FR3133979A1 - Article of footwear, and method of manufacturing such an article of footwear - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an article of footwear (100) comprising an upper (110, 145, 155), and at least one sole (130) connected via at least one thermofused portion. The article comprises an internal textile part covering at least part of the foot (145) comprising an external face (145a), and an external textile part covering at least part of the foot (155) comprising an internal face (155b).The external face (145a) of the internal textile covering part (145) comprises an external main region (148), and the internal face (155b) of the external textile covering part (155) comprises a main region internal (158) comprising at least one textile portion at least partially thermofused. Said regions (148,158) are superimposed at least in part and are not glued together. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing said article of footwear. Figure 7

Description

Article of footwear, and method of manufacturing such an article of footwear

The present invention relates to the field of footwear, in particular sports shoes.

The present invention also relates to the field of methods of manufacturing such articles of footwear.

Conventional footwear generally includes an upper and a sole structure. The upper is secured to the sole structure and forms a void inside the footwear to comfortably receive and secure a foot. The sole structure is secured to a lower region of the upper, and operatively disposed between the ground, and the upper.

In footwear for playing sports, the sole structure may include an outsole and a midsole. The midsole often includes a polymer foam material that absorbs impact with the ground during impact to lessen the effects on the foot and leg during walking, running or other ambulatory activities. The sole structure may also include a liner positioned proximate the lower surface of the foot to improve the comfort of the article of footwear.

The soles are traditionally joined to the uppers using an assembly called Strobel during which the different sole elements (insole, midsole and outsole in particular) are assembled. The manufacturing processes for a classic shoe require dozens of steps, and produce numerous scraps from cutting materials.

The aim is to simplify the manufacturing processes for footwear, in particular by reducing the number of steps and/or energy and material consumption. This issue is also part of the search for a manufacturing process that can be implemented as close as possible to the place of use of the footwear item in order to reduce its carbon impact, facilitate stock management, and allow the personalization of the footwear item.

One solution is to eliminate the sewing steps necessary to shape the initially flat rod in three dimensions. The upper is obtained from the assembly of one or a few pieces, and no longer from multiple pieces sewn together by sewing.

WO 2019/234374 A1 thus proposes a first textile liner formed in three dimensions directly at the outlet of a textile loom (for example a knitting loom), partially hot-melt, entering into the construction of the upper, then to secure this first liner to an outsole. The first textile liner is reinforced by placing a second, three-dimensional, partially hot-melt textile liner around the first liner by wrapping the junction between the first liner and the outsole in order to improve resistance to delamination. The assembly comprising the first and second textile liners and the outsole undergoes a heat treatment to melt the hot-melt threads and freeze the shape of an upper. The manufacturing process is simplified by significantly reducing the number of manufacturing steps.

However, it is sought to improve these footwear items, in order to lighten them, improve their resistance to abrasion and tearing, and their breathability. In fact, the thermofused textile portions are not breathable. In addition, they stiffen the footwear. They are necessary to provide resistance to abrasion, resistance to tearing and to lock in the shape of the article, but they must not limit the flexibility and conformability of the article of footwear.

Furthermore, limiting the number of steps in the manufacturing of an article of footwear can restrict the extent of the technical functions and aesthetic results desired. It is in fact necessary that the reduced and simplified primary construction steps (knitting of a tubular element, and thermocompression or thermoforming for example) also make it possible to technically functionalize the article of footwear (in particular by ensuring the following property(ies): cushioning, recovery, comfort, proprioception, breathability, possibly waterproofing, resistance to wear/abrasion/tearing, etc.) while offering varied visual aspects.

There is thus a need for an article of footwear comprising one or more thermofused textile portion(s), or at least partially thermofused(s), which is light, flexible, and breathable, while offering resistance to heat. satisfactory abrasion and tear resistance, and comfortably conforms to the shape of the foot.

There is also a need for a process for manufacturing such an article of footwear which is simplified while offering numerous possibilities as to the technical and aesthetic functions which can be assigned to the article of footwear.

The present invention relates, according to a first aspect, to an article of footwear, in particular a sports shoe, responding at least in part to the aforementioned problems in that it comprises an upper, and a sole structure comprising at least one sole, said upper and said at least one sole are connected via at least one thermofused portion, in particular textile. Said article of footwear further comprises:
- an internal textile tubular element comprising an internal textile part covering at least part of the foot, said internal textile covering part comprising an external face, and
- an external textile tubular element comprising an external textile part covering at least part of the foot, said external textile covering part comprising an internal face, said external textile tubular element receiving in an interior volume at least partly said tubular element internal textile,
- the external face of the internal textile covering part comprises an external main region, and
the internal face of the external textile covering part comprises an internal main region comprising at least one at least partially thermofused textile portion, and
- in that the main external and internal regions are superimposed at least in part and are not glued together.

Advantageously, superposed external and internal main regions of the upper are not glued together, which improves the breathability and flexibility of the upper, and allows different aesthetic renderings.

In addition, this arrangement is advantageously obtained by a manufacturing process allowing energy savings as described below, in particular with reference to a second aspect of the invention.

Preferably, the main external and internal regions are not joined together.

Preferably, the upper and the sole, in particular wear, are connected via at least one thermofused textile portion of the upper and/or at least one thermofused textile portion of the sole (for example coming from a textile part of the sole) and/or at least one thermofused portion (in particular non-textile) of the sole (for example from thermoplastic granules).

Footwear

The footwear item comprises a receiving or foot receiving volume as well as a foot insertion opening for placing the foot in said foot receiving volume.

Advantageously, the article of footwear comprises a medial side and a lateral side, in particular said article of footwear comprises a forefoot region arranged between the medial and lateral sides, a forefoot region arranged on the lateral side, a forefoot region disposed on the medial side, a midfoot region disposed on the medial side, a midfoot region disposed on the lateral side, a rearfoot region disposed between the medial and lateral sides , a rearfoot region disposed on the medial side, and a rearfoot region disposed on the lateral side, and optionally an instep region.

Advantageously, the article of footwear comprises a medial edge, extending on the medial side, and a lateral edge extending on the lateral side.

Advantageously, the article of footwear comprises a front edge and a rear edge, in particular extending between the medial and lateral sides.

In this text, we understand the medial side of the article of footwear, and of any element that it includes (upper, sole structure, internal/external textile tubular element, (textile) part covering the internal/external foot, etc. ), any element or part of the article of footwear placed between the central longitudinal axis of the article of footwear and the natural internal side of the foot.

In this text, we understand the lateral side of the article of footwear, and of any element it includes (upper, sole structure, internal/external textile tubular element, (textile) part covering the internal/external foot, etc. ), any element or part of the article of footwear placed between the central longitudinal axis of the article of footwear and the natural external side of the foot.

Advantageously, the article of footwear comprises a central longitudinal axis L extending between its front and rear edges.

Advantageously, the article of footwear comprises a transverse axis T extending between its medial and lateral sides, in particular substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis L.

Preferably, the internal textile tubular element and the external textile tubular element are superimposed at least in part.

Preferably, the upper internal covering part and the upper external covering part are superimposed at least in part.

Stem

Advantageously, the upper comprises, in particular consists essentially of, the internal textile part covering at least partly the foot of the internal textile tubular element and the external textile part covering at least partly the foot of the element external textile tubular.

Preferably, the upper extends into/covers one or more region(s) of the top of the foot chosen from: the forefoot region disposed on the lateral side and/or the forefoot region arranged on the medial side; and/or the forefoot region extending between the lateral side and the medial side; and/or the instep area; and/or the midfoot region disposed on the lateral side and/or the midfoot region disposed on the medial side; and/or the rearfoot region disposed on the lateral side and/or the rearfoot region disposed on the medial side; and/or the rearfoot region extending between the lateral side and the medial side; and possibly at least partly the leg region.

Preferably, the upper extends into/covers the following regions: the forefoot region disposed on the lateral side, the forefoot region disposed on the medial side, the forefoot region disposed extending between the lateral side and the medial side; and/or the midfoot region disposed on the lateral side, the midfoot region disposed on the medial side, the rearfoot region disposed on the lateral side, the rearfoot region disposed on the medial side, the rearfoot region extending between the lateral side and the medial side, and optionally at least partly the leg region and/or the instep area.

Preferably, the upper extends between a lateral side and a medial side of the article of footwear, and between a front edge and a rear edge of the article of footwear.

The upper may comprise other upper element(s), for example a logo, one or more functional element(s), and/or one or more attached aesthetic element(s). s) to the external textile covering part and/or to the internal textile covering part.

Advantageously, the functional element can be a rear buttress, a front hard toe, or a lateral or medial reinforcement.

Advantageously, the external textile covering part comprises one or more regions in which threads are glued together or a thread is glued to itself.

Advantageously, the main internal region comprises, in particular essentially consists of, wires glued together and/or a wire glued to itself.

Sole structure

The sole structure comprises at least one sole, said at least one sole may be an outsole and/or a midsole.

Naturally, the sole structure extends between the foot and the ground.

Advantageously, the article of footwear comprises an external face, in particular an external face for engagement with the ground.

In a preferred example, the external face of the sole structure, or the external face of said at least one sole (in particular an outsole), is the external face of engagement with the ground of the article of footwear.

The sole structure may comprise a midsole and/or an insole, in particular arranged removably in the foot volume of the footwear. In particular, the external face of the midsole or the external face of the insole is placed directly facing the internal face of the outsole.

The sole structure advantageously comprises the textile sole part of the internal textile tubular element and/or the textile sole part of the external textile tubular element, and optionally a textile pocket receiving one or more hot-melt element(s). ) at least in part and/or one or more sole element(s) (for example a sole insert, possibly thermocompressed, or a cushioning element).

