US 9,730,484 B2
Article Of Footwear Having A Flat Knit Upper Construction Or Other Upper ConstructionGeneral
US 9,730,484 B2
Article Of Footwear Having A Flat Knit Upper Construction Or Other Upper Construction
Tech Center:
3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Medical Devices/Processes
Examiner:
Danny Worrell
Art Unit:
3765 Refrigeration, Vaporization, Ventilation, and Combustion
Agent:
Brinks, Gilson & Lione, Andrew A. Hufford
Inventors:
Bhupesh Dua; Edward N. Thomas
Assignee:
Priority:
11/10/06
Filed:
11/22/13
Granted:
08/15/17
Expiration:
09/11/28
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.
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
D10D10B2403/0331D10BA43B23/0235A43C1/04A43BD04B1/22D04B