Article Of Footwear With Fluid-Filled Chamber Lacking An Inflation Channel And Method For Making The Same

A method for making a pressurized fluid-filled chamber, the method comprising:

• placing a pair of polymer sheets in an opposing arrangement;
• pressing opposing perimeter weld portions of the polymer sheets against each other to form an airtight seal along a perimeter region of an interior void of the fluid-filled chamber;
• providing a flow of pressurized air between the opposing sheets to an inflation region of the perimeter weld portions;
• unsealing the inflation region of the perimeter weld portions to permit the flow of pressurized air through an inflation gap in the inflation region formed between the opposing sheets into the interior void to a provide a fluid pressure in the interior void;
• and
• while maintaining the fluid pressure in the interior void, welding the perimeter weld portions of the sheets to each other including the inflation region to form an uninterrupted perimeter weld around the fluid-filled chamber without having an inflation channel formed in the perimeter weld.

A high-frequency welder for forming a pressurized fluid-filled chamber, the welder comprising:

• a cavity weld structure having a cavity surface formed therein including a cavity raised perimeter weld portion and a cavity recessed central portion disposed within the cavity raised perimeter weld portion;
• a core weld structure opposing the cavity weld structure having a core surface including a core perimeter weld portion and a core central portion disposed within the core perimeter weld portion;
• and
• a movable gate valve disposed proximate the perimeter weld portion on one of the cavity and core weld structures, the movable gate valve configured to withdraw selectively a gate region of the perimeter weld portion surface on the one of the cavity and core weld structures to permit a temporary inflation channel to form between the first and second polymer sheets during an inflation and welding process;
• wherein one of the cavity and core weld structures are movable to move the cavity and core weld structures selectively toward and away from each other, and the cavity and core weld structures are each configured to receive a polymer sheet on the cavity and core surfaces, press portions of the polymer sheets on the cavity and core raised perimeter weld portions against each other, and weld portions of the polymer sheet on the cavity and core raised perimeter weld portions to each other while an internal void formed between the sheets proximate the cavity and core central portions contains a pressurized fluid.