Stabilizer and cushioning support for athletic footwear

Abstract

An athletic shoe support structure may include a midsole constructed to resiliently support a foot and a cradle positioned underneath the midsole. The cradle has a bottom and a sidewall upwardly extending from the bottom, where the cradle is arranged to receive the midsole in nesting relation. The cradle sidewall has at least one aperture and the midsole has at least one protrusion, where the protrusion is sized and shaped to engage the at least one aperture in the sidewall. The cradle and/or the midsole may be made of a foamed material.

1 . An athletic shoe support structure comprising:
 a midsole and cradle combination in which the cradle is provided with a plurality of downwardly projecting pods independently engaging an upper surface of an outer sole and supporting the cradle to receive in nesting relation, the midsole, said cradle including a bottom and continuous side wall with a plurality of apertures formed in the side wall defined by a plurality of struts with the struts coacting with one another to provide a leaf-spring support for the midsole, said midsole having a side wall with an outwardly projecting flange shaped, sized and dimensioned to engage in snug support with the upper edge of the side wall of the cradle and with a plurality of bosses or projections integrally formed with the side walls of the midsole with the outwardly projecting bosses of the midsole shaped, sized and dimensioned to engage the apertures formed by the struts of the cradle in a snug relation.   
     
     
         2 . An athletic shoe support structure comprising:
 a midsole constructed and arranged to resiliently support a foot;   a cradle positioned underneath the midsole, the cradle having a bottom and a sidewall upwardly extending from the bottom, wherein the cradle is constructed and arranged to receive the midsole in nesting relation; and   wherein the cradle sidewall has at least one aperture and the midsole has at least one protrusion, wherein the protrusion is sized and shaped to engage the at least one aperture in the sidewall.   
     
     
         3 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , wherein the midsole further comprises an outwardly projecting flange constructed and arranged to engage an upper edge of the sidewall of the cradle. 
     
     
         4 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , wherein the cradle further comprises downwardly projecting pods configured to independently engage a surface. 
     
     
         5 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , wherein the cradle has a plurality of apertures and the midsole has a plurality of protrusions wherein the plurality of protrusions are sized and shaped to engage the plurality of apertures in the sidewall. 
     
     
         6 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of protrusions includes at least one lateral side protrusion and at least one medial side protrusion. 
     
     
         7 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , wherein the midsole is made of a foam material. 
     
     
         8 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 7 , wherein the cradle is made of a foam material. 
     
     
         9 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 7 , wherein the cradle is made of a material that is more rigid than the midsole material. 
     
     
         10 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , wherein the cradle is made of a material that is more rigid than the midsole material. 
     
     
         11 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , wherein the midsole includes a grid system. 
     
     
         12 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , further comprising an outsole positioned underneath the cradle. 
     
     
         13 . The athletic shoe support structure of  claim 2 , in combination with a shoe.