A sole assembly (1) for a sports shoe includes an upper layer (10), a middle layer (20) and a lower layer (30), which are integral with each other. The upper layer (10) and the lower layer (30) are formed of soft elastic materials, such as foamed rubber or the like. The middle layer (20) has a sheet (22) formed of synthetic resin or synthetic rubber with a hardness greater than that of the upper layer (10) and the lower layer (30). The sheet (22) has a plurality of protrusions or cleats (21) of truncated cone-shape that protrude downwardly and that are formed integrally with the sheet (22). The lower layer (30) has a plurality of through holes (31) receiving respective cleats (21) for insertion thereinto. The lower layer (30) made of a soft elastic member secures gripping properties and shock absorbing properties. An edge portion of a distal end (21a) of the cleat (21) advances the gripping properties by contacting the ground.

An athletic shoe midsole assembly includes a midsole formed of soft elastic material and a corrugated sheet disposed in the heel portion of the midsole. The corrugated sheet has a pocket structure at edge areas of the sheet, for example the medial side edge, formed by two layers spaced apart from each other with a respective void pocket formed therebetween. Since the compressive hardness of the midsole is higher on the medial side including the pocket structure, transverse deformation of the shoe on landing can be prevented and over-pronation can be restrained on this medial side and the loss of athletic power can be decreased. On the other hand, flexibility of the midsole is maintained on the lateral side without a pocket structure and thus cushioning properties can be secured on this lateral side.

This invention provides a sole assembly for an athletic shoe where the manufacturing process is simplified. The sole assembly includes a midsole body extending from the heel part to the forefoot part of a shoe, a corrugated sheet bonded to the bottom surface of the midsole body, and a lower midsole bonded to the heel portion of the corrugated sheet. A corrugation is formed at the heel portion of the corrugated sheet and an outsole on the forefoot side is integrally formed with the forefoot portion of the corrugated sheet. An outsole on the heel side is bonded to the bottom surface of the lower midsole.

A foot protector includes a resilient sheet member having a shape generally matching a shape of a sole of a foot and having a size generally corresponding to a size of the foot. The resilient sheet member has a foot-contact surface, and a tack adhesive layer is provided on at least a portion of the foot-contact surface. The foot protector is lightweight and readily removable and disposable. The foot protector readily conforms to the three-dimensional contours of the sole of the feet, allowing increased mobility of the foot and increased adhesion as a greater effective contact surface area is provided. The foot protector is also preferably of a substantially constant thickness to reduce manufacturing costs.

A midsole structure of an athletic shoe includes an upper midsole (3) formed of a soft elastic material and extending from a heel region to a forefoot region of the shoe, lower midsoles (4, 5) each formed of a soft elastic material and disposed at the heel region and the forefoot region under the upper midsole (3), and first and second corrugated sheets (6, 7) disposed opposite to each other between the upper midsole (3) and the lower midsoles (4, 5). Through holes (10, 11) are provided at the heel region and the midfoot region of the shoe. The through holes (10, 11) are bounded between the respective facing corrugated surfaces of the first and second corrugated sheets (6, 7). The through hole (11) provided at the midfoot region has an oblong and elongated shape in cross section.