Footwear and related method of manufacture
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing footwear comprising:
- providing a substantially flat sheet of material having an upper surface and a lower surface;
placing the flat sheet within a mold;
injecting a first polymeric material, at a molding pressure, into the mold, on the flat sheet, already placed in the mold, with the flat sheet being in a planar configuration, so that the first polymeric material bonds to and at least partially embeds within the upper surface of sheet already placed in the mold, the first polymeric material thereby forming an exoskeleton that extends above the upper surface for a predetermined thickness, the exoskeleton defining a plurality of holes through which the upper surface of the sheet is visible so that the upper surface forms a plurality of aesthetic regions, at least one of the aesthetic regions having an area that is at least 1 square centimeter in size;
conforming the flat sheet and exoskeleton from a two-dimensional flat form to a three-dimensional contour of a last to form a three-dimensional upper, the exoskeleton and the flat sheet forming substantially all of the three-dimensional upper; and
joining the three-dimensional upper with a sole.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for manufacturing footwear including injection molding a polymeric material on a sheet of material in preselected locations and/or in a preselected pattern so that the polymeric material bonds to the sheet and forms a structural exoskeleton of an upper of the footwear. The upper can be joined with a sole. The polymeric material can be injection molded on the sheet while the sheet is in a planar or flat configuration, and subsequently, the sheet and bonded exoskeleton can be conformed to a three-dimensional configuration of an upper. Additional polymeric materials can be injected on the exoskeleton to reinforce certain areas of the same. The exoskeleton can define one or more holes through which the sheet is visible to form one or more aesthetic regions on the upper. An article of footwear constructed with the method is also provided.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing footwear comprising:
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providing a substantially flat sheet of material having an upper surface and a lower surface; placing the flat sheet within a mold; injecting a first polymeric material, at a molding pressure, into the mold, on the flat sheet, already placed in the mold, with the flat sheet being in a planar configuration, so that the first polymeric material bonds to and at least partially embeds within the upper surface of sheet already placed in the mold, the first polymeric material thereby forming an exoskeleton that extends above the upper surface for a predetermined thickness, the exoskeleton defining a plurality of holes through which the upper surface of the sheet is visible so that the upper surface forms a plurality of aesthetic regions, at least one of the aesthetic regions having an area that is at least 1 square centimeter in size; conforming the flat sheet and exoskeleton from a two-dimensional flat form to a three-dimensional contour of a last to form a three-dimensional upper, the exoskeleton and the flat sheet forming substantially all of the three-dimensional upper; and joining the three-dimensional upper with a sole. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification