Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B1/00—Footwear characterised by the material
  • A43B1/02—Footwear characterised by the material made of fibres or fabrics made therefrom
  • A43B1/04—Footwear characterised by the material made of fibres or fabrics made therefrom braided, knotted, knitted or crocheted
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B1/00—Footwear characterised by the material
  • A43B1/02—Footwear characterised by the material made of fibres or fabrics made therefrom
  • A43B1/05—Footwear characterised by the material made of fibres or fabrics made therefrom woven
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B23/00—Uppers; Boot legs; Stiffeners; Other single parts of footwear
  • A43B23/02—Uppers; Boot legs
  • A43B23/0205—Uppers; Boot legs characterised by the material
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B23/00—Uppers; Boot legs; Stiffeners; Other single parts of footwear
  • A43B23/02—Uppers; Boot legs
  • A43B23/0245—Uppers; Boot legs characterised by the constructive form
  • A43B23/0265—Uppers; Boot legs characterised by the constructive form having different properties in different directions
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D03—WEAVING
  • D03D—WOVEN FABRICS; METHODS OF WEAVING; LOOMS
  • D03D13/00—Woven fabrics characterised by the special disposition of the warp or weft threads, e.g. with curved weft threads, with discontinuous warp threads, with diagonal warp or weft
  • D03D13/004—Woven fabrics characterised by the special disposition of the warp or weft threads, e.g. with curved weft threads, with discontinuous warp threads, with diagonal warp or weft with weave pattern being non-standard or providing special effects
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D03—WEAVING
  • D03D—WOVEN FABRICS; METHODS OF WEAVING; LOOMS
  • D03D15/00—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used
  • D03D15/50—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the properties of the yarns or threads
  • D03D15/56—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the properties of the yarns or threads elastic
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D10—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBLASSES OF SECTION D, RELATING TO TEXTILES
  • D10B—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBLASSES OF SECTION D, RELATING TO TEXTILES
  • D10B2501/00—Wearing apparel
  • D10B2501/04—Outerwear; Protective garments
  • D10B2501/043—Footwear

Definitions

• the present invention relates to footwear, in particular woven uppers for forming footwear.
• shoe uppers A variety of materials are used to form shoe uppers including, but not limited to, leather, suede, canvas, knitted materials, and fabrics. As well as providing different appearance, different materials can provide different physical characteristics such as elasticity, stiffness, wear resistance, and water-proofing.
• the material from which the upper of a specific shoe is formed are generally chosen to provide the appropriate appearance and material characteristics for that shoe.
• Some shoes particularly shoes intended for specific sports or athletic activities, require different regions of the upper to have different physical characteristics.
• this has been achieved by forming an upper from regions of different material and/or providing stiffeners within the upper.
• EP2594146 discloses a sports shoe having an upper formed of a single material in which a portion of the upper comprises a first layer and a second functional layer that is printed onto the first layer, the second functional layer covering only portions of the upper.
• the tensile strength of the portion printed with the section of the second functional layer is at least doubled compared to the unprinted regions of the upper, and the second layer modifies the elasticity in an anisotropic manner. That is, EP2594146 discloses an upper in which the physical characteristics of the upper are varied by printing a second material onto the material of the upper.
• the material form which the upper of EP2594146 may be formed include knitted materials.
• any such upper may have two or more regions of different physical characteristics.
• the present invention provides a woven upper formed of warp yams and weft yarns and comprising: a first area; wherein, the first area comprises elastic yarns and non-elastic yams; the warp and/or the weft yams of the first area comprise at least 5% elastic yarns; characterised in that: the elastic yams are woven in tension.
• the upper of the present invention is advantageous in that it provides a simple construction for an upper that allows control of the elasticity of the upper in the warp and/or weft directions.
• the elasticity of the first area of the upper can be controlled by controlling the proportion of elastic and non-elastic yarns in the warp and weft directions. Increasing the proportion of elastic yarns in the warp and/or weft direction will increase the elasticity of the upper in that direction.
• the yams of the upper that are not elastic yams will be substantially inelastic yarns.
• an elastic yam is one that is capable of elastically deforming to at least 150% of a rest length.
• An example of a suitable elastic yarn for use in the present invention is elastane continuous mono-filament yam.
• the upper of the present invention is formed of a woven material comprising warp yams and weft yarns.
• the weaving of the material may be achieved in any appropriate manner.
• the weaving may be carried out using a jacquard machine or any other similar machine. Weaving using a jacquard machine is advantageous in that it can allow the first area (and any other areas present in the upper) to be formed without difficulty by following an appropriate weaving pattern.
• the elastic yarns of the upper are woven in tension. That is, during weaving the elastic yams are elastically extended such that an elastic tension is present in the elastic yarns.
