AN ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR

Abstract

An article of footwear includes an upper assembly having a foot insertion volume with a proximal part and a lateral part that extends from the proximal part and in a vertical direction upwards away from the proximal par. A first layer has a lateral surface and a medial surface. A waterproof and vapor permeable functional second layer has a lateral surface and a medial surface. The second layer is positioned between the foot insertion volume and the medial surface of the first layer. A sole assembly includes an upper facing surface and a ground contacting surface. The sole assembly is connected to the upper assembly. A peripheral part of the sole assembly overlaps a proximal part of the first outer layer and/or the second layer. An attachment member is provided between the first layer and the second layer where the sole assembly overlaps the first layer and the second layer.

Claims

1. An article of footwear comprising: an upper assembly having a longitudinal axis extending from a heel area of the upper assembly towards the forefoot area of the upper assembly, the upper assembly comprising: a foot insertion volume, where the foot insertion volume comprises a proximal part and a lateral part that extends from the proximal part and in a vertical direction upwards away from the proximal part, a first layer having a lateral surface and a medial surface, and a waterproof and vapor permeable functional second layer having a lateral surface and a medial surface, where the second layer is positioned between the foot insertion volume and the medial surface of the first layer, a sole assembly comprising an upper facing surface and a ground contacting surface, where the upper facing surface is connected to the proximal part of the upper assembly and where a peripheral part of the sole assembly overlaps a proximal part of the first outer layer, wherein a part of the proximal part of the upper assembly is formed by an insole, wherein the insole is bonded to the upper facing surface and covers more than 50% of the area of the upper facing surface, and where an attachment member is provided between the first layer and the second layer in an area where the sole assembly overlaps the first layer and the second layer, and the upper facing surface of the sole assembly is bonded to the lower end of the first layer and the second layer.

2. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, wherein the attachment member extends from a proximal end of the first layer and extends along the first layer in a distal direction.

3. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, where the attachment member provides a bond between the medial surface of the first layer and a lateral surface of the second layer.

4. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, where a sole assembly material abuts a proximal end of the attachment member.

5. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, where a proximal end of the second layer extends beyond a material of the first layer in a medial direction.

6. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, where the functional second layer is a single layer of material, or where the functional second layer comprises two or more layers of materials that are provided in a laminate, thereby creating a functional layer assembly.

7. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 6, where a bond between the lateral surface of the second layer provides a waterproof seal between the second layer and the sole material.

8. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, where the upper assembly comprises a connecting layer which is connected to a proximal end of the second layer.

9. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, where the attachment member fixes a position proximal end of the first layer relative to the second layer.

10. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, where the upper facing surface terminates in a lateral end that extends in a radial direction away from a central point of the sole assembly.

11. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first layer is an outermost layer of the upper assembly.

12. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, wherein the sole assembly is injection molded, or where the sole assembly is direct injection expanded foam molded.

13. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, wherein the material of the sole assembly is a polymer material including at least one of a polyurethane (PU), or a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or where the material of the sole assembly is a multi component sole assembly comprising different parts of polymeric materials having different properties.

14. The article of footwear in accordance with claim 1, wherein the attachment member extends continuously along an entirety of a proximal part of the first layer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of an article of footwear, having an upper assembly and a sole assembly, and

[0039] FIGS. 2a and 2b, shows a sectional view of a part of an article of footwear,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of an article of footwear 1, such as a shoe, comprising an upper assembly 2 and a sole assembly 3, where the upper assembly comprises a foot insertion volume 4. The upper assembly 2 comprises a first layer 5 and a second layer 6, where the first layer 5 is the outer layer of the upper assembly 2, and the second layer 6 is positioned between the first layer 5 and the foot insertion volume 4, in a radial direction away from the point A.

[0041] The upper assembly 2 has a proximal part 7 and a distal part 8, where the proximal part abuts the upper facing surface 9 of the sole assembly 3. The sole assembly further has a ground contacting surface 10, which is intended to come into contact with the ground when the article of footwear 1 is worn by a user. In accordance with one or more embodiments the sole assembly may be a midsole, where the ground contacting surface 10 may be an outsole facing surface, in case there is an outsole applied between the midsole and the ground, or any other form for a sole part located between the ground and the midsole. Thus, the term ground contacting surface may be replaced by the term ground facing surface.

