EP0785735B1 - Waterproofing process for the sole area of shoes - Google Patents

Abstract

A process which serves to seal and waterproof the outsole-side end area of a waterproof shoe shaft and/or to pad the outsole-side end of a shoe by putting a liquid, curable, filling material into the space between the insole and outsole is described. The outsole is provided with an input opening for putting in the filling material. The outsole is adhered to the shaft only in a circumferential area and in such a way that the outsole-side end area of the shaft remains unadhered. The liquid filling material is put in through the input opening, between the insole and the outsole, from where it flows into the outsole-side end area of the shaft due to its good flowability. The liquid material contains polyurethane precursor ingredients which react to form a foam polyurethane.

Description

The invention relates to a method for waterproof sealing the end area of a waterproof shoe upper on the outsole side and / or for cushioning cushioning on the outsole side of a shoe with glued outsole by introducing liquid, curable and waterproof filling material. EP-A-0 555 742 describes the production of foam molded articles Known polyurethane foam.

In the case of waterproof shoes, the seal on the outsole side proves End area of the shoe upper as particularly problematic. This is especially true for waterproof, breathable shoes whose Upper with an air and water permeable upper material, such as textiles Material or leather, and a waterproof and water vapor permeable and thus having a breathable functional layer Lining is built up.

In the conventional lasting method, in which an insole attached to a last and an outsole end portion of the The upper of the shoe is struck over a peripheral edge area of the insole and being glued to the insole are many process steps required and problems with sealing occur in the gusset area on. To make such tweaked shoes you have to first Coat the circumference of the insole with an adhesive. The Tweaking is then carried out in three zones and phases. First the toe, then the side area and finally the Glued heel area. After each of these gluing operations you have to wait until the adhesive has developed sufficient adhesive properties. After the three adhesive phases have been completed, the adhesive is activated again softened the transitions between the individual adhesive zones balance. This is to prevent that at the zone transitions insufficient adhesive spots remain where water could penetrate.

As with other manufacturing processes, there is also a lasting process the transition from the lining to the upper material on the outsole in particular endangered for the formation of water bridges. Often in pince-nez Adhesive gaps will appear through which water can penetrate after the gusset bond, a full-surface adhesive layer to be on the safe side applied, by means of which gussets securely sealed should be.

The waterproof, breathable lining is preferably a four-layer lining Laminate used. This shows one lining in turn, one Plastic foam, a functional layer, preferably in Form of a membrane made of stretched and thus microporous Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and a side in the form of a textile Reinforcement of the functional layer. For a waterproof bond enable the functional layer over the glue to the insole, the functional layer in the gluing area is sharpened exposed. With this sharpening the feed and the Foam removed. The foam gives a certain tolerance to to be able to remove the feed from the functional layer without the functional layer to damage. Just for such a damage-free one The entire lining laminate is included to enable the sharpening process provided with a foam layer.

The need to coat the entire feed with a layer of foam, makes the lining laminate more expensive. Brushing with glue Zone-wise gluing and the subsequent full-surface coating Using glue to seal the gusset pleats requires expensive, manual Handicraft and requires long downtimes on the last. Therefore These process steps not only lead to considerable shoe manufacturing costs, but the production throughput, that is, the pro Time unit to produce shoes does not meet the expectations for mass production processes.

One has such problems with one from one's own DE 37 12 901 C1 known method overcome, in which to the bottom of the an injection mold is attached to the circumference of the insole , which is a sealing lip arrangement that stands up to the gusseted shaft area has a contour corresponding to the insole circumference contour having. With this injection mold, liquid, curing sealant in the seal lip assembly limited area sprayed. During the pinching process, an inner Edge area of the lasting fold kept unglued. This can the sealing material when injecting it using the injection mold Seal the inner edge area of the lasting fold.

This known spray sealing process has turned out to be technically quite good proven. It leads to shoes with high security of water resistance. However, it requires costly investments from the shoe manufacturer, because he has to buy an appropriate spraying machine.

There is often a need for cushioning on the outsole side a shoe so that when walking or calling the appearance is padded becomes.

With the present invention, a method is created which such a seal with sealant on much simpler and cheaper method achieved and / or to an outsole side cushioning padding of the shoe leads.

This is done with a method specified in claim 1 Type achieved that further developed according to claims 2 to 18 can be. The invention also makes a shoe appropriate Claim 19 available, which according to claims 20 to 28 can be trained.

