Article of footwear comprising dandelion foam latex materials

An article of footwear comprising a sole and an upper on the sole. The sole comprises an insole, a midsole, and an outsole. At least one of the upper, insole, midsole, or outsole comprises a dandelion latex foam material.

Not Applicable.

APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to articles of footwear comprising dandelion foam latex materials.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the disclosure is an article of footwear comprising a sole and an upper on the sole. The sole has a sole heel end and a sole toe end. The sole extends longitudinally from the sole heel end to the sole toe end. The sole has a lateral side extending longitudinally from the sole heel end to the sole toe end and a medial side extending longitudinally from the sole heel end to the sole toe end. The sole extends transversely from the lateral side to the medial side. The sole includes a sole heel region, a sole midfoot region, a sole forefoot region, and a sole toe region. The sole heel region extends longitudinally from the sole heel end to the sole midfoot region. The sole midfoot region extends longitudinally from the sole heel region to the sole forefoot region. The sole forefoot region extends longitudinally from the sole midfoot region to the sole toe region. The sole toe region extends longitudinally from the sole forefoot region to the sole toe end. The sole comprises a dandelion latex material.

Another aspect of the disclosure is an article of footwear comprising a sole and an upper on the sole. The sole comprises a midsole and an outsole. The midsole is between the outsole and the upper. The midsole comprises a dandelion latex material. At least 20% of the dandelion latex foam material is a thermoplastic elastomer.

Yet another aspect of the disclosure is an article of footwear comprising a sole and an upper on the sole. The sole comprises an insole, a midsole, and an outsole. At least one of the upper, insole, midsole, or outsole comprises a dandelion latex foam material.

Further features and advantages, as well as the operation, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Reference numerals in the written specification and in the figures indicate corresponding items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of an article of footwear in accordance with the present disclosure is indicated generally by reference number20. The article of footwear20comprises a sole, generally indicated by reference number22, and an upper on the sole, generally indicated by reference number24. The sole24has a sole heel end26and a sole toe end28. The sole22extends longitudinally from the sole heel end26to the sole toe end28. The sole22has a lateral side30extending longitudinally from the sole heel end26to the sole toe end28, and a medial side32extending longitudinally from the sole heel end26to the sole toe end28. The sole22extends transversely from the lateral side30to the medial side32.

The sole22includes a sole heel region34, a sole midfoot region36, a sole forefoot region38, and a sole toe region40. The sole heel region34extends longitudinally from the sole heel end26to the sole midfoot region36. The sole midfoot region36extends longitudinally from the sole heel region34to the sole forefoot region38. The sole forefoot region38extends from the sole midfoot region36to the sole toe region40. The sole toe region40extends longitudinally from the sole forefoot region38to the sole toe end28.

The sole may comprise a dandelion latex foam material. As used herein, dandelion latex foam material refers to an elastic foam material that comprises dandelion latex. The dandelion latex foam material may additionally include other polymers (natural or synthetic), such as natural or synthetic rubber. The synthetic rubber may be a thermoplastic elastomer such as ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or the like. Between 0% and 70% of the dandelion latex foam material may be a thermoplastic elastomer, with the remainder comprising dandelion latex or a combination of dandelion latex and other natural or synthetic polymers. For example, at least 10% of the dandelion latex foam material may be a thermoplastic polymer. As another example, at least 20% of the dandelion latex foam material may be a thermoplastic polymer. As a third example, at least 30% of the dandelion latex foam material may be a thermoplastic polymer. As a fourth example, at least 40% of the dandelion latex foam material may be a thermoplastic polymer. As a fifth example, at least 50% of the dandelion latex foam material may be a thermoplastic polymer.

Preferably, 20% to 80% of the dandelion latex foam material is dandelion latex, with the percentage varying based on the use case of the article of footwear20. For example, dandelion latex foam material used for the midsole of an article of footwear may comprise a lower percentage of dandelion latex than the outsole of an article of footwear. It should be understood that the percentage of dandelion latex comprising the dandelion latex foam material is not limited to the 20% to 80% range, and that different percentages outside that range may be employed depending on the use case of the article of footwear20and the method of manufacturing employed. For example, different percentages of dandelion latex may be used in the dandelion latex foam material depending on whether injection molding or compression molding is employed.

