A shoe, especially to a sports shoe, having a sole connected with a shoe upper part. The sole includes: a first sole part having a ground plate, wherein a plurality of first damping elements which extend in a direction of loading are integrally shaped at the ground plate, a second sole part having a cover plate, wherein a plurality of second damping elements which extend in the direction of loading are integrally shaped at the cover plate, a connection part which comprises a plurality of interconnected plug-in connections. Each plug-in connection has a first plug connector extending downwards in the direction of loading and a second plug connector which extending upwards in the direction of loading. The first plug connection frictionally engages into the hollow-cylindrical section of the first damping element and wherein the second plug connection frictionally engages into the hollow-cylindrical section of the second damping element.

The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a shoe, in particular a sports shoe, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of individual particles for a sole element in a mold, providing an upper in the mold, and fusing the plurality of individual particles and the upper by means of an electromagnetic field to bond the plurality of individual particles with each other and with the upper.

Membranes and methods for producing them are disclosed. The membranes comprise a core layer comprising a composite of alternating thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and barrier microlayers, and they comprise at least one cap layer that is bonded to the core layer or a structural layer. In some embodiments, at least the cap layer comprises a polydiene polyol-based TPU. The membrane may further comprise a rubber layer bonded to the cap layer.

A method of manufacturing a bladder element comprises forming at least one of a first, a second, and a third polymeric sheet to have a contoured surface profile. The first, the second, and the third polymeric sheets are stacked so that the second polymeric sheet is between the first polymeric sheet and the third polymeric sheet. The method comprises applying fluid pressure between the first polymeric sheet and second polymeric sheet, between the second polymeric sheet and the third polymeric sheet, or between both, forcing a first surface of the second polymeric sheet into contact with an inner surface of the first polymeric sheet, or a second surface of the second polymeric sheet into contact with an inner surface of the third polymeric sheet, or both. A bladder element is also disclosed.

A method for making a foam component is provided and includes inserting a foam material into a cavity of a mold having a top plate and a bottom plate, heating the foam material to cause the foam material to expand, and moving one of the top plate and the bottom plate relative to the other of the top plate and the bottom plate as the foam material expands and contacts the one of the top plate and the bottom plate to cause the foam material to fold over on itself within the cavity.

The present invention includes a sole that can be used as a dance or a general shoe. The protruding platforms of the sole are arranged, oriented, and dimensioned to permit ruggedness, dancing, and substantial grippiness for both dance moves as well as general wear.

In every athletic event, each athlete generates and subjects their lower extremities to forces that are unique to that athlete's mass, speed and strength. These forces are also affected by the composition of the playing field surface, shoe design and construction and other factors. It is possible to determine, according to these factors, the level of force above which injury to the athlete's lower extremities is inevitable. This level of force is called the pre-injury force threshold. This pre-injury force threshold is then used to design and create an athletic shoe which will provide a force-mitigating deformation induced by forces equal to the particular athlete's pre-injury force threshold. This deformation of the athletic shoe prevents injury to the athlete's lower extremities.

An injection molded integral multicolor thermoplastic elastomeric foamed sole, comprising an integral sole made from thermoplastic elastomeric foaming bodies of at least two colors, and on surfaces thereof are provided grains of arbitrarily superposed injection strips; the foamed sole is made by: mixing, milling and heating thermoplastic elastomer raw materials of at least two colors, lubricants, and foaming auxiliaries to be thermoplastic elastomeric fused-masses, adding respectively gas-foaming agents at 0.2%-10% of thermoplastic elastomeric raw materials, compressive injecting gas-foaming agents respectively into thermoplastic elastomeric fused-masses, fully mixing to form thermoplastic elastomeric gas foamed polymers, and extruding foaming strips of thermoplastic elastomeric gas polymers of the at least two colors with an extrusion and injection process and/or co-extruding the foaming strips of thermoplastic elastomeric gas polymers of the at least two colors by a co-extrusion process into molds to form arbitrarily superposed strips, clamp molds, discharge gas and form.

Membranes and methods for producing them are disclosed. The membranes comprise a core layer comprising a composite of alternating thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and barrier microlayers, and they comprise at least one cap layer that is bonded to the core layer or a structural layer. In some embodiments, at least the cap layer comprises a polydiene polyol-based TPU. The membrane may further comprise a rubber layer bonded to the cap layer.

A method of manufacturing a bladder element comprises forming at least one of a first, a second, and a third polymeric sheet to have a contoured surface profile. The first, the second, and the third polymeric sheets are stacked so that the second polymeric sheet is between the first polymeric sheet and the third polymeric sheet. The method comprises applying fluid pressure between the first polymeric sheet and second polymeric sheet, between the second polymeric sheet and the third polymeric sheet, or between both, forcing a first surface of the second polymeric sheet into contact with an inner surface of the first polymeric sheet, or a second surface of the second polymeric sheet into contact with an inner surface of the third polymeric sheet, or both. A bladder element is also disclosed.