Various articles, such as footwear, apparel, athletic equipment, watchbands, and the like, and methods of forming those articles are presented. The articles are generally formed, in whole or in part, using rapid manufacturing techniques, such as laser sintering, stereolithography, solid deposition modeling, and the like. The use of rapid manufacturing allows for relatively economical and time efficient manufacture of customized articles. The articles may include one or more reinforcements configured to provide added durability to various regions of the articles. In addition, the articles may be formed from two or more materials in a single rapid manufacturing process. The rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique may also include using of varying intensities of the laser to fuse material to form the articles.

A system and a method of asymmetric shock absorption and torsion cushioning for footwear. The asymmetric shock absorption system providing an upper plate attached to the upper section of the footwear and a lower plate attached to the lower section of the footwear. The upper plate may be in direct contact with or spaced apart from the lower plate. A flexible perimeter band extends around the entire perimeter of the sole of the footwear and permanently connects the upper section to the lower section of the footwear. The flexible perimeter band may have a low-profile and extend around only the perimeter of the upper and lower plates. The flexible perimeter band may wrap around one or more plate to provide for limited horizontal movement, e.g., lateral, longitudinal, or both lateral and longitudinal, between the upper section of the footwear and the lower section of the footwear.

A laminate of the present invention includes a first member which contains a thermoplastic polymer and through which laser light is transmitted and a second member which contains a thermoplastic polymer and absorbs laser light, wherein the first member is directly bonded to the second member, and A represented by the formula 1: A=−9×D+Wa−45 is more than zero. D represents a distance between a Hansen solubility parameter of the thermoplastic polymer of the first member and a Hansen solubility parameter of the thermoplastic polymer of the second member, and Wa represents work of adhesion calculated from each surface free energy of the first member and the second member. Such a first member and a second member are firmly bonded to each other without using a bonding sheet.

An insulated sole having down feather insulation held captive therein and method of fabrication is described. The sole is formed with open top end cavities in which there is disposed down feathers or mixtures thereof to capture and retain heat. A membrane seals the open top end of the cavities. The insulated sole is used in the fabrication of articles of footwear for use in cold weather climate to resist to the cold emanating from the ground to shield against heat loss from the wearer's feet.

A composite sole structure for an article of footwear includes a bottom component and an intermediate component. Each of the intermediate component and the bottom component includes a protruding portion that forms a concave contour on the top surface and a corresponding convex contour on the bottom surface of the component, where the protruding portion includes at least a first portion that forms a continuous trough at least from a medial side of the forefoot region, e.g., from a medial side of a toe split, to a lateral side of the heel region, e.g., a heel strike region. The bottom component further includes a variable thickness profile that forms a continuous ridge on the bottom surface, the ridge extending from the medial side of the forefoot region to the lateral side of the heel region, the ridge being substantially aligned with the first portion of the protruding portion of the intermediate component and the bottom component.

Improved soles and insoles for shoes, in particular sports shoes, are described. In an aspect, a sole for a shoe, in particular a sports shoe, with at least a first and a second surface region is provided. The first surface region comprises expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (“TPU”). The second surface region is free from expanded TPU.

An article of footwear including a sole system, including an upper and the sole system. The sole system includes a knitted component incorporating a one-piece knit outsole. The knit outsole has a ground-facing side, a top side, and a ground-engaging cleat member protruding from the ground-facing side of the knit outsole. The upper is connected at its bottom to the top side of the knit outsole.

An article of footwear including a sole system, including an upper and the sole system. The sole system includes a knitted component incorporating a one-piece knit outsole. The knit outsole has a ground-facing side, a top side, and a ground-engaging cleat member protruding from the ground-facing side of the knit outsole. The upper is connected at its bottom to the top side of the knit outsole.

A sole plate for an article of footwear includes a foot-receiving surface and a ground-facing surface disposed opposite each other. A stiffness enhancing, ground-engaging cleat extends from the ground-facing surface of the sole plate. The ground-engaging cleat includes a first lug and a second lug. The first lug has a first foundation attached to the sole plate, and a first flex-limiting portion connected to the first foundation. The second lug has a second foundation attached to the sole plate, and a second flex-limiting portion connected to the second foundation. The first flex-limiting portion and the second flex-limiting portion contact each other in response to dorsiflexion of the sole plate equal to at least a predetermined flex angle, to increase a bending stiffness of the sole plate.

A sole structure can include provisions for improving the cushioning characteristics and stability of an article of footwear. The sole structure may include multiple layers with specialized structural properties designed to integrate regions of stiffness with cushioning layers. In some cases, the sole structure can include at least two independent stability layers that differ in stiffness.