GB1593879A

GB1593879A - Method of manufacturing footwear having a relief pattern

Info

Publication number: GB1593879A
Application number: GB44340/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Tretorn AB
Current assignee: Tretorn AB
Priority date: 1976-10-27
Filing date: 1977-10-25
Publication date: 1981-07-22
Also published as: SE7611915L

Description

(54) A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING FOOTWEAR HAVING A RELIEF PATTERN (71) We, TRETORN AKTIEBOLAG, a company duly organized and existing under the laws of Sweden, of Helsingborg, Sweden, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a method in manufacturing footwear; particularly boots, having a relief pattern.

In the footwear industry it is commonly aimed at making the appearance of, for example, rubber boots as similar as possible to the more expensive leather boots and to imitate in the most natural way the stitchings, reliefs and other decorations which are found on leather boots. In other words, when manufacturing rubber boots it is endeavoured to follow up the mode applied to leather boots by imitating the patterns and models found on leather boots. For the time being, the boot mode for example is marked by the so-called Western Style which is characterized by the boot leg being provided with stitchings and reliefs in imaginative patterns, often various curlicues or reproductions of Indian heads, horses heads etc..

The object of the invention is to reproduce in a simple and natural manner various types of leather decoration in the manufacture of footwear, viz. in a manner which easily can be combined with common methods of manufacture and allows several variations with regard to the design of the decoration.

According to the invention, a method of manufacturing footwear comprises positioning at least one flexible pattern element between two flexible vulcanizable sheets; vulcanizing the sheets together to sandwich the said element between them thereby forming a composite vulcanized sheet; and subsequently incorporating said sheet into footwear.

The invention also provides footwear whenever made from a composite vulcanized sheet manufactured by a method which comprises positioning at least one flexible pattern element between two flexible vulcanizable sheets and then vulcanizing the sheets together to sandwich the said element therebetween.

In order to explain the invention a presently preferred embodiment thereof will be described in more detail below, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side view illustrating a rubber boot having a decoration which is well suited to be produced by the method according to the invention; Figure 2 illustrates the blank of a lining to be used in the method according to the invention, a rubber layer provided thereon being partly broken away; Figure 3 illustrates a step of the method according to the invention Figure 4 illustrates the lining after the step according to Figure 3 having been carried out; Figure 5 illustrates a further step of the method according to the invention; and Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the boot leg through the relief pattern provided thereon according to the invention.

The rubber boot disclosed in Figure 1 can be built up of several rubber layers on a last in the manner which is common in manufacturing rubber boots. The cutting and application of all these various pieces therefore need not be described in detail. Of interest in the present case is the boot leg 10 only because it is provided with a pattern or decoration 11 of Western Style.

The first thing that is done when manufacturing the boot leg 10 is to cut or stamp out a lining which is given the specific form shown in Figure 2, well-known to every manufac turer of rubber boots. The lining consists of a textile layer 12 and a layer 12' of unvulcanized rubber provided on one side of the textile layer. In this rubber layer the desired decoration 11 is reproduced by a perforation 13 which penetrates through the rubber layer. The perforation can be provided by means of marking needles which are mounted on a special templet or are mounted on the stamp tool used for stamping out the lining'.

The next step of the method according to the invention is that a thin strip 14, Figure 3, of unvulcanized and unexpanded sponge rubber is positioned on the lining 12, 12' along the pattern defined by the perforation 13. In this connection, said strip can be placed loosely on the rubber layer 12', but considering that it is often difficult to have it remain in the desired pattern it is preferred to fix the strip to the lining by means of cement, or the connection can also be made by either the rubber layer 12' of the lining or the strip 14 itself being adhesive. When the strip 14 has been positioned on the lining, this has the appearance according to Figure 4 where the strip 14 corresponds exactly to the decoration 11 of the finished boot.

