ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR

Abstract

An article of footwear comprising: an upper having an outer surface, a foot insertion volume and a sole facing surface; and a sole assembly comprising: a midsole having a foot facing surface, a ground facing surface, a heel region, forefoot region and an arch region between the heel region and the forefoot region in a longitudinal direction, a medial reinforcement member positioned at a medial side of the midsole and/or a lateral reinforcement member positioned at a lateral side of the midsole, where the medial and/or the lateral reinforcement member is/are configured to increase the rigidity of the midsole in a longitudinal direction in the arch region.

Claims

1. An article of footwear, comprising: an upper having an outer surface, a foot insertion volume, and a sole facing surface; and a sole assembly comprising: a midsole having a foot facing surface, a ground facing surface, a heel region, a forefoot region, and an arch region, the arch region being positioned between the heel region and the forefoot region in a longitudinal direction, and a medial reinforcement member positioned at a medial side of the midsole or a lateral reinforcement member positioned at a lateral side of the midsole, where the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member is configured to increase the rigidity of the midsole in a longitudinal direction in the arch region.

2. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the sole assembly comprises an outsole, the outsole having a ground facing surface and a midsole facing surface.

3. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the midsole comprises a stiffness reducing portion in a region between the forefoot region and a forefoot facing part of the medial reinforcement member or a forefoot facing part of the lateral reinforcement member.

4. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the midsole comprises a stiffness reducing portion in a region between the heel region of the midsole and a forefoot facing part of the medial reinforcement member or a heel facing part of the lateral reinforcement member.

5. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the midsole has a first material hardness and the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member have a second material hardness, where the first material hardness is different than the second material hardness.

6. An article of footwear according to claim 4, where the first material hardness is lower than the second material hardness.

7. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member have a longitudinal length that is between 10-% and 70-% of the longitudinal length of the outsole assembly.

8. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member have a forefoot facing end which is positioned in a region which is between 20 and 40% of the longitudinal length of the outsole assembly from the toe end of the outsole assembly.

9. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member have a heel facing end which is positioned in a region which is between 10% and 50% of the longitudinal length of the outsole assembly from the heel end of the outsole assembly.

10. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member has a first wall that extends in a vertical direction and a second wall that extends in a lateral direction.

11. An article of footwear according to claim 9, wherein the first wall is connected to the second wall.

12. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member defines the lateral outer surface of the sole assembly.

13. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member comprises a peripheral member that extends from the outer lateral surface of the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member and inwards in a medial direction.

14. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the medial support element or the lateral support element have a first material hardness and the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member have a second material hardness, where the first material hardness is different than the second material hardness.

15. A sole assembly comprising: a midsole having a foot facing surface, a ground facing surface, a heel region, a forefoot region, and an arch region between the heel region and the forefoot region in a longitudinal direction, and a medial reinforcement member positioned at a medial side of the midsole or a lateral reinforcement member positioned at a lateral side of the midsole, where the medial reinforcement member or the lateral reinforcement member is configured to increase the rigidity of the midsole in a longitudinal direction in the arch region.

16. An article of footwear, comprising: an upper having an outer surface, a foot insertion volume, and a sole facing surface; and a sole assembly comprising: a midsole having a foot facing surface, a ground facing surface, a heel region, a forefoot region, and an arch region, the arch region being positioned between the heel region and the forefoot region in a longitudinal direction, and a medial reinforcement member positioned at a medial side of the midsole and a lateral reinforcement member positioned at a lateral side of the midsole, where one or more of the medial reinforcement member and the lateral reinforcement member is configured to increase the rigidity of the midsole in a longitudinal direction in the arch region.

17. An article of footwear according to claim 16, wherein the midsole comprises a stiffness reducing portion in a region between the forefoot region and a forefoot facing part of the medial reinforcement member and a forefoot facing part of the lateral reinforcement member.

18. An article of footwear according to claim 16, wherein one or more of the medial reinforcement member and the lateral reinforcement member have a heel facing end which is positioned in a region which is between 10% and 50% of the longitudinal length of the outsole assembly from the heel end of the outsole assembly.

19. An article of footwear according to claim 16, wherein one or more of the medial reinforcement member and the lateral reinforcement member have a longitudinal length that is between 20% and 60% of the longitudinal length of the outsole assembly.

