Method for producing a shoe

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a shoe (1), in particular a sports shoe. In order to be able to produce the shoe economically and in the process to achieve a particularly good wearing comfort, the invention provides the steps of: a) Producing a shoe upper (2), wherein the shoe upper (2) has an upper region (3) that covers the upper region of the wearer's foot and a lower region (4) that encloses the sole of the wearer's foot; b) Producing a sole part (5), wherein the sole part (5) has a bottom region (6) and a lateral wall region (7), wherein the bottom region (6) and the wall region (7) delimit an upwardly open receiving space (8) for bulk material (9); c) Filling the receiving space (8) with a bulk material (9), wherein the bulk material consists at least in part, preferably entirely, of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE); d) Fastening the shoe upper (2) to the sole part (5) such that the lower region (4) of the shoe upper (2) comes to rest on the bulk material (9).

Claims

1. A method for producing a shoe, the method comprising: producing a shoe upper having an upper region that covers an upper region of a wearer's foot and a lower region that encloses a sole of the wearer's foot; producing a sole part having a bottom region and a lateral wall region that extends upwardly from the bottom region, such that the bottom region and the lateral wall region delimit an upwardly open receiving space; filling the receiving space with a bulk material comprising a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE); and fastening the shoe upper to the sole part, such that the lower region of the shoe upper contacts the bulk material, wherein at least one support structure is formed on the bottom region of the sole part, the support structure extending from the bottom region within the receiving space to a distance that is less than a length of the lateral wall region of the sole part, such that a gap between the lower region of the shoe upper and the support structure is filled with the bulk material.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the upper region and the lower region of the shoe upper are formed as a one-piece structure.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the shoe upper is formed as a sock structure.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the shoe upper is produced on a knitting machine.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the upper region and the lower region of the shoe upper are produced as a one-piece knitted part.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the lower region of the shoe upper is formed as a textile knitted fabric with a maximum thickness of 5 mm.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sole part is produced as an injection moulded part.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sole part is produced as a thermoformed part.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the shoe upper is sewn and/or glued to the sole part.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the bulk material comprises spherical or ellipsoidal bodies.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the bodies of the bulk material are formed as hollow bodies.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the dimensions of the bodies of the bulk material in three spatial directions are between 1 mm and 13 mm.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the bodies of the bulk material comprise a foamed thermoplastic elastomer.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the bodies of the bulk material comprise expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), expanded thermoplastic polyamide (TPA), and/or expanded thermoplastic elastomer based on olefin (TPO).

15. A method for producing a shoe, comprising: producing a shoe upper having an upper region that covers an upper region of a wearer's foot and a lower region that encloses a sole of the wearer's foot; producing a sole part having a bottom region and a lateral wall region extending upwardly from the bottom region, such that the bottom region and the lateral wall region delimit an upwardly open receiving space; filling the receiving space with a bulk material; and fastening the shoe upper to the sole part such that the lower region of the shoe upper contacts the bulk material, wherein a support structure is formed on the bottom region of the sole part, the support structure extending from the bottom region and at least partially into the receiving space, such that the lower region of the shoe upper does not contact the support structure, and wherein the support structure defines a plurality of round or polygonal shaped chamber sections.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the bulk material comprises partly individual loose bodies and partly interconnected bodies.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the individual loose bodies of the bulk material are spherical or ellipsoidal bodies.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the individual loose bodies of the bulk material are hollow bodies.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the bulk material comprises a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the interconnected bodies of the bulk material are joined together by microwave welding.

Description

(1) In the drawings an embodiment of the invention is shown.

(2) FIG. 1 shows schematically a shoe upper and a sole part of a shoe, whereby these are not yet joined together,

(3) FIG. 2 shows the finished shoe, in which the shoe upper and the sole as shown in Figure are joined together 1, and

(4) FIG. 3 shows the finished shoe in a section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shoe.

(5) FIG. 1 shows a shoe upper 2 and a sole part 5, which together make up a shoe 1, wherein the two parts 2 and 5 are not yet connected. The designations “top” and “bottom” refer to the intended use of the shoe or when the shoe is standing on the ground.

(6) In the first phase of the production of shoe 1, the shoe upper 2 and the sole part 5 are produced each.

(7) In the case of shoe upper 2, a knitting process is used according to a preferred solution, producing a sock-like structure as shown in FIG. 1. Circular knitting machines, for example, are used here which can produce the entire sock-like structure in one production step. Here, the shoe upper part 2 has an upper region 3 which, among other things, covers the instep of the wearer's foot, and a lower region 4 which, when the shoe is used as intended, lies under the sole of the wearer's foot. The entire shoe upper 2 is designed as a one-piece knitted fabric.

(8) The sole part 5 can be produced by an injection moulding process or by a thermoforming process, for example. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the sole part 5 has a bottom region 6 and a lateral wall region 7, which in this case is formed as a circumferential edge. The bottom region 6 and the wall region 7 form a receiving space 8 which is open at the top.

