Method of making article of footwear having a fluid-filled bladder with a reinforcing structure
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing a sole component for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
- molding a fluid-filled bladder from a polymer material;
recessing a reinforcing member into an interior surface of the bladder;
bonding the reinforcing member to the bladder; and
placing at least a portion of the reinforcing member in tension by pressurizing the bladder.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A sole component and a method of manufacturing the sole component are disclosed. In general, the sole component includes a fluid-filled bladder and a reinforcing structure extending around the bladder. The reinforcing structure is bonded to the exterior of the bladder, and may be recessed into the bladder. In some embodiments, the reinforcing structure extends along the side surfaces of the bladder and between upper and lower surfaces of bladder. In manufacturing the sole component, the reinforcing structure may be located within a mold, and the polymer material forming the bladder may be bonded to the reinforcing structure during the molding process.
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing a sole component for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
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molding a fluid-filled bladder from a polymer material; recessing a reinforcing member into an interior surface of the bladder; bonding the reinforcing member to the bladder; and placing at least a portion of the reinforcing member in tension by pressurizing the bladder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of manufacturing a sole component for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
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positioning a reinforcing member within a mold such that a first surface of the reinforcing member contacts a surface of the mold that forms a cavity within the mold; forming a bladder by drawing a polymer material against the surface of the mold that forms the cavity and against a second surface of the reinforcing member, the first surface being opposite the second surface; extending the polymer material at least partially around the reinforcing member to recess the reinforcing member into the polymer material such that each of the bladder and first surface of the reinforcing member form a portion of an exterior surface of the sole component, and the bladder and the first surface are substantially co-planar at an interface on the exterior surface between the bladder and the reinforcing member; and bonding the polymer material to the second surface of the reinforcing member. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of manufacturing a sole component for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
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locating a reinforcing member within a first mold portion of a mold; positioning a first sheet and a second sheet of polymer material between the first mold portion and a second mold portion of the mold; drawing the first sheet against a surface of the first mold portion and against a surface of the reinforcing member to recess the reinforcing member into the first sheet and bond the reinforcing member to the first sheet; drawing the second sheet against a surface of the second mold portion; and forming a peripheral bond between the first sheet and the second sheet by compressing the first sheet and the second sheet between the mold portions, at least a portion of the peripheral bond being located immediately adjacent a portion of the reinforcing member. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method of manufacturing a sole component for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
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locating a reinforcing member within a first mold portion of a mold, the reinforcing member having a plurality of apertures; positioning a first sheet and a second sheet of polymer material between the first mold portion and a second mold portion of the mold; drawing the first sheet against a surface of the first portion and against a surface of the reinforcing member to recess the reinforcing member into the first sheet and bond the reinforcing member to the first sheet; drawing the second sheet against a surface of the second mold portion to define a second surface that is opposite the first surface; evacuating air from an area between the reinforcing member and the first sheet by drawing the air through the plurality of apertures; forming a peripheral bond between the sidewall and the second surface by compressing the first sheet and the second sheet between the mold portions. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A method of manufacturing a sole component for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
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locating a reinforcing member within a first mold portion of a mold and in contact with a surface of the first mold portion, the reinforcing member having a first portion, a second portion, and a plurality of connecting portions extending between the first portion and the second portion; positioning a first sheet and a second sheet of polymer material between the first mold portion and a second mold portion of the mold, the first sheet and the second sheet having different thicknesses, and the first sheet and the second sheet each having a substantially uniform thickness; bending the first sheet to define a bend between a first surface and a sidewall, the bend being positioned in the first sheet at a location that corresponds with a location of the first portion of the reinforcing member; drawing the first sheet against a surface of the first portion and against a surface of the reinforcing member to recess the reinforcing member into the first sheet and bond the reinforcing member to the first sheet; drawing the second sheet against a surface of the second mold portion to define a second surface that is opposite the first surface; and forming a peripheral bond between the sidewall and the second surface by compressing the first sheet and the second sheet between the mold portions in a location that is immediately adjacent at least part of the second portion of the reinforcing member. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53)
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54. A method of manufacturing a sole component for an article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
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forming a reinforcing structure with a first surface, a second surface, and a pair of bevel surfaces extending between the first surface and the second surface, the first surface being opposite the second surface, and each of the bevel surfaces forming acute angles with the first surface and obtuse angles with the second surface; molding a fluid-filled bladder from a polymer material; recessing the reinforcing member into an exterior surface of the bladder such that the second surface is in contact with the bladder; and bonding at least the second surface of the reinforcing member to the bladder. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56)
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57. A method of manufacturing a sole component for a article of footwear, the method comprising steps of:
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forming a reinforcing member with a first portion, a second portion spaced from the flint portion, and a plurality of connecting positions extending between the first portion and the second portion; locating the reinforcing member within a mold; molding a fluid-filled bladder from a polymer material, the bladder having a first surface, an opposite second surface, and a sidewall extending between the first surface and the second surface; recessing the reinforcing member into an exterior surface of the bladder such that the first portion is adjacent the first surface, the second portion is adjacent the second surface, and the connecting portions extend along the sidewall; and bonding the reinforcing member to the bladder.
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Specification