MULTIFUNCTIONAL, HETEROGENEOUS, SECTORED TECHNICAL FABRIC, DIRECTLY USABLE FOR MANUFACTURING VARIOUS FINISHED ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS

The present invention relates to the field of textiles for technical use, or technical fabrics, i.e. textile or woven materials for which the choice of the textile materials and/or of the weaving mode is principally made according to or guided by certain technical or practical functions, properties or characteristics of the fabric obtained.

More particularly, the invention relates to technical fabrics comprising technical threads, of simple or complex construction, themselves having one or more technical features chosen for a specific application or applications of the technical fabric obtained by weaving of the latter.

As is well known to the person skilled in the trade, conventionally, any technical fabric does however remain a fabric, i.e. an assembly, intertwining or interlacing of threads, which are for example rectilinear, i.e. warp and weft, essentially in a single plane, in at least two dimensions or directions, i.e. warp and weft; the present invention not having the intention of excluding technical fibres, called 3D fibres, i.e. which have a certain thickness. Such a technical fabric can moreover conventionally be defined, in addition to its intrinsic characteristics, by the nature of the threads composing it, the construction, structure, or elementary weaving pattern, able to have a schematic or graphic representation or definition, which is repeated periodically in the direction of the warp and/or the direction of the weft. It is this elementary pattern conventionally defined by the weave (including the type, repeat, or pace), possibly the step number, the density of the warp and weft threads, or thread count, and/or any other relevant weaving parameters, such as the transparency, which enables the person skilled in the trade to choose the loom required for the weaving and to prepare it so as to be able to obtain, in a single weaving operation, any part of the technical fabric the width of which will correspond, give or take the selvedges, to that of the passage of the weft threads.

Consequently, conventionally, any part of a technical fabric or any technical fabric presents an ordered monolithic, and therefore homogenous, structure or construction, from one end of the warp to the other, and/or from one selvedge to the other in the direction of the weft, as it repeats the same pattern or the same elementary weaving construction.

Assuming it to be “technical” in the sense defined above, this is exactly what the document WO 2013/103 363 describes and shows, in particular with reference to its FIG. 5. This document describes various fabrics, of mesh type, i.e. presenting a large transparency but remaining conventional or traditional in their construction or structure in that they repeat the same weaving pattern in the direction of the warp and/or of the weft. Thus, considering paragraph 0086 of the description of WO 2013/103 363, in combination with FIGS. 1 and 5, this document describes a fabric of mesh type assembling high tensile strength warp threads (made from Nylon® for example) with non-high tensile strength weft threads (made from polyester for example), and repeating the same elementary weaving pattern, i.e. a pattern of plaid type.

The present invention is now presented and explained in the context of manufacture or production of various worked or manufactured articles or products, such as certain articles of footwear, for example footwear suitable for the pursuit of a sport, in particular a racket sport. But this context chosen to illustrate the various and varied possibilities and applications of the present invention should naturally not be construed to limit the interpretation and scope of the claims set out hereunder.

Today, as shown by WO 2013/103 363, different worked or manufactured articles or products, such as footwear suitable for the pursuit of a the sport, for example a racket sport, comprise one or more parts, items or components made from flexible material(s) and of small thickness, such as the shoe upper. These parts or items are functional in that, respectively in different areas of the upper and/or of the shoe, they have to provide one or more respectively different technical or practical performances, such as an abrasion resistance, breathability, support, flexibility, etc., and possibly an aesthetic aspect.

In general, for any one part, such as the upper of sports footwear, the technical performances expected or obtained differ from one area to another and/or, for the same technical performance, have respectively different values depending on the areas concerned.

As is not indicated by WO 2013/103 636, taking the example of racket sport footwear and considering the left or right foot, the upper has to perform support of the foot, more or less on the left and right sides, and in the centre, and remain flexible at the front of the foot and in the centre along the axis of the shoe.

To conciliate these differentiated technical/practical requirements depending on the areas of a specific part involved, for example a sports shoe upper, the only solution used at the present time essentially consists in assembling, i.e. joining and/or superposing different pieces, for example by stitching or sticking, previously cut out from respectively different materials, for example flexible fabric and strong fabric; each of these pieces performing, in the area where it is arranged on the part obtained by assembly, approximately a single function, for example support of the foot on both sides in the case of a racket sport shoe.

From the industrial manufacturing standpoint, in order to conciliate these differentiated technical/practical requirements according to the areas of the part involved, it is therefore compulsory to perform or obtain an assembly of a multiplicity of more or less mono-functional pieces, previously obtained, for example cut out, from flexible materials of small thickness which are very different from one another, for example leather, fabric, or plastic material in sheet form.

This technical and industrial approach admittedly enables a part to be obtained, for example a footwear upper, with differentiated properties or characteristics according to the areas of the latter which are considered, but obviously at the cost of a complexity both of design and of manufacture/production.

Indeed, in addition to the fact that different materials are implemented for the above-mentioned purposes, assembly can only be performed in practice by manual operations such as stitching or sticking, and hardly lends itself to automation for mass-produced articles, such as sport shoes. Furthermore, such an assembly, however well it is performed, generates lines of weakness or of lesser strength, precisely along the joining lines between the assembled pieces.

