Patent Publication Number: US-2004049942-A1

Title: Shoe having waterproof breathable shell

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The invention relates to a waterproof shoe, more particularly to a shoe which has a waterproof and breathable shell.  
       [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0004] As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional waterproof shoe comprises an upper  1 , a shell  2  and an outsole  3 . The lower end of the upper  1  is stitched to the upper end of the shell  2 , and the lower end of the shell  2  is cemented to the outsole  3 . The shell  2  is a waterproof shell formed by a molding process from a waterproof material such as a natural rubber, a thermoplastic polyurethane or a thermoplastic rubber. Since waterproof shells made of the aforesaid materials have good abrasion resistance and good waterproofing properties, they are widely used in hunting boots, safety working shoes, hiking shoes and pac boots.  
       [0005] However, while the shoe having the shell  2  provides good waterproofing effects, since the material used in the shell  2  does not permit ventilation, after the shoe is worn by the wearer for a prolonged period, the wearer would feel uncomfortable due to heat and moisture produced inside the shoe. Even if only a portion of the shell  2  such as a toe part or a heel part, is made of the aforesaid material, the shoe can more or less discomfort the wearer.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] An object of this invention is to provide a shoe which has good waterproofing properties, but still permits good ventilation.  
       [0007] Accordingly, the present invention provides a shoe which comprises: a sole unit; a shell made of a waterproof material and including an upper end, a lower end, and a toe part and a heel part which are interconnected between the upper and lower ends, the lower end being connected to the sole unit, the shell further having at least one vent hole provided in the shell between the upper and lower ends; a screen member disposed across the vent hole and being meshed to provide ventilation; and a ventilating sheet disposed inwardly of the screen member and attached to the shell to line the screen member, the ventilating sheet being made of a waterproof breathable membrane and being connected in a watertight manner to the shell around the vent hole. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0008] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:  
     [0009]FIG. 1 shows a conventional shoe;  
     [0010]FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0011]FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2;  
     [0012]FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0013]FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0014]FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0015]FIG. 7 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0016]FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line  8 - 8  of FIG. 7;  
     [0017]FIG. 9 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0018]FIG. 10 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0019]FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line  11 - 11  of FIG. 10;  
     [0020]FIG. 12 shows an eighth embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0021]FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along  13 - 13  of FIG. 12;  
     [0022]FIG. 14 shows a ninth embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0023]FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line  15 - 15  of FIG. 14;  
     [0024]FIG. 16 shows a tenth embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0025]FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line  17 - 17  of FIG. 16; and  
     [0026]FIG. 18 is the same view as FIG. 17 but with a layer of textile material being disposed at the outer side of the shell.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0027] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a first embodiment of the present invention is formed as a waterproof shoe which comprises an upper  10 , a sole unit  20 , a shell  30 , a ventilating sheet  40 , a waterproof sealing unit  50  and a lining  60 .  
     [0028] The upper  10  is made of a breathable material such as leather or a fabric material. The bottom end of the upper  10  is connected to an upper open end of the shell  30  via a stitching process. A bottom open end of the shell  30  is connected to the sole unit  20 . The sole unit  20  includes an outsole  21  which is attached to the bottom open end of the shell  30  via a conventional process. A filler  23  is filled in the bottom open end of the shell  30 , and a waterproof plate  22  is bonded to the filler  23  and the bottom open end of the shell  30  to provide waterproof sealing.  
     [0029] The shell  30  is a three-dimensional molded body and includes a toe part  31  and a heel part  33  connected integrally with the toe part  31 . A plurality of vent holes  32  are disposed at intervals in all parts of the shell  30  between the upper and bottom open ends. Each vent hole  32  has an integral screen member  321  which is formed integrally with the shell  30  and is meshed to provide ventilation.  
