Eichelhardt, Frank Robert

The invention pertains to a method for manufacturing a footwear part (14) having a footwear element (16), comprising a provisioning step (20) of providing a foamed footwear element precursor (30) and a sealing step (24) of sealing at least one surface area (32) of the foamed footwear element precursor (30) by energy deposition, thereby at least partially forming the footwear element (16). The invention further pertains to a manufacturing system (28) for manufacturing a footwear part (14) having a footwear element (16), comprising an energy depositing unit (34) for energy deposition onto a foamed footwear element precursor (30) to seal at least one surface area (32) of the foamed footwear element precursor (30) for at least partially forming the footwear element (16), and to an article of footwear (12) comprising or being at least partially derived from a footwear part (14).

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a textile element (10, 110, 210, 310, 410), in particular a textile footwear upper (12, 112, 212, 312, 412), the method comprising an application step of applying, in particular spraying, a thermoplastic filament (18) onto a shaping carrier (20, 120), in particular a footwear last (22, 122), to form a plurality of path segments (24), in particular loops (26), on the shaping carrier (20, 120) along an application path (28, 128), thereby at least partially forming the textile element (10, 110, 210, 310, 410). During the application step the thermoplastic filament (18) is discharged from a textile output unit (64) and directed toward the shaping carrier (20, 120). The method may further comprise a modification step of modifying during the application step at least one color of the thermoplastic filament (18).

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a footwear upper element (10). The method comprises a step (S10) of providing a shaping carrier (12); a step (S20) of applying a first thermoplastic layer (L1) onto a first specific area (A1) of the shaping carrier (12), thereby forming at least a part of the footwear upper element (10); and a step (S30) of applying a second thermoplastic layer (L2) onto a second specific area (A2) of the shaping carrier (12), thereby forming at least a part of a functional component (14), which, at least after having removed the first thermoplastic layer (L1) and the second thermoplastic layer (L2) from the shaping carrier (12), is moveable relative to the first thermoplastic layer (L1).

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a textile element (10, 110, 210, 310, 410), the method comprising an application step of applying, in particular spraying, a thermoplastic filament (18) onto a shaping carrier (20, 120), in particular a footwear last (22, 122), to form a plurality of path segments (24), in particular loops (26), on the shaping carrier (20, 120) along an application path (28, 128), thereby at least partially forming the textile element (10, 110, 210, 310, 410). During the application step the thermoplastic filament (18) is discharged from a textile output unit (64) and directed toward the shaping carrier (20, 120). The method may further comprise a detection step of detecting the thermoplastic filament (18), in particular at least one filament parameter of the thermoplastic filament (18), between the textile output unit (64) and the shaping carrier (20, 120).

The invention concerns a method for manufacturing a footwear part (16a), comprising a provisioning step (44a) in which a footwear last (36a-d, 602, 700, 800, 900, 1000) and at least one parameter pertaining to the footwear last (36a-d, 602, 700, 800, 900, 1000) are provided to a manufacturing system (14a), a configuration step (46a) in which the manufacturing system (14a) is configured based on the at least one parameter, and a forming step (48a) in which the footwear part (16a) is formed using the manufacturing system (14a) as configured in the configuration step (46a). Furthermore, the invention pertains to an article of footwear (12a) comprising a footwear part (10a) manufactured by such a method and/or a footwear element derived from a footwear part (10a) manufactured by such a method. Further still, the invention concerns a manufacturing system (14a) for manufacturing a footwear part (10a), the manufacturing system (14a) configured to perform such a method.

The invention pertains to a footwear last (10a-e) for manufacturing a footwear part, comprising a mid- and forefoot section (12a-e) and a hindfoot section (14a-e) having an interface (16a-e) for connecting to a handling unit (18a). In a first aspect of the invention, the mid- and forefoot section (14a-d) comprises at least one cavity (20a-c). In a second aspect of the invention, the hindfoot section (14c; 14e) has a higher density than the mid- and forefoot section (12c; 12e). The invention further pertains to a manufacturing system (32a) for manufacturing a footwear part, and to a method for manufacturing a footwear part using a footwear last (10a-e) in a manufacturing system (32a).

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an article of footwear (78, 178, 278, 378) having a footwear upper (12, 112, 212, 312, 412) and a sole unit (80) connected to the footwear upper (12, 112, 212, 312, 412), comprising a step (S1) of obtaining a foot shape of an individual's foot (11), a step (S5) of choosing a best-fit footwear last (75, 175, 275, 375, 475, 575, 675, 775) from a set of available footwear lasts (50, 150, 250, 350, 450, 550, 650) based on the foot shape, and a step (S9) of applying a thermoplastic filament (18) onto the best-fit footwear last (75, 175, 275, 375, 475, 575, 675, 775) to form a plurality of path segments on the best-fit footwear last (75, 175, 275, 375, 475, 575, 675, 775) along an application path, thereby at least partially forming the footwear upper (12, 112, 212, 312, 412).

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a textile footwear upper (12, 112, 212, 312, 412) for a bespoke article of footwear (78, 178, 278, 378), comprising the steps of: obtaining a movement pattern of an individual, in particular of an individual's foot (11); and applying, based on the movement pattern, a thermoplastic filament (18) onto a footwear last (22, 122, 222) to form a plurality of path segments (24), in particular loops (26), on the footwear last (22, 122, 222) along an application path (28, 128), thereby at least partially forming the textile footwear upper (12, 112, 212, 312, 412). Furthermore, the invention relates to a manufacturing system (10) for manufacturing a bespoke article of footwear (78, 178, 278, 378), the manufacturing system (10) being configured to execute such a method.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a textile element (10), in particular a textile footwear upper (12), comprising: a step of applying at least one thermoplastic filament (18) onto a shaping carrier (20), in particular a footwear last (22), to form a plurality of path segments (24), in particular loops (26), on the shaping carrier (20) along an application path (28), thereby forming a textile structure (111), wherein at least a predefined section of the textile structure (111) is formed as a geometric functional structure (113) that is water repellent and water vapor breathable. In addition, the invention relates to an article of footwear (78) and a manufacturing system (82) for manufacturing a textile element (10).

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a textile element (10, 110, 210, 310, 410), the method comprising an application step of applying, in particular spraying, a thermoplastic filament (18) onto a shaping carrier (20, 120), in particular a footwear last (22, 122), to form a plurality of path segments (24), in particular loops (26), on the shaping carrier (20, 120) along an application path (28, 128), thereby at least partially forming the textile element (10, 110, 210, 310, 410). During the application step the thermoplastic filament (18) is discharged from a textile output unit (64) and directed toward the shaping carrier (20, 120). The method may comprise a modification step of modifying, in particular during the application step, at least one application parameter related to the applying, in particular the spraying, of the thermoplastic filament (18) onto the shaping carrier (20, 120).