Elastic Woven Shoe

Abstract

A shoe with an elastic weave portion that is comprised of wefts and warps to form a basketweave. The elastic weave portion is attached to a non-elastic reinforcement section. In one embodiment, the reinforcement section is a strip with each end attached to the shoe's sole at opposite sides of the shoe. In another embodiment, the reinforcement section is not attached to the shoe's sole. The elastic weave portion is attached to the reinforcement section by interlacing the wefts and/or warps through slits in the reinforcement section. This provides a superior attachment over conventional methods, and provides improved structure, form, and rigidity to the elastic weave portion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to footwear, and in particular to an elastic woven footwear.

Description of the Related Art

Woven shoes (or weave shoes) are well known in the shoe industry. These woven shoes may also be referred to as basketweave shoes, since the weave consists of warp (conventionally known as lengthwise) strands and weft strands. Warp and weft strands are interlaced so that they form a simple crisscross pattern. For the purposes of forming a basketweave for a shoe, the concepts of length strands and width strands are not relevant, and the terms warp strand and weft strand may be used for the purpose of distinguishing between the two intersecting directions of the strands.

Woven shoes generally provide the advantages of being comfortable and lightweight. With the proper weave material, the woven uppers of a shoe can expand to keep swollen feet comfortable. Using a stretchy, elastic type material for the woven upper of a shoe allows for the shoe to expand. This enhances comfort for the wearer.

Woven shoes also have an appearance that many consumers desire. The weave can be configured in a variety of patterns, and with a variety of materials. Woven shoes are often used for casual footwear, but can also be elaborate enough to accommodate the dress look. To further vary their appearance and styles, woven shoes can have a variety of heels and soles.

A popular style of woven shoes are flats for women. Woven flats blend casual style with comfort. Many woven flats have the entire upper of the shoe comprised of a woven upper. To increase comfort, the woven upper is made of an elastic material. A disadvantage of having the entire upper made of an elastic woven material is that the shoe may not have enough structure and rigidity to securely stay on the foot. This can especially be a problem during rigorous foot motion. This can also become an issue over time, when the elastic material loses its elasticity and becomes stretched.

There is a need for an elastic woven shoe to provide improved structure, form, and rigidity to enhance how the shoe secures to the foot. There is also a need to improve the longevity of the shoe, as the elastic material may lose its elasticity over time.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A woven shoe with an elastic weave portion, attached to a non-elastic section is described herein. A weave that is elastic provides increased comfort for the wearer, especially if the elastic weave portions are positioned at common stress points. Also, elasticity naturally helps to fit better to the variety of foot shapes and sizes. An elastic weave portion will have the natural disadvantage of not having as much form, structure, or rigidity. The elastic weave portion is complemented with a non-elastic reinforcement section to improve it's form, structure, and rigidity.

The elastic weave portion has a basketweave pattern, and as is conventional with a basketweave, is comprised of warp strands and weft strands interlaced to form a crisscrossed pattern. The elastic weave portion is attached to the reinforcement section by interlacing and wrapping through a slit in the reinforcement section. This attachment provides a superior hold for the purposes of improving the elastic weave portion's form, structure, and rigidity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a reinforced, elastic woven shoe.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a first embodiment of a reinforced, elastic woven shoe.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a reinforced, elastic woven shoe.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view, partially showing the inside of a second embodiment of a reinforced, elastic woven shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an elastic woven shoe 100. The elastic woven shoe 100 has an elastic weave heel counter portion 120 and an elastic weave vamp portion 110. This elastic woven shoe also has other conventional shoe parts, such as a midsole 150, outsole 160, and quarter 170. The elastic weave portion is conventionally weaved through punch holes of the midsole, and is secured through a heat press of adhering the outsole and the midsole together with glue.

Each elastic weave portion is attached to a corresponding reinforcement section. A reinforcement section is not elastic, and serves to provide more stability and form to the elastic weave portions. The reinforcement section complements the elastic weave portion to improve the longevity and performance of the shoe. The reinforcement section may be comprised of a variety of non-elastic material, such as leather or PU (polyurethane). The reinforcement section may also be comprised of fabric in various shapes. In this embodiment, the elastic weave heel counter portion 120 is attached to the heel counter reinforcement section 130, and the elastic weave vamp portion is attached to the vamp reinforcement section 140. The elastic weave vamp portion 110 is attached to the vamp reinforcement section 140.

The heel counter reinforcement section 130 is a strip that has both ends anchored at the sole of the shoe. The vamp reinforcement section 140 is a strip that also has both ends anchored at the sole of the shoe. Both the strips 120 140 have their two ends on opposing sides of the shoe from one another. These reinforcement sections may be anchored at the sole of the shoe with or without glue. When anchored to the sole of the shoe without glue, they may be secured by stitching to the midsole.

The elastic weave portions are attached to the reinforcement sections without the need for adhesive or conventional stitching. Rather, the elastic weave is attached to the reinforcement section by extending the interlacing nature of the weave strands through the reinforcement section. This attachment is far superior and elegant over the conventional methods of adhesive or stitching. The use of adhesive or conventional stitching may be employed to complement the interlacing attachment.

FIG. 2 shows in more detail how the elastic weave heel counter portion 120 is attached to the heel counter reinforcement section 130. The heel counter reinforcement section 130 has a number of slits for attaching to the elastic weave heel counter portion 120. For example, one example slit 210 has weave strand 220 going through it. Weave strand 220 goes into the slit 210, and bends, to wrap around behind the heel counter reinforcement section 130 and continues as weave strand 230. The weave strand 220 starts as a first warp, and after looping through the slit 210, continues on as a second warp.

This style of attachment interlaces the weave with the reinforcement section, and provides a very strong, and consistent attachment for the elastic weave portion with the reinforcement section. The warp weave strand itself is able to be one continuous strand through the slit, allowing for the natural strength of the strand to form the attachment. Also, when the elastic weave pulls against the reinforcement section, through natural foot motion, this design allows the entire elastic weave portion to be better secured, since all the attached warp strands collectively be secured through this attachment.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of an elastic woven shoe 300. The elastic weave portion 310 in this embodiment comprises of a majority of the shoe's upper portion. The elastic weave portion 310 attaches to the shoe's facing 320. (The facing is the part of the shoe where the shoelace eyelets are located.) The facing 320 serves as the reinforcement section, and is comprised of a non-elastic material, such as leather, PU or fabric. The elastic weave portion 310 attaches to the facing 320 through interlacing, but in a different style as the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the facing is not anchored to the bottom of the shoe by stitching, as the facing offers the desired tightness with the adjustable shoe laces.

FIG. 4 shows the elastic woven shoe 300 from a top perspective view, to better demonstrate the attachment of the elastic weave portion 310 with the facing 320. FIG. 4 shows the exterior of the shoe on the left side, and the interior of the shoe on the right side. There is a flap 330 under the facing 320 that is pulled back to better see the elastic weave portion 310 adjoining the facing 320. The flap 330 or liner is placed for added comfort to the wearer. In FIG. 4, there is a warp 340 that goes into a slit on the facing. The warp 340 enters the slit and bends back, wrapping down behind the facing, and continues as weft 350. As such, there is a continuous weave strand that acts as both a warp 340 and weft 350. The positioning of the slits relative to the weave direction makes it possible to have a continuous weave strand interlace through the slit and switch from a warp 340 to a weft 350.

The attachment between the elastic weave portion 310 and reinforcement section 320 is arguably stronger than the first embodiment. As before, this style of attachment does not require adhesive or conventional stitching, and provides a superior hold. Further, when the elastic weave portion 310 is stressed from natural foot motion, the entire elastic weave portion 310 is better secured by the reinforcement section 320 since the many attached warps and wefts are directly held through interlacing with the reinforcement section 320.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to certain embodiments and examples, variations and modifications exist which are within the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A woven shoe comprising:

a sole;

an elastic weave portion comprised of strands interlaced as a plurality of wefts and plurality of warps to form a basketweave pattern;

a reinforcement section; and

a reinforcement section slit, wherein a first weft goes through said slit to bend and wrap around said reinforcement section, and continues as a second weft.

2. The woven shoe of claim 1 wherein said elastic weave portion is an elastic weave heel counter portion.

3. The woven shoe of claim 2 wherein said reinforcement section is a heel counter reinforcement section.

4. The woven shoe of claim 3 wherein said heel counter reinforcement section is a strip with one end attached to said sole at a first side of said woven shoe, and the other end is attached to said sole at an opposite side of said first side.

5. The woven shoe of claim 4 wherein said heel counter reinforcement section is comprised of PU or leather.

6. The woven shoe of claim 4 further comprising of an elastic weave vamp portion and vamp reinforcement section, wherein said vamp reinforcement section is a strip with one end attached to said sole at a second side of said woven shoe, and the other end is attached to said sole at an opposite side of said second side.

7. A woven shoe comprising:

a sole;

an elastic weave portion comprised of strands interlaced as a plurality of wefts and plurality of warps to form a basketweave pattern;

a reinforcement section; and

a reinforcement section slit, wherein a first weft goes through said slit to bend and wrap around said reinforcement section, and continues as a first warp.

8. The woven shoe of claim 7 wherein said reinforcement section is a facing reinforcement section.

9. The woven shoe of claim 8 wherein said facing reinforcement section is comprised of PU or leather.