Article of footwear incorporating a knitted component with an integral knit ankle cuff

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10918155-B2
Application number	US-201815961174-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 24, 2018
Priority date	Aug 29, 2013
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

An article of footwear with a knitted component including an upper and an integral knit ankle cuff is provided. The upper and the ankle cuff are formed as a one-piece knit element. The knit element forms a portion of an exterior surface of the upper and an opposite interior surface of the upper, with the interior surface forming a void for receiving a foot. The ankle cuff is formed of unitary knit construction with the upper as a one-piece knit element and extends above a throat area of the upper. The ankle cuff includes malleolus zones on medial and lateral sides to correspond with the ankle bones of a wearer. The knit component further incorporates features to assist with providing entry for a foot of a wear, providing comfort to a wearer, and to assist with orientation of the upper of the article of footwear when being worn.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article of footwear having an upper including a knitted component, the knitted component including:
a foot region extending through a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region of the article of footwear, the foot region including an instep area that extends between a medial side and a lateral side of the upper; and
an ankle region forming a portion of the upper that extends above the foot region, the ankle region including an ankle cuff that defines a throat opening to a void within the upper that is configured to receive a foot;
wherein the ankle cuff is formed of unitary knit construction with at least the instep area of the foot region and a portion of the foot region disposed on the medial side and lateral side in the heel region;
wherein the ankle cuff comprises a first knit layer and a second knit layer, wherein the first knit layer forms an exterior surface of the ankle cuff;
wherein the ankle cuff further comprises at least one malleolus zone disposed on at least one of the medial side and the lateral side of the upper, the at least one malleolus zone including a plurality of voids formed in the first knit layer of the ankle cuff, wherein the plurality of voids expose the second knit layer;
wherein each of the plurality of voids comprise a geometric shape and wherein the plurality of voids are arranged in a cluster formation surrounding a center point of the at least one malleolus zone, and
wherein the at least one malleolus zone comprises a first stretch resistance and wherein a remainder of the ankle cuff outside of the at least one malleolus zone comprises a second stretch resistance and wherein the second stretch resistance is greater than the first stretch resistance.

2. The article of footwear according to claim 1 , wherein the second knit layer comprises an interior surface of the ankle cuff.

3. The article of footwear according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of voids in the first knit layer are formed by at least one of a 1×1 mock mesh knit structure and a 2×2 mock mesh knit structure.

4. The article of footwear according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one malleolus zone on the ankle cuff is disposed at a location that is configured to correspond to an ankle bone of a wearer.

5. The article of footwear according to claim 1 , wherein the knitted component further comprises a tied-lace receiving aperture formed into at least one of the instep area and the ankle cuff, the tied-lace receiving aperture being configured to receive loose ends of a tied lace within an interior of the upper.

6. The article of footwear according to claim 1 , wherein the instep area further comprises a stretch padding zone disposed between the medial side and the lateral side of the upper along a top portion of the article of footwear;
the stretch padding zone being configured to stretch in a lateral direction across the article of footwear between an unstretched condition and a stretched condition; and
wherein the stretch padding zone has a first thickness in the unstretched condition and a second thickness in the stretched condition, the first thickness being larger than the second thickness.

7. An article of footwear having an upper including a knitted component, the knitted component including:
a foot region extending through a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region of the article of footwear, the foot region including an instep area that extends between a medial side and a lateral side of the upper; and
an ankle region forming a portion of the upper that extends above the foot region, the ankle region including an ankle cuff that defines a throat opening to a void within the upper that is configured to receive a foot, wherein the ankle cuff comprises a first knit layer and a second knit layer interlocked with each other in at least one portion of the ankle cuff, wherein the first knit layer forms an exterior surface of the ankle cuff;
wherein the ankle cuff further includes a first plurality of voids disposed on the lateral side to form a first malleolus zone and a second plurality of voids disposed on the medial side to form a second malleolus zone, the first plurality of voids and the second plurality of voids being formed in the first knit layer, wherein the first plurality of voids and the second plurality of voids expose the second knit layer,
wherein the first plurality of voids and the second plurality of voids each comprise two or more voids that comprise a geometric shape,
wherein the first plurality of voids are arranged around a first center point on the lateral side of the ankle cuff and wherein the second plurality of voids are arranged around a second center point on the medial side of the ankle cuff, and wherein the first and second center points are located approximately equidistant from a third center point located at a front of the ankle cuff, and
wherein each of the first malleolus zone and the second malleolus zone comprises a first stretch resistance and wherein a remainder of the ankle cuff outside of the first malleolus zone and the second malleolus zone comprises a second stretch resistance, and wherein the second stretch resistance is greater than the first stretch resistance.

8. The article of footwear according to claim 7 , wherein the knitted component further comprises a plurality of lace apertures configured to receive a lace, the plurality of lace apertures being disposed in a longitudinal direction along the upper on each of the medial side and the lateral side of the instep area.

9. The article of footwear according to claim 7 , wherein the ankle cuff is formed of unitary knit construction with at least the instep area of the foot region and a portion of foot region disposed on the medial side and lateral side in the heel region.

10. The article of footwear according to claim 7 , wherein the knitted component further comprises a tied-lace receiving aperture formed into at least one of the instep area and the ankle cuff, the tied-lace receiving aperture being configured to receive loose ends of a tied lace within an interior of the upper.

11. An article of footwear having an upper including a knitted component, the knitted component including: a foot region extending through a forefoot region, a midfoot region; and a heel region of the article of footwear, the foot region including an instep area that extends between a medial side and a lateral side of the upper; and an ankle region forming a portion of the upper that extends above the foot region, the ankle region including an ankle cuff that is a continuous tubular structure and defines a throat opening to a void within the upper that is configured to receive a foot, wherein the ankle cuff comprises a first knit layer forming an exterior surface of the upper and a second knit layer, wherein the first knit layer and the second knit layer are interlocked with each other in at least one portion of the ankle cuff, wherein the ankle cuff further includes a first plurality of voids disposed on the lateral side to form a first malleolus zone and a second plurality of voids disposed on the medial side to form a second malleolus zone, the first plurality of voids and the second plurality of voids being formed in the first knit layer, wherein the first plurality of voids and the second plurality of voids expose the second knit layer, wherein at least one of the first plurality of voids and the second plurality of voids comprises two or more voids that each form a geometric shape, wherein the two or more voids are arranged around a center point of at least one of the first malleolus zone and the second malleolus zone, and wherein each of the first malleolus zone and the secon

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Dekovic Denis
• Droege John
• Fahmi Windra
• Lee Jeongwoo
• Podhajny Daniel A
• Seamarks Karl
• Wilken Doug D

Classifications

• D04B1/24

  wearing apparel · CPC title

• D04B1/22

  specially adapted for knitting goods of particular configuration · CPC title

• D04B1/14

  Other fabrics or articles characterised primarily by the use of particular thread materials · CPC title

• A43B1/04 Primary

  braided, knotted, knitted or crocheted · CPC title

• A43C1/00

  Shoe lacing fastenings (garment fastening devices A41F) · CPC title