An article of footwear includes a sole and an upper. The upper includes a restrictive fabric portion. The restrictive fabric portion includes elastic and restrictive strands. A restrictive-side resistance index is greater than an elastic-side resistance index, when a tensile load is applied to the restrictive fabric portion in a direction of stretching the elastic and restrictive strands, where the restrictive-side resistance index is a ratio of an increase in tensile stress to an increase in rate of stretch of the restrictive strand, in a range in which a rate of stretch of the restrictive fabric portion is greater than a predetermined value, and the elastic-side resistance index is a ratio of an increase in tensile stress to an increase in rate of stretch of the elastic strand, in the range in which the rate of stretch of the restrictive fabric portion is greater than the predetermined value.

A double-layer footwear, especially a water sport footwear, comprises: an outer rubber foam panel defining a first joint member in an outer seam in the outer rubber foam panel, and an inner rubber foam panel defining a second joint member in an inner seam in the inner rubber foam panel and adhered with the outer rubber foam panel with an adhesive, with the second joint member being projectively separated from the first joint member with a barrier distance, to thereby securely preclude water penetration through the outer and inner seams into a wearer's foot.

A surface structure for sports boots used for ball games having increased ball-contact properties where each boot has an upper part and a sole and the upper part has an outer surface used for shooting a ball, wherein at least a part of said ball shooting outer surface comprises a coating that has an adhesive substance covering said outer surface and a grained structure embedded in and kept by the adhesive. The grained structure comprises discrete granules of a resilient material, wherein between the adhesive and the outer surface of the upper part and between the adhesive and the granules a stable and durable bonding is provided, and the granules have outer surfaces that provide an improved contact with the ball when getting in contact with it.

A shoe having a shoe upper including multiple welds in selected locations on the shoe upper. The welds may be selectively located on the upper to provide structure and support to the specific portions of a shoe upper.

Methods are described for printing a three-dimensional structural component onto a base. For example, a method of printing is provided, including receiving a set of predetermined thicknesses for the three-dimensional structural component. The set of predetermined thicknesses has a first thickness and a second thickness. The first thickness is greater than the second thickness. The method further includes instructing a printing device to print a single layer for the three-dimensional structural component using the set of predetermined thicknesses. The method further includes printing a first portion of the single layer onto the base so that the first portion has the first thickness. The method further includes printing a second portion of the single layer onto the base so that the second portion has the second thickness.

An upper of a shoe covering at least a part of a foot, the upper including: a medial portion covering a medial surface of the foot; a lateral portion covering a lateral surface of the foot; a plurality of panel portions provided in the medial portion and/or the lateral portion while being spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction of the foot and extending in a foot girth direction crossing the front-rear direction of the foot; and a plurality of string portions formed from linear members extending in the front-rear direction, and arranged so as to extend between a pair of the plurality of panel portions that are adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction, wherein the panel portion and the string portion are formed from a single piece of fabric.

An upper is used for a shoe. The upper includes a main body portion located on an upper side of the shoe and a bottom surface portion connected to the main body portion at at least a part of an outer periphery of the main body portion. The main body portion is seamless and in a shape having an inner periphery on an inner side of the outer periphery. The shoe includes the upper that includes the main body portion that is seamless and is in the shape having the inner periphery on the inner side of the outer periphery and a sole provided on a bottom surface portion side of the upper.

Upper components for footwear include: (a) a first upper component that includes a first layer having a first material as a first filament including first plural, non-intersecting, spaced apart path segments (wherein the first filament has a width dimension of less than 3 mm wide (and in some examples, less than 2 mm wide, less than 1.5 mm wide, less than 1 mm wide, or even less than 0.75 mm wide)); and (b) a second upper component including a fabric element formed at least in part of a fusible material, wherein the fusible material of the second upper component is fused to the first material of the first upper component (e.g., in an adhesive-free manner). Additional layers of material, including additional layers including filament and/or fabric elements, e.g., of the types described above, may be included in the upper.

Articles of footwear having an upper including a dynamic fit heel portion and a main body. The dynamic fit heel portion may include a lower heel counter and an upper heel collar. The upper heel collar may define at least in part, a foot-receiving chamber. An expandable joint may be provided between the lower heel counter and the upper heel collar. A material forming the expandable joint may have a higher flexibility and a higher stretch than the lower heel counter and the upper heel collar. The lower heel counter, the upper heel collar, and the expandable joint may be configured to align with portions of a heel and ankle of a wearer so as to provide a flexible heel and ankle fit.

An upper for an article of footwear may include a knitted component having an auxetic portion. The auxetic portion may be configured to move between a first position and a second position as the knitted component stretches. The knitted component may also include a tensile strand inlaid within at least one of a course and a wale of the knit element, where the tensile strand extends through the auxetic portion, and where the tensile strand is selectively securable to the knit element via a securement device. The securement device may be spaced from the auxetic portion.