Article having a plurality of optical structures
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsTimothy K. Liles, Todd W. Miller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article has optical structures disposed on a base material element. The optical structures include lenticular lens structures and discrete coloring elements having distinct color regions. The lenticular lens structure has several lens layers. The lenticular lens structure may have any of a variety of cross-sectional shapes. The article has a different appearance when an observer views the article at various angles. The appearance may differ in terms of coloring scheme.
Claims20
An article comprising:
- a base material element;
- and
- a plurality of optical structures coupled to the base material element and arranged in a pattern, wherein a first apparent color of the plurality of optical structures when the article is viewed from a first viewing angle is different from a second apparent color of the plurality of optical structures when the article is viewed from a second viewing angle, and wherein each optical structure comprises:
- a discrete coloring element, wherein the discrete coloring element has a first side disposed against the base material element and a second side disposed opposite of the first side, and wherein the discrete coloring element includes at least two regions having different colors;
- and
- a lenticular lens structure, wherein a bottom surface of the lenticular lens structure is disposed against the second side of the discrete coloring element, and the bottom surface of the lenticular lens structure is coextensive with a shape of the second side of the discrete coloring element.
An article having a base material element with at least one optical structure, the at least one optical structure further comprising:
- a discrete coloring element having a non-circular and non-rectangular perimeter shape, the discrete coloring element further having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, the discrete coloring element further having a plurality of colors;
- and
- a lenticular lens structure, the lenticular lens structure having a plurality of lens layers and wherein a bottommost lens layer of the lenticular lens structure is disposed against the second side of the discrete coloring element, wherein the bottommost lens layer has a shape that corresponds to the shape of the discrete coloring element;
- and
- wherein a first apparent color of the discrete coloring element when the article is viewed from a first viewing angle is different from a second apparent color of the discrete coloring element when the discrete coloring element is viewed from a second viewing angle through the lenticular lens structure.
An optical structure for an article of clothing, the optical structure comprising:
- a discrete coloring element, wherein the discrete coloring element has a first side positioned adjacent to a surface of the article of clothing and a second side opposite the first side;
- and
- a lens structure disposed on the discrete coloring element and that extends to a height away from the discrete coloring element, the lens structure comprising a plurality of lens layers;
- wherein a bottom surface of the lens structure is disposed against the second side of the discrete coloring element;
- wherein the bottom surface of the lens structure has a lens perimeter that defines a shape of the lens structure;
- wherein the lens perimeter corresponds with a shape of the second side of the discrete coloring element;
- wherein the discrete coloring element includes at least two regions having different colors;
- and
- wherein an apparent color of the discrete coloring element changes when the discrete coloring element is viewed from different angles through the lens structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.