Sole structure for a shoe

Abstract

A sole structure for a shoe comprises a forefoot portion and a heel portion. A midfoot portion can be coupled to the forefoot portion and the heel portion. The midfoot portion can comprise a support tie and one or more arches. The support tie can comprise a plurality of rotatable segments configured to alter bending characteristics of the midfoot portion, a resilient structure configured to alter bending characteristics of the midfoot portion, or both.

1 . A sole structure for a shoe, comprising:
 a forefoot portion;   a heel portion; and   a midfoot portion coupled to the forefoot portion and the heel portion, the midfoot portion comprising:
 a medial arch comprising a medial forefoot arm extending toward the heel portion and a medial heel arm extending toward the forefoot portion, wherein the medial forefoot arm and the medial heel arm meet at a medial apex of the medial arch, and wherein the medial arch defines a medial void located between the medial forefoot arm and the medial heel arm, and 
 a lateral arch comprising a lateral forefoot arm extending toward the heel portion and a lateral heel arm extending toward the forefoot portion, wherein the lateral forefoot arm and the lateral heel arm meet at a lateral apex of the lateral arch, and wherein the lateral arch defines a lateral void located between the lateral forefoot arm and the lateral heel arm; 
 wherein the midfoot portion comprises a first bending stiffness in a plantarflexion direction and a second bending stiffness in a dorsiflexion direction that is different from the first bending stiffness. 
   
     
     
         2 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein the medial forefoot arm extends toward the heel portion at a first angle that is greater than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 85 degrees relative to a midfoot plane of the midfoot portion,
 wherein the medial heel arm extends toward the forefoot portion at a second angle that is greater than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 85 degrees relative to the midfoot plane,   wherein the lateral forefoot arm extends toward the heel portion at a third angle that is greater than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 85 degrees relative to a midfoot plane, and   wherein the lateral heel arm extends toward the forefoot portion at a fourth angle that is greater than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 85 degrees relative to the midfoot plane.   
     
     
         3 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein the medial arch comprises a medial radius of curvature that is approximately constant, and wherein the lateral arch comprises a lateral radius of curvature that is approximately constant. 
     
     
         4 . The sole structure of  claim 3 , wherein the medial radius of curvature and the lateral radius of curvature are approximately equal. 
     
     
         5 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein the medial arch comprises at least one medial lace aperture extending through the medial arch, and the lateral arch comprises at least one lateral lace aperture extending through the lateral arch. 
     
     
         6 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein each of the medial arch and the lateral arch extend toward a neutral foot axis of a foot of a user when the sole structure is worn by the user. 
     
     
         7 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein the midfoot portion comprises a support tie located between the lateral arch and the medial arch, the support tie comprising:
 a forefoot plate connected to the forefoot portion,   a heel plate connected to the heel portion, and   a flexible portion extending between the forefoot plate and the heel plate,   wherein the flexible portion allows bending of the midfoot portion in the plantarflexion direction and limits bending of the midfoot portion in the dorsiflexion direction.   
     
     
         8 . The sole structure of  claim 7 , wherein the flexible portion comprises a plurality of segments extending between the forefoot plate and the heel plate, the plurality of segments comprising a first segment and a second segment rotatably coupled by a hinge. 
     
     
         9 . The sole structure of  claim 8 , wherein a ground-facing surface of the first segment and a ground-facing surface of the second segment are configured to rotate toward each other when the midfoot portion bends in the plantarflexion direction, and wherein the ground-facing surface of the first segment and the ground-facing surface of the second segment are configured to rotate away from each other when the midfoot portion bends in the dorsiflexion direction. 
     
     
         10 . The sole structure of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of segments is configured to limit bending of the midfoot portion in the dorsiflexion direction. 
     
     
         11 . The sole structure of  claim 7 , wherein the flexible portion comprises a resilient structure extending between the forefoot plate and the heel plate,
 wherein the resilient structure exerts a first compressive force between the forefoot plate and the heel plate when the midfoot portion is bent in the plantarflexion direction, and the resilient structure exerts a second compressive force between the forefoot plate and the heel plate when the midfoot portion is bent in the dorsiflexion direction, and   wherein the second compressive force is larger than the first compressive force.   
     
     
         12 . The sole structure of  claim 11 , wherein the resilient structure comprises an elastic band. 
     
     
         13 . The sole structure of  claim 7 , wherein the support tie bridges a gap between the forefoot portion and the heel portion. 
     
     
         14 . The sole structure of  claim 7 , wherein the medial void is further defined by the support tie and the lateral void is further defined by the support tie. 
     
     
         15 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein the midfoot portion is formed from a polyurethane, a thermoplastic elastomer, a polyamide, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         16 . A shoe comprising the sole structure of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         17 . The shoe of  claim 16 , wherein each of the forefoot portion and the heel portion comprise cleats. 
     
     
         18 . The shoe of  claim 17 , comprising a shoelace laced through a medial lace aperture formed in the medial arch and a lateral lace aperture formed in the lateral arch. 
     
     
         19 . A sole structure for a shoe, comprising:
 a forefoot portion;   a heel portion; and   a midfoot portion coupled to the forefoot portion and the heel portion, the midfoot portion comprising:
 a forefoot plate connected to the forefoot portion, 
 a heel plate connected to the heel portion, 
 an arch connected to the forefoot plate and the heel plate, the arch comprising a forefoot arm extending toward the heel portion and a heel arm extending toward the forefoot portion, wherein the forefoot arm and the heel arm meet at an apex of the arch, and wherein the arch defines a void located between the forefoot arm and the heel arm, and 
 a flexible portion extending between the forefoot plate and the heel plate, wherein the flexible portion allows bending of the midfoot portion in a plantarflexion direction and limits bending of the midfoot portion in a dorsiflexion direction. 
   
     
     
         20 . The sole structure of  claim 19 , wherein the flexible portion comprises a plurality of rotatable segments configured to limit bending of the midfoot portion in the dorsiflexion direction, a resilient structure configured to limit bending of the midfoot portion in the dorsiflexion direction, or both. 
     
     
         21 . The sole structure of  claim 19 , wherein the forefoot plate and the heel plate are configured to be removably coupled to the forefoot portion and the heel portion such that the midfoot portion can be exchanged with an additional midfoot portion comprising an additional forefoot plate, an additional heel plate, and an additional flexible portion, and
 wherein the additional flexible portion allows bending of the midfoot portion in the plantarflexion direction and limits bending of the midfoot portion in the dorsiflexion direction.   
     
     
         22 . The sole structure of  claim 21 , wherein the flexible portion and the additional flexible portion comprise different bending properties. 
     
     
         23 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein the first bending stiffness is in the range of 0.1 N-m/degree to 0.8 N-m/degree and the second bending stiffness is in the range of 0.8 N-m/degree to 1.6 N-m/degree. 
     
     
         24 . The sole structure of  claim 1 , wherein the first bending stiffness is at least 0.1 N-m/degree less than the second bending stiffness.