U.S. patent application number 12/090526 was filed with the patent office on 2009-01-29 for footwear.
This patent application is currently assigned to Philip Ross Bagnall. Invention is credited to Philip Ross Bagnall, Brendan Hanwell, Michael John O'Connor.
Application Number | 20090025252 12/090526 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35451936 |
Filed Date | 2009-01-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090025252 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
O'Connor; Michael John ; et
al. |
January 29, 2009 |
FOOTWEAR
Abstract
A boot (1) or other item of footwear is made up of a rubber sole
unit (2) mounted to an upper comprising both leather and rubber
components, for example a foot piece (3) of rubber and a shaft
piece (4) of leather having a napped outer surface, such as suede,
particularly pigskin suede. The boot (1) is assembled with an edge
of the rubber foot piece (3) overlapping the outer surface of the
leather shaft piece (4), and a rubber tape (11) binding the edges
(13) of the shaft piece (4) together. The whole boot (1) is then
vulcanised, bonding the leather and rubber components sealingly
together. The boot (1) or other item of footwear is attractive,
durable and waterproof.
Inventors: |
O'Connor; Michael John;
(County Galway, IE) ; Bagnall; Philip Ross;
(County Offaly, IE) ; Hanwell; Brendan; (Fort
Augustus, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HESLIN ROTHENBERG FARLEY & MESITI PC
5 COLUMBIA CIRCLE
ALBANY
NY
12203
US
|
Assignee: |
Bagnall; Philip Ross
County Offaly
IE
|
Family ID: |
35451936 |
Appl. No.: |
12/090526 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
October 18, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB06/03850 |
371 Date: |
July 28, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/4 ; 12/142E;
12/146BR; 12/146C; 36/32R; 36/45 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29D 35/065 20130101;
A43B 3/04 20130101; A43B 23/0295 20130101; A43B 23/0215 20130101;
A43B 1/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/4 ; 36/32.R;
36/45; 12/146.BR; 12/142.E; 12/146.C |
International
Class: |
A43B 1/10 20060101
A43B001/10; A43B 13/04 20060101 A43B013/04; A43B 23/00 20060101
A43B023/00; A43D 8/00 20060101 A43D008/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 18, 2005 |
GB |
0521148.7 |
Claims
1. An item of footwear having upper means including a first
component comprising a rubber material sealingly mounted by
vulcanisation to a second component comprising a leather material
having a nap on an outer surface.
2. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second
component comprises natural leather.
3. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second
component comprises suede leather.
4. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second
component comprises pig suede.
5. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first
component comprises a synthetic rubber material.
6. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
sole means of rubber, sealingly mounted by vulcanisation to the
upper means.
7. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 6, wherein said sole
means and said first and second components of the upper means are
substantially simultaneously sealingly mounted together by
vulcanisation.
8. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein a said second
component comprises a shaft piece of the item of footwear.
9. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
elongate rubber tape means extending along a line of contact
between selected components, in overlapping contact with and
sealingly vulcanised to an outer surface of each adjoining
component.
10. A method of producing an item of footwear, comprising the steps
of providing a first component and a second component of an upper
means of the footwear, the first component comprising rubber and
the second component comprising leather having a nap on an outer
surface thereof, assembling said components to form the upper means
and vulcanising the upper means to form a watertight seal between
the first and second components.
11. A method as claimed in claim 10, comprising the further steps
of providing sole means of the footwear comprising rubber,
assembling the upper means and the sole means to form the footwear
and vulcanising the footwear to form a watertight seal between the
upper means and the sole means.
12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the second and first
components are vulcanised together to form the upper means and the
upper means is vulcanised to the sole means in a single
vulcanisation step.
13. A method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising the step of
producing said second component from suede leather.
14. A method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising the step of
producing said first component from synthetic rubber.
15. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the assembling
comprises applying elongate rubber tape means to extend
overlappingly along selected joints of the footwear, prior to
vulcanisation.
16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said elongate rubber
tape means are applied to join leather to leather.
17. An item of footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first
component comprises a neoprene rubber material.
18. A method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising the step of
producing the second component from pig suede.
19. A method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising the step of
producing said first component from neoprene rubber.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to an item of footwear and to
a method for producing said footwear. More particularly, but not
exclusively, it relates to an item of waterproof footwear.
