US20090094865A1

US20090094865A1 - Welted waterproof foot covering

Info

Publication number: US20090094865A1
Application number: US11/870,145
Authority: US
Inventors: Eddie Chen; Phoenix Hsu; Phyllis Chang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-10-10
Filing date: 2007-10-10
Publication date: 2009-04-16

Abstract

A foot covering includes a sole unit, a shell unit, and a welt. The shell unit has a substantially horizontal bottom wall, a peripheral wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall, and a protrusion extending downwardly from the bottom wall and elongated along the peripheral wall. The welt is attached to the sole unit and the shell unit, and has an inner part connected to the protrusion, and an outer part sewn to the sole unit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a foot covering, more particularly to a welted waterproof foot covering.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional waterproof foot covering 10, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,227, includes a rubber outsole 11, a lower enclosing shell 12 made of plastic, and an upper enclosure 13 made of leather or fabric material. A bottom portion of the lower enclosing shell 12 is fixed to the outsole 11. A bottom end of the upper enclosure 13 is connected to a top periphery of the lower enclosing shell 12 so as to define a foot-receiving chamber 14. The outsole 11 and the lower enclosing shell 12 are made of waterproof materials. The outsole 11 has an extension part 111 projecting upwardly from a top periphery thereof so as to extend beyond a junction 15 between the lower enclosing shell 12 and the outsole 11. As such, water may be further prevented from entering the foot-receiving chamber 14 through the junction 15. However, it is difficult to make complicated decorative modifications to an outer appearance of the conventional foot covering 10, so that the conventional foot covering 10 looks monotonous and unattractive.
Referring to FIG. 2, another conventional waterproof foot covering 20 is shown to include an outsole 21, a vamp 22, and a connecting pad 23 having an L-shaped cross section, which are all made of waterproof materials. The outsole 21 has an extension part 211 projecting upwardly from a top periphery thereof and adhered directly to a bottom periphery of the vamp 22. The L-shaped connecting pad 23 is disposed inside the vamp 22 so as to prevent water from entering the foot covering 20 through a crevice 24 between the extension part 211 of the outsole 21 and the bottom periphery of the vamp 22. The L-shaped connecting pad 23 has a bottom side adhered to the outsole 21, and a lateral side adhered to an inner wall of the bottom periphery of the vamp 22. However, since the adhesive bonding area between the outsole 21 and the vamp 22 is reduced, the connection therebetween is not strong and durable.
Still another conventional waterproof foot covering, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,205, includes a plastic web platform molded integrally with a bottom portion of a plastic waterproof shell. The web platform is stitched to an outsole, thereby firmly securing the shell and the web platform to the outsole. Since the web platform is formed integrally with the shell, the material of the web platform is limited to be the same as that of the shell such that the color of the conventional foot covering is monotonous, and the aesthetic quality thereof poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof foot covering that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.
Accordingly, a foot covering of this invention comprises a sole unit, a shell unit, and a welt. The shell unit has a substantially horizontal bottom wall, a peripheral wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall, and a protrusion extending downwardly from the bottom wall and elongated along the peripheral wall. The welt is attached to the sole unit and the shell unit, and has an inner part connected to the protrusion, and an outer part sewn to the sole unit.

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 is a partially sectioned view of a conventional waterproof foot covering disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,227;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of another conventional waterproof foot covering;

