Customized footwear, and systems and methods for designing and manufacturing same

1. An article of footwear comprising:

an upper; and

a sole comprising a midsole, the midsole comprising:

an upper surface positioned proximate the upper;

a lower surface positioned away from the upper and comprising at least one positioning element, the at least one positioning element adapted to engage at least one ground contact element; and

an intermediate portion extending between the upper surface and the lower surface and bounded by a side wall, wherein the intermediate portion comprises a continuous, three-dimensional open web structure, from a heel region to a forefoot region and from a lateral side to a medial side of the midsole, of elliptical elements forming faces of a plurality of spheroidal cells arranged to form a matrix of adjacent open cells of at least one of differing, varying, and non-uniform size and orientation from the heel region to the forefoot region, wherein:

(i) the upper surface comprises a central region and an outer perimeter, the outer perimeter comprising a band of solid material surrounding the central region and extending around an entire perimeter of the upper surface, the band of solid material adapted to provide a bonding surface for adhering the upper to the sole, and the central region comprising an open web surface formed by an exposed upper surface of the open web structure;

(ii) the side wall comprises at least a portion formed by the outer surface of the open web structure; and

(iii) the lower surface comprises at least a portion formed by the outer surface of the open web structure.

2. The footwear of claim 1 , wherein the midsole comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.

3. The footwear of claim 1 , wherein the band of solid material comprises a coloring agent.

4. The footwear of claim 1 , wherein the midsole is formed as a unitary construction using a selective laser sintering process.

5. The footwear of claim 1 , wherein the band of solid material comprises a substantially constant width.

6. The footwear of claim 5 , wherein the band of solid material comprises a width of between 10% to 20% of a width of at least a portion of the upper surface.

7. The footwear of claim 1 , wherein the open web structure comprises a first portion and a second portion, wherein at least one structural parameter of the open web structure differs between the first portion and the second portion.

8. The footwear of claim 7 , wherein the first portion comprises an edge region proximate the side wall and the second portion comprises at least a portion of a central region.

9. The footwear of claim 8 , wherein the at least one structural parameter comprises a thickness of the elliptical elements, and the thickness of the elliptical elements is greater in at least a portion of the edge region than in at least a portion of the central region.

10. The footwear of claim 7 , wherein the at least one structural parameter is selected from the group consisting of a thickness, a density, a length, and a cross-sectional shape of the elliptical elements, and wherein the at least one structural parameter relates to at least one of a size and a shape of the open cells.

11. The footwear of claim 10 , wherein a value of the at least one structural parameter is controlled by at least one of a power and a tracking speed of a laser utilized by a selective laser sintering process to form the open web structure.

12. The footwear of claim 7 , wherein the at least one structural parameter relates to at least one structural characteristic of the midsole selected from the group consisting of a cushioning characteristic, a flexibility characteristic, and a support characteristic.

13. The footwear of claim 7 , wherein properties of the at least one structural parameter within each of the first portion and second portion are determined from at least one performance metric of a foot of one or more users.

14. The footwear of claim 13 , wherein the performance metric is determined based at least in part on at least one input parameter, the at least one input parameter comprising at least one of a pressure, a friction, a force, a position, a velocity, an acceleration, a rotational velocity, a rotational acceleration, a change in shape of at least a portion of a foot, a mass distribution, an energy distribution, a stress, a strain, and a time over which an event occurs.

15. The footwear of claim 14 , wherein the least one input parameter comprises at least one of pressure distribution measurements over at least a portion of a sole of the foot of a user and force distribution measurements between at least a portion of the sole of the foot and a ground surface during at least a portion of a ground contact phase of an athletic motion.

16. The footwear of claim 1 , wherein the open web structure of interconnected elliptical elements forms a reticulated foam-like structure.

17. The footwear of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of positioning elements, with a ground contact element secured within each corresponding positioning element, the ground contact element comprising a rubber outsole element.

18. The footwear of claim 17 , wherein each positioning element forms indents for receiving the corresponding ground contact element.

19. A midsole for an article of footwear, the midsole manufactured as a unitary construction using a single selective laser sintering process, the midsole consisting essentially of:

an upper surface positioned proximate an upper;

a lower surface positioned away from the upper and comprising a plurality of positioning elements, each of the positioning elements adapted to engage at least one ground contact element; and

an intermediate portion extending between the upper surface and the lower surface and bounded by a side wall, wherein the intermediate portion comprises a continuous, three-dimensional open web structure, from a heel region to a forefoot region and from a lateral side to a medial side of the midsole, of elliptical elements forming faces of a plurality of spheroidal cells arranged to form a matrix of adjacent open cells, the continuous, three-dimensional open web structure comprising a first portion and a second portion with at least one structural parameter of the open web structure at least one of differing, varying, and non-uniform size and orientation between the first portion and the second portion, wherein:

(i) the upper surface comprises a central region and an outer perimeter, the outer perimeter comprising a band of solid material surrounding the central region and extending around an entire perimeter of the upper surface, the band of solid material adapted to provide a bonding surface for adhering the upper to the midsole, and the central region comprising an open web surface formed by an exposed upper surface of the open web structure;

(ii) the side wall comprises at least a portion formed by the outer surface of the open web structure; and

(iii) the lower surface comprises at least a portion formed by the outer surface of the open web structure.

20. A midsole for an article of footwear, the midsole manufactured as a unitary construction using a single selective laser sintering process, the midsole consisting essentially of:

an upper surface positioned proximate an upper;

a lower surface positioned away from the upper and comprising a plurality of positioning elements, each of the positioning elements adapted to engage at least one ground contact element; and

an intermediate portion extending between the upper surface and the lower surface and bounded by a side wall, wherein the intermediate portion comprises a continuous, three-dimensional open web structure, from a heel region to a forefoot region and from a lateral side to a medial side of the midsole, of elliptical elements forming faces of a plurality of spheroidal cells arranged to form a matrix of adjacent open cells, the continuous, three-dimensional open web structure comprising a first portion and a second portion with at least one structural parameter of the open web structure at least one of differing, varying, and non-uniform size and orientation between the first portion and the second portion, wherein:

(i) the upper surface comprises a central region and an outer perimeter, the outer perimeter comprising a closed band of solid material surrounding the central region and extending around an entire perimeter of the upper surface, the closed band of solid material adapted to provide a bonding surface for adhering the upper to the midsole, and the central region comprising an open web surface formed by an exposed upper surface of the open web structure;

(ii) the side wall comprises at least a portion formed by the outer surface of the open web structure; and

(iii) the lower surface comprises at least a portion formed by the outer surface of the open web structure.

21. The footwear of claim 1 , wherein the adjacent open cells of the plurality of spheroidal cells share common elliptical elements.

22. The midsole of claim 19 , wherein the adjacent open cells of the plurality of spheroidal cells share common elliptical elements.

23. The midsole of claim 20 , wherein the adjacent open cells of the plurality of spheroidal cells share common elliptical elements.