Article Of Footwear Having A Sole Structure With A Fluid-Filled Chamber
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsEric S. Schindler, 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.
Claims25
An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising:
- a sole element positioned adjacent to the upper, the sole element defining a plurality of projections extending in a downward direction;
- an outsole that forms at least a portion of a ground-engaging surface of the footwear, the outsole defining a plurality of projections extending in an upward direction;
- and
- a fluid-filled chamber positioned between the sole element and the outsole, the chamber defining (a) an outer subchamber that extends at least partially around a periphery of the chamber, the outer subchamber defining a plurality of indentations that receive the projections of the sole element and the projections of the outsole and (b) an inner subchamber that is spaced inward from the periphery of the chamber.
An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising:
- a fluid-filled chamber having an upper surface, an opposite lower surface, and a sidewall extending between the upper surface and the lower surface, the chamber defining a plurality of indented areas in each of the upper surface and the lower surface;
- an upper sole element positioned adjacent to the upper surface of the chamber, the upper sole element having a plurality of projecting areas that extend into the indented areas in the upper surface;
- and
- a lower sole element positioned adjacent to the lower surface, the lower sole element having a plurality of projecting areas that extend into the indented areas in the lower surface of the chamber,
- wherein the sidewall is exposed to form a portion of an exterior surface of the sole structure, and the chamber extends through substantially all of a length of the sole structure.
An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising:
- a fluid-filled chamber defining (a) an outer subchamber that extends at least partially around a periphery of the chamber and (b) an inner subchamber that is spaced inward from the periphery of the chamber, the outer subchamber enclosing a pressurized fluid and the inner subchamber enclosing a fluid with substantially ambient pressure;
- an upper sole element positioned to contact an upper surface of the chamber, the upper sole element defining a plurality of projections extending into the upper surface;
- and
- a lower sole element positioned to contact a lower surface of the chamber, the lower sole element defining a plurality of projections extending into the lower surface.
An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising:
- a chamber that is sealed to enclose a fluid at a substantially ambient pressure, the chamber being exposed along each of a lateral side and an opposite medial side of the sole structure, and the chamber extending through substantially all of a length of the footwear;
- and
- non-foam elements located on opposite sides of the chamber, each of the non-foam elements defining projections that extend into the chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.