Claims
- 1. An athletic shoe, comprising:
- a sole;
- a first elastic material;
- a second elastic material, said first elastic material and said second elastic material being joined to each other along their common peripheral edge to form a substantially fluid impervious chamber; and
- a foot conforming support member attached to said sole, said fluid impervious chamber being attached to the exterior of said foot conforming support member at selected locations such that at least a portion of said foot conforming support member forms an outermost surface of said upper; and
- wherein the volume and pressure of the fluid within said fluid impervious chamber remains substantially constant as a force is applied to said sole.
- 2. The shoe of claim 1, wherein one of said first and second elastic materials comprises a thermal-polyurethane film.
- 3. The shoe of claim 1, wherein a wicking material is secured to said second elastic material.
- 4. The shoe of claim 1, wherein said chamber is filled with carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) gas.
- 5. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising a fluid accepting means.
- 6. The shoe of claim 5, wherein said fluid accepting means includes a cover which is received by a fluid introducing means.
- 7. The shoe of claim 6, wherein said fluid introducing means includes a body, a head unit and an adaptor which receives the cover of said fluid accepting means in a fluid-tight manner.
- 8. The shoe of claim 1, wherein said first and second materials are further joined at points within the periphery of said first and second materials.
- 9. The shoe of claim 1, wherein said first material and said second material are joined by radio frequency (rf) welding.
- 10. The shoe of claim 1, wherein said chamber includes several distinct fluid impervious compartments.
- 11. The shoe of claim 10, wherein each of said compartments is provided with a fluid accepting means.
- 12. The shoe of claim 1, wherein said foot conforming support member is formed from a stretchable, lightweight fabric.
- 13. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising an elastic tongue overlay.
- 14. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising an elastic heel overlay.
- 15. The shoe of claim 1, wherein said fluid impervious chamber is inflated by an on-board inflation mechanism.
- 16. The shoe of claim 15, wherein said on-board inflation mechanism is a latex bulb.
- 17. An upper for an athletic shoe including a sole, comprising:
- a first lamina formed of a fluid impervious material and a second lamina attached to said first lamina to form a first laminate, said first laminate being attached to an inner film at selective locations, said first laminate and said inner film forming a substantially fluid impervious chamber wherein said substantially fluid impervious chamber contains a fluid; and
- a substantially flexible support member which surrounds a substantial portion of a wearer's foot, said fluid impervious chamber being affixed to said flexible support member such that said flexible support member forms at least a portion of the outermost surface of the upper wherein said first laminate forms at least a portion of the outermost surface of the upper;
- wherein the volume and pressure of the fluid within said fluid impervious chamber remains substantially constant as a force is applied to said sole of said athletic shoe.
- 18. The upper of claim 17, wherein said inner film is thermal-polyurethane film.
- 19. The upper of claim 17, wherein said first laminate is attached to said inner film by radio frequency welding.
- 20. The upper of claim 17, wherein a wicking material is joined to said inner film.
- 21. The upper of claim 17, further comprising a fluid accepting means.
- 22. The upper of claim 21, wherein said fluid accepting means includes a cover which is received by a fluid introducing means.
- 23. The upper of claim 22, wherein said fluid introducing means includes a body, a head unit and an adaptor which receives the cover of said fluid accepting means.
- 24. The upper of claim 17, wherein said chamber includes several distinct fluid impervious compartments.
- 25. The upper of claim 17, wherein said flexible support member is formed from a stretchable, lightweight fabric.
- 26. The upper of claim 17, further comprising an elastic tongue overlay.
- 27. The upper of claim 17, further comprising an elastic heel overlay.
- 28. The upper of claim 17, wherein said fluid impervious chamber is inflated by an on-board inflation mechanism.
- 29. The upper of claim 28, wherein said on-board inflation mechanism is a latex bulb.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/828,440, filed Jan. 31, 1992 now abandoned.
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
828440 |
Jan 1992 |
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