Nike, Inc.

Nike Innovate C.v.

Thomas J Rushbrook

Timothy J Smith

Tiffany A Beers

Sam Amis

James Molyneux

John Hurd

Yuchung K Chen

Stephen J Hipp

Oliver McLachlan

Giovanni Adami

Bruce J Kilgore

Sergio Cavaliere

Jessica Green

Christianna Wincek

Nathan T Gilbreath

Bhupesh Dua

Pamela Susan Greene

Nadia M Panian

Tobie D Hatfield

John T Dimoff

Thomas G Bell

Joël Ryp Greenspan

Fanny Yung Ho

Scott C Holt

Ami Davis

Stuart Reinhardt

Brooke P Rapf

Oliver Mclachlan

Mirko Bianconi

I-Hsien Tseng

Meng-Chun Hu

Jessica Small

Elizabeth Langvin

Bryant Russell Klug

Fidencio Campos, Ii

Denis Schiller

Nathan G Schultze

Timothy P Hopkins

Alexandre Baudouin

Michael S Amos

Scott Ryan Berggren

Jay Constantinou

Matthew C Palmer

Alison Sheets-Singer

Aaron K Seid

Roger Paul Murphy

Matthew W Thornton

Kevin J Rucier

Federico Zecchetto

Frederico Zecchetto

Nicolas Menenghini

Pierangelo Pini

Stephen Hipp

A fiber bound engineered material is provided that imparts an intended characteristic at an intended relative location. A fiber layer is entangled with additional fibers in a manner to create a non-uniform engineered material. The lack of uniformity of a fiber bound engineered material may be accomplished through manipulation of the fibers and/or through fiber binding a scrim. The fiber layer binds with additional fibers through entanglement such that a mechanical connection between the entangled fibers is provided. This entanglement allows the fibers to bind without supplemental adhesives, interlacing, or connections. Variations in the fibers and/or inclusion of scrim materials prior to entanglement allows for an intended characteristic (e.g., a functional characteristic) at an intended relative location (e.g., a position determined by an article to be formed therefrom).

Fiber-bound engineered materials formed using zonal scrims

An article of footwear may include an upper configured to receive a foot of a wearer, the upper including one or more elastic portions and one or more substantially inelastic portions. The footwear may further include a plurality of lace receiving members fixedly attached to an outer surface of the upper on the inelastic portions of the upper. Also, the footwear may include a sole structure fixedly attached to the upper. In addition, the footwear may include a motorized tensioning system including a motorized tightening device and a tensile member extending through the plurality of lace receiving members, the tightening device being configured to apply tension in the tensile member to adjust the size of an internal void defined by the article of footwear by drawing two or more of the plurality of lace receiving members closer to one another.

Footwear having motorized adjustment system and elastic upper

A method of manufacturing an article of footwear includes perforating a midsole body of a sole structure to form perforations through the midsole body, wherein the midsole body has perforated holes established by the perforations. The method includes disposing each of a plurality of proprioceptive elements of the sole structure in a different one of the perforated holes as an integral portion of the midsole body surrounded by the perforations. Each central axis of the plurality of proprioceptive elements disposed in a medial sidewall portion of the midsole body and a lateral sidewall portion of the midsole body is angled relative to a vertical axis of the midsole body and is configured to align with a direction of a lateral loading force on the midsole body at a location of the respective proprioceptive element.

Sole structure with proprioceptive elements and method of manufacturing a sole structure

An article of footwear comprising an upper and a sole structure coupled to the upper. The sole structure includes a cushioning element, comprising a plurality of tubes, wherein adjacent tubes are connected to one another by a respective web area, disposed between a first support element and a second support element, wherein one or more of the respective web areas is exposed to the external environment.

