Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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InIATERPROOF SHOE HAVING STITCH SEAM FOR DRAINAGE IT
BACItGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a waterproof shoe, more
particularly to a waterproof shoe with an inner liner which
is made of a water impervious but vapor-permeable material
disposed inside an upper and which has a bottom open end
stitched to the upper to form a draining seam above the bottom
end of the upper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional waterproof shoes generally include an
outer shell made of a waterproofing material which is
impervious to air and vapor. Such waterproof shoes tend to
cause discomfort to the wearer as ventilation of perspiration
vapors gathered around the wearer's feet is not permitted.
Improvements available in the art for coping with such
perspiration problems include the use of a non-waterproof
material, such as leather or fabric, for the outer shell of
an upper and the use of a sock-like liner, which is made of
a material or laminate impervious to water but pervious to
perspiration vapor, as a protection part for the foot against
water intrusion. In particular, shoe constructions with
such an improvement generally include a sock-like liner which
has a top open end secured to the top open end of an upper,
and a bottom wall seating on and bonded adhesively to a
midsole which is secured to the bottom end of the upper.
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A disadvantage found in such constructions is that water can
seep into the interior of the shoe through the seams of the
shoe and can be trapped in the space between the upper and
the sock-like liner.
Attempts have been made in order to alleviate the
aforesaid water seeping problems by improving the
waterproofing characteristics of the waterproof breathable
shoes . U. S . Patent No . 5 , 678 , 326 suggests an improved shoe
construction which comprises an outer shell connected to an
insole, a waterproof, water-vapor permeable shoe insert
disposed inside the outer shell, and a lining provided inside
the shoe insert . Both of the lining and the shoe insert have
their bottom walls extending between an outsole and an insole,
and are secured to the bottom portion of the upper and to
the outsole and insole by using several layers of adhesive.
As described hereinabove, the prior art addressed the
aforesaid water seeping problem by focusing on improvements
on the waterproofing characteristics of the shoes. The
technical measures taken in the art to enhance the
waterproofing characteristics, however, tend to reduce the
ventilating characteristicsand vapor permeability of shoes.
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U.S. Patent No. 4,599,810 discloses stitchdown shoes
which incorporate waterproof, vapor permeable sock-like
liners and which provide good ventilating property. In the
construction of these shoes, although a stitchdown formed
at the joint of a midsole and an upper permits ventilation,
since a padding, which is typically made of a fibrous or
foamed material, is disposed between the inner surface of
the upper and the sock-like liner, the water penetrating
through the stitchdown can be retained in the padding due
to the water-wicking property of the padding. The wet
padding not only adds weight to the shoe but also reduces
the warmness of the shoe . On the other hand, the sock-like
liner used in this shoe construction has a bottom wall which
seats on a midsole and is secured adhesively thereto. The
need to provide the liner with the bottom wall complicates
the process of making the shoe and increases the consumption
of expensive waterproof, vapor permeable material. The
procedure for securing adhesively the bottom wall of the
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liner to the midsole is also cumbersome and time-consuming.
SUI~'ARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a
waterproof shoe which permits the wearer's feet to breathe
and which has a drain outlet for the water invading the
interior of the shoe.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a waterproof breathable shoe which can be produced via a less
complicated process with reduced consumption of expensive
waterproof breathable material.
According to the present invention, a waterproof shoe
comprises: an upper including a top open end and a bottom
open;end; and a lining sleeve disposed inside the upper, the
lining sleeve having a top open end connected to the top open
end of the upper, and a bottom open end extending along an
inner surface of the upper and ending at a distance from and
above the bottom open end of the upper. The bottom open end
of the lining sleeve is stitched to the upper to form a seam,
and the lining sleeve is made of a material which is
impervious to water but is pervious to perspiration vapors .
Waterproof means is attached to the inner surface of the upper
and the inner surface of the lining sleeve adjacent to and
along the seam so that the water invading the shoe can be
diverted to drain out of the shoe through the seam.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRANINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent in the following detailed description
of the preferred embodiments with reference to the
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accompanying drawings, of which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment
of the waterproof shoe according to the present invention;
Figure 2A is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line
5 2A-2A of Figure 1;
Figure 2B is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line
2B-2B of Figure 1;
Figure 2C is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line
2C-2C of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is the same view as Figure 2A but with the
waterproof tape not extending to the bottom flange of the
upper;
Figure 4 is the same view as Figure 2A but with the bottom
end of the lining sleeve being folded upward;
Figure 5 is the same view of Figure 2A but with the bottom
end of the lining sleeve being folded upward and with the
waterproof tape not extending to the bottom flange of the
upper;
Figure 6 is the same view as Figure 2A but with a more
longer waterproof tape extending to the bottom flange of the
upper;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of
the waterproof shoe according to the present invention; and
Figure 8 shows a different example of the lining sleeve
used in the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to Figures l, 2A, 2B and 2C, a preferred
embodiment of the waterproof shoe according to the present
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invention is shown to include an upper 1 having a toe cap
13 and a counter 14. The toe cap 13 and the counter 14 are
stitched to a quarter section 15 of the upper 1 so that a
seam 30a is formed between the toe cap 13 and the quarter
section 15 and a seam 30b is formed between the counter 14
and the quarter section 15. The toe cap 13 and counter 14
are preferably made of a waterproof material, such as rubber,
PVC, PU or a waterproof leather. The upper 1 has a bottom
open end lasted to form an inwardly turned bottom flange 12 .