This is what the document WO 2013/103 363 shows, for example by reference to the execution mode according to FIGS. 20A to 20C. When particular properties have to be provided in certain areas of the shoe, for example to enhance the liaison of the shoe with the foot, the fabric forming the upper is lined inside and therefore assembled with different strips and/or an intermediate layer.

Consequently, when different properties or characteristics have to be provided in the finished flexible part, such as a shoe upper, depending on the areas of said part involved, the state of the art, and also the document WO 2013/103 363 (which essentially describes a shoe intended for decorative or fashion purposes) only disclose assembly solutions, on the surface and/or in-depth, with different parts or components of the fabric constituting the part, added-on at the appropriate locations of the latter.

Consequently, according to the state of the art, of which WO 2013/103 363 forms a part, different functions or properties are not able to be differentiated and assigned in any one finished flexible part, made from fabric, excepting any appropriate and localised assembly of parts added onto the fabric.

The purpose of the present invention is to remedy the shortcomings identified in the foregoing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technical fabric, considered as a semi-product, or more exactly a pre-product, or direct precursor of a textile part, itself essential for manufacturing, obtaining, or producing an article, or a finished product, for example a sports footwear upper.

An object of the present invention is to provide such a technical fabric, defined on a case by case basis, from the above-mentioned textile part, analysed and considered in situ, i.e. in the finished product in which it is integrated or of which it forms a part, once said product has been manufactured.

An object of the present invention is to provide such a technical fabric defined from its technical or practical properties or characteristics, differentiated according to the areas of the textile part involved, according to the use, usage, or properties required for the article to which the textile part belongs after manufacturing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technical fabric designed and obtained from the functions and properties differentiated by design or according to the use of the textile part and/or of the finished part in which the textile part is integrated.

It is a further object of the present invention to obtain a multifunctional flexible part, for example a footwear upper, breaking away from the present-day design and industrial practice, including that described by WO 2013/103 363.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a multifunctional flexible part of the technical textile type, of small thickness, able to be worked three-dimensionally, or formable, so as to obtain a finished article or product either directly or indirectly, in particular with other components.

More precisely, the object of the invention is to achieve a single multifunctional part, or mono-part, as opposed, for the same purposes or for the same objective, to multiple parts, all and each of which are monofunctional, assembled to one another.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a monolithic or monoblock flexible part made from technical fabric, having a single thickness or a variable thickness, but which is multifunctional, in the sense where different individualised areas of said part present technical or practical properties/characteristics respectively different from one discrete area to another.

What is meant by “monolithic” or “monoblock” is that the technical fabric according to the invention constitutes a single woven part as obtained in a single weaving operation.

In general manner, the present invention is characterized in that:

- (a) depending on the use or the destination of the finished article or product, in the composition of which the multifunctional flexible part is integrated, and in particular the stresses to which said article is subjected, a multiplicity of functional areas to which functions, properties/characteristics respectively different from one area to the other are assigned are defined and marked on a template of the flat flexible part;
  - This step constitutes the “mapping” step according to the invention in the sense where, in a suitable coordinates system, in general orthogonal (weft perpendicular to the warp), considering the weaving which will be subsequently involved, it enables areas of the finished article or product to be differentiated in the latter, but on the multifunctional flexible part, according to the required local functions, properties, or characteristics. These areas will then be delineated, in shape and size, and localised in the selected coordinates system, itself in general marked or “adjusted” according to the finished article or product.
  - To take the example of a footwear article, the chosen orthogonal coordinates system will be adjusted to that of the left or right shoe, and in particular its axis of asymmetry, which will preferentially correspond to the axis of the weft of the technical fabric in question in the following.
  - In this orthogonal coordinates system, different areas will be differentiated according to the functions, properties or characteristics which are locally of importance for use of the shoe, for example:
    - abrasion resistance at the front of the foot,
    - support of the foot, in the middle, on the left and on the right of the shoe,
    - breathability in the middle of the foot,
    - flexibility, deformability at other places,
    - etc.
  - These areas mapped in this way then serve the purpose of constructing the technical fabric according to step (b).
- (b) A monolithic or monoblock technical fabric is constructed, but which is heterogeneous, as it is multisector, i.e. comprising a multiplicity of discrete textile sectors, i.e. of individualised items of fabrics, and therefore of respectively different elementary constructions by at least one of the following parameters:
  - the weave (comprising for example the type, and for repeat, and/or pace, and/or step number, etc.), and/or the density of the assembled warp threads and/or weft threads, or thread count,
  - the nature, in particular chemical, and/or the intrinsic construction of the threads, and/or their respective sizes,
  - the processing of the threads before and/or after their assembly,
    - the textile sectors being defined, or this or these parameters being chosen in relation with said sectors so that on the one hand these sectors correspond to the areas defined on the template in step (a), which can be contained in the different textile sectors respectively, and on the other hand the properties/characteristics of the different sectors are those identified or chosen for the different areas defined in step (a) respectively;
- (c) in conformity with the construction chosen according to (b), a suitable weaving loom is selected and prepared. With the latter, the constructed fabric is woven according to step (b) to obtain directly, i.e. in a single weaving operation, as a semi-finished product, a single multisector fabric part;
- (d) cutting means of the multisector fabric are available arranged to flat cut the multifunctional flexible part in the fabric; these cutting means are identifiable with respect to the drawing of the textile sectors on the width of the multisector fabric so that the areas defined in step (a) are individually and respectively contained in the different textile sectors defined in step (b);
- (e) with the cutting means positioned and identified with respect to the multisector technical fabric part, the monoblock or monolithic but multifunctional flexible part is cut and obtained directly.

