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
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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 method for customizing an article of footwear, comprising:
- receiving data for generating a rating system on a customer computing system for evaluating 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;
- transmitting, from the customer computing system to a manufacturer computing system, data including a customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning received from the rating system;
- transmitting, from the customer computing system to the manufacturer computing system, an order for a second article of footwear to be customized based on the customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning, wherein the second article of footwear has a second base sole layer;
- and
- providing the second article of footwear to a customer location, wherein the second article of footwear includes a second sole member with a second level of forefoot cushioning formed with at least a first aperture in a forefoot portion of the second base sole layer to form the second sole member with the second level of forefoot cushioning, wherein the second level of forefoot cushioning is different from the first level of forefoot cushioning and is determined based on the customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning of the first sole member.
A system for customizing an article of footwear comprising:
- a customer computing system configured to:
- receive 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;
- and
- prepare an order for a second article of footwear to be customized based on the customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning, wherein the second article of footwear has a second base sole layer;
- and
- manufacturer computing system configured to:
- receive the order for the second article of footwear from the customer computing system;
- and
- prepare the order for the second article of footwear, wherein the second article of footwear includes a second sole member 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 second base sole layer includes one or more incisions based on the customer-selected rating of the first level of forefoot cushioning of the first sole member;
- and
- send the second article of footwear to a customer location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.