FR3078867A1 - DESTINED SOLE TO BE DISPOSED IN A FOOT CLOTHING ELEMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a soleplate (10a) intended to be arranged in a footwear element of a user comprising: - a lower layer (11); an upper layer (12); - an adhesive layer (13) disposed on the lower layer so as to ensure adhesion between the two lower and upper layers; and - a peelable protective film (14) disposed on only a part of said adhesive layer so as to define two distinct zones: a mounting zone (Z1) in which said protective film covers said lower layer so as to allow mounting elements between said lower layer and said upper layer; and a guide zone (Z2) in which said upper layer is glued on with said lower layer.

Description

SOLE TO BE ARRANGED IN AN ELEMENT

FOOTWEAR

Technical area

The invention relates to a sole intended to be placed in a covering element for the foot of a user. The invention also relates to a shoe and a method of mounting a heating element on a sole.

The present invention belongs to the field of foot covering elements, such as shoes, slippers, boots or any element which makes it possible to produce the interface between the user's foot and the ground. More particularly, the present invention is intended to be used in a multitude of shoes specific to the practice of sports in harsh environments, such as skiing, snowboarding, running ...

The invention relates more particularly to a sole attached to the shoe making it possible to improve the comfort of the user, for example by providing heat to the foot of the user.

PRIOR ART

An American patent application No. 2016/0183629 describes a sole intended to be integrated into a shoe. This sole consists of two layers, an upper layer and a lower layer, between which a heating element is integrated. During the manufacture of this sole, the two layers are bonded together while a heating element is arranged between the layers so that the heating element is embedded in the sole.

This insole allows an efficient integration of a heating element, but it is oversized for users who are not looking for a heated insole. Thus, this sole is only offered to a small part of the users, that is to say the users who are actually looking for a sole incorporating a heating element.

To leave the user free to install or not a heating element, there are kits for transforming a soleplate containing no kind of electrical device, and not being designed to contain it, into a heating soleplate.

For example, the kit sold by the Applicant under the product name "SIDAS Custom Heat" can transform a conventional sole into a heated sole. This kit includes a sheet of polymeric material, one of which is self-adhesive, and a heating element connected to a power cable so as to heat the heating element by an external battery. The heating element is supplied with a self-adhesive side covered with a protective film.

To use this transformation kit, remove the protective film to stick the heating element on an upper layer of the conventional sole. In this transformation step, the heating element creates an extra thickness on the sole. To compensate for this extra thickness, the kit is supplied with a sheet of polymeric material intended to completely cover the upper face of the soleplate in order to drown the heating element.

This sheet of polymeric material has dimensions large enough to adapt to all sizes of sole. Thus, when the sheet of polymeric material is glued to the upper face of the sole, it is necessary to cut the excess material from this first additional layer.

Finally, the power cable is preferably placed under the sole so as not to degrade the sensitivity of the user on the sole. To do this, an opening is made with a scalpel through the two layers of the sole to pass the power cable.

However, the upper layer of a sole is not always suitable for fixing this sheet of polymeric material. For example, when the upper layer is made of merino wool, the glue does not effectively bond on this upper layer and this upper layer must be removed from the conventional sole before using the transformation kit.

This transformation process therefore requires specific equipment and is complex to carry out for a neophyte user. Another disadvantage of this transformation process is the addition of a sheet of polymeric material on the original sole, which increases its thickness. On the other hand, this sheet of polymeric material is delivered with a surface configured to adapt to several dimensions of soles, in particular large soles. When this sheet of polymeric material is used on small or medium-sized soles, the step of cutting the excess material induces a significant loss of material from this sheet of polymeric material.

The technical problem that the invention seeks to solve is to provide a sole intended to be placed in a covering element for the foot of a user in which the user can choose to integrate or not a heating element and, if the user chooses to integrate a heating element, integration is facilitated.

