U.S. patent application number 15/320452 was filed with the patent office on 2017-06-08 for shoe upper.
This patent application is currently assigned to SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD.. Invention is credited to YOSHINORI SHIMASAKI, MANABU YUI, ISAO YUMIBA.
Application Number | 20170156446 15/320452 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55019125 |
Filed Date | 2017-06-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170156446 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YUMIBA; ISAO ; et
al. |
June 8, 2017 |
SHOE UPPER
Abstract
A shoe upper comprising a knitted fabric has tubular portions
having axial directions parallel to a tongue of the shoe upper,
being knitted tubularly, and having shoelace holes. The tubular
portions are filled with a filler so that the knitted fabric of the
tubular portions is reinforced. The knitted fabric around the
shoelace holes may be easily reinforced.
Inventors: |
YUMIBA; ISAO; (WAKAYAMA-SHI,
WAKAYAMA, JP) ; SHIMASAKI; YOSHINORI; (WAKAYAMA-SHI,
WAKAYAMA, JP) ; YUI; MANABU; (WAKAYAMA-SHI, WAKAYAMA,
JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. |
WAKAYAMA-SHI, WAKAYAMA |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD.
WAKAYAMA-SHI, WAKAYAMA
JP
|
Family ID: |
55019125 |
Appl. No.: |
15/320452 |
Filed: |
June 23, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
June 23, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2015/067998 |
371 Date: |
December 20, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 23/026 20130101;
A43B 23/02 20130101; A43B 23/045 20130101; A43B 23/0225 20130101;
A43B 23/0285 20130101; A43D 21/00 20130101; D10B 2501/062 20130101;
A43B 1/04 20130101; A43B 23/04 20130101; A43B 23/028 20130101; D04B
1/106 20130101; D10B 2501/043 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A43B 23/02 20060101
A43B023/02; A43B 23/04 20060101 A43B023/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 30, 2014 |
JP |
2014-133516 |
Claims
1. A shoe upper made of a knitted fabric and reinforced around
shoelace holes, said shoe upper comprising: tubular portions
knitted seamlessly and tubularly, said tubular portions having a
closed periphery defining an inside space, and extending in a
direction joining a toe and an ankle, wherein the tubular portions
have shoelace holders provided with shoelace holes, and wherein the
tubular portions are filled with a filler.
2. The shoe upper according to claim 1 wherein the filler contains
a thermofusing or thermosetting synthetic resin fused and is
adhered to the tubular portions inside the tubular portions.
3. The shoe upper according to claim 1 wherein the tubular portions
are respectively divided into a plurality of sections.
4. The shoe upper according to claim 1, wherein the tubular
portions are respectively provided with an inlet for allowing
injection of the filler.
5. The shoe upper according to claim 1, wherein the tubular
portions are respectively further provided with collars that
enclose an ankle.
6. The shoe upper according to claim 5 wherein an elastic filler is
filled inside the collars and that a filler containing a
thermally-fused synthetic resin or a thermally-set synthetic resin
is filled inside the shoelace holders.
7. The shoe upper according to claim 6 wherein the tubular portions
are respectively further provided with tubular stretch stoppers
extending from the shoelace holders into both side surfaces of the
shoe upper and the stretch stoppers are filled with a filler
containing a thermally-fused synthetic resin or a thermally-set
synthetic resin.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a shoe upper made of a
knitted fabric and particularly relates to reinforcing shoelace
holes.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Some of shoe uppers for sports shoes, sneakers, trekking
boots, other boots, and the like are made of knitted fabrics in
order to reduce the traditional processes such as cutting and
sewing for making shoe uppers of woven fabrics. For example, Patent
Document 1 (JP 2013-220357A) proposes shoe uppers made of knitted
fabrics with polymer material coatings on required portions thereof
so as to restrict the stretchabilities of the knitted fabrics.
Furthermore, it proposes multilayer polymer coatings on the
shoelace hole portions to reinforce the portions.
[0003] Patent Document 2 (JP 2008-266854A) is a prior patent filed
by the applicant and proposes to knit hollow knitted fabrics and to
fill the hollow portions with cushion materials, heat insulating
materials, heat retaining materials, or the like so as to impart to
the knitted fabrics desired properties such as cushioning
properties or heat retaining properties.
