Patent Application
20140075785
Articles of footwear generally include two primary elements, an upper and a sole structure. The upper may be formed from a variety of material elements (e.g., textiles, polymer sheets, foam layers, leather, synthetic leather) that are stitched or adhesively bonded together to form a void for comfortably and securely receiving a foot. More particularly, the upper generally extends over the instep and toe areas of the foot, along the medial and lateral sides of the foot, under the foot, and around the heel area of the foot. In some articles of footwear, such as basketball shoes and boots, the upper may extend upward and around the ankle to provide support or protection for the ankle. Access to the void within the upper is generally provided by an ankle opening in a heel region of the footwear. A lacing system is often incorporated into the upper to adjust the fit of the upper, as well as permitting entry and removal of the foot from the void within the upper. In addition, the upper may include a tongue that extends under the lacing system to enhance adjustability and comfort of the footwear.
The sole structure is secured to a lower portion of the upper and is generally positioned between the foot and the ground. In many articles of footwear, including athletic footwear, the sole structure incorporates a sockliner, a midsole, and an outsole. The sockliner is a thin, compressible member located within the void (i.e., under the foot) to enhance footwear comfort. The midsole extends downward from the upper and forms a middle layer of the sole structure. In addition to attenuating ground reaction forces (i.e., providing cushioning for the foot), the midsole may limit foot motions or impart stability, for example. Although the midsole of athletic footwear may be primarily formed from a foamed polymer material, the midsole may include a variety of additional footwear elements that enhance the comfort or performance of the footwear, including plates, moderators, fluid-filled chambers, lasting elements, or motion control members. The outsole is secured to a lower surface of the midsole and forms a ground-contacting portion of the footwear. Additionally, the outsole may be formed from a durable and wear-resistant material that includes texturing to improve traction.
An article of footwear is disclosed herein as having an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper. The upper includes an illuminable panel and a plurality of strands positioned to extend adjacent and parallel to the illuminable panel. The illuminable panel has a surface with a covered area and an exposed area. The covered area includes a substantially opaque covering, and the exposed area is at least partially visible from the exterior of the footwear. The strands are located to correspond with the exposed area of the illuminable panel.
An article of footwear may also incorporate an upper with an illuminable panel, a cover layer, and a plurality of strands. The illuminable panel has a surface with a covered area and an exposed area including a plurality of linear portions extending between a lace region of the upper and a region where the sole structure is joined to the upper. The cover layer extends adjacent to the surface of the illuminable panel and forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the upper. The cover layer may also be formed from an at least semi-transparent material. The strands are positioned between the cover layer and the exposed area of the illuminable panel.
Additionally, an article of footwear may have an upper with (a) a lace region having a plurality of lace-receiving elements and (b) a lower region where a sole structure is secured to the upper. An illuminable panel is at least partially located between the lace region and the lower region, and the illuminable panel defines a plurality of substantially linear areas extending between the lace region and the lower region. A plurality of strands are positioned adjacent to the illuminable panel and extend along the linear areas of the illuminable panel.
The advantages and features of novelty characterizing aspects of the invention are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. To gain an improved understanding of the advantages and features of novelty, however, reference may be made to the following descriptive matter and accompanying figures that describe and illustrate various configurations and concepts related to the invention.
The foregoing Summary and the following Detailed Description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
The following discussion and accompanying figures disclose various configurations of an article of footwear 10 that incorporates illuminable elements. Concepts related to the illuminable elements are disclosed with reference to footwear that is suitable for running. The illuminable elements are not limited to footwear designed for running, however, and may be utilized with a wide range of athletic footwear styles, including basketball shoes, cross-training shoes, cycling shoes, football shoes, soccer shoes, tennis shoes, and walking shoes, for example. The illuminable elements may also be utilized with footwear styles that are generally considered to be non-athletic, including dress shoes, loafers, sandals, and boots. The concepts disclosed herein may, therefore, apply to a wide variety of footwear styles, in addition to the specific style discussed in the following material and depicted in the accompanying figures.
General Footwear Configuration
Footwear 10 is depicted in
For reference purposes, footwear 10 may be divided into three general regions: a forefoot region 11, a midfoot region 12, and a heel region 13, as shown in
Sole structure 20 is secured to upper 30 and extends between the foot and the ground when footwear 10 is worn. The primary elements of sole structure 20 are a midsole 21 and an outsole 22. Midsole 21 is secured to a lower surface of upper 30 and may be formed from a compressible polymer foam element (e.g., a polyurethane or ethylvinylacetate foam) that attenuates ground reaction forces (i.e., provides cushioning) when compressed between the foot and the ground during walking, running, or other ambulatory activities. In further configurations, midsole 21 may incorporate plates, moderators, fluid-filled chambers, lasting elements, or motion control members that further attenuate forces, enhance stability, or influence the motions of the foot, or midsole 21 may be primarily formed from a fluid-filled chamber. Outsole 22 is secured to a lower surface of midsole 21 and may be formed from a wear-resistant rubber material that is textured to impart traction. A sockliner may also be located within upper 30 and positioned to extend under a lower surface of the foot. Although this configuration for sole structure 20 provides an example of a sole structure that may be used in connection with upper 30, a variety of other conventional or nonconventional configurations for sole structure 20 may also be utilized. Accordingly, the structure and features of sole structure 20 or any sole structure utilized with upper 30 may vary considerably.
