Athletic shoe with stabilized discreet resilient elements in the heel thereof

Abstract

An athletic shoe having a substantially horizontal chamber substantially within a heel portion of a midsole, having atmospheric communication at its lateral sides, includes a chamber having an upper substantially rigid horizontal support plate having several transverse downwardly directed resilient cavities, each of the cavities defined by an upper resilient sleeve. The chamber also includes a lower substantially rigid horizontal support plate having corresponding upwardly directed resilient cavities, each of the cavities defined by a lower resilient sleeve; and includes resilient elements having a vertical length greater than an aggregate vertical length of walls of each pair of the upper and lower cavities when the resilient elements are uncompressed, the resilient elements each having a greater spring constant and spring rate than the walls of the cavities.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new, useful and non-obvious and, accordingly, secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:  
     
         1 . An athletic shoe having a substantially horizontal chamber substantially within a heel portion of a midsole thereof, said chamber having atmospheric communication at lateral sides thereof, the chamber comprising: 
 (a) an upper substantially rigid horizontal support plate having a plurality of transverse downwardly directed resilient cavities therein, each of said cavities defined in part by upper resilient sleeves;    (b) a lower substantially rigid horizontal support plate having a corresponding plurality of upwardly directed resilient cavities therein, each of said cavities defined in part by lower resilient sleeves; and    (c) for each vertical pair of cavities, resilient means comprising a vertical length greater than an aggregate vertical length of walls of each of said upper and lower cavities, when said resilient means are uncompressed, said resilient means each having a greater spring constant and spring rate than said walls of said cavities.    
     
     
         2 . The shoe as recited in  claim 1  in which each of said vertical cavities are defined by a single circumferential resilient sleeve comprising an integration of said upper and lower sleeves.  
     
     
         3 . The shoe as recited in  claim 2 , in which said resilient means comprises metallic spiral springs.  
     
     
         4 . The shoe as recited in  claim 3 , in which said resilient means comprise a metallic spiral springs.  
     
     
         5 . The shoe as recited in  claim 1 , in which said spring means comprises a cylindrical body of a solid resilient material.  
     
     
         6 . The shoe as recited in  claim 2 , in which said spring means comprises a cylindrical body of a solid resilient material.  
     
     
         7 . The shoe as recited as in  claim 6 , in which said cylindrical body of resilient material extends downwardly through said lower plate to a bottommost surface of said lower sole of said shoe.  
     
     
         8 . The shoe as recited in  claim 7 , in which said resilient means comprises a solid cylindrical body disposed within a metallic spiral spring.  
     
     
         9 . The shoe as recited in  claim 1 , in which said resilient means comprises a solid cylindrical body disposed within a metallic spiral spring.  
     
     
         10 . The shoe as recited in  claim 5 , in which said cylindrical body comprises a hollow annular cross-section.