Nike

Presented are cryptographic digital assets for articles of footwear, methods for making/using such cryptographic digital assets, and decentralized computing systems with blockchain control logic for mining, intermingling, and exchanging blockchain-enabled digital shoes. A method of provisioning the digital assets includes receiving a transaction confirmation indicative of a completed transaction of an article of footwear or a digital file representative thereof from a first party to a second party, and transmitting a cryptographic block to a distributed blockchain ledger to record transfer of the cryptographic digital asset to the second party.

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes a midsole having a medial edge and a lateral edge. The sole structure also includes 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.

An article of footwear comprising a first knitted upper component comprising a set of yarns derived from a no-longer existing knitted upper component, the first knitted upper component at least partially defining an interior chamber configured to receive a wearer's foot and having a lower portion with knit strips defining a first plurality of openings. The article of footwear further comprising a first midsole component comprising a first thermoplastic polymer material component recycled from a no-longer existing midsole component, the first midsole component received in the interior chamber of the knitted upper component and having a plurality of protrusions extending through the first plurality of openings in the first knitted upper component.

A sole structure includes: a foam midsole layer having a foot-facing surface extending in each of the forefoot region, the midfoot region, and the heel region, and a ground-facing surface extending in each of the forefoot region, the midfoot region, and the heel region; a plate disposed at the foam midsole layer only in the midfoot region; a first forefoot cushioning component secured to the foot-facing surface of the midsole layer in the forefoot region; a second forefoot cushioning component stacked on the first forefoot cushioning component. Each of the first and second forefoot cushioning components includes: a bladder that encloses an interior cavity and retains a gas in the interior cavity; and a tensile component disposed in the interior cavity. The tensile component includes tensile layers and a plurality of tethers connecting the tensile layers to an inner surface of the bladder. The tethers span across the interior cavity.

An article of footwear comprises: a sole structure; a footwear upper having a front upper portion secured to the sole structure and a rear upper portion secured to the sole structure, the front upper portion defining a front of an ankle opening and the rear upper portion defining a rear of the ankle opening; and a device, which comprises a control bar having a center segment secured to the rear upper portion rearward of the ankle opening, a medial side arm extending downwardly and forwardly from the center segment at a medial side of the article of footwear outward of the footwear upper and fixed to the sole structure, and a lateral side arm extending downwardly and forwardly from the center segment at a lateral side of the article of footwear outward of the footwear upper and fixed to the sole structure. The control bar depresses under an applied force to a loaded position as the medial side arm and the lateral side arm resiliently bend, storing potential energy that returns the control bar to an unloaded position upon removal of the applied force, the rear upper portion moving with the control bar. The front upper portion and the rear upper portion overlap at and are at least partially decoupled from one another at the medial side and at the lateral side to enable movement of the rear upper portion with the control bar independently of the front upper portion.

The present invention relates to an article of footwear comprising a midsole, which includes: a first cushioning component configured as a midsole core and a second cushioning component configured as an outer shell defining a central cavity. The midsole core is disposed in the central cavity. The outer shell comprises a lateral shell body extending along a lateral side of the midsole core and a medial shell body extending along a medial side of the midsole core. The lateral shell body is coupled to the medial shell body.

A sole structure for an article of footwear is provided and includes a first sole plate formed at least in part from a first material having a first stiffness and including a first ground-engaging portion and a second ground-engaging portion, the first ground-engaging portion defining a first aperture extending around the second ground-engaging portion. The sole structure further including a membrane coupled to the first ground-engaging portion and the second ground-engaging portion and at least partially exposed by the first aperture, the membrane formed at least in part from a second material having a second stiffness that is less than the first stiffness.

A composite nonwoven textile having a first face an opposite second face, and a volume between the first face and the second face, the composite nonwoven textile comprising: a first web of fibers that forms the first face, the first web of fibers comprising first fibers having a first propensity to absorb electromagnetic radiation emitted by a laser; a second web of fibers that forms the second face, the second web of fibers comprising second fibers having a second propensity to absorb the electromagnetic radiation, the second propensity to absorb the electromagnetic radiation is lower than the first propensity to absorb the electromagnetic radiation, wherein fibers of at least one of the first fibers and the second fibers comprise a polymer; and a plurality of discrete bonding structures positioned between the first face and the second face of the composite nonwoven textile within the volume of the composite nonwoven textile, at least some of the plurality of discrete bonding structures including an amorphous polymer agglomerate and fibers from one or more of the first fibers and the second fibers in a fiber form, wherein portions of one or more of the first fibers and the second fibers are at least partially encapsulated by the amorphous polymer agglomerate.

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes a first plate extending from a forefoot region of the sole structure to a heel region of the sole structure. The first plate has a first surface and a second surface formed on an opposite side of the first plate than the first surface. The sole structure further includes a second plate extending from the forefoot region to the heel region. The second plate has a third surface opposing the second surface of the first plate and a fourth surface disposed on an opposite side of the second plate than the third surface. The third surface is spaced apart from the second surface to define a cavity between the first plate and the second plate that extends from a medial side of the sole structure to a lateral side of the sole structure between the forefoot region and the heel region.

Presented are intelligent electronic footwear and apparel with controllerautomated features, methods for making/operating such footwear and apparel, and control systems for executing automated features of such footwear and apparel. A method for operating an intelligent electronic shoe (IES) includes receiving, e.g., via a controller through a wireless communications device from a GPS satellite service, location data of a user. The controller also receives, e.g., from a backend server-class computer or other remote computing node, location data for a target object or site, such as a virtual shoe hidden at a virtual spot. The controller retrieves or predicts path plan data including a derived route for traversing from the user's location to the target's location within a geographic area. The controller then transmits command signals to a navigation alert system mounted to the IES's shoe structure to output visual, audio, and/or tactile cues that guide the user along the derived route.