     [0030] The ventilating sheet  40  is made of a waterproof breathable membrane well known as Goretex and is provided across the vent holes  32  to cover the screen members  321  so that water or moisture is prevented from entering the interior of the shell  30  through the screen members  321  while ventilation is permitted through the screen members  321 . The ventilating sheet  40  has an upper marginal end extending to the upper end of the shell  30  and a lower marginal end extending to the lower end of the shell  30 . The ventilating sheet  40  is endless between the upper and lower marginal ends thereof and adhered to an inner surface of the shell  30 . In adhering the ventilating sheet  40  to the shell  30 , it is preferable that no adhesive is present between each screen member  321  and the ventilating sheet  40  in order to ensure effective ventilation.  
     [0031] In particular, the upper marginal end of the ventilating sheet  40  is stitched to the upper open end of the shell  30  and a lower end of the upper  10 , thus forming a stitch seam  11 . Alternatively, the upper marginal end of the ventilating sheet  40  may be first stitched to the shell  30  and the bottom end of the upper  10  may be subsequently stitched to both the ventilating sheet  40  and the shell  30 . Also, it is possible to use an alternative method in which the upper  10  and the shell  30  are first stitched together and the ventilating sheet  40  is then adhered to the inner surface of the shell  30 .  
     [0032] The waterproof sealing unit  50  includes upper and lower waterproof sealing members  51  and  52  which have a thickness of about 0.2 mm to 1 mm. The upper waterproof member  51  is attached to the lower end of the upper  10  and the upper open end of the shell  30  along the stitch seam  11  so as to prevent water from entering the shell  30  through the stitch seam  11 . The lower marginal end of the ventilating sheet  40  is adhered to the inner surface of the lower open end of the shell  30 . A seam  11 A formed between the ventilating sheet  40  and the shell  30  is sealed by the waterproof member  52  which is attached via adhesive to the lower marginal end of the ventilating sheet  40  and to the lower open end of the shell  30  to effectively prevent water from entering the interior of the shell  30  through the seam  11 A. Although the lower waterproof member  52  is not absolutely essential, it can improve the waterproofing effect at the bottom open end of the shell  30  when it is used. Instead of using the upper and lower waterproof members  51 ,  52 , watertight sealing may be provided at the stitch seam  11  and at the seam  11 A by applying thereto a waterproof adhesive.  
     [0033] The lining  60  is configured as a sock-like lining which is provided inside the upper  10  and the shell  30  in a conventional manner. The upper  10  is constructed via a conventional waterproofing process using waterproof adhesive or waterproof membranes, as so as to be waterproof.  
     [0034] As hereinbefore described, the waterproof shell  30  is provided with the vent holes  32  and screen members  321  for ventilation so that heat and perspiration vapors can be removed from the interior of the shell  30 . While ventilation is permitted through the vent holes  32 , the waterproof shell  30  still can prevent water from invading the shell  30  due to the presence of the ventilating sheet  40  which is breathable but is waterproof. On the other hand, the weight of the waterproof shell  30  can be reduced due to the presence of the vent holes  32  in the shell  30 .  
     [0035] Referring to FIG. 4, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it includes a shell  30 A with a lower closed end unlike the shell  30  of the first embodiment which has the lower open end. The lower closed end of the shell  30 A is attached directly to the outsole  21 .  
     [0036] In FIG. 5, a third embodiment of the present invention is shown. As compared to the first embodiment, the difference of the third embodiment resides in a shell  70  which includes a toe part  71 . This toe part  71  is formed separately from the remaining part of the shell  70  and is connected to the remaining part via a conventional mechanical process such as stitching or adhesive bonding. The toe part  71  is provided with vent holes  72  which are similar to the vent holes  32  described hereinbefore.  
     [0037] In FIG. 6, a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown. As compared to the first embodiment, the difference of the fourth embodiment resides in a shell  80  which includes a heel part  81 . The heel part  81  is formed separately from the remaining part of the shell  80  and is connected to the remaining part of the shell  80  via a conventional mechanical process. The heel part  81  is provided with vent holes  82  which are similar to the vent holes  32  described hereinbefore.  
     [0038] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown to include an upper  90 , an outsole unit  100 , a shell  110 , a ventilating unit  120 , and a waterproof sealing unit  130 .  
