Cork outer soled shoes and method for fabrication

Abstract

A process for fabricating shoes having an outer cork sole insert includes processing raw cork into sheets of predetermined thickness, adhering a thin fabric sheet to one side of the intermediate cork sheets, cutting out cork/fabric sole inserts and placing them into an injection mold, and cycling the plastic injection mold so as to form a cork insert into the plastic sole.

Claims

1. A method for fabricating foot wear having a sole with a cork insert for use as a durable, walkable, wearable bottom surface on said foot wear, said method comprising: obtaining cork in raw sheet form; processing the raw sheet in a press; slicing the raw sheets into an intermediate cork sheet of predetermined thickness; adhering a thin fabric sheet to one side of the intermediate cork sheet using an adhesive, pressure roller and high temperature process rendering a cork/fabric sheet having a substantially planar cork surface on a first side and a substantially planar fabric surface on a second side; tracing sole patterns onto the cork/fabric sheet; cutting the sole patterns out of the cork/fabric sheet; inserting the cork/fabric sole pattern into a sole mold positioned with the cork surface adjacent a mold surface to prevent mold material from flowing onto the cork surface of the cork/fabric sheet; closing the mold and executing an injection cycle, wherein the injection cycle produces a finished sole with an outersole surface comprising: a first portion of cork having an exposed surface; a second portion of an injectable material adjacent the exposed cork; opening the mold and removing the finished sole; and wherein, the planar fabric surface is disposed between the first portion of exposed cork and an interior portion of the injectable material that is bonded to the fabric surface; attaching said finished sole to a foot wear upper; and wherein the outersole surface is the wearable bottom surface of the foot wear, and further wherein the exposed surface of the first portion of cork contacts the ground when the foot wear is worn.

2. A method for fabricating foot wear having a cork sole insert for use as a durable, walkable, wearable bottom surface on said foot wear according to claim 1, wherein said foot wear comprises a shoe.

3. A method for fabricating foot wear having a cork sole insert for use as a durable, walkable, wearable bottom surface on said foot wear according to claim 1, wherein said foot wear comprises a boot.

4. A method for fabricating foot wear having a cork sole insert for use as a durable, walkable, wearable bottom surface on said foot wear according to claim 1, wherein said foot wear comprises a sandal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1-3 are various perspective views of cork as the raw material;

(2) FIGS. 4 & 5 are perspective views of cork after pressing;

(3) FIGS. 6-8 are perspective views of the cork after skiving;

(4) FIGS. 9-11 are perspective views of glue being applied to the cork and base fabric;

(5) FIGS. 12-14 are perspective views of the cork layout and cutting process;

(6) FIGS. 15-16 are perspective views of the sole mold;

(7) FIGS. 17-18 are perspective views of the cork layout piece being positioned into the mold;

(8) FIGS. 19-20 are perspective views of the molding process;

(9) FIGS. 21-22 are perspective views of opening the mold after the process; and

(10) FIGS. 23-24 are perspective views of inspecting the newly fabricated sole with a cork exterior.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(11) Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, several perspective views of the raw cork origin material are shown. The sheets of raw material are rough and vary in thickness.

(12) Referring now to FIGS. 4-5, the cork sheets are run through a press.

(13) Referring now to FIGS. 6-8, the court sheets are skived into a desired thickness.

(14) Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, a thin layer of base fabric is applied to one side of the cork sheet. First glue is applied to both the fabric and the cork; then they are pressed together under a heavy metal roller and high temperature. The fabric and cork are now bonded to each other.

(15) Referring now to FIGS. 12-14, the desired sole patterns are marked out on the cork/fabric sheet. Next they are cut out from the sheet. A stamping process may be used for production volumes.

(16) In FIGS. 15-16 the molds are opened, cleaned and prepared to receive the cork soles.

(17) Referring now to FIGS. 17-18, the cork soles are placed into the molds.

(18) Referring now to FIGS. 19-20, the mold is closed and the injection/heating/pressure process begins.

(19) Referring now to FIGS. 21-22, the molding process is complete and the molds are opened.

(20) Referring now to FIGS. 23-24, the finished cork sole inserts are removed from the molds and inspected.

(21) The soles are now ready for attachment to a variety of different style foot wear, boots, sandals or shoes as is known in the art.

(22) Finally, another advantage of my cork outer sole invention has to do with importing foot wear into the United States. Over the last quarter century or more, US domestic shoe manufacturing has been continuously moving off shore due to competition from foreign labor and manufacturing costs; yet the demand for shoes in the US only continues to grow. Therefore millions upon millions of shoes are now imported into the US each year to meet this shortfall.

(23) Importing goods into the US is a specialized process and one important component is complying with US tariffs on goods. The United States International Trade Commission issues the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) which assigns varying tariffs to different goods. Footwear is highly regulated under HTS.

(24) For shoes the HTS tariff varies by certain qualities of the shoe such as materials used for the upper, or materials used for the outer sole. These different classifications have significant economic impact on the shoe as certain HTS schedules for shoes may range from a low of 7.5% to a high of 37.5%.

(25) The HTS classification of my cork outer sole invention would allow an importer to obtain the benefit of lower tariff schedules. For example in both Section 6402 (footwear with uppers of rubber or plastic) and Section 6404 (footwear with uppers of textile material), the tariff depends upon construction materials.

(26) Under Section 6402 (footwear with uppers of rubber or plastic) if the upper shoe is not at least 90% rubber or plastic, then the importer would pay a duty of 37.5%. My cork outer sole would place this shoe into HTS 6405.90.90 (12.5% duty).

(27) Under Section 6404 (footwear with uppers of textile material) there are numerous categories which carry a duty of 37.5%. However, a shoe with my cork outer sole invention, would be classified into either 6405.20.30 (7.5% duty) or 6405.20.90 (12.5% duty).

(28) Thus under the current HTS schedule, my invention provides a tremendous economic benefit to the importer and to the consumer as well.

(29) While the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, various modifications will be apparent to and might readily be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the description as set forth herein, but, rather, that the claims be broadly construed.