Footwear

Abstract

To optimize a midsole so as to reduce kinetic energy and resulting momentum from a user's foot strike, so as to enable athletic activities with less fatigue.SOLUTION: A method of making a midsole comprises the steps of: selecting a plurality of yarns, where at least two yarns of the plurality of yarns have properties different from one another; bundling the plurality of yarns to form a bundled yarn structure; intertwining the yarn structure; depositing the twisted yarn structure in a first mold within an autoclave; applying supercritical fluid to the twisted yarn structure; infiltrating and saturating the twisted yarn structure with the supercritical fluid; depressurizing the autoclave to cause a foaming process to convert the twisted yarn structure into an anisotropic foam blank; and depositing the anisotropic foam blank within a second mold that is configured as a midsole for an article of footwear.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Claims

[Claim 1] It includes an upper and midsole having a forefoot area, a heel area, and a midfoot area, The midsole includes a pre-oriented anisotropic foam in at least one of the forefoot region, the heel region, or the midfoot region. The pre-oriented anisotropic foam comprises a plurality of first cells having a first cell growth orientation and a plurality of second cells having a second cell growth orientation. The first cell growth orientation is different from the second cell growth orientation in footwear products. [Claim 2] The footwear product according to claim 1, wherein the pre-oriented anisotropic foam is supplied in the form of separate segments including a forefoot segment, a heel segment, and a midfoot segment. [Claim 3] The footwear product according to claim 1, wherein the midsole is a single structure having the pre-oriented anisotropic foam in the forefoot region, the heel region, and the midfoot region, respectively. [Claim 4] The footwear product according to claim 1, wherein the midsole has at least one of flexibility or rigidity differing between the forefoot region, the heel region, and the midfoot region. [Claim 5] The footwear product according to claim 4, wherein the midsole comprises a plate in contact with the pre-oriented anisotropic foam. [Claim 6] The footwear product according to claim 1, wherein the pre-oriented anisotropic foam is formed by at least one of a knitted yarn structure or a twisted yarn structure.

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