Article of footwear incorporating a knitted component with monofilament areas

Abstract

In one aspect, an article of footwear may include a knitted component having monofilament strands knitted substantially throughout and a body portion extending continuously from a heel region, along a lateral side of a midfoot region, over a forefoot region, to a medial side of the midfoot region. The body portion may include a plurality of multifilament courses forming an interior surface and an exterior surface. The body portion may include a first monofilament zone in the midfoot region extending diagonally toward the forefoot region, including a plurality of first monofilament areas forming at least a portion of the interior surface of the body portion and substantially having a medial-to-lateral orientation. The body portion may include a second monofilament zone including at a plurality of second monofilament areas forming at least part of the interior surface. The multifilament courses may define a shape of the first monofilament areas and a shape of the second monofilament areas.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 a knitted component having monofilament strands knitted substantially throughout;   a body portion extending continuously from a heel region, along a lateral side of a midfoot region, over a forefoot region, to a medial side of the midfoot region, and comprising a plurality of multifilament courses forming an interior surface and an exterior surface;   a first monofilament zone in the midfoot region extending diagonally toward the forefoot region, comprising a plurality of first monofilament areas forming at least a portion of the interior surface of the body portion and substantially having a medial-to-lateral orientation; and   a second monofilament zone comprising a plurality of second monofilament areas forming at least part of the interior surface of the body portion;   wherein the multifilament courses define a shape of the first monofilament areas and a shape of the second monofilament areas.   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the second monofilament zone is located in the forefoot region. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the multifilament courses in the forefoot region have more area than the second monofilament areas. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 2 , wherein the second monofilament zone substantially covers at least one of the medial and lateral sides of the forefoot region. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , further comprising a third monofilament zone in the heel region. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the first monofilament zone comprises an elastic yarn oriented approximately parallel to the first monofilament areas. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , further comprising a fused area of at least one thermoplastic yarn in a border portion adjacent at least one of the first or second monofilament zones. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the first monofilament areas extend from a sole structure to an instep region. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , further comprising a fastening system at least partially positioned in the first monofilament zone. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 9 , wherein the first monofilament areas are approximately parallel to a tensile strand forming at least part of the fastening system. 
     
     
         11 . A knitted component, comprising:
 an interior layer comprising a monofilament strand, a plurality of first monofilament areas having a first shape, and a plurality of second monofilament areas having a second shape; and   an exterior layer comprising a first multifilament yarn knitted on at least two needle beds, a plurality of first multifilament areas located in a midfoot region and defining the first shape, and a plurality of second multifilament areas located in a forefoot region and defining the second shape.   
     
     
         12 . The knitted component of  claim 11 , wherein the first monofilament areas have single needle bed construction. 
     
     
         13 . The knitted component of  claim 11 , wherein the second multifilament areas have more area than the second monofilament areas. 
     
     
         14 . The knitted component of  claim 11 , wherein the first multifilament areas surround the first monofilament areas and the second multifilament areas surround the second monofilament areas. 
     
     
         15 . The knitted component of  claim 11 , wherein the interior layer further comprises a second multifilament yarn. 
     
     
         16 . The knitted component of  claim 15 , wherein the second multifilament yarn has a different color than the first multifilament yarn. 
     
     
         17 . The knitted component of  claim 11 , wherein the first monofilament areas have an elongate shape. 
     
     
         18 . The knitted component of  claim 11 ,
 wherein each first monofilament area and second monofilament area has a base portion corresponding with a longest dimension,   wherein the base portion of at least one first monofilament area is longer than the base portion of at least one second monofilament area.   
     
     
         19 . The knitted component of  claim 18 , wherein the base portion of at least one first monofilament area has a substantially medial-to-lateral orientation. 
     
     
         20 . The knitted component of  claim 11 , wherein the first and second monofilament areas have substantially the same orientation.