IP Library Granted Patent US 12,708,178
Granted Patent B2
US 12,708,178 · App. 18/428,812 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Articles of footwear with uppers comprising a wound component and methods of making the same

Inventors: Fionn Jonathan Corcoran-Tadd (Portland, OR); Benjamin William Kleiman (Portland, OR); Ian James Hennebery (Portland, OR); Keith Paul Thompson (Ely, GB); Peter David Cauwood (Cambridge, GB); Peter Georg Laitenberger (Cambridge, GB); Sam Jackson Conklin (Portland, OR); Luke Alexander Lowrey (Nuremberg, DE)
Assignee: adidas AG
A43B23/0265A43B1/0063A43B7/00A43B13/14A43B23/0205A43B23/0235A43B23/0255A43B23/04A43D1/02A43D1/025A43D3/02A43D3/022B29D5/06B29D35/06B29D35/122B32B5/024B32B5/026B32B5/028B32B5/142B32B5/26D04H3/045D04H3/12A43B5/025A43B5/06A43B5/10A43B5/12A43B5/14A43B23/026A43D2200/10B32B2250/20D10B2403/033D10B2501/043
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,708,178
App. No.
18/428,812
Filed
Jan 31, 2024
Granted
Aug 18, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3732
USPC
36/98
Abstract

Articles of footwear and methods of making articles of footwear including one or more continuous threads wound around anchor points. The winding of the one or more continuous threads forms a thread pattern that imparts desired characteristics to components of the article of footwear. Thread lines of the thread pattern may be bonded together. In some embodiments, thread lines may be bonded with a bonding layer.

Claims (39)

1 . An article of apparel, comprising:

a multi-layer thread construction comprising:

a perimeter portion;

an interior portion;

a first layer comprising a first thread, the first thread comprising a plurality of first thread lines extending across the interior portion between points of the perimeter portion and crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the first thread lines, wherein the plurality of first thread lines are bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the first thread lines;

a second layer disposed over the first layer and comprising a second thread, the second thread comprising a plurality of second thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the second thread lines, wherein the plurality of second thread lines are bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the second thread lines; and

a third layer disposed over the second layer and comprising a third thread, the third thread comprising a plurality of third thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the third thread lines, wherein the plurality of third thread lines are bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the third thread lines,

wherein the first thread lines are not woven together, the second thread lines are not woven together, and the third thread lines are not woven together.

2 . The article of apparel of claim 1 , wherein the first thread lines are directly bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the first thread lines, and

wherein the second thread lines are directly bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the second thread lines.

3 . The article of apparel of claim 1 , wherein one of the first plurality of thread lines is directly bonded to one of the second plurality of thread lines at a point of overlap between the one of the first plurality of thread lines and the one of the second plurality of thread lines.

4 . The article of apparel of claim 3 , wherein the second thread comprises a polymer thread, and wherein a polymeric material of the polymer thread directly bonds the second thread to the first thread at the point of overlap.

5 . The article of apparel of claim 1 , comprising an element disposed between the first layer and the second layer.

6 . The article of apparel of claim 5 , wherein the element comprises a padding element.

7 . The article of apparel of claim 6 , wherein the padding element comprises a polymeric foam.

8 . The article of apparel of claim 1 , wherein the perimeter portion at least partially defines a perimeter shape of the article of apparel.

9 . The article of apparel of claim 8 , comprising a perimeter bonding layer that bonds the first layer to the second layer in the perimeter portion.

10 . The article of apparel of claim 9 , wherein the perimeter bonding layer comprises a stitching that stitches the first layer to the second layer in the perimeter portion.

11 . The article of apparel of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of first thread lines comprises a group of thread lines extending radially from an area in the perimeter portion.

12 . The article of apparel of claim 11 , wherein the group of thread lines comprises three or more thread lines extending radially from the area.

13 . The article of apparel of claim 11 , wherein the group of thread lines comprises five or more thread lines extending radially from the area.

14 . The article of apparel of claim 1 , wherein the first layer comprises a fourth thread comprising a plurality of fourth thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the fourth thread lines, and wherein the plurality of fourth thread lines and the plurality of first thread lines comprise overlaying thread lines, wherein the overlaying thread lines follow a same path along lengths of the overlaying thread lines between anchor points during manufacturing.

15 . The article of apparel of claim 1 , comprising a fourth layer disposed between the first layer and the second layer and comprising a polymer thread, wherein a polymeric material of the polymer thread bonds the first layer to the second layer.

16 . The article of apparel of claim 15 , wherein the polymeric material of the polymer thread is at least partially melted between the first layer and the second layer.

17 . The article of apparel of claim 1 , wherein the article of apparel comprises pants, shorts, leggings, a jacket, a coat, a hat, a sleeve, a sweater, a shirt, a jersey, a bra, or a glove.

18 . An article of apparel, comprising:

a multi-layer thread construction comprising:

a perimeter portion;

an interior portion;

a first layer comprising a first thread, the first thread comprising a plurality of first thread lines extending across the interior portion between points of the perimeter portion and crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the first thread lines, wherein the plurality of first thread lines are bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the first thread lines;

a second layer disposed over the first layer and comprising a second thread, the second thread comprising a plurality of second thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the second thread lines, wherein the plurality of second thread lines are bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the second thread lines; and

stitching that stitches the first layer to the second layer,

wherein the first thread lines are not woven together and the second thread lines are not woven together.

19 . The article of apparel of claim 18 , comprising a third layer disposed between the second layer and the first layer, the third layer comprising a third thread comprising a plurality of third thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the third thread lines,

wherein the stitching stitches the third layer to the first layer and the second layer.

20 . An article of apparel, comprising:

a first layer comprising a first thread, the first thread comprising a plurality of first thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the first thread lines, wherein the plurality of first thread lines are bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the first thread lines; and

a second layer disposed over the first layer and comprising a second thread, the second thread comprising a plurality of second thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the second thread lines, wherein the plurality of second thread lines are bonded to each other at the points of overlap between two or more of the second thread lines,

wherein the first layer comprises a third thread comprising a plurality of third thread lines crossing over each other at points of overlap between two or more of the third thread lines, wherein the plurality of third thread lines and the plurality of first thread lines comprise overlaying thread lines, and wherein the overlaying thread lines follow a same path along lengths of the overlaying thread lines between anchor points during manufacturing.

Continuity (3)
Continuation 17125492 · Dec 17, 2020
Continuation 15945034 · Apr 4, 2018
Related Publication 20240164483A1 · May 23, 2024
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