Claims
- 1. A shoe comprising:
a shoe sole defining a vacuity; a spring disposed within the vacuity; and a fluid passageway in fluid communication with the vacuity, the passageway configured to allow evacuation of fluid from the vacuity upon a reduction in volume of the vacuity.
- 2. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the vacuity is disposed within the heel region of the shoe sole.
- 3. The shoe of claim 2, further comprising a pair of vertically opposed plates, disposed on upper and lower ends of the vacuity, wherein the spring is mounted within the vacuity between the opposed plates.
- 4. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the shoe sole further defines a second vacuity, and the fluid passageway connects the two vacuities.
- 5. The shoe of claim 4, further comprising a second spring disposed within the second vacuity.
- 6. The shoe of claim 5, wherein the first vacuity is disposed within the heel region of the shoe sole, and the second vacuity is disposed within the ball region of the shoe sole.
- 7. The shoe of claim 6, wherein the spring and the second spring are both crest-to-crest multi-turn wave springs.
- 8. The shoe of claim 4, wherein the first vacuity, the second vacuity, and the passageway are hermetically sealed from the exterior of the shoe.
- 9. The shoe of claim 8, wherein the hermetically sealed vacuities and passageway contain ambient air at atmospheric pressure.
- 10. The shoe of claim 8, wherein the hermetically sealed vacuities and passageway contain a gas at less than atmospheric pressure.
- 11. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the spring is a multi-turn wave spring.
- 12. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the shoe sole comprises an inner sole, a mid-sole, and an outer sole, wherein the mid-sole defines the vacuity.
- 13. The shoe of claim 12, wherein the mid-sole is formed entirely from a compressible foamed polymeric material.
- 14. The shoe of claim 12, wherein the mid-sole comprises a foamed polymeric material and a flexible plastic material, the flexible plastic material defining at least a portion of a wall of the vacuity.
- 15. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the fluid passageway comprises a channel that connects the vacuity to the exterior of the shoe, allowing evacuation of fluid to the exterior of the shoe upon reduction in volume of the vacuity.
- 16. A shoe comprising:
a shoe sole including an outer sole, an inner sole, and a mid-sole disposed above the outer sole and below the inner sole, the middle sole defining a first vacuity in the heel region of the mid-sole, and a second vacuity in the ball region of the mid-sole; a first spring disposed within the first vacuity, and a second spring disposed within the second vacuity; and a fluid channel connecting the first vacuity to the second vacuity, the fluid channel allowing movement of fluid between the first and second vacuities.
- 17. The shoe of claim 16, wherein the first and second springs are multi-turn wave springs.
- 18. A shoe sole assembly comprising:
a compressible material defining a vacuity; a spring disposed within the vacuity; and a fluid passageway in fluid communication with the vacuity, the passageway configured to allow evacuation of fluid from the vacuity upon compression of the vacuity.
- 19. A shoe sole assembly comprising:
a sole member defining a vacuity; a spring disposed within the vacuity; and means for allowing evacuation of fluid from the vacuity upon compression of the vacuity.
- 20. The shoe sole assembly of claim 19, further comprising means for receiving the fluid evacuated from the vacuity upon compression of the vacuity.
- 21. A method of manufacturing a spring-cushioned shoe sole assembly, the method comprising:
forming at least a portion of the sole assembly from a compressible material, the portion defining a vacuity; disposing a spring within the vacuity; and forming a fluid passageway in fluid communication with the vacuity, the passageway allowing fluid to escape from the vacuity upon compression of the vacuity.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the portion further defines a second vacuity, the fluid passageway connects the two vacuities, and the method further comprises hermetically sealing the portion to entrap fluid within the two vacuities and the fluid passageway.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119, this application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 60/241,547, filed Oct. 19, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60241547 |
Oct 2000 |
US |