CN-122003191-A - Sole structure for an article of footwear and related assembly method

Abstract

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes a midsole including a cavity having a first protrusion extending in a first direction from a first surface within the cavity and a second protrusion extending in a second direction from a second surface within the cavity toward the first protrusion, and a cushion including a first recess disposed on a first side of the cushion and a second recess disposed on an opposite second side of the cushion, the first recess receiving the first protrusion and the second recess receiving the second protrusion.

Inventors

• Andrew Kane
• Stefan E. Gerst
• LI TAIRONG
• J. M. Skana Pico
• Todd A. Watti
• Derek Hong

Assignees

• 耐克创新有限合伙公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20240920

Priority Date

20240918

Claims (20)

1. 1. A sole structure for an article of footwear, the sole structure comprising: A midsole, the midsole comprising a cavity having a first protrusion extending from a first surface in a first direction within the cavity and a second protrusion extending from a second surface in a second direction within the cavity toward the first protrusion, and A cushion comprising a first recess disposed on a first side of the cushion and a second recess disposed on an opposite second side of the cushion, the first recess receiving the first protrusion and the second recess receiving the second protrusion.
2. 2. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the first projection is aligned with the second projection.
3. 3. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein a distal end of the first projection is opposite and aligned with a distal end of the second projection.
4. 4. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first projection and the second projection is elongated and extends along a longitudinal axis of the at least one of the first projection and the second projection between a first end and a second end, at least one of the first end and the second end comprising an oblique angle.
5. 5. The sole structure of claim 4, wherein the first protrusion substantially fills the first recess and the second protrusion substantially fills the second recess.
6. 6. The sole structure of claim 1, wherein the cushion pad is a bladder.
7. 7. The sole structure of claim 6, wherein the bladder includes a first barrier layer coupled to a second barrier layer to define a chamber having a plurality of segments defined by web regions of the bladder.
8. 8. The sole structure of claim 7, wherein a portion of the web region is disposed between a distal end of the first protrusion and a distal end of the second protrusion.
9. 9. The sole structure of claim 6, wherein the bladder is pressurized.
10. 10. An article of footwear comprising the sole structure of claim 1.
11. 11. A method, comprising: Forming a midsole, the midsole comprising a cavity and a first protrusion extending in a first direction from a first surface of the midsole within the cavity; forming a cushion pad including a first recess disposed on a first side of the cushion pad; Inserting said cushion pad into said cavity of said midsole, and The cushion is rotated within the cavity until the first protrusion is received by the first recess.
12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein forming the midsole includes forming a second protrusion extending from a second surface of the midsole in a second direction within the cavity toward the first protrusion.
13. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising aligning the second protrusion with the first protrusion.
14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein aligning the second protrusion with the first protrusion comprises opposing a distal end of the second protrusion to a distal end of the first protrusion.
15. 15. The method of claim 11, wherein forming a midsole having a first protrusion comprises forming the midsole having an elongated protrusion.
16. 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising substantially filling the first recess with the first protrusion when the first protrusion is received by the first recess.
17. 17. The method of claim 11, wherein forming a cushion comprises forming a bladder.
18. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein forming a bladder includes joining a first barrier layer to a second barrier layer to define a chamber having a plurality of segments defined by a web region of the bladder, the web region of the bladder defining the first recess.
19. 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising pressurizing the bladder.
20. 20. The method of claim 11, further comprising incorporating the midsole and the cushion into an article of footwear.

Description

Sole structure for an article of footwear and related assembly method Cross Reference to Related Applications The present PCT international application claims priority from U.S. application No. 18/888,530, filed on 18, 9, 2024, which claims priority from U.S. c. ≡119 (e), U.S. provisional application No. 63/595,894, filed on 3, 11, 2023, and U.S. provisional application No. 63/584,822, filed on 22, 9, 2023. The disclosures of these prior applications are considered to be part of the disclosure of the present application and are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to an article of footwear, and more particularly to a sole structure for an article of footwear. Background This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art. Articles of footwear generally include an upper and a sole structure. The upper may include any suitable material to receive, secure, and support the foot on the sole structure. The upper may cooperate with laces, straps, or other fasteners to adjust the fit of the upper around the foot. A bottom portion of the upper proximate a bottom surface of the foot is attached to the sole structure. The sole structure generally includes a layered arrangement that extends between a ground surface and an upper. For example, the sole structure may include a midsole and an outsole. The midsole is generally disposed between the outsole and the upper and provides cushioning for the foot. The midsole may include a pressurized fluid-filled chamber that resiliently compresses under an applied load to cushion the foot by attenuating ground reaction forces. Such fluid-filled chambers are formed separately from the midsole and are typically composed of a material that is different from the material from which the midsole is formed. For example, the fluid-filled chamber may include a barrier layer composed of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), while the midsole may include a foamed polymeric material. After forming the fluid-filled chamber, the fluid-filled chamber is permanently attached to the sole structure by foaming the polymeric material surrounding the fluid-filled chamber to form a midsole, or alternatively, the fluid-filled chamber is bonded to the foamed midsole by an adhesive to fix a desired position of the fluid-filled chamber relative to the midsole. While conventional fluid-filled chambers are sufficiently secured to the material of the midsole during manufacture of the article of footwear, conventional manufacturing methods require additional assembly operations to attach the fluid-filled chamber to the midsole, such as applying an adhesive layer between the midsole and the fluid-filled chamber. Such additional operations increase the overall cost and complexity associated with manufacturing the sole structure, and thus the resulting footwear. Drawings The drawings described herein are for illustration of selected configurations and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article of footwear according to principles of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a top exploded view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a bottom exploded view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a top view of a bladder for use with the article of footwear of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a side view of the bladder of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1, showing the bladder in a first position during installation of the bladder into an opening in a midsole of the article of footwear of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1, showing the bladder of FIG. 6 in a second position during installation of the bladder into the opening of the midsole of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1, showing the bladder of FIG. 6 rotated from the second position of FIG. 7 to an installed position within the midsole; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1, taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1, taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 8; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an article of footwear according to principles of the present disclosure, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the article of footwear of FIG. 11, taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11. Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. Detailed Description Example configurations will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example configurations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific components, devices, and meth