Article of footwear with soil-shedding performance

• US 9,392,841 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2015
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike Innovate C.V. (Nike, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nike Innovate C.V. (Nike, Inc.)
• Inventors: Walker, Jeremy D., Dyer, Caleb W., Wright, Zachary C., Maurer, Myron, Schiller, Denis, Baghdadi, Hossein A.
• Primary Examiner(s): BAYS, MARIE D
• Application Number:
  US14/814,219
• Publication Number:
  US 20160058118A1
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 36/67.R, 36/59.R, 361/34
• 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 13/16 Pieced soles with several layers of different material A43B13/12
• 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 13/26 projecting beyond the sole surface
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/0036 characterised by a special shape or design
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/02 attached to the sole
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/16 Studs or cleats for football or like boots
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 35/142 Soles
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 3/075 Macromolecular gels
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 75/04 Polyurethanes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

The disclosure relates to articles of footwear and components thereof, including outsoles, which can be used in conditions normally conducive to the accumulation of soil on the outsoles. In particular, the disclosure relates to articles of footwear and components thereof including an outsole with an external thermoplastic hydrogel film that compositionally includes polyamide block copolymer chains. The outsoles can prevent or reduce the accumulation of soil on the footwear during wear on unpaved surfaces such as sporting fields. When the outsoles are wetted with water, the outsoles can become more compliant and/or can rapidly uptake and/or expel water, which can prevent soil from adhering to the outsole and/or can assist in shedding soil present on the outsole.

Claims

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

an outsole backing member;

a plurality of traction elements operably secured to the outsole backing member; and

a film secured to the outsole backing member and defining an external surface of the outsole, wherein the film compositionally comprises a thermoplastic hydrogel, wherein the thermoplastic hydrogel comprises polyamide block copolymer chains.

2. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the traction elements each include a shaft having a terminal edge, wherein the film does not cover the terminal edges of the shafts, and wherein the film does not cover the shafts or only covers less than 10% of the shafts.

3. The outsole of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the polyamide block copolymer chains each comprise:

a plurality of polyamide segments forming crystalline regions with other polyamide segments of the polyamide block copolymer chains; and

a plurality of hydrophilic segments covalently bonded to the polyamide segments.

4. The outsole of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the hydrophilic segments each comprise one or more polyethers.

5. The outsole of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the polyamide segments are each independently derived from a compound selected from the group consisting of (i) a lactam, (ii) an amino acid, and (iii) a reaction product of a diamine with a dicarboxylic acid or a derivative thereof.

6. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the film has a dry-state film thickness ranging from 0.1 millimeters to 1 millimeter.

7. The outsole of claim 6, wherein the film has a saturated-state film thickness ranging from 0.25 millimeters to 2 millimeters.

8. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the film has a water uptake capacity at 24 hours ranging from 100% by weight to 900% by weight, as characterized by the Water Uptake Capacity Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure.

9. The outsole of claim 1, wherein the outsole further comprises a tie layer disposed between the film and the outsole backing member, and wherein the film is secured to the outsole backing member via the tie layer.

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

an outsole backing plate having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side is configured to be operably secured to a footwear upper;

a plurality of traction elements, wherein at least a portion of the traction elements are integrally formed with and extend from the second side of the outsole backing plate; and

a film secured to the second side of the outsole backing plate and defining an external surface of the outsole, wherein the film compositionally comprises a hydrogel having a plurality of copolymer chains, and wherein at least a portion of the copolymer chains each independently have one or more chain segments comprising;

11. The outsole of claim 10, wherein

R6 is derived from a C_3-20 lactam or a C_4-25 amino acid;

R7 is an aliphatic group having C_4-15 carbon atoms or an aromatic group; and

R8 is aliphatic group having C_4-15 carbon atoms or an aromatic group.

12. The outsole of claim 10, wherein the hydrophilic segment of 1 comprises one or more ether groups.

13. The outsole of claim 10, wherein the film has a dry-state film thickness ranging from 0.1 millimeters to 1 millimeter.

14. The outsole of claim 13, wherein the film has a saturated-state film thickness ranging from 0.25 millimeters to 2 millimeters.

15. The outsole of claim 10, wherein the film has a swell thickness increase at 1 hour greater than 20%, as characterized by the Swelling Capacity Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure.

16. An article of footwear, the article comprising:

an outsole backing plate having a first side and a second side;

an upper operably secured to the first side of the outsole backing plate;

a plurality of traction elements, wherein at least a portion of the traction elements are integrally formed with and extend from the second side of the outsole backing plate; and

a film secured to the second side of the outsole backing plate, wherein the film comprises a thermoplastic polyamide block copolymer hydrogel.

17. The article of claim 16, wherein the thermoplastic polyamide block copolymer hydrogel comprises a thermoplastic polyamide-polyether block copolymer hydrogel.

18. The article of claim 16, wherein the plurality of traction elements each include a shaft having a terminal edge, wherein the film does not cover the terminal edges of the shafts, and wherein the film does not cover the shafts or only covers less than 10% of the shafts.

19. The article of claim 16, wherein the film has a dry-state film thickness ranging from 0.1 millimeters to 1 millimeter.

20. The article of claim 16, wherein the film has a water uptake rate of at least 20 grams/(m²×

min^0.5), as characterized by the Water Uptake Rate Test with the Footwear Sampling Procedure.