GB2520357A - A heel counter and/or toe puff heater - Google Patents

Abstract

A heel counter and or toe puff heater 1 comprising an inner mould 2 and outer mould 3 and a space 6 defined between the moulds that is sized to contain and constrain a part of a piece of footwear 7; and a microwave generator that directs microwave radiation to the space. The heater may comprise cooling means for cooling the inner or outer mould. The microwave generator preferably is a magnetron with an antenna 4, where the antenna extends into the mould space. The heater may have an outer faraday cage 5. The inner mould is preferably formed from alumina, and the outer mould of a flexible material such as rubber or neoprene. The moulds may be placed within a rectangular wave guide cavity which supports three or less modes. Also claimed is a method of heating a toe puff or heel counter.

Description

A Heel Counter and or Toe luff Heater Fild of Invention' The':prsent!nventlon e',t temantf tur of footwear. ti pat3cqlar,h:pSseit invention relates to the> heating and moulding f heel count, and toe puffs 4wig'the mMirg pro,,, . The frtvenlipn provide a heel, qgnter and/pr toe puff heater and a method of heating heel,cou$tersand toepuffsthat are partiewsly'advantágeous eornpaced'to pior art apparatts,.and methods, as they. utilise microwave heating.

i Background,

Miny items of fbpi'we, r coptain beet covntórs and/or toe puffs. Heal counters are generafly tórnted of resilient polyme, . that, are' fainted' into a' fJ shape and provide structure, suength and proteotlon to the heel region at the: footwear. The puf6 are Sliogeraiiytt of resiflentpolymersthat are làrnS intoa, suitable shape i and pVovidfltnjct*4re,Stren9th and pt"'tOn'tb the,toe regl'onSthetootwear. A major' function of both heel counters and toe puffs is to stiffen the relevant part of the footweari It is often necessary to, heat both' heel counters and toe puffs*sdng n, ,,,,kwtacture of obtWeat. in' particular, this b doredurihg, or lmmediat&y before:, a moulding stage when the h"J coUnter Ot'toetaff'f5:rnOulded into the dSited,shapt Na becau*e:the: rriateflals used to form heel counters aid toe' puffs are necessarily rigid' at rorn temperature and it Is necessary:tu heat the rnatenalst4 m*ethern flexible enough to tnoui& GnstAlly. heel counteis and toe puffs are he*d and moulded in-situ. That is, heel counterS aiiö toe pSfs, are heated when they torn, pwt of at least partia y formed"piece of f* . ,,r lit $fliqular the heel sufltets, and toe puffs may be heated, at the same tfrneas other ccrpponente of'the foot V'$r aUth aS' leather or syr thStictipper layers.

$0 Fqr example, a, heel counter of a sports shoe' may be Mate,,,: *hilSt fixS to a p*lyurethans' foam upper layer. This' iay,be pn,tleiatic n1' vkie, ills pcessay to heat: the heel cowiter"or toe paff to high temperature' in,or er for ft to be ii,,,,,ulded1 It' thay'rtotbenefIOiai Wheat the other components of tbe'footweir.

Further, after heating it is necessary to 000i a counter or toe puff in order to ensure shape retention, Heating other components of the footwear hinders the cooling process due to heat retained in those components.A related issue is thatthe presehce of othercomponents wHi slow conductive heating ala heel counter or toe puff and ft is necessary to heat those other components to temperatures higher than the desired temperature of the counter or puff in order to. heat the counter or puff sufficienfly.

Currently, heel counters are heated using a back part moulding machine. These machines utilise either heated air and/or heated moulds to heat the counter and a two part mould to mould the counter into a suitable shape. The heel counter is heated to between 80°C and 90°C depending upon the sØecific material from which they are farmed, Ft the mould is heated the parts of mould are generally formed of metal and are heated to between 110.00 an.d 1.60°C. Heel counters and toe puffs are heated by inserting the appropriate component into the mould pressing the parts of the mould 1.5 together and heating the components for between 30 and 40 seconds. After heating the components are removed from the moulding machine and are cooled ala cooUng station It is desirable to cool the components to 20°C However1 as it is not only the heel counter that is heated, the cooling process is relatively slow. .A typical cooling cycle only lasts 30 seconds and this is insufficient to reach the target temperature of 2OC. TherefOre, the components are generally not cooled to the optimum temperature but remain heated.