20. An article of footwear according to claim 16, wherein the medial reinforcement member and the lateral reinforcement member define the lateral outer surface of the sole assembly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] The following is an explanation of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which

[0064] FIG. 1 shows a side view of an exemplary article of footwear,

[0065] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of an arch region of an exemplary article of footwear taken along the line II-II,

[0066] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of an arch region of an exemplary article of footwear taken along the line II-II,

[0067] FIG. 4 shows a perspective exploded view of an exemplary sole assembly,

[0068] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an inner side of a part of an exemplary sole assembly,

[0069] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a part of an outer side of an exemplary article of footwear, and

[0070] FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of an arch region of an exemplary article of footwear.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] FIG. 1 shows a side view of an exemplary article of footwear 2, where the article of footwear comprises an upper 4 and a sole assembly 6. The article of footwear may be seen as having a forefoot region 8, a heel region 10 and an arch region 12, where the forefoot region may be seen as a region to accommodate the forefoot of the user, the heel region 10 as the region to accommodate a heel of a user and where the arch region 12 may be seen as a region which accommodates the arch as well as the instep of the user during use. The regions 8, 10, 12 may be seen as separate parts of the article of footwear, in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis A of the article of footwear, where each region may be seen as having a specific purpose, where the forefoot region 8 may be seen as a flexible area of the footwear, allowing the sole assembly 6 to flex with the foot of the user. The heel region 10 may be seen as the part which provides the initial shock absorption during gait, while the arch region 12 may be seen as a part of the article of footwear 2 which provides the user with support, both to the arch region of the foot, as well as the instep during use.

[0072] The upper 4 comprises a heel end 20, a foot insertion opening 14, an instep portion 16, a toe end 18, where the upper 4 may be permanently connected to the sole assembly 6 from the toe end 18 towards the heel end 20 at a ground facing surface (not shown) of the upper 4.

[0073] The sole assembly 6 comprises a heel region 22, an arch region 24 and a forefoot region 26, where the arch region 24 is positioned between the heel region 22 and the forefoot region 26 in a direction along the longitudinal axis A. The sole assembly may comprise a midsole 28 which may provide shock absorption as well as an outsole 30 which may provide a ground contacting surface 32. In this exemplary embodiment, the heel region 22 of the sole assembly 6 comprises a heel cap 34, which may provide support to the heel of the user during use, where the heel cap 34 may be unitary with the midsole 28 and may be made of the same material as the midsole 28. The forefoot region 26 may comprise a peripheral part 36, which abuts and is bonded to the outer surface 38 of the upper 4.

[0074] The arch region 24 of the sole assembly 6 may comprise a medial support member 40, where the medial support member 40 extends from a ground facing surface 42 of the midsole 28 and upwards along the outer surface 38 of the upper and extends a predefined distance along the surface 38 of the upper 4 in a direction towards the instep portion 16 of the upper 4. The support member 40 may be limited to the arch region of the article of footwear, i.e. where the support member 40 does not extend towards the last 25% of the length of the sole assembly in a longitudinal direction, and/or does not extend into the forward 25% of the length of the sole assembly in a longitudinal direction. Thus, the support member may be outside the heel region 22 and/or the forefoot region 26.

[0075] The support member 40 may have a heel end 44 and a toe end 46, as well as a distal end 48, where the support member 40 may have a larger height at the heel end 44 than the toe end 46, where the support member 40 may optionally gradually decrease in height from the heel end 44 towards the toe end 46.

[0076] The support member 40 may comprise a support element 50 (not shown) and a reinforcement member 52, where the support element is part of the midsole 28 of the sole assembly, while the reinforcement member 52 may be a separate element that may be bonded to the support element, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0077] The sole assembly 6 may comprise a first flex zone 54, which extends between the forefoot region 26 and the arch region 24, and/or a second flex zone 56 which extends between the heel region 22 and the arch region 24. The first flex zone 54 may be adapted to provide an area of increased or decreased flex between the arch region 24 and the forefoot region 26. The second flex zone 56 may be adapted to provide an area of increased or decreased flex between the arch region 24 and the heel region 22. Thus, in an example, the second flex zone may be adapted to provide decreased flex between the heel region 22 and the arch region 24, which may mean that the arch region 24 and the heel region may have a somewhat uniform flexibility along its length. In one example, the first flex zone 54 may have decreased flexibility, allowing the forefoot region 26 to flex somewhat independently from the arch region 24, i.e. where the forefoot may be capable of flexing or bending at a lower force than e.g. the arch region.

