Methods for Forming Seamless Shoe Inserts

a technology of shoe inserts and seamless seams, which is applied in the direction of uppers, bootlegs, insoles, etc., can solve the problems of poor fit of the shoe, difficulty in sewn functional layers directly to the upper and/or sole materials of the shoe, and less than desirable appearance of the inside of the shoe, so as to improve wear comfort and breathability, reduce and even eliminate air gaps

Inactive Publication Date: 2015-08-20
W L GORE & ASSOC GMBH
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0025]It is an advantage of the present invention that the ePTFE membrane in the bootie, shoe insert, and waterproof sock may be seamless.
[0026]It is another advantage of the present invention that shoes made with shoe inserts having a seamless, shaped ePTFE membrane have enhanced breathability over shoes made with conventional shoe inserts made by sewing together pieces of laminate material and sealing by a bonding or welding process.
[0027]It is yet another advantage of the present invention that the shoe inserts conform closely to the inside of the shoe, thereby reducing and even eliminating air gaps between the insert and the shoe.
[0028]It is a further advantage of the present invention that the bootie is conformable over a range of shoe sizes and shapes.
[0029]It is also an advantage of the present invention that the sole portion of the shoe may have breathability′.
[0030]It is yet another advantage of the present invention that a shoe insert having a seamless, shaped ePTFE membrane contains little or no wrinkles, which increases wear comfort for the user.

Problems solved by technology

It is difficult to sew the functional layer directly to the upper and / or sole material of the footwear.
One problem that often results when forming such waterproof, breathable footwear is that the insertion of the shoe insert often results in a poor fitting shoe (i.e., the shoe insert has a different fit (shape or size) to that of the already sized upper) and / or poor attachment between the shoe insert and the shoe upper material, which results, among other things, in a less than desirable appearance of the inside of the footwear (i.e., the shoe insert appears wrinkled or pulls away from the upper).
An additional problem is that because of the multiple laminate pieces or panels needed for manufacturing an article of waterproof footwear, flexibility may be severely compromised.
A further problem is that sealing the seamed portions of the shoe insert to make the shoe waterproof may compromise the breathability and flexibility of the shoe and contribute to the poor fit of the shoe insert.

Method used

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  • Methods for Forming Seamless Shoe Inserts
  • Methods for Forming Seamless Shoe Inserts
  • Methods for Forming Seamless Shoe Inserts

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0185]A symmetrical cast aluminum foot last having a shape as depicted generally in FIG. 3 was fixed onto a clamp which can rotated through an angle of approximately 140° using a pneumatic cylinder. A polyurethane adhesive web (UT8, 20 g / m2 polyurethane non-woven hot melt adhesive commercially available from Protechnic, 41 Avenue Montaigne, F-68700, Cernay, France) was applied to one side of a commercially available 30 denier (33 dtex) 100% Polyamid black sock (Knie 30 Leicht deckend obtained from the Nur Die GmbH, Rheine, Germany) using a heat press set at 130° C. and effective pressure of 5 psi. The sock with the polyurethane adhesive web thereon was positioned tightly over the last. The sock was applied to the last with the adhesive web exposed on the outer surface of the last. Care was taken when applying the sock to the last to avoid wrinkles.

[0186]A fine powder of PTFE polymer (Daiken Industries, Ltd., Orangeburg, N.Y.) was blended with Isopar® K (Exxon Mobil Corp., Fairfax, V...

example 2

[0193]A symmetrical nylon foot last having a shape as depicted generally in FIG. 3 was fixed onto a clamp which can be rotated through an angle of approximately 140° using a pneumatic cylinder. A polyurethane adhesive web (UT8, 20 g / m2 polyurethane non-woven hot melt adhesive obtained from Protechnic, 41 Avenue Montaigne, F-68700, Cernay, France) was applied to one side of a commercially available 60 den (66 dtex) 61% polyamide, 37% cotton, and 2% elastane black sock (Sockchen Naturelle 60 obtained from the Nur Die GmbH, Rheine, Germany) using a heat press set at 130° C. and an effective pressure of 5 psi. The sock with the polyurethane adhesive web thereon was positioned tightly over the last. The sock was applied to the last with the adhesive web exposed on the outer surface of the last. Care was taken when applying the sock to the last to avoid wrinkles.

[0194]A portion of the expanded PTFE tape produced in Example 1 having a length of approximately 1 meter and a width of approxim...

example 3

[0200]A 2-layer bootie was produced in the same manner as Example 2. A 2-layer shoe insert was then thermally shaped by loosely placing the bootie onto a conventional men's 265 running shoe last with the expanded PTFE membrane layer exposed on the upper surface and heating the precursor in an air circulating oven at 140° C. for 30 min. During this thermal dwell, the shoe insert closely conformed to the shape and size of the conventional, asymmetrical last, thereby forming a smooth and close fitting shoe insert to the last. The last was removed from the oven and allowed to cool to less than 50° C., after which the two-layer shoe insert was removed from the conventional, asymmetric last.

[0201]The three-dimensional shoe insert was then tested for water vapor permeability (breathability) using the Whole Boot Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate test method outlined above with the expanded PTFE membrane layer exposed on the upper surface. The average water vapor permeability was determined a...

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Abstract

Waterproof, breathable socks, booties, shoe inserts, and footwear assemblies containing the shoe inserts are provided. The booties and shoe inserts include a laminate of a seamless ePTFE membrane and at least one textile. The bootie is conformable over a range of sizes and shoe shapes, and may be shaped to fit numerous sizes and shapes of asymmetrical shoe lasts. The bootie may shrink to fit, or, alternatively, be stretched to fit, an asymmetrical last having a desired size to form a shoe insert. Such a conformable bootie eliminates the need to have multiple sizes of shoe inserts correlating to particular shoe sizes. In embodiments where the ePTFE is seamless and continuous, the shoe insert eliminates the need for a waterproof seam tape, which is conventionally used to make shoe inserts waterproof. Methods of forming the socks, booties, and shoe inserts are also provided.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to shoe inserts, and more specifically, to waterproof, breathable booties that are conformable over a range of shoe sizes. Shoe inserts incorporating the booties and methods of making the conformable seamless booties and shoe inserts are provided. Footwear assemblies and waterproof, breathable socks are also provided.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Waterproof, breathable footwear is typically formed of an upper material which is both air permeable and water permeable. The outer layer of the upper material may be leather and / or a textile fabric. Waterproofness is achieved through the use of a waterproof, water-vapor permeable functional material that is arranged within the shoe. In the footwear art, materials which are both waterproof and water vapor permeable are commonly referred to as “functional” materials. The functional layer may be made of an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) material available from W....

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A43D29/00
CPCA43B7/125A43B17/003A43B17/006A43B23/022A43B23/0235A43B23/07B29D35/14B29D35/142
Inventor BACINO, JOHN E.CLOUGH, NORMAN E.COLLAZO, ORLANDONABERNICK, STANESHELLEY, FRANZ J.WOLFRUM, HEIKEZAGGL, ALEXANDER
Owner W L GORE & ASSOC GMBH
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