Footwear forming device
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsDarryl Keith Dinel, Anh Tu Hoang, Steven Ploem
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Construction of a shoe relies on application of pressure to form the shoe portions to a desired shape and configuration. The application of pressure is accomplished with an adjustable width roller that conforms to different sizes of shoes while still contacting the shoe portion to conform the shape. Additionally, vibrational energy may be transmitted from the roller to the shoe portion to aid in the forming and shaping process of the shoe portion.
Claims12
A method of rolling a portion of an article of footwear with a manufacturing system, the method comprising:
- positioning a portion of an article of footwear on an article holder of a manufacturing system;
- positioning a roller at a first location on the portion of the article of footwear;
- adjusting a distance between a female flange and a male flange of the roller such that a roller body extending between the male flange and the female flange contacts the portion of the article of footwear at the first location, wherein the roller transitions from the roller body to the male flange with a curved profile and the curved profile is positioned between the male flange and the female flange such that the curved profile may engage the portion of the article of footwear during a rolling process, wherein the roller body is slidably received in a receiving portion recessed into the female flange;
- and
- rolling the roller on the article of footwear from the first location to a second location, wherein the roller contacts the portion of the article of footwear as the roller traverses from the first location to the second location.
A method of rolling a shoe upper with a manufacturing system, the method comprising:
- positioning a shoe upper on an article holder of a manufacturing system;
- contacting the shoe upper at a first location with a roller body of a roller, wherein the roller includes a female flange, a male flange, and the roller body extending between the female flange and the male flange;
- and
- rolling the roller on the shoe upper from the first location to a second location, wherein the roller body contacts the shoe upper as the roller traverses from the first location to the second location, wherein the roller body is slidably received in a receiving portion recessed into the female flange.
A method of rolling an article of footwear with a manufacturing system, the method comprising:
- positioning an article of footwear on an article holder of a manufacturing system, wherein the article of footwear includes a shoe upper portion and a sole portion;
- positioning a roller at a first location on the article of footwear, wherein the roller includes a female flange, a male flange, and a roller body extending between the female flange and the male flange;
- adjusting a distance between a female flange and a male flange of the roller such that the roller body contacts the article of footwear at the first location;
- and
- rolling the roller on the article of footwear from the first location to a second location, wherein the shoe upper portion and the sole portion are positioned between the female flange and the male flange as the roller traverses from the first location to the second location, wherein the roller body is slidably received in a receiving portion recessed into the female flange.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.