Method Of Making Shoes

Abstract

A shoe having an upper which completely envelops a human foot like a sock. The last, the blank is drawn upon, is shaped like a natural foot. The bottom part of the shoe comprises at least the outer sole, heel cap and supporting elements in one integral part and is indissolubly bound to the upper by omission of an insole. The blank forming the upper is hedl together by outwardly pointing seams. The bottom part of the shoe is a plastic composition that is connected with the upper. The inner sole of the shoe is rounded to conform the natural shape of the foot enclosing the foot like a sock.

Description

The invention relates to a method of making shoes, to the finished shoe produced by the method, to an appliance required for performing the method and to the shape of the blanks from which the proposed shoes are made. Hitherto shoes were made by attaching the shoe material, known as the upper, to an insole by adhesive bonding, tacking or sewing. For this purpose proper support was required for the insole and for this purpose use was made of a last with a flat underside and sharply angled peripheral edges. Besides the shoe made by this method another known type of shoe is the California Shoe or Moccasin which is likewise made with the aid of a last with a flat underside and a peripheral angular edge. An objection to all such methods of manufacture is that the lasts do not completely correspond to the shape of the foot. The fit of the shoe is therefore not perfect. The foot in the shoe tends to slide forwards and when walking the weight of the body tends to rest on the metatarsal bones, a circumstance which is often responsible for troubles experienced with the feet.

Another known arrangement comprises providing a knitted footing (part of knitted hose) with a sole that is adhesively affixed thereto. However, this kind of footwear is inappropriate for outdoor wear. Another drawback of conventional methods of manufacture is that elements, such as heels, caps, hinges, steel joints or the like must be incorporated in the shoe to provide sufficient support for the foot. This means that at least parts of the interior of the shoe must be lined to cover the heel cap and the internal seams.

All these shortcomings are eliminated by the present invention which has for its object the production by simple means of a well fitting properly shaped shoe which permits the wearer to walk in a manner that is orthopaedically correct in as much as the weight of the body is spread over the entire base of the foot, as is the case for instance when walking barefoot. According to the invention this is achieved by first forming from a blank an upper resembling, a sock which completely envelops the foot, drawing this blank on a last that corresponds to the natural shape of the foot, i.e., lacking peripheral edges, and then with the omission of an insole directly bonding said upper to a bottom member which in one part incorporates the outer sole, heel cap and stiffening respectively guide elements for the foot. Preferably the blank for forming the upper is held together by seams pointing outwards.

With particular advantage the last carrying the tautly stretched upper may be introduced into a mould shaped to form the complete bottom part of the shoe, comprising the outer sole, the heel cap, stiffening elements and possibly the heel, from a plastics composition such as polyurethane or the like, which sets and forms an indissoluble bond with the upper. Alternatively it would be quite feasible separately to produce the complete bottom part of the shoe and then to bond the same in a press permanently with the aid of an adhesive to the upper stretched on the last.

The principal feature of a shoe made by the method according to the invention is that it lacks an insole, that the upper completely envelops the foot like a sock and that the other parts of the shoe, such as the outer sole, heel cap, heel as well as stiffening and guide elements are injection moulded as an integral member for instance of polyurethane, directly to the upper. Owing to the use of a last which exactly conforms to the natural shape of the foot, and which tautly carries the stretched upper the material of the upper is maintained in the natural shape of the foot during the process of moulding and the subsequent process of curing and setting. The internal supporting surface of such a shoe is not then a flat surface but a shaped bed which substantially reproduces the natural contours of the foot, and which thus sleekly envelops the foot.

From the point of view of economics the making of the shoe is greatly simplified in so far as the subsequent insertion of bolstering strips, inserts and linings is entirely dispensed with and the bottom of the shoe comprising the outer sole, heel cap, stiffening and guide elements is made and indissolubly bonded to the upper in one operation.

An embodiment of the present invention is particularly described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 to 6 are different perspective views of the last used for making the proposed shoe;

FIGS. 7 and 7a illustrate a blank for making an upper for the proposed shoe;

FIGS. 8 to 12 are different perspective views of an upper according to the invention;

FIG. 13 is a blank for a different shape of an upper;

FIGS. 14 to 17 is the upper formed from the blank according to FIG. 13 and

FIG. 18 is the finished shoe made by using the upper according to FIG. 14.

It will be readily understood from FIGS. 1 to 6 that in the proposed method of manufacture use is made of a last composed of two hingeably connected components 1 and 2, and having no sharp edges or completely flat surfaces, i.e., precisely conforming with the actual contours of a natural human foot. The two components of the last can be hingeably tilted to permit the last to be introduced into a shoe without strain and the shoe stretched when the last is extended. However, the last does not serve, as hitherto, for supporting an insole to which the upper is attached with the aid of an adhesive, by tacking or sewing. The only purpose of the last is to keep an upper which envelops the foot like a sock in a state in which it is taut and retains the shape of the foot whilst the bottom of the shoe is formed on the upper.

