U.S. patent application number 14/028123 was filed with the patent office on 2014-03-20 for seamless attachment of pre-formed footwear components.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kodiak Group Holdings Co.. The applicant listed for this patent is Kodiak Group Holdings Co.. Invention is credited to Hugo Lam.
Application Number | 20140075780 14/028123 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50263159 |
Filed Date | 2014-03-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140075780 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lam; Hugo |
March 20, 2014 |
SEAMLESS ATTACHMENT OF PRE-FORMED FOOTWEAR COMPONENTS
Abstract
An item of footwear comprises an upper having a first overlap
area and the bottom having a second overlap area. The upper is
attached to the bottom by stitching high frequency adhesive tape to
the overlap area of the upper and separately to the overlap area of
the bottom. The upper and the bottom are brought together so that
the two overlap areas are in solid contact with one another when
the footwear is subjected to the high frequency signal which turns
the solid adhesive tapes into a molten liquid. When the liquid
cools, the upper and bottom are welded to one another. The seal
between the components is waterproof.
Inventors: |
Lam; Hugo; (Guelph,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kodiak Group Holdings Co. |
Cambridge |
|
CA |
|
|
Assignee: |
Kodiak Group Holdings Co.
Cambridge
CA
|
Family ID: |
50263159 |
Appl. No.: |
14/028123 |
Filed: |
September 16, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61701320 |
Sep 14, 2012 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/83 ;
112/475.08 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 9/02 20130101; A43B
23/0255 20130101; A43B 9/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/83 ;
112/475.08 |
International
Class: |
A43B 9/02 20060101
A43B009/02 |
Claims
1. An item of footwear comprising a first component and a second
component, the first component having a first overlap area and the
second component having a second overlap area, the components being
footwear components and being sized and shaped to be attached to
one another in the overlap areas, the first overlap area having a
first high frequency adhesive stitched thereto and the second
overlap area having a second high frequency adhesive stitched
thereto, the first high frequency adhesive being compatible to bond
with the first component, the second high frequency adhesive being
compatible to bond with the second component, the first and second
high frequency adhesives being compatible to bond with one another
when the two components are held in a position to attach the two
components to one another in the first and second overlap areas
with the first and second high frequency adhesives in contact with
one another, the high frequency adhesives being subjected to a high
frequency signal to cause the first and second components to weld
to one another along the first and second overlap areas.
2. The item of footwear as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are no
single stitching openings extending through both the first and
second overlap areas when the first and second components are
joined together.
3. The item of footwear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the
components are pre-formed.
4. The item m of footwear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first
component is an upper and the second component is a bottom.
5. The item of footwear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first
component is an upper shaft and the second component is a bottom,
the footwear being a boot.
6. The item of footwear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the high
frequency adhesives are identical to one another.
7. The item of footwear as claimed in claim 1 wherein stitch
openings in each of the two components are filled with solidified
adhesive after the two components are welded to one another.
8. A method of attaching a first component of an item of footwear
to a second component of an item of footwear using high frequency
adhesives, the first component having a first overlap area and the
second component having a second overlap area, the method
comprising choosing compatible high frequency adhesives, stitching
a first high frequency adhesive to the first overlap area and
stitching a second high frequency adhesive to the second overlap
area, the first overlap area and the second overlap area being
sized relative to one another, holding the first overlap area in
contact with the second overlap area with the first and second high
frequency adhesives in between, subjecting the high frequency
adhesives to a high frequency signal to cause the high frequency
adhesives to bond together, thereby fusing the first and second
components to one another with no stitch openings extending through
both the first and second overlap areas.
9. The method as claimed in claim 8 including the step of choosing
the first and second adhesives to be identical to one another.
Description
[0001] Applicant Claims The Benefit Of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 61/701,320 Filed On Sep. 14, 2012
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to footwear having two or more
components attached together by high frequency adhesives and to a
method of attaching the components to one another without stitching
any components together.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Attaching two or more parts together using adhesives or high
frequency adhesives is known.
[0006] In U.S. Pat. No. 7,556,861 issued on Jul. 7, 2009 for High
Frequency Weldable Articles and a Method of Constructing the same,
there is described high frequency-weldable articles and method for
connecting the articles.
[0007] When two or more components of footwear are presently
attached to one another, the overlapping areas of the two or more
components are coated with adhesive and the components are stitched
together along the overlapping areas. For example, an upper of a
boot can be attached to a middle of a boot in this manner. A
disadvantage of this method is that the boot is not waterproof at
the joint where the two components are joined to one another
because of the openings created by stitching the two components
together. The two components will therefore allow water to leak
into the boot along the joint. It is also known to join two
footwear components to one another by using adhesives without
stitching. However, when stitching is not used, for example, to
join an upper to a mid sole, the joint is not strong enough to
withstand the stress that footwear is subjected to and will often
fail prematurely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is an object to the present invention to bring together
two components of an item of footwear using high frequency welding
and high frequency adhesives in which the adhesives are affixed to
the overlapping area of each of the components to be joined by
stitching the high frequency adhesives to each component
separately. It is a further object of the present invention to hold
the two components to be attached to one another together with the
overlap areas and the high frequency adhesives aligned with one
another and subjecting the high frequency adhesives to a high
frequency signal to weld the two components together. The finished
product has no stitching openings extending through the two
components and the stitching openings that had been contained in
each of the two components prior to welding are filled with
solidified adhesive. The two components are welded together with a
strength that is durable and will not result in premature failure
when subjected to stress that footwear components are subjected to.
