A sole structure for an article of footwear includes an upper layer comprised of a plate member and a lower layer comprised of a plurality of segmented portions separated by flexing regions. The flexing regions may comprise portions of a compressible material. The sole structure accommodates vertical bending and torsion, while limiting lateral bending.

An ankle foot orthopaedic apparatus (10) includes a sole (66), a control part (18), and a connection arrangement (16) for connecting the sole (66) to the control part (18) for controlling or guiding the orientation of the sole (66) in use. The sole (66) includes a sole connector part (20), which comprises part of the connection arrangement (16). The control part (18) includes a control part connector part (22), which comprises part of the connection arrangement (16). The connection arrangement (16) permits movement of the apparatus (10) between a connected condition, in which the sole (66) is connected to the control part (18), and a disconnected condition, in which the sole (66) is disconnected from the control part (18).

A sole structure for an article of footwear may include a carrier and a frame. The frame may include walls that define cells. The carrier may cover the frame. The frame may be joined to and located on a top side of the carrier.

Articles of footwear include one or more expandable lugs (e.g., inflatable lugs) to hold at least some footwear component parts together. The expandable lug(s) may be included as part of an impact force-attenuating component (e.g., a fluid-filled bladder) for the article of footwear. The expandable lug(s) extend into receptacle(s) provided in a foot support component in an unexpanded (e.g., deflated or low-pressure) condition. Once within the receptacle(s), the expandable lug(s) are changed to an expanded (e.g., inflated or high-pressure) condition. The expanded lug(s) engage bearing surfaces provided inside the receptacle(s) to prevent the lugs from pulling out of the receptacles. The use of such expandable lugs for securing footwear component parts together may enable easy assembly of footwear components without use of adhesives and/or separate hardware components, which can enhance the recyclability, sustainability, and environmental friendliness of articles of footwear and their production methods.

An article of footwear has a molded outsole which contains a resilient midsole located in the cavity of the outsole and a footbed cover which has a stretch material layer affixed to the outsole and provides a stretch zone. The stretch zone allows the footbed cover to work in conjunction with the resilient midsole to absorb shock upon heel strike or other compression of the midsole to increase comfort. Preferably, the midsole has sections of different hardness in the heel area and the forefoot area.

A footbed for a modular shoe system, a modular shoe system, and an interlocking fastener system for a footbed or for a modular shoe system, are provided. The interlocking fastener system includes a plurality of interlocking elements on a footbed configured to interlock with a plurality of complementary interlocking elements on a shoe base to releasably secure the footbed to the shoe base.

A kit for forming a foot orthotic, the kit comprising: two or more mid-foot components, each having a support region that is arched to respective extents such that each mid-foot component provides respectively different levels of arch support; and one or more rear-foot components configured to provide heel support, wherein the or each rear-foot component is removably attachable to each of the mid-foot components to form respective orthotics providing differing levels of arch and/or heel support.

Shock absorbers, shock absorbing structures, shoe soles and shoes are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the shoe includes a shoe sole and a show upper. The shoe sole has a first end surface, a second end surface and a circumferential surface. The first end surface has an outer shape of an N-sided polygon. The second end has an outer shape of an M-sided polygon. The circumferential surface includes a plurality of connection surfaces connecting peripheral edges of the first end surface and the second end surface. The plurality of connecting surfaces are defined by a plurality of ridgelines including a first ridgeline extending from a first N vertex to an intermediate vertex, a second ridgeline extending from a first M vertex to the intermediate vertex, and a third ridge line extending from a second N vertex to a second M vertex.

Footwear includes upper, midsole, and exterior sole components. One side of the upper component includes a first plurality of openings. This first plurality of openings includes two openings separated by a strip of upper component material. The midsole component is received in the upper component and includes a plurality of protrusions extending through the openings of the upper component. The strip of upper component material covers a first portion of the midsole component located in a recess between the first and second protrusions. The exterior sole component is engaged with the midsole component and includes a second plurality of openings. The plurality of protrusions extend through corresponding openings of this second plurality of openings. A strip of exterior sole component material located between two of the second plurality of openings at least partially covers the strip of upper component material.

A footbed for a modular shoe system, a modular shoe system, and an interlocking fastener system for a footbed or for a modular shoe system, are provided. The interlocking fastener system includes a plurality of interlocking elements on a footbed configured to interlock with a plurality of complementary interlocking elements on a shoe base to releasably secure the footbed to the shoe base.