A shoe may comprise an upper and a comfort sole attached to an outsole, the comfort sole having a radius of curvature at any point of a line from a heel to a toe and interfacing with outsole, wherein the lowest point of comfort sole and outsole, called the center of mass or balance point of the sole or natural balance point of the shoe, when placed on a substantially horizontal reference plane defines a transition zone of the roll of the foot having the highest radius of the comfort sole and the outsole, and in that the center of mass is behind point (B) of the metatarsals; and a rigid shell interposed between the upper and the comfort sole.

A midsole includes an upper layer and a lower layer made of a foamed material; the upper layer is a low-hardness foamed material; the lower layer is a high-hardness foamed material; the low-hardness foamed material of the upper layer is a low-hardness, high-resilience material that has a higher specific gravity than the high-hardness foamed material, that has a low hardness that is lower than the hardness of the high-hardness foamed material, and that has a higher speed at which to recover to an original shape after being deformed than that of the high-hardness foamed material.

A method of forming a composite article includes constructing a preform having a strand layer including an interior portion and a peripheral portion surrounding the interior portion. The strand layer includes a plurality of strand segments traversing the interior portion and defining a first strand segment population density and a second strand segment population density. The preform is inserted into the mold cavity so that the interior portion of the preform is received in a molding region of the mold cavity. The molding region has a first thickness corresponding to the first strand segment population density and a second thickness corresponding to the second strand segment population density. Following the inserting, the mold is closed and the interior portion of the preform is compressed within the molding region. In the closed mold, the peripheral portion of the strand layer may be maintained in a loose state within the relief region.

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes a midsole having a medial edge and a lateral edge. The sole structure also include a first lower rib extending from the medial edge to the lateral edge of the midsole. The first lower rib includes a portion spaced from the midsole between the medial edge and the lateral edge. The sole structure further includes a medial flex member disposed between the midsole and the first lower rib near the medial edge and a lateral flex member disposed between the midsole and the first lower rib near the lateral edge. The medial flex member and the lateral flex member are configured to flex the first lower rib relative to the midsole in response to a force of a predetermined magnitude.

A shoe structure includes an upper assembly, having an upper and an insole, a bottom, joined in a lower region to the upper assembly and including a sole and a midsole, the sole having a tread. The sole includes one or more tabs monolithic therewith, directed toward the midsole.

The invention provides a shoe (1) with a sole providing a dynamic foot arch support, the shoe comprising a rubber outsole (9) and an upper (10), the shoe further comprises a midsole (2), the midsole comprising a harder elastic material (4), a softer elastic material (5), wherein the harder elastic material has elastic hardness in a range 1.3 to 3 times higher than the softer elastic material. The shoe is distinguished in that the harder elastic material is arranged in a band (3) inside the periphery of the midsole, wherein the softer elastic material (5) is arranged in the midsole inside the band of the harder elastic material, and the shoe further comprises: a support structure (8) arranged below the softer elastic material in direction medial to lateral and positioned from vertically below to 4 cm in front of the naviculare bone center of a typical user with feet fitting the shoe size, wherein the support structure has higher elastic hardness than the harder elastic material, with a larger vertical dimension medial compared to lateral as seen with the shoe standing on a horizontal surface, providing increased support under the medial side of the foot arch compared to the lateral side of the foot arch.

Footwear used for high performance activities such as running can be adhesively attached to the plantar surface of feet rather than uppers or straps. The upper surface of the protective layer of the footwear can have adhesive regions that secure the foot to the footwear and other regions that are not adhesively coupled to the foot. The adhesive regions can be under the heel, along the lateral side of the foot, under the first through fifth metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints and around the perimeter of the foot above the plantar surface.

Footwear used for high performance activities such as running can be adhesively attached to the plantar surface of feet rather than uppers or straps. The upper surface of the protective layer of the footwear can have adhesive regions that secure the foot to the footwear and other regions that are not adhesively coupled to the foot. The adhesive regions can be under the heel, along the lateral side of the foot, under the first through fifth metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints and around the perimeter of the foot above the plantar surface.

A sole structure for an article of footwear having a heel region, a mid-foot region, a forefoot region, an interior region, and a peripheral region. The sole structure including a bladder having a chamber including an arcuate segment extending around the heel region, a first segment extending along the peripheral region on a medial side of the sole structure from the arcuate segment to a first terminal end in the forefoot region, and a second segment spaced apart from the first segment across a width of the sole structure and extending along the peripheral region on a lateral side of the sole structure from the arcuate segment to a second terminal end in the forefoot region. A peripheral outsole extends along the chamber and a first cushion is disposed between the first segment and the second segment and is exposed through an opening of the peripheral outsole.

A sole structure for an article of footwear having a heel region, a mid-foot region, a forefoot region, an interior region, and a peripheral region. The sole structure including a bladder having a chamber including an arcuate segment extending around the heel region, a first segment extending along the peripheral region on a medial side of the sole structure from the arcuate segment to a first terminal end in the forefoot region, and a second segment spaced apart from the first segment across a width of the sole structure and extending along the peripheral region on a lateral side of the sole structure from the arcuate segment to a second terminal end in the forefoot region. A peripheral outsole extends along the chamber and a first cushion is disposed between the first segment and the second segment and is exposed through an opening of the peripheral outsole.