US 12,207,698 B2
Method for manufacturing a footwear article
Carly Tatibouet, Villeneuve d'Ascq (FR); Anne-Claire Magnard, Villeneuve d'Ascq (FR); Jarvis Huang, Villeneuve d'Ascq (FR); and Terry Lee, Villeneuve d'Ascq (FR)
Appl. No. 17/627,144
Filed by DECATHLON, Villeneuve d'Ascq (FR)
PCT Filed Jul. 16, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/070233
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 14, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/009328, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 21, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 1908054 (FR), filed on Jul. 17, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0354218 A1, Nov. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. A43B 1/04 (2022.01); A43B 1/028 (2022.01); A43B 23/02 (2006.01)
CPC A43B 1/04 (2013.01) [A43B 1/028 (2022.01); A43B 23/0255 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for manufacturing a footwear article comprising:
providing a first knitted tubular part comprising at least one fusible portion, at least one sole part, at least one flattening opening of unitary knitted construction with the first knitted tubular part and extending at least in the sole part, and one or more functional components;
disposing, at least partly, the first knitted tubular part substantially flattened using the flattening opening, the first knitted tubular part being disposed flattened during functionalizing, on a support, such as to present an upper planar portion to be functionalized opposite to a lower planar portion comprising, at least in part, said at least one flattening opening, said upper planar portion being disposed in a plane in two dimensions;
functionalizing the first knitted tubular part, at least partly, substantially flattened, with one or more functional components to form a footwear assembly; and
then transforming the footwear assembly on a preform having a foot shape in an upper, wherein transforming the footwear assembly comprises thermoforming the footwear assembly to follow the foot shape of the preform.