Then, the leg is built up in the conventional manner on a last 15 as is illustrated in Figure 5, by applying the lining 12, 12' having the strip 14 fixed thereto, over the last 15 the textile layer facing the last and the rubber layer facing outwards. A rubber layer 16 of unvulcanized rubber having the same contour as the lining, see e.g. Figure 2, is then positioned outside the lining to cover the rubber layer 12' thereof as well as the strip 14 which thus will be located between two rubber layers, viz. the rubber layer 12' and the rubber layer 16. Further rubber elements for manufacturing the boot as a whole can then be applied to the last 15, but these working steps are not considered here.

The last having the completed covering thereon is then introduced into a vulcanizing pan or in a press mould which is heated electrically or by means of steam for vulcanizing the rubber material of the lasted boot.

During the vulcanization the strip 14 of unvulcanized unexpanded sponge rubber will expand to cell structure between the two rubber layers 12' and 16 the gas produced in the sponge rubber escaping through the perforation 13 in the rubber layer 12' and through the textile material 12 which itself is permeable. Thus, the risk of these gases forming bubbles or blisters between the layers is eliminated. The strip 14 provides a surface effect in the form of a relief decoration in the desired pattern defined by the positioning of the strip in the manner which is shown in Figure 6 where the strip 14 is shown to have expanded so that the outer rubber layer 16 has a raised portion which is designated 11 because it corresponds to the pattern 11 in Figure 1.

When applying the method according to the invention it is not necessary that the element which forms the decoration consists of a strip. This element can also consist of a stamped out figure of a desired type, such as an Indian head, a horse head or anything else, and if this element consists of a strip it can be patterned in any way and have the character e.g. of a ribbon. In case the element forming the decoration consists of sponge rubber as in the embodiment described, it is necessary to arrange gas ventilation openings 13 in the rubber layer 12' of the lining 12 below the portions of the lining which shall be covered by the sponge rubber element.However, it is also possible to define the decoration by other means than sponge rubber because there can be used a filling body formed as a strap, a chord, a thread or a plate of textile material or other material which can stand the vulcanization and does not detrimentally affect the enclosing rubber material and can stand bending of the boot leg or pressure against the leg without breaking or cracking. The element forming the decoration can be of a unitary thickness or it can have a varying thickness, and the thickness preferably ranges approximately between 0.5 and 2 mm. The element can be contour-pressed and bevelled.

As will be clearly understood, the composite lining 12, 12' can be replaced by a rubber layer of the same type as the rubber layer 16 when working the method according to the invention for vulcanizing the element forming the decoration, between the rubber layers thus used.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the element forming the decoration, in case it is made of sponge rubber, can be of such character that different portions of the element have different degrees of expansion. Thereby it is possible to differentiate the height of the relief provided by means of the element, in different portions of the decoration.

