Mizuno Corporation

Yasunori Kaneko

Kenjiro Kita

Takaya Kimura

Makoto Tsuchiya

Seiichi Goto

Junko Harada

Shinichi Saito

Natsuki Sato

Tomohiro Ota

Takao Oda

Kazuhiko Suzuki

Isao Nakano

A system for assisting shoe selection can select and present a shoe type that fits a customer by estimating the anatomical characteristics of a foot from the state of the foot. The system includes the following: a measured data input portion for measuring and inputting data that show the state of a foot of a person to be measured; a normalization processing portion for normalizing the data input from the measured data input portion and storing the normalized data at least temporarily; a shoe catalog database for storing information of a plurality of types of shoes; and a selection portion for estimating the anatomical characteristics of the foot of the person based on the normalized data, referring to the shoe catalog database based on the anatomical characteristics, and selecting and presenting a shoe type that fits the person.

System and method for assisting shoe selection

The present invention relates to a tightening system for footwear, especially in athletic shoe, and is directed to improve the fittability, supportability and stability of the shoe. The athletic shoe of the present invention includes a supporting portion (Fs) for supporting the lateral side of a foot of a shoe wearer, a first fastening element of a loop shape that surrounds the periphery of the calcaneus (f ) of the foot, and a second fastening element of a loop shape that is provided integrally with the supporting portion (Fs). The supporting portion(Fs) extends from the position in the vicinity of the head of the metatarsus on the lateral side of the foot over the rear portion of the calcaneus of the foot to the medial side. The first fastening element, which is integrated with the terminus (Fs&prime;) of the supporting portion (Fs), extends upwardly to the position corresponding to the navicular (f ) on the medial side, and passes over the instep above the navicular (f ), and returns to the lateral side of the foot and to the calcaneus lateral side of the supporting portion (Fs). The second fastening element extends from the medial side to the lateral side on the rear side of the base position of the proximal phalanx (f ) of the foot. The first and second fastening elements include medial side, lateral fastening elements (F &prime;), (F &prime;) that are provided on the lateral side, and joining parts that join the medial fastening elements to the corresponding lateral fastening elements.

Wrap closure and fit system of footwear

A midsole assembly for an athletic shoe comprising a midsole and a corrugated sheet. The midsole is formed of soft elastic material. The corrugated sheet is disposed in at least a heel portion of the midsole. Either or both amplitude and wavelength of wave configuration of said corrugated sheet are made different either or both between a front end portion and back end portion, and between an medial portion and lateral portion of said heel portion.

Athletic shoe midsole design and construction

A midsole assembly for an athletic shoe includes a midsole formed of soft elastic material, and a corrugated sheet disposed in at least a heel portion of the midsole. The amplitude of the wave configuration of the corrugated sheet is larger at the medial and lateral sides of the heel portion and smaller at the central portion between the medial and lateral sides. Alternatively, the wave phase of the corrugated sheet is offset by one half of a wave pitch between the medial and lateral sides.

A sole of a baseball spiked shoe has a toe portion projection, a first metatarsal head projection, a stepping portion projection, and a fifth metatarsal head projection provided at a fore foot portion at the bottom plane of the shoe sole, and a heel medial projection, a heel anterior projection, a heel posterior projection, and a heel lateral projection provided at the heel portion. Each projection is provided at an appropriate angle with respect to the longitudinal line of the foot.

Apparatus and method for measuring shearing stress distribution on the sole of a spiked shoe

Sole of baseball spiked shoe and method of measuring shearing stress distribution of baseball spiked shoe

By analyzing the force which acts during actual running from a bio mechanical perspective and determining the most preferable positions of spikes on the shoe sole, spikes can be arrayed only in necessary positions and not in unnecessary positions so as to further lessen weight and also provide rigidity to the region wherein spike placement is voided, so as to deal with unwanted flexion of the shoe sole. A shoe sole for spiked track-and-field athletic shoes has spikes located only in positions corresponding to the heads of the metatarsals and in positions corresponding to the distal phalanxes. The shoe sole regions between the spikes arrayed in positions corresponding to the heads of the metatarsals and in positions corresponding to the distal phalanxes are provided with an appropriate rigidity.

Soles for track-and-field athletic shoes

Sole

The present invention relates to the shoe soles of running shoes, particularly to running shoes used in sports in which bursts of speed are required, e.g., the 100-meter footrace or the approach run for the long jump. The object of the invention is to prevent the heel from touching ground during running and thereby prevent a decrease in running efficiency. A shoe sole for running shoes, therefore, has a forefoot portion which is thickly formed so as to allow for fixing of spikes. Behind the forefoot portion, a reinforcing member is provided to fill the region between the ground contact plane which is the same as the forefoot portion and the bottom surface of the last. A lateral rib and a medial rib are provided to the arch region. The lateral rib possesses a gradually inclined plane, the range thereof beginning from the rear edge portion of the reinforcing member provided to the ball region and extending to the front edge portion of the heel region. The medial rib possesses a gradually inclined plane, the range thereof beginning from the rear edge portion of the reinforcing member provided to the ball region and extending to the front edge portion of the heel region.

Shoe sole for running shoes

Shoe sole

A sole for spiked track-and-field shoes has a wrap-up portion which extends via a coupling portion from a leading tip of a toe region of the sole proper. Multiple skid-preventing protrusions are fixed onto the toe region of the sole proper, the coupling portion, and the wrap-up portion in a perpendicular manner to the toe region of an underneath part of the sole, a surface of the coupling portion, and a surface of the wrap-up portion, respectively. The skid-preventing protrusions are formed higher than a line which connects the first row of the tips of the spike pins and the tips of the toe portion but lower than the spike pins.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yasunori Kaneko