The present invention described in the foregoing in general manner achieves a new technical fabric, i.e. obtained directly in one and the same weaving operation. This fabric is characterized in that it has in general manner a monolithic or monoblock construction or structure, as opposed to a patched or stacked structure, i.e. obtained by assembly, for example stitching, of different or identical pieces. Nevertheless, according to the invention, this monolithic structure is heterogeneous as far as its constitution is concerned, i.e. it comprises a multiplicity of textile sectors, i.e. woven, discrete, i.e. of individualised items of fabrics, the ordered construction of which differs from one textile sector to another according to the direction of the warp and/or that of the weft. Furthermore, according to the present invention, these textile or discrete woven sectors differ from one another, for example two by two, adjacent or separated from one another, by at least one of the following parameters:

- the weave (including for example the type, and/or repeat, and/or pace, and/or step number, etc.), and/or the density, or thread count, of the assembled, intertwined, or interlaced warp threads and/or weft threads;
- the nature, in particular physical, of said threads, and/or their intrinsic construction;
- the processing of said threads before and/or after their assembly.

So that the technical or practical properties, functions, or characteristics of the different textile sectors are respectively different, for example considered two by two, in adjacent manner or separated from one another, in particular in the direction of the warp and/or that of the weft.

Considered on the scale or at the level of a single textile sector, these same technical or practical properties, functions, or characteristics can be identical, similar, homogeneous, or interdependent from one point to another of the textile sector considered.

A technical fabric according to the present invention is essentially formed by straight threads and/or mixed line threads, in so far as it is the woven structure that essentially gives it its consistence, in particular its quasi-indeformability, which does not exclude that:

- this same fabric can comprise knitted parts, of limited extension, added onto or integrated in the structure of the fabric;
- certain textile sectors can be overwoven, or assembled, in particular lined with other textile parts, or others, added-on during the weaving operation or subsequently to the latter, for example for aesthetic purposes.

Each textile sector, i.e. each individualised fabric item, has any appropriate shape and dimensions suitable for circumscribing the shape and dimensions of the area of the multifunctional flexible part which has to be contained in and be cut in said sector of the technical fabric. This shape is in general quadrangular, square or rectangular when a weaving loom other than a Jacquard is implemented to weave a fabric part according to the invention.

A part or a technical fabric according to the invention can be constructed so that one or more identical or different templates are repeated on the fabric along the axis or in the direction of the warp and/or along the axis or in the direction of the weft, each template being constituted or constructed according to the invention, i.e. being on its own a technical fabric of monolithic or monoblock but heterogeneous, structure, as it comprises a multiplicity of discrete textile sectors the ordered weaved construction of which differs from one textile sector to another.

A technical fabric according to the invention can comprise one or more textile sectors having a three-dimensional, i.e. 3D, structure/construction or presenting a certain thickness, whereas the others are two-dimensional or two-directional, or 2D, all these sectors remaining obtained by a single weaving operation.

A technical fabric according to the invention can be obtained with any suitable weaving loom comprising a number of frames adapted to the complexity, including the number of different textile sectors, of said fabric, for example a rapier weaving loom comprising 16 frames or blades.

When a Jacquard loom is implemented, individual control of the warp threads enables one or more textile sectors of a shape other than rectangular to be obtained with a total freedom as to the shape of the woven textile sectors according to the present invention.

A technical fabric according to the present invention therefore makes it possible to group, and above all to zone or localise, on a single flexible part, such as a shoe upper, all the properties/characteristics required or designed with respect to the finished article product in which said part is integrated.

A technical fabric according to the invention therefore not only enables weight to be saved, but also enables the manpower required for the purposes of manufacturing the finished product to be limited to the strict minimum, or even enables automated production of the latter to be considered.

Due to its intrinsic features set out in the foregoing and exemplified hereafter, a technical fabric according to the present invention has a multitude of applications, among which:

- obtaining footwear articles, in particular sport shoes,
- luggage,
- gloves,
- individual protection equipment,
- medical devices such as parietal prostheses.

The present invention concerns any use or employment of a template, and more generally of a technical fabric as defined in the foregoing, to obtain directly by flat cutting in the fabric at least one flexible construction part that is monolithic or monoblock, but heterogeneous, as it comprises a multiplicity of discrete textile areas having respectively different functions, properties/characteristics from one area to another; each discrete textile area being by definition and individualised fabric part, the ordered construction of which differs from one textile area to another, in the direction of the warp and/or of the weft, but at least one of the following parameters:

- the weave and/or the density of the assembled warp threads and/or of the weft threads;
- the nature, in particular chemical, of said threads, and/or their intrinsic construction;
- processing of said threads before and/or after their assembly.

