Athletic Shoe Having Upper Sections Of Different Materials And Cover Strip Under Junction Between Such Sections

Abstract

An athletic shoe, such as for track or basketball, is described having an upper formed of at least two upper sections made of different material joined together and to a sole member. Preferably the upper includes an upper section of synthetic material which does not overlap the other upper section to which it is joined, except at the junction along their joined edges. One of the upper sections is a toe section made of leather and joined to a heel upper section made of a synthetic woven fabric, such as nylon, to give the comfort and close fit of leather, along with the strength, reduced weight and weather resistance of synthetic fabric. However, it is also possible to make the two upper sections of other materials, including vinyl. In addition, a cover strip including a layer of synthetic foam material and a backing layer of fabric, such as nylon, is provided over the inner surface of the junction formed by the overlapping edges of two upper sections where they are joined together to provide greater comfort and additional reinforcing support for the arch of the shoe.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter of the present invention relates generally to improved athletic shoes for various sports, such as track and field, football, baseball, basketball, tennis or the like, and in particular to such athletic shoes in which the upper portion of the shoe is formed of a plurality of upper sections made of different materials and the inner surface of the junction between the overlapping edges of two upper sections is covered with a strip of synthetic foam material and a backing layer of fabric.

By providing the athletic shoe with a plurality of upper sections made of different material, it is possible to optimize the desired characteristics of the shoe. Thus, it is possible to provide a toe upper section with a material giving great comfort and close fit, and to provide a heel upper section with another material of higher strength, lighter weight, and more weather resistance. For example, leather can be employed for the toe section while a woven synthetic fabric such as nylon can be employed in the heel section of the upper. In addition, this enables the shoe to be made of several different colored materials, such as the school colors, which greatly increases the attractive appearance of such shoes.

Conventional shoes are made with an upper shoe portion made entirely of the same material, such as leather, canvas or synthetic fabric, even though occasionally reinforcing members of other material may be provided over the outer surface of the upper. This construction has the disadvantage that no one material has all of the characteristics necessary for an athletic shoe of best performance. This disadvantage has been overcome by the shoe of the present invention, as indicated above.

When joining two upper sections made of the same or different materials, the junction formed by their overlapping edges is of greater thickness which can cause irritation and discomfort to the foot and such junction may also weaken the shoe. This reduction in strength is a particular problem in the arch region because it is subjected to great stress. These problems have been overcome in the present invention by employing a reinforcing cover strip including a layer of synthetic foam material and a backing layer of fabric over the inner surface of the junction so that such reinforcing cover strip extends partially over the inner surface of the upper sections beyond their overlapping portions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide an improved athletic shoe having an upper shoe portion optimized for more desired characteristics by forming it of a plurality of upper sections made of different material whose major portions do not overlap but are joined together and to the sole portion of the shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved athletic shoe having an upper shoe portion made of a plurality of upper sections joined together at a junction formed by the overlapping edges of such sections, and a cover strip provided over the inner surface of such junction for greater comfort and strength.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved track and field shoe in which the joined upper sections include a toe upper section made of leather and a heel upper section made of synthetic material, such as a woven synthetic fabric, to provide a close fit and great comfort in the toe section and to provide greater strength, lighter weight, and better weather resistant characteristics in the heel section.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an athletic shoe in which the cover strip includes a layer of synthetic foam and a backing layer of fabric, such as a woven synthetic fabric, which together provide greater comfort and strength at the junction between two upper sections.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such an athletic shoe in which the joined upper sections are made of different materials, different thicknesses, or different colors, to provide such shoe with optimum performances and attractive appearance while still being of relatively inexpensive construction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments thereof and from the attached drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a track and field shoe in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the bottom of the shoe of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1 showing the cover strip under the junction between two joined upper sections of different material;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section view of a portion of the multilayered nylon fabric used in the heel upper section of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of a basketball shoe made in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a section view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5 on an enlarged scale of the cover strip under the junction of two joined upper sections of the same material.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a track and field shoe made in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention has an upper shoe portion 10 including a toe upper section 12 and a heel upper section 14 made of different materials at least one of which is a synthetic. The upper sections 12 and 14 are joined together at two junctions 16 formed by overlapping edges of such sections in the arch region but the major portions of such upper sections do not overlap. The upper sections are joined together in any suitable manner, such as by thread 17 of nylon or other high strength material. These two upper sections 12 and 14 are also joined to a sole portion 18 which may include a flexible plastic toe plate 20 having metal spikes 22 attached thereto in a conventional manner. The sole 18 may also include a heel plate member 24 of synthetic rubber having a plurality of circular projections 26 molded into the lower surface of such heel plate, such projections being provided with conical points for better traction.

