Did You Know...
...that it was melting ice cream that inspired the invention of the outboard motor? It was a lovely August day and Ole Evinrude was rowing his boat to his favorite island picnic spot. As he rowed, he watched his ice cream melt and wished he had a faster way to get to the island. At that moment the idea for the outboard motor was born!
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8161667 | Elastic sole and its shoes having elastic reaction force and shock absorption Disclosed are an elastic sole member which optimizes between a shock absorbing function and repulsive elastic force, between which a tradeoff relationship exists, and a shoe with the elastic sole member. The elastic sole member includes a sole body which is upwardly... | 04/24/2012 |
| 8117769 | Cushioned shoe construction including toe and heel plates A shoe sole construction includes a sole member formed from a synthetic plastic material having a first durometer value of hardness and including toe, ball, arch, and heel portions. Relatively rigid toe and heel plates are secured to bottom surface of the sole membe... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8104197 | Article of footwear with vertical grooves An article of footwear with a sole that includes a plurality of vertical grooves is disclosed. The plurality of vertical grooves may be disposed on a sidewall and a lower portion of the sole. The vertical grooves can facilitate twisting of the sole. ... | 01/31/2012 |
| 8082685 | Insole having puncture-resistant properties for safety footwear A insole (1) having puncture-resistant properties for safety footwear, comprising an anterior portion (2) extending from a toe region (3) to a metatarsal region (4) of the insole and a posterior portion (5) extending from the metat... | 12/27/2011 |
| 8020320 | Collapsible shoe An article of footwear including an upper formed of a flexible upper material and a sole formed of a flexible sole material, wherein the sole is rolled, folded, or collapsed onto itself to reduce the volume of the article of footwear. The article of footwear in a co... | 09/20/2011 |
| 8001704 | Footwear with a foot stabilizer An article of footwear which includes a midsole and foot stabilizer. The foot stabilizer includes a longitudinally extending spine portion and a plurality of ribs extending laterally therefrom from opposing lateral and medial sides. The plurality of ribs being posit... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7954261 | Joint load reducing footwear Footwear including a flexible sole having a series of flexure zones positioned to correspond to primary joint axes of the human foot approximating the characteristics of a bare foot in motion. ... | 06/07/2011 |
| 7814686 | Lightweight and flexible article of footwear An article of footwear with an outer member including slots that increase flexibility is disclosed. The outer member also includes an inner plate including a set of protective strips. The inner plate is disposed along an inner surface of the outer member so that the... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7735244 | Portable travel footwear The portable travel footwear and method of the present invention overcomes the limitations of footwear of the prior art by providing improved portable travel footwear, that is durable, flexible, elastic, and lightweight. The portable travel footwear protects bare or... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7707748 | Flexible foot-support structures and products containing such support structures Support structures for footwear and the like include a contacting member (e.g., an outsole) that includes at least two recessed segments extending in a longitudinal direction in the forefoot portion. The recessed segments provide lines of flex such that various regi... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7685747 | Footwear architecture(s) and associated closure systems Footwear architecture(s) and associated closure systems. A footwear closure system is described with an anchor section, affixed to a forefoot portion of an upper of the footwear, and an engagement section, coupled with the anchor section through an elastomeric mater... | 03/30/2010 |
| 7637035 | Collapsible shoe An article of footwear including an upper formed of a flexible upper material and a sole formed of a flexible sole material, wherein the sole is rolled, folded, or collapsed onto itself to reduce the volume of the article of footwear. The article of footwear in a co... | 12/29/2009 |
| 7607241 | Article of footwear with an articulated sole structure An article of footwear is disclosed that includes an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper. The sole structure includes a connecting portion positioned adjacent the upper and extending along a longitudinal length of the upper. A plurality of discrete sole ... | 10/27/2009 |
| 7555851 | Article of footwear having a fluid-filled chamber with flexion zones An article of footwear is disclosed that includes a fluid-filled chamber with one or more flexion zones. The flexion zones may be areas of the chamber where a tensile element, for example, is absent, or the flexion zones may be areas of the chamber where opposite su... | 07/07/2009 |
| 7497033 | Article of footwear and method of manufacturing same An article of footwear includes an upper having a forefoot portion, a midfoot portion, a heel portion, and a pocket positioned beneath the forefoot portion. A first midsole portion is received in the pocket. An outer sole assembly is secured to the upper. The outer ... | 03/03/2009 |
| 7437838 | Article of footwear Shoes having foot support structures formed of arm portions and/or plates having variable flexibility are disclosed. ... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7430817 | Skateboard shoe A skateboard shoe comprising a plurality of fluid chambers able to move and flex independently from one another along the bottom portion of the midsole is shown and described. The midsole acts as both a stabilizing midsole and an impact cushioning midsole while impr... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7421805 | Integral spine structure for footwear A support structure for footwear includes a longitudinally extending member to which a plurality of laterally extending supports members are secured at spaced apart locations along a length of the longitudinal member. The support structure may extend along the entir... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7401422 | Plate for running shoe The invention relates to a shoe, in particular a sprint shoe, including a plate arranged in a sole area of the shoe. The plate extends essentially over the complete length of the sole area and is substantially planar in a forefoot part and is constructed of a materi... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7392605 | Article of footwear with a stretchable upper and an articulated sole structure An article of footwear is disclosed that includes at least one of a stretchable upper and an articulated sole structure. The upper may include an exterior layer and an interior layer. The exterior layer forms at least a portion of an exterior of the upper, and the e... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7376999 | Slipper having shape memory A slipper has an upper portion. The upper portion is flexible. A lower portion is connected to the upper portion. The upper portion and the lower portion include ribbed formations. The upper portion and the lower portion are made of a material having shape memory. | 05/27/2008 |