For this purpose, if cutting means are available, for example by laser or punch, the latter can be positioned and referenced solely with respect to the design or arrangement of the textile sectors on the technical fabric so that the functional areas are individually and respectively contained in the different textile sectors of the fabric.

The present invention relates to a monolithic or monoblock, but heterogeneous, flexible part able to be obtained by the use or implementation of a template, relates more generally to an identical technical fabric to the one defined in the foregoing, and relates in particular to a flexible part comprising a multiplicity of discrete textile areas, also as defined in the foregoing.

The present invention further relates to a manufacturing method of a finished article or product, comprising a flexible part made from multisectored technical fabric according to the invention, defined and described in the foregoing. By means of the invention, it is this flexible part which directly gives technical or practical properties/characteristics differing from one discrete area or part to another of said article, comprising said flexible part.

To manufacture one such article, it is possible to:

- start from or procure a flexible part as defined in the foregoing;
- shape said flexible part;
- and, if applicable, assemble said shaped flexible part with one or more other components of the same article to obtain a finished article or product.

Due to the present invention, it is not necessary to locate, orient or control the orientation of the flexible part with respect to the other components or parts with which it is assembled or constructed to obtain the finished product or article.

Such a finished article is for example a footwear article, in particular a sport shoe, for example a shoe for the pursuit of a racket sport; and, in this case, the flexible part defined or described above directly constitutes the essential part of the footwear article upper.

The present invention therefore relates to a footwear article, in particular a sport shoe, for example a shoe for the pursuit of a racket sport, the upper of which is formed by or comprises a technical fabric, of monolithic or monoblock, but heterogeneous, construction or structure, as it comprises a multiplicity of discrete textile sectors each constituting an individualised fabric part the ordered construction which differs from one textile sector to another, in the direction of the warp and/or that of the weft, by at least one of the following parameters:

- the weave (including for example the type, and/or the repeat, and/or the step number, and/or the pace, etc.), and/or the density of the assembled warp threads and/or weft threads,
- the nature, in particular chemical, of said threads, and/or their intrinsic construction,
- the processing of said threads before and/or after manufacturing of the footwear article,
  
  so that the technical or practical properties or characteristics of the upper differ from one discrete area to another of the latter.

A footwear article produced according to the present invention enables good dynamic performances, or others, of the shoe to be conciliated with a weight which remains light, while at the same time ensuring effective support of the foot.

When the terms “multi” or “several” are used in the present description in relation with the areas of the flexible part of the manufactured article, or the sectors of the technical fabric according to the invention, an integer at least equal to two, and in particular at least equal to three, has to be considered.

The term “article” or “product” refers to an object, for example a manufactured object, ready-to-use or for a given use, such as a footwear article, for example a sport shoe.

The term “fabric” refers to a half-product, semi-product, or pre-product, which itself has to be worked or fashioned to obtain a component such as a flexible part, or directly a finished article or product.

What is meant by “thread” is, as understood in the textile industry, any single-dimensional strand having a length larger than its width and/or thickness, comprising filaments, spun threads, fibers, continuous or discontinuous threads, cables, or others, constituted by various materials, in general technical materials, i.e. presenting functional or improved properties/characteristics.

For example, warp threads and/or weft threads of the technical fabric according to the invention, in particular of all or part of the textile sectors, each comprise at least one mechanically strong material, for example a high tenacity polyamide (PA HT), and/or a para-aramid, and/or an abrasion-resistant material, for example a polyamide, and may be coated for example with a polyurethane which may if applicable be charged with ceramic.

Preferentially, the threads of the fabric, warp threads and/or weft threads, according to the invention have essentially the same size, expressed for example in DTex.

According to the present invention, the warp threads and/or weft threads individually have a simple construction, for example a mono-filament, or a complex construction, for example by assembly by portion of several elementary threads, or by reaming of one or more threads around a strand core.

The term “flexible part” refers to any part as obtained by cutting, by any suitable means (for example by punching, or laser cutting), marked or referenced with respect to the drawing, generated or constituted by arrangement of different textile sectors, present on the technical fabric according to the invention. This flexible part comprises a multiplicity of textile areas resulting directly from the registered cutting of the multisector fabric, these areas having respectively different functions, properties or characteristics which are exactly those of the different sectors of the technical fabric in which the cuttings of the different areas are respectively contained. This flexible part therefore ultimately has the same construction, and therefore the same consistence, as those of the technical fabric used for cutting, and can be shaped directly, without any other particular measurement, to achieve the required finished article or product.

Even if their functions, properties, and characteristics are substantially the same, for the sake of clarity of the following explanations, the term “sector” will be reserved for the technical fabric, and the term “area” for the multifunctional flexible part, or for the flexible part of the article or product obtained with said part. According to the present invention, an area can result from the cut contained in a corresponding sector of the technical fabric.

According to a preferred, but non-restrictive, embodiment of execution of the invention, the fabric insert is constructed in such a way that one or more identical or different rectangular templates, themselves multisector as defined in the foregoing, are repeated on the fabric in the direction of the warp and/or the direction of the weft.

Each template is designed to be cut to directly obtain at least one multifunctional flexible part according to the invention.