CITATION LIST
Patent Literatures
[0004] Patent Document 1: JP 2013-220357A
[0005] Patent Document 2: JP 2008-266854A
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0006] The shoelace holes of shoe uppers are repeatedly subjected
to strong forces from the shoelaces, and the knitted fabrics
without reinforcement are sometimes split from the holes. For this
problem, when the multilayer polymer coatings proposed by Patent
Document 1 are performed, accurate coating technology for
performing coatings according to the desired patterns is needed,
and the number of processes increases due to the multi-layer
coatings. Further, the original textures of the knitted fabrics of
the shoe uppers are lost.
[0007] It is an object of the present invention to reinforce the
knitted fabrics around the shoelace holes easily.
Means for Solving the Problem
[0008] A shoe upper according to the present invention is made of
at least a knitted fabric,
[0009] in the knitted fabrics, tubular portions knitted seamlessly
and tubularly, having a closed periphery, having an inside space,
and extending in a direction joining a toe and an ankle are
provided, the tubular portions have shoelace holders provided with
shoelace holes,
[0010] the tubular portions are filled with a filler and the
knitted fabric around the shoelace holes is reinforced.
[0011] The tubular portions comprise a front knitted fabric and a
rear knitted fabric and are knitted tubularly. Inside the tubes, at
least a filler is filled, and the knitted fabrics are reinforced
around the shoelace holes. Furthermore, it is not necessary to
perform coatings plural times to reinforce the knitted fabrics. A
pair of the tubular portions are provided on both sides of the
tongue, and the axial directions of the tubular portions are
parallel to the direction of the tongue (direction joining the toe
and the ankle).
[0012] Preferably, the filler contains a thermofusing or
thermosetting synthetic resin, and in either case, the synthetic
resin is fused and adhering to the knitted fabrics of the tubular
portions. The synthetic resin in the filler is fused and adhering
to the knitted fabrics to reinforce the knitted fabrics around the
shoelace holes. The fusion of the synthetic resin in the tubular
portions generates at least a structure which supports a shoelace
and reinforces the knitted fabrics around the shoelace holes. By
selecting a heating temperature, type, and the like of the
synthetic resin, degree of swelling and elasticity of the tubular
portions are controlled from a state where the tubular portions are
hardened in a shape of a plate or film and are slightly swollen to
a state where the synthetic resin is made foam-like (cushion-like),
and the tubular portions swell and have substantial elasticity.
Furthermore, with adjusting the material of the synthetic resin and
the heating temperature, the synthetic resin is prevented from
leaking onto the surface of the tubular portions, and the original
texture of the knitted fabrics is maintained.
[0013] Preferably, the filler containing a thermofusing synthetic
resin or a thermosetting synthetic resin is injected in a string
form or a fibrous form, while may be injected in a bead form or a
powder form. Although a filler in a liquid form may be injected,
the liquid may leak onto the surface of the knitted fabrics and
damage the texture of the knitted fabrics. In any case, it is
preferable to inject the filler with an air stream.
[0014] The tubular portions have a length of, for example, about a
several centimeters, and it is not easy to uniformly fill the
tubular portions with the filler. Whether injection is uniform or
not affects whether the tubular portions uniformly swell and have a
uniform thickness or not, or whether the tubular portions have a
uniform hardness or not. Accordingly, by dividing each tubular
portion into a plurality of sections and injecting each section
with a filler, a uniform filling is easily performed, because the
range of one filling is made smaller. In order to provide the
sections, it is preferable to intersect knitting yarns of the front
and rear knitted fabrics so as to close the tube, or to bind the
front and rear knitted fabrics with tucks or the like. Note that a
filling machine including a plurality of injection nozzles may also
be used to perform uniform filling.
[0015] Preferably, the tubular portions are respectively provided
with at least an inlet through which the filler is injected. The
inlets are formed in a knitted structure of a mesh structure or the
like having holes in the tubular portions, and the holes serve as
the inlets. Thus, the injection nozzles may be inserted into the
tubular portions without damaging the knitted fabric. Note that, if
the gauge of the knitted fabric is wide and the size of the
stitches is sufficiently larger than the diameter of the nozzles,
the nozzles may be inserted into the stitches without the inlets.
