Article of footwear with integrally knit tongue
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsTorrey J. Bell, Zhu Feixiang, Casey Pierson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A knitted component for an article of footwear comprises a knit element and a tongue integrally knitted with the knit element. The knit element includes a lateral throat portion overlapping a lateral edge of the tongue and a medial throat portion overlapping a medial edge of the tongue. The lateral throat portion and the tongue are joined by a first knit structure, and the medial throat portion and the tongue are joined by a second knit structure. The first and second knit structures each include one or more courses having a plurality of knit stitches. Each knit structure may also span multiple adjacent courses. A method of manufacturing the knitted component is also described herein.
Claims20
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper, comprising:
- a throat region;
- and
- a tongue,
- wherein a portion of the tongue overlaps a portion of the throat region, thereby forming an overlapping region comprising a knit structure,
- wherein the knit structure secures the portion of the tongue to the portion of the throat region in the overlapping region,
- wherein the knit structure comprises multiple courses, and
- wherein each one of the multiple courses comprises a plurality of knit stitches, each knit stitch connecting the portion of the tongue to the portion of the throat region;
- and
- a sole structure secured to the upper.
An article of footwear, comprising:
- a sole structure;
- and
- an upper secured to the sole structure, the upper comprising:
- a knit element comprising a throat region;
- and
- a tongue,
- wherein a portion of the tongue overlaps a portion of the knit element, forming an overlapping region,
- wherein a knit structure joins the tongue and the knit element in the overlapping region, and
- wherein the knit structure comprises a plurality of knit stitches within the same course, each knit stitch connecting the tongue to the knit element.
A knit structure that secures a tongue of an upper to a throat region of the upper, the knit structure comprising:
- an overlapping region comprising a portion of the tongue and a portion of the throat region that are overlapped and secured against each other, the overlapping region comprising a plurality of adjacent knit courses each comprising a plurality of consecutive knit stitches that secure the portion of the tongue to the portion of the throat region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.