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US 9,510,646 B2Granted
Article of footwear having a flexible fluid-filled chamber
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorScott C. Holt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of footwear may include an upper forming a void within the footwear, a sole structure secured to the upper, and a chamber that encloses a pressurized fluid. The sole structure includes a depression. The chamber is located within the void of the upper and located on the depression of the sole structure. The chamber may include a plurality of fluid-filled subchambers, a manifold, and a connection fluidically-connected at least one of the subchambers to the manifold. The subchambers may enclose the pressurized fluid at different pressures. The subchambers may be separated from one another by a bonded area in the direction extending between the heel and toe of the chamber.
Claims17
An article of footwear including a heel region and a forefoot region, the article of footwear comprising:
- an upper forming a first portion of a void within the footwear;
- a sole structure secured to the upper, the sole structure forming a second portion of the void;
- and
- a chamber that encloses a pressurized fluid and includes a longitudinal axis that extends between the heel region and the forefoot region, the chamber being located within the void and including a first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers that extend in a medial to lateral direction of the footwear along individual longitudinal axes that are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chamber, and a manifold that extends continuously along one of a medial side and a lateral side of the sole structure from a first end of the chamber disposed in the heel region to a second end of the chamber disposed in the forefoot region, the manifold being in fluid communication with the first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers, and the manifold is intersected by the longitudinal axes of the first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers at a same edge of the manifold, each of the first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers being fluidly connected to the manifold by a respective individual fluid connection;
- wherein each respective individual fluid connection, in a direction from a toe end of the chamber toward a heel end of the chamber, is successively farther in distance from the toe end of the chamber;
- and
- wherein a cross-sectional area of each individual fluid connection is less than a cross-sectional area of the individual fluid connection's respective fluid-filled subchamber.
4 more elements
An article of footwear including a heel region and a forefoot region, the article of footwear comprising:
- an upper forming a first portion of a void within the footwear and including an ankle opening that provides access to the void;
- a sole structure secured to the upper and forming a second portion of the void;
- a chamber that:
- encloses a pressurized fluid, is located within the void, and includes a longitudinal axis that extends between the heel region and the forefoot region, the chamber including a plurality of subchambers extending between a medial side and a lateral side of the chamber along individual longitudinal axes that extend perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chamber and a manifold in fluid communication with the plurality of subchambers and intersected by the individual longitudinal axes at a same edge of the manifold, each of the plurality of subchambers being fluidly connected to the manifold by a respective individual fluid connection;
- and
- an insert located on a top surface of the chamber;
- wherein the chamber and the insert are removable from the void through the ankle opening;
- wherein each respective individual fluid connection, in a direction from a toe end of the chamber toward a heel end of the chamber is, successively farther in distance from the toe end of the chamber;
- and
- wherein a cross-sectional area of each individual fluid connection is less than a cross-sectional area of the individual fluid connection's respective subchamber.
7 more elements
An article of footwear including a heel region and a forefoot region, the article of footwear comprising:
- an upper forming a first portion of a void within the footwear and including an ankle opening that provides access to the void;
- a sole structure secured to the upper and forming a second portion of the void;
- and
- a chamber that:
- encloses a pressurized fluid, is located within the void, and includes a longitudinal axis that extends between the heel region and the forefoot region, the chamber including a first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers that each include a longitudinal axis that extends in a medial to lateral direction of the footwear and is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chamber, and a manifold in fluid communication with the first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers, the manifold being located along one of a medial side and a lateral side of the chamber, the manifold extending continuously between the heel region and the forefoot region of the footwear, and the manifold being intersected by at least two of the longitudinal axes of the first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers at a same edge of the manifold;
- wherein each of the first plurality of fluid-filled subchambers is fluidly connected to the manifold by a respective individual fluid connection;
- wherein each respective individual fluid connection, in a direction from a toe end of the chamber toward a heel end of the chamber is, successively farther in distance from the toe end of the chamber;
- and
- wherein a cross-sectional area of each individual fluid connection is less than a cross-sectional area of the individual fluid connection's respective fluid-filled subchamber.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.