Article of footwear including a heel stabilizing element

Abstract

An article of footwear with a heel region including a posterior end of the article of footwear, a mid-foot region, and a forefoot region including an anterior end of the article of footwear; a lateral side, and a medial side opposite the lateral side; an upper; and a sole structure coupled to the upper. The sole structure has a midsole with a first cushioning element extending from the posterior end to the anterior end; a second cushioning element extending from the mid-foot region to the posterior end, the second cushioning element being formed of a different material than the first cushioning element; and a shell with a plurality of circumferentially-spaced apart protrusions, wherein each of the plurality of protrusions is directly coupled to the second cushioning element.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear comprising:
 a heel region including a posterior end of the article of footwear, a mid-foot region, and a forefoot region including an anterior end of the article of footwear;   a lateral side, and a medial side opposite the lateral side;   an upper;   a sole structure, the sole structure coupled to the upper, and wherein the sole structure further comprises;
 a midsole including:
 a first cushioning element extending from the posterior end to the anterior end; 
 a second cushioning element extending from the mid-foot region to the posterior end, the second cushioning element being formed of a different material than the first cushioning element; and 
 a shell, wherein the shell includes a plurality of circumferentially-spaced apart protrusions, wherein each of the plurality of protrusions is directly coupled to the second cushioning element. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the article of footwear further includes a heel counter disposed adjacent to the first cushioning element in the heel region. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the shell and the one or more protrusions include a cavity. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 3 , wherein the heel counter includes one or more protrusions, each protrusion of the heel counter being disposed on the shell. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 4 , wherein the one or more protrusions of the heel counter extend radially outward from a first surface of the heel counter. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , wherein the heel counter does not directly contact the second cushioning element. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the shell does not directly contact the second cushioning element between circumferentially adjacent protrusions. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more protrusions of the shell have a downward taper in an anterior direction. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more protrusions includes a first protrusion, a second protrusion, a third protrusion, a fourth protrusion, and a fifth protrusion. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 9 , wherein circumferentially adjacent protrusions of the shell are spaced apart by a circumferentially-extending gap. 
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the shell further includes an anterior lateral end and an anterior medial end, the anterior lateral end coupled to first cushioning element, and the anterior medial end coupled to the first cushioning element. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the second cushioning element is a pressurized airbag. 
     
     
         13 . A sole structure for an article of footwear comprising:
 a first cushioning element disposed at a posterior end of the article of footwear, the first cushioning element including a first surface;   a shell directly coupled to the first surface of the first cushioning element, the shell including a body and a plurality of circumferentially-spaced apart protrusions forming a first concave surface; and   a heel counter coupled to the shell, the heel counter including a body and a plurality of protrusions forming a second concave surface, wherein the first concave surface of the shell is aligned with the second concave surface of the heel counter.   
     
     
         14 . The sole structure of  claim 13 , wherein the first cushioning element is a fluid-filled bladder. 
     
     
         15 . The sole structure of  claim 14 , wherein the heel counter is disposed within the hollow interior of the shell. 
     
     
         16 . The sole structure of  claim 15 , wherein the shell includes a first protrusion, a second protrusion, a third protrusion, a fourth protrusion, and a fifth protrusion. 
     
     
         17 . The sole structure of  claim 16 , wherein the first protrusion is symmetrical about a central longitudinal axis of the shell with the fifth protrusion, and wherein the second protrusion is symmetrical about a central longitudinal axis of the shell with the fourth protrusion. 
     
     
         18 . The sole structure of  claim 16 , wherein the third protrusion is disposed between the second protrusion and the fourth protrusion. 
     
     
         19 . An article of footwear including the sole structure of  claim 13 .