US 2019/0239596 A1Published application

Direct bottomed article of footwear with a film

AssigneeNIKE, Inc.

InventorSteven Edmund Jan Cornelis Ploem

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Abstract

An article of footwear has an upper that is direct attached with the sole. The sole has a film extending up sidewalls of the sole to a film edge that is prior to the sidewall and the upper joining. Method of manufacture of the article of footwear includes steps of positioning a film over a mold cavity and then securing the film to the mold. The film is heated and then drawn into the mold cavity under a vacuum. The film forms a liner of the mold cavity. A foam composition is injected into the lined mold cavity. As the foam composition expands, the foam composition interacts with and mechanically engages with the upper that is poisoned at the mold cavity to allow for the mechanical engagement that results in the direct attach of the sole to the upper. The film is then trimmed from the sole sidewalls.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An article of footwear comprising:

an upper comprising:
(1) a medial side, a lateral side, a toe end, a heel end, and a plantar region extending between the medial side, the lateral side, the toe end, and the heel end;
and
a sole having a medial side, a lateral side, a toe end, a heel end, an upper-facing surface extending between the medial side, the lateral side, the toe end, and the heel end, a ground-facing surface opposite the upper-facing surface, a medial sidewall extending between the ground-facing surface and the upper facing surface along the medial side, and a lateral sidewall extending between the ground-facing surface and the upper-facing surface along the lateral side, the sole comprising:
(1) a polymeric foam composition forming at least a portion of the upper-facing surface and mechanically engaged with the upper plantar region;
and
(2) a polymeric film composition forming at least a portion of the medial side wall from the ground-facing surface toward the upper at a medial film edge and also forming at least a portion of the lateral side wall from the ground-facing surface toward the upper at a lateral film edge, wherein there is at least 1 mm between the upper-facing surface at the medial sidewall and the medial film edge and there is at least 1 mm between the upper-facing surface at the lateral sidewall and the lateral film edge.

4 more elements

A method of making an article of footwear, the method comprising:

positioning a polymeric film composition over a mold cavity of a mold having a first molding surface forming a ground-facing surface of a footwear sole, and a second molding surface forming a sidewall of the footwear sole;
securing the polymeric film composition over the mold cavity to enclose the mold cavity;
applying thermal energy to the polymeric film composition;
drawing a vacuum through the mold cavity enclosed by polymeric film composition until at least a portion of the polymeric film composition contacts the first molding surface and the second molding surface as the polymeric film composition forms a liner for at least a portion of the mold cavity;
injecting a material composition that will foam as a polymeric foam composition into the mold cavity with the polymeric film composition as the liner of at least a portion of the mold cavity;
positioning a footwear upper at the mold cavity, wherein the footwear upper is positioned such that the polymeric foam composition mechanically engages with the footwear upper to form the article of footwear;
removing the article of footwear from the mold cavity;
and
trimming the polymeric film composition from at least the sidewall, wherein the polymeric film composition extends up to a film edge on the sidewall that is at least 1 mm from the upper.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/270,388Filed 7 Feb 2019
Priority: 8 Feb 2018
Published: 8 Aug 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification17 codes

A43B 13/18
Characterised by the constructive form: resilient soles
A43B 9/18
Footwear with soles moulded on to uppers or welded on to uppers without adhesive: moulded
A43B 13/12
Characterised by the material: soles with several layers of different materials
A43B 13/122
Soles with several layers of different materials: characterised by the outsole or external layer