Expose the invention

The present invention proposes to solve this technical problem by a sole having a mounting area in which the adhesive which is present between the upper and lower layers is covered with a peelable protective film. The user can then integrate a heating element into this mounting area before finalizing the adhesion of the two layers. In addition, the user can choose not to integrate a heating element and use the sole in its minimum configuration by finalizing the adhesion of the two layers without integrating a heating element.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a sole intended to be placed in a covering element for the foot of a user comprising:

- a lower layer intended to be placed in contact with said covering element;

- an upper layer intended to be placed in contact with the user's foot; and

- a layer of glue placed on the lower layer so as to ensure adhesion between the two lower and upper layers.

The invention is characterized in that said sole also includes a peelable protective film disposed on only part of said layer of adhesive, so as to define two distinct zones:

- a mounting area in which said protective film covers said lower layer so as to allow the mounting of elements between said lower layer and said upper layer; and

- a guide zone in which said upper layer is bonded to with said lower layer.

The invention therefore provides a new type of sole, the manufacturing process of which is completed by the user according to his needs. This sole can be finalized to form a conventional sole with two layers bonded together. To do this, the user simply removes the protective film and sticks the part of the upper layer opposite the lower layer in the mounting area. This bonding is simple to perform because the guide zone ensures positioning of part of the upper layer with the lower layer.

In addition, the user can integrate a heating system in the mounting area without using additional layers because the adhesive placed in the mounting area between the upper and lower layers is protected by the protective film. Thus, the user can remove the protective film and stick a heating element in the center of the mounting area. To ensure the integration of the heating element, the upper layer is then folded over the lower layer.

In doing so, unlike the integration kits of the prior art, the heating element is integrated between the two constituent layers of the soleplate without using additional layers. This integration is simple to perform because the guide zone ensures positioning of part of the upper layer with the lower layer.

According to one embodiment, said guide zone represents at least 50% of the total surface of said sole.

This embodiment allows the guide zone to ensure effective positioning of the upper layer relative to the lower layer when bonding the upper layer to the lower layer in the mounting area.

Thus, it is not necessary to provide an excess of material of the upper layer at the mounting area and it is not necessary to cut the upper layer after gluing the upper layer on the lower layer.

According to one embodiment, said sole comprising a front part intended to be positioned facing a front part of the user's foot and a rear part intended to be positioned facing a rear part of the user's foot , said mounting zone is located on said front part of said sole.

This embodiment makes it possible to have the heating element at the level of the front part of the user's foot, part in which the feeling of cold is most critical.

In addition to the heating element, a heating system also requires the use of a power cable to connect the heating element to a source of electrical energy. This power cable can lead to an edge of the soleplate from the mounting area.

Alternatively, the sole is configured so that the power cable extends over the underside of the sole. To this end, according to one embodiment, said lower layer has an opening formed in said mounting zone through said lower layer.

This opening makes it possible to arrange the power cable between the underside of the sole and the covering element of the foot while passing through the lower layer to supply the heating element.

Advantageously, in practice, said opening is arranged at a distance of between 1mm and 1cm from said guide zone.

This leaves the user free to choose the position of the heating element in the mounting area.

According to one embodiment, the mounting area can extend over the entire length of the soleplate, thus making it possible to integrate the necessary cable for supplying the heating element between the upper layer and the lower layer. In doing so, after assembly, the cable is secured to the sole.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a foot covering element comprising a sole according to the first aspect of the invention. Preferably, said covering element can be a ski boot, a snowboard boot or an après ski.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a method of mounting a heating element on a soleplate according to the first aspect of the invention, the method comprising the following steps:

- removal of said protective film;

- bonding of a heating element to said mounting area; and

- Bonding of said upper layer on said lower layer in said mounting area around said heating element.

This third aspect of the invention describes a particularly simple process to carry out to integrate a heating element on a sole according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to one embodiment, said method comprises a step of passing a power cable through an opening formed in said mounting zone through said lower layer.

