Midsole structure for a sports shoe and sports shoe

Abstract

The invention relates to a sport shoe and particularly to its midsole construction. The midsole construction comprises a flexible body element, which extends essentially over the entire length of the sole of the foot, a flexible heel element located under the body element, which extends from under the calcaneus at least partly into the area of the cuboid bone, and a plate-like stiffener element located at least partly between the body element and the heel element. According to the invention, the stiffener element extends from the heel area forwards farther on the lateral side of the sole of the foot than on the medial side of the sole of the foot. A more natural and economical stride is achieved with the aid of the invention.

1 . A midsole construction for a sports shoe, comprising:
 a flexible body element, which extends essentially over the entire length of the foot,   a flexible heel element located under the flexible body element, which extends from under the calcaneus to at least partly the area of the cuboid bone, and   a plate-like stiffener element located at least partly between the flexible body element and the flexible heel element, which extends forwards from the heel area farther on the lateral side of the foot than on the medial side of the foot,   
       wherein the plate-like stiffener element extends on the lateral side at least over the plane of the mid-tarsal joint and on the medial side at the most as far as the plane of the mid-tarsal joint. 
     
     
         2 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the front part of the plate-like stiffener element comprises two forwards oriented prongs, of which the lateral-side prong extends into the area of the first metatarsal of the little toe (metatarsal V). 
     
     
         3 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the plate-like stiffener element consists of a material, the torsional stiffness of which in the lateral direction is greater than in the longitudinal direction. 
     
     
         4 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the plate-like stiffener element comprises in its rear part an opening following the shape of the calcaneus. 
     
     
         5 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the flexible heel element comprises at least a longitudinal groove delimited by its lateral side parts and the rear part, which is oriented forwards from the area of the calcaneus essentially from the centre line of the sole of the foot to the lateral side of the sole of the foot. 
     
     
         6 . The midsole construction according to  claim 5 , wherein the longitudinal groove is further delimited by the upper side part of the flexible heel element. 
     
     
         7 . The midsole construction according to  claim 5 , wherein the longitudinal groove is open in the direction of the underside of the shoe, at least as far as the outer sole. 
     
     
         8 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the flexible heel element is formed of at least two parts, which are, or can be joined together on top of each other and longitudinally in the longitudinal direction of the sole of the foot, and which together form the said longitudinal groove. 
     
     
         9 . The midsole construction according to  claim 8 , wherein the rear of the said two parts is of a more flexible material than the front. 
     
     
         10 . The midsole construction according to  claim 8 , wherein the rear part of the flexible heel element comprises part of the longitudinal groove running through it in the thickness direction and the front part of the flexible heel element comprises part of the longitudinal groove in the under-surface, so that the said longitudinal groove is formed when joining the front part of the flexible heel element above and in front of the rear part of the flexible heel element. 
     
     
         11 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the flexible body element comprises in its under-surface and/or the flexible heel element in its upper surface a recess, the shape of which corresponds precisely to the shape of the stiffener element and the support element is arranged to fit precisely into the said recess. 
     
     
         12 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein it comprises a flexible element essentially limited to the area of the ball-of-the-foot joints of the big toe and its adjacent toe (metatarsals I and II), which is of a more flexible material than the flexible body element. 
     
     
         13 . The midsole construction according to  claim 12 , wherein a recess for the said flexible element is arranged in the flexible body element at the ball-of-the-foot joint of the big toe. 
     
     
         14 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the plate-like stiffener element is 0.5 mm-3 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The midsole construction according to  claim 14 , wherein the thickness of the plate-like stiffener element is 0.5 mm-1.5 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The midsole construction according to  claim 14 , wherein the thickness of the plate-like stiffener element is about 1 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The midsole construction according to  claim 1 , wherein the plate-like stiffener element is arranged to fit between the flexible body element and the flexible heel element and in turn to the shapes of the sole of the foot. 
     
     
         18 . A sports shoe, comprising:
 an inner sole for contacting the foot or sock,   an outer sole for contacting the running surface, and   a midsole fitted between the inner sole and the outer sole,   
       wherein the midsole comprises:
 a flexible body element, which extends essentially over the entire length of the foot, 
 a flexible heel element located under the flexible body element, which extends from under the calcaneus to at least partly the area of the cuboid bone, and 
 a plate-like stiffener element located at least partly between the flexible body element and the flexible heel element, which extends forwards from the heel area farther on the lateral side of the foot than on the medial side of the foot, 
 
       wherein the plate-like stiffener element extends on the lateral side at least over the plane of the mid-tarsal joint and on the medial side at the most as far as the plane of the mid-tarsal joint.