A sole element may be a hot-melt film, for example polyurethane, covering all or part of the external face of the textile sole part of the external textile tubular element.

Said at least one sole of the sole structure

Said at least one sole is preferably an outsole.

Advantageously, said at least one sole is secured to the upper by at least one thermofused textile portion which the upper comprises, in particular by at least one thermofused textile portion of the internal textile covering part and/or of the external textile covering part , and/or that comprises the sole structure, in particular by at least one thermofused textile portion of the textile sole part of the internal textile tubular element and/or of the textile sole part of the external textile tubular element.

Said at least one sole can also be secured to the upper by one or more seam(s) or another means other than a thermofused textile portion.

In one example, said at least one sole can be differentiated on its height, in particular can comprise a portion of its height in a composition A, in particular comprising one or more thermofused polymer material(s), and a portion of its height in a composition B different from composition A, in particular not comprising thermofused material.

In particular, the portion in composition A may come from a mixture of one or more hot-melt polymer(s) which have/have been hot-melted, and the portion in composition B may come from of a non-hot melt or non-hot melt mixture, for example rubber. It may be one or more element(s) in a non-hot melt and abrasion-resistant material placed in the bottom of the part(s) of the mold intended to form one or more parts of the external face of engagement of the article of footwear, or even joined together after the thermocompression step during a finishing step of the sole, in particular to manufacture an outsole.

Internal textile tubular element

Advantageously, the internal tubular textile element is woven or knitted (in particular with picked stitches or with thrown stitches), preferably knitted (in particular with picked stitches).

The internal textile tubular element is preferably a knitted tube, in particular a tube knitted on a circular knitting machine of small diameter (that is to say whose diameter is between 5 cm and 20 cm, in particular between 5 cm and 15 cm).

The internal textile tubular element is preferably a tube comprising a bent part, in particular intended to receive the heel.

The internal textile tubular element is advantageously a knitted sock.

The internal textile tubular element preferably comprises an open front end which is closed, more particularly closed by sewing. Preferably, the front open end which is closed by sewing is a toe receiving area.

Advantageously, the internal tubular textile element comprises a volume for receiving or accommodating the foot and a foot insertion opening for accommodating the foot in said reception volume.

Advantageously, the internal textile tubular element comprises an internal textile part covering at least one part of the foot, and an internal textile sole part in textile connection (in particular knitted) with the internal textile part covering at least one part of the foot.

Advantageously, the internal textile tubular element is of unitary knitted construction.

The internal textile part covering the foot can cover the whole or one or more region(s) of the top of the foot.

The internal textile sole part of the internal textile tubular element, also referred to in this text as the internal sole part, can cover the whole or one or more region(s) of the bottom of the foot.

The internal textile covering part and/or the internal sole part is/are arranged according to the configuration of the desired footwear item.

Preferably, the internal textile covering part extends in/covers one or more region(s) of the top of the foot chosen from: the forefoot region arranged on the lateral side and/or the region of forefoot arranged on the medial side; and/or the forefoot region extending between the lateral side and the medial side; and/or the instep area; and/or the midfoot region disposed on the lateral side and/or the midfoot region disposed on the medial side; and/or the rearfoot region disposed on the lateral side and/or the rearfoot region disposed on the medial side; and/or the rearfoot region extending between the lateral side and the medial side; and possibly at least partly the leg region.

The underfoot region(s) within which extends/(covered by) the insole portion is/are selected from: the forefoot region extending between the sides lateral and medial of the footwear; and/or the midfoot region extending between the lateral and medial sides of the article of footwear; and/or the rearfoot region extending between the lateral and medial sides of the article of footwear.

Preferably, the internal textile tubular element comprises an external face and an internal face, in particular substantially opposite.

Preferably, the external face of the internal textile tubular element is oriented opposite the internal face of the external textile tubular element.

Preferably, the internal face of the internal tubular textile element is oriented facing the volume accommodating the foot of the article of footwear.

Preferably, the main external region extends between the internal and external faces of the internal textile tubular element, in particular forms a part of the latter.

Advantageously, the main external region is a textile region, in particular not comprising any thermofused textile portion or no partially thermofused textile portion.

Advantageously, the internal textile tubular element comprises one or more thread(s), and in particular one or more non-thermofused thread(s), and/or one or more thermofused thread(s) at least in part. , in particular in whole or in part.

Preferably, the internal textile tubular element comprises one or more monofilament yarn(s) and/or one or more multifilament yarn(s) and/or one or more spun yarn(s) of fibers.

External textile tubular element

Advantageously, the external tubular textile element is woven or knitted (in particular with picked stitches or with thrown stitches), preferably knitted (in particular with picked stitches).

The external textile tubular element is preferably a knitted tube, in particular a tube knitted on a circular knitting machine of small diameter (that is to say whose diameter is between 5 cm and 20 cm, in particular between 5 cm and 15 cm).

The external textile tubular element is preferably a tube comprising a bent part, in particular intended to receive the heel.

The external textile tubular element is advantageously a knitted sock.

The external textile tubular element preferably comprises an open front end, in particular which is closed, more particularly closed by sewing. Preferably, the open front end is a toe receiving area.

Advantageously, the external textile tubular element comprises a volume for receiving or accommodating the foot and a foot insertion opening for accommodating the foot in said reception volume.

Advantageously, the external textile tubular element comprises an external textile part covering at least part of the foot, and an external sole textile part in textile connection (in particular in knitted connection) with the external textile covering part.

Advantageously, the external textile tubular element is of unitary knitted construction.

The external textile part covering at least part of the foot can cover the whole or one or more region(s) of the top of the foot.

The sole part of the external textile tubular element, also referred to in this text as the textile part of the external sole, can cover the entirety or one or more region(s) of the bottom of the foot.

The external textile covering part and/or the external textile part of the sole is/are arranged according to the configuration of the desired article of footwear.

Preferably, the external textile covering part extends into/covers one or more region(s) of the top of the foot chosen from: the forefoot region arranged on the lateral side and/or the region of forefoot arranged on the medial side; and/or the forefoot region extending between the lateral side and the medial side; and/or the instep area; and/or the midfoot region disposed on the lateral side and/or the midfoot region disposed on the medial side; and/or the rearfoot region disposed on the lateral side and/or the rearfoot region disposed on the medial side; and/or the rearfoot region extending between the lateral side and the medial side; and possibly at least partly the leg region.

The underfoot region(s) within which extends/(covered by) the outsole portion is/are selected from: the forefoot region extending between the sides lateral and medial of the footwear; and/or the midfoot region extending between the lateral and medial sides of the article of footwear; and/or the rearfoot region extending between the lateral and medial sides of the article of footwear.

Preferably, the external textile tubular element comprises an external face and an internal face, in particular substantially opposite.

Preferably, the internal face of the external textile tubular element is oriented opposite the external face of the internal textile tubular element.

Preferably, the external face of the external textile tubular element is oriented facing the exterior of the article of footwear.

Preferably, the internal main region extends between the internal and external faces of the external textile tubular element, in particular forms a part of the latter.

Preferably, the main internal region is a textile region, in particular comprising a partially thermofused or thermofused textile portion.

Advantageously, the external textile tubular element comprises one or more thread(s), and in particular one or more non-thermofused thread(s), and/or one or more thermofused thread(s) at least in part. , in particular in whole or in part.

Preferably, the external textile tubular element comprises one or more monofilament yarn(s) and/or one or more multifilament yarn(s) and/or one or more spun yarn(s) of fibers.

In one embodiment, the internal textile tubular element and the external textile tubular element are two distinct and separate knitted pieces.

In this case, when the internal and external textile tubular elements are superimposed at least in part, the internal textile tubular element being arranged in an interior volume for receiving the foot of the external textile tubular element, the internal mounting face of the external textile tubular element is oriented facing the external mounting face of the internal textile tubular element.

The internal mounting face of the internal tubular textile element is then oriented facing the accommodating volume of the foot of the article of footwear.

In one embodiment, the internal textile tubular element and the external textile tubular element are in the same textile part (in particular knitted), in particular are in textile connection (in particular knitted) at the level of their foot insertion openings in their respective foot receiving volumes or at the level of their respective open toes.

In this case, the internal textile tubular element being arranged in the accommodating volume of the foot of the external textile tubular element by inversion, said internal and external textile tubular elements being superposed at least in part, the internal mounting face of the external textile tubular element is oriented facing the internal mounting face of the internal textile tubular element.

The external mounting face of the internal tubular textile element is then oriented facing the accommodating volume of the foot of the article of footwear.

Advantageously, on the article of footwear corresponding to the finished article, in practice, the external face of the internal textile tubular element is oriented directly opposite the internal face of the external textile tubular element.

In one embodiment, the external face of the outsole, or possibly external face of engagement with the ground of the article of footwear, comprises, in particular consists essentially, at least in part of the textile part of the sole of the external textile tubular element.

In particular, the textile sole part of the external textile tubular element matches, in particular forms a covering conforming to, the contour of one or more slot(s) opening out and open(es) on the external face of said outsole as well as the contour of said bottom(s) corresponding to said slot(s).

Textile portion at least partially thermomelted

Advantageously, an at least partially thermofused textile portion defined in the present text is:
- a part of one or more thread(s) which is partially thermofused so that said portion retains a recognizable textile structure, the thread(s) being glued to each other and/or to one or more other wire(s), and/or is/are stiffened (in particular without being glued together); Or
- a part of one or more wire(s) which is thermofused so that said portion forms a film or a coating or a polymeric melt such as a binder (in particular the textile structure is no longer recognizable).

