Article of footwear with upper and sole structure having substantially equal coefficients of friction
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorRichard August Benzien
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An article of footwear comprises an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper. The upper includes a side portion that has a first material composition at an exterior surface of the side portion. The exterior surface has a first coefficient of friction. The sole structure has a second material composition at an exterior surface of the sole structure that underlies the side portion of the upper. The exterior surface of the sole structure has a second coefficient of friction. The first coefficient of friction is substantially equal to the second coefficient of friction.
Claims17
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper including a one-piece, unitary unit that has a forefoot region, a midfoot region, a heel region, and an ankle opening;
- wherein the forefoot region of the unit has a toe box region and a vamp region contiguous with the toe box region, the vamp region extends from the forefoot region to the ankle opening in the midfoot region, the toe box region has a first thickness, and the vamp region has a second thickness less than the first thickness with a step change from the first thickness to the second thickness at a boundary between the vamp region and the toe box region that extends around the forefoot region of the unit from a medial side of the unit to a lateral side of the unit;
- and
- wherein the step change in thickness is at both an outer side and an inner side of the unit.
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper including a one-piece, unitary unit that has a forefoot region, a midfoot region, a heel region, and an ankle opening;
- wherein the forefoot region of the unit has a toe box region and a vamp region contiguous with the toe box region, the vamp region extends from the forefoot region to the ankle opening in the midfoot region, the toe box region has a first thickness, and the vamp region has a second thickness less than the first thickness with a step change from the first thickness to the second thickness at a boundary between the vamp region and the toe box region that extends around the forefoot region of the unit from a medial side of the unit to a lateral side of the unit;
- wherein the unit includes an outer layer and an inner layer, the inner layer is bonded to an inner surface of the outer layer, and the step change in thickness is at both an outer side and an inner side of the outer layer.
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper including a one-piece, unitary unit that has a forefoot region, a midfoot region, a heel region, and an ankle opening;
- wherein the forefoot region of the unit has a toe box region and a vamp region contiguous with the toe box region, the vamp region extends from the forefoot region to the ankle opening in the midfoot region, the toe box region has a first thickness, and the vamp region has a second thickness less than the first thickness with a step change from the first thickness to the second thickness at a boundary between the vamp region and the toe box region and at both an outer side and an inner side of the one-piece, unitary unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.