Patent Application
20120055041
The present disclosure relates to an article of footwear and, more particularly, relates to a sole assembly for an article of footwear with plural cushioning members.
Articles of footwear can include an upper and a sole assembly. The upper can include layers or sections of material that wrap about and cover a substantial portion of the wearer's foot and ankle. The upper can also include laces, straps, or the like for securing the footwear to the wearer's foot. The sole assembly can include an outsole and a midsole. The outsole can be a unitary piece of relatively high-friction material that provides traction. The midsole can include foam that is disposed between the outsole and the upper for providing cushioned support for the wearer.
In some cases, the article of footwear may not be versatile enough for certain activities. For instance, the midsole may be sufficiently stiff enough to support high impact activities, such as running, but the midsole may be too stiff for walking and/or standing for long periods of time. As such, the footwear may be uncomfortable for certain activities. Also, the midsole may be resilient enough to properly cushion a wearer's feet for long periods of standing; however, the same midsole may be too resilient when pushing off and thrusting the foot forward (e.g., at the start of a sprint). As such, the midsole may deflect too much and excessively absorb the input force from the wearer, thereby reducing the forward thrust of the wearer's foot.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an article of footwear that is more versatile such that the footwear provides adequate support during a wide variety of activities. Also, there remains a need for an article of footwear that can be comfortable enough to wear while walking and standing during long periods of time and that also provides a sufficiently stiff surface for pushing off while thrusting the foot forward.
Accordingly, despite the improvements of known devices described above, there remains a need for an article of footwear that includes an upper and a sole assembly. The sole assembly is operably coupled to the upper, and the sole assembly defines a base support plane. The sole assembly also includes a cushioning assembly with a first end and a second end. The cushioning assembly includes a first cushioning member and a second cushioning member. The first cushioning member includes a first overlapping surface, and the second cushioning member includes a second overlapping surface. The first and second overlapping surfaces overlap each other over the base support plane and each slopes at a positive acute angle relative to the base support plane. The first cushioning member is thicker than the second cushioning member adjacent the first end of the cushioning assembly, and the second cushioning member is thicker than the first cushioning member adjacent the second end of the cushioning assembly. The first cushioning member has a resistance to resilient deformation that is less than that of the second cushioning member.
An article of footwear that alternately supports a weight load and a thrust load of a wearer is also disclosed. The weight and thrust loads extend along respective vectors generally from a single point on a foot of the wearer. The article of footwear includes an upper and a sole assembly that is operably coupled to the upper. The sole assembly includes an anterior portion and a posterior portion. The sole assembly also defines a base support plane, and the weight load is substantially normal to the base support plane, whereas the thrust load is disposed at an acute angle relative to the base support plane and is oriented away from the anterior portion toward the posterior portion. The sole assembly includes a cushioning assembly with a first cushioning member and a second cushioning member that overlap each other over the base support plane. Each of the first and second cushioning members support both the weight load and the thrust load. The first and second cushioning members each have a thickness that varies across the base support plane, such that the vector of the weight load extends through a first thickness of the second cushioning member and the vector of the thrust load extends through a second thickness of the second cushioning member. The second thickness is greater than the first thickness. Also, the first cushioning member has a resistance to resilient deformation that is less than that of the second cushioning member.
Still further, an article of footwear having an anterior portion, a posterior portion, and a longitudinal axis extending between the anterior and posterior portions is disclosed. The article of footwear includes an upper, an outsole that is operably coupled to the upper, and a midsole that is operably coupled to both the upper and the outsole. The outsole defines a base support plane, and the midsole is disposed between the upper and the outsole. The midsole includes a main portion with an opening and a cushioning assembly disposed within the opening. The cushioning assembly supports a ball of a foot of a wearer. The cushioning assembly includes a first end and a second end that are opposite each other and that are both substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The first end is disposed adjacent to the anterior portion, and the second end is disposed adjacent to the posterior portion. The cushioning assembly includes a first cushioning member and a second cushioning member. The first and second cushioning members are each substantially wedge shaped and each have a substantially triangular cross-section taken along the longitudinal axis. The first cushioning member includes a substantially flat first overlapping surface, and the second cushioning member includes a substantially flat second overlapping surface. The first and second overlapping surfaces abut each other and overlap each other over the base support plane. Each of the overlapping surfaces slope at a positive acute angle relative to the base support plane and slope away from the base support plane and the anterior portion and toward the upper and the posterior portion. The first cushioning member is thicker than the second cushioning member adjacent the first end of the cushioning assembly, and the second cushioning member is thicker than the first cushioning member adjacent the second end of the cushioning assembly. The second cushioning member is disposed between the first cushioning member and the base support plane. Furthermore, the first cushioning member has a resistance to resilient deformation that is less than that of the second cushioning member.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
As shown in
In addition, the article footwear 10 can include a sole assembly 18 as shown in detail in
In the embodiments illustrated, the outsole 20 can define a base support plane P (
Also, the midsole 22 can extend from the anterior portion 12 to the posterior portion 14. The midsole 22 can further define a ball portion 24 that supports a ball portion 25 (i.e., the metatarsals and immediately adjacent areas) of the foot 11 (see
As shown in
The midsole 22 can also include a cushioning assembly 28 (
The cushioning assembly 28 will now be described in greater detail. The cushioning assembly 28 can include a first cushioning member 40 and a second cushioning member 42. (It will be appreciated that a portion of the first cushioning member 40 is removed in
Furthermore, the first cushioning member 40 can have a resistance to resilient deformation that is less than that of the second cushioning member 42. For instance, the second cushioning member 42 (the “harder” member) can be made out of denser foam and/or can have a higher durometer as compared to the first cushioning member 40 (the “softer” member). In some embodiments, the first cushioning member 40 can have an Asker durometer that is less than 55, and the second cushioning member 42 can have an Asker durometer that is greater than 55. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first cushioning member 40 can have an Asker durometer that is between approximately 35 and 45 (e.g., 40), and the second cushioning member 42 can have an Asker durometer that is between approximately 65 and 75 (e.g., 70). As such, the first cushioning member 40 can be more easily resiliently deformed than the second cushioning member 42.
