The term HOKA, meaning “to fly over the earth” in the Maori language of New Zealand, depicts the silhouette of a bird soaring on the brand name “O”. The brand name HOKA is consonant with the founders’ desire to design footwear that would properly cushion trail running, while providing propulsion for speed that would be as effortless and exhilarating as downhill skiing. A sport all too familiar to both founders, born and raised in the French Alps, having nurtured a life-long love of the outdoors, skiing in particular. Thus, according to Jean-Luc Diard, one of the co-founders, HOKA footwear was designed XXXL (i.e., both extra, extra, extra light, and extra, extra, extra large) to harness the required patented performances enabling users to "fly over the earth" running, jogging or walking.
HOKA was founded in Annecy (France) in 2009, gaining almost immediate traction within the sports community. Deckers, the American, multinational, shoe and apparel company then acquired HOKA in 2013, transforming HOKA into a very popular international, multi-million-dollar business.
Propulsion and cushioning in HOKA footwear for running, jogging or walking, is a patented invention. The US utility patent, US12022912B2, titled Footwear with stabilizing sole, was awarded on July 2nd, 2024, to Jean-Luc Diard, (FR); Stephen Liu, (CN); Vincent Bouillard, (FR) and Christophe Aubonnet, (FR). The patent is assigned to Deckers Outdoor Corporation in Goleta, California.
The patent recites stabilizing footwear with inventive cushioning and suspension to harness the problem of shock absorption when the user’s body impacts the ground. The force of impact for each foot striking the ground is 5 times the user’s weight, with the highest impact at the heel area. When properly channeled and cushioned, the force of impact also serves to propulse the body forward. Thus, the invention footwear cleverly addresses the forces of impact and propulsion in the design of HOKA soles.
A strap 110 is positioned above the heel portion 30 that the user can grab to adjust the footwear. A wider stabilizing portion 44 beneath the rear portion 86 of the midsole 24, extends beyond the midsole 24 to provide balance and stability on various uneven surfaces, such as on trails. The side 98 of the vamp 96 has tabs 102 with loops, and tabs 106 with holes, to enable threading of laces. A tongue 54 forms part of the upper 28, connected to the sole.
To further propel the body forward various carbon fiber or metal supports are embedded in the sole, depending on the model. Figure 76 depicts one embodiment of the Metarocker™ sole support 446. This support 446 comprises a first support member 448 with an upper part 452 and a lower part 456; and a second support member 450 with a support part 458 and a lower part 460. The support is designed to flex and release with each stride, to enhance propulsion.
The abstract of the invention is included below, together with an image of one the many HOKA footwear models, specifically the Speedgoat 6 GTX for women.
A footwear component that includes a sole including a recessed area and a support member positioned in the recessed area, where the support member includes a main support, a front support that extends at least partially over a front end of the main support, and a rear support that extends at least partially below a rear end of the main support. A cushion member is positioned between the front support and the main support or the rear support and the main support, where the cushion member is configured to control movement of the front support or the rear support. [Abstract US12022912B2]
References
Deckers Brands
HOKA (website)
HOKA (Aug, 21, 2024) Humans of Hoka. Interview with the founders Nicolas Mermoud and JL Diard. Hoka.com
https://www.hoka.com/en/us/blog-post/?id=humans-of-hoka-the-founders
https://www.hoka.com/en/us/blog-post/?id=humans-of-hoka-the-founders
No comments:
Post a Comment