a running shoe in which repetitive loads act onto the thenar eminence of a foot.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates a cleated shoe in which the upper area 10A and the lower area 10B cross a thenar eminence of a wearer's foot in a longitudinal direction and 4 pieces of cleats 25 are provided at a sole forefoot portion.
  • the rear side portion of the sole forefoot portion is lifted upwardly at the time of the load transfer, a smooth load transfer can be achieved between the longitudinally adjacent cleats.
  • FIG. 15 illustrates a golf shoe in which the upper area 10A and the lower area 10B cross a first proximal phalanx of a wearer's foot in a lateral direction.
  • the lower area 10B deforms so as to promote the motion of the first toe toward the medial side.
  • load transfer toward a sole edge portion is conducted smoothly, and a sole assembly can be achieved that is suitable for a golf shoe in which the motion of the first toe of the foot toward the medial side is required at the time of impacting a golf ball.
  • FIG. 16 illustrates a tennis shoe or basketball shoe in which the upper area 10A and the lower area 10B cross a fifth proximal phalanx of a wearer's foot in a lateral direction.
  • the lower area 10B deforms so as to restrain the motion of the fifth toe toward the lateral side.
  • a stop wall can be formed on the lateral side of the sole body that restrains downward deformation toward the lateral side relative to the sideways motion such as sidestepping.
  • a sole assembly can thus be achieved that is suitable for a tennis shoe or basketball shoe.
  • a sole assembly for a shoe according to the invention comprises an elastic member extending from a rearfoot portion to a forefoot portion.
  • the elastic member has a cavity therein defined between two longitudinally extending curved surfaces of the elastic member.
  • the rigidity of the elastic member and/or the shape/reinforcement of the cavity are adapted so that the forefoot portion bends when downward pressure is applied thereto during activity. There may be two stages to the bending process, the second stage of which resists bending to a greater extent than the first stage.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Epidemiology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)
EP04253346A 2003-06-05 2004-06-04 Sole structure for a shoe Withdrawn EP1483981A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

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JP2003160828 2003-06-05
JP2003160828 2003-06-05
JP2004160777A JP2005013718A (ja) 2003-06-05 2004-05-31 シューズのソール構造体
JP2004160777 2004-05-31

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WO2006070549A1 (ja) * 2004-12-27 2006-07-06 Mizuno Corporation シューズのソール構造体
EP1832192A1 (en) * 2004-12-27 2007-09-12 Mizuno Corporation Sole structure body for shoe
JPWO2006070549A1 (ja) * 2004-12-27 2008-06-12 美津濃株式会社 シューズのソール構造体
EP1832192A4 (en) * 2004-12-27 2008-12-24 Mizuno Kk BODY FOR STRUCTURE OF SOLE FOR SHOE
EP2491807A2 (de) 2011-02-24 2012-08-29 GABOR Shoes Aktiengesellschaft Sohlenkörper für einen Shuh sowie zugehöriger Schuh mit Sohlenkörper
DE102011012244A1 (de) * 2011-02-24 2012-08-30 Gabor Shoes AG Sohlenkörper für einen Schuh sowie zugehöriger Schuh mit Sohlenkörper
EP2491807A3 (de) * 2011-02-24 2014-04-23 GABOR Shoes Aktiengesellschaft Sohlenkörper für einen Shuh sowie zugehöriger Schuh mit Sohlenkörper
CN102396838A (zh) * 2011-11-03 2012-04-04 茂泰(福建)鞋材有限公司 功能鞋头尾tpu减震鞋底
CN102396838B (zh) * 2011-11-03 2014-08-20 茂泰(福建)鞋材有限公司 功能鞋头尾tpu减震鞋底
US10448701B2 (en) 2015-09-18 2019-10-22 Nike, Inc. Footwear sole structure with nonlinear bending stiffness
US10226097B2 (en) 2015-09-18 2019-03-12 Nike, Inc. Footwear sole structure with nonlinear bending stiffness
WO2017048934A1 (en) * 2015-09-18 2017-03-23 Nike Innovate C.V. Footwear sole structure with nonlinear bending stiffness
US10524536B2 (en) 2015-09-18 2020-01-07 Nike, Inc. Footwear sole assembly with insert plate and nonlinear bending stiffness
US10986893B2 (en) 2015-09-18 2021-04-27 Nike, Inc. Footwear sole structure with compression grooves and nonlinear bending stiffness
US10182612B2 (en) 2015-11-05 2019-01-22 Nike, Inc. Sole structure for an article of footwear having a nonlinear bending stiffness with compression grooves and descending ribs
US10485294B2 (en) 2016-05-31 2019-11-26 Nike, Inc. Sole structure for article of footwear having a nonlinear bending stiffness
US10485295B2 (en) 2016-05-31 2019-11-26 Nike, Inc. Sole structure for an article of footwear with longitudinal tension member and non-linear bending stiffness
US10517350B2 (en) 2016-06-14 2019-12-31 Nike, Inc. Sole structure for an article of footwear having longitudinal extending bridge portions with an interwoven stiffness controlling device
US10653205B2 (en) 2016-07-28 2020-05-19 Nike, Inc. Sole structure for an article of footwear having a nonlinear bending stiffness
US11337487B2 (en) 2016-08-11 2022-05-24 Nike, Inc. Sole structure for an article of footwear having a nonlinear bending stiffness
US10660400B2 (en) 2016-08-25 2020-05-26 Nike, Inc. Sole structure for an article of footwear having grooves and a flex control insert with ribs
US11974630B2 (en) 2021-01-20 2024-05-07 Puma SE Article of footwear having a sole plate
USD1010297S1 (en) 2021-06-30 2024-01-09 Puma SE Shoe
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USD1022421S1 (en) 2021-06-30 2024-04-16 Puma SE Shoe
USD1023531S1 (en) 2021-06-30 2024-04-23 Puma SE Shoe

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