Article of footwear having a shoe upper assembly

Abstract

A footwear upper and a top portion for an article of footwear are provided. The footwear upper can include an outward facing portion formed from a polyester yarn and an inward facing portion formed from a combination of polyester yarn and ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) yarn. The inward facing portion can be directly coupled to the outward facing portion. Further, the top portion can include a weave of carbon polymer filler material plies. The plies can include weft plies and warp plies. The warp plies can follow a trajectory of a center of pressure of a foot within the article of footwear.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A footwear upper, comprising:
 an outward facing portion formed from a polyester yarn; and   an inward facing portion formed from a combination of polyester yarn and ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) yarn,   wherein the inward facing portion is directly coupled to the outward facing portion.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear upper of  claim 1 , wherein the inward facing portion is directly coupled to the outward facing portion through the process of at least one of knitting, braiding, or weaving. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear upper of  claim 1 , wherein the composition of the inward facing portion is at least 70% UHMWPE yarn. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear upper of  claim 1 , wherein the composition of the inward facing portion is at least 90% UHMWPE yarn. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear upper of  claim 1 , wherein the inward facing portion extends along the outward facing portion in forefoot, midfoot, and heel regions of the footwear upper. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear upper of  claim 5 , wherein the inward facing portion is exposed to an interior cavity defined by the footwear upper at least in the forefoot and midfoot regions. 
     
     
         7 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 an inward facing portion knitted together with an outward facing portion forming an upper;   wherein the inward facing portion is exposed to an interior cavity of the article of footwear and is formed from a combination of polyester yarn and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene yarn (UHMWPE); and   a top portion coupled to the upper, the top portion having weft plies and warp plies.   
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the warp plies follow a longitudinal path along the top portion defined by a trajectory of a center of pressure of a foot within the article of footwear and the weft plies extend laterally across the top portion. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the weft and warp plies comprise carbon polymer filler material. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein a plurality of the weft plies in a metatarsal section of the top portion are configured to extend in parallel with a virtual metatarsal line. 
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the virtual metatarsal line extends across the top portion from a point on a medial side of the top portion at about 0.73 times a length of the top portion measured from a heel end of the top portion and extending across the top portion and back toward the heel end at an angle of about 20 degrees from a line extending across the top portion from the point on the medial side and perpendicular to the length. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the weft plies in a heel strike section of the top portion are orientated perpendicular with the warp plies. 
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear of  claim 12 , wherein the heel strike section is an area of the top portion extending between a first line extending tangentially along a medial side of the top portion and laterally outward at an angle of about 37 degrees from a line extending tangentially across a heel end of the top portion and a second line, parallel with the first line, spaced a distance from the first line. 
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear of  claim 13 , wherein the distance is about 35 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear of  claim 13 , wherein the weft plies in the heel strike section are parallel with the first and second lines. 
     
     
         16 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the concentration of intersections of the warp and weft plies are higher in at least one of a heel strike section, an arch section, or a metatarsal section. 
     
     
         17 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the composition of the inward facing portion is at least 70% UHMWPE yarn. 
     
     
         18 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the composition of the inward facing portion is at least 90% UHMWPE yarn. 
     
     
         19 . A method of constructing an article of footwear, the method comprising:
 knitting together an outward facing portion and an inward facing portion, wherein the inward facing portion is formed from a combination of polyester yarn and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) yarn;   forming an upper with the combination of the outward facing portion and the inward facing portion; and   securing the upper to a sole structure.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising weaving carbon polymer filler material plies to form a top portion to be secured to the upper.