You need to carry out the method according to the invention only the outsole and / or the insole with an insertion opening for the filler serving hole and one a syringe could even be more common for filling material Kind, for example, of how to seal joints in bathrooms is used, use. For the serial production of shoes you can easily automate the spraying process. Because of the Sealing by means of the filling material also requires the effort for this Pinching is no longer as big as the conventional one Lasting process. The method according to the invention therefore allows one considerable cost reduction as well as an extensive or complete Automation of the shoe manufacturing process.

The polyurethane foam used according to the invention has a high Creeping ability and high adhesiveness, so that a good Sealing effect is ensured. This foam foams almost without pressure and you can put it in the liquid state without pressure Insert a cavity between the insole and the outsole, e.g. B. depressurized let it run in. Therefore, it comes up even without back pressure Insole and / or outsole to expand the Foam into all cavities without the insole and / or the outsole to deform. Because of this property, the filling material allows large cavity tolerances with respect to that to be filled with the filling material Cavity.

When introducing the liquid reaction mixture hardening to the filling material the shoe can be positioned so that the outsole points upwards so that the reaction mixture is still highly creepable liquid state first the problem areas at the edge of the Insole wets and the foaming process starts from there. In In this case, liquid, not yet foamed (not yet first) into the areas to be sealed. In the case the presence of a functional layer with a textile backing better penetrated by the not yet foamed filling material as from already foamed filling material. The functional layer is therefore better sealed by not yet foamed filling material.

One can the reaction mixture before the foaming and curing process add further components, for example around the filling material antistatic. You can also fill the material electrically Add conductive particles. In conjunction with an insole, the a hole or zone of electrical through its thickness has conductive material, electrostatic charge from Foot of the user of the shoe to be passed to the outsole Addition of electrically conductive particles is also electrically conductive can be made. So that the foot of the user of the Shoe "grounded". One can before the filling material is introduced at least one prefabricated insert between the insole and the outsole insert that from the introduced sealing material is fixed. The insert can be, for example, a metal plate act on the penetration of nails into the shoe interior to prevent. The insert can also be equipped with air cushions Midsole or a cushioning material. With the insert it can also be an electric battery to To supply shoe-mounted lamps with electrical energy. Means Filling material becomes such inserts in the desired position fixed.

A polyurethane foam that foams almost pressure-free means in mind of claim 1, that little or no external pressure from the foam is exerted on its surroundings. It is internal There is pressure that allows foaming, but after no or only very little pressure effect on the outside. Here the foaming process does not cause the cavity to expand between the insole and the outsole. Preferably the outsole is only glued to the shaft in a peripheral region such that the outsole-side end region of the shaft with the outsole remains unglued. As a result, gussets are closed. On the other hand, filling material penetrates into the upper of the Shaft and removes its water conductivity in this area of the shaft.

It is particularly advantageous to have the outsole in an inside Edge area of the lasting fold with the middle area to equip at least one cavity open towards the insole. This cavity is filled with filler material. Because the filler this measure is much lighter than the outsole material to reduce the overall weight of the shoe.

The filling material can also be used for cushioning on the outsole side between insole and outsole. This is independent whether it’s a waterproof shoe or not. in the In the case of a waterproof shoe, the filling material can also be used Take over the function of waterproof sealing material. Such Padding has the advantage that no padding inserts in according to the different shoe sizes and shoe shapes Sizes and shapes made and kept in stock Need to become.

The inventive method is not only suitable for shoes that with a lasting process. It is suitable wherever the best possible seal between the upper and the lining on the one hand and between lining and insole on the other hand in the area of Connection of upper and insole and / or a good outsole side Upholstery should be ensured.

Especially when using the lasting method, it is advantageous, the lining at the outsole end at least the same length like the upper or with a protruding over the upper Protrusion, preferably in the range of about 3 mm to cut. It is also possible to have the upper and lining in theirs end regions on the outsole side not to be glued together, so that the sealing material in the process of being introduced into these end areas can penetrate between the upper and the lining.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention The following steps are carried out for a waterproof shoe from:

On the one hand, an insole is attached to a last. On the other hand the upper and the lining are joined together at the upper end of the shaft sewn. The upper material is at their outsole-side ends and the feed on the same length or with an overhang of the Feed cut over the upper material preferably of about 3 mm.

The upper and lining are in the lasting area glued together. The lasting area of the upper and of the glued food is pinched onto the insole. With An outsole provided with an insertion opening, with the exception of one preferably about 0.5 cm free end portion of the lasting fold in love with the outsole end of the shaft. Preferably with the outsole pointing upwards, it then passes through the insertion opening between the insole, the outsole, the filling material brought in. The insertion opening can be made using a sealing plug be closed.

