Patent Grant
10660400
The present disclosure generally relates to a sole structure for an article of footwear.
Footwear typically includes a sole structure configured to be located under a wearer's foot to space the foot away from the ground. Sole structures in athletic footwear are configured to provide desired cushioning, motion control, and resiliency.
A sole structure for an article of footwear includes a sole plate having a longitudinal axis. The sole plate includes a foot-facing surface with a forefoot portion, and a ground-facing surface disposed opposite from the foot-facing surface. The sole plate includes a plurality of grooves, with each groove extending transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the sole plate, in the forefoot region of the foot-facing surface. The sole structure further includes a flex control insert. The flex control insert includes an upper surface and a lower surface disposed opposite the upper surface. The flex control insert includes a plurality of ribs that protrude outward from the lower surface of the flex control insert. The ribs extend transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the sole plate. Each one of the plurality of ribs is disposed within a different, respective one of the plurality of grooves.
The flex control insert includes a thickness between the upper surface and the lower surface of the flex control insert. The sole plate includes a recess in the foot-facing surface of the sole plate. The recess in the foot-facing surface has a depth that is substantially equal to the thickness of the flex control insert, so that the upper surface of the flex control insert is substantially level with the foot-facing surface of the sole plate.
A cross section of each of the plurality of grooves along the longitudinal axis of the sole plate defines a groove cross sectional shape. A cross section of each of the plurality of ribs along the longitudinal axis of the sole plate defines a rib cross sectional shape. In one embodiment, the rib cross sectional shape of each of the plurality of ribs is substantially identical to the groove cross sectional shape of each of the plurality of grooves. In an exemplary embodiment, the rib cross sectional shape of each of the plurality of ribs and the groove cross sectional shape of each of the plurality of grooves is substantially rectangular.
Each of the plurality of ribs nests within a respective one of the plurality of grooves, such that one of the plurality of ribs substantially fills one of the plurality of grooves.
In one embodiment, each of the plurality of ribs is a friction fit with a different respective one of the plurality of grooves to secure the flex control insert relative to the sole plate.
The sole plate includes a thickness between the foot-facing surface and the ground-facing surface. Each of the plurality of grooves includes a bottom surface spaced from the foot-facing surface by a groove depth. In one exemplary embodiment, the groove depth is less than the thickness of the sole plate.
The flex control insert is a substantially non-compressible material. In one exemplary embodiment, the flex control insert is a rubber material, and the sole plate is one of either a copolymer polypropylene material, or a nylon material.
Each of the plurality of ribs, which is disposed within a different respective one of the plurality of grooves, provides a resistance against dorsiflexion of the sole plate in a direction along the longitudinal axis. Dorsiflexion of the sole plate along the longitudinal axis drives or pinches the grooves of the sole plate into their respective rib disposed therein. The ribs within their respective grooves, being substantially non-compressible, maintain their volume and resist movement of the grooves, thereby increasing the bending stiffness of the sole plate. As the sole plate is bent further in dorsiflexion, the ribs of the flex control insert provide a higher level of resistance, providing a non-linear increase in the bending stiffness of the sole plate with increased angles of dorsiflexion. Accordingly, the bending stiffness of the sole plate increases as dorsiflexion of the sole plate along the longitudinal axis increases.
In one exemplary embodiment, the ribs disposed within their respective one of the plurality of grooves are operable to provide a maximum bending stiffness of the sole plate along the longitudinal axis at a dorsiflexion angle of approximately fifty-six degrees.
The features and advantages of the present teachings are readily apparent from the following detailed description of modes for carrying out the teachings when taken in connection with the accompanying Figures.
The terms “A,” “an,” “the,” “at least one,” and “one or more” are used interchangeably to indicate that at least one of the items is present. A plurality of such items may be present unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. All numerical values of parameters (e.g., of quantities or conditions) in this specification, unless otherwise indicated expressly or clearly in view of the context, including the appended claims, are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about” whether or not “about” actually appears before the numerical value. “About” indicates that the stated numerical value allows some slight imprecision (with some approach to exactness in the value; approximately or reasonably close to the value; nearly). If the imprecision provided by “about” is not otherwise understood in the art with this ordinary meaning, then “about” as used herein indicates at least variations that may arise from ordinary methods of measuring and using such parameters. In addition, a disclosure of a range is to be understood as specifically disclosing all values and further divided ranges within the range.
The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, or components. Orders of steps, processes, and operations may be altered when possible, and additional or alternative steps may be employed. As used in this specification, the term “or” includes any one and all combinations of the associated listed items. The term “any of” is understood to include any possible combination of referenced items, including “any one of” the referenced items. The term “any of” is understood to include any possible combination of referenced claims of the appended claims, including “any one of” the referenced claims.
