Braided upper for footwear with finished heel axis

Abstract

A system for forming a braided footwear upper is provided. The upper has a medial side and a lateral side, and a toe end and a heel end. The braided footwear is made from a number of yarns that are braided together. The heel-axis finishing system includes an alignment mechanism that orients the medial side and the lateral side at the heel end. The lateral side and the medial side come together at the heel to form a heel axis. A joining mechanism is associated with the alignment mechanism. The joining mechanism couples at least one braided yarn from the medial side to at least one braided yarn from the lateral side along the heel axis. By joining the aligned yarns as they are severed, the heel area transitions from the medial side to the lateral side with an appearance of seamlessness.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A heel-axis finishing system for forming a braided footwear upper comprising:
 an alignment mechanism configured to orient a medial side of a braided upper with a lateral side of the braided upper at a heel end of the braided upper; and   a joining mechanism associated with the alignment mechanism, said joining mechanism configured to couple a first braided yarn of the medial side to a first braided yarn of the lateral side along a heel axis.   
     
     
         2 . The heel-axis finishing system of  claim 1 , wherein the joining mechanism is a sonic welder. 
     
     
         3 . The heel-axis finishing system of  claim 2 , wherein the alignment mechanism comprises a base and a pair of back plates coupled to the base in spaced apart relation to define a slot. 
     
     
         4 . The heel-axis finishing system of  claim 3 , wherein at least one of the pair of back plates is slidingly coupled to the base. 
     
     
         5 . The heel-axis finishing system of  claim 4 , wherein both of the back plates are slidingly coupled to the base. 
     
     
         6 . The heel-axis finishing system of  claim 5 , wherein the sonic welder comprises a sonic welding anvil housed within one of the pair of back plates, and a sonic welding horn housed within the other of the pair of back plates, the sonic anvil and sonic horn extending into the defined slot. 
     
     
         7 . An upper for an article of footwear comprising:
 a braided upper comprising a unitary, braided structure having a lateral side opposite a medial side and a heel end opposite a toe end,   wherein the braided upper comprises a joined heel axis between the lateral side and the medial side proximate the heel end of the braided upper, said joined heel axis comprising at least a first braided yarn of the lateral side coupled to at least a first braided yarn of the medial side at the joined heel axis.   
     
     
         8 . The upper for an article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the joined heel axis presents a vertical transition seam from the lateral side to the medial side. 
     
     
         9 . The upper for an article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the braided structure of the medial side and the braided structure of the lateral side are configured to mate with one another at the heel axis. 
     
     
         10 . The upper for an article of footwear of  claim 9 , wherein the joined heel axis comprises yarns from the medial side sonically welded to yarns from the lateral side. 
     
     
         11 . The upper for an article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the toe end presents a seam oriented orthogonally to the joined heel axis. 
     
     
         12 . A method for forming a heel axis on a braided footwear upper, comprising:
 placing a braided upper on an alignment mechanism configured to orient a medial side of a braided upper with a lateral side of the braided upper at a heel end of the braided upper; and   joining at least a first braided yarn of the medial side to a first braided yarn of the lateral side along a heel axis.   
     
     
         13 . The method of forming a heel axis on a braided footwear upper of  claim 12 , wherein the joining step comprises activating a sonic welder along the heel axis. 
     
     
         14 . The method of forming a heel axis on a braided footwear upper of  claim 13 , further comprising removing at least a portion of the braided upper along the heel axis. 
     
     
         15 . The method of forming a heel axis on a braided footwear upper of  claim 14 , wherein the removing step includes activating a sonic welding apparatus along the length of the heel axis.