[0002] A widely-used form of waterproof footwear is that known as a
Wellington boot. It generally comprises a sole, a foot portion and
a shaft extending up a wearer's lower leg to just below the knee,
all made of a rubber material, nowadays usually a synthetic rubber
material such as neoprene. (Hence their alternative name of "rubber
boots").
[0003] As a general rule, the shaft and the part of the upper to
enclose the foot comprise a single rubber moulding, which is
mounted to a rubber outsole and then vulcanised, forming a
watertight seal. A wide range of insoles, midsoles, linings, toecap
and counter reinforcements and so forth may be added.
[0004] The standard working Wellington boot is usually coloured
black. Versions are made from rubber of other colours, and the
so-called "green welly" has become fashionable in some circles.
However, it is still unmistakeably made from moulded rubber. A
glossier finish may be obtained by using polymers such as polyvinyl
chloride, but such boots tend not to show the durability and
performance of neoprene rubber or the like. Leather boots are
expensive and difficult to keep waterproof, welts being a
particular problem area, and waterproofing treatments for leather
do not generally produce an attractive surface finish.
[0005] It is hence an objective of the present invention to produce
an item of footwear, particularly a boot with a shaft, that is
waterproof in wear, but which has a more attractive appearance than
conventional Wellington boots and the like. It is also an objective
of the present invention to provide a method for producing such
footwear.
[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there
is provided an item of footwear having upper means including at
least one component comprising a rubber material and at least one
component comprising a leather material having a nap on an outer
surface, said rubber and leather components being mounted sealingly
together by vulcanisation of the upper means.
[0007] Preferably, said leather components comprise natural
leather.
[0008] Advantageously, said leather components comprise suede
leather.
[0009] Said leather components may comprise pig suede.
[0010] Said leather components may comprise cow suede.
[0011] Preferably, said rubber components comprise a synthetic
rubber material.
[0012] Advantageously, said rubber components comprise a neoprene
rubber material.
[0013] The item of footwear preferably comprises sole means of
rubber, sealingly mounted to the upper means by vulcanisation.
[0014] Advantageously, said sole means and said rubber and leather
components of the upper means are substantially simultaneously
sealingly mounted together by vulcanisation.
[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the or one of the at least one
leather components comprise a shaft means of the item of
footwear.
[0016] Preferably, the at least one rubber component and the at
least one leather component of the upper means have generally the
same colour.
[0017] Advantageously, the sole means has substantially the same
colour as said at least one rubber component of the upper
means.
[0018] Alternatively, the sole means may have a colour contrasting
with that of the upper means.
[0019] The item of footwear may comprise elongate rubber tape means
extending along a line of contact between selected components, in
overlapping contact with and sealingly vulcanised to an outer
surface of each adjoining component.
[0020] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a method of producing an item of footwear, comprising
the steps of providing at least one component of an upper means of
the footwear comprising leather having a nap on an outer surface
thereof, providing at least one component of an upper means of the
footwear comprising rubber, assembling said components to form the
upper means and vulcanising the upper means to form a watertight
seal between the leather and rubber components.
[0021] Preferably, the method comprises the further steps of
providing sole means of the footwear comprising rubber, assembling
the upper means and the sole means to form the footwear and
vulcanising the footwear to form a watertight seal between the
upper means and the sole means.
[0022] Advantageously, the leather and rubber components are
vulcanised together to form the upper means and the upper means is
vulcanised to the sole means in a single vulcanisation step.
[0023] The method preferably comprises the step of producing said
at least one leather component from suede leather, advantageously
from pig suede.
[0024] The method advantageously comprises the step of producing
said at least one rubber component from synthetic rubber,
optionally from neoprene rubber.
[0025] The assembly step or steps may be performed by hand.
[0026] The assembly step or steps may comprise applying elongate
rubber tape means to extend overlappingly along selected joints of
the footwear, prior to vulcanisation.
[0027] Said elongate rubber tape means may be applied to join
leather to leather.
[0028] An embodiment of the present invention will now be more
particularly described by way of example and with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0029] FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a boot embodying the present
invention; and
[0030] FIG. 2 is an exploded side elevation of the boot shown in
FIG. 1.
