Articles of footwear, apparel, and sports equipment with soil-shedding properties

• US 10,463,105 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2015
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Baghdadi, Hossein A., Dyer, Caleb W., Lee, Eun Kyung, Maurer, Myron, Schiller, Denis, Walker, Jeremy D., Wright, Zachary C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Higgins, Gerard
• Application Number:
  US15/506,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20170238653A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,531 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 13/0015 Sports garments other than provided for in groups A41D13/0007 - A41D13/088
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 2500/10 Knitted
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 2500/30 Non-woven
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 31/02 Layered materials characterised by special function or use A41D31/04
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 31/125 Moisture handling or wicking function through layered materials
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 1/04 braided, knotted, knitted or crocheted
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/04 Plastics, rubber or vulcanised fibre
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/12 Soles with several layers of different materials
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/122 characterised by the outsole or external layer
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/22 Soles made slip-preventing or wear-resisting, e.g. by impregnation or spreading a wear-resisting layer
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/223 Profiled soles
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/0205 characterised by the material material of the lining A43B23/07, material of toe stiffeners or heel stiffeners A43B23/08
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/0215 Plastics or artificial leather
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/001 Golf shoes
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/02 Football boots or shoes, i.e. for soccer, football or rugby
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/06 Running shoes; Track shoes
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/14 Shoes for cyclists
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 9/12 Stuck or cemented footwear
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/16 Studs or cleats for football or like boots
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/161 characterised by the attachment to the sole
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/165 : pointed or conical, e.g. calks, spikes, pins
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/167 : frusto-conical or cylindrical
• CPC Class Codes: A45C 3/001 : Flexible materials therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A45F 3/04 : Sacks or packs carried on the body by means of two straps passing over the two shoulders
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 55/00 : Bags for golf clubs; Stands for golf clubs for use on the course; Wheeled carriers specially adapted for golf bags
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 : Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

An article of footwear (100), apparel (500, 600), and/or sporting equipment (300, 400), and methods of manufacturing thereof, having a hydrogel present on at least a portion of an externally-facing side of the article. The hydrogel is effective in reducing soil accumulation on the article, and/or for reducing soil adhesion to the article.

Claims

1. A component for an article of footwear the component comprising:

a first surface of the component configured to be externally-facing when the component is present in a finished article; and

a second surface of the component opposing the first surface;

wherein the component comprises a material defining at least a portion of the first surface, and the material compositionally comprises a hydrogel, wherein the material is present in the form of a filament that is at least a portion of a non-woven textile;

or in the form of a yarn that is at least a portion of a woven textile, a knit textile, or a braided textile;

or in the form of a film, wherein the component comprises a traction element for an article of footwear, wherein the traction element is selected from the group consisting of;

a cleat, a stud, a spike, and a lug.

2. The component of claim 1, wherein the material has a water uptake capacity at 1 hour greater than 100% by weight, as characterized by the Water Uptake Capacity Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of footwear, with the Apparel Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of apparel, or with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of sporting equipment.

3. The component of claim 1, wherein the material has a water uptake capacity at 24 hours greater than 40% by weight, as characterized by the Water Uptake Capacity Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of footwear, with the Apparel Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of apparel, or with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of sporting equipment.

4. The component of claim 1, wherein the material has a water uptake rate of at least 20 g/(m²×

min ^0.5), as characterized by the Water Uptake Rate Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of footwear, with the Apparel Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of apparel, or with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of sporting equipment.

5. The component of claim 1, wherein the material has a swell thickness increase at 1 hour of greater than 120%, as characterized by the Swell Capacity Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of footwear, with the Apparel Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of apparel, or with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of sporting equipment.

6. The component of claim 1, wherein the material has a wet-state glass transition temperature and a dry-state glass transition temperature, each as characterized by the Glass Transition Temperature Test with the Neat Material Sampling Process, and wherein the wet-state glass transition temperature is at least 6°

C. less than the dry-state glass transition temperature.

7. The component of claim 1, wherein the material has a wet-state storage modulus and a dry-state storage modulus, each as characterized by the Storage Modulus Test with the Neat Material Sampling Procedure, and wherein the wet-state storage modulus is at least 25 MPa lower than the dry-state storage modulus of the material.

8. The component of claim 1, wherein the first surface of the component has a wet-state contact angle less than 80°

as characterized by the Contact Angle Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of footwear, with the Apparel Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of apparel, or with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of sporting equipment.

9. The component of claim 1, wherein the hydrogel of the material comprises a crosslinked polymer network.

10. The component of claim 9, wherein the crosslinked polymeric network is a physically crosslinked polymer network.

11. The component of claim 9, wherein the crosslinked polymeric network includes carbamate linkages.

12. The component of claim 1, wherein the material comprises a polymeric network including one or more chains of a polyurethane, one or more chains of a polyamide homopolymer, and combinations thereof.

13. The component of claim 1, wherein the material defining at least a portion of the first surface of the component has a dry-state thickness ranging from 0.1 millimeters to 5 millimeters as characterized with the Footwear Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of footwear, with the Apparel Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of apparel, or with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of sporting equipment.

14. The component of claim 1, wherein the hydrogel of the material compositionally comprises semi-crystalline regions and amorphous regions.

15. The component of claim 14, wherein the semi-crystalline regions are present in the polymeric hydrogel at a ratio of at least 20:

1 by weight relative to the semi-crystalline regions.

16. The component of claim 1, wherein the material is on the first surface except for the traction element.

17. The component of claim 1, wherein the traction element is integrally formed with the component.

18. The component of claim 1, wherein the traction element is a removable traction elements.

19. The component of claim 1, wherein the traction element is a traction element for golf footwear.

20. The component of claim 1, wherein the traction element has a generally flat central base region and a plurality of shafts arranged around a perimeter of the central base region.