Patent attributes
A shoe includes a shoe top structure secured to a sole having a sole forward segment for making contact with a shoe support surface such as the floor of a basketball court, and a sole rearward segment which arches upwardly and then extends rearwardly from the sole forward segment to be spaced above the shoe support surface, and including a heel in the form of a heel panel mounted beneath the sole rearward segment, and including spring means biasing the heel panel downwardly a certain distance from the sole rearward segment to define a vertical gap between the sole rearward segment and the heel panel. As a result of this construction, a downward thrust of a wearer heel inside the shoe presses the heel panel firmly against the shoe support surface drives the heel panel upwardly toward the sole rearward segment against the biasing of the spring means, thereby storing energy in the spring means. As the wearer rises off the heel panel, the spring means causes the heel panel to exert a downward force on the support surface, the spring means thereby adding upward acceleration to the wearer body to cause the wearer to rise higher in his or her step or jump than he or she would without this shoe.
