Articles of apparel including auxetic materials
AssigneeUnder Armour, Inc.
InventorAlan Toronjo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of apparel includes at least one panel including a first edge and an opposing second edge. The at least one panel includes an auxetic structure defining a primary elongation direction and a secondary elongation direction. A plurality of lace coupling pairs are positioned along the first edge and the second edge of the at least one panel. Each lace coupling pair defines a lace pull direction that is perpendicular to a line extending through two adjacent lace couplings of the lace coupling pair. Each lace pull direction is defined by the plurality of lace couplings substantially in alignment with either the primary elongation direction or the secondary elongation direction of the auxetic structure between the two adjacent lace couplings of the lace coupling pair.
Claims24
An article of apparel comprising:
- at least one panel including a first edge and an opposing second edge, the at least one panel including an auxetic structure defining a primary elongation direction and a secondary elongation direction;
- and
- a plurality of lace couplings positioned along the first edge and the second edge of the at least one panel, the plurality of lace couplings including a plurality of lace coupling pairs, each lace coupling pair including two adjacent lace couplings both positioned along either the first edge or the second edge of the at least one panel, each lace coupling pair defining a lace pull direction that is perpendicular to a line extending through the two adjacent lace couplings of the lace coupling pair, each lace pull direction substantially in alignment with either the primary elongation direction or the secondary elongation direction of the auxetic structure between the two adjacent lace couplings of the lace coupling pair.
A footwear article comprising:
- a sole;
- an upper coupled to the sole, the upper including a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region, the upper including a tongue opening defined between a medial edge and an opposing lateral edge in the midfoot region of the upper;
- an integrally formed auxetic structure provided on a panel of the upper and extending from the forefoot region to the heel region, the integrally formed auxetic structure including a plurality of segments defining a repeating pattern of shapes with a void within each shape;
- and
- a plurality of lace couplings provided on the panel of the upper and extending along the medial edge and the lateral edge of the tongue opening.
A footwear article comprising:
- a sole;
- and
- an upper connected to the sole, the upper including a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region, the upper including at least one panel provided in the midfoot region, the at least one panel including a base layer connected to an auxetic layer, the base layer comprising a fabric stretch material and the auxetic layer comprising an auxetic structure defining a repeating pattern of voids.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.