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US 11,297,885 B2Granted
Reflective articles of wear
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsDaniel Morgan, David Turner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Reflective articles of wear are disclosed. The reflective articles of wear can include an elastomeric material and reflective components coupled to the elastomeric material. The elastomeric material forms a plurality of apertures.
Claims20
An elastomeric reflective article of wear comprising:
- a continuous webbed structure having a plurality of apertures, the continuous webbed structure comprising a plurality of intersecting reflective elastomeric strands forming:
- a first side panel with a first armhole;
- a second side panel with a second armhole;
- and
- a central portion forming a back panel, the central portion continuously extending between the first side panel and the second side panel,
- wherein a first aperture of the plurality of apertures is located on the central portion, the first aperture comprising:
- a long axis that is oriented orthogonal to a hypothetical vertical axis, and
- a short axis that is oriented parallel to the hypothetical vertical axis, wherein a first degree of deformation of the first aperture along the short axis is greater than a second degree of deformation of the first aperture along the long axis.
5 more elements
An upper torso reflective garment comprising:
- a webbed structure having a plurality of apertures, the webbed structure comprising a plurality of intersecting reflective elastomeric strands that form:
- a first side panel with a first armhole;
- a second side panel with a second armhole;
- and
- a central portion forming a back panel, the central portion continuously extending between the first side panel and the second side panel, wherein a first number of intersecting reflective elastomeric strands in the plurality of intersecting reflective elastomeric strands configured to be located on a front torso of a wearer, when the upper torso reflective garment is in an as worn configuration is less than a second number of intersecting reflective elastomeric strands in the plurality of intersecting reflective elastomeric strands configured to be located on a back torso of the wearer, when the upper torso reflective garment is in the as worn configuration.
2 more elements
A method for manufacturing a reflective article of wear, the method comprising:
- providing a transfer sheet having a plurality of reflective components temporarily secured to a first surface of the transfer sheet;
- positioning a second surface of the transfer sheet on a work surface;
- extruding an elastomeric material onto a portion of the first surface of the transfer sheet in a pattern of interconnected strands to form a webbed structure comprising a plurality of apertures, wherein the webbed structure comprises a first side panel, a back panel, and a second side panel;
- curing the elastomeric material forming the webbed structure, wherein the curing causes the plurality of reflective components on the first surface of the transfer sheet to become embedded within the elastomeric material of the webbed structure;
- and
- removing the transfer sheet from the webbed structure.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.