| 7377057 | Stable footwear that accommodates shear forces A shoe sole is described that provides both cushioning and stability. The sole has a plurality of layers, including a transition layer which allows relative motion between the layers adjacent to the transition layer. The relative motion between the layers of the sol... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7370442 | Ankle support to be attached to footwear and footwear equipped with it Disclosed herein is footwear having an ankle support. The footwear has a sole, an upper, and a heel section. The ankle support is worn to surround part of the foot and part of the leg between which an ankle joint is located, wherein a lower portion of the ankle supp... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7367141 | Waterproof and breathable sole for shoes, and shoe manufactured with such sole A waterproof and breathable sole for shoes, having a structure including a supporting layer which, at least in a preset macroportion, is made of net, felt or other diffusely perforated material. A membrane made of a material that is impermeable to water and permeabl... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7337558 | Split sole dance shoe having enhanced flexibility and support A shoe includes a shoe upper made of flexible material, the shoe upper including a toe region, a heel region, a foot opening at the heel region, and an arch region extending between the toe region and the heel region. A split sole is secured to a bottom of the shoe ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7334351 | Shoe apparatus with improved efficiency A shoe is provided for improving use efficiency through reduction of neuromuscular fatigue. The shoe includes an upper having a generally horizontal bottom wall. The bottom wall includes an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper comprises a forward region havi... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7328524 | Shoe with improved ventilation The invention relates to a sole that includes a bottom surface, a top surface, and a shaft extending upwardly from the top surface. The shaft further includes an upper surface and an elongated hole extending from the upper surface to the bottom surface through the s... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7325336 | Wrestling shoe with separated outer soles The wrestling shoe according to the present invention comprises outer soles 1F and 1B separated forward and rearward on the side of a grounding surface of the shoe. The fore and rear outer soles 1F and 1B essentially protrude downward fur... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7325334 | Method and apparatus for providing a shoe with improved structural integrity The invention includes a method and apparatus for providing a shoe having an outsole with a top surface and a bottom surface, an anchoring mechanism placed between the top surface and the bottom surface, an upper connected to the outsole, and a fastener extending fr... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7322132 | Device for high-heeled shoes and method of constructing a high-heeled shoe A device for insertion in a high-heeled shoe has a first crescent shaped raised area in a region underlying the forward edge of a wearer's heel bone and a second raised area underlying the metatarsals of the wearer is described. Also described is a method for constr... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7320188 | Running sandal A sandal for receiving a foot of a wearer, the foot having a heel and a forefoot including toes. The sandal includes an upper, a midsole assembly and an outsole component. The midsole assembly includes a main body and a support component that may include a slightly ... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7313875 | Footwear outsole An outsole for an article of footwear including a base and a plurality of lugs extending from the base in the forefoot and in the heel portions of the outsole. The lugs each include a leading edge and a trailing edge, and are individually contoured to include a prof... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7299567 | Article of footwear with sole plate An article of footwear includes a sole assembly and an upper secured to the sole assembly. A sole plate is positioned between the upper and the sole assembly. The sole plate includes a midfoot member comprising a medial member having a base plate and at least one me... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7293371 | Woven shoe with integral lace loops An article of footwear includes a woven region. A fit adjustment system includes a lace strap superimposed with strands of material forming the woven region. The lace strap is routed around the shoe and forms opposing pairs of lace holding elements such as lace loop... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7293372 | Footwear upper with flexible collar assembly A footwear upper having a collar assembly that is joined at its forward edge to the lower portion of the upper by a flexible region of material so that the collar may flex forward and rearward in relation to the lower portion of the upper. In one aspect of the inven... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7291181 | Stump boot for an ankle disarticulation patient A stump boot for use by an ankle disarticulation patient having a stump. The stump boot includes a sole, an inner casing, and an outer casing having a substantially rectangular cutout covered by a flexible member. The inner casing is custom molded to fit the stump a... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7290356 | Footwear with multi-piece midsole Articles of footwear having a unitary midsole with an integrally molded toe cap that extends over the wearer's toes are disclosed, in which the midsole is molded in multiple sections one of which includes the integrally-molded toe cap which are joined to one another... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7290357 | Article of footwear with an articulated sole structure An article of footwear is disclosed that includes an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper. The sole structure includes a connecting portion positioned adjacent the upper and extending along a longitudinal length of the upper. A plurality of discrete sole ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7290354 | Shoe suspension system A shoe suspension system for use with a shoe or boot having an upper and lower sole. The system includes a first tandem hinge pivotally engaged between the upper toe sole and the lower toe sole which opens and closes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shoe a p... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7275337 | Shoe with a composite insole Shoe comprising an upper (30), a sole (50) and an insole (40; 140), characterized in that it uses an insole (40) formed by at least one element (20; 120) of soft material joined on top of an element (10; 110) of rigid materi... | 10/02/2007 |
