Method of Making an Article of Footwear
AssigneeUnder Armour, Inc.
InventorsAlan Toronjo, Daniel Lee, Roger Fan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of manufacturing a panel for an article of apparel includes stretching a base layer from a resting configuration to a stretched configuration. The method further includes coupling a reinforcement layer to the base layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration. Thereafter, the method includes applying an auxetic or near auxetic structure to the reinforcement layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration, the auxetic structure including a plurality of interconnected members defining a repeating pattern of void. The base layer is then released to allow the base layer to return to the resting configuration.
Claims20
An article of footwear comprising:
- a base layer comprising an elastic material, the base layer elastically deformable between a resting configuration and a stretched configuration, wherein the base layer is stretched a stretch amount when in the stretched configuration;
- an inelastic reinforcement layer coupled to the base layer, the reinforcement layer configured to delimit the stretch amount of the base layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration;
- and
- an auxetic structure coupled to the reinforcement layer.
A method of manufacturing a panel for a footwear upper, the method comprising:
- stretching a base layer from a resting configuration to a stretched configuration;
- coupling a reinforcement layer to the base layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration;
- applying an auxetic structure to the reinforcement layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration, the auxetic structure including a plurality of interconnected members defining a repeating pattern of voids;
- and
- releasing the base layer to allow the base layer to return to the resting configuration.
A method of manufacturing a panel for a footwear upper, the method comprising:
- stretching a base layer from a resting configuration to a stretched configuration;
- coupling a reinforcement layer to the base layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration;
- applying a near auxetic structure to the reinforcement layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration, the auxetic structure including a plurality of interconnected members defining a repeating pattern of voids;
- and
- releasing the base layer to allow the base layer to return to the resting configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.