Those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that terms such as “above,” “below,” “upward,” “downward,” “top,” “bottom,” etc., are used descriptively for the figures, and do not represent limitations on the scope of the disclosure, as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, the teachings may be described herein in terms of functional and/or logical block components and/or various processing steps. It should be realized that such block components may be comprised of any number of hardware, software, and/or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions.
Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, an article of footwear is generally shown at 20 in
The upper 22 may include, for example, any conventional upper 22 suitable to support, receive and retain a foot of a wearer. The upper 22 includes a void configured to accommodate insertion of the wearer's foot, and to effectively secure the foot within the footwear 20 relative to an upper surface of the sole structure 24, or to otherwise unite the foot and the footwear 20. The upper 22 typically includes one or more components suitable to further secure the user's foot proximate to the sole structure 24, such as but not limited, to a lace, a plurality of lace-receiving elements, and a tongue, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art. The upper 22 may be formed of one or more layers, including for example, one or more of a weather-resistant layer, a wear-resistant outer layer, a cushioning layer, and/or a lining layer. Although the above described configuration for the upper 22 provides an example of an upper 22 that may be used in connection with the embodiments of the sole structure 24 described herein, a variety of other conventional or nonconventional configurations for the upper 22 may also be utilized.
The sole structure 24 includes the sole plate 26 described herein, and has a nonlinear bending stiffness that increases with increasing flexion of a forefoot portion 36 of the sole plate 26 in a longitudinal direction of the sole plate 26. As further described herein, the sole structure 24, and more specifically the sole plate 26, has at least one stiffness enhancing feature. The stiffness enhancing feature provides an increasing rate of change in the bending stiffness of the sole structure 24 as an angle of flexion in the sole structure 24 in the longitudinal direction increases. More particularly, the sole structure 24 has a bending stiffness that is nonlinear, and increases as the angle of flexion of the sole plate 26 increases in the longitudinal direction along a longitudinal axis 28 of the sole plate 26.
The sole structure 24 of the article of footwear 20 extends between the foot and the ground to, for example, attenuate ground reaction forces to cushion the foot, provide traction, enhance stability, and influence the motion of the foot. When the sole structure 24 is coupled to the upper 22, the sole structure 24 and the upper 22 can flex in cooperation with each other.
The sole structure 24 may be a unitary structure with a single layer, or the sole structure 24 may include multiple layers. For example and as shown in
Referring to
As used herein and as best shown in
The term “longitudinal,” as used herein, refers to a direction extending along a length of the sole structure 24, i.e., extending from the forefoot portion 36 to the heel portion 40 of the sole structure 24. The term “transverse” as used herein, refers to a direction extending along a width of the sole structure 24, i.e., extending from the medial edge 44 of the sole plate 26 to the lateral edge 42 of the sole plate 26. The term “forward” is used to refer to the general direction moving from the heel portion 40 toward the forefoot portion 36, and the term “rearward” is used to refer to the opposite direction, i.e., the direction moving from the forefoot portion 36 toward the heel portion 40. The term “anterior” is used to refer to a front or forward component or portion of a component. The term “posterior” is used to refer to a rear or rearward component of a portion of a component. The term “plate”, such as the sole plate 26, refers to a generally horizontally-disposed member that is generally used to provide support structure and may or may not be used to provide cushioning. As used in this description and the accompanying claims, the phrase “bend stiffness” or “bending stiffness” generally means a resistance to flexion of the sole structure 24 exhibited by a material's composition, structure, assembly of two or more components or a combination thereof, according to the disclosed embodiments and their equivalents.
As noted above and with reference to
The sole plate 26 is referred to as a plate, but is not necessarily flat and need not be a single component but instead can be multiple interconnected components. For example, both the foot-facing surface 46 and the opposite ground-facing surface 48 may be pre-formed with some amount of curvature and variations in thickness when molded or otherwise formed in order to provide a shaped footbed and/or increased thickness for reinforcement in desired areas. For example, the sole plate 26 could have a curved or contoured geometry that may be similar to the lower contours of a foot. For example, the sole plate 26 may have a contoured periphery that slopes upward toward any overlaying layers, such as a component or the upper 22.
The sole plate 26 may be entirely of a single, uniform material, or may have different portions comprising different materials. For example, a first material of the forefoot portion 36 can be selected to achieve, in conjunction with other features and components of the sole structure 24 discussed herein, the desired bending stiffness in the forefoot portion 36, while a second material of the midfoot portion 38 and the heel portion 40 can be a different material that has little effect on the bending stiffness of the forefoot portion 36. By way of non-limiting example, the second portion can be over-molded onto or co-injection molded with the first portion. Example materials for the sole plate 26 include durable, wear resistant materials such as but not limited to nylon, thermoplastic polyurethane, or carbon fiber.
