Article of footwear having a sole plate

Abstract

An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure includes an outsole having a ground-engaging surface at a bottom end of the sole structure, a midsole member disposed between the outsole and the upper, and a sole plate disposed between the midsole member and the upper. The midsole member has a top that is attached to the upper. A first side of the sole plate is configured to face the outsole and a second side of the sole plate is opposite the first side. A portion of the first side of the sole plate is visible from an exterior of the article of footwear through a cutout portion defined by the midsole member. A longitudinal channel extends from a heel end in a heel region toward a midfoot region, and the outsole includes multiple outsole portions that are spaced apart from one another.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure, the sole structure comprising:
 an outsole having a ground-engaging surface at a bottom end of the sole structure;   a midsole member disposed between the outsole and the upper, wherein the midsole member has a top that is attached to the upper; and   a sole plate disposed between the midsole member and the upper,   wherein a first side of the sole plate is configured to face the outsole and a second side of the sole plate is opposite the first side,   wherein a portion of the first side of the sole plate is visible from an exterior of the article of footwear through a cutout portion defined by the midsole member,   wherein a longitudinal channel extends from a heel end in a heel region toward a midfoot region, and   wherein the outsole includes multiple outsole portions that are spaced apart from one another, such that the ground-engaging surface is not continuous between the multiple outsole portions.   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the midsole member includes a pocket that extends from the heel region to a forefoot region, and wherein the sole plate is positioned within the pocket, the sole plate being recessed in the midsole member and shaped so that a peripheral envelope of the pocket bounds an outer periphery of the sole plate. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the sole plate includes a plurality of reliefs. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of reliefs are disposed in the forefoot region. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein an outer periphery of the sole plate curves laterally to conform to a curvature of the midsole member in the midfoot and heel regions, and the outer periphery extends inward to a decreased width in a forefoot region. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the sole plate is visible from the exterior of the article of footwear through the cutout portion in the midfoot region and the heel region. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the sole plate extends through the midfoot region and spans across an entirety of the cutout portion. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the sole structure is shaped to define an entry angle in the heel region and an exit angle in a forefoot region with respect to a flat ground surface, and wherein the entry angle is greater than the exit angle. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the sole plate includes a plurality of notches in the forefoot region. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the midsole member includes a first midsole member that is made of a first material and a second midsole member that is made of a second material that is different from the first material. 
     
     
         11 . An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure, the sole structure comprising:
 an outsole having a ground-engaging surface at a bottom end of the sole structure, wherein the ground-engaging surface is not continuous between multiple outsole portions across a heel region and a forefoot region of the sole structure;   a midsole member disposed between the outsole and the upper, wherein the midsole member has a top that is attached to the upper and a pocket extending from the heel region to the forefoot region; and   a sole plate disposed between the midsole member and the upper,   wherein a first side of the sole plate is configured to face the outsole and a second side of the sole plate is opposite the first side,   wherein the sole plate includes a relief that has a medial end and a lateral end,   wherein a longitudinal axis bisects a heel end and a toe end of the sole structure, the longitudinal axis intersecting the relief between the medial end and the lateral end, and   wherein an outer periphery of the sole plate curves laterally to conform to a curvature of the midsole member in a midfoot region and the heel region, and the outer periphery extends inward to a decreased width in the forefoot region.   
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the medial end of the relief is disposed between the outer periphery of the sole plate adjacent a medial side and the longitudinal axis, and the lateral end of the relief is disposed between the outer periphery of the sole plate adjacent a lateral side and the longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the relief includes a plurality of reliefs. 
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the medial end of the relief is disposed closer to the toe end than is the lateral end of the relief. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the relief includes a plurality of cutouts disposed in the forefoot region. 
     
     
         16 . The article of footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the pocket extends from the heel region to the forefoot region, the sole plate being disposed in the pocket and shaped so that the sole plate is recessed in the midsole member and a peripheral envelope of the pocket bounds an outer periphery of the sole plate, and
 wherein a portion of the first side of the sole plate is exposed and visible from an exterior of the article of footwear through a cutout portion formed within the midsole member.   
     