FIG. 3 is a partially sectioned view of the first preferred embodiment of a foot covering according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of a sole unit, a shell unit, and a welt of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary assembled sectional view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partially sectioned view of the second preferred embodiment of a foot covering according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary rear sectional view of the second preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that same reference numerals have been used to denote like elements throughout the specification.
Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the first preferred embodiment of a foot covering according to the present invention is exemplified as a boot 100, and is shown to comprise a sole unit 30, a shell unit 40, an upper 60, and a welt 50.
In this embodiment, the sole unit 30 includes an outsole 31, and a thin pad 32 adhered fixedly to a top face of the outsole 31. Alternatively, the sole unit 30 may have the outsole 31 combined with a midsole (not shown).
The shell unit 40 defines a foot-receiving chamber 411, and has a substantially horizontal bottom wall 412, a peripheral wall 410 extending upwardly from the bottom wall 412, a protrusion 413 extending downwardly from the bottom wall 412 and elongated along the peripheral wall 410, a waterproof layer 42 fixed to an inner face of the peripheral wall 410, and a lining 43 covering the waterproof layer 42 and adapted to contact a wearer's foot. The protrusion 413 and the bottom wall 412 cooperatively define a receiving groove 414 for receiving a cushion pad 44 therein. The cushion pad 44 is first adhered fixedly to the bottom wall 412 and the protrusion 413, after which it is adhered fixedly to a top face of the thin pad 32 so as to fix the shell unit 40 to the sole unit 30. The bottom wall 412 has a front portion 401, and a heel portion 402 connected to the front portion 401. In this embodiment, the protrusion 413 forms a loop at the bottom side of the bottom wall 412 along the peripheries of the front and heel portions 401, 402.
An upper 60 is connected to a top portion of the shell unit 40.
The welt 50 is disposed between the shell unit 40 and the sole unit 30, surrounds the loop of the protrusion 413, and extends along the peripheries of the front and heel portions 401, 402. The welt 50 is made of plastic, and has a substantially L-shaped cross section. The welt 50 has an inner part 514 sewn to the protrusion 413 along a first stitch line 52, an outer part 511 sewn to the thin pad 32 of the sole unit 30 along a second stitch line 52′, an upper rib 512 projecting upwardly from the inner part 514 and adhered to an outer face of the peripheral wall 410, and an indentation 513 formed between the inner and outer parts 514, 511.
During attachment of the welt 50 to the protrusion 413 by sewing, the first stitch line 52 penetrates the inner part 514 from the indentation 513 so as to extend through the protrusion 413. The first stitch line 52 extends only into the protrusion 413, and does not extend through the bottom wall 412 and the peripheral wall 410 of the shell unit 40. As such, water cannot seep into the shell unit 40 through the first stitch line 52. After the inner part 514 of the welt 50 and the shell unit 40 are sewn together, the outer part 511 of the welt 50 is sewn to the thin pad 32 through the second stitch line 52′. Afterwards, the thin pad 32 is adhered to the outsole 31. Alternatively, the outer part 511 of the welt 50 may be directly sewn to the outsole 31, dispensing with the need for the thin pad 32.
The advantages of the present invention can be summarized as follows:
1. Because the shell unit 40 and the sole unit 30 are interconnected by bonding the bottom wall 412 to the sole unit 30 through the cushion pad 44 using adhesive and by fastening the protrusion 413 to the sole unit 30 through the welt 50 using the first and second stitch lines 52, 52′, the shell unit 40 and the sole unit 30 have a strong and reliable connection so that the service life of the foot covering of the present invention can be prolonged.
2. The shell unit 40 and the welt 50 are made independently. Hence, the shell unit 40 may have a simple shape that can be formed easily, whereas the welt 50 can be provided with any complicated shape using a suitable mold, or using an existing, commercially available welt product. As such, the production of the foot covering of the present invention is not only easy, but also the production cost is minimized. Further, the foot covering can have a complicated shape and an enhanced outer appearance.
3. Since the shell unit 40 is provided with the protrusion 413, it can be connected with welts of a variety of different configurations.
4. Since the shell unit 40 is provided with the protrusion 413 that extends downwardly from the bottom wall 412 for connection with the welt 50 by sewing, the first stitch line 52 does not extend through the bottom wall 412 and the peripheral wall 410 of the shell unit 40, so that the shell unit 40 has no stitch line that permits water to seep thereinto. A waterproof effect is thus achieved.
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a waterproof foot covering according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown to be similar to the first preferred embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the bottom wall (412II) of the shell unit (40II) is provided with an opening (415II) so as to facilitate assembly of the entire foot covering.
It should be noted that, aside from the aforementioned embodiment, the protrusion 413 of the shell unit 40, 40II may be formed with an integral welt so that the bottom end of the shell unit 40, 40II has an outwardly turned flange and so that the shell unit 40, 40II may have a stitch down bottom construction that can be stitched to the sole unit 30, 30II. As such, manufacturing of the foot covering can be simplified and the time for manufacturing can be reduced.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are 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.

Claims

1. A foot covering, comprising:

a sole unit;

a shell unit having a substantially horizontal bottom wall, a peripheral wall extending upwardly from said bottom wall, and a protrusion extending downwardly from said bottom wall and elongated along said peripheral wall; and

a welt attached to said sole unit and said shell unit, and having an inner part connected to said protrusion, and an outer part sewn to said sole unit.

2. The foot covering of claim 1, wherein said inner part is sewn to said protrusion along a first stitch line, and said outer part is sewn to said sole unit along a second stitch line.

3. The foot covering of claim 2, wherein said welt further includes an upper rib projecting upwardly from said inner part and adhered to said peripheral wall, and an indentation formed between said inner and outer parts, said first stitch line penetrating said inner part from said indentation to extend through said protrusion.

4. The foot covering of claim 2, further comprising a cushion pad disposed between said bottom wall and said sole unit and within a space defined by said protrusion.

5. The foot covering of claim 4, wherein said protrusion forms a loop at the bottom side of said bottom wall.

6. The foot covering of claim 4, wherein said protrusion forms a portion of a loop at the bottom side of said bottom wall.

7. The foot covering of claim 1, wherein said sole unit includes an outsole, and a pad adhered fixedly to a top face of said outsole, said welt being sewn to said pad.

8. The foot covering of claim 5, wherein said welt extends around said loop of said protrusion.

9. The foot covering of claim 6, wherein said welt extends around said portion of said loop of said protrusion.

10. The foot covering of claim 1, wherein said bottom wall is provided with an opening.