Support And Cushioning System For An Article Of Footwear

Abstract

A cushioning member for an article of footwear. The cushioning member is a flexible bladder having a fluidly interconnected heel chamber and forefoot chamber. The bladder is disposed above the sole and beneath the wearer's foot to provided added cushioning to the wearer. The bladder contains air at slightly above ambient pressure and can be formed by thermoforming or by welding two sheets of resilient, flexible material together. A connecting passage fluidly connects the heel chamber and the forefoot chamber. The connecting passage is narrow to control the flow of air between the two chambers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A resilient insert for an article of footwear, the resilient insert comprising;
 a forward medial forefoot chamber disposed on a medial side of a forefoot of the resilient insert;   a rearward medial forefoot chamber disposed on the medial side of the forefoot of the resilient insert, rearward of the forward medial forefoot chamber;   a lateral forefoot chamber disposed on a lateral side of the forefoot of the resilient insert;   a central forefoot chamber disposed between the rearward medial forefoot chamber and the lateral forefoot chamber; and   a medial rearfoot chamber disposed on a medial side of a rearfoot of the article of footwear,   wherein the forward medial forefoot chamber is directly fluidly connected to the rearward medial forefoot chamber,   wherein the rearward medial forefoot chamber is directly fluidly connected to the central forefoot chamber,   wherein the central forefoot chamber is directly fluidly connected to the lateral forefoot chamber, and   wherein the lateral forefoot chamber is fluidly connected to the medial rearfoot chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The resilient insert of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a rearward medial rearfoot chamber disposed on the medial side of the rearfoot of the resilient insert, rearward of the medial rearfoot chamber,   a lateral rearfoot chamber disposed on the lateral side of the rearfoot of the resilient insert,   wherein the medial rearfoot chamber is directly fluidly connected to the rearward medial rearfoot chamber, and   wherein the rearward medial rearfoot chamber is directly fluidly connected to the lateral rearfoot chamber.   
     
     
         3 . An article of footwear comprising:
 a forward forefoot chamber disposed entirely on one of a medial and a lateral side of the article of footwear;   a rearward forefoot chamber disposed entirely on the one of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear, rearwardly adjacent to the first forefoot chamber;   a forward rearfoot chamber disposed entirely on the one of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear;   a rearward rearfoot chamber disposed entirely on the one of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear, rearwardly adjacent to the first rearfoot chamber; and   an intermediate chamber disposed entirely on the other of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear,   wherein the forward forefoot chamber, the rearward forefoot chamber, the forward rearfoot chamber, the rearward rearfoot chamber, and the intermediate chamber are fluidly interconnected.   
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 3 , wherein the rearward forefoot chamber is disposed entirely rearward of the forward forefoot chamber, and
 wherein the rearward rearfoot chamber is disposed entirely rearward of the forward rearfoot chamber.   
     
     
         5 . An article of footwear comprising:
 a first forefoot chamber disposed entirely on one of a medial and a lateral side of the article of footwear;   a second forefoot chamber disposed on both the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear; and   a rearfoot chamber disposed entirely on the other of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear,   wherein the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber are fluidly interconnected.   
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , comprising a third forefoot chamber disposed entirely on the other of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear,
 wherein the third forefoot chamber is fluidly connected to the second forefoot chamber.   
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , comprising a second rearfoot chamber disposed entirely on the one of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear,
 wherein the second rearfoot chamber is fluidly connected to the first rearfoot chamber.   
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , comprising a third forefoot chamber disposed entirely on the other of the medial and the lateral side of the article of footwear,
 wherein the third forefoot chamber is fluidly connected to the second forefoot chamber, and   wherein the second forefoot chamber is disposed between the first forefoot chamber and the third forefoot chamber.   
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , comprising an outsole disposed on lower surfaces of the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber,
 wherein the outsole conforms to the lower surfaces of the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber.   
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 9 , wherein, a shape of a lower surface of the outsole conforms to a shape of the lower surfaces of the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 9 , wherein a lower surface of the outsole defines a bulge corresponding to each of the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 9 , comprising a midsole disposed above the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber,
 wherein the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber are at least partially disposed within cavities in a lower surface of the midsole.   
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , wherein the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber are sealed and contain fluid. 
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear of  claim 13 , wherein the fluid is air above ambient pressure. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear of  claim 13 , wherein the first forefoot chamber, the second forefoot chamber, and the rearfoot chamber control fluid flow to correspond to the gait pattern of a wearer of the article of footwear. 
     
     
         16 . A resilient insert for an article of footwear, the resilient insert comprising:
 a forward medial forefoot chamber disposed on a medial side of the resilient insert;   a rearward medial forefoot chamber disposed on the medial side of the resilient insert, rearward of the medial forefoot chamber,   a lateral forefoot chamber disposed on a lateral side of the forefoot of the resilient insert; and   a medial rearfoot chamber disposed on a medial side of a rearfoot of the resilient insert; and   wherein the forward medial forefoot chamber, the rearward medial rearfoot chamber, the lateral forefoot chamber, and the medial rearfoot chamber are fluidly interconnected.   
     
     
         17 . The resilient insert of  claim 16 , wherein the forward medial forefoot chamber, the rearward medial forefoot chamber, the lateral forefoot chamber, and the medial rearfoot chamber are spaced apart and fluidly interconnected by fluid passages. 
     
     
         18 . The resilient insert of  claim 16 , comprising a central forefoot chamber disposed between the rearward medial forefoot chamber and the lateral forefoot chamber,
 wherein the central forefoot chamber, the rearward medial forefoot chamber and the lateral forefoot chamber are fluidly interconnected.   
     
     
         19 . The resilient insert of  claim 16 , comprising:
 a rearward medial rearfoot chamber disposed on the medial side of the rearfoot of the resilient insert, rearward of the medial rearfoot chamber,   wherein the rearward medial rearfoot chamber is fluidly connected to the medial rearfoot chamber,   
     
     
         20 . The resilient insert of  claim 16 , comprising:
 a lateral rearfoot chamber disposed on a lateral side of the rearfoot of the article of footwear,   wherein the lateral rearfoot chamber is fluidly connected to the medial rearfoot chamber.