Article of footwear incorporating a chamber system and methods for manufacturing the chamber system
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsFidencio Campos, II, Zachary M. Elder, Benjamin J. Monfils, Lee D. Peyton
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An article of footwear has an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper. The sole structure may include a component with a flange extending in an outward direction from a void within a chamber of the component. A sole may also include a chamber formed from a polymer material and including a plurality of subchambers, each of the subchambers having at least one segment with a width that is less than fourteen millimeters. A sole may further include a chamber having areas with different thicknesses, and an outsole bonded to areas with a lesser thickness.
Claims19
An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure comprising a component formed from a first polymer layer and a second polymer layer, the component including a chamber with an interior void that encloses a fluid, at least a portion of the component including a flange that forms a seam for joining the first polymer layer and the second polymer layer and sealing the fluid within the void, the flange extending in an outward direction from the void and having a tapered configuration with a first thickness adjacent to the void and a second thickness spaced away from the void, the first thickness being greater than the second thickness, the chamber including a first group of subchambers located adjacent to a lateral side of the article of footwear and a second group of subchambers located adjacent to a medial side of the article of footwear, the first group of subchambers having at least two parallel segments extending away from the lateral side toward the medial side and the second group of subchambers having at least two parallel segments extending away from the medial side toward the lateral side, the first group of subchambers and the second group of subchambers bounded by a web area where the first polymer layer and the second polymer layer are bonded together, the web area extending between the at least two parallel segments of the first group of subchambers and between the at least two parallel segments of the second group of subchambers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.