Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130333827 | Method of Manufacturing A Contoured Fluid-Filled Chamber With A Tensile Member - A fluid-filled chamber may include an upper barrier portion, a lower barrier portion, and a tensile member. An upper tensile layer of the tensile member may be secured to the upper barrier portion, and a lower tensile layer of the tensile member may be secured to the lower barrier portion. The upper barrier portion and the lower barrier portion may have first areas and second areas. The first areas may be indentations extending into the chamber, and the second areas may be protrusions extending outward from the chamber. At least a portion of the first areas may be unbonded with the upper barrier portion and the lower barrier portion. Accordingly, one or more properties of the chamber, such as a flexibility, stiffness, rigidity, tensile response, compressibility, or force attenuation property, may be altered. | 12-19-2013 |
20130340279 | Contoured Fluid-Filled Chamber With A Tensile Member - A fluid-filled chamber may include an upper barrier portion, a lower barrier portion, and a tensile member. An upper tensile layer of the tensile member may be secured to the upper barrier portion, and a lower tensile layer of the tensile member may be secured to the lower barrier portion. The upper barrier portion and the lower barrier portion may have first areas and second areas. The first areas may be indentations extending into the chamber, and the second areas may be protrusions extending outward from the chamber. At least a portion of the first areas may be unbonded with the upper barrier portion and the lower barrier portion. Accordingly, one or more properties of the chamber, such as a flexibility, stiffness, rigidity, tensile response, compressibility, or force attenuation property, may be altered. | 12-26-2013 |
20140173938 | ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR WITH A HARNESS AND FLUID-FILLED CHAMBER ARRANGEMENT - An article of footwear is disclosed having a structural harness and impact-attenuating structure arrangement that includes a fluid-filled chamber. The article includes an upper, a sole secured to the upper having an impact-attenuating structure including a fluid-filled chamber and a structural harness. The structural harness may extend between the upper and fluid-filled chamber in a tensile arrangement that biases the fluid-filled chamber toward the upper and compresses the chamber. The structural harness may include a first layer, a thread layer bonded to the first layer and a second layer bonded to the thread layer on an opposite side of the thread layer. The thread layer may include threads configured to transmit tensile forces and restrict stretch in a longitudinal direction of the threads. | 06-26-2014 |
20140230276 | Article Of Footwear Incorporating A Chamber System And Methods For Manufacturing The Chamber System - 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. | 08-21-2014 |
20140250728 | Footwear Fluid-Filled Chamber Having Central Tensile Feature - An article of footwear includes a sole structure including a chamber for receiving a pressurized fluid, the chamber having a top portion, a bottom portion, and side portions around a periphery of the chamber. The sole structure also includes a central structure located in a central portion of the chamber between opposing side portions of the chamber, such that the chamber is devoid of additional structures in a surrounding region around the central structure and extending from the central structure to the side portions of the chamber. On all sides of the central structure, a dimension of the surrounding region between the central structure and the nearest side portion is one third or more of a span across the chamber between opposing side portions. | 09-11-2014 |
20140360048 | Article of Footwear - An article of footwear may include a plurality of segments. Each of the plurality of segments may form a portion of a combined upper and sole structure. A bootie may line the combined upper and sole structure. The bootie may interconnect the plurality of segments such that the plurality of segments are independently moveable with respect to one another. | 12-11-2014 |
20150223564 | SOLE ASSEMBLY WITH TEXTILE SHELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME - An article of footwear has a sole assembly with a cushioning component and a shell that has a textile layer. The cushioning component is positioned in a cavity of the shell so that the cushioning component is supported on a lower surface by the shell and the upper surface of the cushioning component is uncovered by the shell at an opening of the shell. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear includes forming an at least partially textile shell so that the shell has a cavity with an opening. A cushioning component is positioned in the cavity of the shell so that a lower surface of the cushioning component is supported on an inner surface of the shell and is uncovered by the shell at the opening. The lower surface of the cushioning component is secured to the inner surface of the shell by radio frequency welding or adhesive. | 08-13-2015 |
20150257481 | ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR WITH OUTSOLE BONDED TO CUSHIONING COMPONENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING AN ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR - An article of footwear comprises a sole structure having a cushioning component defining an enclosed, fluid-filled chamber. The cushioning component has a top wall, a bottom wall, a medial side wall, and a lateral side wall. The cushioning component includes a unitary outsole having a bottom portion, a medial side portion, and a lateral side portion. The bottom portion is bonded to the bottom wall, the medial side portion is bonded to the medial side wall, and the lateral side portion is bonded to the lateral side wall of the cushioning component. A method of manufacturing includes disposing the first and second polymer sheets and the outsole in a mold assembly and thermally bonding the outsole to the second polymer sheet, and the first and second polymer sheets to one another to form a chamber. | 09-17-2015 |