Abstract: A shoe sole having an outer sole with a heel section and a ball section and providing buttons in the peripheral area of the ball and heel sections and pods in the interior area of the ball section. The peripheral area of the sole is stiffer than the interior portions of the sole.

Abstract: A shoe includes a rear sole support for receiving a replaceable rear sole to provide longer wear. The shoe may also include a flexible plate supported by the rear sole support between the heel and the rear sole to reduce midsole compression and provide additional spring. A mounting member secures the rear sole to the rear sole support, and a locking member prevents rotation of the rear sole relative to the rear sole support during use. The replaceable rear sole and the flexible plate allow the shoe to be adapted to different desired performance characteristics depending upon the intended activity and terrain or playing surface.

Abstract: Combination athletic shoes and plyometric training devices are disclosed. The said shoes having removable heels that include a snap-lock track slide retainer fixedly disposed in the sole at the instep of the athletic shoe, a heel track slide retainer fixedly disposed in the sole at the heel of the athletic shoe and having a lower surface with a female portion of a dovetail joint therein, and a heel track slide with integral forward snap-lock insert fixedly attached to the heel of the athletic shoe and having a male portion of a dovetail joint on the top thereof that slidably engages the female portion of the dovetail joint in the lower surface of the heel track slide retainer and which is releasibly retained thereto by a release disposed on the bottom of the athletic shoe. This arrangement allows for the athletic shoe to function in a combination use in that without the heel in place the shoe can be used as plyometric type strength training device for the lower leg muscles.

Abstract: An improved athletic shoe sole with rotatable and replaceable rear soles and replaceable cleats to provide the user with longer wear. The invention also provides the user with the ability to quickly and easily adapt the sole to different desired performance characteristics depending upon the intended activity and terrain or playing surface.

Abstract: A shoe includes a heel support for receiving a rotatable and replaceable rear sole to provide longer wear. The shoe may also include a graphite insert supported by the heel support between the heel and the rear sole to reduce midsole compression and provide additional spring. The replaceable rear sole and the graphite insert allow the shoe to be adapted to different desired performance characteristics depending upon the intended activity and terrain or playing surface.

Abstract: An impact damping system for application to sport shoes having a hollow housing of flexible elastomeric material which is softer and more resilient than the insole material of the sport shoe which it is to be removably placed in a cavity in the heel area of the shoe. The inner and outer surfaces of the housing side which are smooth and homogeneous, and there is a top cover with an overhang lip which rests on the insole. One or more replaceable damping discs are inserted into the housing and are held therein by the cover which has downwardly extending pins to engage a groove in the disc and a peripheral flange at the lower end of the housing.

Abstract: The shoe has a permanently affixed heel plate attached to the bottom of the heel support portion of the shoe. This heel plate contains a mortise having a decreasing transverse width from the front to the rear of the heel plate. A replaceable heel having a flat surface on one side and a dovetail on the reverse surface corresponding in shape to the opening in the mortise is slid into the mortise to be firmly seat by a friction fit on the heel plate.

Abstract: A running sole for a shoe comprising a sole body 1, having a generally longitudinally extending first recess 5 extending from the one edge of the sole and at least one laterally extending second recess 6, 7, extending from the side edges of the sole in the heel region, said at least one second recess intersecting the first recess, a first supporting body 10 of springably compressible and/or flexible supporting material exchangeably inserted in said first recess and having at least one opening 11 inside thereof aligned with the second recess 6, 7, and at least one second similar supporting body 16, 17 inserted in said second recess(s) 6, 7 and engaging in said opening or openings to lock said supporting bodies in position.

Abstract: An adjustable mechanically cushioned heel for a shoe comprises a recess adjacent one of the lateral borders of the heel area and ground-engaging members removably attached to the recess. Each of the ground-engaging members includes a relatively stiff spring element to provide a cushioning effect at the one lateral border of the heel area. Independent adjustable couplings between the ground-engaging members and the recess allow the user to independently alter the spring constant of each spring element to vary the cushioning effect at the lateral border of the heel.

Abstract: A heel is longitudinally traversed by a threaded stem provided with a head which can be activated from the lower zone of the heel and whose free end is screwed into a blind hole made centrally in a projection of the lower face of a flat cover which is adjusted in a recess made in the upper zone of the heel. The flat cover is solidly fastened to a plate arranged on the upper face of the inner sole by fixing elements which pass through the inner sole and its inner shank.