US 9,808,046 B2Granted

Customization of inner sole board

AssigneeNIKE, Inc.

InventorsJim Baucom, Clifford B. Gerber

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An inner sole board having varying regions of flexibility is provided for use in an article of footwear. The inner sole board may include different materials along its length at different locations that vary its flexibility. An inner sole board is manufactured in an injection molding process requiring only one mold. The process includes a first step of providing a mold, a second step of providing an injection molding assembly, a third step of preparing an injection molding assembly and mold, a fourth step of injecting material into the mold, and a fifth step of establishing the dimensions of a first portion. During the injection molding process, the flow rate of at least one material may be controlled by a nozzle gate to control the shape and size of the flex zone it creates. In this manner, the inner sole board may be customized for a specific sport or individual.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method of making one or more inner sole boards of a kit of inner sole boards for an article of footwear, the method comprising:

providing a mold having a single cavity;
heating a first material to a temperature greater than or equal to a melting temperature of the first material so that the first material is in a molten state;
heating a second material having a different stiffness than the first material to a temperature greater than or equal to a melting temperature of the second material so that the second material is in a molten state;
wherein the melting temperature of the first material is different than the melting temperature of the second material, and the temperature of the first material and the temperature of the second material are greater than a bonding temperature at which the first material bonds to the second material;
providing an injection molding assembly comprising a first nozzle and a second nozzle;
injecting into the single cavity the first material in the molten state through the first nozzle and the second material in the molten state through the second nozzle so that the first material contacts the second material in the cavity along a bonding zone at which the first material bonds to the second material;
curing the first material and the second material so that the first material forms a first portion of the inner sole board and the second material forms a second portion of the inner sole board;
wherein the first portion has a flexibility different than a flexibility of the second portion;
and
establishing dimensions of the first portion by controlling the first nozzle.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/190,606Filed 26 Feb 2014 · division
Priority: 6 Aug 2008
Published: US 2014/0239542 A128 Aug 2014
Granted: 7 Nov 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification18 codes

A43B 17/02
Insoles for insertion, e.g. footbeds or inlays, for attachment to the shoe after the upper has been joined: wedge-like or resilient
A43B 13/12
Characterised by the material: soles with several layers of different materials
A43B 13/188
Resiliency achieved by the features of the material, e.g. foam, non liquid materials: differential cushioning regions
A43B 17/003
Insoles for insertion, e.g. footbeds or inlays, for attachment to the shoe after the upper has been joined: characterised by the material

Family

Application12/186,600Parent of this division · filed 6 Aug 2008
US 2014/0239542 A1Pre-grant publication · published 28 Aug 2014
US 9,003,679 B2Parent of this division
US 2010/0031531 A1Published application
US 9,808,046 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.