In the case of a footwear article, for example a sport shoe, this industrial modality makes it possible to obtain by cutting in a single technical fabric part, the two uppers (left and right feet) not only of one pair of shoes, but also of pairs of difference sizes.

In certain cases, in particular to give a certain rigidity in certain areas of the flexible part, or of the finished article or product, for example at the level of the backstrap of a shoe, after weaving, at least one sector of the fabric or at least one area of the flexible part comprises thermofusible warp threads and/or weft threads so as to be suitable for subsequent heat treatment to link and fix the threads to one another, for example to form and/or rigidify the flexible part.

The present invention relates to a technical fabric able to be obtained by chaining of the steps according to the invention defined in the foregoing, i.e. (a) (mapping), (b) (construction of the technical fabric), and (c) weaving of the fabric in a single weaving operation.

A technical fabric according to the invention, considered as a semi-product, half-product, or pre-product, presents the aspect of a “patchwork” (but without stitching or other links) or “mosaic” of sectors, for example of rectangular shape, respectively differing according to at least one of the following parameters:

- the weave (including for example the type, and/or the repeat, step number, pace, etc.), and/or the density of the threads,
- the nature, in particular chemical, and/or the construction of the threads,
- the processing of the threads before and/or after their assembly.

These multiple textile or woven sectors respectively different in the direction of the weft and/or the direction of the warp consequently present respectively different functions, properties, or characteristics from one sector to another. These respectively different properties/characteristics are the direct consequence of ordered woven constructions which respectively differ according to the sectors of the fabric. They will then be directly those of the different areas respectively of the flexible part obtained directly by registered cutting of the technical fabric according to the invention, for example in the template provided for this purpose on the latter, as indicated in the foregoing.

Considering a technical fabric as defined in the foregoing, the invention enables the latter to be functionalised at will, or on a case by case basis, according to the warp and/or weft, in correspondence with the mapping selected or designed for the finished article or product obtained with a technical fabric according to the invention. The registered cut will exactly reproduce the mapping thus selected.

Furthermore, the invention totally circumvents a possible symmetry of the finished article product in which the flexible part is integrated, such as a pair of shoes, for which, for any one shoe, the left side differs from the right side and the right shoe differs from the left shoe. In such a case, according to the invention, a single fabric part can be constructed comprising two templates side by side or one above the other, one for the left foot and the other for the right foot, differing from one another by the asymmetric construction of these same textile sectors, or “mirror” textile sectors, i.e. which correspond by 180° rotation around an axis in the lap or the plane of the fabric.

Such a result cannot be obtained by the method according to WO 2013/103 363, according to which, whether the left foot or the right foot is involved, the flexible part or upper obtained, in this instance the fabric of the upper, has exactly the same construction in the warp and/or weft of the fabric.

According to the invention, the symmetry of a flexible part no longer opposes differentiated zoning of the latter in a single-layer technical fabric, in the same way as two flexible parts identical as far as their zoning is concerned but not able to be superposed, can be obtained from one and the same part or width of single-layer technical fabric.

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a finished article or product, integrating, comprising, or constituted by a multifunctional flexible part, which either completely or partially gives said finished article or product the technical and practical functions, properties/characteristics which are its own, i.e. different properties/characteristics from one discrete area to another of said part.

According to this method:

- the starting point is a monoblock or monolithic, multifunctional flexible part, as defined previously;
- said flexible part is shaped or formed;
- if applicable, the shaped flexible part is assembled with one or more other components of said article,
  
  to obtain a finished article or product.

Consequently, the invention relates to any article or product obtained or able to be obtained by a method as defined in the foregoing. Such an article can comprise one or more flexible parts according to the present invention, i.e. each being monoblock or monolithic, but heterogeneous, as they are multifunctional, or comprising a multiplicity of respectively different textile sectors.

To serve as an example of such an article, a footwear article will be considered in the following, and more particularly a sport shoe, for example a shoe for the pursuit of a racket sport. In such a case, the upper is directly a multifunctional flexible part obtained as defined in the foregoing.

The present invention is now described according to two exemplary embodiments for obtaining the upper (multifunctional flexible part), and then a shoe for racket sports, in this case tennis, with reference to the following figures, i.e.:

FIG. 1, which represents, in a flat view, the asymmetric upper 1 of a tennis shoe, the left foot, showing lacing holes 2 on each side of an axial gullet 30 (cf. axis of asymmetry 20), for a lace to pass through;

FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively represent a first and second mappings, or templates 41 and 42, respectively of the same upper represented in FIG. 1;

making abstraction of the cutting line 50 and of the hatched cut part 51, FIGS. 4 and 5 present two templates 61 and 62 drawn or plotted in respectively different technical fabrics according to the invention, in a warp(6)/weft(5) system of the fabric to which they belong, constructed according to the mappings or templates 41 and 42 of FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively;

FIG. 6 schematically represents, in a flat view, a technical fabric part 3 comprising templates 4 repeated in the direction of the weft 5, and also in the direction of the warp 6, each template having for example a textile construction according to FIG. 4 explained with reference to Example 1, or according to FIG. 5 explained with reference to Example 2;

FIG. 7 schematically represents, in cross-section, a footwear article 7, for example a sport shoe, more particularly a tennis shoe, comprising or integrating a previously formed multifunctional flexible part 1 constituting the upper of the shoe, then assembled by sticking or thermo-adhesion with a sole 8.

