Patent Application
20180014602
The disclosure relates to a method of making a moisture-permeable and waterproof vamp for a shoe.
Vamps for shoes, such as walking shoes, sneakers or boots, may be made from fabrics. The shoes made from the fabrics have the advantages of breathability and perspiration repellence, but are not water resistant.
However, when the shoes with the breathable fabric vamps, e.g., golf shoes or tennis shoes, are worn in a wet environment, e.g., wet grass, the vamps are likely to become wet and the moisture may enter into the shoes.
In order to prevent the aforementioned problem, a water repellent agent may be coated on the outer surface of the vamp to achieve the waterproof and antifouling effects. However, the vamp coated with the water repellent agent may still become wet when the user runs in heavy rain or steps into water. Moreover, coating of the water repellent agent may be only conducted on the vamp that is made from a porous fabric having small pore size. Further, the water repellent agent coated on the outer surface of the vamp is likely to be abraded and is required to be frequently reapplied on the vamp.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a method of making a moisture-permeable and waterproof vamp for a shoe that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, the method of making a moisture-permeable and waterproof vamp for a shoe includes the steps of:
(a) providing an outer fabric layer and an inner fabric layer, each of the outer fabric layer and the inner fabric layer having a top surface and a bottom surface that is opposite to the top surface;
(b) forming a moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer on one of the bottom surface of the outer fabric layer and the top surface of the inner fabric layer;
(c) attaching the resin layer to the other one of the bottom surface of the outer fabric layer and the top surface of the inner fabric layer so that the resin layer is interposed between the inner fabric layer and the outer fabric layer so as to obtain a moisture-permeable and waterproof fabric laminate;
(d) cutting and forming the moisture-permeable and waterproof fabric laminate into a vamp that is formed with at least one seam and that is provided with a receiving space for receiving a user's foot; and
(e) applying a waterproof treatment to the seam.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide a method for making a moisture-permeable and waterproof shoe that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, the method for making a moisture-permeable and waterproof shoe includes the steps of:
preparing a moisture-permeable and waterproof vamp according to the aforementioned method; and
disposing a shoe tree in the receiving space of the vamp for maintaining a configuration of the vamp;
attaching a shoe sole to a bottom of the vamp; and
removing the shoe tree from the receiving space.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
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In certain embodiments, step (b) is conducted by directly adhering the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 onto one of the bottom surface 12 of the outer fabric layer 1 and the top surface 21 of the inner fabric layer 2. The moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 may be a commercially available product.
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The disclosure also provides an embodiment of a method of making a shoe. The method includes preparing the abovementioned moisture-permeable and waterproof vamp 5, disposing a shoe tree 7 in the receiving space 50 of the vamp 5 for maintaining a configuration of the vamp 5, then attaching a shoe sole 8 to a bottom of the vamp 5, and then removing the shoe tree 7 from the receiving space 50.
It should be noted that, if the outer fabric layer 1 is made from a fabric having relatively large pore size, it would be difficult to form the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 on the bottom surface 12 of the outer fabric layer 1. Thus, the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 can be formed on the top surface 21 of the inner fabric layer 2 followed by attaching the resin layer 30 to the bottom surface 12 of the outer fabric layer 1.
In certain embodiments, the top surface 11 of the outer fabric layer 1 in step (a) is subjected to a water repellent treatment to improve the waterproof property of the vamp.
The moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 of the vamp 5 may have different structures due to the type of the resin material. For example, the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 may be in the form of a porous membrane or a non-porous membrane. The porous membrane has a plurality of pores, each of which has a diameter smaller than that of a water molecule and larger than that of a water vapor molecule. By way of a proper pore size arrangement, the porous membrane is waterproof and moisture-permeable. The non-porous membrane is free of pores and has a hydrophilic functional group-providing side and a hydrophobic functional group-providing side. When the non-porous membrane serves as the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30, the water vapor molecules will be adsorbed on the hydrophilic functional group-providing side, diffused to the hydrophobic functional group-providing side through capillary action and finally transpired to the environment.
As for the properties of the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30, the resin layer 30 may have a water resistance greater than 3000 mm as measured by the method in accordance with JIS L-1092B, and a moisture permeability greater than 3000 g/m3/24 hr as measured by the method in accordance with JIS L-1099B1.
In summary, with the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 and the waterproof layer 6 covered on the seam 51, the vamp 5 of the shoe of this disclosure is both waterproof and moisture-permeable. Moreover, since the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 is interposed between the outer and inner fabric layers 1, 2, the moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer 30 is unlikely to be worn out as a result of friction, and thus the waterproof function of the moisture-permeable and waterproof fabric laminate 4 allows the vamp 5 to be relatively durable.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) 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.
