Article of footwear having a flexible fluid-filled chamber
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorScott C. Holt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of footwear may include an upper forming a void within the footwear, a sole structure secured to the upper, and a chamber that encloses a pressurized fluid. The sole structure includes a depression. The chamber is located within the void of the upper and located on the depression of the sole structure. The chamber may include a plurality of fluid-filled subchambers, a manifold, and a connection fluidically-connected at least one of the subchambers to the manifold. The subchambers may enclose the pressurized fluid at different pressures. The subchambers may be separated from one another by a bonded area in the direction extending between the heel and toe of the chamber.
Claims18
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper forming a first portion of a void within the article of footwear;
- a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure including a depression that forms a second portion of the void;
- a chamber that encloses a pressurized fluid and is located within the depression, the chamber including a plurality of fluid-filled subchambers that extend in a medial to lateral direction of the article of footwear and are separated by bonded areas;
- and
- an insert disposed entirely on top of the chamber between the chamber and the upper, the insert including a first portion that extends along a medial side of the chamber and a second portion that extends along a lateral side of the chamber, the first portion and the second portion defining an opening that exposes the plurality of fluid-filled subchambers.
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper forming a first portion of a void within the article of footwear;
- a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure including a depression that forms a second portion of the void;
- a chamber that encloses a pressurized fluid and is located within the depression, the chamber including a plurality of fluid-filled subchambers that extend in a medial to lateral direction of the article of footwear and are separated by bonded areas;
- and
- an insert disposed entirely on top of the chamber between the chamber and the upper, extending around a perimeter of the chamber, and defining an opening that exposes the plurality of fluid-filled subchambers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.