Various materials may be used to manufacture the sole plate 26 discussed herein. For example, a thermoplastic elastomer, such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a glass composite, a nylon including glass-filled nylons, a spring steel, carbon fiber, ceramic or a foam or rubber material (such as but not limited to a foam or rubber with a Shore A Durometer hardness of about 50-70 (using ASTM D2240-05(2010) standard test method) or an Asker C hardness of 65-85 (using hardness test JIS K6767 (1976) may be used for the sole plate 26.
As noted above, the sole plate 26 includes a stiffness enhancing feature that nonlinearly increases the bending stiffness of the sole plate 26 as the dorsiflexion of the sole plate 26 increases in the longitudinal direction of the sole plate 26 along the longitudinal axis 28 of the sole plate 26. Referring to
Referring to
Each groove 50 is generally straight, and the grooves 50 are generally parallel with one another. The grooves 50 may be formed, for example, during molding of the sole plate 26. Each groove 50 has a medial end 56 and a lateral end 58 (indicated with reference numbers on only one of the grooves 50 in
Each groove 50 has a predetermined width 60 at the foot-facing surface 46. Although not specifically shown, the foot-facing surface 46 may be chamfered or rounded at each groove 50 to reduce the possibility of plastic deformation as could occur with sharp corner contact when compressive forces are applied across the grooves 50. If chamfered or rounded in this manner, then the width 60 of each groove 50 would be measured between adjacent side walls 62 of the groove 50 at the start of any chamfer (i.e., at the point on the side walls 62 of the groove 50 just below any chamfered or rounded edge). Each of the grooves 50 may be narrower at a bottom surface 64 of the groove 50 (i.e., at a root or base of the groove 50 just above a base portion of the sole plate 26) than at the width 60 of the groove 50. Although each groove 50 is depicted as having the same width 60, different ones of the grooves 50 could have different widths 60. Each of the grooves 50 has a groove depth 66, measured from the foot-facing surface 46 to the bottom surface 64 of the respective groove 50. Although each groove 50 is depicted as having the same groove depth 66, different ones of the grooves 50 could have different groove depths 66.
As shown in
Referring to
The ribs 54 extend generally transversely and overlay the grooves 50. Each of the ribs 54 is coincident with a different respective one of the grooves 50. Accordingly, the number of ribs 54 is the same as the number of grooves 50. The length of each respective groove 50 extends from its respective medial end 56 to its respective lateral end 58. In the embodiment shown, a center line of each respective groove 50 extends along its length, is generally parallel with and may fall in the same vertical plane as the center axis of the respective rib 54 disposed within the groove 50.
In some embodiments, the flex control insert 52 includes and may be manufactured from a material having a compressibility that is generally equal to or greater than a compressibility of the sole plate 26. In some embodiments, the flex control insert 52 may include and be manufactured from a material that is considered to be a substantially non-compressible material. For example, the flex control insert 52 may include and be manufactured from a rubber material, a nylon material, a metal material, a carbon material, etc. The flex control insert 52 is removable and re-insertable into and out of the sole plate 26, such that different inserts having different bending/compression properties, may be interchangeably used with the sole plate 26. In so doing, the bending stiffness of the sole plate 26 may be customized for a particular activity or a particular wearer by changing the flex control insert 52. For example, the flex control insert 52 may include a first flex control insert formed from a first material having a first compressibility, and a second flex control insert formed from a second material having a second compressibility that is different from the first compressibility. Although not specifically shown in the Figures, it should be appreciated that the first flex control insert and the second flex control insert would be formed to include the same shape as the flex control insert 52 shown in the Figures, the only difference being in the material characteristics and the relative compressibility that each provide. The first flex control insert and the second flex control insert may be configured to be alternatingly or interchangeably received within the plurality of grooves of the sole plate 26, such that the sole structure exhibits a first non-linear bending stiffness with the first flex control insert disposed within the plurality of grooves, and a second or different non-linear bending stiffness with the second flex control insert disposed with in the plurality of grooves.
In an exemplary embodiment, each of the plurality of ribs 54 is a friction or press fit with a different respective one of the plurality of grooves 50 to secure the flex control insert 52 relative to the sole plate 26. A cross section of each of the plurality of grooves 50 along the longitudinal axis 28 of the sole plate 26 defines a groove 50 cross sectional shape. A cross section of each of the plurality of ribs 54 along the longitudinal axis 28 of the sole plate 26 defines a rib 54 cross sectional shape. The rib 54 cross sectional shape of each of the plurality of ribs 54 is substantially identical to the groove 50 cross sectional shape of each of the plurality of grooves 50, thereby providing the friction or press fit between corresponding pairs of ribs 54 and grooves 50.
