Methods for manufacturing cushioning elements for sports apparel
Assigneeadidas AG
InventorsAngus Wardlaw, Gerd Rainer Manz, Tru Huu Minh Le, Warren Freeman
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Abstract
Methods for manufacturing cushioning elements for sports apparel are described. A method is provided for manufacturing a cushioning element for sports apparel from randomly arranged particles of an expanded material. The method includes positioning a functional element within a mold and loading the mold with the particles of the expanded material, wherein the loading occurs through at least two openings within the mold and/or wherein the loading occurs between different movable parts of the mold.
Claims20
A method for manufacturing a cushioning element for sports apparel, the method comprising:
- a) loading a mold with particles of expanded material;
- and
- b) chemically bonding the surfaces of the particles together to form a cushioning element.
A method for manufacturing a cushioning element for sports apparel, the method comprising:
- a) positioning a functional element in the mold;
- b) loading a mold with particles of a first expanded material;
- and
- c) molding the functional element and the particles together to form a cushioning element;
- wherein the functional element comprises a container comprising randomly arranged particles of a second expanded material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.