Customization of inner sole board

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9808046-B2
Application number	US-201414190606-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 26, 2014
Priority date	Aug 6, 2008
Publication date	Nov 7, 2017
Grant date	Nov 7, 2017

Abstract

An inner sole board having varying regions of flexibility is provided for use in an article of footwear. The inner sole board may include different materials along its length at different locations that vary its flexibility. An inner sole board is manufactured in an injection molding process requiring only one mold. The process includes a first step of providing a mold, a second step of providing an injection molding assembly, a third step of preparing an injection molding assembly and mold, a fourth step of injecting material into the mold, and a fifth step of establishing the dimensions of a first portion. During the injection molding process, the flow rate of at least one material may be controlled by a nozzle gate to control the shape and size of the flex zone it creates. In this manner, the inner sole board may be customized for a specific sport or individual.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of making one or more inner sole boards of a kit of inner sole boards for an article of footwear, the method comprising:
providing a mold having a single cavity;
heating a first material to a temperature greater than or equal to a melting temperature of the first material so that the first material is in a molten state;
heating a second material having a different stiffness than the first material to a temperature greater than or equal to a melting temperature of the second material so that the second material is in a molten state; wherein the melting temperature of the first material is different than the melting temperature of the second material, and the temperature of the first material and the temperature of the second material are greater than a bonding temperature at which the first material bonds to the second material;
providing an injection molding assembly comprising a first nozzle and a second nozzle;
injecting into the single cavity the first material in the molten state through the first nozzle and the second material in the molten state through the second nozzle so that the first material contacts the second material in the cavity along a bonding zone at which the first material bonds to the second material;
curing the first material and the second material so that the first material forms a first portion of the inner sole board and the second material forms a second portion of the inner sole board; wherein the first portion has a flexibility different than a flexibility of the second portion; and
establishing dimensions of the first portion by controlling the first nozzle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dimensions of the first portion are established by controlling a first flow rate of the first material in the molten state through the first nozzle.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the dimensions of the first portion are established by controlling a first nozzle time on and a first nozzle time off.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the dimensions of the first portion are established by controlling a second flow rate of the second material in the molten state through the second nozzle.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the dimensions of the first portion are established by controlling a second nozzle time on and a second nozzle time off.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the dimensions of the first portion are established by staggering the first nozzle time on and the second nozzle time on.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first material and the second material are delivered into the single cavity simultaneously.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bond is selected from the group consisting of a chemical bond and a mechanical bond.

9. A method of making an article of footwear, including forming an inner sole board, the method comprising:
injecting a first molten material through a first nozzle and a second molten material through a second nozzle into a single cavity of a mold; wherein the first molten material and the second molten material contact one another in the single cavity at a bonding zone and at temperatures at least as great as a bonding temperature at which the first material bonds to the second material;
curing the first molten material and the second molten material so that a bond forms at the bonding zone, the first molten material forms a first portion of the inner sole board, and the second molten material forms a second portion of the inner sole board with the first portion connected to the second portion at the bonding zone and the first portion having a greater flexibility than the second portion;
establishing dimensions of the first portion by controlling flow of the first molten material through the first nozzle; and
establishing dimensions of the second portion by controlling flow of the second molten material through the second nozzle.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the dimensions of the first portion and the dimensions of the second portion are established by controlling a first flow rate of the first molten material through the first nozzle and controlling a second flow rate of the second molten material through the second nozzle.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the dimensions of the first portion and the dimensions of the second portion are established by staggering a first nozzle time on and a second nozzle time on.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first molten material and the second molten material are delivered into the single cavity simultaneously.

13. The method of claim 9 ,
wherein the bond is selected from the group consisting of a chemical bond and a mechanical bond.

14. A method of making an article of footwear, the method comprising:
heating a first material to a molten state and heating a second material to a molten state;
injecting the first material in the molten state through a first nozzle into a cavity of a mold and injecting the second material in the molten state through a second nozzle into the cavity of the mold; and
curing the first material and the second material within the cavity of the mold, thereby forming a bonding zone in which the first material is bonded to the second material so that the first material forms a first portion of a substantially rigid inner sole board and the second material forms a second portion of the substantially rigid inner sole board;
wherein the first material has a different composition than the second material such that the first material is stiffer than the second material;
wherein the first portion of the substantially rigid inner sole board has a first flexibility and the second portion of the substantially rigid inner sole board has a second flexibility; and
wherein the first flexibility is greater than the second flexibility.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first portion of the inner sole board is located in a forefoot region of the inner sole board.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the bonding zone of the inner sole board comprises a mechanical bond between the first material and the second material, the bonding zone having a bond width, wherein the first portion of the inner sole board includes a first portion of the bond width, and wherein the second portion of the inner sole board includes a second portion of the bond width.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein curing the first material and the second material includes at least one of cooling and ultraviolet curing.

18. The method of claim 14 , further including:
establishing dimensions of the first portion of the inner sole board by controlling flow of the first material in the molten state through the first nozzle; and
establishing dimensions of the second portion of the inner sole board by controlling flow of the second material in the molten state through the second nozzle.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more inner sole boards comprises a first inner sole board and a second inner sole board of the kit of inner sole boards;
wherein the first inner sole board and the second inner sole board both correspond to a same foot size; wherein the first portion or the second portion of the first inner sole board has a flexibility, a shape, or a thickness different than a corresponding one of a first portion or a second portion of the second inner sole board; and the method further comprising:
grouping the first inner sole board and the second inner sole board together in the kit for alternate use in the article of footwear by a user.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Baucom Jim
• Gerber Clifford B

Classifications

• B29D35/148

  Moulds or apparatus therefor · CPC title

• A43B17/14

  made of sponge, rubber, or plastic materials · CPC title

• A43B13/188 Primary

  Differential cushioning regions · CPC title

• A43B17/02 Primary

  wedge-like or resilient · CPC title

• B29C45/1676

  using a soft material and a rigid material, e.g. making articles with a sealing part · CPC title