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A sole structure of an article of footwear has a support assembly structure including a flexure element and an upper support element. The flexure element may have a central portion located between first and second ground-contacting or lower regions, wherein the central portion may have a downwardly

A sole structure of an article of footwear has a support assembly structure including a flexure element and an upper support element. The flexure element may have a central portion located between first and second ground-contacting or lower regions, wherein the central portion may have a downwardly concavely-curved shell-like region. The flexure element also may have first and second flanges extending upward from the first and second lower regions, respectively. The upper support element is positioned above the central portion and between the first and second flanges of the flexure element. When a vertical compressive load is first applied to the upper support element, the upper support element moves vertically relative to the first and second flanges. An article of footwear having the sole structure attached to an upper is also provided.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A sole structure of an article of footwear, the sole structure comprising: a flexure element having: (a) a central portion located between a first ground-facing region and a second ground-facing region, the central portion having a downwardly concavely-curved plate region, and(b) first and second

1. A sole structure of an article of footwear, the sole structure comprising: a flexure element having: (a) a central portion located between a first ground-facing region and a second ground-facing region, the central portion having a downwardly concavely-curved plate region, and(b) first and second flanges extending upward from the first and second ground-facing regions, respectively;an upper support element positioned above the central portion, between the first and second flanges of the flexure element, and below upper edges of the first and second flanges of the flexure element; andan outsole positioned beneath the flexure element,wherein the upper support element is configured to move vertically relative to the first and second flanges when a vertical compressive load is first applied to the upper support element, andwherein the central portion, the first ground-facing region, the second ground-facing region, and the first and second flanges are integrally formed of a single material as a single layer. 2. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the upper support element is configured to compress the downwardly concavely-curved plate region of the flexure element when a vertical compressive load is applied to the upper support element. 3. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the first and second flanges are configured to slidably interface with the upper support element when a vertical compressive load is first applied to the upper support element. 4. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second ground-facing regions moves transversely relative to the downwardly concavely-curved plate region when a vertical compressive load is first applied to the downwardly concavely-curved plate region of the flexure element. 5. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the downwardly concavely-curved plate region is dome-shaped. 6. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the first ground-facing region extends along a lateral side of the sole structure and the second ground-facing region extends along a medial side of the sole structure. 7. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein a plurality of legs extends across at least one of the first and second ground-facing regions. 8. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second flanges includes at least one cutout that is transversely visible from an exterior of the article of footwear. 9. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the flexure element includes an upwardly concavely-curved region between the downwardly concavely-curved plate region and one of the first and second ground-facing regions. 10. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the flexure element includes a first upwardly concavely-curved region between the downwardly concavely-curved plate region and the first ground-facing region, andwherein the central portion includes a second upwardly concavely-curved region between the downwardly concavely-curved plate region and the second ground-facing region. 11. The sole structure of claim 10, wherein at least one of the first and second upwardly concavely-curved regions includes at least one cutout that is visible from a bottom exterior of the article of footwear. 12. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein at least one gusset extends between the central portion and one of the first and second flanges. 13. The sole structure of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional layer positioned on the flexure element, wherein at least a portion of at least two of the flexure element and the at least one additional layer are visible from an exterior of the article of footwear. 14. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the flexure element includes at least one of a front end and a rear end configured for attachment to a remainder of the sole structure. 15. The sole structure of claim 14, wherein the at least one of the front end and the rear end configured for attachment to a remainder of the sole structure includes a cutout. 16. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the flexure element is positioned in a heel region of the sole structure. 17. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the flexure element is positioned in a forefoot region of the sole structure.