Mirrors of time (3) – Nike Free(TM)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

One more patented sole system and upper footwear structure from Nike, Inc, marketed as Nike Free(TM). And a huge stride in time since slip-resistant crepe rubber soles with grid, waffle or checkered patterns, designed to both cushion and secure the user’s gait. 

 

This is your homework, in purple and green, dear Students.... Now, pray tell me, what’s your domain and what are you tracking through time? Prosthetic limbs, reading glasses, clocks, watches, bicycles, automobiles, airplanes, or textiles ?

 

Patents mirror time, and we could show this reflection together, on more counts than footwear.

 US2005076536  An Article of footwear with a stretchable upper and an articulated sole structure

An article of footwear is disclosed that includes at least one of a stretchable upper and an articulated sole structure. The upper may include an exterior layer and an interior layer. The exterior layer forms at least a portion of an exterior of the upper, and the exterior layer includes a plurality of incisions that extend through the exterior layer. The interior layer is located adjacent an inner surface of the exterior layer, and the interior layer is exposed through the incisions. The sole structure may include a connecting portion and a plurality of discrete sole elements. The connecting portion is positioned adjacent the upper and may extend along a longitudinal length of the upper. The sole elements extend from the connecting portion, and the sole elements are separated by a plurality of sipes that extend upward into the sole structure.