Segmented Bladder Sole Structure for Cushioning and Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing footwear sole structures with fluid-filled bladders lack optimal design for balancing cushioning, support, and responsiveness, particularly during various athletic movements, leading to inadequate performance in attenuating ground-reaction forces.
Innovation Solution
A sole structure with a bladder comprising a plurality of segments, including medial, lateral, and central reservoirs, interconnected by conduits, and an outsole with contact pads, providing a unitary pressure system for enhanced cushioning and stability by varying compressibility and fluid communication among chambers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a fluid-filled bladder is used in the midsole, then cushioning is improved by compressing resiliently under applied load, but responsiveness and support are insufficient during athletic movements
Solution Approach 1:
The bladder is divided into multiple chambers (first chamber, second chamber, third chamber) with different configurations. Each chamber can be independently pressurized and designed with specific geometries to provide different functional characteristics - some chambers optimized for cushioning while others provide support and responsiveness, resolving the contradiction between these opposing requirements
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the sole structure are assigned different functional properties through the chamber configuration. The heel region, midfoot region, and forefoot region each have chambers designed with specific characteristics to address local requirements - heel chambers for impact absorption, midfoot chambers for arch support, and forefoot chambers for toe-off responsiveness
2Device complexity
If a single chamber bladder design is used, then device complexity is reduced, but cushioning performance and stability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The bladder system is segmented into multiple chambers that can be manufactured as integrated components, achieving enhanced cushioning and stability performance without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity. The chambers share common barrier layers and sealing structures, maintaining ease of manufacture while improving functional performance
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functional chambers are combined within a single bladder structure formed from integrated barrier layers. The first, second, and third chambers are merged into one cohesive component that provides cumulative cushioning and stability benefits while avoiding the complexity of assembling separate bladder components
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design offers gradient cushioning and improved stability by adjusting to applied loads, enhancing responsiveness and support across different foot regions, particularly during dynamic movements.
Implementation Method 1
The midsole may incorporate a fluid-filled bladder to increase durability of the sole structure, as well as to provide cushioning to the foot by compressing resiliently under an applied load to attenuate ground-reaction forces
Implementation Method 2
The fluid-filled bladders are pressurized with a fluid such as air
Data Source
AI summary
A sole structure for an article of footwear having an upper includes a heel region, a forefoot region, and a mid-foot region disposed between the heel region and the forefoot region. The sole structure also includes a bladder including a first barrier layer cooperating with a second barrier layer to define a first chamber bounding a periphery of the heel region, and a second chamber extending from the mid-foot region through the forefoot region and including a plurality of segments extending from a medial side of the sole structure to a lateral side of the sole structure. Each of the segments of the second chamber includes a medial reservoir adjacent to the medial side and a lateral reservoir adjacent to the lateral side, the medial reservoir fluidly coupled to the lateral reservoir via a first conduit.