CONTOURED MOULDED FOOTWEAR AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME

Abstract: The invention provides a waterproof article of footwear and method of making the same, the article comprising an upper portion having integrally moulded sides and bottom and a sole portion attached to said upper portion. The shaping of the upper and sole portions is complementary to provide a unitary fit therebetween and includes bottom and side contouring to provide support for preselected areas of the foot. The contouring of the upper and sole portions of the article results in a footwear product which is both waterproof and comfortable without the necessity of adding a shaped foot insert piece to the moulded product to provide foot support.

Description: CONTOURED MOULDED FOOTWEAR AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Field of the Invention: The invention relates to the manufacture of moulded footwear in particular to waterproof footwear of which the upper portion and bottom thereof, upon which the foot rests, are integrally moulded. Background of the Invention; Conventional injection moulding processes are well- known and are commonly used to manufacture waterproof footwear such as rubber boots comprising a sole portion and an upper portion attached thereto. In the past, such manufacturing processes have produced only waterproof footwear comprising upper parts with flat insoles (i.e. the bottom insoles that portion upon which the foot rests) which are then attached, or moulded, to a sole component. Typically, the articles of footwear produced by such processes are sometimes supplemented with an added contoured foot support which is inserted into the footwear article after the moulding process has been completed to render the article more comfortable in use. This added step increases the time and cost associated with the manufacturing process and is prone to produce unsatisfactory results from the customers perspective caused by a tendency for the dislodging or movement of such inserts, over time, as the article is worn. Thus, there is need in the marketplace for comfortable waterproof footwear comprising integrally moulded uppers and soles for supporting the foot. Summary of the Invention; The invention provides a waterproof article of footwear comprising an upper portion having integrally moulded sides and bottom and a sole portion attached to the upper portion. The shaping of the upper and sole portions is complementary to provide a unitary fit therebetween and the sloping of the upper portion includes bottom and side contouring to provide support for preselected areas of the foot. The invention further provides a method for making the aforesaid article of footwear whereby side and bottom elements are integrally moulded using a thermoplastic material to form an upper portion, a sole portion is moulded and the two portions are attached together. The moulding of the upper and sole portions is such that the shaping of the same is as described above. Preferably, but not necessarily, the said moulding is by means of injection moulding whereby the upper and sole portions are produced one following the other such that the portions become moulded together. Brief Description of the Drawings; The subject invention will now be described in the following with reference to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer, throughout, to like elements: Figure 1 is a side view of an article of footwear in accordance with the invention. Figure 2 is a sectional view of the article of Figure 1 taken at section 2-2 thereof. Detailed Description of the Invention; The waterproof article of footwear 10 of the invention comprises an upper portion 20 and a sole portion 30 attached thereto. The thermoplastic upper portion 20 is, firstly, integrally moulded as a single unit without need for seams or joins (which can limit the ability of the article to be made waterproof) . The thermoplastic sole portion 30 is, secondly, moulded so that the two portions 20, 30 become moulded together once the portions have , adequately hardened within the moulding apparatus prior to removal therefrom. This procedure may be reversed so as to 5 mould the sole portion first and the upper portion second. The upper 20 and sole 30 portions are shaped in complementary form to provide a unitary fit when they are moulded together according to the foregoing. In addition, the upper portion 20 (and, therefore, the sole portion 30) 10 is shaped so as to include bottom and side contouring to provide support for selected areas of the foot, for example as in the article of Figure 1 which includes contouring in the area of the ball of the foot (C) , the arch of the foot (B) and the heel base (A) . This contouring provides 15 support for these areas of the foot thereby rendering the article of footwear completing comfortable and suitable for long periods of use. The bottom 35 of the sole portion 30 preferably includes certain desirable features forming part of the 20 design of the article, namely, the sole pattern as shown in the section view of Figure 2 (i.e the cut-outs 45 therein) . The sole portion 30 preferably also includes a rigid bar 50 such as a metal plate within the area of the sole between the heel (A) and arch (B). locations thereof to, primarily, 25 support the arch of the foot and to provide appropriate strength to that area of the article of footwear. The thickness and shaping of the walls 55 of the upper portion 20 are not uniform according to the ^prior art but, . rather, vary according to a predetermined shaping (the 30 mould being defined accordingly) for each desired size and style of footwear article, to produce areas which provide a controlled degree of support to preselected areas of the foot. The shaping and mould for the sole portion 30' is made to complement the contoured shaping of the upper 35 portion 20. Preferably, the thermoplastic material used for the upper portion 20 is less rigid, when moulded than that used for the sole portion 30 so that the upper portion provides an appropriate degree of flexibility to the foot and legs of the user, upon wear, and the sole portion provides support, protection, durability and strength. The article of footwear of the invention is produced by means of the conventional injection moulding technique incorporating moulding apparatus. Preferably the apparatus provides for two thermoplastic injection steps, one to produce the upper portion 20 and another to produce the sole portion 30, one following the other, (in selected order) such that the portions thereby become moulded together.

Claims: What is claimed is: 1. A waterproof article of footwear comprising: (a) an upper portion comprising integrally moulded sides and bottom; and, (b) a sole portion attached to said upper portion; whereby the shaping of said upper and sole portions is complementary to provide a unitary fit therebetween and the shaping of said upper includes bottom and side contouring to provide support for preselected areas of the foot. 2. A waterproof article of footwear according to claim 1 wherein said sole portion includes within the area between the heel and arch locations thereof a rigid support bar. 3. A waterproof article of footwear according to claim 2 wherein said upper and sole portions are of a thermoplastic material, the rigidity of the same comprising the sole portion being greater than that comprising the upper portion. 4. A method for making a waterproof article of footwear comprising: (a) integrally moulding side and bottom elements of an article of footwear using a thermoplastic material to form an upper portion of said article; (b) moulding a sole portion of said article; (c) attaching said upper and sole portions; whereby the shaping of said upper and sole portions is complementary to provide a unitary fit therebetween and the upper portion includes bottom and side contouring to provide support for preselected areas of the foot. 5. A method according to claim 4 whereby said upper and sole portions are moulded by means of injection moulding, one following the other, in selected order, such that the portions become moulded together.

Inventors: COOK GORDON N, COOK, GORDON, N.
Applicants: GENFOOT INC, GENFOOT INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B29C45
IPC codes: A43B7, A43B9, B29C45, B29D31