Abstract:
A shoe has a cohesive design/logo that spans the entirety of the shoe and the design is printed prior to assembly. The panels of the shoe are included on a large piece of material large enough to encompass all the panels of the shoes that will require printing. The print will cover the entire piece of leather and result in what appears to be a segmented logo. Certain areas of the print will include a seam to account for the overlap that will occur when stitching the panels together. The panels will then be cut apart and then stitched together so that the panels of the designs line up in a cohesive and recognizable fashion. The resulting shoe will be one that bears a logo/design that covers multiple panels.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of and priority date of provisional application Ser. No. 61/755,743 filed on Jan. 23, 2013 
         [0002]    The present invention pertains to a printing process for shoes, an assembly process for shoes and shoes having a printed design. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Providing designs or logos on shoes such as athletic shoes or sneakers is usually accomplished after the shoe is assembled. In particular a printing process is used to adhere a design or logo to the shoe across panels of the shoe following the assembly and stitching together of each of the panels. This type of process leads to poor quality of the logo and cumbersome printing processes on surfaces that are not flat. The present invention solves such disadvantages of previous printing processes. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    The present invention provides a method of providing a design on a shoe comprising the steps of providing a piece of leather with the individual panels outlined on the surface of the piece and is positioned under the printer, the print design is applied to the panel and the design encompasses all elements of the designs (i.e., even the sections that are simply one color are printed on at this stage in order to maximize the efforts of one single print) the panels are then cut out and removed from the later piece and the panels are stitched together on the shoe and are lined up in such a way that yields the result of an intact uninterrupted logo/design. 
         [0005]    In alternative embodiments, depending on how cost effective the manufacturer wants to be, the prints can be broken up into multiple stages. In other words, while the goal is to execute one print for the designs of both shoes (both the left and right foot) the manufacturer could execute one print for the left foot, and a separate one all together for the right. This stage of the process could even be more meticulously accomplished wherein the manufacturer could undertake one print for each panel of the shoe. 
         [0006]    In an embodiment a method of assembling a shoe including a printed design is provided that comprises the steps of providing a flat material having a first designated area and a second designated area, printing a first portion of the design at the first designated area and printing a second portion of the design at the second designated area, separating the designated areas into individual panels and assembling each panel so that the first portion of the design joins the second portion of the design when each panel is arranged side by side to form an uninterrupted and complete design. The steps may include prior to the printing step that the designated areas are provided by separated panels. In an embodiment the designated areas may be located on a single sheet of material prior to separation into separate panels. 
         [0007]    In an embodiment the flat material may include more than two designated areas and more than two portions of the design are printed across multiple designated areas and multiple panels. In an embodiment a seam is provided on a panel and no printing occurs at the seam. In an embodiment upon assembly of the panels the seam is covered by an edge of the adjacent panel and the design is uninterrupted across the paired panels. In an embodiment the flat material is one of leather and synthetic material. In an embodiment the printing is one of digital printing, screen printing, sublimation, ink jet printing, cold peel transfer, hot peel transfer and fabric dying. In an embodiment the designated areas may encompass the entire panel thereon. 
         [0008]    The present invention also provides for a shoe having a design comprising multiple panels arranged and connected to form a shoe upper, a first portion of a design printed on a first panel, a second portion of a design printed on a second panel, the first panel having a seam formed at an edge, a first designated area provided on the first panel adjacent to the seam and terminating at the seam at a termination line running parallel and adjacent to the edge of the first panel. The first portion of the design may be printed at the designated area extending at least up to the termination line. The second panel may have a second designated area terminating at a termination edge of the material and the first portion of the design abuts the second portion of the design where the termination line abuts the termination edge in order to form a continuous, uninterrupted design. In an embodiment the first portion of the design is printed so that no portion of the design is present on the seam and all printing terminates at the termination line. 
         [0009]    In an embodiment the first portion of the design is printed so that a portion of the design is present on the seam, but the portion printed on the seam is identical to at least a part of the second portion of the design at the termination edge of the second panel. In an embodiment the contiguous uninterrupted design extends across two panels. In an embodiment the contiguous, uninterrupted design extends across more than two panels. In an embodiment the first designated area is contained within the first panel. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of an assembled shoe of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIGS. 2-8  are plan views of individual panels of a shoe of the present invention; and 
           [0012]      FIGS. 9-10  are plan views of paired panels being assembled depicting an assembly step of the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0013]    While the invention is amendable to various modifications and alternate forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments depicted in the drawing figures. The intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and the scope of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]      FIGS. 1-10  depict a printing and assembly process for shoes.  FIG. 1  is an assembled view of the shoe  10  depicting each of the panels of the shoe stitched together and with the logos/designs arranged appropriately so that they are contiguous across the panels of the shoe. The shoe includes side panels  20   a,b,  rear upper panels  30   a,b,  heel panel  40 , toe panel  50 , central toe panel  60 , lace upper  70 , sole  80  and deigns  110   a,b,    112  and  115 . 
         [0015]      FIGS. 2-8  depict the panels of the shoe separated prior to assembly of the shoe as depicted in  FIG. 1 . In an embodiment, the panels may be made from leather or other man-made or synthetic material. Each of the panels  20 - 70  depicted in  FIGS. 2-8  are shown lying flat on a surface so that they may be easily printed on with logos or other designs. The panels may be decorated using multi-layered digital printing, screen printing, sublimation, ink jet printing, cold and hot peel transfers or fabric dying. In an embodiment the panels  20 - 70  are cut from a single piece of material. Prior to cutting and removing the panels the printing process may be undertaken on the entire flat material so that a portion of each printed design is placed in the predetermined designated area. In an alternate embodiment, the printing process may occur following cutting and removal of the panels form the entire sheet. 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  depicts heel panel  40 .  FIG. 3  depicts central toe panel  60 .  FIG. 4  depicts toe panel  50 .  FIG. 5  depicts lace upper  70 .  FIG. 6  depicts rear upper  30   a,    30   b.    FIG. 7  depicts side panel  20   a.    FIG. 8  depicts side panel  20   b.    
