Appeal No. 2002-0363
Application No. 08/162,373
The invention involves “the use of the theoretically ideal stability plane concept to
provide stability in negative heel shoe soles that are less thick in the heel area than in
the rest of the shoe sole” (specification, page 1). The appellant explains that “the
concept of the theoretically ideal stability plane is that the thickness of the contoured
stability sides of the shoe soles, typically measured in the frontal plane, should equal
the thickness of the shoe sole underneath the foot (specification, page 2).
Representative Claim 93 reads as follows:
93. An athletic shoe sole for a shoe, the athletic shoe sole comprising:
a sole heel area of the athletic shoe sole at a location substantially
corresponding to the location of a heel of an intended wearer’s foot when inside the
shoe;
a sole forefoot area at a location substantially corresponding to the
location of a forefoot of an intended wearer’s foot when inside the shoe;
a sole midtarsal area located between the sole heel area and the sole
forefoot area;
the sole heel, midtarsal, and forefoot areas each having a sole medial
side, a sole lateral side, and a sole middle part located between the sole sides, as
viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane during a shoe unloaded, upright condition;
a sole inner surface adjacent an intended wearer’s foot location inside the
shoe having at least a first concavely rounded portion, said concavity being determined
relative to an intended wearer’s foot location inside the shoe, as viewed in a frontal
plane located in the sole forefoot area, during an unloaded, upright shoe condition;
2
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