Footwear articles and methods of forming the same

Abstract

Footwear articles are fabricated with materials and includes a structure that enable the articles to be non-toxic, natural, biodegradable, and/or environmentally-friendly. The structure of the footwear articles is configured for a user's foot, including aspects which allow for precision rigidity or flexibility within the footwear article. The footwear articles are capable of including cycling footwear articles. The cycling footwear articles are further capable of including aspects which provide enough rigidity to couple to clipless pedal systems on a bicycle, and other aspects which allow for a flexibility when walking. Methods of forming the footwear articles and related packaging systems are provided, which also utilize non-toxic, natural, biodegradable, and/or environmentally-friendly materials.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A footwear article comprising:
 a lasting board;   a heel counter configured to couple to the lasting board by inserting a portion of the heel counter into the lasting board; and   a footwear upper comprising a knit fabric, wherein the footwear upper is configured to couple to at least one of the heel counter and the lasting board,   wherein at least one of the heel counter and the lasting board comprises a plurality of stacked wood layers and wherein at least two adjacent wood layers comprise non-parallel grain directions.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one metal or fabric layer is inserted between adjacent wood layers of the plurality of stacked wood layers. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the heel counter and the lasting board comprises at least one fabric layer surrounding the plurality of stacked wood layers. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein at least an inner portion of the lasting board includes a support positioned in a toe region. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear article of  claim 4 , wherein the lasting board includes a void positioned proximate to the support in the toe region. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear article of  claim 4 , wherein the lasting board includes at least one location where a first subset of the plurality of stacked wood layers is differently dimensioned from a second subset of the plurality of stacked wood layers, wherein a thickness of the lasting board is decreased and a flexibility of the lasting board is increased at the location due to the different dimensioning. 
     
     
         7 . The footwear article of  claim 6 , wherein the first subset of the plurality of stacked wood layers are dimensioned to include the support positioned in the toe region, and wherein the second subset of the plurality of stacked wood layers is differently dimensioned and does not include the support positioned in the toe region. 
     
     
         8 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the lasting board includes at least one notch positioned proximate to a toe region, wherein the notch increases flexibility of the lasting board proximate to the toe region. 
     
     
         9 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the article is devoid of synthetic and petroleum-based products. 
     
     
         10 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the footwear upper, the heel counter, the footbed, and the lasting board of the footwear article is biodegradable and compostable. 
     
     
         11 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the article comprises at least one aperture for a cycling cleat. 
     
     
         12 . The footwear article of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one aperture is a female threaded aperture for receiving a fastener for the cycling cleat. 
     
     
         13 . The footwear article of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one aperture includes one or more slots for receiving the cycling cleat or cleat hardware configured to couple to the cycling cleat. 
     
     
         14 . A method of forming a footwear article comprising:
 forming a footwear upper of the footwear article from a knit fabric;   forming at least one of a heel counter and a lasting board for the footwear article from a plurality of stacked wood layers by laminating the plurality of stacked wood layers, wherein at least two adjacent wood layers comprise non-parallel grain directions;   coupling the heel counter and the lasting board by inserting a portion of the heel counter into the lasting board; and   coupling the footwear upper to at least one of the heel counter and the lasting board.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the footwear upper, the heel counter, and the lasting board are each formed from one or more of a bamboo fiber, coffee bean fiber, soybean fiber, aloe vera fiber, corn fiber, cotton, silk, wool, recycled yarn, lyocell fiber, lyocell fiber blended with wool or recycled yarn, tea polyphenol fibers, chitin fiber, fibroin fiber, hemp fiber, cork, knitted fabric, wood, wood core, wood veneer, elemental or pure metal, and an alloy metal. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 applying printing to at least one of the footwear upper, the heel counter, and the lasting board include printing, wherein the printing is applied using one or more of a soy-based ink, milk-based paint, laser etching, branding, embossing, and foil transfer.   
     
     
         17 . A system including a footwear article, comprising:
 a set of footwear articles, each footwear article comprising:
 a lasting board; 
 a heel counter configured to couple to the lasting board by inserting a portion of the heel counter into the lasting board; and 
 a footwear upper comprising a knit fabric, wherein the footwear upper is configured to couple to at least one of the heel counter and the lasting board, 
 wherein at least one of the heel counter and the lasting board comprises a plurality of stacked wood layers and wherein at least two adjacent wood layers comprise non-parallel grain directions; 
   a foot form device configured to fit within each footwear article of the set of footwear articles; and   packaging including paper capable of wrapping around the set of footwear articles.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the packaging and the foot form device are each fabricated from one or more of pulp, recycled paper, recycled paper with plant seeds, and wherein at least one of the packaging and the foot form device includes printing applied using one or more of a soy-based ink, milk-based paint, laser etching, branding, embossing, and foil transfer. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the foot form device includes a cleat-fitting and alignment device for installing a cycling cleat on a second footwear article of a second set of footwear articles by marking a cleat position from a footwear article of the set of footwear articles on the cleat-fitting and alignment device as a template. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the packaging comprises a cleat measurement tool for installing a cycling cleat on a second footwear article of a second set of footwear articles by marking a cleat position from a footwear article of the set of footwear articles on the cleat measurement tool as a template.