Articles of footwear, apparel, and sports equipment with soil-shedding properties

Abstract

An article of footwear ( 100 ), apparel ( 500, 600 ), and/or sporting equipment ( 300, 400 ), and methods of manufacturing thereof, having a hydrogel present on at least a portion of an externally-facing side of the article. The hydrogel is effective in reducing soil accumulation on the article, and/or for reducing soil adhesion to the article.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A component for an article of sporting equipment comprising:
 a first surface of the component configured to be externally-facing;   wherein the article comprises a material defining at least a portion of the first surface, and the material compositionally comprises a hydrogel, wherein the material is present in the form of a filament that is at least a portion of a non-woven textile; or in the form of a yarn that is at least a portion of a woven textile, a knit textile, or a braided textile; or in the form of a film.   
     
     
         2 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material has a water uptake capacity at 1 hour greater than 100% by weight, as characterized by the Water Uptake Capacity Test with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure. 
     
     
         3 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material has a water uptake capacity at 24 hours greater than 40% by weight, as characterized by the Water Uptake Capacity Test with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure. 
     
     
         4 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material has a water uptake rate of at least 20 g/(m 2 ×min 0.5 ), as characterized by the Water Uptake Rate Test with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure. 
     
     
         5 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material has a swell thickness increase at 1 hour of greater than 120%, as characterized by the Swell Capacity Test with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure. 
     
     
         6 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material has a wet-state glass transition temperature and a dry-state glass transition temperature, each as characterized by the Glass Transition Temperature Test with the Neat Material Sampling Process, and wherein the wet-state glass transition temperature is at least 6° C. less than the dry-state glass transition temperature. 
     
     
         7 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material has a wet-state storage modulus and a dry-state storage modulus, each as characterized by the Storage Modulus Test with the Neat Material Sampling Procedure, and wherein the wet-state storage modulus is at least 25 MPa lower than the dry-state storage modulus of the material. 
     
     
         8 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the first surface of the component has a wet-state contact angle less than 80° as characterized by the Contact Angle Test with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure when the component is a component of an article of sporting equipment. 
     
     
         9 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel of the material comprises a crosslinked polymer network. 
     
     
         10 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a polymeric network including one or more chains of a polyurethane, one or more chains of a polyamide homopolymer, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the material defining at least a portion of the first surface of the component has a dry-state thickness ranging from 0.1 millimeters to 5 millimeters as characterized with the Sporting Equipment Sampling Procedure. 
     
     
         12 . The component of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel of the material compositionally comprises semi-crystalline regions and amorphous regions. 
     
     
         13 . The component of  claim 9 , wherein the crosslinked polymeric network is a physically crosslinked polymer network. 
     
     
         14 . The component of  claim 9 , wherein the crosslinked polymeric network includes carbamate linkages. 
     
     
         15 . The component of  claim 12 , wherein the semi-crystalline regions are present in the polymeric hydrogel at a ratio of at least 20:1 by weight relative to the semi-crystalline regions. 
     
     
         16 . A component for an article of sporting equipment comprising:
 a first surface of the component configured to be externally-facing when the component is present in a finished article; and   a second surface of the component opposing the first surface;   wherein the article comprises a material defining at least a portion of the first surface, and the material comprises a hydrogel, wherein the material is present in the form of a filament that is at least a portion of a non-woven textile; or in the form of a yarn that is at least a portion of a woven textile, a knit textile, or a braided textile; or in the form of a film.   
     
     
         17 . The component of  claim 16 , wherein the hydrogel of the material comprises a crosslinked polymer network. 
     
     
         18 . The component of  claim 17 , wherein the material comprises a polymeric network including one or more chains of a polyurethane, one or more chains of a polyamide homopolymer, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The component of  claim 18 , wherein the hydrogel of the material compositionally comprises semi-crystalline regions and amorphous regions. 
     
     
         20 . The component of  claim 19 , wherein the crosslinked polymeric network is a physically crosslinked polymer network.