Note that the diameter of the nozzles may be smaller if fibers are
injected, but may be larger if beads or the like are injected.
[0016] Preferably, the tubular portions are further provided with
collars that enclose the ankle. This shoe upper includes the
collars and the shoelace holders that are filled with a filler or
fillers and may be easily knitted on a flat knitting machine or the
like.
[0017] Further preferably, the collars are filled with an elastic
filler, and the shoelace holders are filled with a filler including
a thermally-fused synthetic resin or a thermally-set synthetic
resin. In this shoe upper, the collars are elastic, and the
shoelace holders are strong to support the shoelace and are
durable.
[0018] Particularly preferably, tubular stretch stoppers extending
from the shoelace holders into both side surfaces of the shoe upper
are further provided in the tubular portions, and the stretch
stoppers are filled with a filler that includes a thermally-fused
synthetic resin or a thermally-set synthetic resin. In this shoe
upper, the stretch stoppers prevent the deformation of the shoelace
holders that are pulled by the shoelace.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shoe upper according to an
embodiment.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a tubular portion having
a shoelace hole, along the short side direction thereof.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a shoe upper according to the best
embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the stitch structure in the
tubular portion according to the best embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a manufacturing procedure
for the tubular portions having shoelace holes.
[0024] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a knitting procedure for
the shoelace holes.
[0025] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating sections of the tubular
portion and meshes for injection.
[0026] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a filling machine for
filling the tubular portion with a filler.
[0027] FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating the main portion of the
shoe upper.
[0028] From now on, the best embodiment for carrying out the
present invention will be described.
EMBODIMENT
[0029] FIG. 1 shows a shoe upper according to an embodiment, and
addition of an un-shown outsole makes it a shoe. The reference
numeral 4 denotes an instep, and the reference numeral 5 denotes an
inner sole which may not be provided. The reference numeral 6
denotes a tongue, and the reference numerals 8 and 8 denote tubular
portions on both sides of the tongue 6. They are made of tubular
knitted fabrics comprising a front knitted fabric and a rear
knitted fabric and have a plurality of holes 10 for passing a
shoelace 12 through and supporting the shoelace. The shoes may be
of any type, such as sports shoes, sneakers, trekking boots, and
knitted boots.
[0030] FIG. 2 shows the structure of the tubular portions 8. The
reference numeral 14 denotes the front knitted fabric appearing on
the front surface of the shoe upper, and the reference numeral 15
denotes the rear knitted fabric that does not appear on the front
surface. The front and rear knitted fabrics 14 and 15 are closed
with each other so that the tubular portions 8 are made tubular. By
the way, the entire shoe upper 2 may be provided with the front and
rear knitted fabrics, or only the tubular portions 8 may be
provided with the front and rear knitted fabrics. Inside the
tubular portions 8, there is a structure 16 made of a fused
thermofusing resin or a thermosetting resin already set. The
structure 16 adheres to the front and rear knitted fabrics 14 and
15, reinforces the holes 10, and supports the shoelace 12 in
contact with it. The thermofusing resin is, for example, a
string-like resin comprising a core made of a highly heat-resistant
fibers and a sheath which enclose the core made of resin fibers
made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin having a softening
temperature or polymerization temperature lower than that of the
core. The thermosetting resin is, for example, a polyurethane
resin. For example, a structure 16 which is elastic and foam-like
is gotten from a soft polyurethane resin, a harder structure 16 is
gotten from a hard polyurethane resin, and a film-like or
plate-like structure 16 without a swell is gotten from an elastomer
of polyurethane resin. Although a thermoplastic resin with a
melting temperature lower than that of the knitting yarn of the
shoe upper 2 may be used for the structure 16, the tubular portions
8 may become soft when heated. The filler may be in a string form
or a fibrous form, also may be in a bead form or a powder form, and
may include another fiber material or the like, in addition to the
thermofusing resin or the thermosetting resin.
