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US 11,129,444 B1Granted
Footwear article having repurposed material with concealing layer
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorKim Kovel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In example aspects, materials are repurposed for footwear manufacturing. That is, in some instances, materials in the footwear manufacturing supply chain are potentially subject to disposal. However, aspects of this disclosure sustainably repurpose those materials (that might otherwise be disposed of) to be used in footwear articles. In some aspects, the repurposed materials may be obscured with a concealing layer.
Claims10
A method of manufacturing footwear, the method comprising:
- obtaining a substrate that includes a first color and that was designated to be disposed of, wherein the substrate is obtained from a material roll and was previously designated to be used to manufacture a first footwear article;
- designating the substrate to be used to manufacture a second footwear article;
- applying a concealing layer on a surface of the substrate presenting the first color, the concealing layer obscuring the surface, wherein the substrate combined with the concealing layer applied thereto comprises a concealed material;
- and
- constructing the second footwear article with the concealed material,
- wherein, subsequent to constructing the second footwear article, the concealing layer is configured to at least partially abrade, after which a portion of the surface of the substrate is revealed.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.