Articles of footwear having lines of flexion

Abstract

The invention herein is directed toward footwear containing a central flex zone comprised of a novel combination of a central flex channel with a central flex element that imparts either bidirectional or multi-directional flexion to the shoe, according to various embodiments, thereby allowing more natural flexibility and allowing all surface contacting members to independently engage and disengage from the contact surface of the user as the wearer's weight shifts. The flex zones also naturally adapt to the amount of stress put on the sole from ground elements, such as rocks or branches that the sole encounters during wear and to adjust to different terrain due thereby being particularly useful in applications such as construction boots and athletic footwear.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear having a forefoot region, a midfoot region, a heel region, a lateral region, a medial region, an upper structure and a sole structure, the sole structure comprising:
 a midsole positioned along the longitudinal length of the downward-facing surface of the upper structure and connected thereto; and   a shock absorbing cushion integrally connected to the downward-facing surface of the midsole; and   an outsole integrally connected to the downward-facing surface of the shock absorbing cushion, said outsole comprising at least one flex channel in the form of an aperture in the outsole; and   wherein the shock absorbing cushion extends downward and protrudes through and along said flex channel of the outsole forming a corresponding flex element.   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the flex channel is oriented in a longitudinal direction of the footwear from the forefoot region to the heel region. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the flex channel extends substantially centrally in the longitudinally direction of the footwear. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the flex channel is oriented in a substantially lateral direction of the footwear from the medial region to the lateral region of the footwear. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the footwear comprises a plurality of flex channels in the outsole with corresponding flex elements. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 3 , wherein the medial region and the lateral region are partially connected to one another. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 6 , wherein medial region and the lateral region are connected to one another at the heel or at the toe or both. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the outsole extends partially upward from the sole structure to the upper structure to form the welt of the footwear. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the shock absorbing cushion varies along the forefoot region, the midfoot region, the heel region, the medial region and/or the lateral region. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the width of the flex element is approximately equal to the width of the flex channel. 
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the flex element is approximately equal to the thickness of the flex channel. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the shock absorbing cushion is from about 4 to about 15 mm. 
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the flex element is from about 8 to about 10 mm. 
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the shock absorbing cushion comprises polyurethane or ethylvinylacetate. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the outsole further comprises traction lugs.