Upper 30 defines a void within footwear 10 for receiving and securing a foot relative to sole structure 20. The void is shaped to accommodate the foot and extends along the lateral side of the foot, along the medial side of the foot, over the foot, around the heel, and under the foot. Access to the void is provided by an ankle opening 31 located in at least heel region 13. A lace 32 extends through various lace apertures 33 or other lace-receiving elements (e.g., D-rings, hooks) and permits the wearer to modify dimensions of upper 30 to accommodate the proportions of the foot. More particularly, lace 32 permits the wearer to tighten upper 30 around the foot, and lace 32 permits the wearer to loosen upper 30 to facilitate entry and removal of the foot from the void (i.e., through ankle opening 31). In addition, upper 30 includes a tongue 34 that extends between the interior void and lace 32
The various portions of upper 30 may be formed from one or more of a plurality of material elements (e.g., textiles, polymer sheets, foam layers, leather, synthetic leather) that are stitched or bonded together to form the void within footwear 10. Upper 30 may also incorporate a heel counter that limits heel movement in heel region 13 or a wear-resistant toe guard located in forefoot region 11. Although a variety of material elements or other elements may be incorporated into upper, areas of lateral side 14 and medial side 15 incorporate various strands 35 that extend adjacent to a portion of illumination circuit 40 and are illuminated by illumination circuit 40. That is, illumination circuit is utilized to enhance, highlight, or otherwise increase the visibility of strands 35 or areas of upper 30 that include strands 35.
During walking, running, or other ambulatory activities, a foot within the void in footwear 10 may tend to stretch upper 30. That is, many of the material elements forming upper 30 may stretch when placed in tension by movements of the foot. Although strands 35 may also stretch, strands 35 generally stretch to a lesser degree than the other material elements forming upper 30. Each of strands 35 may be located, therefore, to form structural components in upper 30 that resist stretching in specific directions or reinforce locations where forces are concentrated. With regard to the configuration depicted in
Illumination Circuit
Illumination circuit 40 is depicted in
Illuminable elements 42 have the configuration of electroluminescent panels, but may also be one or more light emitting diodes or electroluminescent wires. An electroluminescent panel has a series of layers that include insulator layers, conductor layers, and a phosphor layer. In operation, power source 41 delivers alternating current to illuminable elements 42 through the various lead wires 43 and connectors 44. The alternating current passes through the conductor layers, which produces an alternating electric field that induces the phosphor layer to glow or otherwise emit light. Although the frequency of the alternating electric field has an effect upon the wavelength of the light emitted from the phosphor layer, coloring in the insulator layers may impart specific colors to the light that is emitted from illuminable element 42.
Power source 41 is depicted as being incorporated into upper 30, particularly tongue 34. In general, power source 41 may be any oscillating electric potential source, including an alternating current source, a direct current to alternating current converter output (i.e., the output of a battery and an inverter), or an electric oscillator (i.e., a sine wave generator, a square wave generator, or a tuned LC oscillator), for example. As a more specific example, power source 41 may include (a) a rechargeable polymer lithium-ion battery having an output of 3.7 volts and 300 milliampere hours and (b) an inverter providing an output of 264-330 volts peak-to-peak at a frequency of 425-525 hertz. Depending upon various factors, however, the battery and inverter specification may vary significantly. For example, the desired (a) area of the electroluminescent panels forming illuminable elements 42, (b) intensity of the light output of illuminable elements 42, and (c) time during which illuminable elements 42 are to remain illuminated may all affect specifications for the battery and inverter utilized in power source 41. Although power source 41 is depicted as being a single component that includes the battery and inverter, power source 41 may also be a separate battery and inverter within illumination circuit 40. Additionally, power source 41 may include (a) a switch that permits the wearer to selectively emit light or vary the intensity of the light output and (b) a connector for recharging the battery. Accordingly, power source 41 may have a variety of configurations that are sufficient to illuminate illuminable elements 42.
Lead wires 43 have the configuration of any electrically-conductive material, such as insulated copper wire, and are electrically-coupled to power source 41 with a pair of connectors 44. Given that power source 41 is located in an upper area of tongue 34, lead wires 43 extend along the length of tongue 34, pass through sides 14 and 15 of upper 30, and are electrically-coupled to illuminable elements 42 with another pair of connectors 44. A further lead wire 43 is electrically-coupled to illuminable elements 42 with another pair of connectors 44 to complete the circuit. Although this general configuration provides an efficient manner of joining the various elements of illumination circuit 40, other layouts or methods of distributing the elements of illumination circuit 40 may also be utilized. Moreover, connectors 44 may have a variety of configurations that are suitable for joining electrical components, and lead wires 43 may be formed to join with power source 41 and illuminable element 42 without connectors (e.g., with soldered connections) in some configurations of footwear 10.
