Method of customizing forefoot cushioning in articles of footwear
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsChristopher S. Cook, Shane S. Kohatsu, Bret Schoolmeester, Daniel T. Rowe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of footwear includes an upper and a sole structure with a sole member. The sole member can be manufactured using a system that modifies the forefoot cushioning of the sole member over a series of footwear purchases. The modifications can be configured to correspond to a customer's evaluation of the forefoot cushioning previously purchased. The sole member can include a set of apertures or incisions that are formed along various surfaces of the sole member to adjust the cushioning characteristics of the sole member.
Claims20
A system for manufacturing a sole member for an article of footwear having customized forefoot cushioning, comprising:
- a computing system that receives input data including a customer-selected rating of a first level of forefoot cushioning of a first sole member of a first article of footwear, wherein the first sole member has a first base sole layer;
- a cutting device controllable to cut one or more incisions in a material for a footwear sole member;
- and
- a second base sole layer for a second sole member for a second article of footwear, wherein the cutting device is controlled to cut one or more incisions in the second base sole layer based on the customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning of the first sole member to thereby change the second base sole layer from an initial forefoot cushioning level to a modified forefoot cushioning level that is softer than the first level of forefoot cushioning.
A system for manufacturing a sole member for an article of footwear having customized forefoot cushioning, comprising:
- a computing system that receives input data including a customer-selected rating of a first level of forefoot cushioning of a first sole member of a first article of footwear, wherein the first article of footwear has a first base sole layer;
- a cutting device controllable to cut one or more incisions in a material for a footwear sole member;
- and
- a second base sole layer for a second sole member for a second article of footwear, wherein the second base sole layer is selected from a plurality of base sole layers based on the customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning of the first sole member, wherein the plurality of base sole layers includes plural base sole layers having different forefoot cushioning levels, and wherein the cutting device is controlled to cut one or more incisions in the second base sole layer based on the customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning of the first sole member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.