Method Of Manufacturing An Article Of Footwear With A Fluid-Filled Chamber
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsERIC S. SCHINDLER, STUART C. FORSTROM, DANIEL W. PETER
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of footwear may have a sole structure with a chamber, a plate, and an outsole. The chamber encloses a fluid and has an upper surface and an opposite lower surface. The plate is positioned adjacent to the upper surface and has a plurality of projections that extend into indentations in the chamber. The outsole may be positioned adjacent to the lower surface and may have a plurality of projections that extend into indentations in the chamber. In some manufacturing processes for the sole structure, the plate and outsole may be located within a mold, and the chamber may then be shaped by surfaces of the plate, outsole, and mold.
Claims21
A method of manufacturing an article of footwear, the method comprising:
- inserting a first sole element and a second sole element into a mold;
- locating a polymer material between the first sole element and the second sole element;
- shaping the polymer material against surfaces of the first sole element, the second sole element, and the mold to form a fluid-filled chamber from the polymer material;
- and
- incorporating the first sole element, the second sole element, and the chamber into the footwear as a sole structure of the footwear.
A method of manufacturing a sole structure for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
- providing a mold with a first mold portion and a second mold portion that cooperatively define a cavity with a shape of the sole structure;
- inserting a first sole element into a portion of the cavity formed by the first mold portion;
- inserting a second sole element into a portion of the cavity formed by the second mold portion;
- locating a polymer material between the first mold portion and the second mold portion;
- and
- shaping the polymer material against surfaces of the first sole element, the second sole element, and the cavity to form a fluid-filled chamber from the polymer material.
A method of manufacturing a sole structure for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
- inserting a plate and an outsole into a cavity of a mold, each of the plate and the outsole having a plurality of outwardly-extending projections;
- locating a polymer material within the cavity and between the plate and the outsole;
- and
- shaping the polymer material to extend around the projections and against surfaces of the first sole element, the second sole element, and the mold to form a fluid-filled chamber.
A method of manufacturing a first article of footwear and a second article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
- providing a mold with an interior cavity;
- forming a first sole structure for the first article of footwear by:
- inserting a pair of first sole elements into the mold,
- locating a polymer material within the cavity and between the first sole elements, and
- shaping the polymer material against surfaces of the first sole elements and the mold to form a fluid-filled chamber and bond the polymer material to the first sole elements;
- and
- forming a second sole structure for the second article of footwear by:
- inserting a pair of second sole elements into the mold, at least one of the second sole elements have a different configuration than both of the first sole elements,
- locating a polymer material within the cavity and between the second sole elements, and
- shaping the polymer material against surfaces of the second sole elements and the mold to form a fluid-filled chamber and bond the polymer material to the second sole elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.