Heel counter for athletic shoe and footwear incorporating same

Claim 1

Footwear, particularly an athletic shoe designed for medium and long distance running, including a shoe upper, a heel counter of a relatively stiff resilient material that is disposed below and supporting the heel area of the shoe upper, a cushioning midsole, and an outer sole, the midsole and the outer sole being connected to the shoe upper, wherein said counter is disposed on the cushioning midsole and includes a generally U-shaped wall which is shaped to extend about a heel portion of the shoe upper, and which has two sidewall portions that extend forwardly from the heel area to a point at least under the medial and lateral malleoli of a wearer's foot, wherein a flexibly yielding pressure distribution membrane of 0.6 to 1.5 mm is connected to a substantially thicker reinforced lower arcuate edge area of said U-shaped wall and extends from one of the sidewall portions to the other of the sidewall portions as a means for distributing heel impact forces to the sidewall portions by arching downward to receive the heel bone of a wearer under heel pressure applied by the foot of a wearer during walking or running, thereby causing an upper edge area of the sidewall portions of the U-shaped wall to be drawn inwardly to hold the heel with greater force.