[0078] The support element shown in the Figs. may be of any kind or size, and may be an integrated part of the midsole, and within the scope of the invention, the support element may also be considered as an outer part of the midsole.

[0079] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the article of footwear 2 taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1. The upper 4 extends from the foot facing surface 58 of the midsole 28, and defines a part of the foot insertion volume 60 of the article of footwear 2. The midsole 28 has a medial side 62 and a lateral side 64, as well as a central area 66.

[0080] The sole assembly 6 may comprise a medial support member 68 (similar to the support member 40 in FIG. 1), where the medial support member comprises a support element 70 which is a unitary part of the medial side 62 of the midsole 28, and extends in an upwards direction from the foot facing surface 58 and terminates in a distal end 72. The support element 70 may be bonded to the outer surface 38 of the upper, providing support to the medial side 74 of the upper 4, and thereby provide support to the foot when it is inside the foot insertion volume 60. The medial support member 68 may further comprise a reinforcement member 76, where the reinforcement member 76 abuts the outer surface 78 of the support element 70, and is bonded to the midsole 28 as well as the support element 70 of the sole assembly 6. The reinforcement member 76 may have an inner surface 80 that is connected to the support element 70 along its vertical length, as well as along its longitudinal length (along longitudinal axis A). The reinforcement member 76 may have a distal part 82, which is at an angle from a body part 84 of the reinforcement member, and terminates in a distal periphery 86 which may abut the outer surface 38 of the upper 4. The reinforcement member 76 may be attached to the midsole 28 via the support element 70, where during manufacturing the support element 70 via direct injection moulding, the support element fills out volume between the reinforcement member 76 and the upper 4, and upon curing attaches the reinforcement member to the upper 4.

[0081] The sole assembly 6 may comprise a lateral support member 68′ (similar to the support member 40 in FIG. 1), where the lateral support member comprises a support element 70′ which is a unitary part of the lateral side 62′ of the midsole 28, and extends in an upwards direction from the foot facing surface 58 and terminates in a distal end 72′. The support element 70′ may be bonded to the outer surface 38 of the upper, providing support to the lateral side 74′ of the upper 4, and thereby provide support to the foot when it is inside the foot insertion volume 60. The lateral support member 68′ may further comprise a reinforcement member 76′, where the reinforcement member 76′ abuts the outer surface 78 of the support element 70′, and is bonded to the midsole 28 as well as the support element 70′ of the sole assembly 6. The reinforcement member 76′ may have an inner surface 80′ that is connected to the support element 70′ along its vertical length, as well as along its longitudinal length (along longitudinal axis A). The reinforcement member 76′ may have a distal part 82′, which is at an angle from a body part 84′ of the reinforcement member, and terminates in a distal periphery 86′ which may abut the outer surface 38 of the upper 4. The reinforcement member 76′ may be attached to the midsole 28 via the support element 70′, where during manufacturing the support element 70′ via direct injection moulding, the support element fills out volume between the reinforcement member 76′ and the upper 4, and upon curing attaches the reinforcement member to the upper 4.

[0082] The support member 68 may be adapted to provide increase rigidity in a lateral direction, and may be adapted to provide support to the side of the foot of the user during use.

[0083] FIG. 3 shows a similar article of footwear 2 to that shown in FIG. 2, with the exception that the midsole 38 defines the ground contacting surface. The description related to FIG. 2 may be applied similarly in FIG. 3.

[0084] FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of a sole assembly 90 in accordance with the present disclosure, where the sole assembly 90 comprises a midsole 92, which extends from a toe end 94 to a heel end 96 along a longitudinal axis A of the sole assembly. The midsole 92 comprises a medial support element 98 and a lateral support element 100 which are positioned at the peripheral boundary of the arch area 102 of the sole assembly 90. The midsole 92 may be direct injection moulded to an upper (not shown) inside a shoe mold assembly, where the midsole is defined by an empty volume, to which an expanding material may fill up and when the material is cured the midsole will take the shape of the empty volume of the mould. The support element 98 and 100 may comprise a heel end 104, a distal end 106 and a toe end 108, as well as a medial surface 110, where the shape of the support element may be defined by an inner surface 112 of a medial reinforcement member 114 and a lateral reinforcement member 116, respectively. The reinforcement members 112, 114 may be prefabricated, and inserted into a predefined part of a shoe mold, so that the reinforcement members 112, 114 define the shape of the support elements 98, 100, respectively, where the toe end, distal end and heel end are defined by corresponding inner surfaces on the reinforcement members.