An insole opening for injecting a curable material to use is known per se from US-A-2 607 061. The insole opening turns an adhesive into an axial one Middle channel of a high heel injected to the heel on the Glue on the shoe.

Fig. 1

einen Längsquerschnitt durch einen erfindungsgemäßen Schuh;

Fig. 2

eine Draufsicht von unten auf eine Brandsohle und einen Zwickbereich eines mit einem Obermaterial und einem Futterlaminat aufgebauten Schaftes.

The invention will now be explained in more detail by means of embodiments. The drawings show:

Fig. 1

a longitudinal cross section through a shoe according to the invention;

Fig. 2

a bottom view of an insole and a crotch area of a shaft constructed with an upper and a lining laminate.

1 shows a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a shoe 11 according to the invention, which has a shaft 13, an insole 15, an outsole 17 with an insertion opening 19 and a sealing material 21 located between insole 15 and outsole 17. The sealing material 21 is formed by the filler material according to the invention and can also have an additional cushioning function. The shaft 13 is constructed with an upper material 23 and a lining laminate 25. The lining laminate 25 has a waterproof, water vapor-permeable functional layer, preferably made of stretched and thereby becoming microporous PTFE, on the side pointing towards the upper material 13, a backing made of textile reinforcement material and a lining layer on the opposite side. The individual layers of the lining laminate 25 are not shown in the drawings. In the toe area and in the heel area of the shoe 11 there are a front cap 27 and a rear cap 29 made of material stiffening the shoe between the upper material 23 and the lining laminate 25.

Fig. 1 shows a shoe which has been produced using a lasting method. For this purpose, an outsole-side crotch region 31 of the shaft 13 is wrapped or pinched around an insole circumference region and is in love with the insole circumference region 33 by means of a lasting adhesive 35. At the free end of the gusset area 31, the upper material 23 and the lining laminate are either cut to the same length as shown in the toe area of the shoe, or the lining laminate is cut with a protrusion over the upper material of, for example, about 3 mm, as shown in FIG. 1 is shown for the rear cap area.

The outsole 17 is in love with the upper material of the outsole-side end region of the shaft 13 such that an end region 37 of the lasting region 31 remains free of the adhesive 41 used to adhere the outsole 17. The adhesive 41 is symbolically represented in FIGS . 1 and 2 by crosses drawn in the outsole area. In reality, of course, the adhesive 41 is located between the outsole 17 and the upper 13. The sealing material 21 fills a space in a ball area 39 between the central region of the outsole 17 not in love with the upper 13 and the central region of the insole 15 which is not covered by the lasting fold.

According to one embodiment, the manufacture of such a shoe proceeded as follows:

The upper 23 and the lining laminate 25 are removed from the outsole 17 remote upper end region of the shaft 13 with each other sewn. At the outsole end of the shaft 13, the lining laminate 25 cut to the same length as the upper 23 or with a protrusion of about 3 mm over the upper material 23. The lining laminate 25 is in the lasting area or lasting weft 31 a width of about 2 cm glued to the upper material, the inner end region of the lasting fold 31 can remain unglued. It becomes an insole 15 made of leather or a leather-like material made of synthetic fiber or cotton attached to a last. Of the The entire outsole-side end region of the shaft 13 is then around Knocked over the last and using a standard lasting adhesive 35 pinched on the insole 15. Instead of the sticking process a lasting process can also be used, in which the Upper attached to the insole with nails at least in the heel area becomes.

After the shaft 13 has been tweaked, the upper material 23 is im Area of the lasting fold 31 roughened and any folds of the lasting impact 31 in particular in the toe and heel area equalized by grinding. The lasting flap is then with commercially available Sole adhesive 41, depending on the material of the outsole, coated in such a way that about 0.5 cm of the end region of the Last impact 31 remain free of sole adhesive 41. Besides, will Sole adhesive 41 on a correspondingly wide edge area of the outsole 17 applied. The ball area 39, which is within the The inside edge of the crotch area 31 is thus not glued.

The outsole 17 has, for example, in the region of the joint, i. i.e., between the footprint in the forefoot and the heel, a hole as an insertion opening 19 on. This hole can also be in any other place of the Outsole 17 and / or insole 15, since that is the sealing material 21 curing reaction mixture due to its high Creep ability regardless of the position of the hole the entire Fills cavity between insole 15 and outsole 17. By this insertion opening 19 is the completion of the shoe 11 that Introduced sealing material 21 which fills the ball area 39, preferably with the outsole facing upwards. After that the Insertion opening 19 sealed, for example by means of a not shown Sealing plug. The insertion opening 19 can also before The reaction mixture is sealed by means of a valve plug be, the introduction of the liquid in a known manner Reaction mixture allowed and then from the hardening sealing material is closed on the inside.

