Article of footwear

Abstract

An article of footwear includes an upper having an outer surface, a foot insertion volume, and a sole facing surface. A sole assembly includes a medial part, a lateral part, and a central axis extending from a heel region towards a forefoot region of the sole assembly. A first sole part (midsole or outsole) has a ground facing surface and a foot facing surface. A medial reinforcement member is positioned at a medial side of the sole assembly, and/or a lateral reinforcement member is positioned at a lateral side of the sole assembly. The medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member include a transverse part extending in a transverse direction from a peripheral boundary of the first sole part in a direction towards the central axis.

1 . An article of footwear comprising:
 an upper having an outer surface, a foot insertion volume, and a sole facing surface; and   a sole assembly having a medial part, a lateral part, and a central axis extending from a heel region, towards a forefoot region of the sole assembly, the sole assembly comprising:
 a first sole part having a ground facing surface and a foot facing surface, and 
 a medial reinforcement member positioned at a medial side of the sole assembly, and/or a lateral reinforcement member positioned at a lateral side of the sole assembly, where the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member comprise a transverse part extending in a transverse direction from a peripheral boundary of the first sole part in a direction towards the central axis. 
   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member are positioned in an arch region of the sole assembly, where the arch region is positioned in a region between the heel region and the forefoot region of the sole assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member comprises a vertical part that extends in a direction from the ground facing surface of the first sole part and towards the upper. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the first sole part is a midsole, where the midsole extends from the heel region of the sole assembly to the forefoot region of the sole assembly. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the sole assembly further comprises a second sole part having a ground facing surface and a foot facing surface, where the second sole part is an outsole. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member are joined to the second sole part. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the foot facing surface of the second sole part comprises an embossment which is positioned in an arch region of the second sole part. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member has a material stiffness that is higher than a material stiffness of the first sole part and/or a material stiffness of the second sole part. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member comprises a heel facing end that is positioned in a region that is located between 10-50% of a length of the sole assembly from a heel end towards a toe end and/or a toe facing end that is positioned in a region that is located between 10-60% of the length of the sole assembly from the toe end towards the heel end. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein the vertical part comprises a vertical axis, and the transverse part comprises a transverse axis, where the transverse axis is at an angle between 45-135 degrees relative to each other. 
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein a lateral part of the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member comprises a ground facing part and a foot facing part, where the foot facing part of the lateral part of the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member comprises a cavity having a predefined first volume. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the first sole part and/or a second sole part extends into the predefined first volume. 
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein the vertical part and/or the lateral part of the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member defines an outer surface of the sole assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein the first sole is a direct injection molded sole which is directly molded to the medial reinforcement member and/or the lateral reinforcement member. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein the transverse part has a first width in a peripheral end of the transverse part and a second width in a central end of the transverse part, where the first width is different from the second width. 
     
     
         16 . The article of footwear in accordance with  claim 1 , the sole assembly comprises the medial reinforcement member and the lateral reinforcement member, where the medial reinforcement member and the lateral reinforcement member are separated from each other.