Advantageously, in all cases, a change of state of the hot-melt textile portion is observed, in particular making it possible to bond the threads together and/or to form a film or a coating or a binder or a matrix, and/or to stiffen the wire(s), in order to maintain the shape given during thermocompression and to form differentiated technical zones.

The internal/external textile tubular element may comprise one or more at least partially thermofused textile portion(s), in particular one or more thermofused or partially thermofused textile portion(s). s).

The internal/external textile tubular element may comprise one or more at least partially thermofused textile portion(s), in particular one or more thermofused or partially thermofused textile portion(s). s).

A thermomelted or partially thermomelted textile portion can be a portion:
- a single-component monofilament yarn that is at least partially heat-melted (and therefore in particular hot-melt before its transformation) or two-component comprising at least a first component that is at least partially heat-melted (and therefore in particular hot-melt before its transformation) and at least one second component not hot melt (and therefore in particular not hot melt before its transformation) as defined in the context of the present invention,
- a multifilament yarn comprising one or more single-component filament(s) thermofused at least partially (and therefore in particular hot-melt(s) before transformation) or two-component filament(s), each filament comprising at least a first at least partially hot-melt component (and therefore in particular hot-melt) and at least one second non-heat-melt component (and therefore in particular not hot-melt before transformation) as defined in the context of the present invention, optionally in mixture with one or more filaments ( s) single-component(s) not hot-melt(s) (and therefore in particular non-hot-melt(s)) in the context of the present invention.

For example, a single-component yarn is a polyurethane monofilament yarn, for example having a melting temperature ranging from approximately 80°C-120°C.

For example, a two-component yarn comprises filaments each of which is of the core-coat type, that is to say comprising a coat comprising said first component having a melting temperature ranging from approximately 80°C-120°C and a core comprising said second component, in particular having a melting or softening temperature higher than that of the first component, for example ranging from 150°C to 190°C.

Said one-component or two-component thermofused wire(s) at least partially (or hotmelt(s)) has/have (each) preferably a linear mass ranging from 300 dtex to 1200 dtex, in particular ranging from 400 dtex to 800 dtex, notably ranging from 600 dtex to 700 dtex.

We understand by one or more thermofused wire(s) at least partially: one or more thermofused wire(s) in their entirety, and one or more partially thermofused wire(s). Preferably, said thermofused wire(s) at least partially is/are one-component multifilament wire(s).

Preferably, said single-component or two-component hot-melt multifilament wire(s) each have an elongation at break greater than or equal to 80% or 100%, more preferably greater than or equal to 115, preferably less than or equal to 200%.

Son)

The monofilamentary yarn(s) and/or the fiber spun yarn(s) and/or the multifilamentary yarn(s) cited in this text may /may be in one or more material(s) chosen from:
- a list I comprising: polyesters, in particular chosen from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or a combination of the latter; polyamides, in particular chosen from PA 6, PA 6-6, and a combination of the latter; polyolefins, in particular polyethylene, polypropylene, and a combination thereof; elastanes; and a combination of these; and or
- a list II comprising: cotton, regenerated cellulose, for example viscose, linen, sisal, wool, jute, silk, hemp, and a combination of these;
- a list III including: para-aramids, meta-aramids and carbon; and or
- a list IV including: recycled textiles, in particular recycled clothing, for example thermal protective clothing such as clothing for firefighters.

The material(s) listed in List I, and/or List II, and/or List III and/or List IV, may be recycled and/or biosourced ) at least in part. The monofilament wire(s) preferably has/have a diameter greater than or equal to 0.01 mm and less than or equal to 5 mm, more preferably greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than or equal at 2mm.

The multifilament yarn(s) and/or yarn(s) spun from fibers preferably have a linear mass greater than or equal to 10 dtex and less than or equal to 1000 dtex, more preferably greater than or equal to 30 dtex and less than or equal to 500 dtex.

Advantageously, the non-thermofused wire(s) comprises/includes, in particular is/are essentially made up of one or more polymer material(s) whose melting or degradation temperature is higher than the maximum temperature used in the manufacturing process of the footwear.

The wire(s), in particular not thermofused, may also be one or more elastic wire(s).

By elastic thread we understand any thread whose elongation at break is greater than or equal to 100% or 200%, in particular greater than or equal to 300%, in particular greater than or equal to 400%. The elastic thread preferably comprises an elastic core, in particular made of elastane, and possibly one or more covering threads. Elongation can be measured using ASTM D 1578-93 (2016). By definition, elastic thread is not heat-fused.

Definitions

In the present text, hot melt or first hot melt component means any material or first component which is hot melted or partially hot melted during the manufacture of the article of footwear according to the invention.

In this text, non-hot melt means any material/component which is not hot melted during the manufacture of the article of footwear according to the invention.

This material or component may be a thermoplastic material or not, but which has a melting or softening temperature or a degradation temperature which is higher than the highest heating temperature used in the manufacturing process of the article of footwear according to the invention.

It is understood in the present text by hot-melt wire(s) at least partially that said wire(s) is/are completely hot-melt(s) or comprises/includes only a portion of their structure which is hot-melt.

In a first embodiment, the footwear item comprises an internal textile tubular element, in particular an internal sock, an external textile tubular element, in particular an external sock, and one or more thermofused sole element(s). at least in part.

For example, the thermofused sole element(s) at least in part is/are arranged between the internal and external sole textile parts of said internal and external textile tubular elements.

This arrangement is preferred when one or more sole elements comprise one or more hot-melt material(s) which are not compatible by hot gluing with one of the textile sole parts of a internal/external textile tubular element. In addition, the resistance to delamination of the sole structure is improved.

Preferably, the sole part of the external textile tubular element matches all or part of the geometry of the external engagement face of the article of footwear.

The textile sole part of the external textile tubular element is therefore visible from the outside of the article of footwear.

For example, the sole part of the external textile tubular element comprises one or more pattern(s), for example one or more colored or transparent/translucent thread(s) at least partially thermofused. (s) or not thermofused, visible on the external engagement face of the article of footwear.

For example, the thermofused sole element(s) at least in part is/are arranged between the textile part of the outer sole and the engagement face with the ground of the article of footwear (in particularly the internal face of the molding assembly described in the process below).

For example, each of the internal and external sole textile parts of the internal and external textile tubular elements comprises thermofused thread(s) at least in part, in particular made of polyurethane, optionally mixed with one or more non-thermalized thread(s). s), for example in polyester (PET for example) with high tenacity.

For example, the internal textile part covering at least part of the foot comprises one or more non-heat-fused thread(s) (for example one or more multifilament thread(s), in particular in polyester (PET for example), possibly mixed with one or more thermofused wire(s) at least in part.

The non-thermofused yarn(s) has/have a linear mass ranging from 200 denier to 1000 denier, in particular from 400 denier to 950 denier.

For example, the external textile part covering at least part of the foot comprises one or more thermo-fused thread(s) at least in part, possibly mixed with one or more non-thermo-fused thread(s).

In a variant embodiment, the external textile covering part comprises one or more additional internal region(s), and the internal textile covering part comprises one or more additional external region(s) s).

In particular, an external additional region is superimposed at least in part with an internal additional region, said external and internal additional regions are not glued together.

Advantageously, the additional internal region(s) comprises/(each comprise) an at least partially thermofused textile portion.

Advantageously, the additional external region(s) does not comprise/(each include) any thermofused textile portion.

Advantageously, the external main region is distinct from the external additional region.

Advantageously, the internal main region is distinct from the internal additional region.

In a variant embodiment, the external, respectively internal, textile covering part comprises an upper medial or lateral edge that is substantially free over at least part of its length.

Advantageously, the main external, respectively internal, textile region extends substantially between said upper medial or lateral edge, and the textile sole part of the external, respectively internal tubular element.

In a variant embodiment, the external textile covering part comprises an upper medial or lateral edge of which at least at least part of the length is not glued to the internal textile covering part, in particular to the corresponding upper medial or lateral edge .

In a variant embodiment, the outer textile covering part comprises a medial or lateral upper edge comprising a first region, and the inner textile covering part comprises a medial or lateral upper edge comprising a second region, the first and second regions are not not stuck together.

In a variant embodiment, the external textile covering part comprises a medial or lateral upper edge comprising one or more external lacing zone(s), optionally the internal textile covering part comprises a medial or lateral upper edge comprising a or several internal lacing zone(s), possibly cooperating with said external lacing zone(s) for the passage of at least one common elongated element.

In a variant embodiment, the main external region does not include a thermofused textile portion.

Advantageously, the main external region comprises sections of movable wire(s) (in particular sliding) relative to each other), in particular comprises knitted meshes movable relative to each other.

Advantageously, this arrangement makes it possible to provide flexibility to the main external region, and to maintain good breathability because the sections of movable wire(s) promote the evacuation of heat and perspiration.

In a variant embodiment, the internal textile tubular element comprises a sole textile part comprising one or more thermofused textile portion(s), and the external textile tubular element comprises a sole textile part comprising a or several thermofused textile portion(s).

In a variant embodiment, at least 50% or 60% or 70% or 80% or 90% of the total mass of each of the sole parts of the internal and external textile tubular elements is essentially made up of textile portion(s). ) thermomelted(s).

In a variant, at least 50% or 60% or 70% or 80% of the total mass of the external textile tubular element is essentially made up of at least partially thermofused textile portion(s).

This arrangement makes it possible to stiffen the article of footwear, to improve its resistance to abrasion, and to protect, in particular from abrasion, the internal tubular textile element.

In a variant, at least part of the upper, and at least part of said at least one sole, are in a molded part, in particular in a thermocompressed part.

Advantageously, at least part of the upper, and at least part of said at least one sole are manufactured during the same molding step, in particular a thermocompression step.