[0031] FIGS. 3 and 4 show a shoe upper 30 according to the best
embodiment, and, on a flat knitting machine having, for example, at
least a pair of front and rear needle beds, areas 32 and 33 are
knitted with two carriers from knitting start lines L1 and L2,
namely, from the heel portion of the shoe upper. From a line L3,
for example, with one carrier the remaining area 34 is knitted
toward the toe. During the knitting, decreasing and widening of the
knitted fabric are performed according to the shape of the shoe
upper 30, and double-sided knitting (interlock knitting), smooth
knitting, or the like is performed so that the knitted fabric is
difficult to stretch. In addition to the areas 32 to 34, a tongue
may be knitted simultaneously or may be knitted separately for
connecting later by sewing or the like.
[0032] Collars 35, shoelace holders 36, and stretch stoppers 37 are
tubular, and the collars 35 and the shoelace holders 36 are located
at one ends of the areas 32 and 33. The collars 35 are knitted as
shown in FIG. 4, for example, and the shoelace holders 36 are
knitted similarly. The area 32 is knitted by double-sided knitting,
and the tubular collars 35 are knitted by plain knitting. The
stretch stoppers 37 are knitted such that, for example, one face of
the tube is knitted with needles of the front needle bed and the
other face of the tube is knitted with the needles of the rear
needle bed.
[0033] FIG. 5 illustrates a procedure for manufacturing the tubular
portions 8 and the structures 16. In step S1, the tubular portions
8 are knitted, and, at this time, the shoelace holes 10 are formed
as shown in FIG. 6, for example. In step S2, a filler containing a
thermofusing resin is injected via inlets 22 shown in FIG. 7, by a
filling machine 80 of FIG. 8 or the like. In step S3, a thermal
treatment makes the thermofusing resin fuse and adhere to the
knitted fabric of the tubular portions and makes the structures 16
reinforce the shoelace holes 10. By the way, the shoelace 12 has
been passed through the holes 10 between steps S1 and S2.
[0034] FIG. 6 shows knitting the shoelace hole 10, and in 1), the
front knitted fabric 14 (dashed line) and the rear knitted fabric
15 (solid line) of the tubular portion 8 are knitted with a
knitting yarn 64 on a flat knitting machine having a pair of front
and rear needle beds, for example. The reference letters A to H and
a to h designate the needles used in the knitting. In 2), on the
needles C, c, F, and f in the periphery of the hole 10 are formed
four double stitches 68; for example, the stitches of the needles d
and e of the front knitted fabric are transferred on the needles C
and F of the rear knitted fabric to form double stitches, and the
stitches of the needles D and E of the rear knitted fabric are
transferred on the needles c and f of the front knitted fabric to
form double stitches. Thus, both sides of the hole 10 are closed by
the knitting yarn 64. In 3), four hooked stitches 69 are formed on
the needles D, d, E, and e within the hole 10 so that the
prolongations of the stitches intersect in the shape of X. In 4),
usual stitches are formed on the hooked stitches 69 so that the
knitting of the hole 10 is completed. Other methods may be used for
knitting the hole 10.
[0035] FIG. 7 shows the structure of the tubular portion 8; the
longitudinal direction of the tubular portion 8 (axial direction of
the tube) is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tongue
6, and the tubular portion 8 is divided along the longitudinal
direction into a plurality of sections 21 at dividing portions 20,
for example. Each of the sections 21 is provided with an inlet 22
of a mesh structure or the like. At the dividing portions 20, the
front knitted fabric and the rear knitted fabric are closed, or
bound and may be closed by, for example, intersecting the knitting
yarn of the front knitted fabric and the knitting yarn of the rear
knitted fabric. Furthermore, the front knitted fabric and the rear
knitted fabric may be bound by connecting the front knitted fabric
and the rear knitted fabric by tuck stitches or the like. The
dividing portions 20 are provided in order to restrict the filler
injection range within the sections 21, and it is enough for the
dividing portions, if they can divide the tubular portion 8 to the
extent that the filler injection range can be restricted.
