Patents by Inventor Kim Kovel

Kim Kovel has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11927720
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles of manufacture and components of articles that incorporate an optical element that imparts structural color to the component or the article. The component comprises a cured or curable material, and can include or be made to have a textured surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11927719
    Abstract: Components of articles that include an optical element that imparts structural color to the component are provided. Methods of making the components including the optical element, and methods of using the components such as to make an article of manufacture are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Publication number: 20240045102
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles of manufacture and components of articles that incorporate an optical element that imparts structural color to the component or the article. The component comprises a cured or curable material, and can include or be made to have a textured surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11892594
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles of manufacture and components of articles that incorporate an optical element that imparts structural color to the component or the article. The component comprises a cured or curable material, and can include or be made to have a textured surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11889885
    Abstract: In example aspects, materials with different colors and/or one or more different characteristics are used for footwear manufacturing. In some aspects, the colors and/or the one or more characteristics of the materials may be obscured with a concealing layer. In other aspects, the concealing layer may include a structural-color element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11892593
    Abstract: Components of articles that include an optical element that imparts structural color to the component are provided. Methods of making the components including the optical element, and methods of using the components such as to make an article of manufacture are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11889894
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides for arrays of colored footwear articles, methods of manufacturing or making arrays of colored footwear articles, footwear articles, and the like. The present disclosure relates to obscuring an observable property (e.g., visibly observable such as color, surface texture, surface finish, etc.) of a substrate (e.g., footwear upper material, footwear sole material, etc.) used to construct a footwear article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventor: Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11867934
    Abstract: As described above, one or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles having structural color, and methods of making articles having structural color. The present disclosure provides for articles that exhibit structural colors through the use of an optical element having one or more layers. The optical element includes at least a first section and a second section. The first section imparts a first structural color and the second section imparts a second structural color. The first structural color and the second structural color differ from each other when viewed from the same angle of observation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel, Yuanmin Wang
  • Publication number: 20230413939
    Abstract: In example aspects, materials with different colors and/or one or more different characteristics are used for footwear manufacturing. In some aspects, the colors and/or the one or more characteristics of the materials may be obscured with a concealing layer. In other aspects, the concealing layer may include a structural-color element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Publication number: 20230373241
    Abstract: As described above, one or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles having structural color, and methods of making articles having structural color. The article can include the optical element (e.g., a single layer reflector, a single layer filter, a multilayer reflector or a multilayer filter) including one or more layers (e.g., a reflective layer(s), a constituent layer(s), and the like). The surface of the article can include areas of the surface that are at different relative heights from one another and can impart different structural colors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2023
    Publication date: November 23, 2023
    Inventors: Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel, Yuanmin Wang
  • Publication number: 20230341588
    Abstract: Components of articles that include an optical element that imparts structural color to the component are provided. Methods of making the components including the optical element, and methods of using the components such as to make an article of manufacture are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2023
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11733430
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to bladders that incorporate a multi-layer optical film that impart a structural color to the bladder. The present disclosure is also directed to articles including the bladders having a multi-layer optical film, and methods for making articles and bladders having a multi-layer optical film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Publication number: 20230204836
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides for articles that can exhibit structural colors through the use of an optical stack and a cover release layer, where the cover release layer is disposed on an externally (or outwardly) facing surface of the optical stack. The optical stack can be disposed on a substrate, which can be disposed on a surface of an article or the optical stack can be disposed on a surface of the article. The cover release layer can be disposed on the optical stack on the side opposite the substrate or article surface so it is on the externally facing surface and can be viewed by an observer. When exposed to visible light, the optical stack imparts a structural color, where the structural color is visible color produced, at least in part, through optical effects (e.g., through scattering, refraction, reflection, interference, and/or diffraction of visible wavelengths of light). The structural color can have a single color or be multicolor, including iridescent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Inventors: Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel, Yuanmin Wang
  • Publication number: 20230204822
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides for articles that exhibit structural colors. The article includes optical stacks that can be incorporated onto one or more components of an article, for example, when the article is an article of footwear, on an upper or sole of an article of footwear. Upon being subjected to abrasive forces, one or more of the layers of the optical stacks are removed, which can alter the appearance (e.g., structural color and/or non-structural color of areas) of the article. In this way, an article may have a certain appearance originally, but can change (e.g., randomly or intentionally) upon application of abrasive forces (e.g., through use or intentionally).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Inventors: Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel, Yuanmin Wang
  • Publication number: 20230200480
    Abstract: As described above, one or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles having structural color, and methods of making articles having structural color. The present disclosure provides for articles that exhibit structural colors using one or more optical elements. The optical element(s) is disposed on a substrate (e.g., the surface of the article) and when exposed to visible light, the optical element imparts a structural color to the article, where the structural color (e.g., single color, multicolor such as iridescent) is visible color produced, at least in part, through optical effects (e.g., through scattering, refraction, reflection, interference, and/or diffraction of visible wavelengths of light). Different optical elements can impart the same or different structural colors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Inventors: Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel, Yuanmin Wang
  • Publication number: 20230168412
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to bladders that incorporate a multi-layer optical film that impart a structural color to the bladder. The present disclosure is also directed to articles including the bladders having a multi-layer optical film, and methods for making articles and bladders having a multi-layer optical film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2023
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11656383
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to bladders that incorporate a multi-layer optical film that impart a structural color to the bladder. The present disclosure is also directed to articles including the bladders having a multi-layer optical film, and methods for making articles and bladders having a multi-layer optical film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Publication number: 20230120956
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles of manufacture and components of articles that incorporate an optical element that imparts a structural color to the component or the article. The component comprises a thermoplastic polymeric material, and can include or be made to have a textured surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Patent number: 11614563
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to bladders that incorporate a multi-layer optical film that impart a structural color to the bladder. The present disclosure is also directed to articles including the bladders having a multi-layer optical film, and methods for making articles and bladders having a multi-layer optical film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: NIKE, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel
  • Publication number: 20230086274
    Abstract: One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to components having an optical element that imparts structural color to the component or article. The present disclosure is also directed to articles of manufacture including the component having an optical element, and methods for making components and articles having an optical element that imparts structural color.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2022
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Inventors: Jennifer Bee, Jeremy Gantz, Kim Kovel