Footwear assembly method with 3D printing
First Claim
1. A method of three-dimensional printing and assembly of an article of footwear, comprising:
- designing at least one first three-dimensional pattern and at least one second three-dimensional pattern for printing onto the article of footwear;
positioning a first fabric portion of the article of footwear on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the first fabric portion being at least a portion of a side of an upper of the article of footwear and being positioned substantially flat on the tray to provide a first fabric printing substrate;
printing at least one first three-dimensional material directly onto the first fabric portion of the article of footwear using the at least one first three-dimensional pattern;
curing the at least one first three-dimensional material;
forming the upper of the article of footwear, including the first fabric portion, into a secondary shape;
positioning a second fabric portion of the article of footwear on the tray, the second fabric portion being at least a portion of a bottom of the upper of the article of footwear and being positioned on the tray to provide a second fabricprinting substrate for printing a sole of the article of footwear;
printing at least one second three-dimensional material directly onto the second fabric portion of the article using the at least one second three-dimensional pattern to form the sole of the article of footwear;
curing the at least one second three-dimensional material; and
removing the article of footwear from the three-dimensional printing system, wherein the first and second fabric printing substrates are part of the article of footwear.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
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.
148 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method of three-dimensional printing and assembly of an article of footwear, comprising:
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designing at least one first three-dimensional pattern and at least one second three-dimensional pattern for printing onto the article of footwear; positioning a first fabric portion of the article of footwear on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the first fabric portion being at least a portion of a side of an upper of the article of footwear and being positioned substantially flat on the tray to provide a first fabric printing substrate; printing at least one first three-dimensional material directly onto the first fabric portion of the article of footwear using the at least one first three-dimensional pattern; curing the at least one first three-dimensional material; forming the upper of the article of footwear, including the first fabric portion, into a secondary shape; positioning a second fabric portion of the article of footwear on the tray, the second fabric portion being at least a portion of a bottom of the upper of the article of footwear and being positioned on the tray to provide a second fabric printing substrate for printing a sole of the article of footwear; printing at least one second three-dimensional material directly onto the second fabric portion of the article using the at least one second three-dimensional pattern to form the sole of the article of footwear; curing the at least one second three-dimensional material; and removing the article of footwear from the three-dimensional printing system, wherein the first and second fabric printing substrates are part of the article of footwear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 38)
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17. A method of fabricating an article of footwear, comprising:
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designing at least one first three-dimensional pattern for printing onto an upper and at least one second three-dimensional pattern for printing a sole; providing the at least one first three-dimensional pattern and the at least one second three-dimensional pattern to a print server; positioning at least a first fabric portion of the upper on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the first fabric portion of the upper being positioned substantially flat on the tray to provide a first fabric printing substrate; aligning the first fabric portion of the upper on the tray with the at least one first three-dimensional pattern; printing at least one first three-dimensional material directly onto the first fabric portion of the upper using the at least one first three-dimensional pattern on the print server and the three-dimensional printing system; curing the at least one first three-dimensional material; removing the upper from the three-dimensional printing system; forming the upper into a secondary shape; placing the formed upper on a holder; positioning the holder on the tray, the holder being positioned on the tray to present a sole surface fabric portion of the formed upper as a second fabric printing substrate for printing the sole; aligning the holder on the tray with the at least one second three-dimensional pattern; printing the sole with at least one second three-dimensional material directly onto the sole surface fabric portion of the formed upper using the at least one second three-dimensional pattern on the print server and the three-dimensional printing system; curing the at least one second three-dimensional material; removing the holder from the three-dimensional printing system; and removing the fabricated article of footwear from the holder, wherein the first and second fabric printing substrates are part of the article of footwear. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39)
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Specification