Strobel lasted injected footwear

• US 10,362,835 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2015
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuerst Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fuerst Group, Inc.
• Inventors: Tawney, John, Hamel, Carina, Fuerst, Jr., Rory
• Primary Examiner(s): Kinsaul, Anna K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hall, F Griffin
• Application Number:
  US14/751,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20150374070A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,496 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 1/14 made of plastics A43B1/028 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/38 Built-in insoles joined to uppers during the manufacturing process, e.g. structural insoles; Insoles glued to shoes during the manufacturing process
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/42 Filling materials located between the insole and outer sole; Stiffening materials
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 7/12 Special watertight footwear overshoes A43B3/16
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 9/00 Footwear characterised by the assembling of the individual parts
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 5/00 Eyelets machines for setting eyelets A43D100/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 35/0009 by injection moulding; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 35/04 having multilayered parts

Abstract

Port-injection footwear is provided. In one example, port-injection footwear is provided including a footwear-structure bag encompassing an injected filler material, such as foam. A strobel sock made of stretchable material may be integrated into an insole region of the footwear-structure bag. 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 encompassing an injected filler material, the footwear-structure bag forming an integrated footwear component, where the injected filler material is an injected foam;

a strobel sock of the footwear-structure bag that is made of a first material, the strobel sock forming an insole region of the footwear-structure bag, where the strobel sock is coupled to a second material of the footwear-structure bag by a stitched junction at the insole region that directly attaches the first material of the strobel sock to the second material of the footwear-structure bag, where the first material of the strobel sock is a highly stretchable material, and where the second material of the footwear-structure bag is a minimally stretching material that is different than the first material of the strobel sock; and

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

wherein the stitched junction is a stitch and turn seam including stitches, and wherein the stitches are located within an interior of the footwear-structure bag, encompassed by the injected foam.

2. The footwear article of claim 1, further comprising a foam barrier disposed adjacent to the footwear-structure bag to retain the injected foam within the footwear-structure bag during injection.

3. The footwear article of claim 2, wherein the foam barrier comprises one or more of urethane and waterproofing coating.

4. The footwear article of claim 2, wherein the foam barrier is disposed on an internally facing surface of the footwear-structure bag.

5. The footwear article of claim 2, wherein the foam barrier comprises a first layer disposed on an internally facing surface of the footwear-structure bag and a second layer disposed on an externally facing surface of the footwear-structure bag, and wherein the first layer and the second layer are coupled to one another along the stitched junction.

6. The footwear article of claim 5, wherein the stitched junction comprises one or more of radiofrequency welds, expandable threads, and waterproof sealants.

7. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the first material of the strobel sock has 300-500% stretch.

8. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the injected foam has a hardness of 35-60 Asker C.

9. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the first material of the strobel sock has 4-way stretch.

10. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the footwear-structure bag defines more than one cavity, and where each cavity comprises the injected foam.

11. The footwear article of claim 1, further comprising one or more cutout sections that open through the footwear-structure bag and are configured to expose a foot of an end user of the footwear article.

12. The footwear article of claim 11, further comprising a lining fabric coupled to an internally facing surface of the footwear-structure bag, and bordering the cutout sections, but not on the insole region of the footwear-structure bag.

16. The footwear article of claim 1, wherein the stitch and turn seam comprises an adhesive layer and stitches.

13. A footwear article comprising:

a footwear-structure bag defining a hollow interior cavity, the footwear-structure bag forming an integrated footwear component;

a foam injected into the hollow interior cavity of the footwear-structure bag via an injection port integrally formed on the footwear-structure bag, where the footwear-structure bag includes a body and a strobel sock portion,

wherein the strobel sock portion is made of a 4-way stretch material that is highly stretchable, where the strobel sock portion forms an insole region of the footwear-structure bag and is integrated into the footwear-structure bag via a stitched junction at the insole region which joins the body directly to the strobel sock portion, where the body of the footwear-structure bag comprises a body material that is minimally stretching, the material of the body being less stretchable than the highly stretchable, 4-way stretch material of the strobel sock portion, and where the body material is different than the 4-way stretch material of the strobel sock portion;

a lining fabric coupled to an internally facing surface of the footwear-structure bag; and

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

wherein the stitched junction is a stitch and turn seam including stitches, and wherein the stitches are located within an interior of the footwear-structure bag, encompassed by the injected foam.

14. The footwear article of claim 13, wherein the footwear-structure bag further comprises two or more cavities for receiving the foam, each cavity being fluidically sealed from one another, and wherein each cavity comprises an injection port.

15. The footwear article of claim 13, wherein the foam injected into the hollow interior cavity of the footwear-structure bag via the injection port integrally formed on the footwear-structure bag is hardened.