Hydrogel connection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017251759-A1
Application number	US-201715441802-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 24, 2017
Priority date	Mar 2, 2016
Publication date	Sep 7, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

The disclosure relates to articles and components thereof, including outsoles, which can be used in conditions normally conducive to the accumulation of soil. In particular, the disclosure relates to articles and components thereof with a material including a hydrogel, where the hydrogel-containing material defines an external surface or side of an article. The hydrogel-containing material can prevent or reduce the accumulation of soil during use. A portion of the hydrogel-containing material is embedded into a substrate body, or a portion of the hydrogel-containing material is disposed on the outer side surface of the substrate body in a junction. The substrate body can have a lip extending from a shaft such that the shaft and the lip form the junction. Embedding the material in the substrate body, or disposing it in the junction, can minimize or prevent delamination of the hydrogel containing material during normal use.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An article of manufacture comprising: a substrate body having a first side; a hydrogel-containing material secured to the first side such that a portion of the hydrogel-containing material is embedded into the substrate body, the hydrogel-containing material defining at least a portion of a first external surface of the article.

2 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the embedded portion of the hydrogel-containing material has a cross-sectional area surrounded by the substrate body.

3 . The article as in claim 1 , wherein the embedded portion of the hydrogel-containing material is an edge of the hydrogel-containing material.

4 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the substrate body comprises one or more traction elements extending from the first side such that the embedded portion of the hydrogel-containing material is embedded into the one or more traction elements.

5 . The article of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the one or more traction elements comprises a lip forming an outermost surface of the traction element.

6 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the article is an article of footwear.

7 . The article of claim 6 , wherein the article of footwear comprises an outsole, the outsole comprising the substrate body and the hydrogel-containing material.

8 . The article of claim 7 , wherein the outsole comprises the first external surface and a second surface opposing the first external surface, and the article further comprises an upper secured to the second surface of the outsole.

9 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the first external surface collects soil or is exposed to soil during use of the article.

10 . The article as in any of claim 1 , wherein the article is selected from the group consisting of footwear, a component of footwear, sporting equipment, a component of sporting equipment, apparel, a component of apparel, a plumbing article, a component of a plumbing article, a component of a vehicle, a transportation container, a component of a transportation container, a refuse container, a component of a refuse container, an article of construction equipment, a component of an article of construction equipment, an article of play equipment, a component of an article of play equipment, an article of landscaping equipment, a component of an article of landscaping equipment, an article of furniture, and a component of an article of furniture.

11 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the substrate body comprises a polymeric material having a water uptake capacity of less than 10% by weight, as characterized by the Water Uptake Capacity Test with the Sampling Procedure.

12 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the substrate body compositionally comprises one or more polymers selected from the group consisting of an aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane, an aromatic thermoplastic polyurethane, an aliphatic polyamide, an aromatic polyamide, and combinations thereof.

13 . A method of manufacturing an article of footwear, the method comprising: receiving an outsole comprising a substrate body, the substrate body compositionally comprising a polymeric material having a water uptake capacity of less than 10% by weight, as characterized by the Water Uptake Capacity Test with the Sampling Procedure; receiving an upper; and securing the outsole and the upper to each other such that a hydrogel-containing material defines at least a portion of a first external surface of the article of footwear.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises a step of thermoforming or injection molding the hydrogel-containing material to form the outsole.

15 . The method as in claim 14 , wherein the method further comprises integrally forming one or more traction elements with the outsole, or attaching one or more traction elements to the outsole, or both.

16 . An article of manufacture comprising: a substrate body having a first side and a shaft extending from the first side, the substrate body having a lip extending from the shaft such that the shaft and the lip form a junction having an angle being equal to or less than about ninety degrees; and a hydrogel-containing material secured to the shaft such that a portion of the hydrogel-containing material is disposed on the outer side surface in the junction.

17 . The article of claim 16 , wherein the shaft is integrally formed with the first side.

18 . The article as in claim 16 , wherein the hydrogel-containing material is secured to the first side and the shaft, the hydrogel-containing material defining at least a portion of a first external surface of the article.

19 . The article as in claim 16 , wherein the angle is about ninety degrees.

20 . The article as in claim 16 , wherein the article is an article of footwear.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Baghdadi Hossein A
• Dyer Caleb W
• Hurd John
• Maurer Myron
• Schiller Denis
• Tosello Michele
• Walker Jeremy D
• Wright Zachary C

Classifications

• A43B9/12

  Stuck or cemented footwear · CPC title

• A43B13/122

  characterised by the outsole or external layer · CPC title

• A43B13/04

  Plastics, rubber or vulcanised fibre · CPC title

• A43B13/223 Primary

  Profiled soles · CPC title

• B29D35/0009

  by injection moulding; Apparatus therefor · CPC title