4759results about "Stiffners" patented technology

Footwear includes modifiable responsiveness and / or energy return properties. Such footwear may include: (a) a base foot support component that defines a passageway extending from the forefoot region to the heel region; (b) a forefoot securing system in the forefoot region; (c) a heel securing system in the heel region; and (d) a band (including at least one elastic or stretchable portion or region) extending through the passageway and connected with the forefoot and heel securing systems. The band may include features and / or may be attached with components that form portions of the forefoot and / or heel securing systems. Application of different tensile forces to the band modifies and controls the responsiveness and / or energy return properties of the footwear. The tensile forces may be changed, for example, by moving the heel end of the band from a first securing position to a second securing position.

A system for attaching a personal item to a shoe includes: a molded shoe made from a stretchable material and having a plurality of expandable holes in an upper portion; a shaft having first and second ends; a first shoulder secured to the first end, the first shoulder configured for insertion through a first expandable hole of the plurality of expandable holes and configured to engage an inner surface of the upper portion of the shoe; a second shoulder secured to the second end; a mounting patch coupled to the second shoulder, the mounting patch including a receiving surface extending at least to a second expandable hole adjacent to the first expandable hole; a personal item including an attachment surface, the attachment surface configured to securely yet releasably couple to the receiving surface when the attachment surface is placed into contact with the receiving surface.

A method of forming an upper for an article of footwear includes providing a first material layer over a shoe last, providing a second material layer over the first material layer such that the first and second material layers adhere to each other at an interface between the first and second material layers, where one or both of the first material layer and second material layer is provided by spray forming a polymer material onto the last. The material layers are removed from the last and turned inside out such that the first material layer includes an exposed surface that forms an exterior surface of the upper.

To provide footwear which can be put on while standing without bending over or sitting down, and without using a shoehorn or hands. [Solution] This footwear has a heel portion, and is characterized in that a cross section cut horizontally to wrap around the heel is formed in a semicircular arc, and comprises a first core material arranged in the heel portion inside the upper, and a second core material arranged above the first core material.

Additively manufactured articles of footwear comprising a sole portion and an upper portion 3D printed as a single piece. In some embodiments, the article of footwear can comprise an outer skin comprising a plurality of continuous beams extending adjacent to each other and defining at least part of an outer contour of the upper portion, at least part of an outer contour of the sole portion, or both. In some embodiments, the article of footwear can comprise an inner skin comprising a network of beams defining at least part of an inner contour of the upper portion. In some embodiments, the article of footwear can comprise a core structure that connects beams of the outer skin to beams of the inner skin.

A knitted upper for an article of footwear. The knitted upper is formed essentially as a single piece in a three-dimensional knitting process. The knitted upper includes at least one activated shrink yarn.

Described are shoes for ball sports including an upper having an outer surface. An actuator is configured to change at least one surface property of a portion of the outer surface of the upper, and a sensor is configured to be sensitive to movements of the shoe. A processing unit is connected to the actuator and the sensor and configured to process sensor data retrieved from the sensor and to cause the actuator to change the at least one surface property of the portion of the outer surface of the upper if a predetermined event is detected in the sensor data.

An article of footwear comprising an upper and a sole assembly connected to the upper. The upper may comprise a tongue assembly with an outer layer and an inner layer opposite the outer layer. The inner layer may comprise a recessed channel extending longitudinally between an upper edge and a lower edge of the tongue assembly and a plurality of flex grooves extending between a medial edge and a lateral edge of the tongue assembly. The plurality of flex grooves may be configured to intersect the recessed channel.

A method for producing a textile material, such as a shoe upper, including providing a shaping carrier, such as a last; providing a plasticizing unit for melting a polymer composition to provide a molten polymer composition; providing a depositing unit with a dosing head which includes at least one nozzle; applying the molten polymer composition via the at least one nozzle on the shaping carrier in a filament forming a plurality of loops on the shaping carrier. The depositing unit and / or the shaping carrier are in a first movement moved relative to each other such that the at least one nozzle moves along a drive path which runs on the shaping carrier. During forming each loop, the dosing head and / or the at least one nozzle is moved in a second movement along a loop depositing path with a path length such that the length of each loop formed on the carrier is larger than the path length of the depositing path.

A shoe, a shoe production system and a method for producing a shoe including the steps: a. providing an upper assembly (2), wherein the upper assembly includes an upper (3) being mounted on a carrier (4), wherein the upper (3) includes a bottom section (5) being made from a thermoplastic polymer upper material; b. providing a sole molding unit (6), wherein the sole molding unit defines a cavity; c. inserting the upper assembly (2) at least partially into the cavity; introducing a midsole polymer composition comprising a molten thermoplastic polymer midsole material which has a melting temperature being equal or higher than the melting temperature of the thermoplastic polymer upper material into the cavity and foaming the molten thermoplastic polymer midsole material inside the cavity to provide a foamed midsole and to establish a material-bonded connection between the upper (3) and the foamed midsole (8).

To provide a footwear counter for supporting easier insertion of a foot when a user wears footwear.SOLUTION: An article of footwear includes a heel cup attached to an upper and extending from a sole structure to at least a portion of a rear heel collar of the upper. The heel cup is uniformly molded with an upper portion, midportion, and lower portion and the upper portion has a smaller mediolateral length than the midportion, and the midportion and lower portion forms a concave structure configured to receive the heel. The upper portion is capable of distorting from a first configuration into a second configuration under a load of a user's foot when the user is donning the footwear. In the second configuration, at least part of the upper portion is lowered relative to the first configuration and is capable of returning to the first configuration after the load of the user's foot is removed. The midportion includes a peripheral portion thicker than a central portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Methods of manufacturing an article of apparel that include moving a plurality of first projection sets positioned on a conveyor into a work zone. Each first projection set includes a plurality of projections disposed around a winding field. The methods include winding a respective continuous thread on each respective first projection set to form a thread layer including a plurality of thread lines, with each thread line extending between two respective projections and across the winding field. The methods also include, after winding the respective continuous threads, advancing the conveyor to move the first projection sets out of the work zone and to move a plurality of second projection sets into the work zone.

An article of footwear includes a sole defining a length direction and a width direction of the article of footwear. An upper is connected to the sole and includes at least one panel having a plurality of layers that are secured together by an embroidery stitching pattern. The plurality of layers include a first layer arranged outward from a second layer, wherein a plurality of cells are formed on the first layer by the embroidery stitching pattern such that a perimeter of each cell is defined along the embroidery stitching pattern. An outer surface of the first layer is buckled such that an interior portion defined within the perimeter of each cell bulges outward on the first layer of the upper. A plurality of gripping pads are disposed on the outer surface of the first layer. Each of the gripping pads are arranged on the interior portion of each of the plurality of cells.

Articles of apparel and methods of making articles of apparel comprising one or more continuous threads wound around anchor points. In some embodiments, the methods can comprise winding a continuous thread around a plurality of projections to form a thread layer comprising a plurality of thread lines and impregnating at least a portion of the continuous thread with a flowable liquid polymer. In some embodiments, the methods can comprise bonding a thread layer to a rigid plate such that one or more thread lines extend across an opening formed in the rigid plate.

A system for manufacturing an article of apparel includes a plate with a plurality of projections. The system also includes a winding head with a plurality of adjacent thread guides. The thread guides among the plurality of thread guides are configured to simultaneously dispense respective continuous threads. The system also includes an actuator configured to move the winding head over the plate to wind the continuous threads around the plurality of projections on the plate.

Methods and systems are disclosed for apparel assembly using three-dimensional printing directly onto fabric apparel materials. Disclosed is a method and system for direct three-dimensional printing and assembly of an article of apparel, including designing a three-dimensional pattern for printing, positioning at least a portion of the article on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray, printing a three-dimensional material directly onto the article using the designed pattern, curing the printed material, and removing the article from the three-dimensional printing system.

Additively manufactured articles of footwear comprising a sole portion and an upper portion 3D printed as a single piece. In some embodiments, the article of footwear can comprise an outer skin comprising a plurality of continuous beams extending adjacent to each other and defining at least part of an outer contour of the upper portion, at least part of an outer contour of the sole portion, or both. In some embodiments, the article of footwear can comprise an inner skin comprising a network of beams defining at least part of an inner contour of the upper portion. In some embodiments, the article of footwear can comprise a core structure that connects beams of the outer skin to beams of the inner skin.

Footwear components apply heat, cooling, and / or pressure to a wearer's foot / leg / ankle. Such footwear includes one or more of: (a) an interior upper layer formed from one or more interior upper component parts; (b) an exterior upper layer formed from one or more exterior upper component parts and engaged with the interior upper layer, wherein the interior and exterior upper layers define an ankle-receiving chamber of the footwear upper; (c) a fluid-filled bladder system including a first fluid chamber located between the interior and exterior upper layers; (d) a heating and / or cooling system having at least a portion engaged with the first fluid chamber; (e) a fluid source component (e.g., pump, compressor, etc.) in fluid communication with the first fluid chamber and configured to supply fluid to the first fluid chamber; (f) a power source; and / or (g) a securing system for releasably securing the footwear upper to a wearer's foot / leg / ankle.

The present invention relates to a shoe upper, in particular an upper knitted on a circular knitting machine, including an elongated hollow knit structure, including: a first zone including a first predetermined property; a second zone including a second predetermined property; wherein the elongated hollow knit structure includes less than ten distinct ply types of yarn including less than five distinct materials.

A shoe including an upper forming an interior portion for a foot, the interior portion including toe and heel cavities, is provided. The shoe includes a midsole having toe and heel ends and inner and outer sides. The midsole is affixed to the upper forming a bottom to the interior portion. An insole is affixed to the bottom. An outsole patch includes a toe portion disposed on the toe end of the midsole and a heel portion disposed on the heel end of the midsole. The outsole patch includes an exterior contour providing clearance between the midsole and ground when worn. A region between the heel and toe portions of the outsole patch extends from the inner to outer sides occupying a position intermediate the toe and heel ends of the midsole, permitting the shoe to fold about the region. The insole is not stitched to the upper or midsole.

A pump includes a conduit defining an inner volume and formed from a flexible material, the conduit movable between an expanded state and a relaxed state. A coil is disposed within the conduit and includes an outer diameter that is approximately equal to an inner diameter of the conduit, the coil substantially maintaining its outer diameter when the conduit is moved between the relaxed state and the expanded state. A manifold is in fluid communication with the inner volume and is operable to permit fluid to enter the inner volume in a first mode and expel fluid from the inner volume in a second mode.

An article of footwear includes a porous body comprising a lattice of interconnected unit cells and a first porosity. The article of footwear also includes skin layer integrally formed on an exterior of the porous body. The skin layer has a second porosity and defines ribs that extend outward from the porous body. The second porosity is less than the first porosity.

The utility model belongs to the technical field of knitting, and particularly relates to a knitted vamp with a foldable shoe tongue, which comprises a vamp, the vamp comprises a vamp body layer and a reinforcing layer, one side of the vamp body layer is provided with a folding part, one end of the folding part is connected with the vamp body layer, the other end of the folding part is connected with a reinforcing sheet, and the reinforcing sheet is connected with the vamp body layer. The reinforcing piece is provided with a connecting part, the reinforcing piece is detachably connected with the vamp body layer through the connecting part, the vamp body layer is provided with a plurality of through holes, the connecting part is provided with a connecting structure, the connecting structure is one of a fabric belt, a hook-and-loop fastener or a thread, and a folding line is arranged at the joint of the folding part and the reinforcing piece. The reinforcing piece is folded to one side of the vamp body layer through the folding line to form a reinforcing layer.