Circular knit shoe upper

Abstract

The present invention relates to a shoe upper, in particular an upper knitted on a circular knitting machine, including an elongated hollow knit structure, including: a first zone including a first predetermined property; a second zone including a second predetermined property; wherein the elongated hollow knit structure includes less than ten distinct ply types of yarn including less than five distinct materials.

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A shoe upper knitted on a circular knitting machine, comprising:
 an elongated hollow knit structure, comprising:   a first zone comprising a first predetermined property;   a second zone comprising a second predetermined property; and   lining yarns extending across the knit structure and are secured to the knit structure at intervals.   
     
     
         22 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein the lining yarns are secured to the knit structure at regular intervals. 
     
     
         23 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein the lining yarns are secured to the textile at irregular intervals. 
     
     
         24 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein the elongated hollow knit structure is a single jersey knit structure with a knitted base yarn and at least one lining yarn of the lining yarns is floated through the knit structure and tucked at tuck stitches of the lining yarn in the base yarn to secure the at least one lining yarn in the knit structure. 
     
     
         25 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein the lining yarns form a raised section on one side of the knit structure. 
     
     
         26 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein the elongated hollow knit structure is a single jersey knit structure and the lining yarns are positioned on an interior layer of the knit structure. 
     
     
         27 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein the elongated hollow knit structure comprises at least one monofilament yarn. 
     
     
         28 . The shoe upper of  claim 27 , wherein the monofilament yarn is formed from polyurethane. 
     
     
         29 . The shoe upper of  claim 27 , wherein the monofilament yarn is formed from thermoplastic polyurethane. 
     
     
         30 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein the elongated hollow knit structure comprises less than ten distinct ply types of yarn comprising less than five distinct materials. 
     
     
         31 . The shoe upper of  claim 30 , wherein the less than ten distinct ply types of yarn comprise a polyester yarn, a blended yarn, low-melt temperature yarn, and an elastic yarn. 
     
     
         32 . The shoe upper of  claim 21 , wherein a base yarn of the knit structure follows a first path through the knit structure, and wherein a first lining yarn of the lining yarns follows a second path through the knit structure different from the first path. 
     
     
         33 . A method of manufacturing a shoe upper comprising:
 providing one or more threads to a circular knitting machine;   knitting an elongated hollow knit structure using one or more yarns, wherein the elongated hollow knit structure comprises two or more zones having different predetermined properties, and wherein knitting the elongated hollow knit structure using the one or more yarns comprises knitting a base yarn and floating and tucking a lining yarn at tuck stitches of the base yarn to secure the lining yarn in the knit structure, which is a single jersey knit; and   shaping the elongated hollow knit structure to a form such that the upper is formed.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein providing the one or more yarns comprises providing less than ten distinct ply types of yarn such that a processing time of the shoe upper is reduced to less than thirty minutes. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein providing less than ten distinct ply types of yarn comprises providing less than five distinct ply types of yarn comprising less than five distinct materials such that a processing time of the shoe upper is reduced to less than twenty-five minutes. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein knitting the elongated hollow knit structure further comprises forming an opening in at least one end of the elongated hollow knit structure and positioning the opening on the form such that opening is positioned substantially on a sole of the upper. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising controlling knitting machine settings such that each of the two or more zones comprises a specific predetermined property selected from the group consisting of strength, elasticity, cushioning, and air permeability.