(9) After the shoe upper 2 and the sole part 3 have been produced (which can be done simultaneously or in any order with a time delay), the receiving space 8 is filled with bulk material 9, which is only indicated in FIG. 1.

(10) As can be seen from the other figures, the bulk material 9 is placed in the receiving space 8 in its entirety and, if necessary, under slight pressure. The shoe upper 2 is then placed on the sole part 3 so prepared and the sole part 5 is connected to the shoe upper 2. This can be done by sewing and/or gluing.

(11) Accordingly, the lower region 4 of the shoe upper 2 now lies directly on the bulk material 9, so that a comfortable walking feeling is created when using the shoe.

(12) Any material is generally used as bulk material 9 (e.g. also sand), while spheres or ellipsoids made of foamed plastic material are preferred; details are given above.

(13) To ensure that the bulk material 9 in the receiving space 8 has a certain stability when it is displaced by the foot of the wearer as a result of the weight force, web-like structures 10 can be formed in the bottom region 6 of the sole part 5. These structures 10 prevent the bulk material 9 from shifting sideways, so that the stability of the shoe and especially of the sole can be increased.

(14) FIG. 3 shows a section through the finished shoe perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L of shoe 1. Here it can be seen that an outer sole 11 has been added below the explained sole part 5, which can be done by gluing it on, for example.

(15) In this figure it can also be seen that the lower region 4 of the shoe upper 2 is relatively thin. The thickness D is indicated, which is preferably maximal 3 mm. This provides a pleasant wearing sensation, as the foot of the wearer of the shoe runs almost like on sand, as the individual particles of the bulk material 9 have no connection to each other.

(16) By selecting the material-specific and geometric parameters (dimensions of the particles of the bulk material, dimensions of the individual areas of the shoe upper and the sole part, choice of material, etc.), it is possible to influence the spring and dampening behaviour of the shoe and especially the sole.

(17) This applies in particular also to the optional selection and design of the web-like structure 10, for which round or polygon-like chamber sections, which are open at the top, can also be provided.

(18) It is not illustrated that inserts may be manufactured and connected to sole part 5 in order to reinforce specific areas of the sole. In this way, special areas of the sole can be provided with greater stability, wherein specifically the supporting function of the shoe and especially of the sole can be influenced.

(19) An advantageous embodiment can look as follows:

(20) Hollow bodies (in particular spheres or ellipsoids) consisting of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) (possibly also expanded TPU) can be used as bulk material, preferably with a diameter between 3 and 15 mm; a diameter range between 5 and 8 mm is particularly preferred.

(21) These hollow bodies can be produced by injection moulding, blow moulding or laser sintering, for example.

(22) The surface of the hollow bodies can be partially open or completely closed. If hollow bodies are closed, they contain air. One of the characteristics of the bodies is that, when compressed, they exhibit a strongly non-linear progression of the deformation force over the deformation. Accordingly, the hollow body can be deformed or compressed relatively easily to a certain extent, and from a certain degree of deformation the resistance to further deformation increases sharply, i.e. it is now more difficult to deform the hollow body further.

(23) This behaviour can be very advantageous for damping systems in the field of sports and here especially for shoe soles (also midsoles or insoles).

(24) The bodies of the bulk material can be transparent.

(25) The hardness of the starting material of TPU hollow bodies is preferably in the range between 70 and 95 Shore A.

(26) The hollow bodies completely regain their original shape after the external force is removed. Mixing with other materials (e.g. PU foam or E-TPU or E-TPE materials) is possible in order to influence the damping properties advantageously. The combination with other materials can be done by a “PU Casting Process”. In this case, for example, it can be provided that the hollow bodies consist of 80% TPU and 20% PU foam as a binder. In particular, a combination with E-TPU or E-TPE material is also possible.

(27) The hollow bodies can be produced by welding or by using microwaves by joining two hemispheres or half-shells together. Circular webs can form at the joint, which can have a positive effect on the stiffness in the desired manner.

(28) While, as shown above, a loose insertion of individual bodies in the form of bulk material is provided for, there is also the possibility in principle that the aforementioned bodies made of the materials mentioned are also at least partially coupled or joined together. In this respect it is possible to create a structure in which a number of bodies, preferably hollow bodies, are joined together, for example by microwave welding.

(29) A similar composite of individual bodies can also be created by embedding the individual bodies, especially hollow bodies, in a plastic foam, especially polyurethane foam, thus creating a structure that can be used to build the sole of the shoe.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

(30) 1 Shoe 2 Shoe upper 3 upper region of the shoe upper 4 lower region of the shoe upper 5 Sole part 6 Bottom region 7 Wall region 8 Receiving space 9 Bulk material 10 Web-like structure 11 Outer sole D Thickness of the lower region of the shoe upper L Longitudinal direction of the shoe