A shoe including a sole having specific characteristics, namely a width, a length, a thickness and a front/rear profile, where the sole is made with materials having a certain type of deformation and lateral reinforcements emerging from the sole and surrounding the upper that are suitable for significantly increasing both performance, such as speed and reduced fatigue, and user comfort, such as reduced impact on knees, back, leg muscles, of the shoe, which are particularly suited for use when jogging or walking on uneven outdoor surfaces, as well as for jogging or walking on roads. Furthermore, the characteristics of the sole, such as the spike surface and deformation when contacting the ground, improve safety for a user by providing enhanced grip on sloping terrain as well as on snow-covered or wet terrain.

A sole structure may include chambers and a transfer channel containing an electrorheological fluid. Electrodes may be positioned to create, in response to a voltage across the electrodes, an electrical field in at least a portion of the electrorheological fluid in the transfer channel. The sole structure may further include a controller including a processor and memory. At least one of the processor and memory may store instructions executable by the processor to perform operations that include maintaining the voltage across the electrodes at one or more flow-inhibiting levels at which flow of the electrorheological fluid the through the transfer channel is blocked, and that further include maintaining the voltage across the electrodes at one or more flow-enabling levels permitting flow of the electrorheological fluid through the transfer channel.

A dual-layered midsole for footwear includes an internal midsole layer and an external midsole layer, which are coupled to and separated by a Strobel board. The internal midsole layer may compress and expand with the movement of a wearer of an article of footwear including the dual-layered midsole, while the external midsole may provide stability and cushion for the wearer. Materials selected for the internal and external midsole layers may provide tuned viscoelastic properties to different areas of the midsole as a function of midsole layer thickness at each sole area.

A sole for sports shoes is provided including a base or tread component, a top or midsole component and a least one intermediate or elastic cushioning component. Advantageously, the sole if able to provide high cushioning, elastic yield and stability thanks to the mechanical or structural characteristics of the sole.

A shoe with an integrally attached pivoting heel. The pivoting heel would rock back and forth between a pivot position and a flat position as a wearer of the shoe walks. The pivoting heel can have an upper plate connected to a lower plate via a rod, wherein the upper plate can rotate about the rod relative to the lower plate (or vice-versa). The pivoting heel can provide the wearer with more stability while the user walks and can help prevent slipping and falling.

An apparatus includes a heel section, a mid-foot section, and a toe section. The heel section, the mid-foot section, and the toe section collectively have a geometric shape having a first slope of a polarity along an inner edge of the apparatus from the toe section to the heel section and a second slope of the polarity along the inner edge of the apparatus to an outer edge of the apparatus at the toe section.

A sole structure for an article of footwear having an upper includes an outsole, a plate disposed between the outsole and the upper, and a first cushioning layer. The plate includes an anterior-most point disposed in a forefoot region of the sole structure, a posterior-most point disposed closer to a heel region of the sole structure than the anterior-most point, and a concave portion extending between the anterior-most point and the posterior-most point. The concave portion includes a constant radius of curvature from the anterior-most point to a metarsophalangeal (MTP) point of the sole structure. The MTP point opposes the MTP joint of a foot during use. The first cushioning layer is disposed between the concave portion and the upper.

A plate for an article of footwear includes a substrate, a first strand portion attached to the substrate via first stitching, and a second strand portion disposed on the first layer. The first strand portion includes first segments that each extend between two different locations along the substrate to form a first layer on the substrate. The second strand portion includes second segments that each extend between two different locations along the substrate to form a second layer on the first layer.

A motorized personal transportation article is described which transports a person by wearing a pair of power-assisted motorized shoes, wherein the shoes provide an increase in a user's walking speed in a forward walking action through supplementary motion of moving or propelling means based on an intended walking speed of the user, such that when a user's intended walking speed changes or when a user intends to substantially decelerate or immobilize, the speed of the supplementary motion can be adjusted before the step is completed. The sole of each of the shoes houses at least one plate coupled to moving or propelling means such as conveyor assemblies, and the moving or propelling means are designed to neutralize forces acting to disrupt the operation of the moving or propelling means during a forward walking action or the balance and comfort of the user.

An article of footwear having a tapered heel in part defining an impact point associated with a padded impact zone which first strikes a surface upon a foot plant and a plate embedded within a sole of the article such that the plate supports the heel of the sole from flexing or collapsing, the impact point positioned anterior a pivot point of the wearer's ankle. In one aspect the plate avoids positioning at a lateral midfoot area of the sole to allow for impact zone padding and promotes avoiding or reducing heel strike forces when walking or running.