摘要：
Various articles, such as footwear, apparel, athletic equipment, watchbands, and the like, and methods of forming those articles are presented. The articles are generally formed, in whole or in part, using rapid manufacturing techniques, such as laser sintering, stereolithography, solid deposition modeling, and the like. The use of rapid manufacturing allows for relatively economical and time efficient manufacture of customized articles. Portions of the articles may be manufactured using rapid manufacturing and those portions may be joined with portions formed using conventional, non-rapid manufacturing techniques. The methods may also include performing a scan of an appropriate body part of a user, such as a foot, in order to create a customized article of footwear for the user.
技术问题语段：
The patent text explains that the current methods used to manufacture articles like footwear, apparel, and athletic equipment have many problems. These methods require expensive equipment and molds that can only be used for one size or design, resulting in material waste and costly retooling. Additionally, they often leave little ability to customize the article to the wearer's needs. The technical problem to solve is to develop a method for manufacturing articles that allows for customization and variation in design, while reducing the cost and complexity of production.
技术功效语段：
This patent describes a method for making a shoe that fits a user's foot based on a scan of the foot. This scan can determine the physical characteristics of the foot, and the shoe can be made using rapid manufacturing techniques to match those characteristics. This allows for customization of the shoe to the specific needs of the user. Additionally, the use of rapid manufacturing allows for the user or another designer to add any desired design features to the shoe.
权利要求：
1. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear (100, 300, 400, 800), comprising: forming a midsole impact force attenuation system by fusing thermoplastic elastomer material together using a rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique, wherein the midsole impact force attenuation system includes a plurality of interlocking links (504) formed by the rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique; and incorporating the midsole impact force attenuation system into an article of footwear (100, 300, 400, 800).
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: forming an upper by fusing thermoplastic elastomer material together using a rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique; and incorporating the upper into the article of footwear.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: integrally forming an upper extending continuously from the midsole impact force attenuation system by fusing thermoplastic elastomer material together using the rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the upper includes a plurality of interlocking links formed by the rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the interlocking links of the upper are smaller and thinner than the interlocking links of the midsole impact force attenuation system.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the sole structure further includes forming an outsole as a portion of the sole structure using the rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique.
7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: engaging an outsole with the midsole impact force attenuation system.
8. An article of footwear (100, 300, 400, 800), comprising: an upper (102, 200, 302, 402, 560, 802); and a sole structure (104, 304, 404, 550) engaged with or integrally formed with the upper (102, 200, 302, 402, 560, 802), wherein a midsole impact force attenuation system of the sole structure includes thermoplastic elastomer material fused together using a rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique, and wherein the midsole impact force attenuation system includes a plurality of interlocking links (504) formed by the rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique.
9. The article of footwear according to claim 8, wherein the upper includes thermoplastic elastomer material fused together using a rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique.
10. The article of footwear according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the upper is integrally formed with the midsole impact force attenuation system and extends continuously from the midsole impact force attenuation system.
11. The article of footwear according to any one of claims 8-10, wherein the upper includes a plurality of interlocking links formed by the rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique.
12. The article of footwear according to claim 11, wherein the interlocking links of the upper are smaller and thinner than the interlocking links of the midsole impact force attenuation system.
13. The article of footwear according to claim 8, further comprising an outsole engaged with or integrally formed with the midsole impact force attenuation system.