Illuminable elements 42 each include an inward-facing surface 45 and an opposite outward-facing surface 46. Whereas inward-facing surfaces 45 face toward an interior of footwear 10 (i.e., toward the void within upper 30), outward-facing surfaces 46 face toward an exterior of footwear 10. Referring to
The covering utilized in covered areas 47 may be opaque or may merely reduce the intensity of light that is visible from the exterior of footwear 10. A variety of polymer sheets or materials, paints, decals, or textiles may be utilized to form the covering of covered areas 47. In some configurations, covered areas 47 may be formed by screen-printing the covering on specific areas of outward-facing surface 46. That is, a screen-printing process may be utilized to accurately form covered areas 47 and define exposed areas 48. Other printing processes may also be utilized to deposit material onto outward-facing surface 46 and form covered areas 47. In some configurations of footwear 10, etching or other removal processes (e.g., chemical etching, laser cutting) may be utilized to remove the phosphor layer of electroluminescent panels forming illuminable elements 42, thereby preventing those areas from illuminating upon the application of alternating current from power source 41. Moreover, excess areas of illuminable elements 42 that are either beyond the periphery of covered areas 47 or within covered areas 47 may be cut away or otherwise removed (e.g., with a laser or other cutting apparatus), which may reduce the area of illuminable elements 42 that illuminate and save energy within illumination circuit 40. Additionally, polymer sheets with alternating opaque and translucent areas corresponding with the locations of areas 47 and 48 may also cover or extend over illuminable elements 42. Accordingly, a variety of methods or structures may be utilized to prevent light from being visible from specific areas of illuminable elements 42.
Upper Configuration
A portion of upper 30 is depicted in
Strands 35 may be formed from any generally one-dimensional material. As utilized with respect to the present invention, the term “one-dimensional material” or variants thereof is intended to encompass generally elongate materials exhibiting a length that is substantially greater than a width and a thickness. Accordingly, suitable materials for strands 35 include various filaments, fibers, yarns, threads, cables, or ropes that are formed from rayon, nylon, polyester, polyacrylic, silk, cotton, carbon, glass, aramids (e.g., para-aramid fibers and meta-aramid fibers), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, liquid crystal polymer, copper, aluminum, and steel. Whereas filaments have an indefinite length and may be utilized individually as strands 35, fibers have a relatively short length and generally go through spinning or twisting processes to produce a strand of suitable length. An individual filament utilized in strands 35 may be formed form a single material (i.e., a monocomponent filament) or from multiple materials (i.e., a bicomponent filament). Similarly, different filaments may be formed from different materials. As an example, yarns utilized as strands 35 may include filaments that are each formed from a common material, may include filaments that are each formed from two or more different materials, or may include filaments that are each formed from two or more different materials. Similar concepts also apply to threads, cables, or ropes.
As discussed above, covered areas 47 include a substantially opaque covering, whereas the covering is absent in exposed areas 48. Referring to
Cover layer 37 may be formed from any generally transparent or at least partially transparent material that permits strands 35 and light from illuminable elements 42 to be visible from an exterior of footwear 10. As an example, cover layer 37 may be formed from a thermoplastic polyurethane sheet. Although cover layer 37 may be bonded or otherwise secured to illuminable elements 42, cover layer 37 may also be unsecured to illuminable elements 42 (i.e., laying adjacent to illuminable elements 42). Additionally, cover layer 37 may form protrusions on the exterior of upper 30 in areas where strands 35 are located, as depicted in
Further Footwear Configurations
The overall configuration of footwear 10 discussed above is intended to provide an example of a suitable configuration for imparting an illuminable aspect to upper 30. In other configurations of footwear 10, various aspects of sole structure 20, upper 30, and illumination circuit 40 may vary considerably. Although a majority of strands 35 may lay adjacent to illuminable elements 42, some of strands 35 may extend into areas of footwear 10 where illuminable elements 42 are absent, as depicted in forefoot region 11 of
The layered configuration of upper 30 may also vary in further configurations of footwear 10. Referring to
Although exposed areas 48 may be utilized to enhance, highlight, or otherwise increase the visibility of strands 35 or areas of upper 30 that include strands 35, exposed areas 48 may also be utilized for other purposes. For example,
As discussed above, excess areas of illuminable elements 42 that are either beyond the periphery of covered areas 47 or within covered areas 47 may be cut away or otherwise removed (e.g., with a laser or other cutting apparatus), which may reduce the area of illuminable elements 42 that illuminate and save energy within illumination circuit 40. As an example of this concept,
The invention is disclosed above and in the accompanying figures with reference to a variety of configurations. The purpose served by the disclosure, however, is to provide an example of the various features and concepts related to the invention, not to limit the scope of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that numerous variations and modifications may be made to the configurations described above without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12704126 | Feb 2010 | US |
| Child | 14027585 | US |