As will be readily appreciated,th.e current method of back part moulding has a number of issues Components other than the heel counter are heated during the moulding, which is not desirable Additionally and as a result, it is difficult to rapidly cool the counters after heating inally the whole process is relatively slow, and can take over a minute to heat and cool an individual backpart In light of this it would be beneficial to have an 3pparatub and method that would allow more directed and quicker heating of the counter with less heating of the other components Toe puff moulding is carried out in a very similar manner and the same problems are applicable to their moulding. Therefore, it would also be beneficial to have a method and apparatus that would allow more directed and quicker heating of a toe puff with less hsting of other components.

Summary of the Invention

The present inverftion pro vidés a heel counter andior toe puff heatei cctnprising: an inner mould: an outer mould; a space formed defined by the inner mould and the outer rnouFd that is sized to contain and constrain an appropriate part of a piece of toojear; and a microwave generator that, when in use, directs microwave radiation to the space.

The apparatus of the present invention is advantageous as it uses microwave, heating, rather than conventional corduchon heating, to heat a heel counter or toe puff Microwave heating provides many benefits Most importantly, microwaves can be directed to heat only the counter or puff thereby rninimising heating of other components that are attached to the counter or puff. There is no need to heat tile other components. Further, as the microwaves can be directed to heat only the counter or puff it is not necessary to heat. either the inner mjcj or the outer mould. Instead the inner and outer moulds can be used as heat sinks to cool the counter or puff This means the apparatus of the present invention can also be used to cool a counter or puff after heating and there may be no need for an additional cooling station. This can be extremely berieficial as it removes the need to take footwear from a heating station to a cooling station thereby greatly improving the time and efficiency of the manufacturing process.

Microwave heating can also be much quicker than conventional heatini thus the apparatus of the present invention nan heat a counter or puff much mcre quickly than apparatus according to the prior art, As the other components of a shoe are not heated substantiaHy by the apparatus. it is also possible to use much more intense healing than would be otherwise possible.

In order for the present invention to operate optimally it is necessary that the ceunter or puff heated by the apparatus of the present invention are suitable for microwave heating. In particular, itis necessary that the materials from which the counters or puffs are formed have a high microwave absorption. Toe puffs and heel counters formed of some such materials are considered to be a separate but related invention andare the subjectmatter of a UK patent application entitled ide Puffs and Heei Counter? that was filed by Texan Management Ltd on the same day as this application. Although it s beneficial to use the materials that are the subject-mattei o that application it is to be undcrsiood that the apparatus of the present inveition can be used with toe puffs and heel counters formed of materials that have previously been used for such components. The skilled parson will readily understand, or will be easily able to determine by routine experimentation, which materials are suitable for use with the apparatus of the present invention.

The apparatus of the present invention may not substantially heat the inner rnouid and/or the outer mould therefore the mourds may be able to be used as a heat sink to cool a toe puff or heelcounter after its heating. The therm.aJ conductivity of the moulds may be sufficient for the m.oulds.to act as heat sinks. However, in some embodiments of the invention, it may be preferable that the heater further comprises cooling means for cooling the inner and/or outer moulds. Any suitable cooling means that is apparent to the pci son skilled in the art may be used For example, fiuid cooling systems and/or additional external heat sinks could be used. As is discussed later in this specification, it may be preferable that the inner and/or outer mculds are maintained t approximately 5°C during operation of the heater.