[0042] The sole assembly has a medial part 11 and opposing lateral parts 12, where the lateral parts may comprise a lateral wall 13, that extends from the upper facing surface 9 and towards the ground contacting surface 10. The upper facing surface 9 may have a peripheral edge 14 that abuts the outer surface 15 (lateral surface) of the first layer 5, and the part of the upper facing surface 9 that overlaps the first layer 5 may be bonded to the outer surface (lateral surface) 15 of the first layer. The first layer has a proximal end 16 that extends past the peripheral edge 14 of the upper surface, and extends in a proximal direction towards the bottom 17 of the upper assembly, and terminates in an area where the upper assembly 2 and the sole assembly 3 are joined.

[0043] The first layer 5 further comprises a medial surface 18 that faces the foot insertion volume 4 of the upper assembly 2, and a distal end 19. The second layer comprises a lateral surface 20 and a medial surface 21, as well as a proximal end 22 and a distal end 23. The lateral surface 20 of the second layer 6 abuts the medial surface 18 of the first layer 5, where the medial surface 21 of the second layer 6 faces the foot insertion volume 4 of the upper assembly 2. The upper assembly 2 may comprise more than two layers, where a third, fourth or subsequent layers may be provided. The second layer 2 however should be positioned between the foot insertion volume and the outermost layer of the upper assembly, in order to prevent liquids to enter the foot insertion volume.

[0044] As may be seen in FIG. 1 the proximal end 16 of the first layer 5 may extend a shorter distance along the upper facing surface 9 in a direction towards the distal part 8 of the upper assembly 2, than the proximal end 22 of the second layer 6. In an area where the first 5 and the second layer 6 overlap, at a position where the peripheral edge 14 of the sole assembly 3 also overlaps the first 5 and the second layer, the upper assembly is provided with an attachment member 24. The attachment member 24 is adapted to attach the proximal part of the first layer 5 to the second layer 6, so that the attachment member 24 provides a mechanical anchor to the first layer 5, prior to the attachment of the sole assembly 3. The proximal end 22 of the second layer 5 extends along the upper facing surface 9, where the proximal end 22 of the second layer 6 is closer to the bottom 17 of the upper assembly 2 than the proximal end 16 of the first layer 5. This difference in positioning of the first 16 and second proximal ends 22 of the first 5 and the second layer 6 means that the upper facing surface 9 of the sole assembly 3 is attached to the lateral surface 20 of the second layer 6, and possibly the proximal end 22 of the second layer 6.

[0045] The area where the upper facing surface 9 is attached to the second layer 6 is an area where the upper assembly 2 may be bonded to the sole assembly 3, where the attachment may be a waterproof attachment. This means that if a fluid may e.g. penetrated the first layer 6, and the fluid may enter into an area where the proximal end 14 of the sole assembly overlaps the first 5 and the second layer 6, the fluid will be prevented to pass in a medial direction (towards the centre of sole assembly) by the attachment between the sole assembly 3 and the second layer 6. I.e. the attachment will provide a waterproof barrier so that a fluid cannot pass in a medial direction beyond the attachment, ensuring the fluid cannot pass beyond the proximal end 22 of the second layer, and enter the foot insertion volume 4 of the upper assembly. Thus, the attachment between the sole assembly 3 and the second layer 6 provides a waterproof bond between the two layers. This waterproof bond may be provided in any suitable way, where the sole assembly in one example may be adhered directly to the second layer, where the adhesive is waterproof and prevents fluid to pass.

[0046] FIG. 2a shows an example of an article of footwear in accordance with the description, where the sole assembly 3 is injection moulded to the upper assembly 2. FIG. 2a shows the upper assembly 2, prior to the application of the sole assembly, where a last 25 has been introduced into the foot insertion volume 4 (shown in FIG. 1) of the upper assembly. The medial surface 18 of the first layer 5 is attached to the lateral surface 20 of the second layer 6, via an attachment member 24. The proximal end 22 of the second layer 5 is attached to a connecting portion 29, where the connecting portion 29 may be attached to the proximal end 22 of the second layer 5 along the entire periphery of the second layer 5, in order to provide an anchor for the second layer, ensuring that the proximal end 22 does not move in the direction of axis A when a last 25 has been introduced into the foot insertion volume 4, and to maintain the position of the second layer during use and prior to the attachment of the sole assembly 3. The attachment between the connecting layer 29 and the second layer may e.g. be made via a stitching 26, e.g. a strobel stitch. The attachment member 24 ensures that the position of the proximal end 16 of the first layer 5 is maintained in its position, when the last 25 is introduced into the foot insertion volume 4, so that the proximal end 16 does not move in the direction of the axis A (upwards or downwards) when the last stretches out the first layer, the second layer 6 and the connecting portion 29.

