Abstract: Footwear and footwear structures are provided as well as methods for forming composite components for footwear or footwear structures. In forming the structures, two material layers are overlaid such that the two material layers are in contact with one another. The two material layers are heated to a forming temperature and are then vacuum-formed together to form a composite material layer in a three-dimensional form of the footwear structure. A provided footwear structure includes an upper and a sole assembly attached to the upper. The sole assembly includes a first material layer made of a thermoplastic, and a second material layer attached to the first material layer. The first material layer includes a recessed area including a flat support portion, and is transparent or translucent. The second material layer includes a portion that is positioned on a surface of the recessed area, and a color of the second material layer indicates a location and/or a function of the second material layer.

Abstract: An athletic stroke training device is disclosed. The training device has a semi-rigid shaft that is attached to a player's shoulders or hips by incorporating the shaft into the garment worn by the player or by use of a shoulder harness. The shaft has a length slightly wider than shoulder width and includes indicators at each end to give the player a visual cue for proper shoulder or hip rotation. The shaft can be telescoping or made of a helical spring. The indicators can be a flag, disks, suspended balls, cones, or illuminated light emitting sources such as a bulb, a neon strobe, or an LED. Furthermore, the indicator can be constructed from a ring supported by radial struts to be used as a sight for aiming the stroke. The stroke training device is easily adapted for use in many sports that entail shoulder or hip rotation such as tennis, golf, hockey, baseball, etc.

Abstract: An improved cushioning assembly is provided in which separate, independent cushioning elements are loaded into a pocket of the sole assembly of the shoe. By providing separate and independent cushioning elements, greater variation of the performance of various regions of the shoe can be provided, by utilizing cushioning elements having variations in one or more of their size, shape, orientation, material properties, and amount of precompression. As a result, different regions of the shoe can be better tailored for a particular activity or a particular user. In addition, by providing separate independent cushioning elements, the cushioning elements can be more closely packed as compared with, for example, prior cushioning elements formed as contiguous sheets. With the enhanced ability to more closely pack the cushioning elements, the cushioning elements can better transfer forces laterally, to better absorb and dissipate the forces.

Abstract: A lace up shoe with shock absorbing and tensioning members which provides for a superior fit of the shoe to the wearer's foot and which provides for pronation and supination countering adjustability. The shock absorbing and tensioning member is affixed to the shoe at its lower region to the upper and/or the sole in the quarter area of the shoe at the medial and/or lateral sides of the shoe and has shoe lace engaging rings at its upper region. The user can selectively lace the shoe laces through some or all of these rings, on one or both the medial and/or lateral sides of the shoe, to put additional shock absorbency on one or both the medial and lateral sides of the shoe, to counteract pronation and supination.

Abstract: An external bag support frame for attachment to a bag with side walls and a bottom wall. The external bag support frame has perimeter walls for attachment to the bag's side walls by stitching, adhesive, or with detachable means such as hook and loop material. The frame provides the bag with additional rigidity and abrasion resistance. In one embodiment, webbing straps passable through slots in the perimeter walls provide bottom support for the bags bottom. In another embodiment, a bottom grid, unitary with the perimeter side walls, form the bottom support for the bag.

Abstract: A quick adjusting shoe lacing system. The system has a cinch plate having eyelets which are spaced apart to about the same distance as eyelets formed in the lacing area of the shoe. The shoe laces are laced through the cinch plate eyelets along with the eyelets in the lacing area of the shoe. A strap, fixably attached at a lower end to the shoe and loopable at an upper end through a slot in the cinch plate is used to adjustably pull the cinch plate and the shoe laces looped through its eyelets downwardly and thus increase the shoe lace tension. Alternatively, a latching buckle linked to the cinch place via a wire loop can be used to affect changes in lace tension. These changes in lace tension can be affected even after the shoe laces are laced and tied up, offering the ability to make quick and fine adjustments to shoe laces.

Abstract: A slip resistant shoe lace and a method to make same. A slip resistant shoe lace is provided by weaving strands having a conventional frictional coefficient with at least one strand having a higher frictional coefficiency, where the high-friction strands do not extend beyond the outer perimeter of the lace. The high-friction strands can be made by impregnating conventional strands with friction-enhancing substances such as resin or rubber, by using a unitary strand made of material such as rubber or soft plastic, or by using strands with grooves or serrations formed on its outside surface.

Abstract: A unitary multilayer sole construction for an athletic shoe in which a stiffening board member is provided between the outsole and the mid-sole of the shoe. The stiffening board member is placed in the rear foot portion of the shoe and immediately adjacent the inner surface of the outsole.

Abstract: Shoes having outlying lace receivers. The receivers can be in cinch arrangement or allow the lace to freely pass. Shoes with such lace arrangements have a more snug fit. The lacing arrangement of the present invention is particularly suited for athletic shoes.

Abstract: An orthopedic appliance comprises a pair of bar-like members pivotally connected together in the vicinity of respective ends thereof, and plate-like members adjustably connected to respective free ends of the bar-like members for connection to the shoes of a patient. A scale is provided at the pivotal interconnection of the bar-like members to indicate the relative orientations of the bar-like members. A locking device is provided to lock the bars at their desired relative positions.

Abstract: An orthopedic appliance comprises a pair of bar-like members pivotally connected together in the vicinity of respective ends thereof, and plate-like members adjustably connected to respective free ends of the bar-like members for connection to the shoes of a patient. A scale is provided at the pivotal interconnection of the bar-like members to indicate the relative orientations of the bar-like members. A locking device is provided to lock the bars at their desired relative positions.