The microwave generator of the present invention may be any suitable generator that can deli er microwave radiation to the space However it may be preferab'e that the microwave generator comprises a magnetron and an antenna, the rnagnelron located externally to the heater and the antenna extending nto the heater to be positionec within or close to the space. This construction may be preferred as it mnimises the volume taken up within the heater by the microwave generator but still allows the microwave radiation to be precisely delivered to a Co. unter or puff located within the space when the apparatus is used The precise shape and positioning of the antenna will be dependent upon whether the apparatus is a heel Counter heater or a toe puff heater and on the size and dimensions of the heater and space and on other routine design considerations. It is believed that the skilled person will be able to determine ab appropriate antenna shape and positioning for an apparatus according to the preseht invention. -.5-

In order to contain microwave radiation within a heater according to the present invention it may be advantageous that the heater further comprises an outer faraday cage surrounding the heater to cohtain microwave radiation.A faraday cage may be formed in any manner and of any material that is apparent to a person skilled in the art.

Preferably, the inner mould of the heater will be formed of a material with suitable properties. In particular, it is advantageous that the inner mould has low microwave absorØtion, high thermal conductivity and: high mechanical strength. Low microwave ahsorptio.n ensures that the inner mould. .s not sinificahtly heated by the microwaves in the heater. Materials with suitably low microwave absorption include, but are not hmited to PTFE, alurnua zirconia and titanium doxide High thermal conductivity allows heat to be efficiently conducted away from a heel counter or toe puff. A high thermal conductivity may be considered to be a thermal c.onducthiity greater than 20 Wm1K* High mechanical strength is necessary as the material wiU be. compressed during operation of the heater. All of the previously mentioned materials have a suitably nigh mechanical strength However, the mechanical stiength of alumina and zirconia is higher than that of PTFE so these materials are generally preferable.

Additionally, it is also possible to employ high temperature polymers including, but not limitedto, PEEK, Polysulfone (PUS) and Polyethersulfone (PES). However, ta high temperature polymer is used then it will be generally preferable for the inner mould to have a ho1row rather than solid, construction in order to aid thermal dissipation and prevent overheating of the inner mould.

One material that is particulaily suitable for forming the inner mould is alumina, which has a thermal conductivity of approximately 30 Wm K1 and has a suitably high mechanreal strength and a suitably low microwave absorptivity n a similar manner the outer mould also needs to have a low microwave absorption and a hgh thermal conductivity However rt is also preferable that the outer mould is formed of a flexible matenal in order to ailow a to be clamped andlor shaped to fit a component that is heated in the heater. In order to fulfil these requirements it may be preferable that the outer mould is formed at natural rubber, synthetic rubber and1o neoprene.

The outer mould may be subtantiaUy scUd. Alternatively the outer mould may be S nfl table. The benefit of using an inflatable outer mould is that are no shape restrictions on the shape of heel counter or toe puff g moulded and that a more uniform pressure may be applied to the heel counter or toe puff. An inflatable outer mould may be formed of any suitable material including, but not.limfted to, *the materh&s set out above. In preferred embodiments an inflatable outer mould may be formed of rubber with a leather jacket.

In order to properly contain and guide the microwaves within the heater it may be preferabe that the heater comprises a wave guide cavity within which the inner mould and the outer mould are positioned.. In order to provide a simple construction the wave ui:de cavity may be cuboid.. A wave guide Cavity can be formed in. any manner apparent to a person skllerJ in the art. The wave guide cavity may be multi-mode and supply a plurahty of field patterns However, it is generally preferred that the wave guide cavity supports: a nininmm possible number of field patterns.. In a preferred embodiment the wave guide cavity allows only three field patterns within the cavity.

This is preferred because it achieves an extremely high field density in the centre of the cavity whe aflowirig all standard shoe sizes to be accommodated (UK sizes 4-ii). By forming the. space of the heater at the centre of the cavity the extremely high field density can be used to heat a heel counter or toe puff.

The rncrowave generator of the present invention may be operated at any power that s suitable to heat the heel counter or toe puff to the desired temperature In preferred embodiments of the invention the power of the microwave generator maybe 600W or higher.