Depending on the desired physical characteristics, the dandelion latex foam material may or may not be a cross-linked elastomer.

An advantage of the dandelion latex foam material is that it has a reduced carbon footprint when compared with conventional materials known in the art. For instance, use of the dandelion latex foam material recited herein may result in a CO2reduction as large as 3 kilograms per kilogram of material produced.

The upper24may also comprise a dandelion latex foam material.

The sole22may further comprise a midsole42and an outsole44. The midsole42is between the outsole44and the upper24. The midsole42may comprise a first dandelion latex foam material, and the outsole44may comprise a second dandelion latex foam material. The first dandelion latex foam material may be different from the second dandelion latex foam material. For example, the second dandelion latex foam material may be harder than the first dandelion latex foam material. The first dandelion latex foam material may have a specific gravity of 0.08 to 0.30 and a hardness of 25 to 90 asker C. The second dandelion latex foam material may have a specific gravity of 0.20 to 0.50 and a hardness of 30 asker C to 75 shore A.

Alternatively, the outsole44may comprise a dandelion latex non-foam material. As used herein, dandelion latex non-foam material refers to a non-foam material that comprises dandelion latex. The dandelion latex non-foam material may additionally include other polymers (natural or synthetic), such as natural or synthetic rubber. The dandelion latex non-foam material may have a hardness of 40 to 80 shore A, and a specific gravity of 0.5 to 1.3. Preferably, the dandelion latex non-foam material may have a hardness of 55 to 70 shore A, and a specific gravity of 0.8 to 1.3. Generally, the dandelion latex non-foam material is denser than the dandelion latex foam material. As yet another alternative, the outsole44may comprise both a dandelion latex non-foam material and a dandelion latex foam material.

The sole22may further comprise an insole46. The insole46is above the midsole42. The insole46may comprise a third dandelion latex foam material. The third dandelion latex foam material may be different from the first and second dandelion latex foam materials. For example, the first dandelion latex foam material may be harder than the third dandelion latex foam material. The third dandelion latex foam material may have a specific gravity of 0.08 to 0.20 and a hardness of 10 to 90 asker C.

The sole22of the article of footwear20may be of one piece unitary construction or may be of multiple components.

Another embodiment of an article of footwear, indicated generally at120, is shown inFIGS. 4-5. The above description of the article of footwear20ofFIGS. 1-3applies equally to the article of footwear120ofFIGS. 4-5, except for the differences noted in the description of the embodiment ofFIGS. 4-5or as shown in the drawings ofFIGS. 4-5. It is also to be understood that components, elements, features, or regions of the embodiment ofFIGS. 4-5have reference numbers corresponding to the reference numbers of the embodiment ofFIGS. 1-3, except the reference numbers of the embodiment ofFIGS. 4-5include a prefix “1.”

The article of footwear120has an upper124, a midsole142, and an outsole144. The upper124is of one piece unitary construction with the midsole142. The upper124and midsole142may comprise a first dandelion latex material, and the outsole144may comprise a second dandelion latex material. The first dandelion latex material may be a dandelion latex foam material. The second dandelion latex material may be a dandelion latex foam material. The second dandelion latex material may be harder than the first dandelion latex material. For example, the first dandelion latex foam material may have a specific gravity of 0.08 to 0.30 and a hardness of 25 to 90 asker C, and the second dandelion latex foam material may have a specific gravity of 0.20 to 0.50 and a hardness of 30 asker C to 75 shore A.

In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that the invention has several advantages over the prior art.

It should also be understood that when introducing elements of the present invention in the claims or in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be open-ended and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, the term “portion” should be construed as meaning some or all of the item or element that it qualifies. Moreover, use of identifiers such as first, second, and third should not be construed in a manner imposing any relative position or time sequence between limitations.