FOOTWEAR MANUFACTURE
A method of manufacture of a piece of a footwear upper is provided. The piece is formed from a sheet which is folded to form a lamination. A method for forming a footwear upper which comprises at least one such piece is provided, wherein a folded edge of the piece then forms part of an opening of the finished footwear upper. Also provided are a piece of a footwear upper, and a footwear upper according to the methods provided.
The present invention relates generally to footwear, and more particularly to a method for forming a piece of a footwear upper.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTIONConventionally sports and casual footwear is constructed from a number of pieces, each of the pieces typically comprising a number of layers. The pieces forming the footwear upper are typically stitched at their edges to bond the layers together. Whilst this method leads to a sturdy construction, the presence of seams within an article of footwear can lead to irritation and discomfort for the wearer, particularly at or near edges which may rub against the wearer during use.
Accordingly, there is an on-going effort by footwear manufacturers to develop footwear providing improved comfort at a reduced cost, in particular a need to eliminate seams in the footwear upper which may cause discomfort to the wearer, while maintaining the comfort and durability of the footwear upper.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a piece of a footwear upper comprising: providing a sheet of material, folding the sheet and forming a lamination from the folded sheet.
In one embodiment, the piece is then molded to a suitable three dimensional configuration.
In one embodiment, the molding involves placing the piece into a heat press molding apparatus including complementary shaped first and second molding portions, wherein the first molding portion is configured to receive a complementary second molding portion so that the piece is formed into a three dimensional configuration therebetween.
In one embodiment, the piece is subsequently trimmed to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination. Advantageously, this can result in improved comfort for the wearer as such an edge can result in lower irritation than a cut, hemmed or stitched edge.
In one embodiment, cushioning is provided between the folded sheet before the lamination is formed. Advantageously, the cushioning can improve the comfort and durability of the footwear upper.
In one embodiment the sheet of material is molded into a three dimensional precursor configuration before being folded.
In one embodiment the three dimensional precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning.
In one embodiment, the sheet of material has more than one layer.
One embodiment of the present invention is a method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed as described above, and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
The pieces of the footwear upper may be ultrasonically welded, sewn, attached with adhesive or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment, a strip of material is additionally provided to at least partially cover a join between pieces.
One embodiment of the present invention is a method of forming an article of footwear, wherein the footwear upper or pieces of the footwear upper are formed as described above.
Another aspect of the present invention is a piece of a footwear upper comprising a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet.
One embodiment is a piece of a footwear upper as above which has further been molded to a suitable three dimensional configuration.
One embodiment is a piece of a footwear upper as above which has been trimmed such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
In one embodiment, the piece of footwear upper further comprises cushioning disposed within the lamination.
In one embodiment, sheet which forms the lamination has more than one layer.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a footwear upper comprising one or more pieces wherein a least one of the pieces is a piece as described above and an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of a folded sheet lamination.
At least some of the pieces of the footwear upper have been joined by ultrasonic welding, stitching, adhesive or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment, at least part of a join between pieces is covered by a strip of material.
Another embodiment of the present invention is an article of footwear comprising a footwear upper, or a piece of a footwear upper as described above.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed according to the following steps: providing a sheet of material; molding the sheet into a suitable three-dimensional precursor configuration, wherein the precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning; providing cushioning to the sheet; folding the sheet; forming a lamination from the folded sheet, wherein the cushioning is between the folded sheet; molding the folded sheet lamination to a suitable three-dimensional configuration; trimming the molded lamination to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination; and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the footwear upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
Another aspect of the present invention is a footwear upper comprising: one or more pieces, wherein at least one of the pieces comprises: a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet, which has been molded into a suitable three-dimensional configuration, and trimmed such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination; and cushioning disposed within the lamination; and an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
The invention will now be described in further detail by reference to the attached drawings illustrating exemplary forms of the invention.
Referring firstly to
Referring now to
The precursor sheet is then folded to form a lamination of the two portions defined by the guide-line 22. In this case, an adhesive 41 is first applied to the foam side of the molded precursor sheet, as shown in
The lamination formed by the folded sheet 102 is then placed in a second mold as shown in
An exemplary method of forming a footwear upper from pieces manufactured according to the description above is now described as shown in
The footwear upper 801 comprises an opening 81, the edges of which are formed of the folded edges 42, 43 of the folded laminations which comprise the forward and heel pieces 103, 104 of the footwear upper. This advantageously results in the edge being free of cut or hemmed edges, or of stitched or otherwise bonded seams between layers of pieces of the footwear upper. This results in greater comfort and lower irritation for the wearer.