         [0017]      FIG. 4  depicts the toe panel  50  having logo  115  printed at the first designated area  117   a . In an embodiment, the letters that spell “EVANSTON” have been adhered to the panel  50  using a screen printing process. As the toe panel  50  is lying flat, the screen printing process may be accomplished easily and allow for the printing to adhere properly for long lasting duration of the screen printed letters. 
         [0018]      FIGS. 7 and 8  depict side panels  20   a,    20   b.  It may be understood that panel  20   a  resides on the left side of the shoe as shown in  FIG. 1  and panel  20   b  resides on the right side of the shoe which is out of sight in  FIG. 1 . Panel  20   a,  as shown in  FIG. 7 , has no design added thereto and is a blank panel. Likewise,  FIG. 6  depicts rear panel  30   a,    30   b.  It may be understood that the panels wrap around the shoe so that the left portion  30   a  wraps around the left side of the shoe as depicted in  FIG. 1  and portion  30   b  wraps around the right side of the shoe and is out of sight in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0019]    Turning to  FIG. 9 , the center panel  20   a  is depicted on the left and rear panel  30   a  is depicted on the right.  FIG. 9  depicts these panels  20   a,    30   a  after having the logo indicia  110   a ,  110   b  printed on each individual panel in the second and third designated areas  117   b,    117   c.  In this example, the entire logo when put together will read “ETHS” (Evanston Township High School) in an uninterrupted manner. As the logo extends across multiple panels  20   a,    30   a,  the printing of the logos occurs separately on each panel. For example, the letters “ET” are printed partially on panel  20   a  in the second designated area  117   b.  The other portions of the letters “THS” are printed on panel  30   a  in the third designated area  117   c.  Although in this example, the logo is comprised of alphanumeric symbols, other types of logos, such as animal caricatures or other designs, may be used on the panels. For example, the rear panel  30   a  also includes an additional logo in the form of an animal footprint  112  included in third designated area  117   c . But in a similar fashion, those images, designs or indicia will be separated between the first panel  20   a  and second panel  30   a,  prior to joining the two panels together to form the completed, uninterrupted image or logo. 
         [0020]    It is understood that the above processes provide for a printing process that occurs on panels of the shoe in a flat orientation to allow for easier printing and higher quality images. The present invention solves such disadvantages of previous printing processes. 
         [0021]    The printing of the logo  110   a  on panel  20   a  accounts for the provision of a seam (non-printed area)  121 , so that no logo appears on the seam that will be placed under the second panel  30   a.  The area between arrows x and y comprises the seam or border area  121 . In an embodiment the width of the seam between points x and y may be 1 inch to 1/32 inch. In an embodiment, the blank areas on any portion of the panels including the seam  121 , could be any other color/design that can be overlapping. For example, the seam area  121  could be black or other color or a pattern, instead of being blank. Further, the design can be permitted to run into the seam area, but the overlapping edge from the adjacent panel will compensate for the overlap of the seam on top of the design. 
         [0022]    Turning to  FIG. 10 , the panels  20   a  and  30   a  are shown stitched or adhered together. It can be seen that the seam  121  is covered by the edge  122  of the rear panel  30   a  and the area between the arrows x-y is covered by the edge of the rear panel  30   a.  By joining the panels  20   a,    30   a  in such a manner, the entire logo  110   a, b  is depicted in a uniform uninterrupted and combined manner, so that its proper form is depicted on the assembled shoe (also as shown in  FIG. 1 ). By assembling the shoe in this fashion, it can be understood that the printing of the shoe panels can be accomplished easily and quickly while the panels are in a flattened state (either as separated panels or a single piece of material). Upon assembly of the shoe using normal assembly procedures, the shoe can be inexpensively ornamented with designs and logos that enhance the attractiveness of the shoe. 
         [0023]    In an embodiment the shoe  10  includes multiple panels arranged and connected to form a shoe upper. Turning to  FIG. 9 , a first portion of a design is printed on a first panel  110   a.  A second portion of a design is printed on a second panel  110   b.  The first panel has a seam  121  formed at an edge  121   a.  A first designated area is provided on the first panel  20   a  adjacent the seam  121  and terminates at the seam at a termination line  121   b.  The first portion of the design is printed in the first designated area  117   b  extending at least up to the termination line  121   b . The second panel  30   a  has a second designated area  117   c  terminating at a termination edge  122  of the material. The first portion of the design  110   a  abuts the second portion of the design  110   b  where the termination line abuts the termination edge  122  in order to form a continuous, uninterrupted design ( FIG. 10 ). The first portion of the design  117   b  is printed so that no portion of the design is present on the seam  121  and all printing terminates at the termination line  121   b.    
         [0024]    It is understood that while the above description was with respect to side panel  20   a  and rear panel  30   a,  the same procedure could be undertaken for each of the panels of the shoe, so that the entire shoe may have a logo covering the entire expanse of the surfaces on the shoe while the printing is done on each individual panel (or a single piece of material prior to separating into multiple panels) in a coordinated fashion, so that when the panels are assembled, the logo or design fits together as an uninterrupted whole. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the process may only merge two panels to construct a complete design/logo. However, the process can in fact be used to provide a complete design over more than two panels and designated areas. In an embodiment a complete design may span for example three panels of the side of the shoe. Further a design or logo may be a uniform color or pattern applied to the panels of the shoe, in some embodiments. 
         [0026]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made for the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that embodiments of the invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.