Injected footwear

• US 10,016,011 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuerst Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fuerst Group, Inc.
• Inventors: Tawney, John, Hamel, Carina, Fuerst, Jr., Rory
• Primary Examiner(s): Mohandesi, Jila M
• Application Number:
  US13/750,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20130192086A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,992 Days
• Field of Search: 36 87, 36 98, 36 45, 36 47, 36 48, 36 88, 36154, 36 93, 36 3 A, 36 84
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/0295 Pieced uppers
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 7/28 Adapting the inner sole or the side of the upper of the shoe to the sole of the foot
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 9/00 Footwear characterised by the assembling of the individual parts
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 9/02 Footwear stitched or nailed through
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 35/0009 by injection moulding; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 35/142 Soles
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 35/146 Uppers

Abstract

Port-injection footwear is provided. In one example, port-injection footwear is provided including a footwear-structure bag encompassing an injected foam. In some examples, the footwear-structure bag may form an integrated footwear component. The port-injection footwear further may include a foam barrier disposed adjacent to the footwear-structure bag to retain the injected foam within the bag during injection. An outsole may be directly coupled to the footwear-structure bag forming a base of the footwear article. In other examples, the port-injection footwear may include a footwear-structure bag having an injection port, an injected foam retained in the footwear-structure bag, where the injected foam was injected through the injection port, and a port cap positioned at the injection port of the footwear-structure bag.

Claims

1. A footwear article comprising:

a footwear-structure bag comprising a first material, encompassing an injected foam, the injected foam comprising a second material compositionally different than the first material, wherein the injected foam comprises a foam that is injected into the footwear-structure bag, and where at least a portion of the footwear-structure bag has a stretch property that causes the footwear-structure bag to expand when the foam is injected into the footwear-structure bag, the footwear-structure bag forming an integrated footwear component, where at least a portion of the footwear-structure bag extends to an external exterior-facing surface of the footwear article and is integrated within an upper of the footwear article, defining at least a portion of an exterior surface of the footwear article, where the external exterior-facing surface is opposed to an internal foot-facing surface;

a foam barrier disposed adjacent to an outer surface of the footwear-structure bag to retain the injected foam within the footwear-structure bag during injection; and

an outsole directly coupled to the footwear-structure bag forming a base of the footwear article.

2. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the foam barrier is a waterproof coating, wherein the footwear-structure bag is a first footwear-structure bag and the injected foam is a first injected foam, the footwear article comprising a second footwear-structure bag encompassing a second injected foam that has different material properties than the first injected foam.

3. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the foam barrier is coupled to an internal facing surface of the footwear-structure bag.

4. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the foam barrier and footwear-structure bag form a two-layer construction, and where the foam barrier is on an opposite surface of sections of the footwear-structure bag such that the foam barrier is on an internal facing surface of the footwear-structure bag in a first section and on an external facing surface of the footwear-structure bag in a second section.

5. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the integrated footwear component comprises a portion of an upper.

6. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the footwear-structure bag includes a plurality of surface features.

7. The footwear article of claim 6, wherein the surface features include one of a foot-facing feature and an exterior feature.

8. The footwear article of claim 1, further comprising a port cap positioned at an injection port of the footwear-structure bag.

9. The footwear article of claim 8, wherein the port cap is disposed on the exterior surface of the footwear article.

10. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the foam is polyurethane.

11. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the footwear-structure bag forms one of a sidewall and a strap.

12. A port-injection footwear article having an upper and a lower, the port-injection footwear article comprising:

a flexible footwear-structure bag having an injection port and a port cap positioned at the injection port, where at least a portion of the footwear-structure bag extends from an internal foot-facing surface to an external exterior-facing surface of the footwear article; and

an injected foam retained in the footwear-structure bag and comprising a compositionally different material than the flexible footwear-structure bag, where the injected foam is injected through the injection port of the footwear-structure bag into the footwear-structure bag, and is retained within the footwear-structure bag by the port cap by permanently securing the port cap to the injection port after the injected foam is injected into the footwear-structure bag, and where at least a first section of the footwear-structure bag has a first stretch property that causes the footwear-structure bag to elongate as the injected foam is injected into the footwear-structure bag.

13. The port-injection footwear article of claim 12, wherein the port cap is sized to substantially a size of a port injector and where the port cap extends to an exterior surface of the footwear-structure bag.

14. The port-injection footwear article of claim 12, where the footwear-structure bag is a portion of the upper.

15. The port-injection footwear article of claim 12, wherein the footwear-structure bag is configured to extend over a portion of a user'"'"'s foot, and wherein a second section of the footwear-structure bag has a second stretch property that has a different elasticity than the first stretch property.

16. The port-injection footwear article of claim 12, further comprising an outsole, where the footwear-structure bag is coupled directly to the outsole.

17. The port-injection footwear article of claim 12, further comprising a foam barrier adjacent to the footwear-structure bag.

18. A footwear article comprising:

a first footwear-structure bag forming a portion of an upper and having a foam barrier disposed at least partially on an internal-facing surface of the first footwear-structure bag to form an additional layer or coating coupled to the internal-facing surface, where at least a portion of the first footwear-structure bag extends from an internal foot-facing surface to an external exterior-facing surface of the footwear article;

a first injected foam core encapsulated within the first footwear-structure bag, the first injected foam core encapsulated within the first footwear-structure bag via injection of the first injected foam core directly into the first footwear-structure bag via a port, and where the first footwear-structure bag expands as the first injected foam core is injected into the first footwear-structure bag;

a cap permanently secured to the port in the first footwear-structure bag after injection of the first injected foam core into the first footwear-structure bag to retain the first injected foam core within the first footwear-structure bag; and

an outsole directly coupled to the first footwear-structure bag.

19. The footwear article of claim 18, wherein a stitch forms part of an exterior feature and where the stitch extends through the first footwear-structure bag.

20. The footwear article of claim 18, wherein the foam barrier is a waterproof coating.

21. The footwear article of claim 18, further comprising a second footwear-structure bag forming a second portion of the upper.

22. The footwear article of claim 21, wherein the second footwear-structure bag encapsulates a second foam core where the second foam core is a different material than the first foam core.