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US 12,628,909 B2Granted
Sole structure for a deconstructable footwear article
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsSean Lu, Darryl Matthews, William Moroski, Danielle L. Taylor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This disclosure relates to a sole structure for an article of footwear. Components of the sole structure—e.g., a midsole core, a midsole carrier, and an outsole—may be secured to one another using one or more cables. The sole structure may likewise be secured to other elements of the article of footwear using the one or more cables. Thus, the article of footwear, including the sole structure, may be constructed without the use of an adhesive and may be easily disassembled, improving recyclability.
Claims20
A footwear article, comprising:
- an upper at least partially enclosing a foot-receiving cavity;
- a sole coupled to the upper, the sole comprising:
- a midsole carrier component comprising:
- a superior surface facing towards the foot-receiving cavity and comprising a plurality of concave portions, wherein the plurality of concave portions are adjacent to one another across the superior surface;
- an inferior surface facing away from the foot-receiving cavity;
- a through hole extending from the superior surface to the inferior surface;
- an outsole component having a portion positioned adjacent to the superior surface and comprising a traction lug positioned in the through hole and protruding away from the foot-receiving cavity and beyond the inferior surface;
- wherein a surface around the traction lug comprises a convex shape that corresponds to one of the plurality of concave portions of the superior surface;
- and
- a midsole core component adjacent to the portion of the outsole component and the superior surface, the portion of the outsole component being positioned between the superior surface and the midsole core component.
7 more elements
A method comprising:
- positioning an outsole component adjacent to a superior surface of a midsole carrier component, the superior surface of the midsole carrier component comprising a plurality of concave portions, wherein the plurality of concave portions are adjacent to one another across the superior surface, the outsole component comprising a traction lug;
- inserting the traction lug through a through hole of the midsole carrier component, wherein the traction lug protrudes beyond an inferior surface of the midsole carrier component;
- wherein a surface around the traction lug comprises a convex shape that corresponds to one of the plurality of concave portions of the superior surface of the midsole carrier component;
- stacking a midsole core component atop the outsole component such that the outsole component is positioned between the midsole carrier component and the midsole core component;
- and
- threading a cable through a first set of through holes in the midsole core component and through a second set of through holes in the midsole carrier component.
3 more elements
A footwear article, comprising:
- an upper at least partially enclosing a foot-receiving cavity;
- and
- a sole coupled to the upper, the sole comprising:
- a midsole carrier component comprising a superior surface, wherein the superior surface faces towards the foot-receiving cavity and comprises a plurality of concave portions, wherein the plurality of concave portions are adjacent to one another across the superior surface;
- a midsole core component arranged between the superior surface of the midsole carrier component and the foot-receiving cavity;
- and
- a cable extending through, and attaching, at least the midsole core component and the midsole carrier component.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.