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US 9,167,867 B2Granted
Article of footwear with multi-part sole assembly
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsWindra Fahmi, Collin K. Eder, Sebastien Mermet
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of footwear includes an upper, a midsole beneath the upper, and an outsole beneath the midsole. The midsole includes a substantially U-shaped outer member defining a pair of forwardly extending arms spaced from one another and formed of a first material. An inner member is positioned between the arms of the outer member and is formed of a second material that is more resilient than the first material.
Claims18
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper defining a chamber for receiving a foot;
- a midsole positioned beneath and directly secured to the upper and comprising:
- a substantially U-shaped outer member defining a pair of forwardly extending arms spaced from one another and formed of a first material, and including a tongue extending inwardly from a midfoot region of a medial arm of the pair of arms;
- and
- an inner member positioned between the arms of the outer member and formed of a second material that is different from the first material, a pair of shoulders extending outwardly from a central portion of a forefoot region of the inner member in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the midsole, a forward end of each arm of the outer member abutting one of the shoulders, a recess being formed on an underside of a lateral side of the inner member, the recess receiving the tongue of the outer member;
- and
- an outsole positioned beneath the midsole and including a first retaining wall extending upwardly from an outer peripheral edge of an upper surface of the outsole and a second retaining wall extending upwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the outsole, each of a first end of the first retaining wall being spaced from a first end of the second retaining wall and a second end of the first retaining wall being spaced from a second end of the second retaining wall by portions of the upper surface of the outsole free of a retaining wall;
- wherein an interior of the first retaining wall extends along an exterior of the midsole in uninterrupted fashion from a medial side of the midsole and around a forefoot of the midsole to a lateral side of the midsole;
- and
- wherein an interior of the second retaining wall extends along an exterior of the midsole in uninterrupted fashion from a medial side of the midsole and around a heel portion of the midsole to a lateral side of the midsole.
7 more elements
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper defining a chamber for receiving a foot;
- a midsole positioned beneath and directly secured to the upper and comprising:
- a substantially U-shaped outer member defining a pair of forwardly extending arms spaced from one another and formed of a first material, and including a tongue extending inwardly from a midfoot region of a medial arm of the pair of arms;
- and
- an inner member positioned between the arms of the outer member and formed of a second material having a hardness that is less than a hardness of the first material, a pair of shoulders extending outwardly from a central portion of a forefoot region of the inner member in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the midsole, a forward end of each arm of the outer member abutting one of the shoulders, a recess being formed on an underside of a lateral side of the inner member, the recess receiving the tongue of the outer member;
- and
- an outsole positioned beneath the midsole and including a first retaining wall extending upwardly from an outer peripheral edge of a forefoot region of an upper surface of the outsole and a second retaining wall extending upwardly from an outer peripheral edge of a heel region of the upper surface of the outsole, each of a first end of the first retaining wall being spaced from a first end of the second retaining wall and a second end of the first retaining wall being spaced from a second end of the second retaining wall by portions of the upper surface of the outsole free of a retaining wall;
- wherein an interior of the first retaining wall extends along an exterior of the midsole in uninterrupted fashion from a medial side of the midsole and around a forefoot of the midsole to a lateral side of the midsole;
- and
- wherein an interior of the second retaining wall extends along an exterior of the midsole in uninterrupted fashion from a medial side of the midsole and around a heel portion of the midsole to a lateral side of the midsole.
7 more elements
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper defining a chamber for receiving a foot;
- a midsole positioned beneath and directly secured to the upper and comprising:
- a substantially U-shaped outer member defining a pair of forwardly extending arms spaced from one another and formed of a first material, and including a tongue extending inwardly from a midfoot region of a medial arm of the pair of arms;
- and
- an inner member positioned between the arms of the outer member and formed of a second material having a specific gravity that is less than a specific gravity of the first material, a pair of shoulders extending outwardly from a central portion of a forefoot region of the inner member in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the midsole, a forward end of each arm of the outer member abutting one of the shoulders, a recess being formed on an underside of a lateral side of the inner member, the recess receiving the tongue of the outer member;
- and
- an outsole positioned beneath the midsole, and including a first retaining wall extending upwardly from an outer peripheral edge of a forefoot region of an upper surface of the outsole and a second retaining wall extending upwardly from an outer peripheral edge of a heel region of the upper surface of the outsole, each of a first end of the first retaining wall being spaced from a first end of the second retaining wall and a second end of the first retaining wall being spaced from a second end of the second retaining wall by portions of the upper surface of the outsole free of a retaining wall;
- wherein an interior of the first retaining wall extends along an exterior of the midsole in uninterrupted fashion from a medial side of the midsole and around a forefoot of the midsole to a lateral side of the midsole;
- and
- wherein an interior of the second retaining wall extends along an exterior of the midsole in uninterrupted fashion from a medial side of the midsole and around a heel portion of the midsole to a lateral side of the midsole.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.