This embodiment makes it possible to arrange the power cable between the underside of the sole and the covering element of the foot while crossing the lower layer to supply the heating element.

According to one embodiment, said method comprises a step of thermoforming said sole performed before the step of removing said protective film.

This embodiment improves the comfort of the user by giving a specific shape to the sole before the integration of the heating element, for example according to the footprint of a user. Indeed, with the solutions known to date, it is more complicated to modify the shape of the sole when a heating element is integrated into the sole. Thus, the soles made with an integrated heating element generally do not allow to adapt to the specific shape of the foot of a user.

Brief description of the figures

The manner of carrying out the invention as well as the advantages which ensue therefrom will emerge clearly from the embodiment which follows, given by way of indication but not limitation, with the support of the appended figures in which figures 1 to 3 represent:

Figure 1: a perspective view of a sole according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2: a perspective view of a sole according to a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3: a perspective view of a sole according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

In the following description, the terms "front" and "rear" refer to the position of the sole when it is used in a foot covering element. Likewise, the terms "above" and "below" refer to above and below a sole when used in a foot covering. The length of the sole corresponds to the largest dimension of the sole.

Within the meaning of the invention, the term “covering element” relates to a shoe, a slipper, a boot or any element which makes it possible to produce the interface between the user's foot and the ground.

Preferably, the invention applies to a ski boot, a snowboard boot or an après-ski.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which a sole 10a has an upper layer 11 and a lower layer 12 bonded over only part of their lengths by an adhesive layer 13. Although the adhesive layer 13 covers the entire upper surface of the lower layer 12, a front zone ZI of this adhesive layer 13 is surmounted by a protective film 14.

Each layer 11, 12 comprises a front part Pav and a rear part Par having substantially semi-circular shapes. The diameter of the semi-circular shape of the front part Pav is greater than the diameter of the semi-circular shape of the rear part Par so that the sole conforms to the classic lines of a user's foot.

Between the front Pav and rear Par parts, the sole has a narrowing at the position of the user's arch. The lower layer 12 is intended to be positioned in contact with the covering element and performs the damping function of the sole 10a. This lower layer 12 is made of plastic, for example polyvinyl chloride, ethylene vinyl acetate, or polyurethane. As a variant, the lower layer 12 can be produced by a complex of several materials.

This lower layer 12 has a thickness of between 0.5 mm and 2 cm and it can integrate reinforcements, gels or shock absorbers by air cushions. Thus, the thickness of this lower layer 12 can be constant or variable over the length of the sole 10a.

The upper layer 11 is intended to be positioned in contact with the user's foot, with or without a sock between the foot and the upper layer 11. This upper layer 11 ensures the comfort of the user's foot on the sole 10a.

Preferably, this upper layer 11 is made of textile material, such as merino wool. In addition, the upper layer 11 can be produced by a complex of several materials. This upper layer 11 has a thickness of between 0.5 mm and 0.5 cm. Unlike the lower layer 12, this upper layer 11 is preferably of constant thickness.

Conventionally, the two layers are bonded by an adhesive layer 13, for example a layer of neoprene glue. This adhesive layer 13 is, for example, sprayed on the upper face of the lower layer 12 so as to form a homogeneous film with a thickness of between 0.1 and 1mm.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a rear zone Z2 of the adhesive layer 13 secures the upper layer 11 on the lower layer 12 and a front zone ZI of the adhesive layer 13 is covered by the protective film 14 .

The front part 15 of the upper layer 11, disposed above the front zone ZI of the adhesive layer 13, is therefore free relative to the lower layer 12. The rear zone Z2 has the function of guiding this free part 15 of the upper layer 11 so that it is superimposed on the lower layer 12.

This rear zone Z2 extends from the rear of the sole over an area between 30% and 80% of the total surface of the sole. The rear zone Z2 is delimited at the front by a predetermined folding zone rectilinear and orthogonal to the length of the sole. Alternatively, the predetermined folding area can have a distinct profile without changing the invention.