Also, in some embodiments, the main portion 27 of the midsole 22 can have a resistance to resilient deformation greater than that of the first cushioning member 40 and less than that of the second cushioning member 42. For instance, in some embodiments, the main portion 27 can have an Asker durometer between approximately 40 and 50 (e.g., 48). In other embodiments, both the first and second cushioning members 40, 42 can have a higher resistance to resilient deformation than the main portion 27 of the midsole 22. Thus, loads from the foot 11 of the wearer can be distributed and supported differently by the first and second cushioning members 40, 42 and on the main portion 27 of the midsole 22 depending on the wearer's activity, stance, posture etc., as will be discussed in greater detail below.
As mentioned above, the first and second cushioning members 40, 42 can have any suitable shape. For instance, in some embodiments, the first and second cushioning members 40, 42 can each have a wedge shape. In some embodiments, the first cushioning member 40 and/or the second cushioning member 42 can have a cross section (see
The first cushioning member 40 can include a plurality of substantially flat surfaces. More specifically, as shown in
It will be appreciated that the first and second cushioning members 40, 42 can have any suitable shape other than the wedge shapes shown. Also, it will be appreciated that the first and second cushioning members 40, 42 can be connected to each other (e.g., via adhesives, etc.) and/or to the main portion 27 of the midsole 22. In still other embodiments, the first cushioning member 40 can be made of the same material and/or integrally connected to the main portion 27 of the midsole 22.
As shown in
As such, as shown in
The vectors of the weight and thrust loads FW, FT can be directed from substantially the same point, for instance, the ball portion 25 of the foot 11. The weight load can be applied such that the vector of the weight load FW is directed substantially normal to the base support plane P, and the thrust load FT can be directed such that the vector of the thrust load FT is directed at an acute angle θ′ relative to the base support plane P (
Because of the shape of the first and second cushioning members 40, 42, the weight load FW can be directed through a first thickness t1 of the second cushioning member 42, whereas the thrust load FT can be directed through a second thickness t2 of the second cushioning member 42. The second thickness t2 is greater than the first thickness t1. Thus, the second cushioning member 42 can bear more of the thrust load FT than the weight load F. As such, when the wearer is applying the weight load FW, the first cushioning member 40 can bear the majority of the weight load F. However, when the wearer is applying the thrust load FT, the first and second cushioning members 40, 42 can more equally bear the thrust load FT.
Also, the thrust load FT can be directed substantially normal to the overlapping surface 64 of the second cushioning member. Accordingly, the wearer can more directly push off the second cushioning member 42.
Because the second cushioning member 42 is more resistant to resilient deformation than the first cushioning member 40, the cushioning assembly 28 can be more easily deformed when the weight load FW is applied, and the cushioning assembly 28 can be less stiff for added comfort. However, the cushioning assembly 28 can be more stiff when the thrust load FT is applied, and the wearer can push off the cushioning assembly 28 more easily for added thrust.
Accordingly, when the wearer is standing still or walking slowly, the foot 11 will apply loads to the cushioning assembly 28, which are more likely to resemble the weight load FW, and the cushioning assembly 28 can be more resiliently deformable and can provide softer cushioning. However, when the wearer pushes off the cushioning assembly 28 to thrust the foot 11 forward, such as during an initial thrust before sprinting, the loads applied to the cushioning assembly 28 are more likely to resemble the thrust load FT, and the cushioning assembly 28 can be stiffer and can push back on the foot 11, such that the wearer can thrust forward more readily. Also, the angle θ (
In addition, it will be appreciated that the posterior portion 14 of the footwear 10 may leave the ground while the anterior portion 12 remains on the ground surface during certain activities, such as running. However, even in these situations, the benefits of the cushioning assembly 28 can be achieved because the cushioning assembly 28 is disposed adjacent the anterior portion 12.
Referring to
As mentioned above, the first and second cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142 can have any suitable shape, including those embodiments described above and those illustrated in
Moreover, in some embodiments, the cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142 can be removeable and replaceable with respect to the other portions of the footwear 10, 110. For instance, the wearer can remove and replace one or both of the cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142 for various reasons (e.g., to change the stiffness or resilience of the cushioning member(s) 40, 140, 42, 142). Accordingly, the footwear 10, 110 can be modular and can be adapted according to the desires of the wearer.
In other embodiments, the shapes of the cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142 can be adapted for supporting side-to-side (i.e., lateral or transverse movement). For instance, the first and second cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142 can be tapered in the medial or lateral directions (i.e., the transverse direction). In other words, the orientation of the first and second cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142 of
It will also be appreciated that the footwear 10, 110 can be modified by including more than two cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142. For instance, in some embodiments, the footwear 10, 110 can include three or more cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142. The cushioning members 40, 140, 42, 142 can overlap each other in a manner similar to the embodiments shown in
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
