权利要求：
1. A method of forming a cushioning element (36; 60) for an article of footwear (10; 100), comprising: arranging a plurality of foam particles, wherein the arranged plurality of foam particles comprises a thermoplastic elastomer material, and wherein the arranged plurality of foam particles has a number average particle size of 0.04 millimeter to 10 millimeter in a longest dimension; depositing a binding material in a binding material target area, wherein the binding material target area comprises at least a portion of the arranged plurality of foam particles, and wherein the depositing coats at least a portion of defining surfaces of the arranged plurality of foam particles with the binding material; and curing deposited binding material coating at least a portion of the defining surfaces of the arranged plurality of foam particles within at least the binding material target area, wherein curing comprises affixing at least a portion of the arranged plurality of foam particles to each other within the target area, characterized in that the arranging the plurality of foam particles, the depositing the binding material in the binding material target area and the curing the deposited binging material, are repeated.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cushioning element (36; 60) is formed layer-wise from a plurality of layers.
3. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer material is selected from a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, a thermoplastic polyurea elastomer, a thermoplastic polyether elastomer, a thermoplastic copolyetherester elastomer, a thermoplastic polyamide elastomer, a thermoplastic polystyrene elastomer, a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer, a thermoplastic copolyetheramide elastomer, a thermoplastic styrene diene copolymer elastomer, a thermoplastic styrene block copolymer elastomer, a thermoplastic polyamide elastomer, a thermoplastic polyimide elastomer, any copolymer thereof, and any blend thereof.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the binding regions include dissolved and re-solidified thermoplastic elastomer material from the individual foam particle, from the at least one of the one or more adjacent foam particles, or both.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the binding regions include dissolved and re-solidified binder material from the individual foam particle, from the at least one of the one or more adjacent foam particles, or both.
6. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of foam particles comprise foam particles having a density of 0.1 grams per cubic centimeter to 0.8 grams per cubic centimeter; or wherein the foam particles have a density of 0.30 grams per cubic centimeter to 0.50 grams per cubic centimeter.
7. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of foam particles has a bulk density of 80 grams per liter to 200 grams per liter; or wherein the plurality of foam particles has a bulk density of 100 grams per liter to 150 grams per liter.
8. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the cushioning element (36; 60) is characterized by a plurality of sub-regions (121a, 121b, 121c, 122, 123; 124a, 124b, 124c) comprising a first sub-region (121a, 121b, 121c; 124a) characterized by a first property and a second sub-region (122; 124b) characterized by a second property, wherein the first property is not equal to the second property, and wherein the first property and the second property are flexural modulus, stiffness, bulk density, or resilience.
9. A cushioning element (36; 60) for an article of footwear (10; 100) manufactured according to the method of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a structure formed of a plurality of affixed foam particles, wherein each individual foam particle of the plurality of affixed foam particles is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer material, and includes one or more binding regions on an outer surface of the individual foam particle affixing the individual foam particle to one or more adjacent foam particles, the one or more adjacent foam particles comprise the thermoplastic elastomer material, the binding regions include a portion of binding material from the individual foam particle, a portion of binding material from at least one of the one or more adjacent foam particles, a portion of the thermoplastic elastomer material from the individual foam particle intermingled with a portion of the thermoplastic elastomer material from at least one of the one or more adjacent foam particles, or any combination thereof, the structure formed of the plurality of affixed foam particles includes a plurality of gaps between particles, with the gaps occupying at least 10 percent of a total volume of the structure, prior to affixing, at least 20 percent of the plurality of foam particles are ellipsoid in shape and have a number average particle size of 0.04 millimeters to 10 millimeters in a longest dimension; and at least 20 percent of the ellipsoid foam particles in the structure retain substantially ellipsoid in shape, characterized in that the cushioning element (36; 60) has a plurality of sub-regions (121a, 121b, 121c, 122, 123; 124a, 124b, 124c) comprising a first sub-region (121a, 121b, 121c; 124a) characterized by a first property and a second sub-region (122; 124b) characterized by a second property, wherein the first property is not equal to the second property, and wherein the first property and the second property are flexural modulus, stiffness, bulk density, or resilience.
10. An article of footwear (10; 100) comprising the cushioning element (36; 60) of claim 9.
11. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear (10; 100), comprising affixing an upper (12; 110) to a sole structure (14; 120), wherein the sole structure (14; 120) comprises the cushioning element (36; 60) according to claim 9.
12. An article of footwear (10; 100), made by the method of claim 11.