Patent ID: 7073276

Claim:
A sole component for footwear comprising: a scaled chamber containing a fluid, said chamber having a first major surface with a first perimeter border, an opposing second major surface with a second perimeter border, and a sidewall surface connecting the first and second perimeter borders of said major surfaces, said first and second major surfaces being devoid of internal connection, said second perimeter border located inward of said first perimeter border such that said sidewall surface contours outwardly from said second major surface to said first major surface, said first and second borders each having first and second narrow sides and first and second long sides, said first narrow side being longer than said second narrow side so that said first and second long sides angle toward one another extending from said first narrow side to said second narrow side, and said first and second narrow sides being curved so that said chamber has a pear shape, a substantial portion of said first major surface being substantially planar, and a substantial portion of said second major surface being substantially planar and with less than 50% of the area of said substantially planar portion of said first major surface; and a resilient material surrounding at least a portion of said chamber, said chamber being formed, at least in part, by a void formed in said resilient material, and at least one of said major surfaces and at least, one of the perimeter borders being formed by walls of the void in said resilient material, said resilient material covering a substantial portion of at least one of said major surfaces.