A lining sleeve 2 is disposed inside the upper 1 and has a
top open end (not shown) secured to the top open end 11 of
the upper 1 in a conventional manner. The lining sleeve 2
is made of a typical material which is impervious to water
but pervious to perspiration vapors, and may consist of a
shaped single piece, or a plurality of pieces which are
connected together via a stitching process followed by a
watertight sealing process in a conventional manner. The
lining sleeve 2 has a configuration substantially conforming
to the interior of the upper 1 but has a bottom open end 21
which ends at a distance from and above the bottom flange
12 of the upper 1 and which extends along and is connected
to the seams 30a and 30b. As shown in Figure 2B, a portion
of the bottom open end 21 of the lining sleeve 2 extends to
the marginal end of the quarter section 15 which overlaps
the toe cap 13, and is connected to the quarter section 15
and the toe cap 13 along the seam 30a. As shown in Figure
2C, another portion of the bottom open end 21 of the lining
sleeve 2 extends to the other marginal end of the quarter
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section 15 which overlaps the counter 14, and is connected
to the quarter section 15 and the counter 14 along the seam
30b. As shown in Figure 2A, the remaining portions of the
bottom open end 21 of the lining sleeve 2 are stitched to
the quarter section 15 along seams 3 at the medial and lateral
sides of the upper 1. The quarter section 15 has no jointed
overlapping parts at the seams 3 . Note that the bottom open
end 21 of the lining sleeve 2 does not extend below the
intersection of the seams 3 and 30a and the intersection of
the seams 3 and 30b.
A waterproof tape 31 is adhesively bonded to the inner
surface of the upper 1 and the inner surface of the lining
sleeve 2 adj acent to and along the inner side of the stitched
seams 3, 30a and 30b. The bottom end of the waterproof tape
31 extends to the bottom flange 12 of the upper 1. The
waterproof tape 31 serves to prevent the water invading
through the stitched seams 3, 30a and 30b from entering the
interior of the lower part of the upper 1 and divert drainage
of the invading water to the outside of the shoe through the
stitched seams 3, 30a and 30b. The waterproof tape 31 also
provides enhanced waterproofness at the bottom end of the
upper 1.
The bottom flange 12 of the upper 1 and the bottom end
of the waterproof tape 31 are secured to an insole and an
outsole 5 by means of a watertight soling process, such as
injecting or applying an adhesive, etc. A filler 7 is
inserted into an opening confined by the bottom flange 12
of the upper 1 and by the bottom end of the waterproof tape
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31 between the insole and outsole 4 and 5. A waterproof
cover 8 is provided beneath the f filler 7 . A conventional
inner liner 6 which has a shape substantially conforming to
that of the inner surface of the upper 1 is disposed inside
the lining sleeve 2 in a conventional manner in order to
provide comfort and durability. If desired, a foot-like
padding (not shown) may be disposed on a bottom wall of the
inner liner 6 in a conventional manner.
Although the waterproof tape 31 shown in Figure 2 extends
to the bottom flange 12 of the upper 1, the present invention
is not limited thereto. As shown in Figure 3, a waterproof
tape 31' is formed as a strip that does not extend to the
bottom flange 12 of the upper but extends along the stitched
seams 3, 30a and 30b. In this case, the quarter section 15
should be made of a waterproof material so as to ensure that
the lower part of the quarter section 15 below the strip is
waterproof. In place of the waterproof tape 31, 31' a
waterproof coating may be applied to the inner surfaces of
the upper 1 and the lining sleeve 2 in a conventional manner.
Figure 4 and 5 show other embodiments of the present
invention which are substantially similar to those shown in
Figures 2 and 3 except that the lining sleeve 2 has a folded
bottom end 22 which is turned upward and outward and which
is stitched to the upper 1. The folded bottom end 22 can
provide an enhanced waterproofing effect as it effectively
prevents downward flowing of the invading water.
Figure 6 shows another embodiment of the present
invention which is substantially similar to that shown in
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Figures 1-2C except that the bottom end of the waterproof
tape 31" has a dimension greater than that of the bottom
flange 12 of the upper 1. The construction as such permits
saving of the material of the upper and facilitates the
manufacturing process.
Figure 7 shows still another embodiment of the present
invention which is substantially similar to that shown in
Figure 1 except that the bottom end 21 or 22 of the lining
sleeve 2 is stitched to the upper 1 along a seam 3' which
forms a loop that extends from a toe part 13' to a heel part
14' and returns to the toe part 13' from the heel part 14' .
In fabrication, the lining sleeve 2 is first stitched
to the upper 1, and the stitched seams 3, 30a and 30b or the
seam 3' formed as such are subj ected to a waterproof ing
treatment by using the adhesive tape 31 or 31'. Then, the
insole 4 is connected to the upper 1. Finally, the outsole
5 is attached to the upper 1 and the insole 4. The inner
liner 6 is placed inside the lining sleeve 2 in a conventional
manner.
For economical purposes, the cost of the expensive
material of the lining sleeve 2 may be reduced by shortening
the dimension of the upper part of the lining sleeve 2. An
example of the shortened lining sleeve is shown at 2' in
Figure 8 and includes a fabric part 23' stitched to the top
open end of the lining sleeve 2' for connection with the top
open end of the upper 1. The fabric part 23' is made of a
fluid-pervious fabric material.
Since the lining sleeve 2 or 2' is provided with a bottom
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open end, rather than a bottom wall, the bottom open end of
the lining sleeve 2 or 2' can be secured to the upper 1 in
a less complicated manner, and the consumption of the
expensive waterproof vapor-permeable material can be reduced.
5 As compared to the boot construction disclosed in the basic
application of this application, the present invention
provides a simpler construction whose drain outlet is not
limited to the location where the upper and the lower of the
boot are jointed.
10 While the present invention has been described in
connection with what is considered the most practical and
preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention
is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended
to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and
scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all
such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