Due to its creeping ability in the liquid state, the sealing material arrives in all existing folds and channels of the lasting fold 31 in the unpopular part of the lasting impact 31 and to Part in the structure of the upper to seal these areas.

1 shows two possible designs: in the shoe tip area, one possible design is shown in which upper material 23 and lining laminate 25 are cut to the same length in the lasting fold 31; In the heel area, a possible embodiment is shown in which the lining laminate 25 has a protrusion in the lasting fold 31 over the upper material 23.

2 shows the example of an embodiment in which the lining laminate 25 projects beyond the upper material 23 in the lasting fold 31.

• Einfacher, automatisierbarer Herstellungsablauf;
• Herstellungsverfahren paßt gut zu den Produktionsbedingungen einer Massenfertigung;
• das Verfahren ist bei dem Schuhhersteller ohne große Investitionen realisierbar;
• das Verfahren reduziert nicht die Produktionskapazität, da es nicht zeitintensiv ist;
• es ist kostengünstiger als bestehende Verfahren;
• durch das Auffüllen des Ausballbereichs mit Füll- oder Dichtungsmaterial ergibt sich ein Stoßdämpfungseffekt im gesamten Sohlenbereich;
• das Verfahren ist einsetzbar für alle Arten und Stärken fertig konfektionierter Sohlen.

The following advantages can be achieved with the method according to the invention:

• Simple, automatable manufacturing process;
• Manufacturing process fits well with the production conditions of mass production;
• the method can be implemented by the shoe manufacturer without large investments;
• the process does not reduce production capacity because it is not time consuming;
• it is less expensive than existing processes;
• filling the ball area with filling or sealing material results in a shock absorption effect in the entire sole area;
• the process can be used for all types and thicknesses of ready-made soles.

An embodiment of the invention is particularly preferred in which the polyurethane foam polyol, preferably a polyether or Polyester polyol with an OH number of 86 and isocyanate contains an NCO content of 20.7 percent in one mixing ratio by weight of polyol and isocyanate of 100: 33.

The OH number, the NCO content and the mixing ratio can but also in the areas according to claims 1, 3, 6 and / or 7.

Claims (28)

1. A process for waterproofing the end portion of a waterproof shoe upper (13) on the side of the outsole and/for padding a shoe (11) with glued outsole (17) on the side of the outsole by introduction of waterproof and/or padding filling material (21) in a liquid, hardenable state,
   characterized in

   a) that the filling material used is a reaction mixture capable of foaming to polyurethane foam almost without pressure and with high fluidity in the still liquid state and with high adhesive power, said foam being formed by cross-linking using polyol with an OH number in the range from approx. 60 to 280 and isocyanate with an NCO content in the range from approx. 15 to 25,

   b) that the outsole (17) and/or the insole (15) is provided with a filling hole (19) at at least one location disposed inside of the region confined by the end portion of the upper (13),

   c) and in that the filling material (21), in the still liquid state, is introduced through said at least one filling hole (19) between the insole (15) and the outsole (17), from where the filling material due to its high fluidity flows into the end portion of the upper (13) on the side of the outsole.
2. The process of claim 1,
   characterized in that the polyurethane foam used is a polyether polyurethane foam and/or a polyester polyurethane foam.
3. The process of claim 1 or 2,
   characterized in that polyol with an OH number in the range from approx. 70 to 250 and isocyanate with an NCO content in the range from approx. 16 to 23 are used for the polyurethane foam.
4. The process of claim 3,
   characterized in that polyol with an OH number of 86 and isocyanate with an NCO content of 20.7 are used for the polyurethane foam.
5. The process of any of claims 4,
   characterized in that a polyurethane foam provided with antistatic properties is used.
6. The process of any of claims 1 to 5,
   characterized in that polyol and isocyanate are used in a mixing ratio by weight in the range from approx. 100:20 to approx. 100:100.
7. The process of claim 6,
   characterized in that polyol and isocyanate are used in a mixing ratio by weight in the range from 100:25 to approx. 100:50.
8. The process of claim 7,
   characterized in that polyol and isocyanate are used in a mixing ratio by weight of approx. 100:33.
9. The process of any one of claims 1 to 8,
   characterized in that the outsole (17) is glued to the upper (13) only in a circumferential portion such that the end portion of the upper (13) on the side of the outsole remains unglued to the outsole (17).
10. The process of any one of claims 1 to 9,
    characterized in that the insole (15) is glued to the upper (13) only in a circumferential portion such that the end portion of the upper (13) on the side of the outsole remains unglued to the insole (15).
11. The process of any one of claims 1 to 10,
    characterized in that each filling hole (19) upon introduction of the filling material (21) is closed by a sealing plug.
12. The process of any one of claims 1 to 11,
    characterized in that the outsole (17) has at least one cavity which is located in a central portion inside of the lasting allowance (31) and is open towards the insole (15) and which is filled with filling material upon introduction of the still liquid filling material.
13. The process of any one of claims 1 to 12,
    characterized in that, prior to introduction of the still liquid filling material (21), at least one prefabricated insert is inserted between insole (15) and outsole (17), with said insert being fixed by the introduced filling material (21).
14. The process of any one of claims 1 to 12,
    characterized the shoe upper (13) is composed with an air and water permeable outside material (23) and a lining (25) having a waterproof, vapour-permeable functional layer, and in that the lining (25), at the end on the side of the outsole, is cut at least as long as the outside material (23) or with a length projecting beyond the outside material (23).
15. The process of claim 14,
    characterized in that the outside material (23) and the lining (25) are not connected to each other in their end portions on the side of the outsole, so that the filling material (21), during introduction thereof into these end portions, may penetrate between outside material (23) and lining (25).
16. The process of any one of claims 1 to 15,
    characterized in that electrically conductive particles are mixed into the filling material (21) and in that the insole (15) is provided with a hole or with a zone of electrically conductive material.
17. The process of any of claims 14 to 16,
    characterized by the following steps:

