Plate with foam for footwear

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10448704-B2
Application number	US-201615248059-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2016
Priority date	Oct 2, 2015
Publication date	Oct 22, 2019
Grant date	Oct 22, 2019

Abstract

A sole structure for an article of footwear having an upper includes an outsole, a plate disposed between the outsole and the upper, and a first cushioning layer. The plate includes an anterior-most point disposed in a forefoot region of the sole structure, a posterior-most point disposed closer to a heel region of the sole structure than the anterior-most point, and a concave portion extending between the anterior-most point and the posterior-most point. The concave portion includes a constant radius of curvature from the anterior-most point to a metarsophalangeal (MTP) point of the sole structure. The MTP point opposes the MTP joint of a foot during use. The first cushioning layer is disposed between the concave portion and the upper.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sole structure for an article of footwear having an upper, the sole structure comprising:
an outsole;
a plate disposed between the outsole and the upper, the plate comprising:
an anterior-most point disposed in a forefoot region of the sole structure;
an aft point disposed closer to a heel region of the sole structure than the anterior-most point;
a concave portion including a constant radius of curvature from the anterior-most point to a transition point disposed between a metatarsophalangeal (MTP) point of the sole structure and the aft point, the MTP point being tangent with a reference plane and located twenty-five percent to thirty-five percent of a total length of the plate from the anterior-most point;
a convex portion extending from the transition point to the aft point in a direction away from the reference plane, the aft point located twenty-five percent to thirty-five percent of the total length of the plate from the MTP point; and
a substantially flat portion extending from the aft point to a heel region of the sole structure parallel to the reference plane; and

a first cushioning layer disposed between the concave portion and the upper.

2. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the anterior-most point and the aft point are co-planar.

3. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the convex portion includes a substantially constant curvature.

4. The sole structure of claim 1 , further comprising a second cushioning layer disposed between the outsole and the plate.

5. The sole structure claim 1 , further comprising a fluid-filled chamber disposed proximate to the substantially flat portion.

6. The sole structure of claim 5 , wherein the fluid-filled chamber is located between the substantially flat portion and the outsole.

7. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein a center of the radius of curvature is located at the MTP point.

8. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the substantially flat portion extends from the aft point to a posterior-most point of the plate.

9. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the plate has a uniform thickness.

10. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein a length of the plate from the anterior-most point to the MTP point is equal to a length of the plate from the MTP point to the aft point.

11. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the first cushioning layer extends from the anterior-most point to the aft point.

12. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the first cushioning layer extends from the anterior-most point to a posterior-most point of the substantially flat portion.

13. A sole structure for an article of footwear having an upper, the sole structure comprising:
an outsole;
a plate disposed between the outsole and the upper, the plate comprising:
an anterior-most point disposed in a forefoot region of the sole structure;
an aft point disposed closer to a heel region of the sole structure than the anterior-most point;
an anterior curved portion extending from the anterior-most point and including a constant, first radius of curvature from the anterior-most point to a metatarsophalangeal (MTP) point of the sole structure, the MTP point located twenty-five percent to thirty-five percent of a total length of the plate from the anterior-most point and the aft point located twenty-five percent to thirty-five percent of the total length of the plate from the MTP point;
a posterior curved portion extending in a direction away from a ground surface and having the first radius of curvature from the MTP point to a transition point between the MTP point and the aft point, and a second radius of curvature from the transition point to the aft point; and
a substantially flat portion extending from the aft point to a heel region of the sole structure; and

a first cushioning layer disposed between the anterior curved portion and the upper.

14. The sole structure of claim 13 , wherein the anterior-most point and the aft point are co-planar.

15. The sole structure of claim 13 , wherein the second radius of curvature is constant.

16. The sole structure of claim 13 , further comprising a second cushioning layer disposed between the outsole and the plate.

17. The sole structure of claim 13 , further comprising a fluid-filled chamber disposed proximate to the substantially flat portion.

18. The sole structure of claim 17 , wherein the fluid-filled chamber is located between the substantially flat portion and the outsole.

19. The sole structure of claim 11 , wherein a center of the first radius of curvature is located at the MTP point.

20. The sole structure of claim 13 , wherein the substantially flat portion extends from the aft point to a posterior-most point of the plate.

21. The sole structure of claim 13 , wherein the plate has a uniform thickness.

22. The sole structure of claim 13 , wherein a length of the plate from the anterior-most point to the MTP point is equal to a length of the plate from the MTP point to the aft point.

23. The sole structure of claim 13 , wherein the first cushioning layer is disposed between the anterior curved portion and the upper and extends from the anterior-most point to the aft point.

24. The sole structure of claim 13 , wherein the first cushioning layer extends from the anterior-most point to a posterior-most point of the substantially flat portion.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Dupre Risha
• Farina Emily
• Follet Lysandre
• Guest Stefan E
• Hutchinson Helene
• Luo Geng
• Suffield Rachel M
• Yetman Krissy

Classifications

• A43B13/127 Primary

  the midsole being multilayer · CPC title

• A43B13/189

  filled with a non-compressible fluid, e.g. gel, water · CPC title

• A43B7/32

  with shock-absorbing means (resilient soles A43B13/18) · CPC title

• A43B13/141

  with a part of the sole being flexible, e.g. permitting articulation or torsion · CPC title

• A43B13/188

  Differential cushioning regions · CPC title