Articles of footwear with support structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022125158-A1
Application number	US-202017082327-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 28, 2020
Priority date	Oct 28, 2020
Publication date	Apr 28, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

An article of footwear includes an upper and a sole structure that defines a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region. The sole structure includes an upper midsole cushioning member, a lower midsole cushioning member, an outsole coupled with a bottom surface of the lower midsole cushioning member, and a plate positioned between the upper midsole cushioning member and the lower midsole cushioning member.

First claim

We claim:

1 . An article of footwear, comprising:
an upper; and a sole structure coupled with the upper, the sole structure defining a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region, the sole structure comprising:
an upper midsole cushioning member;
a lower midsole cushioning member;
an outsole coupled with a bottom surface of the lower midsole cushioning member; and
a plate positioned between the upper midsole cushioning member and the lower midsole cushioning member.

2 . The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein the plate includes a curved portion and a flat portion.

3 . The article of footwear of claim 2 , wherein the curved portion includes an anterior curved portion that extends through at least the forefoot region of the article of footwear and a posterior curved portion that extends through the midfoot region of the article of footwear and at least a portion of the heel region of the article of footwear.

4 . The article of footwear of claim 3 , wherein the plate is constructed from carbon fiber.

5 . The article of footwear of claim 4 , wherein the anterior curved portion includes a first segment portion and a second segment portion with a split therebetween.

6 . The article of footwear of claim 5 , wherein the sole structure further includes a heel support structure in the heel region of the article of footwear.

7 . The article of footwear of claim 6 , wherein the heel support structure is constructed from thermoplastic polyurethane.

8 . The article of footwear of claim 7 , wherein the upper midsole cushioning member and the lower cushioning member are a foam material.

9 . The article of footwear of claim 8 , wherein the foam material is formed from a material selected from a group consisting of ethylene-vinyl acetate, thermoplastic polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer, and mixtures thereof.

10 . The article of footwear of claim 9 , wherein the foam material is formed during a process using supercritical nitrogen or carbon dioxide.

11 . The article of footwear of claim 10 , wherein a minimum width of the anterior curved portion is larger than a minimum width of the posterior curved portion, and wherein a minimum width of the flat portion is larger than a minimum width of the posterior curved portion.

12 . The article of footwear of claim 11 , wherein the anterior curved portion is angled at an angle between about 5-degrees and about 45-degrees relative to a reference plane.

13 . The article of footwear of claim 12 , wherein the posterior curved portion is angled at an angle between about 3-degrees and about 45-degress relative to the reference plane.

14 . The article of footwear of claim 13 , wherein the flat portion is angled at an angle between about 0-degrees and about 5-degress relative to the reference plane.

15 . An article of footwear, comprising:
an upper; and a sole structure coupled with the upper, the sole structure defining a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region, and the sole structure comprising:
a midsole cushioning member;
an outsole coupled with a bottom surface of the midsole cushioning member; and
a plate,
wherein the plate includes a toe portion, an arched portion, and a rear segment; and wherein the toe portion and the arched portion are positioned between the midsole cushioning member and the outsole, and the rear segment is positioned above the midsole cushioning member.

16 . The article of footwear of claim 15 , wherein the midsole cushioning member includes an aperture.

17 . The article of footwear of claim 16 further including a portion of the plate between the rear segment and the arched portion extending through the aperture of the midsole cushioning member.

18 . The article of footwear of claim 17 , wherein the sole structure further includes a heel cushioning member and a heel support collar.

19 . The article of footwear of claim 18 , wherein the plate further includes an anterior curved portion, a medial curved portion, a posterior curved portion, and a flat portion, and wherein the anterior curved portion, the medial curved portion, the posterior curved portion, and the flat portion are angled relative to a reference plane.

20 . An article of footwear, comprising:
an upper; and a sole structure coupled with the upper, the sole structure defining a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region, the sole structure comprising:
an upper midsole cushioning member;
a lower midsole cushioning member;
an outsole coupled with a bottom surface of the lower midsole cushioning member; and
a plate positioned between the upper midsole cushioning member and the lower midsole cushioning member,
wherein the upper midsole cushioning member and the lower midsole cushioning member are foam materials formed using a supercritical gas, and the plate comprises carbon fiber.

Assignees

• Puma SE

Inventors

• Ni Jerry C
• Michalski Robert S
• Le Thomas

Classifications

• A43B13/127 Primary

  the midsole being multilayer · CPC title

• A43B13/18

  Resilient soles {(skating boots provided with resilient means A43B5/1658)} · 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