Patent Application
20060123661
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to an improvement relating to an outsole of a shoe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Primary components of shoes generally include uppers and outsoles. In order to improve the appearance of shoes, various designs have been provided for connections between outsoles and uppers. There are shoes which have an outsole attached to an upper with an outwardly turned end portion or an outwardly turned welt member. In making such shoes, since it is difficult to make a connecting part of the upper flush with a connecting part of the outsole, a grinding process is usually employed to grind the connecting parts so as to provide a neat and tidy connection between the outsole and the upper.
However, due to the grinding process which can remove some part of the material from the marginal part of the outsole, the outsole is practically preformed with a size larger than that originally designed for the outsole, thereby wasting the material and increasing the manufacturing cost. In addition, although a neat and tidy connection between the outsole and the upper can be accomplished through a grinding process, it is impossible to provide a pleasing outer appearance for the outer peripheral surface of the outsole due to the grinding process. This is because the grinding process can damage or remove any decorative pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outsole when grinding the connection between the outsole and the upper which is very close to the outer peripheral surface of the outsole. Therefore, there is a need for further improvement that can provide a neat and trimmed connection between an upper and an outsole without adversely affecting the outer peripheral surface of the outsole.
An object of the invention is to provide a shoe with an outsole which has an arrangement for protecting the outer peripheral surface of the outsole so that any finishing treatment for the connection of the outsole with an upper will not harm the outer peripheral surface of the outsole.
According to the present invention, a shoe comprises: an outsole having a top side, a bottom side, an outer peripheral surface interconnecting the top and bottom sides, and a protection flange projecting outwardly from the outer peripheral surface and substantially flush with the top side; and an upper having a bottom end portion which includes a connection part extending laterally and outwardly from the bottom end portion and attached to the protection flange and the top side of the outsole, the protection flange having an edge flush with the connection part. As a result, the connection part is permitted to be ground so as to be flush with the edge of the protection flange without affecting the outer peripheral surface of the outsole.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that same reference numerals have been used to denote like elements throughout the specification.
Referring to
The upper 12 may be made of leather, fabric or any other suitable material and includes a bottom end portion 121 having a connection part 122 which extends laterally and outwardly from the bottom end portion 121 for attachment to the outsole 11. In this embodiment, the connection part 122 is an end part of the bottom end portion 121 that is turned outward from the bottom end portion 121.
In assembly, the outwardly turned connection part 122 of the upper 12 is sewn to the protection flange 114 of the outsole 11. Afterwards, a grinding process is performed to grind the edges of the connection part 122 and the protection flange 114 until the edges are flush with each other, as shown in
According to the present invention, the protection flange 114 is provided to prevent the outer peripheral surface 113 of the outsole 11 from being damaged by any tool used in the grinding process. As the grinding action is performed on the protection flange 114 that projects away from the outer peripheral surface 113, the grinding tool cannot reach the outer peripheral surface 113 during the grinding process so that protection of the outer peripheral surface 113 can be assuredly realized.
The protection flange 114 according to the present invention may be used in different types of shoes. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
While the protection flange 114 as described hereinbefore extends continuously along the periphery of the outsole 11, the configuration thereof should not be limited only thereto. The protection flange 114 according to the present invention may be arranged such that it projects from parts of the periphery of the outsole 11 in a discontinuous manner. Furthermore, the construction of the outsole in the present invention should not be limited only to one protection flange for grinding.
In addition, while the welt 422 or 523 exemplified in the fourth and fifth preferred embodiments has an L-shaped cross-section, the present invention may be used together with other welts having different configurations.
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 interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
