Patent ID: 8572866

Claim:
An article of footwear comprising: an upper having a bonded mesh composite panel, wherein a portion of the composite panel includes a substrate layer formed from a substrate material, the substrate layer having an inner side facing toward an interior of the article and an outer side facing away from the interior, the composite panel further includes a mesh layer formed from a mesh material, a portion of the mesh layer overlapping the substrate layer in one or more mesh/substrate overlap areas and a portion of the mesh layer covering open areas in which no substrate material is present, the mesh layer having an inner side oriented toward the substrate layer outer side within the mesh/substrate overlap areas, and the composite panel further includes a skin layer formed from a skin material, a portion of the skin layer overlapping both the mesh and the substrate layers in one or more skin/mesh/substrate overlap areas, the skin layer having an inner side oriented toward the mesh and substrate layers within the skin/mesh/substrate overlap areas; and a foam midsole bonded to the composite panel, wherein the composite panel includes portions bonded to a bottom surface of the foam midsole.