Furthermore, the dividing portions 20 and the sections 21 have the
effect of restricting the tubular portion 8 from excessively
swelling. Moreover, arrangement of prolongations connecting the
front and rear of the tubular portion 8 such as a spacer fabric may
also restrict the tubular portion 8 from excessively swelling. Note
that a filling machine including a plurality of nozzles may be used
to fill up the tubular portions 8 with a filler uniformly and in a
short time. In this case, the dividing portions 20 and the sections
21 may not be provided. The inlets 22 comprising mesh holes in a
mesh structure are provided at inconspicuous positions such as the
rear surface of the tubular portions 8. The inlets 22 are holes for
allowing the nozzles of the filling machine being inserted, and are
preferably provided at inconspicuous positions such as those on the
rear knitted fabric. However, if there are large gaps between
stitches of the tubular portions 8, the inlets 22 do not need to be
provided.
[0036] FIG. 8 shows an example of the filling machine 80, and the
reference numeral 82 denotes a nozzle. An air pipe 84 supplies
compressed air, and a filler supplying part 86 supplies a filler in
a string form, fibrous form, bead form, powder form, or the like.
The filler is then mixed with air, and the mixture is injected from
the nozzle 82. The filler is preferably a thermofusing resin or a
thermosetting resin, but may be a simple thermoplastic resin, a
mixture of a thermofusing resin or a thermosetting resin and fibers
having the same or higher heat resistance as that of the knitting
yarn of the knit shoe upper, or the like. By the way, a string of
thermofusing resin comprises a core made of fibers having a high
heat resistance and a sheath enclosing the core made of
thermoplastic fibers having a low softening temperature. Instead of
the structure of the core and the sheath, simply, a mixture of
fibers having a high heat resistance and fibers having a
polymerization temperature or heatproof temperature lower than the
heatproof temperature of the knitting yarn of the knit upper may be
filled.
[0037] FIG. 9 schematically shows a main portion of the shoe upper
90 according to the embodiment. The reference numeral 92 denotes an
instep, and the reference numeral 94 denotes a shoelace holder that
is tubular and swollen. The inside of the tube of the shoelace
holder 94 is filled with a thermofusing resin or a thermosetting
resin that is injected through the inlets 22, and the thermofusing
resin or the thermosetting resin is fused or thermally set so as to
reinforce the shoelace holder 44. Furthermore, the shoelace holder
94 is sectioned into the sections 21, and each of the sections 21
is provided with an inlet 22. However, the sections 21 and the
inlets 22 may not be provided.
[0038] The embodiments have the following features.
1) The tubular portions 8 are provided, and the structures 16 are
provided so as to reinforce the shoelace holes 10. Repetitive
polymer coatings or the like are not needed, a coating of different
material is not performed, and the filler does not leak from the
tubular portions 8. Therefore, the original texture of the knitted
fabric is kept. 2) The tubular portions 8 are strong, in addition,
thick, elastic and are feel-good to the touch. 3) The structures 16
made of a thermosetting resin filler are not softened by insolation
or the like. 4) The tubular portions 8 are divided into a plurality
of sections 21, and therefore, the filler is easily and uniformly
filled. 5) The inlets 22 are provided in a mesh structure or the
like, and therefore, the nozzles 82 are inserted without damaging
the knitted fabric of the tubular portions 8. 6) The shoe upper
having collars, shoelace holders, and stretch stoppers may be
knitted easily. 7) The collars may be provided with elasticity, the
shoelace holders and the stretch stoppers may be provided with
strength, and therefore, breakage or deformation due to repeated
tensions by the shoelace may be prevented.
DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0039] 2, 30 Shoe upper 4 Instep 5 Inner sole [0040] 6 Tongue 8
Tubular portion 10 Hole 12 Shoelace [0041] 14 Front knitted fabric
15 Rear knitted fabric 16 Structure 20 Dividing portion [0042] 21
Sections 22 Inlet 32 to 34 Area [0043] 35 Collar 36 Shoelace holder
37 Stretch stopper [0044] 64 Knitting yarn 68 Double stitch 69
Hooked stitch 80 Filling machine [0045] 82 Nozzle 84 Air pipe 86
Filler supplying part [0046] 90 Shoe upper 92 Instep 94 Shoelace
holder [0047] L1, L2 Knitting start line L3 Line
* * * * *