In a variant, at least 20% or 30% or 40% or 50% or 60% or 65% or 70% or 75% or 80% or 85% or 90% or 95% or approximately 100% of the surface of the external face of the internal textile covering part is not glued, in particular is not secured, with the internal face of the internal textile covering part.

In a variant, the internal textile part covering at least part of the foot and the external textile part covering at least part of the foot are joined together essentially at the level of their respective lower peripheral edges, in particular via of one or more thermofused textile portion(s).

Advantageously, the lower peripheral edges are those respectively connecting the external textile covering part with said at least one sole and connecting the internal textile covering part with said at least one sole.

In a variant, the sole, in particular an outsole, extending between an internal face and an external face, comprises one or more slot(s) opening out and open(es) on its external face, each of the or said slot(s) having a bottom, and
- the distance (d) between a bottom (in particular said bottom or a bottom chosen from said bottoms) and the internal face of the outsole is less than or equal to 0.50 times, or to 0.45 times or to 0.40 times or 0.35 times or 0.30 times or 0.25 times or 0.20 times, the depth (p) of the slot corresponding to said bottom (or d≤0.50 or 0, 45 or 0.40 or 0.35 or 0.30 or 0.25 or 0.20 * p) (in particular designated in this text by ratio A); and or
- the distance (d) between a bottom (in particular said bottom or a bottom chosen from said bottoms) and the internal face of the outsole is less than or equal to 0.50 times or 0.45 times or 0 .40 times or 0.35 times or 0.30 times or 0.25 times or 0.20 times, the distance (D) between the internal face of the outsole and the top of the corresponding slot said fund (in particular designated in this text by ratio B).

Preferably, the outsole comprises a plurality of slots, in particular at least 10 or 15 or 20 slots.

The outsole may include one or more slots not satisfying the ratio stated above combined with one or more slots satisfying the ratio stated above.

The inventors have determined that the presence of slot(s) satisfying the ratio stated above makes it possible to attribute suppleness, and therefore good flexibility to the outsole, thus compensating for the rigidity imparted to the outsole. by its thermocompression manufacturing process.

Indeed, the thermocompression process advantageously makes it possible to form an article of footwear comprising an upper and a sole essentially in one step. However, this technique involves the use of specific hot melt material(s) which is/are considered hard for the shoe application, particularly sports shoes.

The formation of slot(s) in the external face of the outsole provides flexibility and facilitates the movement of the foot.

Advantageously, the slot(s) do not open onto the internal face of the outsole.

Said sole, in particular said outsole, comprises one or more slots each having a front end and a rear end, a front end being able to face, or open onto, a medial or lateral edge or an edge front or rear, and a rear end which can be opposite, or open onto, a medial or lateral edge or a front or rear edge.

The slot(s) may have a substantially rectilinear trajectory, or curve or comprise several curve(s), preferably rectilinear.

In a variant, the footwear item comprises a foot-accommodating volume, and the internal face of the outsole opens directly into the foot-accommodating volume of said footwear item.

Advantageously, the outsole being thermocompressed and therefore molded at the same time with part or all of the upper, the outsole is in connection with the upper.

In conventional methods of manufacturing footwear, a midsole is placed between the upper and the outsole. A midsole generally includes foaming material to trap air. However, due to the thermocompression process consisting of compacting the molten material, the implementation of such a midsole in a reliable manner is complex since it must be placed between the upper and an outsole without being crushed/ compacted and remaining correctly positioned.

Advantageously, in the invention, the thermocompressed outsole is thus directly connected to the upper. Preferably, the midsole and/or a sockliner is/are added after the thermocompression step.

In a variant, the outsole comprises several slots arranged so as to delimit at least one protrusion between at least two adjacent slots, in particular said at least one protrusion comprises at least two free side walls.

Advantageously, the outsole comprises several protrusions delimited by slots, in particular each of said slots having free side walls.

Advantageously, the protrusions each comprise a free external wall, in particular formed of a portion of the external face of said sole which is an outsole.

Advantageously, each of the protrusions comprises a posterior portion connecting the latter to the body of the outsole.

Advantageously, each of the protrusions comprises at least three free side walls.

Advantageously, the protrusions comprise protrusions comprising four free side walls, and optionally protrusions comprising at least three free side walls, or five free side walls.

The preceding arrangements make it possible to form freely deforming protrusions, which improves the cushioning and flexibility of the outsole in several directions.

In particular, the sole part of the external textile tubular element matches the free side walls, and possibly the free external wall(s) (in particular defined below), of one or more protrusion(s).

In a variant, the article of footwear comprises a medial edge and a lateral edge, the outsole extends between said medial and lateral edges, and the outsole comprises one or more transverse slot(s). extending at least partly between said lateral and medial edges of the article of footwear, and possibly opening onto one of said lateral and medial edges, in particular opening onto said medial and lateral edges.

One or more transverse slot(s) may extend over a portion of the width of the outsole or over substantially the entire width of the outsole, particularly in the rear region -foot and/or in the midfoot region and/or in the forefoot region.

Advantageously, the transverse slots of the outsole form flexibility zones improving the movement of the foot, and providing flexibility to said outsole made from material(s) considered to be rigid(s). ) and resistant to deformation for this type of application. Indeed, this type of thermocompressed material(s) is considered to limit the natural movement of the foot when walking or running.

Advantageously, the outsole comprises one or more transverse slot(s) in the midfoot region, in particular at the fold of the foot.

Advantageously, the resistance/flexibility constraint being the strongest in this region, this arrangement makes it possible to improve the movement of the foot.

Transverse slit in this text means any slit whose front and rear ends face respectively the medial and lateral edges of the article of footwear.

In a variant, the outsole comprises one or more slot(s) each of which has a length (L) greater than its width (l), in particular each of which has a length which is greater than or equal to 4 times or 5 times or 6 times or 7 times or 8 times or 9 times or 10 times or 15 times or 20 times or 25 times or 30 times or 40 times its width.

The length of a slot is the distance between the front and rear ends of the slot.

In a variant, the article of footwear comprises a medial edge and a lateral edge, the sole, in particular the outsole, extends between said medial and lateral edges, and the sole comprises one or more transverse slot(s) ( s) extending between and opening onto said lateral and medial edges of the article of footwear.

Advantageously, the longer the transverse slot(s), the greater the flexibility provided to the outsole in general and targeted in the area of the sole comprising said slot(s). (s).

In a variant, the article of footwear comprises a front edge and a rear edge, the outsole extends between said front and medial edges, and said outsole comprises one or more longitudinal slot(s). extending:
- at least partly between said front and rear edges of the article of footwear and/or
- extending in at least two regions of the article of footwear chosen from: a rearfoot region, a midfoot region, and a forefoot region.

One or more longitudinal slot(s) may extend over part of the length of the outsole or over substantially the entire length of the outsole, in particular in the region d rearfoot and/or in the midfoot region and/or in the forefoot region.

One or more longitudinal slot(s) may open onto at least one of the front and rear edges of the outsole, possibly leading to the front and rear edges.

Longitudinal slot in this text means any slot whose front and rear ends are respectively:
- facing the front and rear edges of the article of footwear, in particular opening onto one of the front and rear edges of said article or opening onto the front and rear edges of said article of footwear, and/or
- extending into at least two regions of the article of footwear chosen from: the rearfoot region, the midfoot region, and the forefoot region.

In the latter case, a longitudinal slot can open onto one of the lateral and medial edges or onto the lateral and medial edges.

In a variant, said at least one protrusion comprises a free external wall, or each of said protrusions comprises a free external wall, and the surface (cm²) of said free external wall of said at least one protrusion, or of each of the protrusions, is less than or equal to 0.20 times, or 0.15 times or 0.10 or 0.08 times, or 0.05 times, the total surface area of the external face of the outsole.

In a variant, the outsole comprises several protrusions, the total sum of the surfaces of the free external walls of the protrusions represents at least 50%, or at least 60% or at least 70% or at least 80%, of the total surface. of the external face of the outsole.

The preceding provisions make it possible to further improve the flexibility and conformability of the outsole when the foot rolls out.

In a variant, said slot or each of said slots has a depth (p) greater than or equal to 3 mm, in particular greater than or equal to 5 mm.

In a variant, the footwear item comprises a volume for accommodating the foot, and comprises a sole element arranged in the volume for accommodating the foot, in particular in a removable manner, and having an internal face arranged facing the face internal of the outsole, in particular the sole element is an intermediate sole.

Advantageously, the sole element comprises an internal face and a substantially opposite external face.

Advantageously, the external face of the sole element is oriented opposite, in particular opening directly into the volume receiving the foot of the footwear.

In a variant, the footwear item comprises a foot support zone arranged at the bottom of the foot accommodating volume of the footwear item, and the outsole comprises a lateral edge, respectively medial edge, comprising a rim lateral, respectively medial, projecting substantially above the support zone of the foot towards the upper.

In a variant, the sole, in particular the outsole, comprises one or more thermofused recycled material(s), possibly one or more thermofused recycled textile material(s). ).

In a variant, the external textile part covering at least part of the foot comprises an at least partially thermofused textile portion having a melting or softening temperature T1, and the outer sole textile part comprises a thermofused textile portion having a temperature of melting or softening T2, T2 being less than T1, in particular the ratio T2/T1 is less than 0.9 or 0.8.

In a variant, the internal face of the sole structure forms a foot support zone configured to be placed under the foot when the footwear is worn, and the foot support zone is set back vertically from the edge upper edge of the main edge of the sole structure along all or part of said main edge.

More particularly, the foot support zone of the sole structure is set back vertically from the upper edge of the main edge of the sole structure in the rearfoot region of the article of footwear according to all or part of said rearfoot region, at least 5 mm or at least 10 mm.

