Article of Footwear With Medial Contact Portion
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorTetsuya T. Minami
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An article of footwear with a medial contact portion disposed on the medial side of the article is described. The medial contact portion includes a plurality of raised elements that extend outwards from the surface of the upper on the medial side. The raised elements are configured to contact a ball during passing or trapping to absorb and dampen forces associated with the impact of the ball with the article to provide cushioning. The sizing and spacing arrangement of the raised elements on the medial contact portion provide sufficient surface area to allow a portion of the surface of the upper to contact a ball. In one embodiment, the upper is made from a synthetic leather material that has substantially the same coefficient of friction under dry conditions and wet conditions.
Claims20
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper and a sole structure;
- the upper including a medial contact portion disposed on a medial side of the upper and extending through at least a midfoot region of the article of footwear;
- the medial contact portion including a plurality of raised elements disposed on the upper, the plurality of raised elements extending outward from a surface of the upper;
- wherein each raised element has a length associated with a major axis aligned generally along a vertical direction of the upper and a width associated with a minor axis aligned generally along a longitudinal direction of the upper;
- wherein each of the plurality of raised elements have a first height extending outward from the surface of the upper to an extended outer surface of each raised element;
- and
- at least two of the plurality of raised elements further comprise protrusions that extend outward from the extended outer surface of the at least two raised elements.
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper and a sole structure;
- the upper comprising a medial contact portion disposed on a medial side of the upper extending through at least a midfoot region of the article of footwear;
- the medial contact portion includes a first group of raised elements disposed on the upper, each raised element extending outward from a surface of the upper, and a second group of raised elements disposed on the upper, each raised element extending outward from the surface of the upper;
- wherein each raised element has a length associated with a major axis aligned generally along a vertical direction of the upper and a width associated with a minor axis aligned generally along a longitudinal direction of the upper;
- wherein each raised element is spaced apart from each other by a first distance greater than the width of each raised element;
- wherein the first group of raised elements and the second group of raised elements are spaced apart a second distance in a center of the midfoot region, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance;
- and
- at least two raised elements from at least one of the first group of raised elements and the second group of raised elements include protrusions that extend outward from an extended outer surface of the at least two raised elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.