Patent Publication Number: US-6665954-B2

Title: Breathable rubber boot

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a boot, more particularly to a boot having a part made of a waterproof material, such as a waterproof stretchable rubber and another part made of an air-pervious material, such as a fabric or leather. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Rubber boots, such as neoprene knee boots, are generally used by hunters and farmers for their activities in forests, or muddy and watery environments. FIG. 1 shows an example of a neoprene knee boot  1  which is entirely made of a neoprene rubber. The neoprene knee boot  1  is not only waterproof but is also soft and stretchable so that it permits the user to kneel down and work on the ground. However, since the knee boot  1  is not provided with any tongue, lacing and eyelets so as to avoid difficulties in cleaning, the size of the knee boot  1  at the ankle part has to be designed particularly and accurately. If the size of the boot is large, the boot can easily slip from the foot. If the size is small, the boot cannot be worn. Moreover, since the neoprene rubber is air impervious, it does not allow the foot to breathe, and the foot can get wet due to perspiration vapor condensed inside the boot. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof rubber boot which is not only soft and stretchable but is also air permeable to permit the user&#39;s foot to breathe. 
     Accordingly, a boot according to the present invention comprises: a shell which includes a foot portion with a bottom end, and an upper connected to the foot portion opposite to the bottom end, the upper having a top open end opposite to the foot portion, the shell being composed of a waterproof first part and at least one non-waterproof second part, the second part having an upper margin, a lower margin lower than the upper margin, and two opposite side margins connected to the upper and lower margins, the first part being connected to the second part at least along the side margins and the lower margin; the first part being made of a waterproof stretchable material at least in the upper, the second part being made of a non-waterproof air-pervious material; a waterproof air-pervious lining underlying the second part and attached to the second part along the side margins and the upper and lower margins; connection seams resulting from the connection of the first part and the lining to the second part; and waterproof seam sealing members disposed along the connection seams. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     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: 
     FIG. 1 shows a boot in the prior art; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of a boot embodying the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the boot of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is another sectional view taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is the same sectional view as FIG. 4 but with a waterproof tape extending to the bottom of a shell; and 
     FIG. 6 shows another boot embodying the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 2,  3 ,  4  and  5 , a knee boot  10  embodying the present invention is shown to include a shell  20  which has a foot portion  202  and an upper  201 , and an outsole  11  connected to the foot portion  202 . The shell  20  is composed of a waterproof first part  22  and two non-waterproof second parts  23 . The two second parts  23  are arranged at the left and right sides of the upper  20 . The first part  22  extends from a top open end  21  of the upper  201  to a bottom of the foot portion  202 , and includes an entire part of the foot portion  202  and all parts of the upper  201  other than the second parts  23 . 
     The first part  22  is made of a waterproof stretchable material which may be a rubber, such as a neoprene rubber having excellent stretchability. The second parts  23  are made of a non-waterproof air-pervious material, such as a fabric, or leather. 
     Each second part  23  has upper and lower margins  231 ,  232  interconnected by two opposite side margins  233  which extend along a direction from the top open end  21  to the foot portion  202 . The upper margin  231  is arranged at the top open end  21  of the upper  20 . The side margins  233  extend downward from two opposite ends of the upper margin  231 . The lower margin  232  extends at a level adjacent to an ankle part  25  formed at the juncture of the upper  201  and the foot portion  202 . The lower margin  232  and the side margins  233  are sewn to the first part  22 . Alternatively, the second part  23  may be formed with any regular or irregular shape other than that shown in FIG. 2, but should have all of its margins sewn to the first part  22  as described above. 
     In order to make the knee boot  10  waterproof, each second part  23  is lined with a breathable or air-pervious, waterproof lining  4  which is made of an air-pervious waterproof material, such as a laminate well known as Goretex. The lining  4  is attached to the second part  23  in a loose fashion by being sewn to the second part  23  only along the side margins  233 , the upper margin  231  and the lower margins  232  of the second part  23 . Thus, all parts of the second part  23  other than the side margins  233 , the upper margin  231  and the lower margin  232  are separate from the lining  4 . The lining  4  may be sewn to the second part  23  before or after the second part  23  is sewn to the first part  22 . Alternatively, the lining  4  and the second part  23  may be sewn to the first part  22  at the same time. Stitch connection seams  40  are formed where the second part  23  is sewn to the first part  22  and the lining  4 . 
     An innermost lining sleeve  6 , which extends from the top open end  21  to the foot portion  202 , is provided inside the shell  20  in a conventional manner. The seams  40  are sealed so as to be watertight by using waterproof seam sealing members. The waterproof seam sealing members may be waterproof tapes  51  each of which is configured as a strip, as shown in FIG. 4, to overly the corresponding seam  40 . The waterproof seam sealing member may also be in the form of waterproof tapes  52  each of which is configured as a sheet, as shown in FIG. 5, that extends from the corresponding seam  40  to the bottom of the shell  20 . Alternatively, the watertight sealing for the seams  40  may be accomplished by applying a waterproof sealing agent to the seams  40 . 
     The front and rear first parts  22  made of the neoprene rubber contribute soft and stretchable characteristics to the knee boot  10  so that the knee boot  10  can be easily put on or taken off from the foot. In addition, owing to the use of the second parts  23  in combination with the linings  4  which are air pervious, the knee boot  10  can be kept dry and can permit the foot to breathe. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, another embodiment of the present invention comprises a shell  20 ′ which includes a waterproof first part  22 ′ and two non-waterproof second parts  23 ′. The waterproof first part  22 ′ includes a portion of an upper  201 ′ and an entire portion of a foot portion  202 ′. The first part  22 ′ in the upper  201 ′ is made of a waterproof stretchable material such as a neoprene rubber. The first part  22 ′ in the foot portion  202 ′ is made of leather which is treated with a waterproof material so as to be waterproof and which is sewn to the upper  201 ′. The non-waterproof second parts  23 ′ are respectively disposed at the left and right sides of the upper  201 ′. The second parts  23 ′ in this embodiment differ from the second parts  23  of the previous embodiment in that the second parts  23 ′ have upper margins  231 ′ which are arranged below and spaced apart from the top open end  21 ′ of the upper  201 ′ and which are sewn to the first part  22 ′. The lower margin  232 ′ of the second parts  23 ′ is sewn to the top end of the foot portion  202 ′. At the front of the upper  201 ′, the first part  22 ′ has a lower end  221 ′ that passes through an ankle part  25  to extend to an instep part  26 . At the rear of the upper  201 ′, the first part  22 ′ extends to the ankle part  25 . Due to the stretchable neoprene rubber in the first parts  22 ′, the shell  20 ′ is readily stretchable in a transverse direction at the ankle part  25  despite extension of the second parts  23 ′ which are less stretchable or non-stretchable, to the ankle part  25 . The stretchable ankle part  25  permits the foot to easily pass therethrough and enter the foot portion  202 ′. Like the previous embodiment, the non-waterproof second parts  23 ′ are lined with a waterproof breathable lining (not shown) for waterproofing. 
     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.