The upper that is used for making a shoe as illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12 comprises two blanks which are shown in FIGS. 7 and 7a. The larger sized blank consists of a portion comprising a sole 3 and sidewall portions 4, 4' as well as a portion 5 for enclosing the toes. The blank is converted to the shape of the foot by seaming the sidewall portion 4' to the edge of the sole portion 3 along the dot-dash line 6. The seam 7 which connects the sidewall portions 4 and 4' is then formed on the outside of the heel. The top of the upper is formed by a vamp 8 shown in FIG. 7a. This is connected by a seam 9 to the toe portion of the blank 5 along the dashed lines indicated in the two drawings. It is an important feature that the seams 6, 7 and 9 are formed on the outside in a region of the foot where they cannot exert pressure on the foot.

The seams are produced in the conventional way. The vamp may be provided with buckles 10 or straps 11 or other ornamentation as particularly shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The seam 9, as illustrated in FIG. 12 is preferably contrived to be a decorative seam. An upper is thus finally formed, according to FIGS. 8 to 12, which envelops the foot of a wearer like a sock.

Whereas FIGS. 8 to 12 illustrate an upper which has an open top which must be closed by the insertion of a vamp, FIG. 13 is a blank for forming an upper with a closed top. In this instance the sole 3' is an appendage of the sidewall portion 4', the two sidewalls 4' and 4 being connected by a portion 8' of material which forms a marginal flange at its external edge. A similar flange 12' is formed on the sole portion 3'. The blank is again sewn together to conform with the shape of the foot, the side portion 4 being attached to the outside of the sole 3' by a seam 13. The seam 14 is formed on the outside of the heel and connects the rear ends of the sidewall portions 4, 4'. The marginal flange 12 which is slightly notched around its periphery is bent around the edge of the sole, possibly over an inserted former, and conveniently adhesively attached to the sole. The resultant shoe upper is illustrated in FIGS. 14 to 17. The longitudinal seams 13 will again be located an the inside of the arch of the foot and the seam 14 on the outside of the heel. The upper may be additionally provided with decorative seams 15, edge bindings 16 and sewn on lacings or the like. In every case the upper envelops the foot like a sock. It is drawn and stretched into the correct shape of a foot by the insertion of the last 1, 2. FIGS. 11 and 17 show the way in which the last is inserted. FIG. 12 clearly illustrates how the inserted last stretches the upper and keeps it in the desired shape. The last and the upper are then transferred to a casting machine in which the upper containing the last form the top of the cavity of a mould corresponding in shape to the outer sole 18, the welt 19, the heel 20, the side stiffeners 21 and the heel cap 22. By injecting a synthetic plastics material, such as polyurethane, into the cavity of the mould the entire bottom 18 to 22 of the shoe is formed on the upper in a single injection or casting operation. When the plastics material has set the mould can be opened and the last removed.

The finished shoe, as illustrated in FIG. 18, can be taken out of the mould. By a suitable choice of the plastics material the heel 20 and possibly the sole 18 may be permanently flexible parts of the shoe. Finally, stiffenings or elastics inserts can be introduced into the mould before the bottom of the shoe is moulded. Conveniently use may be made of a plastics material which foams inside the mould.

For making the upper diverse range of materials conventionally used in the shoemaking industry can be employed, such as leather for example.

Claims

I claim:

1. A method of making shoes, comprising the steps of

pulling tightly an upper blank in sock like form about a last having exclusively rounded portions substantially conforming to the anatomical shape of a foot to be used in the shoe as to enclose completely and sock like said foot, said blank forming a shoe sole portion contacting the bottom of the foot, and forming seams folding outwardly pointing away from the last and running along an outer longitudinal side, and holding said blank in said sock like form on said last, and

directly connecting to said upper blank at the outer surface of said shoe sole portion a permament elastic synthetic material constituting an outer sole forming a bottom of said shoe and including stiffening elements and a heel cap.

2. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said seams run along a portion corresponding to the arch of the foot.

3. The method, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of

connecting said stiffening elements including a heel cap for said shoe to said upper blank on said last, and then performing

said directly connecting step comprising molding said synthetic material directly integrally and bondingly to said upper blank, said synthetic material surrounding completely said support elements.

4. The method of making shoes according to claim 1, wherein

said bottom of the shoe, comprising said outer sole, heel cap, and stiffening elements, is integrally formed and permanently connected with the aid of a bonding agent to the upper blank drawn on said last conforming with the natural contour of the foot.