The midsole structure for an athletic shoe includes a midsole body made of foamed resin, and a sheet composite extending at least from the ball of the foot portion to the toe portion in the midsole body and comprising a plurality of foamed rubber sheets that are overlapped and shifted in the longitudinal direction. The sheet composite comprises a single sheet at the toe portion and a plurality of sheets at the ball of the foot portion.

An article of footwear includes an upper member and a sole structure, with a sensor system connected to the sole structure. The sensor system includes a plurality of sensors that are configured for detecting forces exerted by a user's foot on the sensor. The sensor system also includes a port that is configured to receive a module to place the module in communication with the sensors. The port includes a housing with a chamber configured to receive the module and an interface engaged with the housing and having at least one electrical contact exposed to the chamber. Additional retaining structure and interface structure may be included.

In some examples, a sole layer for a footwear includes a housing structure, a cell in the housing structure, a solid support inside the cell to maintain a shape of the cell, and an inlet to the cell to receive an injected material to dissolve the solid support.

An article of apparel, such as a sock or a shoe, is disclosed as having a foot-supporting area for extending adjacent to a plantar surface of a foot. The foot-supporting area has various zones of differing thickness that attenuate forces upon the plantar surface to different degrees. The apparel may be manufactured through a process that includes utilizing a force mapping device to obtain data relating to forces upon the plantar surface of the foot. The sock is then formed to have zones of different thickness located to correspond with the areas of the plantar surface subjected to different magnitudes of forces.

A damping sole includes support zones with a main surface that have a relative stiffness or hardness lower than that of the other zones, the support zones being positioned under the load-bearing protuberances of the foot. The support zones are delimited by oblique lateral faces that are inclined towards the lower main surface of the sole at an inclination angle (A) and are disposed such that, at rest, they come to bear obliquely against the peripheral surface of the dermal part of the corresponding load-bearing protuberance of the foot. In this way, a compromise is reached between the need for impact damping and the need for foot stability in a shoe, while ensuring satisfactory comfort.

The invention relates to an insole structure with decompression. It comprises an insole main body, and a guiding thin pad portion and a rear thin pad portion disposed on the insole main body, wherein the guiding thin pad portion provides capacity for an area given from metatarsophalangeal joints connected with a first phalanx and a first metatarsal till a fifth phalanx and a fifth metatarsal of the anterior sole, and the rear thin pad portion provides capacity for the calcaneus and have the first metatarsophalangeal joint stay at the lowest place while stepping.

A comfort system for Cowboy and work boots, including an insole chassis, an insole chassis backing board, and cushioning pads for absorbing and attenuating shocks encountered by a wearer of the boots. Cushioning pads are secured to a surface of the insole chassis backing board, and apertures in the insole chassis allow the cushions to pass through. Additional cushioning pads are retained in recesses in the midsole. Pads on insole chassis backing board and midsole are vertically aligned. A steel toe inset is utilized in conjunction with the comfort system for work boots. A rim may depend below the midsole to receive a foamed plastic pad.

A foot alignment adjuster for placement in a pointe shoe includes an adjustment pad having a top surface and a bottom surface and configured to fit in a dance shoe under a dancer's forefoot. The adjustment pad has a front edge shaped to be placed at a front of the dance shoe, a back edge, a first side, and a second side. The front edge defines a first front corner with the first side and a second front corner with the second side and the back edge defines a first back corner with the first side and a second back corner with the second side. A thickness of the adjustment pad may increase from the first side to the second side; and a thickness of the adjustment pad may change from the back edge to the front edge.

Provided is a device for insertion into a heeled shoe, having a rear region positioned to underlying a wearer's calcaneal tuberosity, the rear region being shaped to accommodate a planer surface of the wearer's calcaneal tuberosity, an upper surface of said rear region having a raised portion underlying an area of the wearer's calcaneus immediately forward of the wearer's calcaneus tuberosity; and a forward region positioned to underlie at least a portion of the shafts of the wearer's metatarsals, the second upper surface of said forward region having a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex position to underlie the shafts of the wearer's second and third metatarsals.

A convertible shoe may include a sole and a plurality of interchangeable heel portions, each selectively attachable to the sole. The heel portions may each include a mounting surface configured to interface with a heel receiver of the sole. The heel receiver may include a fixed hook and a movable hook, with the movable hook being operable by an actuator coupled to a bottom surface of the sole. In some examples, an upper is secured to the sole of the shoe by one or more clamping plates. In some examples, the sole of the shoe is configured to be biased into a default bend corresponding to a high-heeled state even when a low heel is attached to the heel receiver.