Other

Nike, Inc.

Harvard College

Beth Israel Hospital

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.

Converse Inc.

Thomas A McMahon

Gordon A Valiant

Wilson C Hayes

Stephen N Robinovitch

Peter R Greene

Bruce J Kilgore

John C Tawney

John A Healy

A shoe having a resilient sole, an upper secured to the sole, and a rockable member within a cavity in the sole. The rockable member is configured for side-to-side rocking in the sole cavity between a neutral position and a tilted position as the wearer's foot is moved relative to the sole between a neutral position and a tilted position.

Midsole construction having a rockable member

A tug-resistant unit in which the first and second relatively inextensible members overlap one another. A shear-thickening composition having dilatant flow characteristics is disposed between the first and the second inextensible members. The composition provides a variable resistance to linear movement of the second inextensible member relative to the first inextensible member as a function of the shear forces exerted upon the dilatant fluid. The inextensible members may be enclosed within an extensible enclosure to form an elastic strap. Alternatively, one inextensible member may form a portion of the enclosure while the second inextensible member is disposed within the strap so as to overlap the first inextensible portion of the enclosure. The strap provides low resistance to slowly-varying tensile forces and high resistance to rapidly-changing tensile forces, thereby moderating the velocity of relative motion between the ends.

Tug-resistant link

A garment, in one embodiment of the invention, reduces the risk of bone fracture of a human or animal subject due to impact forces on a vulnerable region having a bone part near the skin surface when the vulnerable region is proximate to a soft tissue region lacking a bone part near the skin surface. The garment has an arrangement for shunting a substantial portion of the impact energy from the vulnerable region to the soft tissue region, where such energy may be safely absorbed and/or dissipated. In a further embodiment, there is utilized a dilatent material that is relatively stiff near the time of impact and relatively fluid at other times. Related methods are also provided.

Bone fracture prevention garment and method

Bone fracture prevention method

The invention is directed to a midsole for a shoe including one or more foam columns disposed between an upper and a lower plate. One or more elastomeric foam elements are disposed between the upper and lower plates. The foam elements are made of a material such as microcellular polyurethane-elastomer based on a polyester-alcohol and naphthalene-diisocyanate (NDI). In one embodiment, the foam, elements have the shape of hollow cylindrical columns, and may include grooves formed on the exterior surface. One or more elastic rings are disposed about the columns and are removably disposable in the grooves, allowing the stiffness of the columns to be adjusted. In a further embodiment, inflatable gas bladders are disposed in the hollow regions. The heights of the gas bladders may be less than the heights of the columns such that when the midsole is compressed, the wearer experiences a first stiffness corresponding to compression of the columns alone, and a second stiffness corresponding to compression of both the columns and the bladders. Alternatively, the bladders may be inflated so as to cause the columns to be stretched, even when no load is applied. Since the level of inflation of the bladders may be adjusted, the overall stiffness of the midsole may be tuned to the individual requirements of the wearer.

Shoe with an improved midsole

The invention is directed to a midsole for a shoe including one or more foam columns disposed between an upper and a lower plate. One or more elastomeric foam elements are disposed between the upper and lower plates. The foam elements are made of a material such as microcellular polyurethane-elastomer based on a polyester-alcohol and naphthalene-disocyanate (NDI). In one embodiment, the foam elements have the shape of hollow cylindrical columns, and may include grooves formed on the exterior surface. One or more elastic rings are disposed about the columns and are removably disposable in the grooves, allowing the stiffness of the columns to be adjusted. In a further embodiment, inflatable gas bladders are disposed in the hollow regions. The heights of the gas bladders may be less than the heights of the columns such that when the midsole is compressed, the wearer experiences a first stiffness corresponding to compression of the columns alone, and a second stiffness corresponding to compression of both the columns and the bladders. Alternatively, the bladders may be inflated so as to cause the columns to be stretched, even when no load is applied. Since the level of inflation of the bladders may be adjusted, the overall stiffness of the midsole may be tuned to the individual requirements of the wearer.

