A boot including a bow-shaped structure is disclosed to prevent water entry from the mouth of the boot. The boot generally includes a sole, an upper portion attached to the sole, a foot portion, a leg portion, and a bow-shaped structure on the front and sides of the leg portion. The edge of the bow-shaped structure tapers up towards the front of the leg portion. The bow part of the bow-shaped structure preferably project outwards 1.75 inches from the surface of the leg portion. While walking in deep water, the bow-shaped structure breaks the upward movement of the water and pushes it back down. The bow-shaped structure is molded onto the boot during the manufacturing of the boot. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a bow-shaped structure that can be attached to leg portion of a boot is provided.

An outer sole for a footwear including a base extending from a heel portion, through a midfoot portion, to a ball portion of the footwear, a plurality of cleats disposed on the base throughout the heel, midfoot, and ball portions of the footwear, and a plurality of interconnecting portions extending from each of the cleats and extending across a portion of the base, at least one of the interconnecting portions being connected to an adjacent cleat, where the cleats and the interconnecting portions include soft curves configured to avoid debris from accumulating on the sole.

A footwear comprises a sock, an insert that can be inserted inside the sock and attached to an inner surface of the sock, and a sole that can be attached to an outer surface of the sock. The insert has substantially a shape of a foot of a wearer and the sole has substantially the same shape as the shape of the insert. Both the insert and the sole can be attached to a foot portion of the sock via an adhesive, stitching, or both. The sock can be of different lengths to cover the wearer's ankles, calves, or thighs.

Swim footwear having integral flippers and sound generators includes a first shoe comprising a sole that is pliable. A compartment is positioned in an interior space defined by the sole. An orifice, positioned in the sole, is fluidically connected to the compartment. A noisemaker is coupled to the sole within the orifice, such that air passing from the compartment through the noisemaker generates a sound. A shell that is coupled to the sole has an entry proximate to a back end of the sole. The shell and the sole define a cavity that is complimentary to the foot of the user. The entry is configured for insertion of the user's foot. A flipper extends from a front end of the sole. The flipper is in substantial parallelism with the sole. The footwear comprises a second shoe that mirrors the first shoe.

An athletic performance shoe with an open toe and an open heal for improved ventilation and comfort. The body of the shoe should be of suitable flexible material, such as the “Flyknit” fabric used by Nike, Inc. The shoe should include standard laces for enclosing the user's foot in the shoe as the laces suitably secure the shoe about the foot. The interior of the shoe should include soft, malleable padding which forms to the user's foot such that users with wide feet, narrow feet, or other factors will be comfortable in the shoe and the shoe will form around their foot without slipping or uncomfortably compressing the foot. A preferred embodiment would have a thin, highly-flexible sole. The open toe and heel being the primary features of the shoe.

In one embodiment, a particular state of a body is sensed. In response to the sensing, at least one action is taken to modulate a projected adverse interaction between the body or a portion thereof and at least one object in the environment of the body.

An apparatus, methods and computer program product, and system are described that enable a first subset of actuatable cushioning elements for a first time period, enable a second subset of actuatable cushioning elements for a second time period, determine an event, and actuate, based on a time the event is determined, at least one of the first and the second subsets of actuatable cushioning elements to provide cushioning support for an object. Other example embodiments are also provided relating to actuatable cushioning elements.

An apparatus, methods and computer program product, and system are described that enable a first subset of actuatable cushioning elements for a first time period, enable a second subset of actuatable cushioning elements for a second time period, determine an event, and actuate, based on a time the event is determined, at least one of the first and the second subsets of actuatable cushioning elements to provide cushioning support for an object. Other example embodiments are also provided relating to actuatable cushioning elements.

An apparatus, method, computer program product, and/or system are described that determine an event, actuate a cushioning element in response to the determining the event, the cushioning element including one or more tension-bearing members, and dissipate at least some of an energy associated with a collision based on deforming at least one of the tension-bearing members during the collision, the deforming including substantially inelastically stretching the at least one of the tension-bearing members. Other example embodiments are also provided relating to actuatable cushioning elements.

An apparatus, method, computer program product, and/or system are described that determine an event, actuate a cushioning element in response to the determining the event, the cushioning element including one or more tension-bearing members, and dissipate at least some of an energy associated with a collision based on deforming at least one of the tension-bearing members during the collision, the deforming including substantially inelastically stretching the at least one of the tension-bearing members. Other example embodiments are also provided relating to actuatable cushioning elements.

An apparatus, method, computer program product, and/or system are described that determine an event, actuate a cushioning element in response to the determining

A footwear, including an outsole including an anterior portion and a posterior portion wherein at least one of the anterior portion and the posterior portion are configured to receive at least one protuberance, the outsole including a visible outsole map including at least one of an anterior portion outsole map and a posterior portion outsole map, each including different outsole coordinate systems, and at least one protuberance movably mountable on the outsole and configured to contact the ground and including at least one visible protuberance coordinate system corresponding to the outsole map, wherein each of the reference points on the outsole map represents a unique protuberance alignment setting in respect to the outsole map.

New articles of outerwear with measuring indicia enable both the wearer and others to make instrument-free measurements. The outer surface of the outerwear has measuring indicia in one or more location, and can measure angles in degrees and lengths in metric units or American Standard units. Every article has at least two or more measuring indicia, such as protractors, metric rulers, American Standard rulers, rulers in the shape of a bar chart, T-shaped rulers, X-shaped rulers, and bands of fixed lengths. Every article of outerwear also has a system of making instrument-free measurements of angles and lengths by making use of two or more measuring indicia positioned in different parts of the outerwear. Each indicia can operate independently or in combination with other indicia to measure greater lengths. This is achieved by moving parts of the body such that some of the indicia become aligned with one another.

A method for manufacturing a combined sole/insole part for a shoe, which comprises a sole element and an insole element that is formed integrally therewith, said method comprising the following steps of: providing insole element data which describe the geometric/constructive design of an insole element of a sole/insole part to be manufactured, wherein the insole element data were generated on the basis of foot data which describe, at least in portions, optionally fully, the morphology of at least one foot of a wearer; and providing sole element data which describe the geometric/constructive design of a sole element of a sole/insole part to be manufactured, additively manufacturing a combined sole/insole part on the basis of the insole element data and the sole element data.

A method of making an article of footwear with an upper including a ribbon structure is disclosed. The method includes laying down ribbon elements in straight and winding sections. The method includes stitching or otherwise attaching the ribbon elements to a backing layer. The method also includes embroidering a periphery of the ribbon structure to tack down any raised portions of the ribbon at the periphery. The method also includes inserting a lace through loops in the ribbon structure.