The well can be as strong or stronger than the bond between
components that are glued and stitched together. The resulting seam
between the two components is waterproof.
[0009] An item of footwear comprises a first component and a second
component, the first component having a first overlap area and the
second component having a second overlap area. The components are
footwear components and are sized and shaped to be attached to one
another in the overlap areas, the first overlap area having a first
high frequency adhesive stitched thereto and the second overlap
area having a second high frequency adhesive stitched thereto. The
first high frequency adhesive is compatible to bond with the first
component and the second high frequency adhesive is compatible to
bond with the second component. The first and second high frequency
adhesives are compatible to bond with one another when the two
components are held in a position to attach the two components to
one another in the first and second overlap areas with the first
and second high frequency adhesives in contact with one another,
the high frequency adhesives being subjected to a high frequency
signal to cause the first and second components to weld to one
another along the first and second overlap areas.
[0010] A method of attaching a first component of an item of
footwear to a second component of an item of footwear uses high
frequency adhesives, the first component having a first overlap
area and the second component having a second overlap area. The
method comprises choosing compatible high frequency adhesives,
stitching a first high frequency adhesive to the first overlap area
and stitching a second high frequency adhesive to the second
overlap area, the first overlap area and the second overlap area
being sized relative to one another, holding the first overlap area
in contact with the second overlap area with the first and second
high frequency adhesives in between, subjecting the high frequency
adhesives to a high frequency signal to cause the high frequency
adhesives to bond together, thereby fusing the first and second
components to one another with no stitch openings extending through
both the first and second overlap areas.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a boot when viewed from one
side;
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a boot where a
bottom is separated from an upper; and
[0013] FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of an overlap area of
the upper.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] In FIG. 1, a boot 2 has an upper 4 affixed to a bottom 6.
The bottom 6 has a sole 8 and a midsole 10. The upper 4 is attached
to the midsole 10 of the bottom 6 along a joint 12.
[0015] In FIGS. 2 and 3, the bottom 6 has a first overlap area 14
and the upper 4 and a second overlap area 16. The bottom 6 and
upper 4 are located separate and apart from one another in FIG. 2.
The first overlap area 14 has a first adhesive 18 affixed thereto
by stitching 20. The second overlap area 16 has a second adhesive
22 affixed thereto by stitching 24. When the first adhesive 18 and
the second adhesive 22 are in place as shown, the upper 4 and the
bottom 6 are brought together so that the two overlap areas 14, 16
are in contact with one another with the two adhesives 18, 22
located in between. The respective stitching preferably extends
along the overlap areas substantially one end to the other end as
do the respective adhesives. In the drawings, the stitching 20, 24
is only partially shown. The respective adhesives are not shown in
the drawings in the overlap areas where the stitching is located so
as not to observe the stitching.
[0016] With the upper 4 and the bottom 6 held in the contact
position, the high frequency adhesives 18, 22 are subjected to a
high frequency signal, which causes the two overlapped areas 14, 16
to be welded to one another.
[0017] Since the stitching 20 extends only through the first
overlap area 14 of the bottom 6 and the stitching 24 extends only
through the second overlap area 16 of the upper 22, there is no
stitching that extends through both the bottom and the upper and
the stitch openings in the bottom are generally not aligned with
the stitch openings in the upper. However, even if some of the
stitch openings in the bottom are aligned with the stitch openings
in the upper, after the high frequency welding process, the high
frequency adhesives 18, 22 solidify and fill the threaded openings
in the bottom 6 and in the upper 4.
[0018] The high frequency welding produces a strong bond between
the bottom and the upper that is at least as strong as stitching
the upper and bottom together with adhesives located therebetween.
The boot, shoe or other footwear is completely waterproof along the
joint between the upper and the bottom when constructed in
accordance with the present invention.
[0019] The upper can be made of nylon, fabrics, or coated fabrics,
for example, polyurethane and leathers and the bottom can be made
of different materials, for example, ethylene vinylacetate,
thermoplastic rubber, polyurethane, polyvinylchloride, rubber,
thermoplastic urethane or other plastics.
[0020] Projection molding, compression molding, or vulcanization
can be used to create a bottom or sole.
[0021] The adhesive is preferably a tape, yarn or other preformed
solid adhesive that is compatible with the material of the upper
and the material of the midsole of the bottom or the bottom where
the upper is attached directly to the sole. For example, modified
polyethylene terephthalate can be used as solder in high frequency
welding to weld compatible materials to one another.
[0022] No stitches extend through both the overlap area of the
upper and the overlap area of the bottom. One adhesive is
preferably sewn onto the inner surface of the upper and another
adhesive is preferably sewn onto the outer surface of the bottom.
When the high frequency tapes or other adhesives are subjected to a
high frequency signal while the two overlap areas are held in
contact with one another, the tapes or other adhesives melt and,
when the joint between the upper and the bottom cools, the
adhesives have filled any stitch openings in either the upper or
the bottom. There are no single stitch openings at any time that
extend through both the upper and the bottom. The high frequency
tape or other adhesive acts as a solder.
[0023] While an upper is described as being affixed to the bottom,
the product and method of the present invention can be used to
attach any two or more components of an item of footwear
together.
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