Sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate sock lining and the method for producing the sandal

Abstract

A sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) sock lining in accordance with the present invention is characterized by using an EVA sock lining having excellent resiliency to replace a middle sole in a conventional sandal. Moreover, the EVA sock lining is subjected to thermal conditioning to form a smooth and delicate top face to replace and obviate the necessity of an insole lining. Thereby, structure and manufacturing processes of the sandal are simplified.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a sandal, and more particularly to a sandal that uses an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) layer as a sock lining to make the shoe have excellent shock-absorbing efficiency, and a method for producing said sandal.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] A conventional sandal usually comprises a bottom and at least one strap. The bottom has an outsole, a middle sole and an insole, and the straps are attached to the bottom to securely hold the sandal on a person's foot.

[0005] The outsole is made of a durable material to withstand abrasion and wear from contact with the ground. The middle sole is made of a relatively soft, resilient material to give the sandal a shock-absorbing feature and is laminated on the outsole. The straps are attached to the middle sole to hold the sandal on a person's foot. Lastly, the insole is a soft lining and is attached to the middle sole to cover the attachment points of the straps and provide a delicate contact surface to make a person's foot feel comfortable when wearing the sandal.

[0006] The conventional sandal comprises at least three layers, and each layer is made of a different material. Therefore, each layer has to be fabricated individually and laminated to the adjacent layer in sequence, which makes the manufacturing process complex.

[0007] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate sock lining to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The main objective of the invention is to provide a sandal with a simple structure that is easy to manufacture.

[0009] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a method for producing a sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate sock lining;

[0011] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate sock lining in accordance with the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sandal in FIG. 2; and

[0013] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate sock lining in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0014] With reference to FIG. 1, a method for producing a sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) sock lining in accordance with the present invention comprises cutting an EVA block into a foot-shaped EVA sock lining; thermal conditioning the top face and outer edge of the foot-shaped EVA sock lining; attaching at least one strap to the foot-shaped EVA sock lining; obtaining an outsole; and attaching the outsole to the foot-shaped EVA sock lining to complete the sandal.

[0015] With further reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the EVA material is a commercially available foaming EVA plastic material and is cut in a foot shape to form an EVA sock lining (10). The EVA sock lining (10) has an outer surface (12) comprising a top face (not numbered), a bottom face (not numbered) and an outer edge (not numbered). The outer surface (12) of the EVA sock lining (10) as initially cut is rough and has a multitude of tiny concavities (not shown). To make the top face and outer edge smooth, the top face and outer edge of the EVA sock lining (10) are subjected to thermal conditioning. The EVA sock lining (10) is heated to 120° C. at a pressure of 6 kg/cm2 to gently melt the outer surface (12) of the top face and outer edge of the EVA sock lining (10) and form a smooth and delicate surface. The bottom face of the EVA sock lining (10) is not subjected to thermal conditioning and is kept rough to enhance the bond with an outsole (20). Then, at least one strap (15) is attached to the EVA sock lining (10) through the top face to hold the sandal on a person's foot. With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the strap (15) can be a Y-shaped thong strip or conventional ball and heel straps (not shown).

[0016] Because EVA material is an excellent resilient material but is easily abraded, the outsole (20) made of a tough, durable material is attached to the bottom face of the EVA sock lining (10) to make the sandal durable. Selectively, the outsole (20) is attached to the bottom face of the EVA sock lining (10) by gluing, thermal bonding, etc. The rough bottom face of the EVA sock lining (10) provides more surface area to enhance bonding strength.

[0017] With further reference to FIG. 4, another embodiment of the sandal having an EVA sock lining (10) further comprises multiple toe detents (16) and a heel detent (18). The toe detents (16) and a heel detent (18) are defined in the top face of the EVA sock lining (10) to correspond to a person's foot. The multiple toe detents (16) and the heel detent (18) are selectively formed during cutting or thermal conditioning.

[0018] According to above description, the sandal having an EVA sock lining has a simpler structure than a conventional sandal because the EVA sock lining (10) serves as a middle sole and an insole. The EVA sock lining (10) has excellent resilience to provide a shock-absorbing feature that is conventionally provided by the middle sole. The EVA sock lining (10) also has a smooth, delicate outer surface after thermal conditioning to make a person's foot feel comfortable that is conventionally provided by the insole with a lining layer. Therefore, the sandal having an EVA sock lining has a simple structure and is easily produced without complex procedures, which reduces the production and product costs.

[0019] Even though numerous advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A sandal having an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) sock lining comprising:

an EVA sock lining (10) having an outer surface (12) with a bottom face, a top face and an outer edge;

an outsole (20) made of durable material attached to the bottom face of the EVA sock lining (10); and

at least one strap (15) attached to the EVA sock lining (10) through the top face;

wherein the top face and outer edge of the EVA sock lining (10) are subjected to thermal conditioning to form a smooth and delicate surface to abut a person's foot.

2. The sandal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the EVA sock lining (10) further comprises multiple toe detents (16) and a heel detent (18) defined in the top face of the EVA sock lining (10).

3. The sandal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one strap (15) is a Y-shaped thong strap.

4. The sandal as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one strap (15) is a Y-shaped thong strap.

5. A method for producing the sandal having an EVA sock lining in claim 1, the method comprising:

cutting an EVA block into a foot-shaped EVA sock lining;

thermal conditioning the top face and outer edge of the EVA sock lining;

attaching at least one strap to the foot-shaped EVA sock lining;

obtaining an outsole; and

attaching the outsole to foot-shaped the EVA sock lining to complete the sandal.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, where the thermal conditioning is performed at 120° C. and 6 kg/cm2.