Article of footwear having a flat knit upper construction or other upper construction
First Claim
1. An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the upper comprising a flat-knitted element formed from at least one yarn mechanically manipulated in a flat-knitting process, the flat-knitted element having an area with a first layer and a second layer at least partially coextensive with the first layer, the first layer being formed of unitary one piece construction with the second layer during the flat-knitting process, and the second layer being seamlessly knitted with the first layer at opposite edges of the second layer to form an overlapped configuration during the flat-knitting process.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Flat knitting allows production of textile structures (e.g., for use in footwear uppers) of a final desired shape such that textile cutting steps can be avoided. Flat knitted elements also can be formed directly in desired three dimensional shapes, which can help avoid the need to use additional support structures (e.g., in footwear construction). By selectively placing multiple different yarns and/or stitch patterns at multiple different locations in the overall structure during the knitting process, flat knitted products may have multiple different physical properties (e.g., different stretchability, different moisture management capabilities, etc.) at multiple different locations or zones within a single, unitary construction (e.g., different properties at different zones or locations within a single footwear structure). Additionally, flat knitting can be used to produce pockets, tunnels, or other layered structures in the final product.
-
Citations
11 Claims
- 1. An article of footwear having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper, the upper comprising a flat-knitted element formed from at least one yarn mechanically manipulated in a flat-knitting process, the flat-knitted element having an area with a first layer and a second layer at least partially coextensive with the first layer, the first layer being formed of unitary one piece construction with the second layer during the flat-knitting process, and the second layer being seamlessly knitted with the first layer at opposite edges of the second layer to form an overlapped configuration during the flat-knitting process.
Specification