Converse Inc.

Nike, Inc.

John L Baier

Christopher J Edington

Bruce J Kilgore

Eric S Swartz

Eric P Avar

James C Meschter

Alexandre Baudouin

Jeffrey C Pisciotta

Tina M Casillas

A shoe construction employs a midsole molded of flexible, resilient material around a rigid plate, where the midsole and encapsulated plate are insertable into a separately constructed outsole and shoe upper.

Simplified shoe construction with midsole having overmolded insert

Interior members for foot-receiving devices, such as bootie elements for articles of footwear, include a material element at least partially defining a foot-receiving chamber. This material element may include, in some examples, a heel-surrounding portion, a lateral side portion, a medial side portion, and a seamless plantar portion in a continuous, one-piece arrangement. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the material element may include a heel-surrounding portion, a lateral side portion, a medial side portion, a plantar surface, and a double layer of the material element at least along an Achilles area portion. Additional aspects relate to material blanks for forming such interior members as well as to foot-receiving devices, such as athletic footwear, including such interior members.

Interior and upper members for articles of footwear and other foot-receiving devices

Support structures for foot-receiving devices (such as midsole and/or outsole structures for articles of footwear) include one or more of the following: (a) a base member (e.g., including an impact-attenuating material); (b) a generally U-shaped moderator element engaged with the base member; (c) an edge element extending from a surface of the base member for engaging a lateral side of a foot in use; (d) an outsole member including a herringbone or zig-zag tread structure on both surfaces; and/or (e) an outsole member including a perimeter element for engaging a lateral side of a foot and/or the edge element of the base member. Such support structures may be incorporated into various foot-receiving device products, such as athletic footwear for basketball, etc.

Foot-supporting structures for articles of footwear and other foot-receiving devices

Growing community of inventors

Hampton Falls, NH, United States of America

John L Baier