[0085] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary part of a side periphery 118 of a sole assembly 6 in accordance with the present disclosure, where the side periphery 118 comprises a heel region 120, an arch region 122 and a forefoot region 124. The side periphery 118 may be unitary or integral with the midsole of the sole assembly 6, where the inner surface 126 is configured to bond to an upper (not shown) of an article of footwear. The upper edge 128 of the heel region 120 and the upper edge 130 of the forefoot region may be defined by the shape of a shoe injection mould (not shown) which is clamped to an upper which has been mounted on a last. However, as may be seen, the sole assembly 6 comprises a reinforcement member 132, which has an inner edge 134, where the inner edge 134 is adapted to be in contact with the lasted upper, and where the inner edge and a volume defined by the reinforcement member defines the outer shape of a support element 136, where the support element 136 attaches the reinforcement member 132 to the upper. The reinforcement member 132 may have a higher stiffness than the support element, which means that the arch region 122 of the sole assembly 6 is stiffer than the forefoot region 124 and the heel region 120.

[0086] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a part of an outer side of an exemplary article of footwear 2, having an upper 4 and a sole assembly 6. The reference numbers used in FIG. 6 are the same as shown in FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, and the elements shown in FIG. 1 or 2 may also be seen in FIG. 6 even though they are not explicitly named in the following. The sole assembly 6 comprises a heel region 22, an arch region 24 and a forefoot region 26, where the arch region 24 is positioned between the heel region 22 and the forefoot region 26 in a direction along the longitudinal axis A. The sole assembly 6 comprises a support member 40 in the arch region 24, where the support member 40 comprises a reinforcement member 52 and a support element 70 (which cannot be seen) as the reinforcement member 52 covers the entire support element, so that the support element cannot be seen from the outside, but is positioned between the inner surface of the reinforcement member and the outer surface 38 of the upper 4. The reinforcement member 52 may extend from an upper surface 40 of the outsole 30 towards its distal end 82.

[0087] FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of an arch region of an exemplary article of footwear 100, where the upper 102 extends from the foot facing surface 104 of the midsole 106 and defines a part of the foot insertion volume 108 of the article of footwear 100.

[0088] The sole assembly 110 may comprise a medial reinforcement member 112 and a lateral reinforcement member 114, which has an inner surface 116 which may be bonded to the outer medial and/or lateral surface 118 of the midsole 106. The reinforcement members 112 and 114 may comprise a first wall 120 and a second wall 122, where the first wall 120 provides an increased rigidity in a horizontal direction, while the second wall 122 provides an increased rigidity in a vertical direction. The two walls may be connected to each other via a connecting part 124, which allows the rigidity of one wall to be translated to the second wall, creating a reinforcement member 112, 114 that has rigidity in at least two directions. This may also be seen in FIG. 6.

[0089] The second wall 122 shown in FIG. 6 may further comprise an upper wall 126 and a lower wall 128, which may be angled with respect to each other via a middle part 130, so that the second wall may provide reinforcement in two directions that are not parallel to each other, where both directions are different from the direction of the first wall 120.

[0090] The use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not imply any particular order, but are included to identify individual elements. Moreover, the use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Note that the words “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used here and elsewhere for labelling purposes only and are not intended to denote any specific spatial or temporal ordering.

[0091] Furthermore, the labelling of a first element does not imply the presence of a second element and vice versa.

[0092] It is to be noted that the word “comprising” does not necessarily exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed.

[0093] It is to be noted that the words “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

[0094] It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the exemplary embodiments may be implemented at least in part by means of both hardware and software, and that several “means”, “units” or “devices” may be represented by the same item of hardware.

[0095] Although features have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed invention, and it will be made obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The claimed invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.