Shoe with knit upper having thermoplastic yarn regions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12567916-B2
Application number	US-202318113716-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 24, 2023
Priority date	Nov 27, 2019
Publication date	Mar 3, 2026
Grant date	Mar 3, 2026

Abstract

A shoe includes a knit upper and a sole secured to the knit upper. The knit upper is formed with a first type of knit structure knitted with a thermoplastic yarn in a first area. The first area is in at least the toe region of the knit upper. In a second area including at least the medial and lateral metatarsal regions of the knit upper, the knit upper is formed with a second type of knit structure knitted with a second yarn having a higher melting temperature than the thermoplastic yarn. A rear boundary line of the first area and a forward boundary line of the second area define a boundary line between the first and second areas.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A shoe comprising:
a knit upper; a sole secured to the upper; the knit upper having a knitted element, the knitted element being formed of a unitary one-piece construction during a knitting process on a knitting machine, the knitted element comprising a knitted upper heel region, a knitted upper lateral midfoot region, a knitted upper medial midfoot region, a knitted upper metatarsal region, a knitted upper lateral ball region, a knitted upper medial ball region, and a knitted upper toe region, the knitted upper metatarsal region including a knitted upper lateral metatarsal region and a knitted upper medial metatarsal region, the upper having a knitted upper lateral side region and a knitted upper medial side region, the upper lateral side region including the upper lateral midfoot region, the upper lateral metatarsal region and the upper lateral ball region, the upper medial side region including the upper medial midfoot region, the upper medial metatarsal region and the upper medial ball region, the upper toe region being seamlessly knitted with the upper medial and lateral ball regions during the knitting process, the upper medial and lateral ball regions being seamlessly knitted with the knitted upper metatarsal region during the knitting process, the knitted upper metatarsal region being seamlessly knitted with the upper lateral and medial midfoot regions during the knitting process; the knitted element comprising a first type of knit structure knitted in a first area during the knitting process, the first area being at least in the knitted upper toe region, and a second type of knit structure knitted in a second area during the knitting process, the second area being at least in the knitted upper lateral and medial metatarsal regions; the first type of knit structure comprising a first yarn having a first yarn melting temperature and a hot melt yarn having a hot melt yarn melting temperature, and the second type of knit structure comprising a second yarn having a second yarn melting temperature and the hot melt yarn, the hot melt yarn melting temperature being lower than the first yarn melting temperature, the second yarn melting temperature being higher than the first yarn melting temperature; the first area having a rear boundary, the second area having a forward boundary, the rear boundary of the first area and the forward boundary of the second area defining a boundary line between the first and second areas; wherein the hot melt yarn is melted in the first and second areas and the first yarn is melted in the first area.

2 . The shoe of claim 1 wherein the second yarn is not melted in the second area.

3 . The shoe of claim 1 wherein the first type of knit structure is glossy in appearance and the second type of knit structure is matte in appearance.

4 . The shoe of claim 1 wherein the first yarn is a thermoplastic yarn.

5 . The shoe of claim 4 wherein the first yarn is a thermoplastic polyurethane yarn.

6 . The shoe of claim 5 wherein the thermoplastic polyurethane yarn constitutes 25-45% by mass of the knitted element.

7 . The shoe of claim 1 wherein the second yarn is a polyester yarn.

8 . The shoe of claim 7 wherein the polyester yarn constitutes 35-55% by mass of the knitted element.

9 . The shoe of claim 1 wherein the hot melt yarn comprises an adhesive spun into a yarn form.

10 . The shoe of claim 9 wherein the hot melt yarn constitutes 10-30% by mass of the knitted element.

11 . The shoe of claim 1 wherein the knitted element is knitted with the second type of knit structure in a plurality of regions within the second area, each of the plurality of regions being circumscribed by a region of the knit upper devoid of the second type of knit structure.

12 . The shoe of claim 1 wherein the knitted element is knitted during the knitting process with the first type of knit structure in the second area.

13 . The shoe of claim 12 wherein the first type of knit structure circumscribes at least one area of the second type of knit structure within the second area.

14 . A shoe comprising:
a knit upper; a sole secured to the upper; the knit upper having a knitted element, the knitted element being formed of a unitary one-piece construction during a knitting process on a knitting machine, the knitted element comprising a knitted upper heel region, a knitted upper lateral midfoot region, a knitted upper medial midfoot region, a knitted upper metatarsal region, a knitted upper lateral ball region, a knitted upper medial ball region, and a knitted upper toe region, the knitted upper metatarsal region including a knitted upper lateral metatarsal region and a knitted upper medial metatarsal region, the upper having a knitted upper lateral side region and a knitted upper medial side region, the upper lateral side region including the upper lateral midfoot region, the upper lateral metatarsal region and the upper lateral ball region, the upper medial side region including the upper medial midfoot region, the upper medial metatarsal region and the upper medial ball region, the upper toe region being seamlessly knitted with the upper medial and lateral ball regions during the knitting process, the upper medial and lateral ball regions being seamlessly knitted with the knitted upper metatarsal region during the knitting process, the knitted upper metatarsal region being seamlessly knitted with the upper lateral and medial midfoot regions during the knitting process, the knitted element including a wingtip pattern, the wingtip pattern being portions of at least the upper toe region, the upper lateral and medial ball regions, and the upper lateral and medial metatarsal regions; the knitted element comprising a first type of knit structure knitted in a first area during the knitting process and a second type of knit structure knitted in a second area during the knitting process; the first area having a rear boundary, the second area having a forward boundary, the rear boundary of the first area and the forward boundary of the second area defining a boundary line between the first and second areas, the wingtip pattern comprising the boundary line, the boundary line having a medial boundary line and a lateral boundary line, the medial boundary line comprising a wing-shaped curved line having a medial side portion extending forward from at least the upper medial metatarsal region to the upper toe region and a central portion extending rearward from the upper toe region, the lateral boundary line comprising a wing-shaped curved line having a lateral side portion extending forward from at least the upper lateral metatarsal region to the upper toe region and a central portion extending rearward from the upper toe region, the rearwardly extending central portion of the medial boundary line converging toward the rearwardly extending central portion of the lateral boundary line; the first type of knit structure comprising a first yarn having a first yarn melting temperature and a hot melt yarn having a hot melt yarn melting temperature, and the second type of knit structure comprising a second yarn having a second yarn melting temperature and the hot melt yarn, the hot melt yearn melting temperature being lower than the first yarn melting temperature and the second yarn melting temperature being higher than the first yarn melting temperature; wherein the hot melt yarn is melted in the first and second areas and the first yarn is melted in the first area.

15 . The shoe of claim 14 wherein the central portions of the lateral and medial boundary lines converge rearwardly to

Assignees

• Cole Haan Llc

Inventors

• Polgar Ryan
• Verfl Mattias
• Greelish Laura
• Leung Wai Ming

Classifications

• H04N21/64322

  IP · CPC title

• H04N21/4622

  Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet (web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859) · CPC title

• H04N21/4431

  characterized by the use of Application Program Interface [API] libraries · CPC title

• H04N21/4383

  Accessing a communication channel · CPC title

• H04N21/435

  Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream · CPC title