SOIL-SHEDDING ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR, COMPONENTS THEREOF, AND METHODS OF MAKING THE ARTICLE

• US 20160058108A1
• Filed: 07/30/2015
• Published: 03/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike Innovate C.V. (Nike, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Schiller, Denis, Dyer, Caleb W., Wright, Zachary C., Walker, Jeremy D., Maurer, Myron, Lee, Eun Kyung
• Granted Patent: US 10,070,686 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/02 characterised by the material
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/04 Plastics, rubber or vulcanised fibre
• 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: B29D 35/122 Soles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

Disclosed herein are articles of footwear and footwear components (e.g., footwear outsoles, and the like), and methods of manufacturing articles of footwear, at least a portion of which are composed of a material that includes an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component composed of an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer or a combination of two or more ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers.

Claims

1. An outsole for an article of footwear, the outsole comprising:

a ground-facing surface of the outsole and an surface of the outsole opposing the ground facing surface, the outsole configured to be secured to an upper for an article of footwear, wherein a material is present on at least a portion of the ground-facing surface of the outsole, the material compositionally comprising an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component consisting of an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer or a combination of two or more ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers, wherein a concentration of the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component present in the material is from 40 to 80 parts per hundred by weight based on a total polymer content of the material.

2. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the material is present in the form of an open-cell foam.

3. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component comprises a copolymer of ethylene and methyl acrylate, or a copolymer of ethylene and ethyl acrylate, or a combination of both.

4. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component comprises an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer having an alkyl acrylate content of between 3% and 45%, based on a total weight of the copolymer.

5. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component comprises ethylene-methyl acrylate (EMA), ethylene-ethyl acrylate (EEA), and combinations thereof.

6. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component comprises at least one ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer having a melt flow rate of from 0.5 g/10 mins. to 4 g/10 mins., as determined according to ASTM D1238 using a 2160 g weight and a temperature of 190°

C.

7. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the material further comprises a polyethylene having a density of from 0.91 g/cc to 0.95 g/cc, and a melt flow rate of from 0.910 g/10 mins. to 0.950 g/10 mins., as determined according to ASTM D1238 using a 2160 g weight and a temperature of 190°

C.

8. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the material comprises from 20% to 80% by weight of the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component, and from 20% to 80% of the polyethylene.

9. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the material further comprises an elastomer.

10. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the material further comprises silicone oil.

11. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the material exhibits an impact energy of from 0 Joules to 0.6 Joules, as characterized by the Impact Energy Test using the Footwear Sampling Procedure.

12. An article of footwear, the article comprising:

an upper of an article of footwear;

an outsole having a first surface at least partially secured to the upper and an opposing second surface, wherein a material is present on at least a portion of the second surface, the material compositionally comprising an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component consisting of an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer or a combination of two or more ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers, wherein a concentration of the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component present in the material is from 40 to 80 parts per hundred by weight based on a total polymer content of the material.

13. The article of claim 12, wherein the material is present in the form of an open-cell foam.

14. The article of claim 12, wherein the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component comprises a copolymer of ethylene and methyl acrylate, or a copolymer of ethylene and ethyl acrylate, or a combination of both.

15. The article of claim 12, wherein the material further comprises a polyethylene having a density of from 0.91 g/cc to 0.95 g/cc, and a melt flow rate of from 0.910 g/10 mins. to 0.950 g/10 mins., as determined according to ASTM D1238 using a 2160 g weight and a temperature of 190°

C.

16. The article of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of cleats, wherein a portion of the plurality of cleats are integrally formed on the second surface of the outsole, are separately formed from the second surface of the outsole and permanently attached to the second surface of the outsole, are separately formed from the second surface of the outsole and are removably attached to the second surface outsole, and combinations thereof.

17. The article of claim 12, further comprising a midsole disposed at least partially between the upper and the first surface of the outsole, wherein the outsole is operably secured to the upper with the midsole.

18. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear, the method comprising:

providing an outsole, the outsole having a first surface and an opposing ground-facing surface, a material present on the ground-facing surface of the outsole, the material compositionally comprising an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component consisting of an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer or a combination of two or more ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers, wherein a concentration of the ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer component present in the material is from 40 to 80 parts per hundred by weight based on a total polymer content of the material;

providing an upper; and

,

securing the upper to at least a portion of the first surface of outsole.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of providing an outsole comprises stock fitting the material to the ground-facing surface of the outsole.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of providing an outsole comprises thermoforming the material and a second material, forming at least a portion of the outsole from the second material, and securing the material to the ground-facing surface of the outsole.