     [0039] The shell  110  includes vent holes  111 , and support bases  112  which are formed separately from the shell  110  and which have marginal ends attached to the shell  110  via stitching. Each support base  112  has screen members  1121  which are formed integrally therewith. The support bases  112  are fitted respectively in the vent holes  111  formed in the shell  110 . Due to the screen members  1121 , ventilation is permitted through the shell  110 .  
     [0040] The ventilating unit  120  includes ventilating sheets  121  which are substantially similar to the ventilating sheet  40  except that each ventilating sheet  121  has marginal ends which are stitched to the shell  110  between the upper and lower ends of the shell  110  around the corresponding vent hole  111 . In particular, the marginal ends of each support base  112  and of each ventilating sheet  121  are stitched to the shell  110  to form a stitch seam  113 . Alternatively, the marginal ends of each support base  112  alone may be stitched to the shell  110 , and the marginal ends of each ventilating sheet  121  may be bonded adhesively to the corresponding support base  112 .  
     [0041] The waterproof sealing unit  130  includes waterproof sealing members  131  which are attached respectively to the inner surface of the shell  110  and to the stitch seam  113  to seal the stitch seam  113 . Alternatively, the stitch seam  113  may be sealed in a water-tight manner by applying a waterproof adhesive to the stitch seam  113 .  
     [0042] Referring to FIG. 9, a sixth embodiment of the present invention is shown. This embodiment differs from the fifth embodiment in that a shell  140  of this embodiment is formed by assembling together a toe part  141 A, a heel part  141 B and two shank parts  141 C (only one shank part is shown) via a stitching process. Each of the toe, heel and shank parts  141 A,  141 B and  141 C have support bases  142  and screen members  1421  which are similar to the support bases  112  and the screen members  1121  of the fifth embodiment.  
     [0043] Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, a seventh embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein a shell  150  includes a shank part  170  which is formed separately from the remaining part of the shell  150  and which is connected to the remaining part of the shell  150  via a stitching process. The shank part  170  includes a plurality of screen members  172  for ventilation. The screen members  172  are formed integrally with the shank part  170  and are covered by a ventilating sheet  180 . Numerals  190  and  200  represent waterproof sealing members.  
     [0044] Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, an eighth embodiment of the present invention is shown. Like the shell  30  of the first embodiment, a shell  220  of this embodiment is provided with vent holes  222 . However this embodiment is different in that it includes a screen member which is formed as a meshed screen sheet  223 . The screen sheet  223  is disposed at the inner surface of the shell  220  across the vent holes  222 . A ventilating sheet  230  is disposed inwardly of the screen sheet  223  to cover the screen sheet  223 . The upper marginal ends of the screen sheet  223  and the ventilating sheet  230  are stitched to the upper end of the shell  220  and a lower end of an upper  240 . Adhesive may be used instead of stitching.  
     [0045] Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, a ninth embodiment of the present invention is shown. This embodiment differs from the fifth embodiment (FIGS. 7 and 8) in that this embodiment includes screen members  260 . Each screen member  260  is mounted on a metallic hollow stud  261  which is fitted in each vent hole  262  of a shell  263 . A ventilating sheet  264  is attached to the shell  263  to cover each screen member  260 .  
     [0046] Referring to FIGS. 16, 17 and  18 , a tenth embodiment of the present invention includes a shell  300  which is composed of a layer of textile material  302  and a layer of resinous molding material  301  which is molded over the textile material  302 . During the molding of the resinous molding material  301 , vent holes  303  are provided in the resinous molding material  301  without extending the vent holes  303  through the textile material  302 . Therefore, the textile material  302  extends across the vent holes  303  and serves as screen members  3021  for the vent holes  303 . An injection molding process may be employed for molding the resinous molding material  301  over the textile material  302 . Since the textile material  302  is porous, it permits ventilation through the vent holes  303 . This embodiment differs from the ninth embodiment in that the screen members  3021  are connected integrally with the shell  300  during the molding of the resinous molding material  301  of the shell  300 . Note that the textile material  302  maybe an inner layer which is disposed inwardly of the layer of resinous molding material  301  as shown in FIG. 17, or an outer layer which is disposed outwardly of the layer of resinous molding material  301  as shown in FIG. 18.  
     [0047] While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.