A ventilated article of footwear, a boot or a shoe, has a disconnectable footwear portion partly detachably connected to the outer contour portion of the sole of the article of footwear. One or more connectors are secured on the top surface of the sole outer contour portion adjacent the disconnectable footwear portion and actionable to disconnect and reconnect the disconnectable footwear portion to the sole outer contour portion to permit the entrance of air between the sole outer contour portion and a lower edge of the disconnectable footwear portion to ventilate at least a portion of a users foot.

A ventilation apparatus including at least one flexible energy storage device (FESD), a switching unit, a pump, and a fluid diffuser is provided. The FESD flexibly conforms to varying contours of footwear. The FESD positioned at one or more locations of the footwear supplies electrical energy to the pump via the switching unit. The switching unit in communication with the FESD and the pump selectively changes modes of operation of the pump. The pump attached to the footwear pumps fluid into and exhausts fluid from a cavity of the footwear. A feed pipe of the fluid diffuser connected to the pump, within the cavity of the footwear, transfers the fluid pumped from the pump to the cavity of the footwear during a pump mode and transfers the fluid in the cavity of the footwear to an ambient environment external to the footwear during an exhaust mode for ventilating the footwear.

An intelligent fabric includes: a base layer provided with vent holes and a thermal insulation layer arranged on the base layer and moved relative to the base layer; a temperature sensor configured to detect temperature information; and a controller connected to the temperature sensor and the thermal insulation layer, and configured to control the thermal insulation layer to be moved relative to the base layer in accordance with the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor, to switch the thermal insulation layer between a state where the thermal insulation layer covers the vent holes completely and a state where the thermal insulation layer does not cover the vent holes, or among the above two states and a state where the thermal insulation layer covers a portion of the vent holes.

A forced-air footwear is presented and comprises a foot supporting portion including a sole with cavities therein covered with a foot-contacting layer, and a channel communicating between the cavities and the interior of the footwear to allow air flow between the cavities and the interior of the footwear; a foot covering portion, the foot covering portion including a valve allowing air passage therethrough in a single direction, the cavities including a compressed configuration, when supporting a weight of a wearer, and an expanded configuration when not supporting the weight of a wearer, the passage between the compressed configuration and the expanded configuration forcing an air movement of the air contained in the cavities, the valve blocking the air movement in one direction, wherein the compression of the cavities and the blocking action of the air by the valve is forcing air through the footwear.

An article of footwear including a sole and an upper with an exterior and interior surface, and one or more bladders which comprises at least one of the exterior or interior surfaces of the upper. The bladder comprising sheets of polyurethane or polyester film attached together to form an airtight seal. The article of footwear also includes a inflation mechanism for selectively introducing air in the one or more bladders. The inflation mechanism is located under the foot of the wearer to be activated by the normal action of the wearer to inflate the one or more bladders. The article of footwear may also include an assembly for connecting several tubes to one under foot inflation mechanism. The article of footwear may also include inflatable laces that are inflated by an underfoot inflation mechanism.

A kit of parts may include an article of footwear and a customization device. The customization device and the article of footwear may be particularly designed to limit or prevent customization in particular areas of the article of footwear. Additionally, a method for customizing an article may include acquiring information regarding the fit of an article and forming apertures in the article using the fit information.

A ventilation apparatus including a pump, a switching unit, and a fluid diffuser is provided. The pump attached to the footwear pumps fluid into and exhausts fluid from a cavity of the footwear. The switching unit in communication with the pump selectively changes modes of operation of the pump. The fluid diffuser connected to the pump within the cavity of the footwear includes a feed pipe for transferring the fluid pumped from the pump to the cavity of the footwear during a pump mode of operation and to transfer the fluid in the cavity of the footwear to an ambient environment external to the footwear during an exhaust mode of operation, for ventilating the footwear. In one or more embodiments, the fluid diffuser includes a diffusing member with one or more openings and/or a fluid distribution channel member for transferring the fluid to and from the cavity of the footwear.

An upper for an article of footwear is disclosed. The upper can include a plurality of layers, such as an inner layer, a middle knit layer, and an outer layer. Each of the plurality of layers can provide different functionalities to the upper. The combination of the inner layer, middle knit layer, and the outer layer can be effective at transferring a load from the underfoot region to a position above the biteline.

A cycling shoe, including a sole as well as an upper that rises from the sole; the surface of the upper includes a plurality of recesses adapted to reduce the form drag of the upper hit by the air during the execution of the pedalling motion.

An expandable support member for an article of footwear includes a plurality of expansion components that are joined together. The support member can be expandable between a contracted position and an expanded position. The plurality of expansion components are configured to expand along a non-linear path when the support member moves between the contracted position and the expanded position.