[0047] Prior to the injection moulding of the sole assembly 3, the positioning of the proximal end 16 of the first layer ensures that at least part 27 of the lateral surface 20 of the second layer 5 is exposed to its surroundings, as well as the distal surface 30 of the connecting portion 30 and at least part 28 of the lateral surface of the first layer 5. This means that when the proximal part of the upper assembly is positioned inside a mould (not shown), and the mold is closed towards the lateral surface 18 of the first layer 5, the moulded material can come into direct contact with the lateral surface 18 of the first layer 5, the lateral surface 22 of the second layer 5, as well as the distal surface 30 of the connecting portion.

[0048] The result of the application of the sole assembly 3 is shown in FIG. 2b, where the last 25 has been removed, and the sole material 33 has been bonded to the upper assembly 2, to create a seal 28 between the lateral surface 27 of the second assembly and the sole material 33, preventing that liquids can pass in the direction B, and ensuring that the foot insertion volume is maintained dry, even though water may pass beyond the peripheral edge 14 of the sole assembly 3, as the water cannot pass the seal 28. The inner seal may extend upwards (distal direction) along the medial surface 21 of the second layer, ensuring that liquids cannot pass the inner seal 34 in a direction towards the foot insertion volume. The seal 28 may extend along the entire circumference of the proximal end 22 of the second layer 6, ensuring that liquids cannot pass into the foot insertion volume 4.

Items

[0049] 1. An article of footwear comprising [0050] an upper assembly having a longitudinal axis extending from a heel area of the upper assembly towards the forefoot area of the upper assembly, the upper assembly comprising [0051] a foot insertion volume, where the foot insertion volume comprises a proximal part and a lateral part that extends from the proximal part and in a vertical direction upwards away from the proximal part, [0052] a first layer having a lateral surface and a medial surface, [0053] a waterproof and vapour permeable functional second layer having a lateral surface and a medial surface, where the second layer is positioned between the foot insertion volume and the medial surface of the first layer, [0054] a sole assembly comprising an upper facing surface and a ground contacting surface, where the upper facing surface is connected to the proximal part of the upper assembly and where a peripheral part of the sole assembly overlaps a proximal part of the first outer layer and/or the second layer, [0055] where an attachment member is provided between the first layer and the second layer in an area where the sole assembly overlaps the first layer and the second layer. [0056] 2. An article of footwear in accordance with item 1, wherein the attachment member extends from the proximal end of the first layer and extending along the first layer in a distal direction. [0057] 3. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, where the attachment member provides a bond between the medial surface of the first layer and a lateral surface of the second layer. [0058] 4. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, where a sole assembly material abuts a proximal end of the attachment member. [0059] 5. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, where the proximal end of the second layer extends beyond the material of the first material in a medial direction [0060] 6. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, where the upper facing surface of the sole assembly is bonded to the lateral surface of the second layer. [0061] 7. An article of footwear in accordance with item 6, where the bond between the lateral surface of the second layer provides a waterproof seal between the second layer and the sole material. [0062] 8. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, where the upper assembly comprises a connecting layer which is connected to a proximal end of the second layer. [0063] 9. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, where the attachment member fixes the position proximal end of the first layer relative to the second layer. [0064] 10. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, where the upper facing surface terminates in a lateral end (edge) that extends in a radial direction away from a central point of the sole assembly. [0065] 11. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, wherein the first layer is an outermost layer of the upper assembly. [0066] 12. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, wherein the sole assembly is injection moulded, optionally where the sole assembly is direct injection expanded foam moulding. [0067] 13. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding items, wherein the material of the sole assembly is a polymer material, optionally a polyurethane (PU), optionally a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or a multi component sole assembly comprising different parts of polymeric materials having different properties. [0068] 14. An article of footwear in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment member extends continuously along the entire proximal part of the first layer.