To increase the comfort and improve the aesthetic appeal of the footwear upper 801, a strip of material 91 may be introduced to cover the bond 83 between the two pieces, as shown in
This footwear upper 801 may finally be joined to a sole 1001 to form a finished article of footwear 1010 as shown in
A further advantage of the method of manufacture described above is that anatomically configured cushioning can optionally be included in the pieces of the footwear upper to improve the comfort and durability of the resulting article of footwear. This is shown in
The resulting molded precursor sheet is shown in perspective view in
Cushioning 1301 is introduced in the recesses 1201. This cushioning might be made of any suitable cushioning material. For example the cushioning may comprise foam, thermoplastic rubber, gel, silicone or fibrefill, or the cushion could be a liquid pad (such as a sealed water pouch) or an air pad. Then, as shown in
The folded sheet lamination 102a is then placed in a second mold as shown in
Such a trimmed piece is shown in
Methods by which two pieces 1601, 1602 may be joined to form a footwear upper will now be described with reference to
The preferred embodiments described above are by way of example only; the scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims, and modifications to the examples may be made within the scope of the claims. In particular, where steps of the method of manufacture are given, it will be evident to one skilled in the art that the order of these steps may be different, and that steps can be omitted where appropriate.
Claims
1. A method of forming a piece of a footwear upper comprising:
- providing a sheet of material;
- folding the sheet;
- forming a lamination from the folded sheet.
2. A method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of molding the piece to a suitable three dimensional configuration.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the molding includes placing the piece into a heat press molding apparatus including complementary shaped first and second molding portions, wherein the first molding portion is configured to receive a complementary second molding portion so that the piece is formed into a three dimensional configuration therebetween.
4. A method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of trimming the piece to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
5. A method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of providing cushioning between the folded sheet before the lamination is formed.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sheet of material is molded into a three dimensional precursor configuration before being folded.
7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the three dimensional precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning.
8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sheet of material has more than one layer.
9. A method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed as described in claim 1, and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
10. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 9, wherein the pieces are ultrasonically welded.
11. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 9, wherein the pieces are sewn.
12. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 9, wherein the pieces are attached with adhesive.
13. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 10, with the additional step of providing a strip of material to at least partially cover a join between pieces.
14. A method of forming an article of footwear, wherein the footwear upper or pieces of the footwear upper are formed as claimed in claim 1.
15. A piece of a footwear upper comprising a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet.
16. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 which has further been molded to a suitable three dimensional configuration.
17. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 which has been trimmed such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
18. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 which further comprises cushioning disposed within the lamination.
19. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 wherein the sheet which forms the lamination has more than one layer.
20. A footwear upper comprising:
- one or more pieces, wherein at least one of the pieces is a piece as claimed in claim 15; and
- an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of a folded sheet lamination.
21. A footwear upper according to claim 20, wherein at least some of the pieces have been joined by ultrasonic welding.
22. A footwear upper according to claim 20, wherein at least some of the pieces have been joined by stitching.
23. A footwear upper according to claim 20, wherein at least some of the pieces have been joined with adhesive.
24. A footwear upper according to claim 21, wherein at least part of a join between pieces is covered by a strip of material.
25. An article of footwear comprising a footwear upper, or a piece of footwear upper, as claimed in claim 15.
26. A method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed according to the following steps:
- providing a sheet of material;
- molding the sheet into a suitable three-dimensional precursor configuration, wherein the precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning;
- providing cushioning to the sheet;
- folding the sheet;
- forming a lamination from the folded sheet, wherein the cushioning is between the folded sheet;
- molding the folded sheet lamination to a suitable three-dimensional configuration;
- trimming the molded lamination to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination;
- and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the footwear upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
27. A footwear upper comprising:
- one or more pieces, wherein at least one of the pieces comprises: a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet, and which has been molded into a suitable three-dimensional configuration; and cushioning disposed within the lamination; and
- an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 2, 2015
Publication Date: Jul 9, 2015
Inventor: Changming LIANG (Kwai Chung)
Application Number: 14/588,610