Thermoplastic non-woven textile elements
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsBhupesh Dua, Karen A. Hawkinson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A non-woven textile may be formed from a plurality of thermoplastic polymer filaments. The non-woven textile may have a first region and a second region, with the filaments of the first region being fused to a greater degree than the filaments of the second region. A variety of products, including apparel (e.g., shirts, pants, footwear), may incorporate the non-woven textile. In some of these products, the non-woven textile may be joined with another textile element to form a seam. More particularly, an edge area of the non-woven textile may be heatbonded with an edge area of the other textile element at the seam. In other products, the non-woven textile may be joined with another component, whether a textile or a non-textile.
Claims19
An article of footwear comprising:
- a sole structure including a first thermoplastic polymer material;
- and
- an upper including a non-woven textile comprising a plurality of filaments comprising a second thermoplastic polymer material;
- wherein the upper and the sole structure are joined by a heatbond that includes the first thermoplastic polymer material;
- wherein, in the heatbond, the first thermoplastic polymer material and the second thermoplastic polymer material are intermingled with each other and secured to each other.
An article of footwear comprising:
- a non-woven textile including plurality of filaments comprising a first thermoplastic polymer material;
- a sole structure;
- and wherein an upper comprising the non-woven textile and the sole structure comprising a second textile element or a second component are joined with a heatbond that includes the first thermoplastic polymer material;
- wherein, in the heatbond, the first thermoplastic polymer material extends into or infiltrates the structure of the second textile element, securing the non-woven textile element to the second textile element;
- or
- wherein the first thermoplastic polymer material infiltrates crevices or cavities formed in the second component, securing the non-woven textile element to the second component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.