Article of footwear including a sole structure

A sole structure for an article of footwear comprises a midsole body having a proximal surface and a distal surface. Proprioceptive elements may extend in holes in the midsole body. The midsole body has an interior portion having a first density and an outer skin covering the interior portion. The outer skin has a second density that is greater than the first density, extends along each of the holes from the proximal surface to the distal surface, and forms a cylinder around each of the perforated holes. The midsole body has a greater compressive stiffness under loading along each central axis than under loading transverse or oblique to each central axis. A first set of proprioceptive elements have a third density different from a fourth density of a second set.

An article of footwear with a dynamic support system that controls arrays of tiles in the upper of the footwear to adjust the level of support provided in different regions of the upper. Sensors in the sole of the footwear, in the upper of the footwear and/or in an article worn by the wearer of the footwear measure the level of stress or other characteristics and provide input to one or more microprocessors that control motors located in the sole or in the upper of the footwear. When the motors are activated, they may compress or loosen arrays of tiles to adjust the stiffness of the upper in one or more regions of the upper.

Article of footwear with dynamic support

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes a midsole having a medial edge and a lateral edge. The sole structure also include a first lower rib extending from the medial edge to the lateral edge of the midsole. The first lower rib includes a portion spaced from the midsole between the medial edge and the lateral edge. The sole structure further includes a medial flex member disposed between the midsole and the first lower rib near the medial edge and a lateral flex member disposed between the midsole and the first lower rib near the lateral edge. The medial flex member and the lateral flex member are configured to flex the first lower rib relative to the midsole in response to a force of a predetermined magnitude.

Sole structure for article of footwear

The present disclosure includes embodiments in which a knit upper in an article of footwear comprises various zones having different properties. For example, some zones may include thermoplastic yarns for bonding to other elements of the article of footwear such as a sole or a lacing system. Zones may also possess varying degrees of elasticity to, for example, accommodate a wearer's foot or provide the knit upper with stability. The knit upper may further include a visible or machine-detectable bite line to indicate the intended placement of elements of the article of footwear.

Zoned upper for an article of footwear

Processes and systems for thermoforming articles of wear are disclosed. The process can include utilizing a negative pressure generation system to seal an article in a forming material thereby compressing the forming material onto the outer surface of the article. The process can also include exposing the sealed article to an increased temperature followed by exposure to a decrease temperature, while maintaining the compressive force of the forming material on the outer surface of the article. A positive pressure can also be applied to the sealed article while undergoing the heating and/or cooling steps, which can facilitate the removal of bubbles from the article during thermoforming as well as apply additional compressive force to the outer surface of the article.

Articles of wear and processes for making the same

A sole structure for an article of footwear comprises a midsole body having a proximal surface and a distal surface. The sole structure includes an outsole having a proximal surface and a distal surface, wherein the proximal surface of the outsole is secured to the distal surface of the midsole body. The outsole includes external flex grooves at the distal surface of the outsole, and the midsole body includes internal flex grooves at the proximal surface of the midsole body. The internal flex grooves overlie and are aligned with the external flex grooves such that the sole structure articulates at the external flex grooves both in dorsiflexion and in plantarflexion.

A method of manufacturing an article of footwear includes forming a midsole body such that the midsole body has annular holes in a proximal surface of the midsole body, annular recesses in a distal surface of the midsole body, and a plurality of proprioceptive elements. Each annular recess encircles a respective different one of the annular holes from below and extends beyond a lowest extent of the respective different one of the annular holes toward the proximal surface. Each proprioceptive element is centered in a different one of the annular holes.

Fiber-bound engineered materials formed using foundation scrims

Articles of wear having one or more textiles that include a low processing temperature polymeric composition and a high processing temperature polymeric composition, and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The low processing temperature polymeric composition and the high processing temperature polymeric composition can be selectively incorporated into a textile to provide one or more structural properties and/or other advantageous properties to the article. The textile can be thermoformed to impart such structural and/or other advantageous properties to the article of wear. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

Knit textiles and uppers, and processes for making the same

Growing community of inventors

Portland, OR, United States of America

Thomas J Rushbrook