According to FIG. 1, the upper 1 of a sport shoe is represented in a flat view, the shoe in this instance being a tennis shoe, for example represented schematically in cross-section in FIG. 7, from which the present invention will now be explained in detail.

Conventionally, this upper is a flexible part, formed by assembly in adjacent and/or superposed manner, by sticking and/or stitching, of different pieces made from different flexible materials of small thickness, for example leather, fabric, or plastic material in sheet form, etc. A detailed explanation will not be given here of this assembly, which is represented in FIG. 1 in simplified manner by different drawings inside the line 71 delineating the upper of the shoe represented in flat manner.

With reference to the axis of asymmetry 20, for example considering the direction from the front to the back of the shoe, and/or the inside/outside direction of the shoe, from left to right according to FIG. 1, it is obviously possible to locate or position, on a template 41 or 42, different areas of the upper moreover defined as far as shape and dimensions are concerned, in this instance rectangular, to which different functions are assigned dependent on or related to the use or the performances of the shoe, or for which the shoe manufacturer/designer requires different technical or practical properties or characteristics differentiated according to the areas involved.

What is meant by “axis of asymmetry”, when a shoe is involved, is the intersection of the horizontal plane with the sagittal plane of a foot, on each side of which, as shown by FIG. 1, the two halves of the shoe receiving said foot are respectively different, at least as far as their respective shapes are concerned.

Among these properties, the following can be cited for example purposes:

- the abrasion resistance which, in certain areas, has to be high due to the possible friction of the upper of the shoe with the ground,
- support of the foot at certain places of the upper, which requires the flexible material of the upper to have a certain tenacity or a small elongation under tension,
- a certain permeability, or transparency, enabling the foot to “breathe”, or breathability,
- at certain places, a deformability of the flexible part or upper, for the comfort of the foot,
- and furthermore at other places, the technical possibility of being thermoformed, for example at the location of the counter of the upper and therefore of the shoe.

The person skilled in the trade i.e. the sport shoe designer/manufacturer, is therefore led to differentiate the properties of the upper 1 according to the functional areas of the latter, depending on or in correspondence with the use of the shoe, and in particular the required performances. This differentiated approach of the tennis shoe for example will lead this designer/manufacturer, for the same shoe upper, to different “zonings”, in terms of properties and characteristics, depending on the models proposed or made available to the user.

According to FIGS. 2 and 3, from the template of the upper represented in FIG. 1, and marked as previously indicated, i.e. from the axis of asymmetry 20, from the front to the back of the shoe, taking account of the stresses to which the latter is subjected, two respectively different zonings can be established or chosen according to the templates 41 and 42 of FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively.

In a first example according to FIG. 2, the following can be seen, in a coordinates system formed by four lines parallel to the axis of asymmetry 20, i.e. the two straight edges of the template, i.e. 23 on the left and 24 on the right, and two intermediate lines 21 and 22, on the right side of the template, and from left to right:

- two first adjacent areas A1 (between the lines 23 and 21) and A2 (between the lines 21 and 22), respectively on the two sides of the line 21, together forming a weft strip A, which will each have to resist abrasion;
- two second adjacent areas B1 (between the lines 23 and 21) and B1 (between the lines 21 and 22), respectively on the two sides of the line 21, together forming a weft strip B, which will both have to be flexible, permeable and breathing, while at the same time performing support of the foot;
- a third rectangular area C1 (between the lines 23 and 21) which will have to contribute to support of the foot, a fourth rectangular area C2 (between the lines 21 and 22) which will particularly have to resist abrasion, and again a third area C1 will have to contribute to support of the foot; the areas C1/C2/C1 together forming a weft strip C;
- a fifth area D1 (between the lines 23 and 21), another fifth area D2 (between the lines 21 and 22), and again a fifth area D1, which will each have to perform support of the foot and facilitate breathing of the latter; the areas D1, D2 and D3 together forming a weft strip D;
- a sixth area E1 (between the lines 23 and 21), another sixth area E2 (between the lines 21 and 22), and again a sixth area E1, which will each have to perform support of the foot, while enabling thermoforming of the upper; the areas E1,E2,E1 together forming a weft strip E.

In the zoning defined above, by convention, the areas for which identical or similar properties are required are designated by the same reference letter and the same numeral; for example, C1 refers to an area, called third area, which, on each side of an area C2, will have to contribute to support of the foot. And the upper-case letters A to E, from the front to the back of the shoe, refer to different weft strips, staged from the front to the back of the shoe, each comprising a series of areas as set out in the foregoing; for example, A refers to a narrow strip, at the front of the shoe, which will have to resist abrasion, whereas E refers to a broad strip, at the back of the shoe, which will have to perform support of the foot while enabling thermoforming of the upper.

