Sole structure for an article of footwear with undulating sole plate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11717050-B2
Application number	US-202217567210-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 3, 2022
Priority date	May 23, 2017
Publication date	Aug 8, 2023
Grant date	Aug 8, 2023

Abstract

A sole structure for an article of footwear comprises a sole plate including a midfoot region and at least one of a forefoot region and a heel region. The sole plate has an undulating profile at a transverse cross-section of the sole plate. The undulating profile includes multiple waves each having a crest and a trough. The sole plate has ridges corresponding with the crest and the trough of each wave and extending longitudinally throughout the midfoot region and the at least one of a forefoot region and a heel region.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sole structure for an article of footwear comprising:
a sole plate having an undulating profile at a transverse cross-section of the sole plate, the undulating profile including multiple waves each having a crest and a trough, wherein the sole plate has ridges corresponding with the crest and the trough of each wave and extending along a length of the sole plate;
wherein the multiple waves vary in wavelength; and
wherein the sole plate includes a forefoot region, and the sole plate extends upward at a foremost extent of the sole plate such that the forefoot region is concave at a foot-facing surface of the sole plate.

2. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the sole plate varies in thickness.

3. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the multiple waves vary in at least one of amplitude or depth.

4. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the multiple waves are rounded, square, or angular.

5. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein a medial edge of the sole plate is contoured so that at least one of the ridges has a first portion that extends in a forefoot region of the sole plate and terminates at the medial edge of the sole plate, and has a second portion that extends only in a heel region of the sole plate and terminates at the medial edge of the sole plate.

6. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein wavelengths of all of the multiple waves increase in magnitude in order in a direction from a medial edge of the sole plate to a lateral edge of the sole plate.

7. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the sole plate is a resilient material such that each of the multiple waves decreases in elevation from a steady state elevation to a loaded elevation under a dynamic compressive load, and returns to the steady state elevation upon removal of the dynamic compressive load.

8. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the sole plate is one of a fiber strand-lain composite, a carbon-fiber composite, a thermoplastic elastomer, a glass-reinforced nylon, wood, or steel.

9. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the undulating profile extends from a medial edge of the sole plate to a lateral edge of the sole plate.

10. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein each of the multiple waves has an amplitude at the crest, and has a depth at the trough equal to the amplitude.

11. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein:
the multiple waves include at least two waves disposed between a longitudinal midline and a medial edge of the sole plate, and at least two waves disposed between the longitudinal midline and a lateral edge of the sole plate; and
the at least two waves disposed between the longitudinal midline and the medial edge have a shorter average wavelength than the at least two waves disposed between the longitudinal midline and the lateral edge.

12. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the ridges extend parallel to one another and to a longitudinal midline of the sole plate.

13. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the ridges extend an entire length of the sole plate.

14. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein:
the sole plate includes a heel region and a midfoot region;
the midfoot region is between the forefoot region and the heel region; and
the sole plate slopes downward in the midfoot region from the heel region to the forefoot region.

15. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the sole plate includes only the forefoot region and a midfoot region.

16. The sole structure of claim 1 , further comprising:
a foam midsole; wherein the sole plate is embedded in the foam midsole, with both a medial edge of the sole plate and a lateral edge of the sole plate encapsulated by the foam midsole.

17. The sole structure of claim 1 , wherein the sole plate is a unitary, one-piece component.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Chambers Clayton
• Droege John

Classifications

• A43B5/00

  Footwear for sporting purposes (non-skid devices, e.g. ice-spurs or studs for football shoes, A43C15/00) · CPC title

• A43B3/0057 Primary

  S-shaped · CPC title

• A43B13/141 Primary

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

• A43B13/026

  Composites, e.g. carbon fibre or aramid fibre; the sole, one or more sole layers or sole part being made of a composite · CPC title

• A43B13/04

  Plastics, rubber or vulcanised fibre · CPC title