Article of footwear incorporating foam-filled elements and methods for manufacturing the foam-filled elements

An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising a first support element and a second support element, each of the support elements including:

• a shell that define an interior void;
• and
• a polymer foam material having a shape of at least a portion of the void and located within the void,
• the first support element being located adjacent to and spaced from the second support element to define a flexion indentation extending upwardly into the sole structure.

An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising a plurality of support elements with an upper surface and an opposite lower surface, the support elements being separated by a plurality of flexion indentations that extend upward from the lower surface and into the sole structure, the flexion indentations including:

• a first flexion indentation that extends longitudinally through at least a portion of a length of the sole structure;
• and
• at least two second flexion indentations that extend through substantially all of a width of the sole structure,
• the support elements including a shell that define an interior void and a polymer foam material located within the void.

An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising a plurality of support elements with an upper surface and an opposite lower surface, the support elements being separated by a plurality of flexion indentations that extend upward from the lower surface and into the sole structure, the flexion indentations including:

• a first flexion indentation that extends through substantially all of a length of the sole structure;
• a second flexion indentation that extends through a portion of a length of the sole structure and is located in at least a forefoot region of the sole structure;
• and
• at least two third flexion indentations that extend through substantially all of a width of the sole structure,
• each of the support elements including:
• a shell that define an interior void, the shell being formed from a polymer material that extends around substantially all of the void;
• and
• a core having a shape of the void and located within the void, at least a portion of the core being a polymer foam material,
• the polymer foam material of at least two of the support elements having different densities.

A method of manufacturing polymer foam-filled elements, the method comprising steps of:

• providing a first void and a second void;
• simultaneously expelling a foam material from a first outlet to fill at least a portion of the first void and a second outlet to fill at least a portion of the second void, the first outlet having a greater size than the second outlet;
• and
• expanding the foam material such that a density of the foam material in the first void is greater than a density of the foam material in the second void.

A method of manufacturing a sole structure for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:

• defining a plurality of depressions in a first polymer layer;
• locating different volumes of a polymer foam material within the depressions to partially fill the depressions;
• expanding the polymer foam material to substantially fill the depressions;
• and
• securing a second polymer layer to the first polymer layer to seal the polymer foam material within the depressions.

A method of manufacturing a sole structure for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:

• shaping a first polymer layer to define a plurality of depressions and spaces located between the depressions, the depressions being arranged to have a shape of an outline of the sole structure, and the spaces having:
• a first space that extends through substantially all of a length of the sole structure, and
• at least two second spaces that extend through substantially all of a width of the sole structure,
• partially filling the depressions with different volumes of a polymer foam material;
• expanding the polymer foam material to substantially fill the depressions, the polymer foam material having different densities in at least two of the depressions;
• and
• securing a second polymer layer to the first polymer layer to seal the polymer foam material within the depressions.

An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising a plurality of support elements, each of the support elements including:

• a shell that defines an interior void, the shell being formed from a polymer material that extends around substantially all of the void;
• and
• a core having a shape of at least a portion of the void and located within the void, at least a portion of the core being a polymer foam material,
• the interior voids of at least two of the support elements having different volumes, and the cores within the interior voids of the at least two of the support elements having substantially similar densities.