Composite upper for shoe with selectively disposed bonding agent

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9320312-B2
Application number	US-201213599610-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2012
Priority date	Aug 30, 2012
Publication date	Apr 26, 2016
Grant date	Apr 26, 2016

Abstract

Footwear fabrication methods are disclosed, having reduced material consumption and/or waste requirements, compared to conventional methods, as well as the footwear articles made by such methods. The fabrication methods and articles are characterized by the selective use of a bonding agent, in the form of a powder or tackified (e.g., preheated) powder, to bond various material panels, such substrate, mesh, and/or skin panels in the formation of a composite panel (e.g., a bonded mesh composite panel), which may in turn be used to provide a footwear upper and ultimately an article of footwear. The bonding agent is particularly applicable to fabrication processes utilizing a combination of heat and pressure for bonding or fusing material panels, each having a suitable composition, size, shape, and thickness, into the particular configuration of the footwear upper.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An upper for an article of footwear, the upper having a bonded mesh composite panel comprising:
(a) a substrate layer;
(b) a mesh layer overlapping the substrate layer in a mesh/substrate overlap area that does not overlap the entire substrate layer; and
(c) a skin layer overlapping both the mesh and substrate layers in a skin/mesh/substrate overlap area, and
(d) a bonding agent that is selectively disposed (i) between the mesh and substrate layers, in the mesh/substrate overlap area, but disposed over only a subset of the mesh/substrate overlap area or (ii) between the mesh and skin layers, in the skin/mesh/substrate overlap area, but disposed over only a subset of the skin/mesh/substrate overlap area.

2. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is selectively disposed between the mesh and substrate layers, within at least one additional mesh/substrate overlap area.

3. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is disposed within the mesh/substrate overlap area at a first bonding layer thickness, that differs from a second bonding layer thickness at a second mesh/substrate overlap area, within which the bonding agent is also disposed.

4. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is pigmented with a first color and disposed in the mesh/substrate overlap area that differs from a second mesh/substrate area in which the bonding agent, having a second color that differs from the first color, is disposed.

5. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

6. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent has a melting temperature from about 80° C. to about 120° C.

7. An article of footwear comprising the upper of claim 1 , wherein
(i) the substrate layer has opposing inner and outer sides, the inner side facing an interior of the article and the outer side oriented away from the interior;
(ii) the mesh layer has opposing inner and outer sides, the inner side oriented toward the outer side of the substrate layer within the mesh/substrate bonding areas; and
(iii) the skin layer has opposing inner and outer sides, the inner side oriented toward the mesh and substrate layers within the skin/mesh/substrate overlap areas;
the article of footwear further comprising a foam midsole bonded to the composite panel, the composite panel including portions bonded to a bottom surface of the foam midsole.

8. The article of footwear of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the outer side of the skin layer faces the exterior of the article.

9. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is selectively disposed at a peripheral region within the mesh/substrate overlap area or the skin/mesh/substrate overlap area.

10. The upper of claim 9 , wherein the peripheral region surrounds a central region within the mesh/substrate overlap area or the skin/mesh/substrate overlap area, and wherein the bonding agent is absent from a central region.

11. The upper of claim 10 , wherein an additional material is encapsulated in the central region.

12. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is absent from an area in which the substrate layer overlaps the skin layer but not the mesh layer.

13. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is selectively disposed in the mesh/substrate overlap area, over only a subset of the mesh/substrate overlap area.

14. The upper of claim 13 , wherein the bonding agent is selectively disposed over from about 10% to about 90% of the mesh/substrate overlap area.

15. The upper of claim 14 , wherein the bonding agent is selectively disposed over from about 30% to about 80% of the mesh/substrate overlap area.

16. The upper of claim 13 , wherein the bonding agent is disposed over only a subset of at least one additional mesh/substrate overlap area.

17. The upper of claim 13 , wherein the bonding agent is selectively disposed at a plurality of discreet locations within the mesh/substrate overlap area.

18. The upper of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of discreet locations are in the form of a pattern, shape, image, or design.

19. The upper of claim 1 , wherein the bonding agent is selectively disposed in the skin/mesh/substrate overlap area, over only a subset of the skin/mesh/substrate overlap area.

20. The upper of claim 19 , wherein the bonding agent is disposed over only a subset of at least one additional skin/mesh/substrate overlap area.

Assignees

• Lyttle Amy
• Miller Todd W
• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Lyttle Amy
• Miller Todd W

Classifications

• A43B23/0235

  Different layers of different material · CPC title

• Y10T156/1062

  Prior to assembly · CPC title

• A43B23/026

  Laminated layers · CPC title

• A43B23/0295

  Pieced uppers · CPC title

• A43B1/00 Primary

  Footwear characterised by the material · CPC title