Article of footwear having a textile upper
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsBhupesh Dua, Edward Nathaniel Thomas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An article of footwear and a method of manufacturing the article of footwear are disclosed. The footwear may include an upper and a sole structure. The upper incorporates a textile element with edges that are joined together to define at least a portion of a void for receiving a foot. The textile element may also have a first area and a second area with a unitary construction. The first area is formed of a first stitch configuration, and the second area is formed of a second stitch configuration that is different from the first stitch configuration to impart varying textures to a surface of the textile element. Various warp knitting or weft knitting processes may be utilized to form the textile element.
Claims46
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper incorporating a weft-knitted textile element having edges that are joined together to define at least a portion of a void for receiving a foot, wherein the weft-knitted textile element incorporates a single type of textile having a plurality of knit constructions;
- and
- a sole structure secured to the upper.
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper incorporating a weft-knitted textile element, the textile element having a first area and a second area with a unitary construction, the first area being formed of a first stitch configuration, and the second area being formed of a second stitch configuration that is different from the first stitch configuration to impart varying properties to the textile element;
- and
- a sole structure secured to the upper.
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper incorporating a textile element having edges that are joined together to form seams and define at least a portion of a void for receiving a foot, the seams including a first seam and a second seam, the first seam extending from a heel area to a forefoot area of the footwear along a lower surface of the upper, and the second seam extending vertically in the heel area, wherein the textile element incorporates a single type of textile having a plurality of knit constructions;
- and
- a sole structure secured to the upper.
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper incorporating a knitted textile element formed with a knitting machine, the textile element being removed from a textile structure that includes an outline of the textile element, and the textile element having edges that are joined togethcr to define at least a portion of a void for receiving a foot, wherein the textile element incorporates a single type of textile having a plurality of knit constructions;
- and
- a sole structure secured to the upper.
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper incorporating a flat-knitted textile element, the flat-knitted textile element having a first area with a first unitary construction and a second area with a second unitary construction different from the first unitary construction, the first area having a first set of properties, and the second area having a second set of properties that is different from the first set of properties to impart varying characteristics to the textile element;
- and
- a sole structure secured to the upper.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.