The front zone ZI on which the upper layer 11 is not fixed to the lower layer 12 forms a mounting zone allowing a user to position a heating element of a heating system. In this mounting zone Z1, the upper surface of the lower layer 12 is coated with the adhesive material 13 but the adhesion between the between the upper 11 and lower layers 12 is prevented by the presence of a peelable protective film 14.

Within the meaning of the invention, the term "peelable" relates to an adhesion property between the protective layer 14 and the adhesive material 13; the protective layer 14 being able to be removed completely from the sole by the user, without tools, by peeling it from the surface on which the adhesive material 13 is arranged.

For example, the peelable protective layer 14 is a plastic film, advantageously made of transparent polyurethane, one side of which adheres reversibly to the adhesive material 13, and the other side of which is not covered with an adhesive layer.

To use the sole 10a without a heating element, the user simply removes the peelable protective layer 14 and sticks the free part 15 of the upper layer 11 to the mounting zone Z1. The rear zone Z2 then guides the free part 15 of the upper layer 11 over the mounting zone Z1.

If the user wishes to integrate a heating element, the user removes the peelable protective layer 14 and sticks the heating element in the mounting zone Z1. The user then sticks the upper layer 11 around the heating element on the lower layer 12 while the rear zone Z2 then guides the free part 15 of the upper layer 11 onto the mounting zone Z1. In addition, the heating element may also have an upper face coated with a layer of adhesive and covered with a second peelable protective layer. Thus, the user can also stick the upper layer 11 on the upper face of the heating element by removing the second peelable protective layer.

A power supply cable for the heating element can be placed on an edge of the soleplate 10a to reach the heating element from the front of a covering element for the foot. Alternatively, the power cable for the heating element can be integrated into the rear of a foot covering element. To reach the rear of the sole, the lower layer 12 has an opening 16 forming a passage between the mounting zone Z1 and the underside of the sole 10a. Preferably, this opening 16 is arranged close to the guide zone Z2, for example at a distance of between 1 mm and 1 cm from the guide zone Z2. This opening 16 allows the supply cable to pass from the rear of the sole to the mounting area passing under the sole.

In addition, when the user wishes to integrate or not a heating element, the structure of the sole 10a can be configured to allow thermoforming of the sole 10a, for example to adapt to the morphology of the user's foot.

Preferably, when the user wishes to integrate a heating element, the thermoforming is carried out before the integration of the heating element.

In the example of FIG. 1, the sum of the area of the guide area Z2 and the area of the mounting area ZI is equal to the total area of the surface of the sole 10a and the area of guidance represents at least 50% of the total surface of the sole 10a. Alternatively, several parts of the sole 10a-10c may not be covered with adhesive.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second embodiment in which a sole 10b has a mounting zone Z5 disposed between two guide zones: a rear guide zone Z3 and a front guide zone Z4.

The rear guide zone Z3 extends from the rear of the sole over an area of between 50% and 60% of the total surface of the sole. This rear guide zone Z3 is delimited at the front by a predetermined folding zone, rectilinear and orthogonal to the length of the sole.

The front guide zone Z4 extends from the front of the sole over an area of between 5% and 20% of the total surface of the sole. The front guide zone Z4 is delimited at the rear by a predetermined folding zone, straight and orthogonal to the length of the sole.

So that the upper layer 11 has at least one free part allowing a heating element to be placed on the mounting zone Z5, the upper layer 11 is cut at the level of the mounting zone Z5 between the two predetermined folding zones. In the example of FIG. 2, the cutting is carried out substantially at equal distance from the two predetermined folding zones. As a variant, this cutting can be carried out in any position between these two predetermined folding zones. This cutting forms two flaps 15a, 15b in the upper layer 11 intended to be folded over the mounting zone Z5. A first flap 15a, close to the rear end of the sole 10b, is guided by the rear guide zone Z3 while the second flap 15b, close to the front end of the sole 10b, is guided by the guide zone before Z4.