• the elastic yarns are woven into the upper under elastic tension.
• the elastic yarns may be extended from a rest length by at least 5%.
• the elastic yams may be extended from a rest length by at least 20%, at least 50%, or at least 100%.
• the rest length of an elastic yarn is the length of the yam at which there is no tension in the yarn.
• either the warp yams or the weft yarns of the first area may comprise 5% more elastic yarns than the other of the warp yams and the weft yams of the first area. This is advantageous as it allows the first area of the upper to have anisotropic elasticity, i.e. be more elastic in one of the warp or weft directions.
• the warp yarns of the first area comprise at least 20% or at least 50% elastic yarns. Increasing the proportion of elastic yams in the warp yarns increases the elasticity of the upper in the warp direction.
• the weft yams of the first area comprise at least 20% or at least 50% elastic yarns. Increasing the proportion of elastic yams in the weft yarns increases the elasticity of the upper in the weft direction.
• the upper may further comprise a second area; wherein the first area has a greater elasticity in the warp and/or the weft direction than the second area; and wherein the warp yarns and/or the weft yarns of the first area comprise at least 5% elastic yams; and the warp yarns or the weft yarns of the second area comprise at least 5% fewer elastic yarns than the equivalent yarns of the first area; characterised in that: the elastic yams are in tension.
• the first area and the second area of the upper have differing elasticity. This is achieved by providing a different yarn composition in each area.
• the warp yarns and/or the weft yarns of the first area comprise at least 5% elastic yarns and the equivalent yarns of the second area comprise at least 5% fewer elastic yarns.
• the warp yarns of the first area will comprise at least 5% elastic yarns and the warp yarns of a second area will have at least 5% fewer elastic yarns such that the warp direction of the first area is more elastic than the warp direction of the second area.
• the weft yams of the first area will comprise at least 5% elastic yams and the weft yams of a second area will have at least 5% fewer elastic yarns such that the weft direction of the first area is more elastic than the weft direction of the second area.
• the warp yams and the weft yarns of the first area will comprise at least 5% elastic yams
• the warp direction of a second area will have at least 5% fewer elastic yarns than the warp direction of the first area
• the weft direction of the second area will have at least 5% fewer elastic yarns than the weft direction of the second area, such that the warp and the weft directions of the first area are more elastic than the warp and the weft directions of the second area.
• the first area may have a greater elasticity than a second area in only the warp direction, only the weft direction, or in both the warp and the weft directions. This greater elasticity is achieved by the first area comprising at least 5% elastic yarns in the relevant direction and having at least 5% more elastic yams than the same direction in a second area.
• the warp yarns and/or weft yams of a second area comprise, at least 10%, at least 15%, or at least 20% fewer elastic yarns the equivalent yarns of the first area. Increasing the difference in the number of elastic yarns in the warp and/or weft yarns between the first and second areas will increase the difference in elasticity between the areas.
• the warp yarns of the first area and/or the weft yams of the first area comprise at least 50% elastic yams. This will provide excellent elasticity in the warp and/or the weft direction of the first area.
• the first area may be significantly more elastic than the second area in the warp and/or the weft direction.
• the warp direction of the first area may have at least 20%, 30%, 40%, or 50% more elastic yams than the warp direction of the second area and/or the weft direction of the first area may have at least 20%, 30%, 40%, or 50% more elastic yarns than the weft direction of the second area.
• the first area may be more elastic than the second area in both the warp direction and the weft direction.
• the first area may be more elastic than the second in area in the warp or weft direction and the second area may be more elastic than the first area in the other of the warp and weft directions.
• the first area may have the same elasticity as the second area in one of the warp and the weft directions.
• the elasticity of the warp and weft directions of an upper can be controlled by varying the proportion of elastic yarns in the warp and weft yarns. A greater proportion of elastic yarns in either the warp or the weft direction will provide a greater elasticity in that direction. Further control of the elasticity may be achieved by using different weave patterns in the first and second areas. The control of elasticity in this manner will be readily apparent to the person skilled in the art. Regardless of control of elasticity, in embodiments of the invention having a first area and a second area, it may be preferable that different weave patterns are utilised in the first and second areas such that the first and the second areas can be easily visually differentiated.
• the warp yarns and the weft yarns will comprise a mixture of elastic yarns and non-elastic yarns.
• the warp or the weft direction of the first area may consist entirely of elastic yarns.
• one of the warp or weft direction of the second area may consist entirely of elastic yarns.
• the warp and/or the weft direction of the second area may consist entirely of inelastic yarns.
• one of the warp or weft directions of the first area may consist entirely of inelastic yarns.
• both the warp and the weft direction of the first area and the second area may comprise a mix of elastic and inelastic yams.
• the inelastic yarns of the first area and any second area may be formed of polyester, polyamide or polypropylene.