In a different manner, according to a second example, with reference to the template 42 according to FIG. 3, another zoning of the upper 1 of this same shoe is performed, which establishes, again in the same coordinates system:

- two first rectangular areas A1 and A2, respectively on the two sides of the axis of asymmetry 20, which will both have to resist abrasion;
- two second rectangular areas B1 and B2, respectively on the two sides of the axis of asymmetry 20, which will both have to be flexible and breathing, while performing support of the foot;
- two third rectangular areas C1 and C2, respectively on the two sides of the axis of asymmetry 20, which will both have to perform a first support of the foot and ensure its breathing;
- two fourth rectangular areas D1 and D2, respectively on the two sides of the axis of asymmetry 20, which will both have to perform a second support of the foot and ensure its breathing;
- two fifth areas E1 and E2, respectively on the two sides of the axis of asymmetry 20, which will both have to perform a third support of the foot, with the possibility of thermoforming the upper.

It can be observed that the previously defined zonings according to FIGS. 2 and 3 can differ from one another, essentially by the fact that areas of different densities are arranged differently in the width of the template 41 or 42. According to FIG. 2, an over-densified area exists between the two lines 21 and 22, parallel to the axis of asymmetry 20, with two areas of identical and normal density on each side of the latter. According to FIG. 3, an area of normal density and an area of larger density, with the same widthwise extension, are arranged on each side of the axis of asymmetry 20.

From a template 41 or 42 zoned as in the foregoing, i.e. according to the functional, technical, or practical choice or choices, or the choice of performances of the designer/manufacturer of the shoe, and therefore of the upper, a template is constructed in the direction of the warp 6 and in the direction of the weft 5, respectively 61 or 62, or a technical fabric part comprising the latter, having a monolithic or monoblock, but heterogeneous structure, as it results from the textile construction choices set out in the following.

In practice:

- as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, to construct the technical fabrics respectively 31 and 32, two types of warping are implemented respectively O₁and O₂, differing from one another by the density of the warp threads, the size, and/or the construction, and/or the nature of said threads; according to FIG. 4, the warping O₁is the same between the lines in the direction of the warp 203 and 201, corresponding to the lines 23 and 21 of the template 41, and the lines 202 and 204 corresponding to the lines 22 and 24 of the template 41, whereas a different warping O₂is used between the lines in the direction of the warp 201 and 202; according to FIG. 5, the warping O₁between the warp lines 203 and 200 (corresponding to the axis of asymmetry 20 of the template 42) is different from the warping O₂used between lines 200 and 204;
- as also shown by FIGS. 4 and 5, to construct the technical fabrics 31 and 32, different arrangements of the weft threads are implemented in the weft strips (a) to (e) shown in each of FIGS. 4 and 5; these arrangements of the weft threads, determined by frames arranged differently, differ from one another by the density of the weft threads, the size, and/or the construction, and/or the nature of said threads;
- the template 61 or 62 of the technical fabric 31 or 32 can correspond to the selected template 41 or 42, in shape and/or in dimensions;
- the previous textile construction has the result that the technical fabric obtained is divided into different discrete, individualised, textile parts, or textile sectors (a₁to d₁; a₂to e₂), that are identical in shape and/or dimensions to the different template areas; textile sectors which have been designed and constructed individually to comply with the functional or technical specificities respectively expected for the different areas (A₁to E₁; A₂to E₂);
- for this purpose, not only the warp and/or weft threads are differentiated, for example by the chemical nature and/or their intrinsic technical characteristics, and/or their construction, but above all, the differentiated construction, or composite warping, of the warp threads, in the direction of the weft, and also the different criss-crossing mode(s) of the weft threads, in the direction of the warp, enable the different textile sectors obtained on the template 61 or 62 of the technical fabric to be achieved (in the warp/weft system) and to be varied at will.

The person skilled in the trade, with any present-day weaving loom, can thereby design and produce any templates or sectored technical fabric parts, showed for example purposes in FIGS. 4 and 5 respectively, the different textile sectors referenced by a lower-case letter respectively corresponding to the different areas referenced by an upper-case letter in FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively.

The two templates 61 and 62 represented in FIGS. 4 and 5 respectively belong to the two respectively different, multi-sectored technical fabrics 31 and 32.

To construct these two different technical fabrics, i.e. 31 and 32, first of all threads are taken differing from one another by their chemical nature and/or their construction, referenced CA, CB, TA for the warp threads and TB, TC, TD for the weft threads in Examples 1 and 2 below. Both the physical characteristics and the chemical composition of these threads are set out in detail in these examples.

The elementary or discrete textile sectors to be obtained by a single weaving operation can then be differentiated by the choice of the constructions or weavings used from one sector to the other, as shown in Examples 1 and 2 ci-après.

Finally, the density or thread count of the warp threads and/or of the weft threads can be varied to respectively achieve different textile or woven sectors, as also shown in Examples 1 and 2 below.

The fabrics according to Examples 1 and 2 below are obtained by weaving with a rapier loom comprising sixteen frames.