This arrangement advantageously makes it possible to reduce the weight of the sole structure.

In a variant, the sole structure comprises a main edge comprising a front edge, a rear edge, a medial edge and a lateral edge, in particular corresponding to the front, rear, medial and lateral edges of the article of footwear.

An edge of the sole structure extends vertically preferably between the internal face of the sole structure and the upper edge of said edge.

In a variant, the internal covering textile part and/or the external covering textile part each comprises one or more lacing textile loop(s), in particular knitted, not comprising a thermofused textile portion, and optionally the footwear item comprises one or more laces not comprising a thermofused textile portion.

The present invention relates, according to a second aspect, to a method of manufacturing an article of footwear, in particular according to any one of the alternative embodiments according to a first aspect of the invention, comprising the steps:
- (i) provide: an internal textile tubular element comprising an internal textile part covering at least part of the foot, said internal textile covering part comprising an external face comprising an external main region; an external textile tubular element comprising an external textile part covering at least part of the foot, said external textile covering part comprising an internal face comprising an internal main region, said external main region comprising at least one hot-melt textile portion, and an assembly sole, in particular comprising one or more sole elements at least partly hot-melt(s); And
(ii) arrange in an upper part of the mold: at least partly the internal and external textile parts covering at least partly the foot; and arrange in a lower mold part: said sole assembly, the sole textile part of the internal textile tubular element, the sole textile part of the external textile tubular element, and optionally at least part of the textile part external covering and at least part of the internal textile covering part,
in that said external textile tubular element receives in its interior volume at least partly said internal textile tubular element; And
(iii) thermocompress the internal and external textile tubular elements, and the sole assembly, by heating the lower part of the mold to a temperature greater than, preferably greater than or equal to at least twice the temperature of the upper part mold,
(iv) unmolding the article of footwear comprising an upper and a sole, the upper being connected to the sole via at least one thermofused portion, in particular textile,
and in that said at least one textile portion of said internal main region is at least partially thermofused, and
the main external and internal regions are superimposed at least in part and are not glued together.

Advantageously, the process is configured here in such a way that it is possible to dissociate the effect of thermocompression between the external textile covering part and the internal textile covering part although arranged in the upper part of the mold.

Advantageously, the main external and internal regions are not glued together via an at least partially thermofused textile portion.

The main external and internal regions can however be joined together for example using a seam, although this is not preferred.

Preferably, the main external and internal regions are not joined together.

Advantageously, the main internal region is partially thermofused, that is to say that the yarn(s) it comprises retains a textile structure.

Advantageously, the upper mold part and the lower mold part cooperate together and form between them an empty molding space having substantially the external shape of the article of footwear.

Advantageously, the method comprises the arrangement of an inflatable bladder having substantially the shape of a foot, in particular substantially corresponding to the internal shape of the article of footwear, in said empty molding space, in particular at least partly in the interior volume of the internal textile tubular element.

Advantageously, the bladder is hollow, and is connected in its upper part with a handle facilitating its grip, in particular said handle comprises at least one means of admitting an inflation fluid (e.g.: air) for inflation and a means for evacuating the inflation fluid (which may be said air inlet means).

The inflatable bladder is preferably made of a flexible material, for example silicone, resistant to temperatures, in particular resistant to a temperature greater than or equal to 150°C or to 180°C or 200°C or to 250°C (in particular depending on the melting temperature(s) of the hot-melt material(s) used, and which can undergo several inflation and deflation cycles. When the inflatable bladder is deflated, it preferably substantially recovers its initial shape. Preferably, the inflatable bladder is reusable.

Preferably, the inflation pressure ranges from 3 bars to 5 bars.

In an exemplary embodiment, the inflatable bladder is inflated to an inflation pressure ranging from 3 bars to 5 bars, for example of the order of 4 bars.

In one embodiment, a sole element is a thermocompressed sole insert in a preliminary thermocompression step which is carried out before the thermocompression step (iii). This preliminary thermocompression step comprises the thermocompression of one or more hot-melt material(s) at least in part, optionally with one or more non-hot-melt material(s) (for example polyacrylic textile waste, or wool or cotton).

This preliminary thermocompression step can be performed using the mold assembly used in step (ii).

The hot-melt material(s) at least in part may be hot-melt particles, in particular having an average size ranging from 1 mm to 6 mm, for example from 3 mm to 5 mm.

For example, hot melt particles have a Shore A hardness ranging from 45 to 80.

Advantageously, this thermocompressed sole insert is placed in a sandwich between the internal and external sole textile parts of the internal and external textile tubular elements.

This arrangement promotes the joining of the sole element(s) to the textile tubular elements, in particular makes it possible to compensate for a possible lack of compatibility between the sole element(s) and the textile tubular elements.

For example, the hot-melt sole element(s) is/are arranged between the outer sole textile part and the internal face of the molding assembly.

The thermofused material(s) comprising this thermocompressed sole element is/are thermofused again at least in part during the thermocompression step (iii).

For example, the hot melt/hot melt material(s) is/are chosen from polyurethanes, polyolefins (e.g. PP, PE), polyesters (PET, PBT).

For example, the heating temperature during the preliminary thermocompression stage ranges from 110°C to 170°C, in particular from 120°C to 160°C.

For example, the duration of the preliminary, or final, thermocompression step (iii) ranges from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, in particular from 10 minutes to 25 minutes, more particularly from 15 minutes to 20 minutes.

For example, the heating temperature of the lower part of the mold during the thermocompression step iii) ranges from 160°C to 220°C, in particular from 170°C to 210°C.

Preferably, during the thermocompression step iii), the heating temperature of the lower part of the mold is greater than or equal to the highest melting temperature of the hot melt material used and targeted to be at least partially thermomelted.

In the state of the art, during a thermocompression step, the internal and external textile tubular elements are glued together at their superimposed regions comprising thermofused textile portions due to the thermocompression process. In particular, the thermofused textile portions form a film and/or a coating.

In one embodiment, the external textile covering part comprises one or more hot-melt textile portion(s) whose lowest melting or softening temperature is TA (°C), and the temperature of the highest melting of the material(s) used in the textile part of the outer sole is TB (°C), the TA/TB ratio is greater than or equal to 1 or 1.1 or 1.2 and less than or equal to 1.5

In one embodiment, the lower part of the mold is heated to a temperature Tinf (°C), and the upper part of the mold is heated to a temperature Tsup (°C), Tinf is greater than or equal to twice, or to three times, or four times, Tsup.

In particular, the upper part of the mold is heated by the heat coming from the lower part of the mold.

Definitions

By hot-melt textile portion we understand any textile portion before it becomes a partially thermo-melted textile portion, or thermo-melted, once transformed by the process according to the invention.

A partially thermofused textile portion is as defined above in this text.

In a variant, the upper mold part is heated essentially by the heat transmitted by the heated lower mold part.

Advantageously, the heat from heating the lower part of the mold is dissipated towards the upper part of the mold, the heat provided by the lower part of the mold is sufficient to bond together the wires at least partly hot-melt(s) of the part. external recovery.

In a variant, the sole assembly comprises one or more sole element(s) which is/are one or more recycled hot-melt element(s), possibly one or more textile element(s). ) recycled hot melt(s).

In a variant, said sole assembly comprises between 80 g and 210 g of one or more hot-melt outsole element(s), in particular comprising one or more recycled hot-melt material(s). ), in particular from textile waste and/or footwear waste.

In a variant, during steps (ii) and (iii), the internal covering textile part and/or the external covering textile part each comprises one or more lacing textile loop(s), in particular knitted , not comprising a hot-melt textile portion, and at least one lace (in particular at least partly textile) is passed through one or more lacing loops and does not include a hot-melt textile portion.

This arrangement makes it possible to improve the productivity of the footwear manufacturing process by avoiding lacing operations carried out after thermocompression (iii).

The alternative embodiments, definitions and embodiments with reference to the first aspect of the invention apply independently of each other to the manufacturing process according to a second aspect of the invention.

Description of the designs

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of the embodiments of the invention given by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

there illustrates in a manner a shoe of the state of the art on which are represented the different upper regions defined in the present text with reference to the article of footwear according to the invention;

there schematically illustrates the different regions of the sole structure shown in ;

there schematically illustrates a first example of an internal textile tubular element arranged in the accommodating volume of a foot of a first example of an external textile tubular element;

there schematically represents a second example of an internal textile tubular element and a second example of an external textile tubular element of unitary textile construction, in particular integral at their foot insertion openings;

there schematically represents the internal textile tubular element of the arranged in the reception volume of the foot of the external textile tubular element of the ;

there schematically represents, seen from the lateral side, a first example of an article of footwear according to the invention;

there schematically represents a part of the article of footwear 100 according to the section plane VII-VII shown in ;

there schematically represents, seen from the medial side, the article of footwear shown in ;

there schematically represents, seen from below, the article of footwear of the ;

there schematically represents, seen from the lateral side, the internal textile tubular element before thermocompression used in the manufacture of the article of footwear shown in Figures 6 to 9;

there schematically represents, seen from the lateral side, the external textile tubular element before thermocompression used in the manufacture of the footwear shown in Figures 6 to 9;

there schematically represents a side view of the internal and external textile tubular elements arranged in the upper and lower parts of the mold before their thermocompression.

