GARMENT, ESPECIALLY SPORTS GARMENT

The invention relates to a garment, especially to a sports garment, which comprises a region which is in contact with a wearer during intended use, wherein the region comprises at least one material layer.

During use the proper ventilation or aeration of a piece of garment, e. g. of a shoe, is specifically of importance when sporting activities are carried out. It is known to provide the piece of garment with respective openings or apertures to allow air to flow through the piece of garment during use.

Sometimes it is problematic to decide where openings or apertures should be located because this depends sometimes on the individual circumstances during the use of the piece of garment by the wearer.

Thus, it is an o b j e c t of the invention to propose a piece of garment (i. e. a shoe or an apparel), especially a sports garment, which allows an improved ventilation at that locations where the same is really needed.

The s o l u t i o n of this object according to the invention is characterized in that the mentioned region has at least one receiving space in which microorganisms are placed, wherein the microorganisms are selected to corrode at least a portion of the material layer under certain conditions.

Said certain conditions are especially those in which locally heat and/or sweat is applied by the wearer to the region and thus to the microorganism during the intended use of the piece of garment.

A plurality of receiving spaces can be arranged along the extension of the material layer, i. e. along the surface of the material layer. Said receiving spaces can form enclosed cavities in which the microorganisms are located. Preferably, a plurality of receiving spaces is formed as a substantially uniform pattern along the surface of the material layer. That pattern can have for example a rectangular, a round or a honeycomb shape.

Specifically preferred are microorganisms which are bacteria of the kind ideonella sakaiensis, especially of the kind ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6. Other preferred microorganisms are bacteria of the kind actinobacteria, of the kind proteobacteria, of the kind bacteroidetes and of the kind pseudomonas putida.

Those types of bacteria are known as such. Explicit reference is made to the following publications:

Dominik Danso et al. “New insights into the function and global distribution of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degrading bacteria and enzymes in marine and terrestrial metagenomes”, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Hamburg.

“Plastik fressende Bakterien” in Spektrum der Wissenschaft, May 2016, Science 351, pages 1196-1199, 2016.

Susanne Donner “Die Plastikfresser kommen” in Technology Review, Aug. 17, 2016.

Ideonella sakaiensis is a bacterium from the genus Ideonella and family Comamonadaceae and is capable of biodegrade specifically polyethylene terephthalate.

Preferably, in addition to the microorganisms a gelatinous media, especially a gelatinous gel, is arranged in the receiving space.

For the material layer preferred materials are proposed to allow an efficient erosion by the mentioned bacteria. Thus, the material layer consists of or comprises preferably polyethylene terephthalate and/or polyurethane.

The garment is specifically preferred a sports shoe, a sports suit, a sports jacket, a sports trousers or a sports shirt. Other preferred applications are accessories which have contact to the body of the wearer during intended use; here specifically a backpack is taken in consideration which is correspondingly equipped and which has contact to the body of the wearer or user during intended use.

Thus, the garment, especially the shoe, is made at least partially of a biodegradable material. It is preferably patterned with microorganisms.

The mentioned region of the piece of garment can be produced (molded) with a cavity pattern. The cavities are then filled with bacteria and gelatinous media, for example a gelatinous gel.

The microorganisms in said cavities respond to the heat generated by the body of the wearer, specifically by the feet of the wearer during use of the shoe and proliferate by consuming the media in the cavities.

The garment, especially the shoe, can be produced in a solid color. As gelatinous media gets consumed by the microorganisms, the surface of the shoe, and more specifically of the material layer begins to erode and to create ventilation points which allow more air to flow through. Thus, the ventilation of the garment is selectively improved.

Over time, the garment, especially the shoe, begins to take a custom look based on the activity profile of the wearer.

A specifically preferred combination is the use of polyethylene terephthalate and bacteria of the kind ideonella sakaiensis, especially of the kind ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6.

Another specifically preferred combination is use of polyurethane and bacteria of the kind pseudomonas putida.

In FIG. 1 a piece of garment being a sports shoe 1 is depicted. It has a shoe upper 9 and a sole 10 connected with the shoe upper 9. A certain region 2, which can be the whole shoe upper 9 and also the sole 10, is specifically provided to allow an improved aeration or ventilation of the shoe 1 after a certain time of use.

The cross-sectional view through that region 2 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In FIG. 2 the outer material layer 3 of the shoe upper can be seen when the shoe is not yet used.

At the inner side of the material layer 3, i. e. at the side facing the foot of the wearer, a receiving space 4 is arranged. This receiving space 4 consists of a plurality of single chambers which are separated from another by a wall structure 7 which can have a rectangular, a round or a honeycomb (hexagonal) shape when viewed perpendicular to the surface of the material layer 3.

The wall structure 7 is closed by a thin cover 8. Thus, the receiving space 4 consists of a number of chambers in which microorganisms 5 are arranged. Additionally a gelatinous media is arranged in said chambers, i. e. a mixture of microorganisms and gelatinous media.

When heat (or sweat) H is applied during use of the shoe 1, as schematically depicted in FIG. 3, the microorganisms 5 in the gelatinous media become more or less active depending on the intensity of the heat (or sweat) application. Accordingly, the material of the layer 3 is eroded or biodegraded with a more or less intensity.

As depicted in FIG. 3 sections with an intensive application of heat and/or sweat erode the material layer 3 in such a manner that an aperture 6 is created. By the aperture 6 the ventilation of the shoe is locally enhanced.

Thus, the microorganism, especially the mentioned bacteria, erode the material layer partially so that (possibly quite small) apertures 6 are created along the time. Those apertures 6 allow an improved venting of the garment, namely just at those locations where it is mostly required to improve the convenience during wearing.

Depending on the individual creation of heat and sweat of a user of the piece of garment a specific arrangement of apertures is created which thus allow the creation of an optimized piece of garment for the individual user.

1 Garment (shoe, apparel)

2 Region

3 Material layer

4 Receiving space

5 Microorganism

6 Aperture

7 Wall structure

8 Cover

9 Shoe upper

10 Sole

H Heat