Athletic shoe with two-piece upper forepart section
First Claim
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1. In an athletic shoe comprising a sole and an upper attached to the sole the improvement comprising:
- a multi-layered forepart section of the upper for extending around the forepart portion of the foot of a wearer of the athletic shoe, said forepart section including an inner layer of stretchable and moldable material and an outer layer of breathable, flexible and nonstretchable material extending about said inner layer of material, said inner and outer layers being permanently attached to said shoe, a major portion of the inner layer being unconnected to the outer layer whereby the inner layer is free to stretch a degree limited by the extent of the outer layer of nonstretchable material to accommodate and mold to the forepart of the foot of the wearer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An athletic shoe is disclosed. The athletic shoe includes an upper attached to a sole. The upper has a forepart section comprised of an inner layer and an outer layer. The inner layer is preferably formed of relatively thin stretchable leather and the outer layer is formed of a breathable nonstretchable material, such as nylon mesh. A slight gap is formed between the outer surface of the inner layer and the inner surface of the outer layer to allow the inner layer to stretch a limited degree in order to mold to the forepart portion of the foot of the wearer of the shoe.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. In an athletic shoe comprising a sole and an upper attached to the sole the improvement comprising:
a multi-layered forepart section of the upper for extending around the forepart portion of the foot of a wearer of the athletic shoe, said forepart section including an inner layer of stretchable and moldable material and an outer layer of breathable, flexible and nonstretchable material extending about said inner layer of material, said inner and outer layers being permanently attached to said shoe, a major portion of the inner layer being unconnected to the outer layer whereby the inner layer is free to stretch a degree limited by the extent of the outer layer of nonstretchable material to accommodate and mold to the forepart of the foot of the wearer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An athletic shoe comprising:
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a sole having a lower surface for contacting the ground; and an upper connected to said sole, said upper including a forepart section for extending around the forepart portion of the foot of a wearer of the athletic shoe, said forepart section having an inner layer of a stretchable and moldable leather or leather-like material and an outer layer of a nonstretchable and flexible synthetic mesh material extending about said inner layer of material, said inner and outer layers both being attached along their respective lower areas to said sole and along their respective rearward edges to the remainder of the upper, the portions of the inner and outer layers not connected to the sole and the remainder of the upper being substantially unconnected to one another to leave a slight gap between the inner surface of the outer layer and the outer surface of the inner layer whereby said inner layer is permitted to stretch a degree limited by the extent of the outer layer of nonstretchable material to accommodate and mold to the forepart portion of the foot of a particular wearer without stretching excessively out of shape. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An athletic shoe comprising:
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a sole having a lower surface for contacting the ground; and an upper attached to said sole, said upper including a forepart section for extending around the forepart portion of the foot of a wearer of the athletic shoe, said forepart section having an inner layer of a stretchable thin leather and an outer layer of a nonstretchable and flexible synthetic mesh material extending about said inner layer of material, said inner and outer layers both being attached along their respective lower areas to said sole on the medial side of said shoe from a point rearward of the first metatarsal head to the forward end of the sole and along the lateral side of the sole from the forward end to a point rearward of the fifth metatarsal head and along their respective edges to the remainder of the upper rearward of all the metatarsal heads, the portions of the inner and outer layers not connected to the sole and the remainder of the upper being substantially unconnected to one another to leave a slight gap between the inner surface of the outer layer and the outer surface of the inner layer whereby said leather inner layer is permitted to stretch a degree limited by the extent of the outer layer of nonstretchable material to accommodate and mold to the forepart portion of the foot of a particular wearer without stretching excessively out of shape. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. An athletic shoe comprising:
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a sole having an outer sole layer and a midsole layer, said outer sole layer being formed of a resilient material and having a lower surface for contacting the ground and an opposite upper surface, said midsole layer being attached to the upper surface of said outer sole layer and being formed of a resilient material less hard than the material of said outer sole layer; and an upper attached to said midsole layer, said upper including a forepart section for extending around the forepart portion of the foot of a wearer of the shoe, said forepart section having an inner layer of a stretchable leather or leather-like material and an outer layer of a nonstretchable and flexible synthetic mesh material extending about said inner layer of material, said inner and outer layers each having lower portions attached to said sole, rear edges attached to the remainder of said upper and unconnected portions not attached to one another, said unconnected portions extending between said attached lower portions and said rear edges, a slight gap being formed between the outer surface of the unconnected portion of said inner layer and the inner surface of the unconnected portion of said outer layer whereby said inner layer is permitted to stretch a degree limited by the extent of the outer layer of nonstretchable material to accommodate and mold to the forepart portion of the foot of the wearer without stretching an excessive amount. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. In a method of manufacturing an athletic shoe having a sole and an upper attached to it, with the upper having a forepart section comprised of a stretchable leather inner layer and a synthetic mesh nonstretchable outer layer, comprising the steps of:
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cutting the leather inner layer and the mesh outer layer on dies having the same shape and size; stitching the inner layer to the outer layer along at least a portion of the borders of the layers; attaching a rearward edge of the inner and outer layers to the remainder of the upper; forming the upper about a last to stretch the leather inner layer; attaching the sole to the upper; and removing the upper from the last and allowing the inner layer to shrink from its stretched condition on the last to form a slight gap between the outer surface of the inner layer and to inner surface of the outer layer.
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Specification