For purposes of reference of the terminology used in the present text and associated with an article of footwear, the article of footwear 10 represented in the , in particular a sports shoe, can be divided into three general regions: a forefoot region 12, a midfoot region 14 or also called midfoot region 14; a heel region 16. The forefoot region 12 generally comprises parts of the article of footwear 10 corresponding to the toes and the joints connecting the metatarsals to the phalanges. The midfoot region 14 generally includes portions of the shoe 10 corresponding to the arch of the foot. The heel region 16 generally corresponds to the rear parts of the foot, and notably includes the calcaneus bone. The article of footwear 10 also includes a lateral side 17 and a medial side 18, which extend through each of the regions of the forefoot 12, the midfoot 14 and the heel 16 and correspond to opposite sides of the footwear 10. More particularly, the lateral side 17 corresponds to an exterior zone of the foot, and the medial side 18 corresponds to an interior zone of the foot. The footwear item 10 includes an opening for introducing the foot 5 allowing access to the receiving (or receiving) volume of the foot 6.

The article of footwear 10 comprises an instep region 11 extending substantially centered between the lateral side 17 and the medial side 18 in the midfoot region and possibly partially in the forefoot region 12.

The shoe 10 also comprises a longitudinal axis L and a transverse axis T, in particular substantially perpendicular to the axis L. The shoe 10 also comprises a front side 19a and a rear side 19b.

The footwear article 10 comprises an upper 15 and a sole structure, in particular an outsole 20.

In addition to the article of footwear 10, the forefoot region 12, the midfoot region 14, the heel region 16, the lateral side 17, the medial side 18, the front side 19a, the rear side 19b, the instep zone 11, the insertion opening of the foot 5, and the reception or reception volume of the foot 6, can be applied to the sole structure or outsole 20 , to the upper 15, and to their individual elements, such as for example in a non-limiting manner to a tubular textile element alone, or to superimposed internal and external textile tubular elements, to their respective textile covering parts of the foot and to their respective textile sole parts.

There schematically represents for reference purposes, the different regions that a sole structure can comprise, corresponding to the regions defined in .

There schematically represents a first example of an internal textile tubular element 50 and a first example of an external textile tubular element 60 distinct, each in a knitted textile piece, in particular each in a knitted sock. The internal textile tubular element 50 has an external face 53 and an internal face 54, in particular substantially opposite the external face 53. The external textile tubular element 60 has an external face 63 and an internal face 64, in particular substantially opposite on the external face 63. The internal textile tubular element 50 comprises an internal textile covering part 52 of the foot and an internal textile part of the sole 55, as well as an elbow portion 56 making it possible to form a heel region. In this specific example, the internal textile part covering the foot 52 extends in the forefoot, midfoot and heel regions, from the lateral side towards the medial side. In this specific example, the internal textile part of the sole 55 extends between a front edge and a rear edge in the forefoot, midfoot and heel regions, from the lateral side towards the medial side. .

The external textile tubular element 60 comprises an external textile covering part 62 of the foot and an external textile sole part 65, as well as an elbow portion 66 making it possible to form a heel region. In this specific example, the external textile part covering the foot 62 extends in the forefoot, midfoot and heel regions, between the lateral and medial sides. In this specific example, the outer textile part of the sole 65 extends between the front edge and a rear edge in the forefoot, midfoot, and heel regions, and this between the lateral and medial sides.

For example, the internal textile tubular element 50 is arranged in the receiving volume 61 of the foot of the external textile tubular element 60, the tubular elements 50,60 are thus substantially superimposed at least in part, the internal face 64 of the external tubular element 60 facing the external face 53 of the internal tubular element 50.

The internal 50 and external 60 textile tubular elements are preferably placed on a preform in the shape of a foot (in particular the preform is placed in the volume accommodating the foot of the internal textile tubular element 50), then undergo a step of thermocompression during which the hot-melt textile portions of said internal textile tubular elements 50 and external 60 are thermofused so as to secure the internal textile tubular element 50 to the external textile tubular element 60, and shape the whole to the shape of the preform. The internal 50 and external 60 textile tubular elements are then cooled on the preform preferably in order to freeze said shape.

During the thermocompression step, the preform is an inflatable bladder (especially in a silicone or polyurethane material which can be inflated and deflated, and is therefore reusable). The heating temperature applied during the thermocompression step is determined so as to more or less melt the targeted hot melt material(s). Thus, depending on the desired effects, threads can be glued together and/or stiffened and/or threads can form a film or a coating, for example covering the internal textile tubular element 50, or the external textile tubular element 60. .

One or more sole elements (not shown on the ), for example an outsole or a flexible element in a material having a Shore A hardness of between 40 and 70, is/are placed between the internal textile part of the sole 55 and the external textile part of the sole 65.

For example, the outsole is a part obtained by thermocompression of one or more sole element(s) at least partly hot-melt(s) in a thermocompression step prior to the thermocompression step of the tubular textile elements 50 .60.

For example, a sole element is/includes particles and/or fibers at least partly hot-melt(s), in particular entirely hot-melt(s), possibly in association with non-hot-melt particles and/or fibers at sense of invention.

For example, the particles are particles having an average size of 3 mm to 5 mm, and are made of polyurethane. Polyurethane can be virgin or recycled.

For example, the particles to be thermocompressed can be placed in a thermofusible textile pocket partially or completely.

The Shore A hardness of the particles is for example 40 to 80.

Preferably, the internal textile part of the sole 55 and the external textile part of the sole 65 each consist essentially of hot-melt thread(s) or each comprise at least 80% by mass of their total mass of hot-melt thread(s). (s).

Preferably, the external textile covering part 60 comprises at least 30%, in particular at least 60% by mass, of hot-melt thread(s) at least in part.

For example, the external textile covering part 60 and the internal textile covering part 50 each comprise at least 30% by mass of non-hot melt thread(s), for example multifilament polyester thread(s). (e.g. PET) having a linear mass of 450 dtex or 900 dtex.

For example, hot melt yarn is a 600 denier multifilament yarn, having a tenacity of around 2g/denier, an elongation at break of 130%, and a melting temperature of 100°C.

For example, the temperature applied during the preliminary step of thermocompression of the outsole ranges from 100°C to 140°C, for a duration of at least approximately 5 minutes and an inflation pressure of the inflatable bladder of the order of 3 bars to 5 bars.

For example, the temperature during the thermocompression step of the tubular elements 50,60, and of the outsole, ranges from 140°C to 180°C, for example for 15 to 20 minutes, under an inflation pressure of the bladder of approximately 4 bars.

Preferably, during the thermocompression step, the at least partly hot-melt or fully hot-melt threads of the internal and external textile sole parts (54,64) are heat-melted.

The internal and external textile tubular elements 50 and 60 preferably being separate knitted pieces, they can have different configurations. For example, as shown on the , the external textile covering part of the foot 62 covers the foot less than the internal textile covering part of the foot 52, in particular the external textile covering part of the foot 62 does not include an instep area and covers less the ankle as the internal textile covering part 52.

There schematically represents a second example of an internal textile tubular element 70 and a second example of an external textile tubular element 80 which are of unitary textile construction, in particular in a single U-shaped knitted piece. The internal textile tubular element 70 has an external face 73 and an internal face 74.

The external textile tubular element 80 has an external face 83 and an internal face 84. The internal and external textile tubular elements 70 and 80 are in textile connection at the levels of their foot insertion openings corresponding to the fold line 75 to from which the internal tubular element 70 is entered into the accommodating volume of the foot 85 of the external textile tubular element 80. The internal 70 and external 80 textile tubular elements are advantageously knitted socks, and each have an elbow portion 72.82. The tubular textile elements 70,80 could alternatively be in a knitted connection at the level of their toes, the folding of the tubular element 70 then being carried out from the toe of the latter.

In the superposed position, the internal face 74 of the internal tubular element 70 is placed opposite the internal face 84 of the external tubular element 80.

Preferably, the internal and external textile tubular elements 70,80 are arranged on a preform in the shape of a foot (not shown), in particular the preform is placed in the volume accommodating the foot of the internal textile tubular element 70. The internal 70 and external 80 textile tubular elements then undergo a thermocompression step during which hot-melt textile portions are thermofused to join said internal and external textile tubular elements 70,80 together and form them to the shape of the preform .

The thermocompression step can take place as described with reference to the first examples of internal and external textile tubular elements (50,60).

Figures 6 to 12 represent a first example of an article of footwear 100, in particular a sports shoe. The footwear item 100 comprises an upper 110, and a sole structure 120 comprising an outsole 130. In this specific example, the sole structure 120 consists essentially of the outsole 130.

The upper 110 and the outsole 130 are connected via at least one thermofused portion, in particular textile.

Advantageously, the article of footwear 100 comprises an internal textile tubular element 140 comprising an internal textile covering part 145 of at least one part of the foot and an external textile tubular element 150 comprising an external textile covering part 155 of at least one part of the foot.

Advantageously, said external textile tubular element 150 is substantially a knitted sock and the internal textile tubular element 140 is also a knitted sock distinct from the knitted sock of element 150.

Alternatively, these tubular elements 140,150 could be in a knitted connection at their foot insertion openings as shown in or at the level of their toes.

Advantageously, the external textile tubular element 150 receives in its interior volume 151, that is to say accommodating the foot, at least in part said internal textile tubular element 140.

In one example, the internal textile covering part 145 comprises an external face 145a, and the external textile covering part 155 of at least part of the foot comprising an internal face 155b.

In one example, the external face 145a of the internal textile covering part 145 comprises an external main region 148, and the internal face 155b of the external textile covering part 155 comprises an internal main region 158 comprising at least one textile portion at least partially thermofused. In particular, the main internal and external regions 148 and 155 are superimposed at least in part and are not glued together, in particular are not joined together.

