An upper is formed using a fiber sheet that includes: a connected part in which a surface layer and an inner layer are connected to each other; and a non-connected part in which these layers are not connected to each other, in order to provide a shoe having a low risk of causing complicated production processes or discharge of a large amount of waste materials even when shoes with a large number of different types are produced.

A footwear includes an upper and a sole. The upper includes a membrane and at least one outer layer. The membrane is a waterproof and breathable membrane. The membrane is attached to an insole and the membrane is attached to a lower end of the outer layer. The membrane is adhered to the lower end of the outer layer by an anchoring adhesive. The anchoring adhesive is resistant to post treatment and the insole is attached to the sole.

Climbing shoe comprising: a shoe-upper shaped so as to accommodate and cover substantially the user's entire foot; a sole made of polymeric material, which is fixed to the bottom of the shoe-upper so as to cover at least the front part of the bottom of said shoe-upper; and at least a first tensioning band, which is made of elastomeric material and extends obliquely on the outer side and on the bottom of the shoe-upper, so as to connect the tip and the inner front side of the shoe-upper directly to the rear part of the shoe-upper, in the area above the calcaneus of the user's foot, passing over the bottom of the shoe-upper beneath said sole.

Climbing shoe comprising: a shoe-upper which is shaped to accommodate and substantially cover the entire foot of the user; a sole made of polymeric material, which is fixed to the bottom of the shoe-upper so as to cover at least the front part of the bottom of said shoe-upper; and a shoe-upper elastic tensioning system, which tightens the shoe-upper on the foot of the user; the ogival front part of the shoe-upper being provided with a tip (6) and, respectively, with an outer front side and an inner front side that are arranged on opposite sides of the tip so as to flank the forefoot of the user on both sides; the elastic tensioning system comprising a plantar tensioning band, which is made of elastomeric material, is firmly fixed to the bottom of the shoe-upper underneath the sole, and is shaped so as to connect the tip and the outer and inner front sides of the shoe-upper directly to a saddle-shaped patch, separate and distinct from said plantar tensioning band, which is made of soft and flexible material and is placed on the rear part of the shoe-upper, in the area over the calcaneus of the user's foot.

A shoe is suitable to be made in cooperation with a last having a wear forming portion with a forming volume, and includes an upper unit having a bottom surface and a peripheral surface cooperatively defining a foot space that has a top open end for entry of the wear forming portion and that has a volume smaller than the forming volume of the wear forming portion by 5-10%. The upper unit has a toe stitching portion and a heel stitching portion located on the bottom surface of the upper unit. A sole is fixedly disposed on the bottom surface of the upper unit.

A moisture-permeable waterproof shoe includes an upper unit, an inner sleeve unit, and an outsole unit. The upper unit defines an inner space having a top open end and a bottom closed end. The inner sleeve unit is fixedly disposed in the inner space, and includes a moisture-permeable waterproof shoe-like inner sleeve and a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) sheet. The moisture-permeable waterproof shoe-like inner sleeve has an inner sleeve bottom surface and defines a wearing space having a top open end and a bottom closed end. The TPU sheet has a top surface fixedly connected to the inner sleeve bottom surface by a high-frequency welding method. The outsole unit is fixedly connected to an underside of the upper unit.

An article of footwear is provided that includes a sole structure and an upper attached to the sole structure. The upper includes an exterior layer and a base layer, and the exterior layer includes a biodegradable layer and a biologically active agent capable of biodegrading the biodegradable layer.

A system for forming a non-woven, yarn structure for an engineered textile includes a jig having a plurality of upstanding pins and an automatic winding system for winding a plurality of continuous strands of yarn across the jig and around the upstanding pins. The automatic winding system includes a movement mechanism and a winding head coupled with the movement mechanism. The movement mechanism includes one or more motors that are configured to translate the winding head across a central workspace area of the jig. The winding head includes a rotatable base; a plurality of yarn guides arranged in a linear array and extending from the rotatable base, each yarn guide adapted to receive a different one of the continuous strands, and a rotation motor coupled to the rotatable base and configured to selectively rotate the base to alter an orientation of the linear array.

Systems and processes for thermoforming an article and for preparing an article for thermoforming are disclosed. The system for thermoforming can include one or more heating stations and a cooling station. The system for thermoforming can further include an article movement mechanism that can couple to an article and rotate the article inside a heating chamber, inside a cooling chamber, or both. The system for preparing an article for thermoforming can include a vessel that comprises a port, and a negative pressure generation system coupled to the port. The system for preparing an article for thermoforming can further include a compression material that forms an interior portion for receiving an article. The negative pressure generation system can cause the compression material to expand to allow for insertion of the article into the interior portion of the compression material.

Films, fibers, filaments, yarns and textiles including thermoplastic elastomeric compositions are described, as are methods of making the films, fibers, filaments, yarns and textiles. These films, fibers, filaments, yarns and textiles can be used to make articles of apparel, footwear, and sporting equipment. When thermoformed, the thermoplastic elastomeric compositions can impart abrasion resistance, traction, and other advantageous properties to the articles. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.