Further features of the apparatus of the present invention and its operation will be apparent from the description of the method of the present invention, which is set out belcw,

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The present inyentkr, also ptovides a method. of rapidly heating a to pilot a heel cóqntSr Oon pilsing the tepsof; ppsitnffig the heel o*4nteror tpe p14W 1n a. sppe defined by an inner mould and an outer movid; compressing the heet counter art,. p!Aff w*hlirtlie spaoe us4ng lw' inner mould and thS outer møuld; and appng microwave td1atl&n to the heel counter or toep,utf;: Wheelit the. t''IcoUhter or toe putt is formed Of a material that is susceptible to microwave healing.

IG

The method, ot"the present invention l advantageous be,,se utilising:microwave heating to heat a heM courOer or tae puff may be' significantly quicker and more Pfficient than heating' using convettflon'at methods. Purifier, healing using mtcrowave *sffing may be rnuth'rn'ore directed, Mditionaliy,. mIrcW'veheatIng of a heel counter or toe puff using the method of the present Invention may result in much less heatihg of qgmpnts adjaeJit to th tlE,& courflr qr toe put therey reSUlting In an nreasedefMency of healing.

For the sent ihventbn tooperate apprprlateIy ft is necsaiy that the heelcounter or toe puff at Is being fleaS IS totted oft material thatis, suitable for microwave heatig In particular, t is necessarythätthé ttateriels fr" "Which thetounters or'pjMS.

are'forniedJiave: a high microwave absorption. Toe puffs and heel counters formed of SCnleSUCh'matGIlaIS are'consldered to be a sepatate but relatedln,ventlon and am the.

subject-matter øf' a UK patent appkcation entitled "Toe Puffs and He,lCcunterV that wa filSd by texon Mana''M Ltd on the same day as thisapplicatlon. Although it is beneficial to use the materials that are the subject-matter of that application it Is to be understood that the rfl ethod:9f the present "enti éan beused with toe puffs and' heel q,w,$ers fQrmed pt materials Tht, have previous!? bes used for Such cOfllpQt*n%, The skilled person will understand, or will' be easily able to,,iPe by 3* routine eS'' on, which materials are suitable toriise'w,Ith The method' of the present. invention.

DEFINITION OF SUITABLE MATERIAL -sioød de*iltMi. of rneteziu! au!table br pmsentbwenflon' L:e. * minimum rniorowsvo',absorbtlv!tyt -a'-AØpwe So, n*hin a material E' pfimaUfr'dsfenvine'ø Ay the 4ie14,.,$c loss: is,ge,t'(tafltefrorth,,flsteøs(' The'mjoirnuptsujtah:ie dWet*lossiingeiitfcirefficient heailng In the rnsthod Ic 4parnws tithe jres6hf kwenfibn't 0D& Mates feb with dieIeØi:b lo tan gekts là War Than' this ore. not suitable for fohnft,g a heel:coqAteE:qr : tte pi# us/pg The epparqtus os nThq,. oft/s pra?pi invenflon., A polymer' Dm4!=PET (606/end 7Th (40%) has, adjelqpMa, loss tangept of 045.

?rsmb4ç the dielectric loss tans of a melsilal used vWtb the net/md m4: apparatS of this thvenflon is 0.125 mhighet A polymer blend'ai l*"(62%)+' PMMA ia (3a%)÷ Ca/hon Black (3%) Ms ö dS" s'tàWgei2t'of 0 125 The ten pemfure to which a' heel ccuntertortoa puff is heated wiP be delent*ied' b the material from wI*,', the it, isformeci, The appropriate pr to'whiah a countór*r puff is heated should be abte'tobe easily determined b'ya person skilled' in the art. Generally it is atititipated that a heel counter cir'tos: putt heated using the method Ofibé present inventloh'wfll be heatédtb a tSmperatUre:be''"n 6O'°C:and The time requted to beat' a heel co.unteror toe pyff'wiJi depend zyt the mflal of'tfte couflt"r or puff, the:'teniperature to which It Is necessary' to' t'e* the counW or puff and the intensity of the microwave'tadiatlon provided. fr4ower; it Is bellE yed that in rnoStethbo',IrhefltS' of the: FrnSnboh It will be necessary to heat a heel:c*untet Ot'tOe puff fpr'between is and' I 5s and rpore'p'refeably 3s?ánd Ts.

