Plate for footwear
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsEmily Farina, Lysandre Follet, Geng Luo, Rachel M. Savage, Kristin Yetman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A plate for an article of footwear having a sole structure includes an anterior-most point disposed in a forefoot region of the sole structure, a posterior-most point disposed closer to a heel region of the sole structure than the anterior-most point, and a concave portion extending between the anterior-most point and the posterior-most point. The concave portion includes a constant radius of curvature from the anterior-most point to a metarsophalangeal (MTP) point of the sole structure. The MTP point opposes the MTP joint of a foot during use.
Claims20
A plate for an article of footwear having a sole structure, the plate comprising:
- an anterior-most point configured to be disposed in a forefoot region of the sole structure;
- a posterior-most point configured to be disposed within a heel region of the sole structure;
- a flat portion extending from the posterior-most point in a direction toward the anterior-most point;
- a concave portion configured to be disposed in the forefoot region of the sole structure and extending continuously from a forward-most point located at the anterior-most point to a rearward-most point located along a blend portion extending between and connecting the concave portion and the flat portion, the concave portion including a constant first radius of curvature from the anterior-most point to the rearward-most point;
- and
- a lateral edge portion extending from the forward-most point to the rearward-most point along a lateral side of the plate, the lateral edge portion being continuously convex along an entire length of the concave portion,
- wherein the plate is formed from at least two layers of fibers, wherein the at least two layers are anisotropic to one another to impart a gradient stiffness across the plate, and
- wherein, along a total length of the plate from the anterior-most point to the posterior-most point, the plate includes (i) a toe segment, a metatarsophalangeal (MTP) segment, and a bridge segment disposed sequentially within the concave portion and (ii) a heel segment within the flat portion, the bridge segment terminating at the rearward-most point located on the blend portion and having a reduced width proximate to the blend portion relative to a maximum width of the MTP segment and a maximum width of the heel segment.
A plate for an article of footwear having a sole structure, the plate comprising:
- an anterior-most point configured to be disposed in a forefoot region of the sole structure;
- a posterior-most point configured to be disposed within a heel region of the sole structure;
- a flat portion extending from the posterior-most point in a direction toward the anterior-most point;
- a concave portion configured to be disposed in the forefoot region of the sole structure and extending continuously from a forward-most point located at the anterior-most point to a rearward-most point located along a blend portion extending between and connecting the concave portion and the flat portion, the concave portion including a constant first radius of curvature from the anterior-most point to the rearward-most point;
- and
- a medial edge portion extending from the forward-most point to the rearward-most point along a medial side of the plate, the medial edge portion being continuously convex along an entire length of the concave portion,
- wherein the plate is formed from at least two layers of fibers, wherein the at least two layers are anisotropic to one another to impart a gradient stiffness across the plate, and
- wherein, along a total length of the plate from the anterior-most point to the posterior-most point, the plate includes (i) a toe segment, a metatarsophalangeal (MTP) segment, and a bridge segment disposed sequentially within the concave portion and (ii) a heel segment within the flat portion, the bridge segment terminating at the rearward-most point located on the blend portion and having a reduced width proximate to the blend portion relative to a maximum width of the MTP segment and a maximum width of the heel segment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.