Upper for an article of footwear having an inner component and a shroud

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12324484-B2
Application number	US-202217951618-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 23, 2022
Priority date	Jul 20, 2018
Publication date	Jun 10, 2025
Grant date	Jun 10, 2025

Abstract

An upper for an article of footwear may include a medial side, a lateral side, and a throat area between the medial side and the lateral side. An inner component may form an inner surface of the upper, where the inner component includes an inner throat region in the throat area, where a tensile strand of the inner component forms a loop in the inner throat region, and where the loop includes an opening for receiving a fastening element. An outer shroud may form the outer surface of the upper, where the outer shroud at least partially covers the inner throat region of the inner component such that the loop is located in a pocket formed between the inner component and the outer shroud.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article of footwear, comprising:
a sole structure; and
an upper secured to the sole structure, the upper comprising:
an inner knit component forming an inner surface of the upper, wherein the inner knit component includes an inner medial region, an inner lateral region, and an inner throat region, the inner throat region having an elasticity that is higher than an elasticity of the inner lateral region and/or an elasticity of the inner medial region, the inner knit component including at least one opening in the inner throat region; and
an outer shroud forming an outer surface of the upper, wherein the outer shroud at least partially covers the inner throat region of the inner knit component such that the at least one opening is maintained in a pocket formed between the inner knit component and the outer shroud, and wherein a Young's modulus for at least one tensile strand inlaid in the inner knit component is at least twice more than a Young's modulus for an outer throat region of the outer shroud.

2. The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein the inner knit component has the at least one tensile strand inlaid within a knitted structure of the inner knit component and exiting the knitted structure to form at least one loop defining the at least one opening in the inner throat region.

3. The article of footwear of claim 2 , wherein the at least one tensile strand extends from the at least one loop to a biteline of the upper.

4. The article of footwear of claim 2 , wherein the outer shroud includes an eyelet that is aligned with the at least one loop.

5. The article of footwear of claim 4 , further comprising a fastening element that extends through the at least one opening and further extends through the eyelet located on the outer shroud.

6. The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein the outer throat region of the outer shroud has an elasticity that is higher than an elasticity of a medial region and a lateral region of the outer shroud.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Baines Simon J
• Tyndall Lauren K

Classifications

• A43B1/04

  braided, knotted, knitted or crocheted · CPC title

• A43B5/025

  characterised by an element which improves the contact between the ball and the footwear · CPC title

• A43C7/02

  Flaps; Pockets · CPC title

• A43C1/04

  with rings or loops · CPC title

• A43B23/026

  Laminated layers · CPC title