The method of'the presentInverifion rnay'fu,iiher'cpmprishestep ofcoollngthe toe: puff or heel counter' after' hktg. That is, the mhod, of the present invention may :rprisea step whe,ire action, Iè taken to'codl ThebeS counterortoe put, ratherthan, simply all&J"rig' the toe,:puff or heel' counter to cool as an frtcidentai*e-efteot dwing any tuflherprocessiri9 :30 A oo*g gte of the method, may: Jpyolye,rerc' the heel cotp tøc or tOe puff Itom the, Inner and: outer moulds, mgE4ng the" heei opunter cr pie p4 tP a: Ooollng sthtbohl and then cGGflng the counter or puff as is currently one:}h metk,, s according lathe prlot' autthatutuise conventional.heaflng. Aftematbrnki, thecoobng:step may take: late,' Whilst heel cciuriter oroe pwffremaij, in rSn within the spa* This can be done by rovihg or st ppirig any lnicrQwave rieatjrg and providing coeiirig by condvdtlón through the Inner mould and outer mouW.TtnsflotposSbleintnethods aecodfng to the prior art as the inier mould and outer mould were used to heat The t heel eauns or toe, puff' using conductive heatIng and, asa result, were held at ot' Sove't!ie. Intended maximum temperate of tIe' beet e urtter ortos' puff. Therefore1 prvjous1y in ordir to cool the heel tinter or toep uff: if was Qsse!$I to rpoy the heated Item from the inner mould and fler rnguj4.

IU Cooling Whilst In positton within thespn may be made:ponibie bythe method ofthe present ihventioh for a rw&mbet of reasons. First:mItoWas heating mybe dlrecS onjy WThe bee! oupt ötlQó pUffand It ìé J*t ñó sSWPio heat/theinner møurd or the gutermoutd. Second, the inner mould anq outer rtbutcim ybefoithod f:jnte$ thatnsnpflbleb ntrowave heating,: ne ning that even if they areexpo.sed is to microwaves they will npf heat upskzbstantlal(y and will act to cool the heel counter orioe put thirdlc as the inner mould end uter rnouid are:not:slynlflcantly heated (other tila?, $ oortduttion fr the heel douSer or toe put) it Is possible to actively cool the b rroujatdlOr outer mould in otderthatthey can:ptovide better tooling4 QooJfrg of the Inner mould and/or 0*i mQtdd may be carriød t. in any nser ZQ:apparent to the person skilled In the art and will dpend on the materials and construction tf each mould.

If the fritter mould.ati d/c outer msd are cooled it may be beneficial to ma{ntain them at attnpetaturé that will actively cootme:hS ctuntcr*r toe puff at a1liimes That is, $ it may be preferable tt!*t, the inner and/br t moulds a ilhtaIhed, at a teperatre below normal rqqn temperàtur& For exapIe w may be preferable that theinnerandIor outer mould are;rna{ntaindta$tpperafure of 1 O°Cories& Thiniili allow moreaffectlsie cooling oHM heelcounterwtqe piEr! to or near ropmjernperajure after heating hasinished, GeneraHy,, after heating, It will be prefetableto cool t heel towtter'toa temperature betwn tG°C to 30°C and q'toet prBferably about 2(Y'C As w411 be Øener.aIly appreciaed, the' trrie lien to achieve this ing may Spend on a vfletV:of fattors IncludIng, but stoi limited to, whether Th den' ig c 14, whilst: in p'tlon within the' -10-space or.at a separate cooling station., whether the inner and outer moulds are cooled and, the temperature to which the. item was heated, However, in preferred embodiments of the invention it will generally be preferable to cool a heel counter or toe puff for between lOs and.30s,

C

Microwave radiation may be provided or appued in any suitable manner. In preferred embodiments the radiation may be produced by a magnetron with an antenna extending into a suitable region in order to suitably direct the microwaves toheat the heel counter or toe puff. A magnetron with a power between 400W and 1000W and, more preferably between 600W and 800W, wiH generally be sufficient for the method of the present invention..

