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US 2023/0263269 A1Published application
Article of footwear with tubular structures
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsStefan E. Guest, Matthew J. Holmes, Yoav Sterman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of footwear has a tubular structure that may conform to various anatomical features of a foot. The tubular structure has a tunnel, and a tensile strand runs through the tunnel. Applying tension along the tensile strand may cause the tubular structure to conform more closely to one or more anatomical features. The geometry, or path, of the tubular structure on the article may be customized.
Claims20
An article of apparel, comprising:
- a base layer;
- a tunnel spring structure coupled to and extending along the base layer, the tunnel spring structure comprising:
- a plurality of tunnel structures, each tunnel structure having a first end, a second end, and a tunnel extending through the tunnel structure from the first end to the second end;
- a plurality of connecting portions extending between adjacent ones of the plurality of tunnel structures;
- and
- a tunnel path collectively defined by the tunnels of the plurality of tunnel structures;
- and
- a first tensile strand extending through the tunnel path of the tunnel spring structure,
- wherein the tunnel spring structure is movable from a first configuration to a second configuration in which at least some of the adjacent ones of the plurality of tunnel structures are closer together than when in the first configuration, and wherein the tunnel spring structure moves from the first configuration to the second configuration when tension is applied to the first tensile strand.
6 more elements
An article of apparel, comprising:
- a base layer;
- a tunnel spring structure extending along the base layer and having a first end, a second end, the tunnel spring structure comprising a plurality of tunnel segments bonded to the base layer at a plurality of anchoring portions and a plurality of connecting segments extending between adjacent ones of the plurality of tunnel segments;
- and
- a first tensile strand extending through a tunnel path collectively defined by the plurality of tunnel segments,
- wherein the tunnel path comprises one or more curved portions or non-linear portions, and the tunnel spring structure is movable from a first configuration to a second configuration when tension is applied to the first tensile strand, and
- wherein a geometry of the base layer changes when the tunnel spring structure moves from the first configuration to the second configuration.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.