Patent ID: 11910869
Assignee: NIKE, INC.
Field: Other consumer goods (Other fields)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A

Claim 12:
13. An article of footwear comprising:
a sole assembly with an opening extending from a lateral side to a medial side;
an upper secured to the sole assembly; and
a pair of bladder elements positioned within the opening in the sole assembly in a vertically stacked arrangement, each of the bladder elements having at least one chamber filled with a fluid,
wherein at least a portion of a rear side of the bladder elements is spaced apart from a heel-side of the opening to define a heel-side aperture that extends between the lateral and medial sides of the sole assembly, and at least a portion of a front side of the bladder elements is spaced apart from a forefoot-side of the opening to define a forefoot-side aperture that extends between the lateral and medial sides of the sole assembly,
wherein the pair of bladder elements comprises an upper bladder element and a lower bladder element,
wherein a first upper portion of the upper bladder element is unexposed by the opening in the sole assembly, a first lower portion the upper bladder element is exposed by the opening in the sole assembly, and the exposed first lower portion of the upper bladder extends along an entire length of the upper bladder element,
wherein a second upper portion of the lower bladder element is exposed by the opening in the sole assembly, the exposed second upper portion of the lower bladder extends along an entire length of the lower bladder element, and a second lower portion of the lower bladder element is unexposed by the opening in the sole assembly, and
wherein the upper bladder element tapers in length from a first central area of the upper bladder element to the first lower portion, and the lower bladder element tapers in length from the second lower portion to a second central area of the lower bladder element, such that the heel-side aperture and the forefoot-side aperture are longer in a central region of the opening.