SOLE FOR AN ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR HAVING REGIONALLY VARIED AUXETIC STRUCTURES

• US 20170258178A1
• Filed: 05/25/2017
• Published: 09/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Cross, Tory M., Farris, Bryan N., Langvin, Elizabeth
• Granted Patent: US 10,499,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 1/0009 made at least partially of alveolar or honeycomb material
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/02 characterised by the material
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/122 characterised by the outsole or external layer
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/125 characterised by the midsole or middle layer
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/14 characterised by the constructive form
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/141 with a part of the sole being flexible, e.g. permitting articulation or torsion
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/181 Resiliency achieved by the structure of the sole
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/186 Differential cushioning region, e.g. cushioning located under the ball of the foot resilient heel not included in the sole A43B21/26; resilient supports for the heel of the foot A43B21/32
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/187 Resiliency achieved by the features of the material, e.g. foam, non liquid materials
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/188 Differential cushioning regions
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/28 characterised by their attachment, also attachment of combined soles and heels
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/38 Built-in insoles joined to uppers during the manufacturing process, e.g. structural insoles; Insoles glued to shoes during the manufacturing process
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/0073 Y-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/00 Footwear for sporting purposes non-skid devices, e.g. ice-spurs or studs for football shoes, A43C15/00

Abstract

A sole for article of footwear includes a midsole component having an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface. A plurality of blind holes each extends from the outer surface toward the inner surface. The plurality of blind holes are arranged in an auxetic configuration in the outer surface. Each hole in the plurality of holes extends towards the inner surface. The plurality of blind holes is arranged in a pattern that provides a tunable performance characteristic. The patterns of blind holes vary between different regions of the midsole component to provide different types of responses in the different regions.

Claims

1. A sole for article of footwear comprising:

a midsole component having an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface;

wherein the midsole component has a plurality of blind holes each extending from the outer surface toward the inner surface, and the plurality of blind holes is arranged in an auxetic configuration in the outer surface; and

wherein the plurality of blind holes includes a first plurality of blind holes in a first region and a second plurality of blind holes in a second region, wherein the first plurality of blind holes has an attribute that is different than a similar attribute of the second plurality of blind holes to provide the first region with a performance characteristic that is different than the second region.

2. The sole of claim 1, wherein the attribute is a depth of the plurality of blind holes.

3. The sole of claim 2, wherein the first plurality of blind holes includes shallow holes in a perimeter of the sole, the second plurality of blind holes includes deep holes disposed between the shallow holes, and the shallow holes are shallower than the deep holes.

4. The sole of claim 3, wherein the plurality of blind holes is disposed in a heel portion of the sole, and the performance characteristic is a heel strike cushioning response.

5. The sole of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of blind holes are disposed in a forefoot portion of the sole, and the second plurality of blind holes are disposed in a heel portion of the sole;

wherein the first plurality of blind holes are arranged in a first pattern, and the second plurality of blind holes are arranged in a second pattern;

wherein the first pattern is different from the second pattern; and

wherein the first pattern imparts a first performance characteristic, and the second pattern imparts a second performance characteristic.

6. The sole of claim 5, wherein:

a first forefoot hole of the first plurality of blind holes extends into the midsole component and has a first depth;

a second forefoot hole of the first plurality of blind holes extends into the midsole component and has a second depth,

a first heel hole of the second plurality of blind holes extends into the midsole component and has a third depth, and

a second heel hole of the second plurality of blind holes extends into the midsole component and has a fourth depth,

the first depth is greater than the second depth;

the third depth is greater than the first depth; and

the fourth depth is greater than the third depth.

7. A method of making a sole having performance characteristics, the method comprising:

providing a midsole component of the sole, wherein the midsole component has a midsole thickness; and

forming a plurality of blind holes in an auxetic configuration on the midsole component, wherein the plurality of blind holes has an attribute in a portion of the sole to provide a performance characteristic in the portion, and each of the plurality of blind holes extends from an outer surface of the midsole component to a depth in the midsole thickness.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of forming the plurality of blind holes includes:

forming a first hole of the plurality of blind holes so that the first hole extends to a first depth, and

forming a second hole of the plurality of blind holes so that the second hole extends to a second depth to create a variation in blind hole depths, and

wherein the attribute is the variation in blind hole depths.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first hole is deeper than the second hole.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first hole is positioned in a heel portion of the sole, and the first hole is positioned between a centerline that is established halfway between a medial side of the heel portion and a lateral side of the heel portion.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second hole is positioned in the heel portion proximate a perimeter of the sole.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising additional holes in the heel portion, wherein the additional holes are positioned between the first hole and the second hole, and wherein the additional holes each have a depth that is less than the first depth and greater than the second depth.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the additional holes has a different depth.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein forming the plurality of blind holes includes forming the blind holes using a laser.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein forming the plurality of blind holes includes drilling the blind holes.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein forming the plurality of blind holes includes:

forming a first plurality of blind holes in a first portion of the sole, wherein the first plurality of blind holes is arranged in a first auxetic configuration and a first pattern, wherein the first pattern imparts a first performance characteristic to the first portion; and

forming a second plurality of blind holes in a second portion of the sole in a second auxetic configuration and a second pattern, wherein the second pattern imparts a second tunable performance characteristic to the second portion, wherein the first pattern is different from the second pattern so that the first tunable performance characteristic is different from the second tunable performance characteristic.

17. A method of customizing a sole comprising:

determining a performance characteristic for a portion of the sole;

correlating the performance characteristic to an attribute of a plurality of blind holes; and

forming the plurality of blind holes in the sole, wherein the plurality of blind holes are arranged in an auxetic configuration and have the attribute, wherein the attribute imparts a performance characteristic to the portion of the sole.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the performance characteristic includes measuring a heel strike force;

and

wherein correlating the performance characteristic includes correlating the heel strike force to a blind hole depth pattern that tunes cushioning in a heel portion of the sole.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining a first tunable performance characteristic for a first portion of the sole;

determining a second tunable performance characteristic for a second portion of the sole;

forming a first plurality of blind holes in the first portion of the sole, wherein the first plurality of blind holes is arranged in a first auxetic configuration and a first pattern, wherein the first pattern imparts the first tunable performance characteristic to the first portion;

forming a second plurality of blind holes in the second portion of the sole in a second auxetic configuration and a second pattern, wherein the second pattern imparts the second tunable performance characteristic to the second portion; and

wherein the first pattern is different from the second pattern so that the first tunable performance characteristic is different from the second tunable performance characteristic.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein:

determining a tunable performance characteristic includes measuring a heel strike force in a heel portion and a push off force in a forefoot portion; and

wherein correlating the tunable performance characteristic includes correlating the heel strike force to a first blind hole depth pattern that tunes cushioning in the heel portion of the sole and correlating the push off force to a second blind hole depth pattern that tunes stability in the forefoot portion.