Footwear

• US 10,590,572 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2018
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shima Seiki Manufacturing Limited
• Original Assignee: Shima Seiki Manufacturing Limited
• Inventors: Koyabu, Yoshiharu, Shimasaki, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Worrell, Danny
• Application Number:
  US15/880,676
• Publication Number:
  US 20180146736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 1/04 braided, knotted, knitted or crocheted
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/0245 characterised by the constructive form
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/042 Uppers made of one piece one piece slippers A43B3/106; one piece sandals A43B3/124
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 9/00 Footwear characterised by the assembling of the individual parts
• CPC Class Codes: D04B 1/22 specially adapted for knitting goods of particular configuration
• CPC Class Codes: D04B 1/24 wearing apparel
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2403/0332 with gussets folding into three dimensional shape, e.g. seat covers
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2501/043 Footwear
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2501/063 Fasteners

Abstract

Provided is footwear that can simplify joining operation and reduce the time of the operation when a knitted fabric is formed into a three-dimensional shape. There is presupposed footwear obtained by forming a knitted fabric knitted with a flat knitting machine into a three-dimensional shape by joining left and right extended ends of a shoe tongue part and both the left and right positions of a sole in a front end portion of a main part. The footwear includes insertion pieces extended outward in a left-right direction from the left and right extended ends of the shoe tongue part, and insertion holes that linearly extend from both the left and right positions of the sole in the front end portion of the main part toward a heel part side, receive the insertion pieces inserted thereinto, and temporarily retain the insertion pieces.

Claims

1. Footwear obtained by forming one knitted fabric knitted with a flat knitting machine including at least a pair of front and rear needle beds into a three-dimensional shape by joining together joint portions of a knitted fabric,

wherein the knitted fabric includes a shoe tongue part located at a foot-instep side, an instep-side toe part continuous from a front end of the shoe tongue part, a bottom-side toe part continuous from a front end of the instep-side toe part and extending to a sole side, a main part continuous from a rear end of the bottom-side toe part, the main part comprising a sole and both side portions at left and right sides of the sole, and a heel part continuous from a rear end of the main part,

wherein the joint portions of the knitted fabric include a first temporary retainment portion extended by knitting from the shoe tongue part, and a second temporary retainment portion provided by knitting at the main part and temporarily retaining the first temporary retainment portion,

wherein the the first temporary retainment portion is firmly joined by using joining means so that a temporarily retained state in which the joint portions of the knitted fabric are temporarily retained to each other by the temporary retainment portions becomes a firmly joined state,

wherein an insertion piece is employed as the first temporary retainment portion, and an insertion opening is employed as the second temporary retainment portion, and

wherein the insertion piece has a barb that prevents the insertion piece from being released from the insertion opening when the insertion piece is inserted into the insertion opening.

2. The footwear according to claim 1, wherein the insertion piece inserted into the insertion opening is located at a foot-bottom side when the joint portions of the knitted fabric are joined together.

3. The footwear according to claim 1, wherein a thermal fusion yarn is employed as a knitting yarn for knitting at least the joint portions and the first and second temporary retainment portions of the knitted fabric.

4. The footwear according to claim 2, wherein a thermal fusion yarn is employed as a knitting yarn for knitting at least the joint portions and the first and second temporary retainment portions of the knitted fabric.