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US 8,079,160 B2Granted
Articles with retractable traction elements
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsJim Baucom, Clifford B. Gerber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Articles of manufacture and articles of wear may include one or more retractable traction elements. A plurality of the retractable traction elements may be interconnected by a base member and may form an insert. Each of the retractable traction elements may include an extension inducing element and a ground (or other surface) contacting element. The extension inducing element may flex in response to an applied force and may cause the ground or other surface contacting element to extend and engage an underlying surface.
Claims23
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper;
- a sole member attached to the upper, the sole member having a plurality of openings in a bottom surface thereof;
- and
- a traction element insert embedded in the sole member, wherein
- the insert includes a plate member having a plurality of domes formed therein, each of the domes having an associated convex region in an upper surface of the plate member and an associated concave region in a lower surface of the plate member,
- the insert further includes a plurality of extendable ground-contacting traction elements, each of the ground-contacting traction elements located within and attached to a different one of the concave regions, and
- the sole member and plate member are configured such that downward force on the convex regions from a foot of a wearer of the article compresses the domes and extends the ground-contacting traction elements through the plurality of openings.
4 more elements
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper;
- a sole member attached to the upper, the sole member having a midsole, an outsole and a plurality of openings defined in a bottom surface of the outsole;
- and
- a traction element insert embedded in the sole member between the midsole and outsole, wherein
- the insert includes a plate member having a plurality of domes formed therein, each of the domes having an associated convex region in an upper surface of the plate member and an associated concave region in a lower surface of the plate member, each of the concave regions positioned above a different one of the openings, and
- the insert further includes a plurality of extendable ground-contacting traction elements, each of the ground-contacting traction elements located within and attached to a different one of the concave regions.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.