As an example, a preferred embodiment of the method of the present inve.nttn.wifl be carried out as.follows. A heel counter or toe puff will be positioned in the space defined by an inner mould and an outermould, wherein the inner and outer mould are cooled to a temperature of approximately 5°C. The heel counter will then be compressed using the inner mould and the outer mould in order to form the heel counter into a suitable shape. The heel counter or toe puff will then be heated to a temperature of approximately 80C using microwave heating from a 700W magnetron for about 5s.

The heating will then be stopped and the heel counter or toe puff will be held wfthin the space for 25s to cool the counter to approximately 20'C under the action of the cooled inner mould and outer mould, The heel counter or toe puff will then be removed from the heater.

Any suitable apparatus may be used for carrying out the method of the present invention. However, it may be generally preferable to use. the apparatus of the present invention., as described above, to carry out the method. Further any individual feature of the apparatus of the present invention may be used in isolation or in combination to mplement the method of the present invenLon except where it would be impractical or impossible to do so Further It is to be understood that the method of the present invention may be used to heat a heel counter or toe puff whilst it is attached to other components ala piece of footwear, for example shoe linings and uppers. -11-S

The apparat4s an. mShgd of the present invention may be Petter understood tram the prettied embodirnes that S shown In the drawings and ii descdbedl beb.

Drawings Figure 1 3s a scham,ticdiag$n of a' preferred emb dilte t,, appar tus of tb.

p,resc,bwarjttqn; Pigwe 2 (a a graph showing, tht heating of a heet,,nter using the methed and apparatus otthe'pre'sent'lrwentlon; and Figure 31s a qtap showing the heating of the same heel counter uSing the method of the pribrait A ieel cowiter' he,', 11 according to the app ratue Of' the present invOflfton iS schemataily reps ted in' Figure 1. The heater 1 qornprises an Inner mou 2 an.

outer mOuld 3, a rnagneSt (not shown): a magnetron, antenna 4. a faraday' cage.

and a: spate' defined iiy the inner mould and the' outer'mSd, T, rnSd 2 isfo, add's jnifra Sñd dutig use is rnaiñtafried,at atemperattire of 5°C u*,g. a first cooling means (nOt shown)' The outer moUld S is ftP"' Of neoprene and' Is maintained i, al,,. perature of 5tC sig a second cooling, means (not shown). the' magnetron antenn!, 4 1w positioned to proviøe high densit' appixkttately Unifb'' heating' within the space 6. The magnetron has a power.f 70OW The faraday' cage 5 acts to iontain microwas within the heater' I during operSlon f the magnetron. The heatet I it'siedahd Shaped such that ftall*ws only three modes within the cavity defined by the heater for the microwaves generated y thernagnetron,and emitted from theañtenna 4. The space G'has ariappropriate" to moS, a heel courtter.7 during Operation cif tfte'heater 1., The beater 1 maybe operated acrdiiig'to the method, of the present invention hi fl foligw*g mw,ne' First, the outer moUld 3 is se",atati' from' the inner mould 2 such: that,a beet coqrtter 7 and the cornponen$lo which'lt lflttSh*d, for e'aii. piean upper flnIng,:and. an,vpper ft,,rrrted of syptb${c:tea,heri frIay:ba$i$ned appropriately.the heel cotnter 7 Is then, placet'in the appropriate Position afld!he outet niot$d 3 is rapostho nS ràlatjve to the i'nmr,moud a auch t,,,t th space 6' prppriàteIy coristraStheheelcounterl.Themagnetronis,th,e, tu,ne4 onandthehe,,,lqouriter 1 is heatedtr a period:of.5s.The magnetron J Ii. en turned oft arid the heel counter 7 is retained within the spse 6 and cooled by: the action at the oood Inner mould 2 and outer moUld 3 S a penod, ot2St. Met the tooling period the outS mould is agafr, Separatec from the ltwier mould 2' and the heel countef'7 is removed from the heter t The processmaythen be repeated forfiatherheel counters 7.