• the inelastic yams may have between 8 and 12 interlacing points every 10cm.
• the first area and/or any second area may comprise at least 30 warp and weft yarns per cm, preferably at least 60 warp yams/cm, and preferably at least 55 weft yarns/cm.
• the first area and/or any second area may comprise a maximum of 72 warp yarns per cm and a maximum of 70 weft yarns/cm.
• Inelastic yarns of the present invention may comprise any suitable yarns.
• inelastic yarns presently used for weaving woven uppers according to the prior art are suitable for use in the present invention.
• An example of a suitable yam is polyester continuous flat filament yarn.
• Suitable yarns include polyamide (basic and HT), polyester (basic and HT), polypropylene, PET and TPU yams, aramide yarns (meta and para-aramide), HDPE yarns (polyethylene High Density), PTFE yarns, PU and PVC yarns, acrylic and carbon yarns, artificial yams such as viscose, acetate, modal, Tencel, and cellulosic yarns, and natural yarns, such as wool, silk, cotton, linen, yuta, ramie and hemp.
• the count of the relevant area of the woven upper may preferably be between 22 dTex and 1100 dTex.
• the count of the relevant area of the woven upper may advantageously be between 22 dTex and 550 dTex.
• the count of the relevant area of the woven upper may advantageously be between 22 dTex and 60 dTex.
• the count of the relevant area of the woven upper may be between 22 dTex and 33 dTex.
• a woven upper according to the present invention may comprise more than one first area and/or more than one second area.
• a woven upper according to the present invention may comprise additional areas, for example third, fourth, or fifth areas, each with differing elastic properties achieved by controlling the proportion of elastic yarns in the warp and/or weft directions. That is, a woven upper according to the present invention may have any reasonable number of different areas, each with differing elastic properties.
• Eyelets are commonly provided on an upper to allow mounting of laces on the upper.
• eyelets are either holes formed through the uppers, that may be reinforced, or loops sewn onto the upper.
• eyelets may be provided in either conventional manner.
• the woven upper may further comprise a plurality of eyelets formed on a surface of the woven upper, the eyelets being formed of either the warp yarns or the weft yarns of the upper. That is, the woven upper of the present invention may be woven in such a manner that the either the warp yarns or the weft yarns form eyelets at appropriate positions on the upper.
• a woven upper according to the present invention may comprise a plurality of eyelets formed on a surface of the woven upper, the eyelets being formed of ribbon woven into the warp or weft of the upper. This is advantageous as it provides a robust construction for the eyelets without the need to provide eyelets in post-processing of the upper.
• the present invention also provides a method of weaving an upper according to the present invention comprising the steps: providing a first warp yarn and a first weft yarn; weaving a woven upper having a first area, woven from the first warp yarn and the first weft yarn; wherein the first warp yarn and/or the first weft yarn comprise at least 5% elastic yarns; the first warp yarn and the first weft yarn comprise elastic yams and non-elastic yams; characterised in that: the elastic yams are woven in tension.
• the method of the present invention further comprises the steps of: providing a second warp yarn and a second weft yarn; and weaving the woven upper having a first area, woven from the first warp yarn and the first weft yarn, and a second area, woven from the second warp yarn and the second weft yarn; wherein: the first warp yarn and/or the first weft yam comprise at least 5% elastic yams and the second warp yarn and/or the second weft yam comprises at least 5% fewer elastic yarns than the equivalent first yam; characterised in that: the elastic yams are woven in tension.
• the woven upper can be woven using any suitable machine.
• the upper is woven using ajacquard machine.
• This is advantageous as jacquard machines allowthe weaving of different patterns in a single piece of material without difficulty.
• a jacquard machine may allow the first area and any second area to be woven in different patterns.
• the patterns of the first area and any second area may be any suitable pattern including, but not limited to simple weaving patterns such as canvas, twill, satin, and piquet, as well as more intricate patterns such as gobelin, and damasco.
• Weaving in different patterns can further control the elasticity of different areas of the woven upper.
• it can be used to further control the elasticity of the first area and any second area.
• the first area and any second area may be woven in different patterns such that they can be easily visually differentiated.
• a woven upper according to the present invention may be finished in any appropriate manner.
• the woven upper may undergo heat settling to fix the size of the upper.
• Figure l is a first embodiment of a woven upper according to the present invention
• Figure 2 is a second embodiment of a woven upper according to the present invention
• Figure 3 is a schematic of a third embodiment of a woven upper according to the present invention.
• Figure 4 is a first image of a fourth embodiment of a woven upper according to the present invention
• Figure 5 is a second image of a fourth embodiment of a woven upper according to the present invention.
• the woven upper 1 consists of a piece of woven material that has been woven on a jacquard machine.