The toe upper section 12 may be formed of leather, such as kangaroo skin with the rough side out, while the heel upper section 14 is formed of a synthetic material including a woven synthetic fabric, such as nylon, or a non-woven synthetic material such as vinyl. However, as hereafter discussed in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6, it is also possible to form the heel upper section 14 of leather which may be calf skin thicker than that of the toe upper section 12. Such an all leather upper formed by a plurality of joined upper sections enables more efficient use of the entire skin, and thereby reduces the cost of shoe construction, while at the same time enabling the toe section and the heel section to be made of different colored materials for a more attractive appearance.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner surface of each junction 16 between the toe section 12 and the heel section 14 is provided with a cover strip 28. The cover strip includes a layer 30 of synthetic foam plastic or rubber contacting the upper sections 12 and 14, and an inner backing layer 32 of fabric including a woven synthetic fabric, such as nylon. The cover strip 28 extends partially over the inner surface of the toe section 12 and the heel section 14 beyond the overlapping edges of such sections forming junction 16, so that such strip has a width several times the width of such junction. The cover strip 28 is secured to the upper sections 12 and 14 by two thread stitchings 34 at the opposite edges of such strip, such thread being made of nylon or other suitable high strength thread. The junctions 16 where the edges of the upper sections 12 and 14 overlap are positioned in the arch region and would tend to cause discomfort due to the increased thickness at such junctions, as well as to weaken the shoe in this critical arch region which is subject to great stress. The cover strip 28 overcomes these problems since the foam layer 30 smoothes and cushions the overlap of the upper sections at junction 16 and thereby prevents any discomfort to the wearer, while the nylon fabric layer 32 increases the strength of the shoe in the area of such junction 16 and provides greater arch support.

As shown in FIG. 4, the heel section 14 of the upper may include a nylon fabric in the form of a three layer "sandwich" of the type described in pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 284,736, filed Aug. 30, 1972, by William J. Bowerman. This fabric includes a synthetic foam layer 36 between two woven synthetic fabric layers 38 and 40 with the outer layer 40 being of a nylon tricot fabric. Preferably, the foam layers 36 and 30 should be sufficiently porous so that they "breathe" or pass air through for ventilation.

It should be noted that a side reinforcing member 42 may be provided over the outer surface of a little toe portion of the upper section 12 and such reinforcing member can be made of the same material as section 12 or it can be made of a synthetic material, such as vinyl. Similarly, heel reinforcing members 46 and 44 of leather and vinyl, respectively, may be provided over the outer surface of the rear end portion of the heel section 14 of the upper. Also, the vinyl member 46 has a pair of elongated ends 47 extending around the ankle opening in the top of the upper 10. Finally, a decorative stripe 48 of vinyl of contrasting color may be sewn over the upper sections 12 and 14, which serves as the identifying symbol or trademark of the assignee of the present invention. However, it is obvious that this stripe 48, as well as the reinforcing members 42, 44 and 46 can be eliminated from the shoe.

A basketball or tennis shoe made in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and include an upper 10' formed by a toe upper section 12' and a heel upper section 14' which are joined together at junction 16' and are joined to the sole portion 18'. These elements are all similar to the correspondingly numbered elements of the track and field shoe previously described and for this reason will not be discussed in detail. However, the upper sections 12' and 14' may both be made of the same material, such as leather, for reasons of economy. As shown in FIG. 6, a cover strip 28 including a layer of synthetic foam material 30 and a backing layer 32 of synthetic woven fabric is provided over the inner surface of the junction 16' formed by the overlapping edges of upper sections 12' and 14'. As stated previously, while both the toe portion 12' and heel portion 14' may be made of the same materials, it is also possible to make them of different materials, including a synthetic fabric such as a woven nylon fabric or a non-woven vinyl fabric, like the shoe of FIGS. 1 to 4.

It will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that many changes may be made in the details of the above-described preferred embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should only be determined by the following claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. An athletic shoe in which the improvement comprises:

an upper shoe portion formed of a plurality of upper sections joined together and joined to a sole portion, including two joined upper sections being made of different material, at least one of which is a synthetic material;

said upper section of synthetic material being positioned so that at least the major portion thereof does not overlap the other upper section to which it is joined.

2. A shoe in accordance with claim 1 in which the other of said two upper sections is made of leather.

3. A shoe in accordance with claim 2 in which the leather section forms the toe of the shoe upper while the synthetic section forms the heel of the shoe upper.

4. A shoe in accordance with claim 2 in which the synthetic material is a woven fabric.

5. A shoe in accordance with claim 4 in which the fabric is nylon.

6. A shoe in accordance with claim 1 which is a track shoe having spikes attached to the sole portion.

7. A shoe in accordance with claim 1 which also includes a cover strip means for covering the inner surface of the junction where said upper sections are joined together, with a strip of synthetic foam material and a backing layer secured to said upper sections.

8. An athletic shoe in which the improvement comprises:

an upper shoe portion formed by a plurality of upper sections joined together to provide the inner surface of said upper portion and joined to a sole portion, at least two of said upper sections having their edges overlapping at a junction where they are joined; and

cover strip means for covering the inner surface of said junction with a strip of synthetic foam material and a backing layer secured to said upper sections and extending partially over the inner surfaces of said upper sections beyond their overlapping portions.

9. A shoe in accordance with claim 8 in which the backing layer is a woven synthetic fabric.

10. A shoe in accordance with claim 9 in which the fabric is nylon and thread means secures the fabric and foam strip to the upper sections.

11. A shoe in accordance with claim 9 in which said junction and cover strip means are located at the arch region of the shoe so that said cover strip means provides additional support for the arch.

12. A shoe in accordance with claim 8 in which one of said two upper sections is made of leather, and the other section is made of synthetic fabric.

13. A shoe in accordance with claim 8 in which said two upper sections are both made of leather.

14. A shoe in accordance with claim 8 which has two of said cover strip means on opposite sides of the shoe.