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US 12,371,829 B2Granted
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.
Claims29
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper including a textile extending along a rear area of the upper and along a medial or lateral area of the upper, wherein the textile includes a plurality of filaments comprising a first thermoplastic polymer material, wherein the textile includes
- (i) a first fused region extending along the rear area of the upper and forming a heel counter, and
- (ii) a second fused region extending along the medial or lateral area of the upper;
- and
- a sole structure including a polymer foam element comprising a second thermoplastic polymer material and an outsole coupled to the polymer foam element comprising a third thermoplastic polymer material,
- wherein the sole structure is coupled to the upper by a first heatbond between the first thermoplastic polymer material and the second thermoplastic polymer material, the first heatbond not being supplemented with stitching or adhesive, and
- wherein at least ninety percent of a combined mass of the upper, the outsole, and the sole structure consists of the first, second, and third thermoplastic polymer materials;
- and
- wherein the rear area and the medial or lateral area of the upper have a thickness at the first fused region and/or the second fused region that is relatively less than other regions of the upper.
6 more elements
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper including a textile extending along a rear area of the upper and along a medial or lateral area of the upper, wherein the textile includes a plurality of filaments comprising a first thermoplastic polymer material, wherein the textile includes
- (i) a first fused region extending along the rear area of the upper and forming a heel counter, and
- (ii) a second fused region extending along the medial or lateral area of the upper, wherein the medial or lateral area has a thickness at the second fused region that is less than other regions of the upper;
- and
- a sole structure including a polymer foam element comprising a second thermoplastic polymer material and an outsole coupled to the polymer foam element comprising a third thermoplastic polymer material,
- wherein the sole structure is coupled to the upper by a first heatbond between the first thermoplastic polymer material and the second thermoplastic polymer material, the first heatbond not being supplemented with stitching or adhesive;
- and
- wherein at least ninety percent of a combined mass of the upper, sole structure, and outsole consists essentially of the first, second, and third thermoplastic polymer materials, and the first, second, and third thermoplastic polymer materials comprise thermoplastic polyurethanes.
5 more elements
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper including a textile extending along a rear area of the upper and along a medial or lateral area of the upper, wherein the textile includes a plurality of filaments comprising a first thermoplastic polymer material, wherein the textile includes
- (i) a first fused region extending along the rear area of the upper and forming a heel counter, and
- (ii) a second fused region extending along the medial or lateral area of the upper;
- and
- a sole structure including a polymer foam element comprising a second thermoplastic polymer material and an outsole coupled to the polymer foam element comprising a third thermoplastic polymer material,
- wherein the sole structure is coupled to the upper by a first heatbond between the first thermoplastic polymer material and the second thermoplastic polymer material, the first heatbond not being supplemented with stitching or adhesive;
- and
- wherein at least ninety percent of a combined mass of the upper, sole structure, and outsole consists essentially of the first, second, and third thermoplastic polymer materials, and the first, second, and third thermoplastic polymer materials comprise thermoplastic polyamides;
- and
- wherein the upper has a thickness at the first fused region and/or the second fused region that is smaller than other regions of the upper.
7 more elements
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper including a textile extending along a rear area and a medial or lateral area of the upper, wherein the textile includes a plurality of filaments comprising a first thermoplastic polymer material, wherein the textile includes:
- (i) a first fused region extending along the rear area and forming a heel counter;
- and
- (ii) a second fused region extending along the medial or lateral area;
- and
- a sole structure including a polymer foam element comprising a second thermoplastic polymer material and an outsole coupled to the polymer foam element comprising a third thermoplastic polymer material,
- wherein the sole structure is coupled to the upper by a first heatbond between the first thermoplastic polymer material and the second thermoplastic polymer material, the first heatbond not being supplemented with stitching or adhesive;
- wherein at least ninety percent of a combined mass of the upper, the sole structure, and the outsole comprises the first thermoplastic polymer material, the second thermoplastic polymer material, and the third thermoplastic polymer material;
- and
- wherein the rear area and the medial or lateral area of the upper have a thickness at the first fused region and/or the second fused region that is relatively less than other regions of the upper.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.