• the woven upper consists of a third area 2, a second area 3, and two first areas 4.
• the third area 2, second area 3, and first areas 4 are woven with different weaving patterns and have different elastic properties.
• both warp yarns and weft yarns consist of elastic yarns providing elasticity in both the warp and the weft direction.
• the warp yams and the weft yarns consist of inelastic yams such that the second area is not elastic in either the warp direction or the weft direction.
• the warp yarns are inelastic and the weft yams are elastic such that the third area is elastic in only the weft direction. In this manner a single woven upper has varying elastic properties.
• the elastic yarns of the woven upper 1 are formed of elastane continuous mono-filament yarn with count 44 dTex.
• the elastic yams have between 11 and 14 interlacing points per 10cm.
• the inelastic yarns of the woven upper are formed of polyester continuous flat filaments with count 167 dTex/ 48 filaments flat.
• the inelastic yarns have between 9 and 11 interlacing points per 10cm.
• a second simple embodiment of a woven upper 1 according to the present invention is shown in Figure 2.
• the woven upper 1 of Figure 2 comprises a third area 5, two second areas 6, and four first areas 7.
• the third area 5, second areas 6, and first areas 7 are woven with different patterns to visually differentiate the areas.
• the third area 5, second areas 6, and first areas 7 have differing elastic properties. This is achieved by utilising the different weaving patterns and by providing different composition of elastic yarns in the warp and weft directions between the different the third, second, and first areas 5, 6, 7.
• Each of the waft and weft directions of the first, second, and third areas comprise inelastic yarns and varying amounts of elastic yams. An increased portion of elastic yams in the warp and weft directions provides greater elasticity in the relevant direction.
• the elastic yams of the woven upper 1 of the second embodiment are formed of elastane continuous mono-filament yam with count 44 dTex.
• the elastic yams have between 11 and 14 interlacing points per 10cm.
• the inelastic yams of the woven upper are formed of polyester continuous flat filaments with count 167 dTex/ 48 filaments flat.
• the inelastic yarns have between 9 and 11 interlacing points per 10cm.
• the elastic yarns are stretched to 200% of their rest length. That is, during weaving the elastic yarns are extended to twice their rest length and are under tension. After weaving the tension on the elastic yarns is released.
• the woven upper 1 is heat set using an appropriate method.
• a third embodiment of a woven upper 1 according to the present invention is shown in Figure 3.
• the woven upper 1 is formed in the same manner and from the same materials as the first and second embodiments of the invention.
• the third embodiment comprises first areas 8, second areas 9, third areas 10, and fourth areas 11, each having different elastic properties.
• the differing elastic properties being provided by differing proportions of elastic yarns being present in the warp and weft directions between the first, second, third, and fourth areas 8, 9, 10, 11.
• the third embodiment is provided to illustrate the complexity of patterns of woven uppers 1 that can be obtained in embodiments of the present invention. This complexity is achievable due to the unitary woven nature of the uppers 1.
• Different uppers 1 can be provided for any particular use depending on the requirements of a shoe that the upper will form part of.
• a fourth embodiment of a woven upper 1 according to the present invention is shown in Figures 4 and 5.
• the woven upper comprises first areas 12, a second areas 13, and third areas 14.
• the first, second, and third areas 12, 13, 14 have differing elastic properties provided by differing proportions of elastic yarns being present in the warp and weft directions.
• the woven upper comprises a plurality of eyelets 15 formed on the upper surface.
• the eyelets 15 are formed of the weft yarns of the upper and are formed during weaving of the woven upper 1.
• the weaving of the upper 1 using a jacquard machine allows the formation of the eyelets 15 during weaving of the upper 1, rather than adding the eyelets in a separate process step after weaving of the upper 1.
• a shoe lace 16 is positioned through the eyelets 15 to show the function of the eyelets.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Woven Fabrics (AREA)
• Knitting Of Fabric (AREA)
• Looms (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Families Citing this family (1)

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• 2019
  • 2019-11-29 GB GB1917466.3A patent/GB2589378B/en active Active
• 2020
  • 2020-11-27 MX MX2022006464A patent/MX2022006464A/es unknown
  • 2020-11-27 EP EP20828025.5A patent/EP4065757A1/en active Pending
  • 2020-11-27 BR BR112022010469A patent/BR112022010469A2/pt unknown
  • 2020-11-27 CN CN202080090826.5A patent/CN114901880B/zh active Active
  • 2020-11-27 WO PCT/EP2020/083666 patent/WO2021105383A1/en unknown
  • 2020-11-27 KR KR1020227021817A patent/KR20220107023A/ko active Search and Examination
  • 2020-11-27 US US17/780,592 patent/US20230000199A1/en active Pending
  • 2020-11-30 TW TW109142018A patent/TW202130291A/zh unknown

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