U.S. patent application number 14/160728 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-24 for shoe having a printed design and printing process for shoes.
The applicant listed for this patent is Jono Anthony Kupferberg. Invention is credited to Jono Anthony Kupferberg.
Application Number | 20140202041 14/160728 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51206589 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140202041 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kupferberg; Jono Anthony |
July 24, 2014 |
SHOE HAVING A PRINTED DESIGN AND PRINTING PROCESS FOR SHOES
Abstract
A shoe has a cohesive design/logo that spans the entirety of the
shoe and the design is printed prior to assembly. The panels of the
shoe are included on a large piece of material large enough to
encompass all the panels of the shoes that will require printing.
The print will cover the entire piece of leather and result in what
appears to be a segmented logo. Certain areas of the print will
include a seam to account for the overlap that will occur when
stitching the panels together. The panels will then be cut apart
and then stitched together so that the panels of the designs line
up in a cohesive and recognizable fashion. The resulting shoe will
be one that bears a logo/design that covers multiple panels.
Inventors: |
Kupferberg; Jono Anthony;
(Evanston, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kupferberg; Jono Anthony |
Evanston |
IL |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51206589 |
Appl. No.: |
14/160728 |
Filed: |
January 22, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61755743 |
Jan 23, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/136 ;
12/142R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 3/0078 20130101;
A43D 8/22 20130101; A43B 23/025 20130101; A43B 9/00 20130101; A43D
111/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/136 ;
12/142.R |
International
Class: |
A43B 23/24 20060101
A43B023/24 |
Claims
1. A method of assembling a shoe including a printed design
comprising the steps of: providing flat material having a first
designated area and a second designated area; printing a first
portion of the design on the first designated area and printing a
second portion of the design on the second designated area;
separating the designated areas into individual panels; and
assembling each panel, so that the first portion of the design
joins the second portion of the design when each panel is arranged
side by side to form an uninterrupted and complete design.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein prior to the printing step the
designated areas are provided by separated panels.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the designated areas are located
on a single sheet of material prior to separation into separated
panels.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the flat material includes more
than two designated areas and more than two portions of the design
are printed across multiple designated areas and multiple
panels.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein a seam is provided on a panel and
no printing occurs at the seam.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein upon assembly of the panels the
seam is covered by an edge of the adjacent panel and the design is
uninterrupted across the paired panels.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the flat material is one of
leather and synthetic material.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the printing is one of digital
printing, screen printing, sublimation, ink jet print, cold peel
transfer, hot peel transfer and fabric dying.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein designated areas encompass the
entire panel thereon.
10. A shoe having a printed design comprising: multiple panels
arranged and connected to form a shoe upper; a first portion of a
design printed on a first panel; a second portion of a design
printed on a second panel; the first panel having a seam formed at
an edge; a first designated area provided on the first panel
adjacent the seam and terminating at the seam at a termination
line; the first portion of the design printed in the first
designated area extending at least up to the termination line; the
second panel having a second designated area terminating at a
termination edge of the material; and the first portion of the
design abuts the second portion of the design where the termination
line abuts the termination edge in order to form a continuous,
uninterrupted design.
11. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the first portion of the design is
printed so that no portion of the design is present on the seam and
all printing terminates at the termination line.
12. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the first portion of the design is
printed so that a portion of the design is present on the seam, but
the portion printed on the seam is identical to at least a part of
the second portion of the design at the termination edge of the
second panel.
13. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the contiguous, uninterrupted
design extends across two panels.
14. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the contiguous, uninterrupted
design extends across more than two panels.
15. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the first designated area is
contained within the first panel.
16. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the termination line extends along
the seam and is parallel and adjacent to the edge of the first
panel.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority date of
provisional application Ser. No. 61/755,743 filed on Jan. 23,
2013
[0002] The present invention pertains to a printing process for
shoes, an assembly process for shoes and shoes having a printed
design.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Providing designs or logos on shoes such as athletic shoes
or sneakers is usually accomplished after the shoe is assembled. In
particular a printing process is used to adhere a design or logo to
the shoe across panels of the shoe following the assembly and
stitching together of each of the panels. This type of process
leads to poor quality of the logo and cumbersome printing processes
on surfaces that are not flat. The present invention solves such
disadvantages of previous printing processes.
SUMMARY
[0004] The present invention provides a method of providing a
design on a shoe comprising the steps of providing a piece of
leather with the individual panels outlined on the surface of the
piece and is positioned under the printer, the print design is
applied to the panel and the design encompasses all elements of the
designs (i.e., even the sections that are simply one color are
printed on at this stage in order to maximize the efforts of one
single print) the panels are then cut out and removed from the
later piece and the panels are stitched together on the shoe and
are lined up in such a way that yields the result of an intact
uninterrupted logo/design.
