Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120183748 | Joining Polymeric Materials - Systems and methods for joining polymeric materials together may use lasers or broadband infrared heat sources. The polymeric materials are arranged in an overlapping manner and then are exposed to the heat producing radiation for a sufficient time to join the polymeric materials together at the overlapped area. Such systems and methods may avoid the need to add an energy absorbing dopant to the materials being joined. Such systems and methods also may be used on transparent materials. | 07-19-2012 |
20120233878 | Fluid-Filled Chamber With A Tensile Member - A fluid-filled chamber, which may be incorporated into articles of footwear and other products, may include an outer barrier and a tensile member. The outer barrier may have an upper portion, an opposite lower portion, and a peripheral edge. The upper portion and lower portion may be bonded together in a bonded region spaced inward from the peripheral edge. The bonded region may have a convex shape. The tensile member may be located within the outer barrier, and may be formed to have at least one gap. The bonded region may extend at least partially into the gap. | 09-20-2012 |
20120233879 | Contoured Fluid-Filled Chamber With Tensile Structures - A fluid-filled chamber, which may be incorporated into articles of footwear and other products, may include an outer barrier, a first tensile structure, and a second tensile structure. Any of the first and second tensile structures may include one or more textile tensile members. The first and second tensile structures may be located within an interior void defined by the outer barrier and may be bonded to the outer barrier. The first and second tensile structures may be bonded to the outer barrier in different areas of the outer barrier that are in fluid communication with each other. The first tensile structure may have a height greater than a height of the second tensile structure. In turn, the relative locations and differences of height between the tensile structures may impart a contour to the chamber. | 09-20-2012 |
20120233880 | Method Of Manufacturing A Contoured Fluid-Filled Chamber With Tensile Structures - In one method of manufacturing a fluid-filled chamber, two polymer layers are located between two mold portions, the surfaces of the mold portions cooperatively defining a peripheral cavity with first and second regions, an inward extent of the first region exceeding an inward extent of the second region. A tensile structure may be positioned between the polymer layers and the mold portions may be compressed together. Part of a peripheral portion of the chamber may be formed by drawing first and second areas of the chamber against the first and second regions of the peripheral cavity, respectively. After pressurization, the first region of the peripheral cavity may have a greater extent of outward protrusion than the second region of the peripheral cavity. Accordingly, an asymmetric medio-lateral shape may be imparted to the chamber without the use of a tensile structure that is itself tapered or contoured. | 09-20-2012 |
20120260526 | Method Of Lasting An Article Of Footwear With A Fluid-Filled Chamber - A method of manufacturing an article of footwear may include assembling at least a portion of an upper of the article of footwear, the upper having a lower perimeter edge. A lasting element is secured to the upper adjacent to the lower perimeter edge. The lasting element includes a barrier and a tensile member located within the barrier, the tensile member being secured to opposite sides of the barrier. In addition, a sole structure of the article of footwear is joined to at least one of the upper and the lasting element. | 10-18-2012 |
20130266773 | Spacer Textile Materials And Methods For Manufacturing The Spacer Textile Materials - A spacer textile material may include a first layer, a second layer, and a plurality of connecting members extending between and joining the first layer and the second layer. The connecting members may form a series of at least ten rows that are separated by spaces. The rows have a width that is less than a width of the spaces, and the connecting members form at least one stabilizing row with a width that is greater than the width of the spaces. | 10-10-2013 |
20140026438 | Sole Structure For An Article Of Footwear - A sole structure for an article of footwear includes one or more outsole portions. At least some of these outsole portions include a plurality of alternating upward-facing and downward-facing elongate channels. The channels may have a base and two sidewalls, with adjacent channels sharing a common sidewall. The bases of the downward-facing channels form an upper surface of the outsole portion and the bases of the upward-facing channels form a lower surface of the outsole portion. The sidewalls are arranged at non-perpendicular angles to the upper surface. A first outsole portion has a pressure-versus-strain curve having a local maximum at a “trip point” pressure value and a first strain value and wherein the pressure-versus-strain curve has a change in strain of at least approximately 10% before a second occurrence of the “trip point” pressure value is reached. An article of footwear having the sole structure attached to an upper is also provided. | 01-30-2014 |
20150208759 | FLUID-FILLED CHAMBER WITH A TENSILE MEMBER - A fluid-filled chamber, which may be incorporated into articles of footwear and other products, may include an outer barrier and a tensile member. The outer barrier may have an upper portion, an opposite lower portion, and a peripheral edge. The upper portion and lower portion may be bonded together in a bonded region spaced inward from the peripheral edge. The bonded region may have a convex shape. The tensile member may be located within the outer barrier, and may be formed to have at least one gap. The bonded region may extend at least partially into the gap. | 07-30-2015 |