    (a) an insole (15) is attached to a last;

    (b) the outside material (23) and the lining (25) are sewn to each other at the top end of the upper;

    (c) the outside material (23) and the lining (25), at the ends thereof on the side of the outsole, are cut to the same length or with a projecting length of the lining (25) beyond the outside material (23) of approx. 3 mm;

    (d) the outside material (23) and the lining (25) are glued to each other in the region of the lasting allowance;

    (e) the lasting allowance region of the outside material (23) and of the lining (25) glued thereto are attached to the insole (15);

    (f) the outsole (17) is provided with a filling hole (19);

    (g) the outsole (17) is glued to the end of the upper (13) on the side of the outsole, except for the free end portion of the lasting allowance (31);

    (h) the filling material (21) is introduced between the insole (15) and the outsole (17) through the filling hole (19).
18. The process of any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the filling material (21) is introduced into the shoe (11) with the outsole thereof being directed upwards.
19. A shoe comprising an upper (13), an insole (15), an outsole (17), and a filling material (21) introduced between insole (15) and outsole (17) for waterproofing the end portion of the upper (13) on the side of the outsole and/or for padding the shoe (11) on the side of the outsole,
    characterized in
    that the upper (13) is glued to the outsole (17), that the outsole (17) and/or the insole (15) is provided with at least one filling hole (19) for introducing the filling material (21), and in that the filling material (21) is a polyurethane foam containing as cross-linking components polyol with an OH number in the range from approx. 60 to 280 and isocyanate with an NCO content in the range from approx. 15 to 25.
20. The shoe of claim 19,
    characterized in that the shoe (11) comprises a waterproof upper (13) and a waterproof outsole (17), and the end portion of the upper (13) on the side of the outsole is sealed by the filling material, and in that the upper (13) is glued to the outsole (17) such that an end portion of the upper (13) on the side of the outsole is free from glue used for gluing the outsole (17).
21. The shoe of claim 19 or 20,
    characterized in that the filling material (21) is a polyester polyurethane foam and/or a polyether polyurethane foam.
22. The shoe of claims 19 to 21,
    characterized in that the polyurethane foam contains polyol with an OH number in the range from approx. 70 to 250 and isocyanate with an NCO content in the range from approx. 16 to 23.
23. The shoe of claim 22,
    characterized in that the polyether foam contains polyol with an OH number of 86 and isocyanate with an NCO content of 20.7.
24. The shoe of any of claims 19 to 23,
    characterized in that the filling material is a polyurethane foam provided with antistatic properties.
25. The shoe of any of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that the polyurethane foam contains polyol and isocyanate in a mixing ratio by weight in the range from approx. 100:20 to 100:100.
26. The shoe of claim 25,
    characterized in that the polyurethane foam contains polyol and isocyanate in a mixing ratio by weight in the range from approx. 100:25 to 100:50.
27. The shoe of claim 26,
    characterized in that the polyether foam contains polyol and isocyanate in a mixing ratio of 100:33.
28. The shoe of any of claims 19 to 27,
    characterized in that the outsole (17), in a central portion (39) within the insole circumference, has at least one cavity open towards the insole (15), which is filled with filling material (21).

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