In one example, the outer main region 148 extends into the forefoot region on the lateral side 102 and on the medial side 104 and partly between these, in the midfoot region on the medial side 104 and the lateral side 102, and in the rearfoot region on the lateral side 102 and on the medial side 104 and between these. For example, the outer main region 148 does not extend into the instep area disposed partly in the midfoot region, and partly in the forefoot region, between the lateral sides 102 and medial 104. In particular, the main external region 148 occupies approximately 50%, in particular at least 80%, of the external face 145a of the internal textile covering part 145. In particular, the main external region 148 extends between the surfaces internal 145b and external 145a of said internal textile covering part 145.

In one example, the external main region 148 does not include a thermofused or partially thermofused textile portion.

In the particular example of article of footwear 100 shown in Figures 6 to 8, the main internal region 158 and the main external region 148 are substantially continuous.

The main external region 148 could extend along the external face 145a in a ratio less than 80%, and include one or more additional external region(s), in particular distinct from each other, distinct(s) and separated(es) from the main external region 148. This arrangement varies depending on the number and location of the partially thermofused or thermofused textile portions on the internal textile covering part 145.

In this example, the internal main region 158 extends into the forefoot region on the lateral side 102 and on the medial side 104 and between these, in the midfoot region on the medial side 104 and the medial side 104. lateral side 102 and between these (in particular includes an instep area), and in the rearfoot region on the lateral side 102 and on the medial side 104 and between these. In particular, the main internal region 158 occupies approximately at least 50%, in particular at least 80%, of the internal face 155b of the internal textile covering part 155. In particular, the main internal region 158 extends between the internal faces 155b and external 155a of said external textile covering part 155.

The main internal region 158 comprises in one example one or more thermofused or partially thermofused textile portion(s), more preferably comprising one or more thread(s) glued to itself and/or between them.

The main internal region 158 could extend along the internal face 155b in a ratio less than 80%, and include one or more additional internal region(s), in particular distinct from each other, distinct(s) and separated(es) from the main internal region 158. This arrangement varies depending on the number and location of the partially thermofused or thermofused textile portions on the external textile covering part 155.

In this example, approximately at least 50%, in particular at least 80%, of the external face 145a of the internal textile covering part 145 is not glued, in particular is not secured, to the internal face 155b of the part internal covering textile 155.

Advantageously, the internal textile covering part 145 and the external textile covering part 155 are joined together essentially at their respective lower peripheral edges 146,156 extending on the lateral side 102, the medial side 104 and the front and rear, in particular via one or more thermofused textile portion(s).

Advantageously, the internal textile covering part 145 comprises a free upper medial edge 145m and a free upper lateral edge 145l.

Advantageously, the internal textile covering part 155 comprises a free medial upper edge 155m and a free lateral upper edge 155l.

In particular, the upper medial edges 145m and 155m are not joined together, and the upper lateral edges 145l and 155l are not also joined together. The covering parts 145 and 155 thus delimit between them a space E accessible from the outside of the article of footwear 100. This space can advantageously be closed by means of a lace (not shown), for example passed through through the lacing openings 112 provided near the edges 145m, 145l, 155m and 155l.

Advantageously, the internal textile tubular element 140 comprises a sole textile part 142, in particular consisting essentially of thermofused textile portions, and the external textile tubular element 150 comprises a sole textile part 152, in particular essentially consisting of thermofused textile portions . The sole parts 142 and 152 thus enter the sole structure 120, in particular the outsole 130, and are arranged under the foot.

In this particular example, the upper 110 and the outsole 130 are of unitary molded construction, in particular by thermocompression as described below.

For example, thermofused materials in whole or in part, in particular recycled, form a thermocompressed sole insert 170 and placed between the sole parts 142 and 152.

Advantageously, the outsole 130 extends between an internal face 130b and an external face 130a, in particular said external face 130a is a face of engagement with the ground of the article of footwear 100.

Advantageously, the outsole 130 comprises several slots 132 opening out and open on the external face 130a, each said slots 132 having a bottom 133 and a top 135 opposite said bottom 133. The distance d between a bottom 133 and the internal face 130b of the outsole 130 is less than or equal to 0.50 times the depth (p) of the slot corresponding to said bottom (ratio A). Thus, the depth (pi) represented at the is of the order of 20 mm for the slot 132i and the distance (di) is of the order of 3 mm between the bottom 133i corresponding to the slot 132i and the internal face 130b. Ratio A applies to all slots 132.

Advantageously, the distance (d) between a bottom 133 and the internal face 130b of the outsole 130 is less than or equal to 0.50 times the distance (D) between the internal face 130b of the outsole 130 and the top 135 of the slot corresponding to said bottom (ratio B). Advantageously, the ratio B applies to all of the slots 132.

The outsole 130 may further comprise slots not satisfying the ratio A, and possibly not satisfying the ratio B. It is however necessary that the outsole 130 include slots 132 satisfying the ratio A, and possibly the ratio B, in order to provide sufficient flexibility to the outsole, and facilitate the rolling of the foot.

Advantageously, the article of footwear 100 comprises a volume for receiving the foot 105, and the internal face 130b of the outsole 130 opens directly into the volume for receiving the foot 105. In particular, the outsole 130 extends between the medial 104 and lateral 102 edges, and the front 106 and rear 108 edges of the article of footwear 100. In particular, the slots 132 are arranged so as to delimit protrusions 134, in particular having free side walls , more particularly four free side walls 134a, 134b, 134c and 134d. Advantageously, the slots 132 comprise transverse slots 132t extending between and opening onto said lateral 102 and medial 104 edges of the article of footwear 100.

Advantageously, the slots 132 comprise longitudinal slots 132l extending at least partly between said front 106 and rear 108 edges of the article of footwear 100, or extend at least partly in two regions chosen from the front region. -foot, the midfoot region, and the heel region, and possibly opening onto at least one of said lateral 102 and medial 104 edges.

Advantageously, the protrusions 134 each comprise a free external wall 134e, and the surface (cm²) of a free external wall 134e is less than or equal to 0.20 times the total surface area of the external face 130a of the outsole 130 corresponding to the external face of engagement with the ground of the article of footwear.

In this exemplary embodiment, the total sum of the surfaces of the free external walls 134e represents approximately 80% of the total surface area of the external face 130a of the outsole 130.

Advantageously, the textile sole part 152 of the external textile tubular element 150 perfectly matches the free side walls, for example the walls 134a, 134b, 134c and 134d, and the free external walls, for example the wall 134e, of the protrusions 134 delimited by the slots 132 as well as the bottoms 133 corresponding to said slots 132. The sole part 152 thus forms all or part of the external engagement face 130a of the shoe 7 but also covers the periphery of the protrusions 134.

In this example, the transverse slots 132t extend over the entire width of the outsole 130, and thus have lengths ranging from 40 mm to 80 mm.

For example, the 132ti slot has a length Li of approximately 55 mm, and a width Li of approximately 5 mm. The width li of the slot 132ti is the distance between the respective side walls of the two adjacent protrusions delimiting said slot 132ti, said side walls facing each other.

The slots 132 can have different widths and lengths depending on the technical effects sought.

The width of the slots 132 is preferably greater than or equal to 1 mm, more preferably ranging from 3 mm to 8 mm.

In one example, the article of footwear 100 comprises a sole element, in particular an intermediate sole (not shown), disposed in the accommodating volume of the foot 105 in a removable manner, and having an external face disposed facing the face internal 130b of the outsole 130.

In this non-limiting example, the dotted line A represents the internal face 130b of the sole structure 130, said internal face 130b forms a foot support zone configured to receive the underside of the foot. The internal face 130b is thus set back vertically along all or part of the upper edge 131 of the main edge 138 of the sole structure 130, for example set back 10 mm from the upper edge 131 of the rear edge, in the region of hindfoot. The sole structure 130 is thus hollowed out. This hollow arrangement is possible due to the thermocompression process described below. It makes it possible to lighten the sole structure and form vertical edges on all or part of the perimeter of the sole structure 130, in particular the front, rear, lateral and medial edges.

The numerous slots 132, transverse 132t and longitudinal 132l, delimit between them protrusions 134 having free side walls, and make it possible to provide flexibility to the outsole 130, in particular of the rolling lines of the foot, improving thus comfort and proprioception.

In an exemplary embodiment not illustrated in the figures, the external textile parts 155 and internal 145 covering the foot at least in part are substantially secured together, in particular glued together, along their internal 155b and external 145a faces. In particular, said parts 145 and 155 are glued together via several partially thermofused and/or thermofused textile portions.

Figures 10 to 12 describe an example of a thermocompression manufacturing process according to the invention, cited without limitation, for obtaining the article of footwear 100.

There schematically represents the internal textile tubular element 140' before its thermocompression comprising an internal textile part covering the foot 145' and an internal textile part 142', the element 140' preferably being a knitted sock. Advantageously, the internal textile part covering the foot 145' may comprise hot-melt textile portions, or may not include hot-melt textile portions. Advantageously, the textile part of the insole 142' consists essentially of hot-melt yarn(s), in particular of single-component polyurethane monofilament yarns, for example of approximately 600 denier.

There schematically represents the external textile tubular element 150' before its thermocompression comprising an external textile part covering the foot 155' and an external textile part of the sole 152', the element 150' preferably being a knitted sock.

Advantageously, the textile part of the outer sole 152' consists essentially of hot-melt threads, possibly in association with a non-hot-melt synthetic thread of high tenacity. The external textile part covering the foot 155' comprises in this example one or more hot-melt thread(s), mixed with one or more non-hot-melt thread(s).

As can be seen in Figures 10 and 11, in this specific non-limiting example, the textile parts of the internal sole 142' and external 152' cover substantially the entire underside of the foot but also partially envelop the foot in order to form a rim for the sole structure once thermocompressed.

During the thermocompression step, the internal textile tubular element 140' is placed in the accommodating volume of the foot 151' of the external tubular element 150' then said elements 140' and 150' are arranged in a set of mold 160 comprising an upper mold part 164 and a lower mold part 166.

Preferably, the textile parts covering the inner 145' and outer 155' foot are arranged partly in the upper part of the mold 164 and the textile parts of the inner 142' and outer 152' sole are arranged in the lower part of the mold 166 Line B represents the joint plane between the upper and lower mold parts 162 and 164, forming the separation line after demolding between the upper 110 and the outsole 130. Advantageously, a sole assembly comprising materials ( recycled or not) hot melt at least in part or entirely, optionally comprising textile materials, is arranged between the internal and external sole parts 142', 152' and/or between the external face 152'a of the external sole part 152 ' and the lower mold part 166. Said sole assembly is therefore arranged in the lower mold part 166. Preferably, the mass of said sole assembly is greater than or equal to 100 g and less than or equal to 220 g, in particular of the order of 180g.

Advantageously, the upper and lower mold parts 162 and 164 each comprise an internal cavity, and once assembled form a molding volume, in particular corresponding substantially to the external shape of the article of footwear 100, receiving the internal and external tubular elements 140' and 150' nested, and possibly said hot-melt materials.

During the thermocompression step, the mold assembly is closed in a sealed manner, then the lower part of the mold 160 is heated, in particular to a temperature between 160°C and 180°C, the inflatable bladder (not shown ) is inflated, for example with an inflation pressure of the order of 4 bars to 6 bars, and thus presses the internal tubular textile elements 140', and external 150', as well as possibly the sole assembly, against the internal cavities (not shown) of the upper 164 and lower 166 parts of the mold. The heat applied to the lower part 166 of the mold makes it possible to obtain the fusion of the hot-melt textile portions and all or part of the hot-melt material(s) of the sole assembly, which molten material flows and fills the internal cavity of the lower part of mold 166.

For example, the duration of thermocompression is approximately 15-20 minutes.

Advantageously, the upper mold part 164 has a temperature much lower than the heating temperature of the lower mold part, in particular the upper mold part is not heated to a temperature between 160°C and 180°C since it is heated indirectly by the heat provided by the lower part of the mold. The heating temperature applied to the upper part of the mold 164 is therefore significantly lower than the heating temperature applied to the lower part of the mold 166.

The hot-melt textile portions placed in the upper part of the mold 164 are thus advantageously partially hot-melted, in particular the threads are glued together and/or the mesh structures are stiffened and/or glued together.

Managing the difference in heating between the lower mold part 166 and the upper mold part allows the internal main region 148 not to be stuck with the external main region 158. This arrangement makes it possible to offer varied functionalization possibilities of the article of footwear 100, for example to keep a textile part covering the internal foot 145 breathable and flexible, in whole or in part, with a textile part covering the external foot 155 more rigid than the part 145 thus making it possible to freeze the shape final of the rod 110 using a simplified manufacturing process, consuming little energy.

Claims (21)

Article of footwear (100), in particular a sports shoe (100), comprising an upper (110,52,145,62,155), and a sole structure (120) comprising at least one sole (130) characterized in that:
- the upper (110) and said at least one sole (130) are connected via at least one thermofused portion,
in that the article of footwear comprises:
- an internal textile tubular element (50,70,140) comprising an internal textile part covering at least part of the foot (52,145), said internal textile covering part (52,145) comprising an external face (53,73,145a), And
- an external textile tubular element (60,80,150) comprising an external textile part covering at least part of the foot (62,155), said external textile covering part (62,155) comprising an internal face (64,84,155b), said external textile tubular element (60,80,150) receiving in an interior volume (61,85,151) at least in part said internal textile tubular element (50,70,140),
- in that the external face (53,73,145a) of the internal textile covering part (52,145) comprises an external main region (148), and
the internal face (64,84,155b) of the external textile covering part (62,155) comprises an internal main region (158) comprising at least one at least partially thermofused textile portion, and
- in that the main internal (148) and external (158) regions are superimposed at least in part and are not glued together. Footwear (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the main external region (148) does not include a thermofused textile portion. Article of footwear (100) according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the internal textile tubular element (50,70,140) comprises a textile sole part (55,142) comprising one or more portion(s). ) thermofused textile(s), and in that the external textile tubular element (60,80,150) comprises a sole textile part (65,152) comprising one or more thermofused textile portion(s) . Footwear (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that at least 50% of the total mass of each of the textile sole parts (142,152) of the internal (50,70,140) and external (60,80,150) textile tubular elements consists essentially of thermofused textile portion(s). Footwear item (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least 50% of the total mass of the external textile tubular element (60,80,150) consists essentially of textile portion(s). (s) at least partially thermofused. Footwear (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least part of the upper (110,52,145,62,155), and at least part of said at least one sole (130) , are in a molded part, in particular in a thermocompressed part. Footwear (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least 20% of the external face surface (53,73,145a) of the internal textile covering part (52,145) is not not secured to the internal face (64,84,155b) of the external textile covering part (62,155). Footwear (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the internal textile covering part (52,145) and the external textile covering part (62,155) are joined together essentially at their edges respective lower peripherals (146,156), in particular via one or more thermofused textile portion(s). Footwear (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the footwear (100) comprises a volume for accommodating the foot (105), and in that the sole (130) is a outsole (130) whose internal face (130b) opens directly into the accommodation volume of the foot (105). Footwear (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said at least one sole (130) is an outsole (130) extending between an internal face (130b) and a face external (130a), in that said outsole (130) comprises one or more slot(s) (132,132i,132t,132l) opening out and open(es) on the external face (130a) of said sole. wear (130), each of said slot(s) having a bottom (133,133i), and in that the distance between a bottom (133,133i) and the internal face (130b) of the outsole (130 ) is less than or equal to 0.50 times the depth of the slot (132.132i,132t,132l) corresponding to said bottom (133.133i). Footwear (100) according to claim 10, characterized in that said slot has a depth (p) greater than or equal to 3 mm, in particular greater than or equal to 5 mm. Footwear (100) according to either of claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the outsole (130) comprises several slots (132,132i,132t,132l) arranged so as to delimit at least one protrusion (134) between at least two adjacent slots (132,132i,132t,132l), in particular said at least one protrusion comprises at least two free side walls (134a,134b,134c,134d). Footwear (100) according to claim 12, characterized in that said at least one protrusion (134) comprises a free external wall (134e), and in that the surface (cm²) of a free external wall (134e) d a protrusion (134) is less than or equal to 0.20 times the total surface area of the external face (130a) of the outsole (130). Footwear (100) according to claim 13, characterized in that the outsole comprises several protrusions (134), and in that the total sum of the surfaces of the free external walls (134e) of said protrusions (134) represents at least 50% of the total surface area of the external face (130a) of the outsole (130). Article of footwear (10) according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that the article of footwear (100) comprises a medial edge (104) and a lateral edge (102), in that the outsole (130) extends between said medial (104) and lateral (102) edges, and in that the outsole (130) comprises one or more transverse slots (132t) extending between and opening onto said lateral edge (102) and medial (104) of the article of footwear. Article of footwear (100) according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that the article of footwear (100) comprises a front edge (106) and a rear edge (108), in that the outsole (130) extends between said front (106) and rear (108) edges, and in that the outsole (130) comprises one or more slots (132l) extending at least in part between said front edge (106) and rear (108) of the article of footwear. Article of footwear (100) according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that the article of footwear (100) comprises a volume for accommodating the foot (105), and in that the sole structure (120) comprises a sole element arranged in the accommodating volume of the foot, in particular in a removable manner, and having an external face arranged opposite the internal face (130b) of the outsole (130), in particular the sole element is a midsole. Article of footwear (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that said at least one sole (130) comprises one or more thermofused recycled material(s), optionally one or more materials (x) thermofused recycled textile(s). Method of manufacturing an article of footwear (100), in particular according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that it comprises the steps:
(i) providing: an internal textile tubular element (140') comprising an internal textile part covering at least part of the foot (145'), said internal textile covering part (145') comprising an external face comprising a main region external ; an external textile tubular element (150') comprising an external textile part covering at least part of the foot (155'), said external textile covering part (155') comprising an internal face comprising an internal main region, said main region internal comprising at least one hot-melt textile portion; and a sole assembly (142',152'); And
(ii) arrange in an upper part of the mold (160,164): at least partly said internal and external textile parts covering at least partly the foot (145',155'); and arrange in a lower mold part (160,166): said sole assembly, the sole textile part (142') of the internal textile tubular element (140'), and the sole textile part (152') of the sole external textile tubular element (150), and optionally at least part of the external textile covering part (155') and at least part of the internal textile covering part (145'),
in that said external textile tubular element (150') receives in its interior volume at least partly said internal textile tubular element (140'); And
(iii) thermocompress the internal (140') and external (150') textile tubular elements, and the sole assembly, by heating the lower mold part (166) to a temperature higher than the temperature of the upper mold part (164),
(iv) demolding the footwear (100) comprising an upper (110,52,145,66,155) and a sole structure (120,130) comprising at least one sole (130), the upper (110,52,145,66,155) being connected with said at least one sole (130) via at least one thermofused portion,
and said at least one textile portion of said internal main region (158) is at least partially thermofused, and
the main external (148) and internal (158) regions are superimposed at least in part and are not glued together. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that the upper mold part (164) is heated essentially, in particular only, by the heat transmitted by the heated lower mold part (166). Method according to either of Claims 19 and 20, characterized in that the sole assembly comprises one or more sole element(s) which is/are one or more recycled hot melt element(s). (s), possibly one or more recycled hot-melt textile element(s).