[0005] In alternative embodiments, depending on how cost effective
the manufacturer wants to be, the prints can be broken up into
multiple stages. In other words, while the goal is to execute one
print for the designs of both shoes (both the left and right foot)
the manufacturer could execute one print for the left foot, and a
separate one all together for the right. This stage of the process
could even be more meticulously accomplished wherein the
manufacturer could undertake one print for each panel of the
shoe.
[0006] In an embodiment a method of assembling a shoe including a
printed design is provided that comprises the steps of providing a
flat material having a first designated area and a second
designated area, printing a first portion of the design at the
first designated area and printing a second portion of the design
at the second designated area, separating the designated areas into
individual panels and assembling each panel so that the first
portion of the design joins the second portion of the design when
each panel is arranged side by side to form an uninterrupted and
complete design. The steps may include prior to the printing step
that the designated areas are provided by separated panels. In an
embodiment the designated areas may be located on a single sheet of
material prior to separation into separate panels.
[0007] In an embodiment the flat material may include more than two
designated areas and more than two portions of the design are
printed across multiple designated areas and multiple panels. In an
embodiment a seam is provided on a panel and no printing occurs at
the seam. In an embodiment upon assembly of the panels the seam is
covered by an edge of the adjacent panel and the design is
uninterrupted across the paired panels. In an embodiment the flat
material is one of leather and synthetic material. In an embodiment
the printing is one of digital printing, screen printing,
sublimation, ink jet printing, cold peel transfer, hot peel
transfer and fabric dying. In an embodiment the designated areas
may encompass the entire panel thereon.
[0008] The present invention also provides for a shoe having a
design comprising multiple panels arranged and connected to form a
shoe upper, a first portion of a design printed on a first panel, a
second portion of a design printed on a second panel, the first
panel having a seam formed at an edge, a first designated area
provided on the first panel adjacent to the seam and terminating at
the seam at a termination line running parallel and adjacent to the
edge of the first panel. The first portion of the design may be
printed at the designated area extending at least up to the
termination line. The second panel may have a second designated
area terminating at a termination edge of the material and the
first portion of the design abuts the second portion of the design
where the termination line abuts the termination edge in order to
form a continuous, uninterrupted design. In an embodiment the first
portion of the design is printed so that no portion of the design
is present on the seam and all printing terminates at the
termination line.
[0009] In an embodiment the first portion of the design is printed
so that a portion of the design is present on the seam, but the
portion printed on the seam is identical to at least a part of the
second portion of the design at the termination edge of the second
panel. In an embodiment the contiguous uninterrupted design extends
across two panels. In an embodiment the contiguous, uninterrupted
design extends across more than two panels. In an embodiment the
first designated area is contained within the first panel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an assembled shoe of the
present invention;
[0011] FIGS. 2-8 are plan views of individual panels of a shoe of
the present invention; and
[0012] FIGS. 9-10 are plan views of paired panels being assembled
depicting an assembly step of the present invention.
[0013] While the invention is amendable to various modifications
and alternate forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of
example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It
should be understood that the intention is not to limit the
invention to the particular embodiments depicted in the drawing
figures. The intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents
and alternatives falling within the spirit and the scope of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] FIGS. 1-10 depict a printing and assembly process for shoes.
FIG. 1 is an assembled view of the shoe 10 depicting each of the
panels of the shoe stitched together and with the logos/designs
arranged appropriately so that they are contiguous across the
panels of the shoe. The shoe includes side panels 20a,b, rear upper
panels 30a,b, heel panel 40, toe panel 50, central toe panel 60,
lace upper 70, sole 80 and deigns 110a,b, 112 and 115.
[0015] FIGS. 2-8 depict the panels of the shoe separated prior to
assembly of the shoe as depicted in FIG. 1. In an embodiment, the
panels may be made from leather or other man-made or synthetic
material. Each of the panels 20-70 depicted in FIGS. 2-8 are shown
lying flat on a surface so that they may be easily printed on with
logos or other designs. The panels may be decorated using
multi-layered digital printing, screen printing, sublimation, ink
jet printing, cold and hot peel transfers or fabric dying. In an
embodiment the panels 20-70 are cut from a single piece of
material. Prior to cutting and removing the panels the printing
process may be undertaken on the entire flat material so that a
portion of each printed design is placed in the predetermined
designated area. In an alternate embodiment, the printing process
may occur following cutting and removal of the panels form the
entire sheet.
[0016] FIG. 2 depicts heel panel 40. FIG. 3 depicts central toe
panel 60. FIG. 4 depicts toe panel 50. FIG. 5 depicts lace upper
70. FIG. 6 depicts rear upper 30a, 30b. FIG. 7 depicts side panel
20a. FIG. 8 depicts side panel 20b.
[0017] FIG. 4 depicts the toe panel 50 having logo 115 printed at
the first designated area 117a. In an embodiment, the letters that
spell "EVANSTON" have been adhered to the panel 50 using a screen
printing process. As the toe panel 50 is lying flat, the screen
printing process may be accomplished easily and allow for the
printing to adhere properly for long lasting duration of the screen
printed letters.
