Methods for producing sporting goods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018147752-A1
Application number	US-201715824222-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 28, 2017
Priority date	Nov 28, 2016
Publication date	May 31, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

Described are methods for producing at least a part of a sporting good, in particular a sports shoe. According to one aspect of the invention, the method includes the steps of: (a) depositing a first material into a mold and (b) vibrating the mold to modify the distribution of the first material in the mold.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1 . A method for producing at least a part of a sporting good, the method comprising:
depositing a first material into a mold; and vibrating the mold to modify a distribution of the first material in the mold.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of vibrating the mold comprises a two or three-dimensional movement of the mold.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of at least one of partially melting and solidifying at least a portion of the first material.

4 . The method of the claim 3 , wherein the step of at least one of partially melting and solidifying comprises at least one of selective melting and solidifying a selected portion of the first material by using at least one of a localized heating source of the mold, a localized cooling source of the mold, and locally affecting the mold.

5 . A method for producing at least a part of a sporting good, the method comprising:
depositing a first material into a mold; and at least one of partly melting and solidifying a selected portion of the first material by using at least one of a localized heating source of the mold, a localized cooling source of the mold, and locally affecting the mold.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of at least one of partly melting and solidifying by using at least one of a localized heating source of the mold, a localized cooling source of the mold, and locally affecting the mold comprises a two- or three-dimensional movement of the mold.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the first material into the mold comprises a selective depositing of the first material into selected areas of the mold.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the selective depositing of the first material comprises a movement of the mold.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the selective depositing of the first material is performed with an accuracy of less than 3 cm.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
depositing a second material into the mold; vibrating the mold to modify the distribution of the second material in the mold; and at least one of partially melting and solidifying at least a portion of the second material.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the second material is at least partly deposited onto the at least one of partially melted and solidified portion of the first material.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the first material and the second material comprise at least one of foamed particles and fibers.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first material and the second material are from a same material class comprising a thermoplastic elastomer.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic polyurethanes and thermoplastic polyester-elastomers.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of polyetheresters, polyesters, thermoplastic copolyamides, thermoplastic styrene, and butadiene-blockcopolymers.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the first material and the second material is at least one of a granulate, a micro-granulate, and a powder, wherein the at least one of the first material and the second material has a diameter of less than 5 mm.

17 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising the step of positioning at least one insert in the mold at least one of before and after depositing at least one of the first material and the second material.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold comprises a negative mold of a substantially complete sporting good.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the mold comprises a structured inner wall that is configured to determine a structure of an outer layer of an upper of a sport shoe.

20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold is moved by a robot arm, the robot arm being capable of performing three-dimensional movements of the mold.

21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold comprises a multi-axis mounted mold.

Assignees

• Adidas Ag

Inventors

• Nürnberg Hans-Peter
• Hanson Henry Niles
• Prissok Frank
• Löhner Martin
• Drummer Dietmar Klaus
• Vetter Jörg
• Lucht Mirjam
• Hohensinner Heinz
• Schmidt André
• Stark Norbert
• Schmidt Winfried
• Hohenberger Markus
• Lintner Stephan
• Tausif Muhammad
• O'Hare Tom
• Goswami Parikshit
• Russell Stephen John

Classifications

• B29C41/22

  Making multilayered or multicoloured articles · CPC title

• B29L2031/50

  Footwear, e.g. shoes or parts thereof · CPC title

• B29L2031/52

  Sports equipment {; Games; Articles for amusement}; Toys (B29L2031/54 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B29C2791/008

  Using vibrations during moulding · CPC title

• B29K2033/04

  Polymers of esters · CPC title