Article of footwear having a bladder
AssigneeReebok International Ltd.
InventorsKEVIN LEARY, MATT COSTA, DAN HOBSON, TOBY BIRKINHEAD, JOHN GREENHALGH, THOMAS PIACENTINI
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Abstract
An upper comprising a flexible layer configured to receive a foot, a bladder coupled to an outer surface of the flexible layer, and an inflation mechanism operatively coupled to the bladder for inflating the bladder such that the flexible layer is drawn toward the foot. The bladder extends from a lateral side in a heel region across a throat region to a medial side in the heel region. The bladder comprises a plurality of fluidly connected segments, each segment forming an angle with an adjacent segment.
Claims21
An upper comprising:
- a flexible layer configured to receive a foot;
- a bladder coupled to an outer surface of the flexible layer, the bladder extending from a lateral side in a heel region across a throat region to a medial side in the heel region, the bladder comprising a plurality of fluidly connected segments, each segment forming an angle with an adjacent segment;
- and
- an inflation mechanism operatively coupled to the bladder for inflating the bladder such that the flexible layer is drawn toward the foot.
An article of footwear comprising:
- a sole;
- an upper attached to the sole and configured to receive a wearer's foot;
- a bladder disposed on an outermost surface of the upper;
- and
- an inflation mechanism operatively coupled to the bladder,
- wherein the bladder forms a zig-zag pattern extending from a heel region on a lateral side across a throat region to the heel region on a medial side, and
- wherein in an inflated state, air disposed in a portion of the bladder closer to the sole causes a portion of the bladder closer to a collar of the upper to tighten around the wearer's foot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.