Patent ID: 8732986

Claim:
An article of footwear, comprising: a sole structure including a longitudinal direction associated with a length of the sole structure, a lateral direction associated with a width of the sole structure and a vertical direction that is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction; the sole structure further comprising a fluid filled member with a first side upper portion, a first side lower portion, a second side upper portion and a second side lower portion all extending outwardly from a central portion of the fluid filled member; wherein the first side upper portion and the first side lower portion are separated by a first channel extending in the longitudinal direction; wherein the first side lower portion and the second side lower portion are separated by a second channel extending in the longitudinal direction; the sole structure including a first segmented portion and a second segmented portion disposed in the first channel; the sole structure including a third segmented portion and a fourth segmented portion disposed in the second channel; the sole structure including a first slot disposed between the first segmented portion and the second segmented portion on a side portion of the sole structure and a second slot disposed between the third segmented portion and the fourth segmented portion on a lower portion of the sole structure; the first slot extending approximately in the vertical direction on the side portion and the second slot extending approximately in the lateral direction on the lower portion; the first slot and the second slot having substantially similar positions with respect to the longitudinal direction; the first side lower portion separating the first slot from the second slot; and wherein the fluid filled member comprises an internal cavity that is filled with fluid, and wherein the internal cavity extends through the first upper side portion and wherein the internal cavity extends through the first lower side portion.