The heating and: subsequeitoGoJThg qf a heel oounter 7and the:compnents tewbich it Is attached using the apparatus of Figure 1 *ter the SOs cycle set ott above is illustrated In Fi9ute 2. The heel eounte(7 used in this fl cØe vSlØ s approximateJy fl59: and' is formed ota Ptre of WV, PMMA and Carbon Biatk.'This material is patjct4aysuda*Lefpr microwaveheating. Tlmheetgduntet7 is attachedtoaiuppet flnin and an vppersynthetic Ia her eactr:fonned, of conventional mated,, Is and'wh lob to9e her weigh j2g.

15: AS can vs seen tteatlyln Figure 2,the Inner and outer moulds 2.3 are tn&ntained at, a empetatUre of approximately s°c, :througpioutthe hesitr!g Sfld cooling cycle. The miorowave heatfr'g d the heeF counier 7 raises the tenperatire ofl ecounter from ZO%' at Date 80°c at. about 6s, In contrast, the upper lining only reaches' a rna,Ørnqm temperature of 4OC and the upper syntheS' ather only ceaøi $0' :rflaXlfflL!tfl temperature of about aS°C. This i mafrtjy beo, use these cornpc'nents ae formed of materials that,are not as, susceptible tom1cmwave heating atheiSt countec'7: After 0Sthet!eøl unteris:atatS' petatuttotabout lec afldtt*uppetli gand the: upper synthetic leather arE both at temperatures below 22C and, as a. result further pracessingao be carried out frnmedlató4y. Itis noted that in this specifid example:the: upper Is formed or syrtthetic leather.. However, the apçaratus' and method of the present kwention are, also si4table for ftwear having uppers formed' of other materials includfr, but not Iirntted to natural leather. In expethnentswherete upper' was ttisd' of stura rather than synthetic. leather but that were o'thecwl',. dent1cai t$!uflwl, leather tipper inea: toa peSctempnute of about 43°C in' the time :O ta$øntc raise the coutiterto 9Q°C.

Figure'S show, the heating i,,,, cooling otthe,san,te, heel counter' 7' over a Os cycle using a method' aecordlng, to the prior art, This' heater ijse, for this me,,,od the, same as: the heater I of Figure 1 w*h the e, pt(cqttat t$oe not comprise a magnetron, magnetron antenna 4 or faraday cage. 5. Further, the inner mould comprises heating means for raising the temperature of the inner mou]d and the inner mould is farmed of a conventional thermally conduethie mould material, in the method shown in Figure 3 the heel counter 7 is heated when po&tioned in th:e heater using a heated inner mould 2 that is heated to 120°C Heating is carried out for 30b Cooling is cai ned out by cooing the nner mould 2 to 10°C whilst the heel counter 7 remains in posit ion and is also carried out for 30s. During the heating and cooling ths outer mould is maintained at 20°C.

The temperatures of the various components is illustrated in Figure 3. The heel conter 7 is heated to a maximum temperature of about 66°C, after about 32s, it is then cooled back down to 349C, at 60s. The upper lining reaches a maximum temperature. of more than 100°C and is cooled to below 20°C. The upper synthetic leather is only cooled to 40t but is also only cooled to about 36°C, at 60s.

Compared to the method of Figure 2, the method of Figure 3 has a number of disadvantages First, at the end of a SOs cycle the heel counter 7 ard upper synthetic leather remain significantly above their initial tempeiature of 20°C, which can ninder further processing Ada tionally, the upper lining is heated to above 100°C, which is undesirable but is an inevitable outcome of the conductive heating. A further, and very significant disadvantage of the method of Figure 3 is that a single heafing and cooling cycle takes SOs, which is twice the duration of the heating and cooling cycle according to the present invention shown in Figure 2. Finally, the method.f Figure 3. does not heat the heel counter 7 to the same maximum temperature as the method of Figure 2, which can lead to poorer forming of the heel coubtei 7.. -14-