Sports Shoes and Methods for Manufacturing and Recycling of Sports Shoes

Abstract

A sports shoe includes an upper wherein a majority by weight of the upper is made from a thermoplastic base material and a sole wherein a majority by weight of the sole is made from the same thermoplastic base material. The sole and the upper are individually fabricated and joined to each other. The thermoplastic base material includes at least one of the following materials: thermoplastic polyurethane TPU, polyamide PA, polyethylene terephthalate PET, or polybutylene terephthalate PBT.

That which is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sports shoe comprising:
 an upper wherein a majority by weight of the upper is made from a thermoplastic base material;   a sole, wherein a majority by weight of the sole is made from the same thermoplastic base material;   wherein the sole and the upper are individually fabricated and joined to each other; and   wherein the thermoplastic base material comprises at least one of the following materials: thermoplastic polyurethane TPU, polyamide PA, polyethylene terephthalate PET, or polybutylene terephthalate PBT.   
     
     
         2 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic base material is adapted to be recycled in a joint recycling process for the upper and the sole so that a recycled material from the sports shoe serves as a base material for the manufacture of a further product. 
     
     
         3 . The sports shoe of  claim 2 , wherein the further product comprises a further shoe and the further shoe comprises an upper and a sole that each comprise the recycled material. 
     
     
         4 . The sports shoe of  claim 2 , wherein the further product comprises a ball, apparel, protective equipment, rackets, or clubs. 
     
     
         5 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic base material is selected from the group consisting of expanded TPU, polyester-based TPU, and polyether-based TPU. 
     
     
         6 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the upper comprises a yarn comprising the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         7 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the upper includes a textile material, which comprises a yarn comprising the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         8 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the sole comprises a foam comprising the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         9 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the sole comprises foamed pellets comprising the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         10 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the sole comprises a midsole comprising the thermoplastic base material or an outsole comprising the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         11 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the sole comprises a midsole and an outsole such that the midsole and the outsole each comprise the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         12 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the sole comprising the thermoplastic base material is adapted to provide a different grade of a physical property than at least a portion of the upper comprising the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         13 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the upper comprises different zones, wherein the different zones provide different grades of a physical property. 
     
     
         14 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the upper comprises a reinforcing element. 
     
     
         15 . The sports shoe of  claim 14 , wherein the reinforcing element comprises the thermoplastic base material. 
     
     
         16 . The sports shoe of  claim 14 , wherein the reinforcing element comprises a heel counter. 
     
     
         17 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic base material comprises material recycled from a sole or an upper of another shoe. 
     
     
         18 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , further comprising a marker configured to store information for at least one of: a number of times the base material of the sports shoe has already been used in previous shoe, sales history for the sports shoe or a particular user, or remaining life of the sports shoe. 
     
     
         19 . The sports shoe of  claim 18 , wherein the marker comprises at least one of a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, an Infrared (IR) marker, or a Near Infrared (NIR) marker. 
     
     
         20 . The sports shoe of  claim 18 , wherein the marker is integrated in at least one yarn of the upper. 
     
     
         21 . A method for manufacturing a sports shoe, the method comprising:
 providing a thermoplastic base material;   fabricating an upper, wherein a majority by weight of the upper is fabricated from the thermoplastic base material;   fabricating a sole, wherein a majority by weight of the sole is fabricated from the same thermoplastic base material;   wherein the sole and the upper are individually fabricated; and   joining the sole and the upper to each other;   wherein the thermoplastic base material comprises at least one of the following materials: thermoplastic polyurethane TPU, polyamide PA, polyethylene terephthalate PET, or polybutylene terephthalate PBT.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein providing the thermoplastic base material comprises recycling a sole or an upper of another shoe. 
     
     
         23 . A method for recovering a base material from a sports shoe, the method comprising:
 providing a sports shoe that comprises:
 an upper wherein a majority by weight of the upper is made from a thermoplastic base material; 
 a sole, wherein a majority by weight of the sole is made from the same thermoplastic base material; 
 wherein the sole and the upper are individually fabricated and joined to each other; and 
 wherein the thermoplastic base material comprises at least one of the following materials: thermoplastic polyurethane TPU, polyamide PA, polyethylene terephthalate PET, or polybutylene terephthalate PBT; and 
   jointly processing the upper and the sole of the sports shoe such that the thermoplastic base material is recovered from the sports shoe and can serve as a base material for the manufacture of a sports equipment product.