[0018] FIGS. 7 and 8 depict side panels 20a, 20b. It may be
understood that panel 20a resides on the left side of the shoe as
shown in FIG. 1 and panel 20b resides on the right side of the shoe
which is out of sight in FIG. 1. Panel 20a, as shown in FIG. 7, has
no design added thereto and is a blank panel. Likewise, FIG. 6
depicts rear panel 30a, 30b. It may be understood that the panels
wrap around the shoe so that the left portion 30a wraps around the
left side of the shoe as depicted in FIG. 1 and portion 30b wraps
around the right side of the shoe and is out of sight in FIG.
1.
[0019] Turning to FIG. 9, the center panel 20a is depicted on the
left and rear panel 30a is depicted on the right. FIG. 9 depicts
these panels 20a, 30a after having the logo indicia 110a, 110b
printed on each individual panel in the second and third designated
areas 117b, 117c. In this example, the entire logo when put
together will read "ETHS" (Evanston Township High School) in an
uninterrupted manner. As the logo extends across multiple panels
20a, 30a, the printing of the logos occurs separately on each
panel. For example, the letters "ET" are printed partially on panel
20a in the second designated area 117b. The other portions of the
letters "THS" are printed on panel 30a in the third designated area
117c. Although in this example, the logo is comprised of
alphanumeric symbols, other types of logos, such as animal
caricatures or other designs, may be used on the panels. For
example, the rear panel 30a also includes an additional logo in the
form of an animal footprint 112 included in third designated area
117c. But in a similar fashion, those images, designs or indicia
will be separated between the first panel 20a and second panel 30a,
prior to joining the two panels together to form the completed,
uninterrupted image or logo.
[0020] It is understood that the above processes provide for a
printing process that occurs on panels of the shoe in a flat
orientation to allow for easier printing and higher quality images.
The present invention solves such disadvantages of previous
printing processes.
[0021] The printing of the logo 110a on panel 20a accounts for the
provision of a seam (non-printed area) 121, so that no logo appears
on the seam that will be placed under the second panel 30a. The
area between arrows x and y comprises the seam or border area 121.
In an embodiment the width of the seam between points x and y may
be 1 inch to 1/32 inch. In an embodiment, the blank areas on any
portion of the panels including the seam 121, could be any other
color/design that can be overlapping. For example, the seam area
121 could be black or other color or a pattern, instead of being
blank. Further, the design can be permitted to run into the seam
area, but the overlapping edge from the adjacent panel will
compensate for the overlap of the seam on top of the design.
[0022] Turning to FIG. 10, the panels 20a and 30a are shown
stitched or adhered together. It can be seen that the seam 121 is
covered by the edge 122 of the rear panel 30a and the area between
the arrows x-y is covered by the edge of the rear panel 30a. By
joining the panels 20a, 30a in such a manner, the entire logo 110a,
b is depicted in a uniform uninterrupted and combined manner, so
that its proper form is depicted on the assembled shoe (also as
shown in FIG. 1). By assembling the shoe in this fashion, it can be
understood that the printing of the shoe panels can be accomplished
easily and quickly while the panels are in a flattened state
(either as separated panels or a single piece of material). Upon
assembly of the shoe using normal assembly procedures, the shoe can
be inexpensively ornamented with designs and logos that enhance the
attractiveness of the shoe.
[0023] In an embodiment the shoe 10 includes multiple panels
arranged and connected to form a shoe upper. Turning to FIG. 9, a
first portion of a design is printed on a first panel 110a. A
second portion of a design is printed on a second panel 110b. The
first panel has a seam 121 formed at an edge 121a. A first
designated area is provided on the first panel 20a adjacent the
seam 121 and terminates at the seam at a termination line 121b. The
first portion of the design is printed in the first designated area
117b extending at least up to the termination line 121b. The second
panel 30a has a second designated area 117c terminating at a
termination edge 122 of the material. The first portion of the
design 110a abuts the second portion of the design 110b where the
termination line abuts the termination edge 122 in order to form a
continuous, uninterrupted design (FIG. 10). The first portion of
the design 117b is printed so that no portion of the design is
present on the seam 121 and all printing terminates at the
termination line 121b.
[0024] It is understood that while the above description was with
respect to side panel 20a and rear panel 30a, the same procedure
could be undertaken for each of the panels of the shoe, so that the
entire shoe may have a logo covering the entire expanse of the
surfaces on the shoe while the printing is done on each individual
panel (or a single piece of material prior to separating into
multiple panels) in a coordinated fashion, so that when the panels
are assembled, the logo or design fits together as an uninterrupted
whole.
[0025] In some embodiments, the process may only merge two panels
to construct a complete design/logo. However, the process can in
fact be used to provide a complete design over more than two panels
and designated areas. In an embodiment a complete design may span
for example three panels of the side of the shoe. Further a design
or logo may be a uniform color or pattern applied to the panels of
the shoe, in some embodiments.
[0026] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made for the present invention
without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus,
it is intended that embodiments of the invention cover the
modifications and variations of this invention provided within the
scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *