Direct Printing to Fabric
First Claim
1. A method of direct three-dimensional printing onto an article of apparel, comprising:
- designing a three-dimensional pattern for printing onto the article;
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.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are disclosed for three-dimensional printing directly onto an article of apparel. Disclosed is a method and system for direct three-dimensional printing onto an article of apparel, including designing a three-dimensional pattern for printing onto the article, 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.
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Citations
61 Claims
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1. A method of direct three-dimensional printing onto an article of apparel, comprising:
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designing a three-dimensional pattern for printing onto the article; 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. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of fabricating an article of footwear, comprising:
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designing a three-dimensional pattern for printing onto an upper; providing the pattern to a print server; positioning at least a portion of the upper on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray; aligning the portion of the upper on the tray with the pattern; printing a three-dimensional material directly onto the upper using the designed pattern on the print server and the three-dimensional printing system; curing the printed material; removing the upper from the three-dimensional printing system; and assembling the article of footwear using the printed upper and at least one footwear component chosen from a sock liner, a midsole, and an outsole. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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17-39. -39. (canceled)
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50. A method of fabricating an article of footwear, comprising:
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designing a three-dimensional pattern for printing onto an upper; providing the pattern to a print server; positioning at least a portion of the upper on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray; aligning the portion of the upper on the tray with the pattern; printing a first layer of three-dimensional material directly onto the upper using the designed pattern on the print server and the three-dimensional printing system; allowing the first layer of printed material to at least partially absorb into a surface of the upper; curing the first layer, wherein the cured first layer has a first modulus of elasticity; printing at least one additional layer of the material on the cured first layer; curing the at least one additional layer, wherein the cured at least one additional layer has a different modulus of elasticity than the first modulus; removing the upper from the three-dimensional printing system; and assembling the article of footwear using the printed upper and at least one footwear component chosen from a sock liner, a midsole, and an outsole. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A method of fabricating an article of footwear, comprising:
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designing at least a first three-dimensional pattern and a second three-dimensional pattern for printing onto an upper; providing the at least first and second three-dimensional patterns to a print server; positioning at least a first portion of the upper on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the first portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray; aligning the first portion of the upper with the first pattern; printing at least one layer of a first three-dimensional material having a first material property directly onto the first portion of the upper using the designed first pattern; allowing the at least one layer of printed first three-dimensional material to at least partially absorb into a first portion of a surface of the upper; curing the at least one layer of printed first three-dimensional material; positioning at least a second portion of the upper on the tray, the second portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray; aligning the second portion of the upper with the second pattern; printing at least one layer of a second three-dimensional material having a second material property directly onto the second portion of the upper using the designed second pattern; allowing the at least one layer of printed second three-dimensional material to at least partially absorb into a second portion of the surface of the upper; curing the at least one layer of printed second three-dimensional material; removing the upper from the three-dimensional printing system; and assembling the article of footwear using the printed upper and at least one footwear component chosen from a sock liner, a midsole, and an outsole.
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61. A system for three-dimensional printing directly onto a fabric upper, comprising:
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a first nontransitory computer-readable medium encoded with a first computer program product loadable into a first memory of a first computer and including first software code portions for storing a three-dimensional pattern for printing directly onto the upper; a print server; a switching device; and a three-dimensional printer device, wherein the print server is in direct communication with the three-dimensional printer device and the switching device, wherein the switching device is in direct communication with the three-dimensional printer device and the print server, wherein the first nontransitory computer readable medium is in direct communication with the switch, wherein the print server comprises a second nontransitory computer-readable medium encoded with a second computer program product loadable into a second memory of a second computer and including second software code portions for instructing the three-dimensional printing device to print directly onto the upper through a sequence of printing steps; wherein the three-dimensional printer device comprises a tray receiving the fabric upper, at least one printing head for printing onto the upper in the sequence, and at least one ultraviolet light for curing material printed onto the upper, and wherein the three-dimensional printing system does not require a substantially flat surface for printing.
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Specification