Chassis for footwear and method of making footwear

Abstract

An article of footwear comprises a chassis having an upper side and a lower side. At least one outsole component is attached to the lower side of the chassis, at least one midsole component is attached to the upper side of the chassis, and an upper is attached to the chassis. At least one opening extends through the chassis from the upper side to the lower side which is unobstructed by the outsole and midsole components. The openings allow for air circulation and water drainage. The chassis is comprised of multiple sub-frames that can be independently fastened to the other footwear components.

1 . An article of footwear comprising: 
 a non-planar chassis having an upper side and a lower side;    at least one outsole component attached to said lower side of said chassis;    at least one midsole component attached to said upper side of said chassis; and    an upper attached to said chassis and defining a foot receiving space;    at least one opening extending through said chassis from said upper side to said lower side and being unobstructed by said outsole component and said midsole component, said opening adapted to permit fluid flow into or out of said foot receiving space.    
   
   
       2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1  further comprising at least two said outsole components.  
   
   
       3 . The article of footwear of  claim 2  wherein said upper is sewn to said chassis.  
   
   
       4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1  wherein said upper comprises at least one strap and said chassis has a midfoot channel disposed generally transversely through said chassis for slidably receiving said strap.  
   
   
       5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1  wherein said chassis has a screen disposed over said opening.  
   
   
       6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1  wherein said midsole component has at least one midsole port extending through said midsole from an upper side thereof to a lower side thereof, wherein said midsole port is aligned with said chassis opening.  
   
   
       7 . The article of footwear of  claim 1  wherein said chassis comprises a plurality of sub-frames that are attached to each other with a mechanical, interlocking connection.  
   
   
       8 . The article of footwear of  claim 7  wherein said plurality of sub-frames comprise: 
 a main sub-frame extending from a forefoot to a heel portion of the article of footwear; and    at least two minor sub-frames, one said minor sub-frames being attached to the medial side of said main sub-frame, and another said minor sub-frame being attached to the lateral side of said main sub-frame, said upper being attached to said minor sub-frame portions.    
   
   
       9 . The article of footwear of  claim 8  wherein there are at least four said minor sub-frames, two of said minor sub-frames being attached to the medial side of said main sub-frame, and another two of said minor sub-frames being attached to the lateral side of said main sub-frame, said upper comprising sandal straps that are attached to said minor sub-frames.  
   
   
       10 . A method of manufacturing an article of footwear comprising: 
 forming a main sub-frame;    forming a plurality of minor sub-frames,    attaching at least one midsole component to an upper side of said main sub-frame; and    attaching an upper to said minor sub-frames in an operation separate from the step of attaching said midsole component to said main sub-frame;    connecting said minor sub-frames to said main sub-frame; and    attaching at least one outsole component to a lower side of said main sub-frame.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising 
 forming at least one opening in said main sub-frame, said opening extending through said main sub-frame from the upper side to the lower side thereof.    
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the step of connecting the minor sub-frames to the main sub-frame comprises joining said sub-frames with a mechanical, interlocking connection.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein said plural minor sub-frames include an extension portion extending generally perpendicular to said main sub-frame.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein said step of attaching said upper to said minor sub-frames comprises sewing said upper to the extension portion of each of said minor sub-frames.  
   
   
       15 . A framework structure for an article of footwear having an upper, comprising: 
 a main sub-frame extending substantially the forefoot region to the heel region of the footwear;    a plurality of minor sub-frames mechanically connected to said main sub-frame to form a chassis, said sub-frames having portions adapted for connection to the upper.    
   
   
       16 . The framework structure of  claim 15  wherein at least one minor sub-frame is attached to a medial side of said main sub-frame, and at least one other minor sub-frame is attached to a lateral side of said main sub-frame.  
   
   
       17 . The framework structure of  claim 15  wherein said chassis comprises a lower side configured to receive one or more outsole components, and an upper side configured to receive one or more midsole components.  
   
   
       18 . The framework structure of  claim 15  further comprising a midfoot channel disposed generally transversely through said main sub-frame, generally from a medial side to a lateral side, and configured for slidably receiving a strap.  
   
   
       19 . The framework structure of  claim 15  further comprising at least one opening through said framework structure from an upper side to a lower side thereof.  
   
   
       20 . The framework structure of  claim 19  further comprising a screen over said opening.