Cushioning component for a wearable article

Abstract

An article of footwear includes a sole structure having a cushioning component. The cushioning component includes a bladder defining an interior cavity between opposing inner surfaces of a first barrier sheet and a second barrier sheet. The barrier sheets are sealed to one another along a peripheral bond. A core is disposed in the interior cavity and spaced entirely inward of the peripheral bond. The core includes at least one polymeric sheet traversing the interior cavity between and directly bonded to the opposing inner surfaces of the barrier sheets at a plurality of bonds to tether the barrier sheets to one another. The bonds include at least one bond extending continuously from a medial end adjacent a medial edge of the core to a lateral end adjacent a lateral edge of the core and wider at the medial and lateral ends than at a narrowed portion therebetween.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear comprising:
 a sole structure having a cushioning component, the cushioning component including:
 a bladder including a first barrier sheet and a second barrier sheet defining an interior cavity between opposing inner surfaces of the first barrier sheet and the second barrier sheet, the first barrier sheet and the second barrier sheet sealed to one another along a peripheral bond to enclose the interior cavity and retain a gas in the interior cavity; and 
 a core disposed in the interior cavity and spaced entirely inward of the peripheral bond, the core including at least one polymeric sheet traversing the interior cavity between and directly bonded to the opposing inner surfaces of the first barrier sheet and the second barrier sheet at a plurality of bonds to tether the first barrier sheet to the second barrier sheet, the at least one polymeric sheet displaced from the opposing inner surfaces by the gas at unbonded areas of the at least one polymeric sheet, the plurality of bonds including at least one bond extending continuously from a medial end of the at least one bond adjacent to a medial edge of the core to a lateral end of the at least one bond adjacent to a lateral edge of the core; 
 wherein the at least one bond is wider in a fore-aft direction of the core at the medial end and at the lateral end than at a narrowed portion of the at least one bond between the medial end and the lateral end; and 
 wherein the plurality of bonds are configured such that the gas in the interior cavity is in fluid communication around the at least one polymeric sheet without the at least one polymeric sheet creating any sealed chambers within the bladder that are not in fluid communication with the interior cavity. 
   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one bond is nonlinear. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one bond that is nonlinear has linear segments. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one bond has peaks and valleys extending in the fore-aft direction of the core. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the narrowed portion of the at least one bond is at a middle of the at least one bond in a transverse direction of the core. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one bond is symmetrical in a transverse direction of the core about the narrowed portion along a majority of the at least one bond in the transverse direction. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein each bond of the plurality of bonds extends continuously from the medial edge of the core to the lateral edge of the core and is wider in the fore-aft direction of the core at the medial edge and at the lateral edge than at a narrowed portion of the bond between the medial edge and the lateral edge. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein anti-weld material is disposed on the core at the unbonded areas. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the core lays flat within the bladder with the unbonded areas contacting the opposing inner surfaces when the interior cavity of the bladder is uninflated. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein a medial edge of the bladder defines a first notch and an inner medial edge of the peripheral bond protrudes laterally inward at the first notch; and/or
 wherein a lateral edge of the bladder defines a second notch and an inner lateral edge of the peripheral bond protrudes laterally inward at the second notch.   
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the plurality of bonds includes a first group of bonds in a forefoot region of the article of footwear and a second group of bonds in a heel region of the article of footwear; and   spacing in the fore-aft direction of the core between adjacent bonds of the first group of bonds is less than spacing in the fore-aft direction of the core between adjacent bonds of the second group of bonds such that the opposing inner surfaces are held closer to one another by the at least one polymeric sheet of the core in the forefoot region than in the heel region.   
     
     
         12 . The cushioning component of  claim 1 , wherein an outer perimeter of the at least one polymeric sheet of the core is spaced further inward of the peripheral bond in a heel region of the article of footwear than in a forefoot region of the article of footwear. 
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the opposing inner surfaces of the bladder include a first inner surface of the first barrier sheet and a second inner surface of the second barrier sheet;   the at least one polymeric sheet of the core includes a first polymeric sheet and a second polymeric sheet, the first polymeric sheet disposed between the first barrier sheet and the second polymeric sheet, and the second polymeric sheet disposed between the first polymeric sheet and the second barrier sheet such that a first side of the first polymeric sheet faces the first inner surface of the first barrier sheet, a second side of the first polymeric sheet faces a first side of the second polymeric sheet, and a second side of the second polymeric sheet faces the second inner surface of the second barrier sheet; and   the first side of the first polymeric sheet is directly bonded to the first inner surface of the first barrier sheet at a first set of bonds of the plurality of bonds, the second side of the second polymeric sheet is directly bonded to the second inner surface of the second barrier sheet at a second set of bonds of the plurality of bonds, the second side of the first polymeric sheet is directly bonded to the first side of the second polymeric sheet at a third set of bonds of the plurality of bonds, the bonds of the third set alternating with the bonds of the first set along a length of the core, and the bonds of the third set alternating with the bonds of the second set along the length of the core.   
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear of  claim 13 , wherein each of the first set, the second set, and the third set includes at least one bond that extends continuously from the medial edge of the core to the lateral edge of the core and is wider in the fore-aft direction of the core at the medial edge and at the lateral edge than at a narrowed portion of the bond between the medial edge and the lateral edge. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear of  claim 14 , wherein a difference between a width at the medial edge and a width at the narrowed portion of the at least one bond of the second set is greater than a difference between a width at the medial edge and a width at the narrowed portion of the at least one bond of the first set. 
     
     
         16 . The article of footwear of  claim 14 , wherein a difference between a width at the medial edge and a width at the narrowed portion of the at least one bond of the second set is greater than a difference between a width at the medial edge and a width at the narrowed portion of the at least one bond of the third set. 
     
     
         17 . The article of footwear of  claim 14 , wherein a foremost bond of the first set and a foremost bond of the second set are further forward than a foremost bond of the third set. 
     
     
         18 . The article of footwear of  claim 14 , wherein a rearmost bond of the first set and a rearmost bond of the second set are further rearward than a rearmost bond of the third set. 
     
     
         19 . The article of footwear of  claim 14 , wherein at least some of the bonds of the second set are aligned with the at least some of the bonds of the first set along the length of the core when the interior cavity of the bladder is in an uninflated state. 
     
     
         20 . The article of footwear of  claim 19 , wherein the at least some of the bonds of the second set are wider in the fore-aft direction of the core than the at least some of the bonds of the first set with which the at least some of the bonds of the second set are aligned.