Although the example described relates to the manufacture of a rubber boot having a decoration, the invention is of course applicable to footwear in general of any model and type and to the use of other vulcanizable sheet material.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A method of manufacturing footwear which comprises positioning at least one flexible pattern element between two flexible vulcanizable sheets; vulcanizing the sheets together to sandwich the said element between them thereby forming a composite vulcanized sheet; and subsequently incorporating said sheet into footwear.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. turer of rubber boots. The lining consists of a textile layer 12 and a layer 12' of unvulcanized rubber provided on one side of the textile layer. In this rubber layer the desired decoration 11 is reproduced by a perforation 13 which penetrates through the rubber layer. The perforation can be provided by means of marking needles which are mounted on a special templet or are mounted on the stamp tool used for stamping out the lining'. The next step of the method according to the invention is that a thin strip 14, Figure 3, of unvulcanized and unexpanded sponge rubber is positioned on the lining 12, 12' along the pattern defined by the perforation 13. In this connection, said strip can be placed loosely on the rubber layer 12', but considering that it is often difficult to have it remain in the desired pattern it is preferred to fix the strip to the lining by means of cement, or the connection can also be made by either the rubber layer 12' of the lining or the strip 14 itself being adhesive. When the strip 14 has been positioned on the lining, this has the appearance according to Figure 4 where the strip 14 corresponds exactly to the decoration 11 of the finished boot. Then, the leg is built up in the conventional manner on a last 15 as is illustrated in Figure 5, by applying the lining 12, 12' having the strip 14 fixed thereto, over the last 15 the textile layer facing the last and the rubber layer facing outwards. A rubber layer 16 of unvulcanized rubber having the same contour as the lining, see e.g. Figure 2, is then positioned outside the lining to cover the rubber layer 12' thereof as well as the strip 14 which thus will be located between two rubber layers, viz. the rubber layer 12' and the rubber layer 16. Further rubber elements for manufacturing the boot as a whole can then be applied to the last 15, but these working steps are not considered here. The last having the completed covering thereon is then introduced into a vulcanizing pan or in a press mould which is heated electrically or by means of steam for vulcanizing the rubber material of the lasted boot. During the vulcanization the strip 14 of unvulcanized unexpanded sponge rubber will expand to cell structure between the two rubber layers 12' and 16 the gas produced in the sponge rubber escaping through the perforation 13 in the rubber layer 12' and through the textile material 12 which itself is permeable. Thus, the risk of these gases forming bubbles or blisters between the layers is eliminated. The strip 14 provides a surface effect in the form of a relief decoration in the desired pattern defined by the positioning of the strip in the manner which is shown in Figure 6 where the strip 14 is shown to have expanded so that the outer rubber layer 16 has a raised portion which is designated 11 because it corresponds to the pattern 11 in Figure 1. When applying the method according to the invention it is not necessary that the element which forms the decoration consists of a strip. This element can also consist of a stamped out figure of a desired type, such as an Indian head, a horse head or anything else, and if this element consists of a strip it can be patterned in any way and have the character e.g. of a ribbon. In case the element forming the decoration consists of sponge rubber as in the embodiment described, it is necessary to arrange gas ventilation openings 13 in the rubber layer 12' of the lining 12 below the portions of the lining which shall be covered by the sponge rubber element.However, it is also possible to define the decoration by other means than sponge rubber because there can be used a filling body formed as a strap, a chord, a thread or a plate of textile material or other material which can stand the vulcanization and does not detrimentally affect the enclosing rubber material and can stand bending of the boot leg or pressure against the leg without breaking or cracking. The element forming the decoration can be of a unitary thickness or it can have a varying thickness, and the thickness preferably ranges approximately between 0.5 and 2 mm. The element can be contour-pressed and bevelled. As will be clearly understood, the composite lining 12, 12' can be replaced by a rubber layer of the same type as the rubber layer 16 when working the method according to the invention for vulcanizing the element forming the decoration, between the rubber layers thus used. Finally, it should be mentioned that the element forming the decoration, in case it is made of sponge rubber, can be of such character that different portions of the element have different degrees of expansion. Thereby it is possible to differentiate the height of the relief provided by means of the element, in different portions of the decoration. Although the example described relates to the manufacture of a rubber boot having a decoration, the invention is of course applicable to footwear in general of any model and type and to the use of other vulcanizable sheet material. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A method of manufacturing footwear which comprises positioning at least one flexible pattern element between two flexible vulcanizable sheets; vulcanizing the sheets together to sandwich the said element between them thereby forming a composite vulcanized sheet; and subsequently incorporating said sheet into footwear.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1

wherein the flexible vulcanizable sheets consist of vulcanizable rubber.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the pattern element consists of vulcanizable rubber.

4. A method as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the pattern element consists of a rubber material expanding by the vulcanization.

5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims wherein one flexible vulcanizable sheet is perforated in the portions thereof which are to be covered by the pattern element.

6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims wherein one flexible vulcanizable sheet is a solid rubber sheet which forms the outside of the footwear, while the other flexible rubber sheet consists of a rubber coating on a textile material.

7. A method of manufacturing footwear substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. Footwear whenever manufactured by a method as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims.

9. Footwear as claimed in Claim 8 which is a boot.

10. Footwear whenever made from a composite vulcanized sheet manufactured by a method which comprises positioning at least one flexible pattern element between two flexible vulcanizable sheets and then vulcanizing the sheets together to sandwich the said element therebetween.

11. Footwear as claimed in Claim 10 which is a boot.

12. Footwear substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.