Article Of Footwear Having An Upper With Thread Structural Elements
First Claim
1. An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the upper comprising:
- a first polymer sheet;
a thread having a section that lies substantially parallel to a surface of the first polymer sheet for a distance of more than five centimeters; and
a second polymer sheet that is secured to the surface of the first polymer sheet, the section of the thread being located between the first polymer sheet and the second polymer sheet.
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Abstract
An article of footwear includes an upper that is at least partially formed from a base layer and thread sections that lie adjacent a surface of the base layer. The thread sections are positioned to provide structural elements that, for example, restrain stretch in directions corresponding with longitudinal axes of the thread sections. In some configurations of the footwear, a first portion of the thread sections may extend between forefoot and heel regions of the footwear, and a second portion of the thread sections may extend vertically. An embroidering process may be utilized to position the thread sections on the base layer.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the upper comprising:
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a first polymer sheet; a thread having a section that lies substantially parallel to a surface of the first polymer sheet for a distance of more than five centimeters; and a second polymer sheet that is secured to the surface of the first polymer sheet, the section of the thread being located between the first polymer sheet and the second polymer sheet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, at least a portion of the upper comprising:
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a base layer having a first surface and an opposite second surface, the base layer being a sheet of polymer material; and a plurality of thread sections that lie substantially parallel to at least a portion of the first surface for a distance of at least five centimeters, at least a portion of the thread sections being substantially aligned, the upper defining a first direction corresponding with longitudinal axes of the thread sections, and the upper defining a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction, the upper being substantially non-stretch in the first direction, and the upper being stretchable by at least ten percent in the second direction. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the upper comprising:
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a base layer having a first surface and an opposite second surface, the base layer defining a plurality of lace receiving apertures that extend through the base layer and from the first surface to the second surface, and the base layer being a sheet of polymer material; and a plurality of thread sections lying substantially parallel to the base layer for a distance of at least five centimeters, the thread sections extending between (a) areas of the base layer that are proximal to the lace receiving apertures and (b) areas of the base layer located in a lower area of the upper. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure, the method comprising steps of:
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embroidering a polymer sheet with at least one thread to locate a plurality of sections of the thread adjacent a surface of the polymer sheet and substantially parallel to the surface for a distance of more than five centimeters; incorporating the polymer sheet and the at least one thread into the upper; and securing the upper to the sole structure. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification