ARTICLES OF FOOTWEAR INCLUDING UNITARY SOLE AND FOOTBED COMPONENTS AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME
A method of manufacturing an article of footwear includes providing an upper and an insole of the article of footwear, connecting the upper to the insole to provide a combined upper and insole having a foot-receiving chamber and a footbed-receiving opening, providing a unitary combined sole and footbed of the article of footwear, the unitary combined sole and footbed including at least a portion of a sole having an upper surface, a first portion of a footbed connected to the portion of the sole, and a second portion of the footbed connected to the first portion of the footbed, the second portion of the footbed having a lower surface detached from the upper surface of the portion of the sole, passing the second portion of the footbed through the footbed-receiving opening and into the foot-receiving chamber, and securing the insole to the portion of the sole.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/791,006, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to articles of footwear and methods of manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to articles of footwear including unitary sole and footbed components and methods of manufacturing the same.
BACKGROUNDArticles of “strobel” footwear typically include an upper that is connected to an insole, also referred to as a “lower” or “strobel board”, via strobel stitching. The insole typically connects to other portions of the sole, such as the midsole and the outsole, via one or more adhesives. Articles of footwear including the above components are considered relatively comfortable compared to other types of articles of footwear.
Unfortunately, articles of strobel footwear are typically relatively expensive due to the number of manufacturing processes used to form the various components (for example, forming the midsole and the outsole, stitching the upper and the insole, and the like).
SUMMARYIn some embodiments, a method of manufacturing an article of footwear includes providing an upper of the article of footwear, providing an insole of the article of footwear, connecting the upper to the insole to provide a combined upper and insole, the combined upper and insole having a foot-receiving chamber and a footbed-receiving opening coupled to the foot-receiving chamber, providing a unitary combined sole and footbed of the article of footwear, the unitary combined sole and footbed including at least a portion of a sole having an upper surface, a first portion of a footbed connected to the portion of the sole, and a second portion of the footbed connected to the first portion of the footbed, the second portion of the footbed having a lower surface detached from the upper surface of the portion of the sole, passing the second portion of the footbed through the footbed-receiving opening and into the foot-receiving chamber, and securing the insole to the portion of the sole.
In some embodiments, an article of footwear includes a combined upper and insole having a foot-receiving chamber and a footbed-receiving opening coupled to the foot-receiving chamber. A unitary combined sole and footbed includes at least a portion of a sole, a first portion of a footbed connected to the portion of the sole, and a second portion of the footbed connected to the first portion of the footbed. The second portion of the footbed extends through the footbed-receiving opening and is disposed within the foot-receiving chamber.
In some embodiments, a method of manufacturing an article of footwear includes providing a mold including a first molding chamber and a second molding chamber coupled to the first molding chamber at an interface, providing a first molten material to the first molding chamber, the first molten material having a first property, providing a second molten material to the second molding chamber such that the second molten material and the first molten material engage each other at the interface, the second molten material having a second property, and the second property being different than the first property, and permitting the first molten material and the second molten material to cure and thereby provide a unitary portion of the article of footwear.
While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
The method begins at block 100 by providing an upper 202 of the article of footwear 200. The upper 202 may include various materials, such as one or more fabrics or the like. The upper 202 may be formed by cutting various portions from one or more sheets of fabric and subsequently connecting the portions, via stitching or the like. In some embodiments, the upper 202 is shaped to subsequently define, in part, a footbed-receiving opening 402 (see
At block 102, an insole 404, which may also be referred to as a lower or “strobel board”, of the article of footwear 200 (see
At block 104, the upper 202 is connected to the insole 404 to provide a combined upper and insole 400 (see
The method continues at block 106 by providing a monolithic or unitary combined sole and footbed 800 (see
The unitary combined sole and footbed 800 includes a portion of a sole 802. In some embodiments, the portion of the sole 802 may be a midsole. In some embodiments and as shown in the figures, the portion of the sole 802 may be the midsole and a unitarily connected outsole. The portion of the sole 802 includes a lower surface 804. In some embodiments, the lower surface 804 includes one or more features 806 that serve functional purposes (for example, to provide improved traction) and/or aesthetic purposes. The portion of the sole 802 further includes an upper surface 808 opposite the lower surface 804.
The upper surface 808 of the portion of the sole 802 integrally or unitarily connects to a footbed 810 disposed thereabove. In some embodiments, the upper surface 808 specifically connects to an arch-supporting portion 812 of the footbed 810. The arch-supporting portion 812 in turn connects to a heel-supporting portion 814 of the footbed 810 and a forefoot-supporting portion 816 of the footbed 810 disposed opposite the heel-supporting portion 814. Both of the heel-supporting portion 814 and the forefoot-supporting portion 816 have a lower surface 902 that is detached from the upper surface 808 of the portion of the sole 802. The lower surfaces 902 may include one or more grooves 904 that facilitate flexing the portions 814 and 816 in subsequent manufacturing actions.
At block 108, the heel-supporting portion 814 and the forefoot-supporting portion 816 are flexed and passed through the footbed-receiving opening 402 of the combined upper and insole 400 (see
At block 110, the insole 404 is secured to the upper surface 808 of the portion of the sole 802 via, for example, one or more adhesives and the like to form the completed article of footwear 200 (see
In some embodiments, other portions of the footbed connect to the portion of the sole and other portions of the footbed are disposed within the foot-receiving chamber.
The materials delivered to the first and second molding chambers 1906 and 1914 may have different properties. For example, the materials may be polymers or copolymers having different colors, or the polymers or copolymers may form components having different mechanical characteristics, such as hardness, or the like.
The mold 1900 may also be used to form other portions of articles of footwear. For example and referring to
Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the above described features.
Claims
1. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear, comprising:
- providing an upper of the article of footwear;
- providing an insole of the article of footwear;
- connecting the upper to the insole to provide a combined upper and insole, the combined upper and insole having a foot-receiving chamber and a footbed-receiving opening coupled to the foot-receiving chamber;
- providing a unitary combined sole and footbed of the article of footwear, the unitary combined sole and footbed including at least a portion of a sole having an upper surface, a first portion of a footbed connected to the portion of the sole, and a second portion of the footbed connected to the first portion of the footbed, the second portion of the footbed having a lower surface detached from the upper surface of the portion of the sole;
- passing the second portion of the footbed through the footbed-receiving opening and into the foot-receiving chamber; and
- securing the insole to the portion of the sole.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the unitary combined sole and footbed includes forming the unitary combined sole and footbed via an injection molding process.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting the upper to the insole to provide the combined upper and insole includes connecting the upper and the insole via strobel stitching.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the sole includes the midsole.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the unitary combined sole and footbed further includes a third portion of the footbed connected to the first portion of the footbed, the third portion of the footbed having a lower surface detached from the upper surface of the portion of the sole, and further comprising passing the third portion of the footbed through the footbed-receiving opening and into the foot-receiving chamber.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first portion of the footbed includes an arch-supporting portion, the second portion of the footbed includes a forefoot-supporting portion, and the third portion of the footbed includes a heel-supporting portion.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the footbed includes an arch-supporting portion and the second portion of the footbed includes a forefoot-receiving portion.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the footbed includes a heel-supporting portion and the second portion of the footbed includes an arch-receiving portion.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein securing the insole to the portion of the sole includes adhering the insole to the portion of the sole.
10. An article of footwear, comprising:
- a combined upper and insole having a foot-receiving chamber and a footbed-receiving opening coupled to the foot-receiving chamber;
- a unitary combined sole and footbed including: at least a portion of a sole; a first portion of a footbed connected to the portion of the sole; and a second portion of the footbed connected to the first portion of the footbed, the second portion of the footbed extending through the footbed-receiving opening and disposed within the foot-receiving chamber.
11. The article of footwear of claim 10, wherein the portion of the sole includes an upper surface adhered to the insole.
12. The article of footwear of claim 10, wherein the first portion of the footbed includes an arch-supporting portion and the second portion of the footbed includes a forefoot-receiving portion.
13. The article of footwear of claim 10, wherein the first portion of the footbed includes a heel-supporting portion and the second portion of the footbed includes an arch-receiving portion.
14. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear, comprising:
- providing a mold including a first molding chamber and a second molding chamber coupled to the first molding chamber at an interface;
- providing a first molten material to the first molding chamber, the first molten material having a first property;
- providing a second molten material to the second molding chamber such that the second molten material and the first molten material engage each other at the interface, the second molten material having a second property, and the second property being different than the first property; and
- permitting the first molten material and the second molten material to cure and thereby provide a unitary portion of the article of footwear.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first molten material forms a first portion of the unitary portion of the article of footwear, the first property provides the first portion with a first hardness, the second molten material forms a second portion of the unitary portion of the article of footwear, the second property provides the second portion with a second hardness, and the second hardness is different than the first hardness.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first property is a first color, and the second property is a second color, and the second color is different than the first color.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 14, 2014
Publication Date: Sep 18, 2014
Inventor: Chengkou KUE (Westminster, CO)
Application Number: 14/213,763
International Classification: A43B 13/28 (20060101);