EXAMPLE 1
Fabric 31 of FIG. 4
Warp Threads:

- CA=1 100 Dtex PAR 16%/PA HT 67%/PU 17% (in thread weight)
- CB=1 100 Dtex PAR 37%/PA HT 40%/PU 23%

Weft Threads:

- TA=1 100 Dtex PAR 16%/PA HT 67%/PU 17%
- TB=1 100 Dtex PA HT 86%/PU 14%
- TC=1 100 Dtex PAR 37%/PA HT 40%/PU 23%
- TD=1 100 Dtex CoPolyamide 100%

PAR=para-aramid, for example Kevlar®

PA HT=high tenacity polyamide, for example Cordura®

PU=polyurethane

CoPolyamide=thermofusible polyamide (low melting temperature)

Warp:

Warp threads and warp pace=6×(220 CA/100 CB/60 CA)=2,280 threads

Warp density: O1=13.44 threads/cm/O2=16.80 threads/cm→warp spread=160.5 cm

With reference to FIG. 4, the distance 203/201 is 18 cm, the distance between 201 and 202 is 7.5 cm, and the distance between 202 and 204 is 3.5 cm.

Wefts and Weavings Used:

Strip a=42 TB Plain (11 picks/cm)

Strip b=84 TA Natté 2/2 (15 picks/cm)

Strip c=68 TC Plain (11 picks/cm)

Strip d=110 TC Serge 3/1 (13 picks/cm)

Strip e=108 TD (11 picks/cm)

Total repeat picks=412

For example purposes, the textile sector (a₁) having a plain weaving differs from the textile sector (a₂) having a plain weaving by the construction of the warp threads, and from the textile sector (b₁) having a natté weaving by the construction of the weft threads.

EXAMPLE 2
Fabric 32 of FIG. 5
Warp Threads:

- CA=1 100 Dtex PAR 16%/PA HT 67%/PU 17% (in thread weight)
- CB=1 100 Dtex PA HT 86%/PU 14%

Weft Threads:

- TA=1 100 Dtex PAR 16%/PA HT 67%/PU 17%
- TB=1 100 Dtex PA HT 86%/PU 14%
- TC=1 100 Dtex PAR 37%/PA HT 40%/PU 23%
- TD=1 100 Dtex CoPolyamide 100%

Warp:

Warp threads and warp pace=6×(180 CA/226 CB)=2,436 threads

Warp density: O1=13.44 threads/cm/O2=16.80 threads/cm→warp spread=161 cm

With reference to FIG. 5, the distance 203/200 or 200/204 is 145 cm.

Wefts and Weavings Used:

Strip a=42 TB Plain (11 picks/cm)

Strip b=84 TA Nattè 2/2 (15 picks/cm)

Strip c=68 TC Plain (11 picks/cm)

Strip d=128 TC Serge 2/2 (15 picks/cm)

Strip e=108 TD (11 picks/cm)

Total repeat picks=430

For example purposes, textile sector (a₁) having a plain weaving differs from textile sector (a₂) having a plain weaving by the construction of the warp threads, and from textile sector (b₁) having a nattè weaving by the construction of the weft threads.

As shown by FIGS. 4 and 5, for each fabric 31 or 32, the strips a to e of fabric correspond to the areas A to E defined on the template of the upper 1. And the properties/characteristics conferred by the choices of textile construction made for these different textile or woven sectors are those selected or required for the different areas defined on the template of the upper 1.

To sum up, a technical fabric according to the state of the art, including according to WO 2013/103 363, can be graphically represented or defined by the single drawing or sketch of its weaving, whereas the graphic representation or definition of a technical fabric according to the present invention comprises a multiplicity of separate and different drawings or sketches which are those of the elementary constructions respectively of the different textile sectors.

In practice, as shown by FIG. 6, a technical fabric 3 will be constructed and woven in a single operation so as to repeat a template 61 or 62 both in the direction of the weft 5 and/or in the direction of the warp 6, presenting the sectored textile pattern or drawing according to FIG. 4 (Example 1) or FIG. 5 (Example 2).

More exactly, a technical fabric part obtained, represented schematically in FIG. 6, will comprise a first template 4 corresponding to a left foot, directed towards a first weft edge of the part, and a second template 4 obtained by turning and rotation through 180° of the first template 4 around an axis of symmetry parallel to the weft, corresponding to the right foot, but directed towards the other weft edge of the same part.

A pair of uppers each corresponding to one and the same pair of shoes can thus be subsequently obtained by the cuts specified in the following in a technical fabric part according to the invention.

Referring to a template 61 or 62 according to FIG. 4 or 5, comprised in a part or width of a multisector technical fabric according to the invention, and having cutting means (for example punch cutting) available, it is possible to cut flat along the closed cutting line 50 in the fabric and to directly obtain the flexible, multifunctional cut part 51, or shoe upper 1, required for manufacturing the latter.

These cutting means naturally have to be referenced, arranged, or positioned with respect to the drawing of the template 61 or 62, and the fabric part, so that the areas previously defined with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 are individually and exactly contained in the different corresponding sectors of the template according to FIG. 4 or 5.

With these cutting means thus positioned and referenced with respect to the fabric part, the upper or monoblock or monolithic, but multifunctional flexible part 1 required for manufacturing or producing the sport shoe 7 concerned is cut and obtained directly.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL, HETEROGENEOUS, SECTORED TECHNICAL FABRIC, DIRECTLY USABLE FOR MANUFACTURING VARIOUS FINISHED ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS

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