In the exemplary embodiment best shown in
In various embodiments, different ones of the grooves 50 could have different groove depths 66, widths 60, shapes, and or spacing from one another, with the respective ribs 54 disposed within the respective groove 50 being similarly sized and shaped. Accordingly, each mating pair of grooves 50 and ribs 54 may include a corresponding, length, depth, and cross sectional shape. For example, grooves 50 and their respective ribs 54 toward a middle of the plurality of grooves 50 in the longitudinal direction could be wider than the grooves 50 and respective ribs 54 toward the anterior and posterior ends of the plurality of grooves 50. Generally, the overall length of the plurality of grooves 50 along the longitudinal axis 28 (i.e., from the anterior end to the posterior end of the plurality of grooves 50) is selected to be sufficient to accommodate a range of positions of a wearer's metatarsophalangeal joints based on population averages for the particular size of footwear 20.
Referring to
As noted above, each of the plurality of ribs 54 disposed within a different respective one of the plurality of grooves 50 provides a resistance against dorsiflexion of the sole plate 26 in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal axis 28 of the sole plate 26. The bending stiffness of the sole plate 26 increases as dorsiflexion of the sole plate 26 along the longitudinal axis 28 increases. Accordingly, referring to
As a wearer's foot flexes by lifting the heel portion 40 away from a ground surface, while maintaining contact with the ground surface at the forefoot portion 36, it places torque on the sole structure 24 and causes the sole plate 26 to flex through the forefoot portion 36. Referring to
The sole plate 26 may be constructed in such a manner so that the bending stiffness exhibits a distinct change at a predetermined flex angle, generally denoted by flex angle A1 in
The change or departure from the gradually and smoothly inclining curve characteristic of the first portion of the flexion range FR1 may be referred to herein as a “non-linear” increase in bend stiffness, and would manifest as either or both of a stepwise increase in bending stiffness and/or a change in the rate of increase in the bending stiffness. The change in rate can be either abrupt, or it can manifest over a short range of increase in the bend angle of the sole structure 24. In either case, a mathematical function describing a bending stiffness in the second portion of the flexion range FR2 will differ from a mathematical function describing bending stiffness in the first portion of the flexion range FR1. The bending stiffness in the first range of flexion FR1 may be constant (thus the plot would have a linear slope) or substantially linear or may increase gradually (which would show a change in slope in FR1). The bending stiffness in the second range of flexion FR2 may be linear or non-linear, but will depart from the bending stiffness of the first range of flexion FR1 at the first predetermined flex angle A1, either markedly or gradually (such as over a range of several degrees) at the first predetermined flex angle A1.
By way of non-limiting example, the first predetermined flex angle A1 may be from about 30 degrees to about 65 degrees. In one exemplary embodiment, the first predetermined flex angle A1 is found in the range of between about 30 degrees and about 60 degrees, with a typical value of about 55 degrees. In another exemplary embodiment, the first predetermined flex angle A1 is found in the range of between about 15 degrees and about 30 degrees, with a typical value of about 25 degrees. In another example, the first predetermined flex angle A1 is found in the range of between about 20 degrees and about 40 degrees, with a typical value of about 30 degrees.
In some embodiments, the interaction between the plurality of ribs 54 and the plurality of grooves 50 is operable to provide a maximum bending stiffness of the sole plate 26, along the longitudinal axis 28, when a dorsiflexion of the sole plate 26, i.e., the flex angle 80, is between 35 degrees and 65 degrees. For example, the maximum bending stiffness may be achieved when the flex angle 80 of the sole plate 26 is approximately equal to 56°.
As will be understood by those skilled in the art, when the sole plate 26 flexes or bends, the foot-facing surface 46 of the sole plate 26 is placed in compression. This operates to compress the ribs 54 disposed within their respective grooves 50. Because the ribs 54 are generally non-compressible, the ribs 54 resist compression and maintain their volume, thereby resisting the flexion of the sole plate 26, which in turn increases the bending stiffness of the sole plate 26 beyond that provided by the sole plate 26 itself. The flex control insert 52 may be replaced with a different insert having different compression characteristics to modify the bending response of the sole plate 26.
The detailed description and the Figures are supportive and descriptive of the present teachings, but the scope of the present teachings is defined solely by the appended claims. While several modes for carrying out the many aspects of the present teachings have been described in detail, those familiar with the art to which these teachings relate will recognize various alternative aspects for practicing the present teachings that are within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/379,421 filed on Aug. 25, 2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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