There is disclosed an athletic shoe having grooves in a ground engaging surface of a sole formed concentrically about a pivot point in the ball portion and having traction projections in the form of bristles or columns embedded in the bottom of the grooves. Free ends of the traction projections protrude from the ground engaging surface whereby forces on the free ends of the traction projections perpendicular to the grooves, as when a player is accelerating, causes the projections to bend against the side walls of the grooves which thus support the projections against further bending with the free ends of the projections protruding from the outsole to provide traction. Forces on the free ends of the projections tangentially to the grooves, as when a player pivots, cause the projections to bend into or lay down in the grooves and thus offer little or no traction. The ground engaging surface of the sole is formed of a material having a low coefficient of friction so that the sole can move or pivot relatively freely once the projections have bent into the grooves.

Athletic shoe with bendable traction projections

A biochemically tuned shoe has a heel construction that provides a force-deflection response which is optimal for a particular person and a particular use. The heel construction features a main spring that is characterized by a large vertical compliance while at the same time exhibiting an extremely high resistance to a lateral shear (horizontal compliance). The main spring is preferably a coned disk spring formed of a plastic material or a vertical stack of operatively coupled coned disk springs. The main spring can be embedded in a conventionally shaped heel formed of a resilient material such as an open or closed cell foamed rubber or plastic secured to the sole of the shoe. In other forms, the heel construction is replaceably secured to the sole by a threaded stud with or without an intermediate assembly. In a preferred form, the main spring acts in cooperation with a resilient member to extend the characteristic load deflection curve of the main spring. The resilient member can be the foamed rubber or plastic heel material that embeds the main spring or a column of a highly resilient material such as a soft rubber located at the center of the coned disk main spring. The heel construction of this invention provides a vertical compliance, expressed as its inverse, a spring constant, of 3,000 to 25,000 lbf/ft. In terms of deflection, when used in an adult running shoe, the heel exhibits a maximum deflection of 1/8 inch to 5/8 inch at the peak applied load, typically 400 to 500 pounds of force (lbf).

Biomechanically tuned shoe construction

A closely spaced array of modules forms an athletic playing surface characterized by a high degree of vertical compliance, an extreme resistance to lateral shear, and a high degree of uniformity of response. Each module has a laminated construction that includes a pair of stiffly resilient plates in a generally parallel, spaced relationship. One or more spacer plates and a plurality of resilient members are 'sandwiched' between the plates. The lower plate is supported on a frame that allows it to flex in response to an applied force, typically the impact of a runner's foot on the upper plate. The spacer plate is configured, positioned, and secured to the upper and lower plates to mechanically couple them in a manner that, to a large degree, compensates for a non-uniformity of the deflection response of the module introduced by the frame support. The resilient members are selected and positioned to provide a substantially uniform deflection response at the upper plate. In the preferred form, the module has a set of hold-down bolts that extend between the upper and lower plates at points remote from the spacer plate or plates. The bolts limit the maximum vertical spacing between the plates and provide a convenient adjustment of both the vertical compliance of the module and the level of the upper plate. Also, the edges of adjacent upper plates preferably carry a set of control tabs, each secured to one plate and extending under the adjacent plate, to control the maximum vertical displacement between the adjacent edges.

Modular athletic playing surface with tuned compliance

An extended athletic playing surface that increases running speed of an athlete performing on the surface and reduces the likelihood of injury to the athlete has a multi-layer construction. The athlete's foot impacts on an upper surface of a sheet material that has a low mass per unit area and is stiffly resilient. The upper surface is supported on either discrete 'bumper pads' of a resilient material, or preferably a combination of horizontal, spaced apart supports and bumper pads. The composite structure rests on a conventional surface such as a concrete base. The composite surface is characterized by a low effective vertical mass and a composite vertical compliance that is extremely large in comparison to any comparable known athletic surface. The surface also has a high effective horizontal mass and a low horizontal compliance. In the preferred form, this composite surface is also characterized by a mechanical response that is substantially independent of the point of the impact on the surface, independent of the area of the foot contact, and independent of the presence of other athletes on the surface.

Growing community of inventors

Wellesley, MA, United States of America

Thomas A McMahon