Article of Footwear with Heel Cushion

Abstract

An article of footwear is provided. The article of footwear includes a sole with a heel cushion mechanically engaged with a first end of a shank at an interface that includes one or more connectors in the shank that are snap-fitted with corresponding holes in the cushion. The sole further includes a midsole body at least partially surrounding the heel cushion and the shank and the midsole body has a greater hardness than the heel cushion.

1 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 a midsole body at least partially positioned vertically below an upper;   a heel cushion at least partially surrounded by the midsole body;   wherein the heel cushion includes multiple openings that extend through the heel cushion from an upper side to a lower side;   wherein multiple recesses extend across the heel cushion; and   wherein the heel cushion is constructed out of one or more materials that have a greater compliance than the midsole body; and   a shank including:
 an end section that is positioned vertically above the heel cushion; and 
 one or more connectors that extends vertically downward from the end section and form a snap-fit interface with the multiple openings in the heel cushion. 
   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple openings each have multiple sections that vary in diameter. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple openings are positioned in front of a midline of the heel cushion. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple recesses intersect at a central region to form a symmetric arrangement. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the multiple recesses extends across the multiple openings. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the end section has a greater width than an intermediate section of the shank. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 6 , wherein the multiple protrusions include one or more openings that have polyurethane (PU) of the midsole body positioned therein. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the heel cushion is constructed out of an air injected polyurethane (PU) foam and the midsole body is constructed out of a PU material that is denser than the air injected PU. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the shank is constructed out of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the multiple openings have material of the midsole body positioned therein. 
     
     
         11 . A sole assembly in an article of footwear, comprising:
 a heel cushion at least partially surrounded by a midsole body;   wherein the heel cushion includes a first set of openings that extend through the heel cushion from an upper side to a lower side;   wherein multiple recesses extend across the heel cushion;   wherein the heel cushion and the midsole body are constructed out of different materials; and   a shank including:
 a first end section that is positioned vertically above the heel cushion; and 
 one or more connectors that extends vertically downward from the first end section and form a snap-fit interface with the first set of openings in the heel cushion; and 
   wherein the midsole body is positioned below an upper.   
     
     
         12 . The sole assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the first set of openings each include an upper section with a larger diameter than a lower section. 
     
     
         13 . The sole assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the heel cushion includes a second set of openings that have material of the midsole body positioned therein. 
     
     
         14 . The sole assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the multiple recesses intersect at a central region. 
     
     
         15 . The sole assembly of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the multiple recesses form a symmetric arrangement; and   at least one of the multiple recesses extends across the first set of openings.   
     
     
         16 . The sole assembly of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the heel cushion is constructed out of an air injected polyurethane (PU) foam and the midsole body is constructed out of a PU material that has a greater density than the air injected PU; and   the shank is constructed out of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).   
     
     
         17 . The sole assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the shank includes a second end section that includes multiple openings that receive midsole material. 
     
     
         18 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 a midsole body at least partially positioned vertically below an upper;   a heel cushion at least partially surrounded by the midsole body;   wherein the heel cushion includes multiple openings that extend through the heel cushion from an upper side to a lower side;   wherein multiple recesses extend across the heel cushion; and   wherein the heel cushion is constructed out of one or more materials that have a greater compliance than the midsole body; and   a shank including:
 an end section that is positioned vertically above the heel cushion; and 
 one or more connectors that extends vertically downward from the end section and form a snap-fit interface with the multiple openings in the heel cushion; 
   wherein the midsole body includes one or more openings that extend to a side surface of the cushion.   
     
     
         19 . The article of footwear of  claim 18 , wherein the midsole body includes a support extension that vertically extends across the one or more openings in the midsole body. 
     
     
         20 . The article of footwear of  claim 19 , wherein the multiple openings each have multiple sections that vary in diameter.