To integrate a heating element or simply complete the production of the sole without integrating a heating element, the user removes the peelable layer 14 disposed in the mounting zone Z5. To facilitate this manipulation, the protective layer 14 extends outside the contours of the sole 10b so as to form a tongue 17. Finally, the user must fold each flap 15a, 15b onto the mounting zone Z5.

In the same way as previously, the power cable can extend over an edge of the sole 10b from the mounting zone Z5 or pass through the lower layer 12 to reach the rear of the sole 10b by passing under the sole 10b .

FIG. 3 illustrates a third embodiment in which a sole 10c has a mounting zone Z7 extending to the rear of the sole 10c so as to integrate the power cable between the upper 11 and lower layers 12 In this embodiment, a guide zone Z6 extends continuously over part of the width from the rear of the sole 10c to the front of the sole 10c. In addition, the mounting area Z7 also extends continuously over the other part of the width from the rear of the sole 10c to the front of the sole 10c.

To integrate a heating element, the user can place the heating element on the mounting area Z7 in the front part Pav of the sole 10c. The user then lays the power cable along the length of the sole 10c in the mounting area Z7. To integrate the power cable and the heating element between the lower 12 and upper 11 layers, the user folds a free part 15c of the upper layer 11 onto the mounting area Z7.

The invention thus provides a lOa-lOc sole allowing the user to choose whether or not to integrate a heating system. In addition, if the user wishes to integrate a heating system, the integration of the heating system is simplified compared to existing devices.

Claims (10)

1. Sole (lOa-lOc) intended to be placed in a covering element for the foot of a user comprising: - a lower layer (11) intended to be placed in contact with said covering element; - an upper layer (12) intended to be placed in contact with the user's foot; and - a layer of adhesive (13) disposed on the lower layer (11) so as to ensure adhesion between the two lower (11) and upper (12) layers; characterized in that said sole (10a-10c) also includes a peelable protective film (14) disposed on only part of said layer of glue (13) so as to define two distinct zones: - a mounting area (Zl, Z5, Z7) in which said protective film (14) covers said lower layer (11) so as to allow the mounting of elements between said lower layer (11) and said upper layer (12 ); and - a guide zone (Z2-Z4, Z6) in which said upper layer (12) is bonded to with said lower layer (11). 2. Sole according to claim 1, wherein said guide zone (Z2-Z4, Z6) represents at least 50% of the total surface of said sole. 3. Sole according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein, said sole (lOa-lOc) comprising a front part (Pav) intended to be positioned opposite a front part of the user's foot and a part rear (Par) intended to be positioned opposite a rear part of the user's foot, said mounting zone (Zl, Z5, Z7) is located on said front part (Pav) of said sole (lOa-lOc) . 4. Sole according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said sole (lOa-lOc) has an opening (16) formed in said mounting area (Zl, Z5, Z7) through said lower layer (12). 5. Sole according to claim 4, wherein said opening (16) is disposed at a distance between 1mm and 1cm from said guide zone (Z2-Z4, Z6). 6. Foot covering element characterized in that it comprises a sole according to one of claims 1 to 5. 7. Foot covering element according to claim 6, wherein said covering element corresponds to a ski boot, a snowboard boot or an après ski. 8. A method of mounting a heating element on a soleplate according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - removal of said protective film (14); - bonding of a heating element to said mounting area (Zl, Z5, Z7); and - Bonding of said upper layer (11) on said lower layer (12) in said mounting zone (Zl, Z5, Z7) around said heating element. 9. The mounting method according to claim 8, wherein said method comprises a step of passing a power cable through an opening in said mounting area (Zl, Z5, Z7) through said lower layer (12 ). 10. The mounting method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said method comprises a step of thermoforming said sole (10a-10c) performed before the step of removing said protective film (14).