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US 12,708,179 B2Granted
Cushioned upper for an article of footwear
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsYuchung K. Chen, Jeremy L. Connell, Dervin A. James, Tetsuya T. Minami, Arthur Parker Molinari, Stuart Reinhardt, Timothy J. Smith, Matthew Tegenkamp
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An upper for an article of footwear includes an inner boot having an ankle opening and an instep region formed between the ankle opening and an anterior end of the upper and a cushioning member disposed over the instep region of the inner boot and including a first side fixed to a medial side of the upper and a second side tethered to a lateral side of the upper.
Claims20
An article of footwear comprising:
- a sole structure;
- an inner boot attached to the sole structure along a bite line and including an ankle opening and an instep region formed between the ankle opening and an anterior end of the inner boot;
- and
- a cushioning member disposed over the instep region of the inner boot and including a first side fixed to a medial side of the inner boot and a second side attached by a tether to one or more anchors extending from the bite line along a lateral side of the inner boot, the cushioning member including at least two compressible pads between the medial side and the lateral side of the inner boot and joined together by a longitudinal flexion of a web along a longitudinal axis to define an X-shape divided by the longitudinal axis, the longitudinal flexion extending from proximate to the ankle opening to proximate to a toe cap of the inner boot, the at least two compressible pads being spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis, the web configured to allow the at least two compressible pads to bend about the longitudinal flexion, each of the at least two compressible pads including legs that converge at a central point to define the X-shape and a tensile element disposed between a first film layer and a second film layer.
1 more element
An article of footwear comprising:
- a sole structure;
- an inner boot attached to the sole structure along a bite line and including an ankle opening and an instep region formed between the ankle opening and an anterior end of the inner boot;
- and
- a cushioning member disposed over the instep region of the inner boot and including (i) an interior portion detached from the inner boot and (ii) a peripheral portion attached by a tether to one or more anchors extending from the bite line between the sole structure and at least one of a medial side and a lateral side of the inner boot, the cushioning member including at least two compressible pads between the medial side and the lateral side of the inner boot and joined together by a longitudinal flexion of a web along a longitudinal axis to define an X-shape divided by the longitudinal axis, the at least two compressible pads being spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis, the web configured to allow the at least two compressible pads to bend about the longitudinal flexion, each of the at least two compressible pads including legs that converge at a central point to define the X-shape and a tensile element disposed between a first film layer and a second film layer.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.