     
         17 . The article of footwear of  claim 16 , wherein the sole plate extends through the midfoot region and spans across an entirety of the cutout portion. 
     
     
         18 . The article of footwear of  claim 16 , wherein the midsole member defines a longitudinal channel extending from the heel end in the heel region toward the midfoot region. 
     
     
         19 . An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure, the sole structure comprising:
 an outsole having a ground-engaging surface at a bottom end of the sole structure;   a midsole member disposed between the outsole and the upper, wherein the midsole member has a top that is attached to the upper and a pocket extending from a heel region to a forefoot region; and   a sole plate disposed between the midsole member and the upper,   wherein a first side of the sole plate is configured to face the outsole and a second side of the sole plate is opposite the first side,   wherein the second side of the sole plate is configured to face a bottom of the upper,   wherein the top of the midsole member contacts the upper,   wherein an outer periphery of the sole plate has a shape that is similar to but proportionally smaller than the midsole member in a midfoot region and the heel region, and the outer periphery extends inward to a decreased width in the forefoot region, and   wherein the sole plate includes a medial side notch and a lateral side notch along the outer periphery in the forefoot region, such that the decreased width is defined laterally between opposing edges of the outer periphery at the medial side notch and the lateral side notch.   
     
     
         20 . The article of footwear of  claim 19 , wherein the sole plate varies in stiffness along a length of the sole plate, such that a stiffness in the forefoot region is different from a stiffness in the midfoot region. 
     
     
         21 . The article of footwear of  claim 20 , wherein the stiffness in the forefoot region is lower than the stiffness in the midfoot region to allow the sole plate in the forefoot region to be more flexible than in the midfoot region. 
     
     
         22 . The article of footwear of  claim 19 , wherein the outer periphery of the sole plate curves laterally to conform to a curvature of the midsole member in the midfoot region and the heel region. 
     
     
         23 . The article of footwear of  claim 22 , wherein the sole plate is recessed in the midsole member, and wherein the upper is attached to the top of the midsole member in areas adjacent to the outer periphery of the sole plate. 
     
     
         24 . The article of footwear of  claim 23 , wherein the midsole member defines a cutout portion and the sole plate is visible from an exterior of the article of footwear through the cutout portion in the midfoot region and the heel region. 
     
     
         25 . The article of footwear of  claim 24 , wherein midsole member includes a first midsole member that is coupled to the outsole and a second midsole member that is positioned between the first midsole member and the upper. 
     
     
         26 . The article of footwear of  claim 19 , wherein the ground-engaging surface of the outsole is opposite an insole of the sole structure. 
     
     
         27 . The article of footwear of  claim 26 , wherein the ground-engaging surface is not continuous between multiple outsole portions. 
     
     
         28 . The article of footwear of  claim 26 , wherein, in the heel region, the sole structure is shaped to define an entry region that is configured to increase contact at a ground-engaging surface of the sole structure during a heel strike, and the outsole is configured to extend into the entry region. 
     
     
         29 . An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure, the sole structure comprising:
 an outsole having a ground-engaging surface, the outsole including a first outsole portion in a forefoot region and a second outsole portion in a heel region;   a midsole member disposed between the outsole and the upper, the midsole member having a pocket extending from the heel region to the forefoot region; and   a sole plate extending from the heel region, through a midfoot region, and into the forefoot region, the sole plate being disposed between the midsole member and the upper, and the sole plate having a first side that is configured to face the outsole and a second side that is configured to face the upper,   wherein, in the heel region, the sole structure is shaped to define an entry region that is configured to increase contact at the ground-engaging surface of the sole structure during a heel strike, and the second outsole portion is configured to extend into the entry region,   the entry region curving upward to form an angled portion that is substantially flat between a first end and a second end so that the angled portion is angled at an entry angle relative to a flat ground surface, and   wherein a heel end of the sole plate is positioned rearwardly of the first end and forwardly of the second end, such that the first end of the angled portion is closer to the forefoot region than is the heel end of the sole plate and the second end of the angled portion is farther from the forefoot region than is the heel end of the sole plate.   
     
     
         30 . The article of footwear of  claim 29 , wherein the sole plate is disposed within the pocket and recessed in the midsole member.