US20180303205A1

US20180303205A1 - Method for fixing a decorative member on a vamp of a shoe in a three dimensional manner

Info

Publication number: US20180303205A1
Application number: US15/491,669
Authority: US
Inventors: Jui-Fen Shiao
Original assignee: Dah Lih Puh Co Ltd
Current assignee: Dah Lih Puh Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-04-19
Filing date: 2017-04-19
Publication date: 2018-10-25

Abstract

A method for fixing a decorative member on a vamp of a shoe in a three dimensional manner includes: a step of pressing which includes: preparing a sole mould filled with a semi-cured sole, and a decorative-member mould filled with a semi-cured decorative member, pushing the decorative-member mould against the vamp with the semi-cured decorative members and the semi-cured sole pressed against the bottom surface; and a step of heating which includes: heating the shoe to melt the semi-cured sole and decorative members; the decorative members and the sole will be fully cured.

Description

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vamp of a shoe, and more particularly to a method for fixing a decorative member on a vamp of a shoe in a three dimensional manner.

Related Prior Art

Shoes are indispensable to out daily life. Among them, there is a kind of shoe whose vamp and liner are both made of cloth, which makes the wearer's feet feel more comfortable as compared to other shoes.
Please refer to FIG. 1, the shoe made of cloth mentioned above is made by a method comprising the following steps: 1) placing a non-formed vamp 10 on a flat surface, wherein the vamp 10 includes an upper surface 11, a lateral surface 12 and a bottom surface 13, pressing, by a mould A, a decorative member 14 onto the outer layer; 2) inserting a shoe last into the vamp to shape the non-formed vamp 10 into a desired form; 3) heating the vamp 10 which has been inserted with the shoe last, when temperature reaches 60-120° C., TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) material inside the vamp 10 is cured, and then is solidified into a finished vamp in the shape of the shoe last after the TPU material cools off; 4) connecting a sole to the finished vamp to form a shoe.
It is to be noted that, in the step 1 as shown in FIG. 1, the vamp 10 has a very limited area for pressing since it is formed on a flat surface, and a three dimensional vamp 10 includes the upper surface 11 and the lateral surface 12. FIG. 1 shows that the mould A is pressing against the upper surface 11, wherein the lateral surface 12 is deformed while being pressed. Therefore, it is impossible to press a decorative member 14 on the lateral surface 12 while pressing the upper surface 11 with the mould A, and it has to wait until the pressing of the decorative member 14 onto the upper surface 11 is completed, and the lateral surface 12 is flattened, to pressing the decorative member 14 on the lateral surface 12.
With this method, the decorative members 14 cannot be pressed at one sitting, which complicates the procedures for pressing the decorative members 14. Besides, pressing the decorative member 14 which has been formed and cooled off directly onto the vamp 10 makes it difficult for the decorative member 14 to fit well against the vamp 10, and as a result, the decorative member 14 is more likely to falling off.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY

One objective of the present invention is to provide a method for fixing a decorative member on a vamp of a shoe in a three dimensional manner, wherein the step of pressing decorative members allows the decorative members to be simultaneously pressed onto the upper surface and the lateral surface of the vamp, which substantially reducing shoe manufacturing time.
To achieve the above objective, a method for fixing a decorative member on a vamp of a shoe in a three dimensional manner in accordance with the present invention is provided, wherein the vamp includes an upper surface, a lateral surface and a bottom surface, and the method comprises:
a step of pressing including: preparing a sole mould and a decorative-member mould, wherein the sole mould includes a sole mould cavity and a first abutting surface, the decorative-member mould includes a decorative-member mould cavity and a second abutting surface, filling the sole mould with a semi-cured sole, filling the decorative-member mould with a semi-cured decorative member, pushing the decorative-member mould against the upper surface or the lateral surface of the vamp, with the second abutting surface pressing against the upper surface or the lateral surface to attach the semi-cured decorative members to the upper surface or the lateral surface; pushing the sole mould against the bottom surface with the first abutting surface pressing against the bottom surface to attach the semi-cured sole to the bottom surface; and
a step of heating including: heating the vamp to melt the semi-cured sole and decorative members; the decorative members and the sole are cured when heated to a predetermined temperature.
Preferably, the semi-cured sole and the decorative member are made of a material selected from a group consisting of rigid polyurethane, casting and polyurethane.
Preferably, the sole mould and the decorative-member mould are made of a material selected from a group consisting of polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane and silicon.
Preferably, the sole mould and the decorative-member mould are soft or rigid moulds.
Preferably, in the step of heating, the semi-cured sole and decorative members are heated to 30-80° C. when they are heated to a melted state.
Preferably, the predetermined temperature is 60-120° C.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view illustrating the conventional method for making a vamp;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the step of pressing of the method for fixing the decorative member on the vamp in a three dimensional manner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing the step of heating of the method for fixing the decorative member on the vamp in a three dimensional manner in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the method for fixing the decorative member on the vamp in a three dimensional manner in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative view showing the decorative members in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a photograph showing the decorative members in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart view showing the showing the method for fixing the decorative member on the vamp in a three dimensional manner in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 2-7, a shoe made by the method for fixing a decorative member 40 on a vamp 12 in a three dimensional manner in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises: the vamp 20, a sole 30 and the decorative member 40.
The vamp 20 includes an upper surface 21, a lateral surface 22 connected to the upper surface 21, and a bottom surface 23. The upper surface 21, the lateral surface 22 and the bottom surface 23 define a 3 dimensional shape of a shoe.
The sole 30 is heated by a sole mould 31 and then connected to the bottom surface 23 of the vamp 20. The sole mould 31 includes a sole mould cavity 311 for accommodation of the sole 30, and a first abutting surface 312 for abutting against the bottom surface 23.
The decorative member 40 is heated and connected to the upper surface 21 or/and the lateral surface 22 of the vamp 20 by a decorative-member mould 41. The decorative-member mould 41 includes a decorative-member mould cavity 411 for accommodation of the decorative member 40, and a second abutting surface 412 for abutting against the upper surface 21 and the lateral surface 22 of the vamp 20.
Referring to FIGS. 2-7 again, the method for fixing the decorative member 40 on the vamp 12 in a 3 dimensional manner in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises the following steps:
a step 1 of pressing, as shown in FIG. 2: preparing the sole mould 31 and a plurality of decorative-member moulds 41, there are three decorative-member moulds 41 in this embodiment, the sole mould 31 is filled with a semi-cured sole 30, each of the decorative-member moulds 41 is filled with a semi-cured decorative member 40, the semi-cured sole 30 and the decorative members 40 are made of RPU (rigid polyurethane), CPU (casting polyurethane) or PU (polyurethane); pushing the three decorative-member moulds 41 against the upper surface 21 and the lateral surface 22 of the vamp 20, respectively, with the second abutting surface 412 of each of the decorative-member moulds 41 tightly pressing against the upper surface 21 and the lateral surface 22 to make the semi-cured decorative members 40 attached to the upper surface 21 and the lateral surface 22; pushing the sole mould 31 against the bottom surface 23 with the first abutting surface 312 tightly pressing against the bottom surface 23 to make the semi-cured sole 30 attached to the bottom surface 23. In this embodiment, the sole mould 31 and the three decorative-member moulds 41 can be soft or rigid moulds and are made of PU, TPU or silicon;
a step 2 of heating, as shown in FIG. 3: heating the vamp 20 to melt the semi-cured sole 30 and decorative members 40; the decorative members 40 inside the decorative-member moulds 41 and the sole 30 inside the sole mould 31 will be fully cured when heated to a predetermined temperature, so that the decorative members 40 on the upper surface 21 and the lateral surface 22 become patterns or LOGO, and the sole 30 attached to the bottom surface 23 becomes outsole or heel.
The predetermined temperature is 60-120° C., and the semi-cured sole 30 and decorative members 40 are heated to 30-80° C. when they are heated to a melted state.
It is to be noted that the method for fixing the decorative member on the vamp in a 3 dimensional manner in accordance with the present invention allows the decorative members 40 and the vamp 20 to be formed in the same step. In the step 1 of pressing, a plurality of decorative members 40 can be simultaneously formed on the upper surface 21 and the lateral surface 22, and the sole 30 can also be formed on the bottom surface 23 simultaneously with the decorative members 40. Not only the decorative members 40 can be formed in the same step, but also the sole 30 can be formed in the same step along with the decorative members 40. Or, the sole 30 can also be formed in a separate step from the decorative members 40, so that the step for pressing the decorative members 40 and the step for connecting the sole 30 are simplified.
Referring then to FIGS. 5 and 6, since the method for forming the decorative members 40 is different from the conventional art, the decorative members 40 can be integrally formed with the vamp 20 by starting from the upper surface 21 to the lateral surface 22, which makes the decorative members 40 more variable in shapes and styles than conventional decorative members.
With the method for fixing the decorative member on the vamp in a 3 dimensional manner in accordance with the present invention, the decorative members 40 and the sole 30 can be formed on the upper surface 21, the lateral surface 22 and the bottom surface 23 of the vamp 20 simultaneously in the same step, which simplifies the steps for forming the decorative members 40 and the sole 30, consequently substantially reducing the necessary time for manufacturing shoes.
While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for fixing a decorative member on a vamp of a shoe in a three dimensional manner, the vamp including an upper surface, a lateral surface and a bottom surface, the method comprising:

a step of pressing including: preparing a sole mould and a decorative-member mould, wherein the sole mould includes a sole mould cavity and a first abutting surface, the decorative-member mould includes a decorative-member mould cavity and a second abutting surface, filling the sole mould with a semi-cured sole, filling the decorative-member mould with a semi-cured decorative member, pushing the decorative-member mould against the upper surface or the lateral surface of the vamp, with the second abutting surface pressing against the upper surface or the lateral surface to attach the semi-cured decorative members to the upper surface or the lateral surface; pushing the sole mould against the bottom surface with the first abutting surface pressing against the bottom surface to attach the semi-cured sole to the bottom surface; and

a step of heating including: heating the vamp to melt the semi-cured sole and decorative members; the decorative members and the sole are cured when heated to a predetermined temperature.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semi-cured sole and the decorative member are made of a material selected from a group consisting of rigid polyurethane, casting and polyurethane.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sole mould and the decorative-member mould are made of a material selected from a group consisting of polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane and silicon.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sole mould and the decorative-member mould are soft or rigid moulds.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the step of heating, the semi-cured sole and decorative members are heated to 30-80° C. when they are heated to a melted state.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature is 60-120° C.