Method for manufacturing a sole structure comprising a fully or partially hot-formed textile sole element, and footwear item comprising such a sole structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12389975-B2
Application number	US-202117802152-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 24, 2021
Priority date	Feb 25, 2020
Publication date	Aug 19, 2025
Grant date	Aug 19, 2025

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a sole structure involving supplying at least one textile sole element having an outer face, including one or more at least partially hot-meltable filament(s); placing the at least one textile sole element in a mould structure including a sole cavity intended to come into contact with the outer face of the textile sole element; placing an inflatable bladder in the mould structure and inflating the inflatable bladder to press the outer face of the textile sole element either directly or indirectly firmly against the sole cavity and heating the textile sole element to melt the at least partially hot-meltable filament(s) and mould the sole cavity onto the outer face of the sole element; obtaining a sole structure including a thermally compressed textile sole element.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a sole structure, the method comprising:
(i) providing at least one textile sole element having an external face, comprising one or several at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s);
(ii) disposing the textile sole element in a mold structure comprising a sole cavity;
(iii) disposing an inflatable bladder in the mold structure, and inflating the inflatable bladder to press, directly or indirectly, the external face of the textile sole element against the sole cavity, and heating the textile sole element to melt the at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s) and mold the sole cavity on the external face of the textile sole element; and
(iv) obtaining a sole structure comprising at least one thermo-compressed textile sole element.

2. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein the textile sole element comprises a textile sole support having an external face, and one or several textile functional region(s) disposed on the external face of the textile sole support.

3. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 2 , wherein the textile functional region(s) is/are one or several textile pocket(s).

4. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein the textile sole element comprises a textile sole support having an external face, and a continuous or discontinuous textile layer, comprising one or several at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s), disposed along the external face of the textile sole support.

5. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 4 , wherein the continuous or discontinuous textile layer comprises a section having a thickness e i in step i) and a thickness e f in step iv), e i being different from e f .

6. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 2 , wherein the ratio of the mass of the hot melted material derived from the at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s) in said at least one textile sole element to the total mass of said at least one textile sole element is greater than or equal to 50%.

7. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 2 , wherein the textile sole element is of unitary textile construction.

8. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein the sole structure is an outsole.

9. A method for manufacturing a footwear, the method comprising the implementation of the method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 2 , providing a main textile bootie comprising one or several at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s), and thermoforming the main textile bootie.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said at least one textile sole element is of unitary textile construction with the main textile bootie.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said at least one textile sole element is a textile envelope comprising a sole portion and a peripheral portion for partially wrapping the foot.

12. The manufacturing method according to claim 9 , comprising an auxiliary textile bootie comprising one or several at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s) having a volume for accommodating the foot receiving, at least partly, the main textile bootie.

13. The manufacturing method according to claim 9 , wherein the sole structure in step iv) comprises one or more of a hot melted textile material of the at least partly hot melted main bootie and a hot melted textile material of the at least partly hot melted auxiliary bootie.

14. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein the textile sole element comprises a textile sole support having an external face, and one or several textile functional region(s) disposed in a spaced and located manner on the external face of the textile sole support.

15. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein the sole structure is an outsole, said outsole comprises one or several fully or partly hot melted textile studs.

16. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 15 , wherein the ratio of the mass of the hot melted material derived from the at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s) in said at least one textile sole element to the total mass of said at least one textile sole element is greater than or equal to 50%.

17. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein said sole structure has a full molded volume.

18. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one thermo-compressed textile sole element obtained in step iv) is not an embossed textile sole element.

19. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein the sole cavity comprises at least one of a negative and a positive cavities, and wherein during step (iii) said at least one of a negative and positive cavities is molded on the external face of the sole structure by filling the at least one of a negative and a positive cavities of the sole cavity with hot melted material(s) derived from the at least partly hot-meltable yarn(s).

20. The method for manufacturing a sole structure according to claim 1 , wherein the inflatable bladder is disposed between the mold structure and an internal face of the at least one textile sole element so that the inflated bladder comes into contact directly or indirectly with the internal face of the at least one textile sole element, and wherein the mold structure, comprising the sole cavity, is in several parts.

Assignees

• Decathlon Sa

Inventors

• Ventenat Vincent

Classifications

• A43B1/028

  Synthetic or artificial fibres · CPC title

• B29D35/128

  Moulds or apparatus therefor · CPC title

• B29D35/126

  Uppers · CPC title

• B29D35/122 Primary

  Soles · CPC title

• B29D35/04

  having multilayered parts · CPC title