IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,364,309
Granted Patent B2
US 12,364,309 · App. 18/298,850 · Granted Jul 22, 2025

Footwear and method of manufacturing the same

Inventors: Genki Hatano (Kobe, JP); Kenta Tateno (Kobe, JP); Waka Inoue (Kobe, JP); Shingo Takahashi (Kobe, JP); Masaki Oohara (Kobe, JP); Norihiko Taniguchi (Kobe, JP)
Assignee: ASICS CORPORATION
A43B9/16A43B1/0009A43B1/14A43B3/106A43B3/126A43B3/14B33Y80/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,364,309
App. No.
18/298,850
Granted
Jul 22, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A footwear includes: a foot bed portion that supports a sole of a foot of a wearer and has a ground contact surface; and a foot cover portion that covers an instep of the foot of the wearer. At least a part of the foot bed portion and at least a part of the foot cover portion are formed of a single additively manufactured product produced by a stereolithography-type three-dimensional additively manufacturing method, and a protruding portion is provided on an outer surface defined by the additively manufactured product of the foot cover portion.

Claims (24)

1. A footwear comprising:

a foot bed portion including a ground contact surface and a foot bed region configured to support a sole of a foot of a wearer, wherein in a plan view, the foot bed portion comprises a forefoot portion, a midfoot portion, and a rear foot portion along a front-rear direction corresponding to a foot length of the foot of the wearer; and

a foot cover portion configured to cover an instep of the foot of the wearer, wherein in the plan view, the foot cover portion includes a rear end over the midfoot portion of the foot bed portion, wherein

at least a part of the foot bed portion and at least a part of the foot cover portion are configured of a single additively manufactured product having been produced by a stereolithography-type three-dimensional additive manufacturing method,

a protruding portion is on an outer surface defined by the additively manufactured product of the foot cover portion, the protruding portion includes a first end and a second end, the first end resides over the forefoot portion, the second end resides at a position corresponding to a top of the instep of the foot of the wearer adjacent to the rear end of the foot cover portion, and

a thickness of the protruding portion is greater than surrounding portions of the foot cover portion over the foot bed region.

2. The footwear according to claim 1 , wherein

the foot bed portion has an upper surface including the foot bed region configured to support the sole of the foot of the wearer, and

assuming that a distance from a front end position to a rear end position in the foot bed region in the front-rear direction corresponding to a foot length direction of the foot of the wearer is defined as L, and that a range of the footwear is specified by dividing the footwear along an imaginary plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction, the protruding portion is at a position in a range between an imaginary plane set at a position distanced by 0.05×L in the front-rear direction from the front end position and an imaginary plane set at a position distanced by 0.50×L in the front-rear direction from the front end position.

3. The footwear according to claim 2 , wherein the protruding portion is at a position in a range between an imaginary plane set at a position distanced by 0.15×L in the front-rear direction from the front end position and an imaginary plane set at a position distanced by 0.30×L in the front-rear direction from the front end position.

4. The footwear according to claim 1 , wherein a protruding height of the protruding portion is from 3.0 mm to 10.0 mm.

5. The footwear according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding portion includes a ridge portion that linearly extends.

6. The footwear according to claim 5 , wherein the ridge portion extends to intersect a left-right direction corresponding to a foot width direction of the foot of the wearer.

7. The footwear according to claim 6 , wherein a groove portion extending in an extending direction of the ridge portion is on an inner surface of the foot cover portion in a portion where the ridge portion is formed.

8. The footwear according to claim 6 , wherein a front end of the ridge portion is located on a medial foot side with respect to a central portion in the left-right direction.

9. The footwear according to claim 8 , wherein the ridge portion extends so as to be gradually away from an end portion on the medial foot side of the foot cover portion from the front end toward a rear end of the ridge portion.

10. The footwear according to claim 8 , wherein a rear end of the ridge portion is located on a lateral foot side with respect to the central portion in the left-right direction.

11. The footwear according to claim 1 , wherein the additively manufactured product has a three-dimensional lattice structure.

12. The footwear according to claim 1 , wherein

the footwear is a sandal, and

a portion configuring the foot cover portion in the additively manufactured product has a strap connected to an end portion on a medial foot side of the foot bed portion and an end portion on a lateral foot side of the foot bed portion in the additively manufactured product.

13. The footwear according to claim 1 , wherein

the footwear is a shoe, and

a portion forming the foot cover portion in the additively manufactured product is configured of a part of a shoe upper portion connected to an entire circumference of a circumferential edge of the foot bed portion in the additively manufactured product, the circumferential edge being viewed in a direction orthogonal to the ground contact surface.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 11, 2023
From: HATANO, GENKI; TATENO, KENTA; INOUE, WAKA; TAKAHASHI, SHINGO; OOHARA, MASAKI; TANIGUCHI, NORIHIKO
To: ASICS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 063291/0777 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2022-070254 · Apr 21, 2022 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230337783A1 · Oct 26, 2023
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