[0031] Referring now to the Figures, and to FIG. 1 in particular, a
boot 1 comprises a sole unit 2, mounted to an upper comprising a
foot piece 3 and a shaft piece 4. The sole unit 2 comprises an
integral heel 5 and tread 6 of conventional form and is provided
with a midsole and insole also of conventional form. The outsole of
the sole unit 2 is made of neoprene rubber.
[0032] The foot piece 3 of the upper also comprises a neoprene
rubber moulding. A toecap reinforcement 7 and a counter
reinforcement 8 are mounted to an inner surface of the foot piece
3.
[0033] The shaft piece 4 is made of a single piece of sueded
pigskin leather shaped to enclose a lower leg of a wearer.
[0034] An upstanding rubber sealing strip 9 extends around an outer
edge of an upper face of the sole unit 2, overlapping a lower
margin of the foot piece 3. An upper margin of the foot piece 3
overlaps a lower margin of the shaft piece 4 along a seam 10. An
elongate rubber tape 11 extends substantially vertically down a
rearmost portion of both the shaft piece 4 and the foot piece 3. A
rubber trim strip 12 extends around an upper margin of the shaft
piece 4.
[0035] The major components of the boot 1 are shown in separated
form in FIG. 2. The shaft piece 4 is made from a single piece of
suede leather, formed into a generally cylindrical shape by
bringing opposite edges 13 together as shown. The lower margin of
the shaft piece 4 and the upper margin of the foot piece 3 are
shaped substantially conformably.
[0036] To assemble the boot 1, the upper margin of the lower foot
piece 3 is disposed around the lower margin of the shaft piece 4,
to form the seam 10. The rubber tape 11 is then mounted to the
outside of the shaft piece 4, joining its opposite edges 13, and is
continued down the outside of the foot piece 3. The sole unit 2 is
then mounted to the foot piece 3, the sealing strip 9 enclosing the
lower margins of the foot piece 3 and a lower end of the rubber
tape 11. The trim strip 12 is then mounted around the upper margin
of the shaft piece 4 and an upper end of the rubber tape 11.
[0037] Next, the assembled boot 1 is vulcanised, using standard
conditions for vulcanising the particular type and grade of rubber
being used. Suede leather, and particularly pigskin suede, is found
to be capable of withstanding the temperatures involved without
degradation of its properties or appearance. After vulcanisation,
it is found that not only does the sealing strip 9 fuse to the foot
piece 3, forming a secure and waterproof seal between the sole unit
2 and the foot piece 3, but the foot piece 3, rubber tape 11 and
trim strip 12 all bond sealingly and securely to the shaft piece 4.
It is found that a napped leather surface (such as in suede or
nubuck) and a rubber surface will bond intimately together when the
rubber is vulcanised. It is believed that the fused rubber flows
around the fibres projecting from the napped surface then sets with
the fibres embedded therein. Pigskin suede is particularly
suitable, since its fibres tend to comprise clumps of three in a
tripod arrangement, defining a cavity between them into which
rubber may flow, thus locking the surfaces tightly together. The
direction of the overlaps shown ensures that the end-grain of the
suede is always protected by the rubber.
[0038] As a result, the seam 10 between the rubber foot piece 3 and
the suede shaft piece 4 is as strong and waterproof as any seam on
a conventional rubber boot, and the rubber tape 11 seals the edges
13 of the shaft piece 4 together securely. The boot 1 is hence
fully waterproof. The rubber sole unit 2 and foot piece 3 will
receive most of any splashes, etc, resulting from walking through
puddles, and will also suffer most of any scuffs experienced in
wear. The suede shaft piece 4 is far more attractive than a rubber
equivalent, but is still fully waterproof against any splashes,
etc, which reach above the level of the foot piece 3.
[0039] While the invention has been described above in terms of a
boot 1 with a rubber foot and a suede shaft, it is possible that
part or all of the foot could also be made from suede. Similarly, a
boot with a short or no shaft, or a shoe, could be produced in the
same manner.
[0040] It is envisaged that the suede and rubber parts of the
footwear would usually be coloured to match each other, or at least
to tone in with each other. However, there is no technical reason
to prevent contrasting colours or shades being used if desired.
* * * * *