Sole and article of footwear having a pod assembly
AssigneeReebok International Ltd.
InventorsPaul Bates, Paul E. Litchfield, David Lacorazza, William Mcinnis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sole for an article of footwear includes an upper sole. The upper sole forms a sidewall of the sole. The sole includes a pod assembly coupled to the upper sole and disposed below the upper sole. The pod assembly includes a strip of pods fluidly connected in series. The strip of pods includes at least one pod disposed in each of a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region of the sole. The strip of pods extends from the heel region of the sole to the forefoot region of the sole in a linear arrangement. The strip of pods is disposed along a central longitudinal axis of the sole.
Claims20
A sole for an article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper sole, the upper sole forming a sidewall of the sole;
- and
- a pod assembly coupled to the upper sole and disposed below the upper sole, the pod assembly including a strip of pods and passageways fluidly connecting the strip of pods in series, the strip of pods including at least one pod disposed in each of a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region of the sole, and each of the passageways extending between adjacent pods of the strip,
- wherein the strip of pods extends from the heel region of the sole to the forefoot region of the sole in a linear arrangement, and
- wherein the strip of pods is disposed along a central longitudinal axis of the sole, and each of the passageways is aligned in a longitudinal direction of the sole, and
- wherein a bottom surface of the upper sole defines a plurality of hubs receding into the upper sole, and each of the hubs receives an upper portion of a respective pod of the pod assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.