This application is a U.S. National Stage application, filed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 371, of international application no. PCT/EP2018/060819, filed on Apr. 26, 2018, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The invention relates to a shoe, especially to a sports shoe and specifically to a soccer shoe, comprising a shoe upper and a sole which is connected with the shoe upper, wherein the shoe upper comprises a knitted structure which at least partially surrounds a foot of a wearer during intended use of the shoe.
Traditional football footwear is often water resistant and waterproof but does not provide sufficient ventilation for the wearer. Also the fit of the shoe at the foot of the wearer is often not satisfying due to the given lacing possibilities which are provided at such a shoe.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to propose a shoe, especially a sports shoe and specifically a soccer shoe of the generic kind which is waterproof but which allows a moisture transfer from the inner of the shoe to the outer side of the same. Furthermore, the fit of the shoe at the foot of the wearer should be optimized.
The solution of this object according to the invention is characterized in
Preferably, the semi-permeable membrane allows the flow of moisture and/or water vapour from the foot of the wearer through the semi-permeable membrane and via the openings to the outer side of the shoe upper and prevents the transfer from moisture from the outer side of the shoe upper to the foot of the wearer.
The knitted structure can comprise at least one more set of openings arranged side by side along the longitudinal extension of the shoe upper at the lateral side of the shoe upper and at least one more set of openings arranged side by side along the longitudinal extension of the shoe upper at the medial side of the shoe upper, wherein both sets of additional openings are arranged in a defined height level of the shoe upper measured from the bottom of the sole.
The openings are preferably adapted to thread a lace through the same.
Preferably, the semi-permeable membrane consists of or comprises polysulphone (PSU), polyether sulphone (PES), polyether imide (PI), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or polyamide (PA).
The semi-permeable membrane is preferably connected with the shoe upper in a bottom region and in a top region and is not connected with the shoe upper in the region of the openings.
The shoe upper can comprise a reinforced structure which encloses at least a part of the openings. Thereby, the reinforced structure can be realized by a knitted structure which is added to the knitted base material of the shoe upper. The knitted reinforced structure has preferably a higher density of meshes than the knitted base material of the shoe upper and/or additional meshes which are added to the meshes of the knitted base material of the shoe upper. A further embodiment of this concept proposes that the knitted base material of the shoe upper has a base thickness and that the reinforced structure has an increased thickness; thereby, the increased thickness is preferably at least 120%, specifically preferred at least 140%, of base thickness.
A collar can be arranged in the instep region of the shoe upper. The stretchability of the collar is preferably at least twice as high, specifically preferred at least three times as high, as the stretchability of the material of the shoe upper beyond the collar (i. e. at the application of a tensile force (in Newton) to a defined test strip with a defined geometry of the respective material the elongation (in mm) is at least twice, preferably three times as high). The collar is preferably manufactured separately from the rest of the shoe upper and is connected with the same, preferably by means of a knitting or stitching process.
The shoe is preferably a soccer shoe, wherein the sole comprises a plurality of cleats.
Due to the proposed structure of the shoe a solution is available which guarantees water resistance of the shoe at one hand. At the other hand the article of footwear provides breathability to the wearer's foot through the incorporation of a membrane layer in the form of a semi-permeable membrane. This is combined with the knitted structure by which the shoe upper is realized. By doing so a customised fitting of the shoe at the foot of the user is available due to the possibility of a variety of lacing options. Thus, the proposed shoe is breathable and water resistant.
The semi-permeable membrane, i. e the membrane layer, can be laminated to a lining material which is also porous. The membrane layer allows moisture and water vapour to pass through in one direction (to the outside of the shoe) whilst restricting the flow of moisture in the opposing direction (into the inner of the shoe). The different sets of openings, which form basically an array of openings, facilitate this movement of moisture. Through laboratory testing of the membrane layer after assembly of the shoe it has been found that the membrane layer laminated to the textile provides a suitable solution for moisture management. The membrane can be attached to the upper component through stitching, which prevents any damage to the membrane layer.
The membrane can extend from the bottom end (distal end) of the shoe upper (close to the sole) to the upper end (proximal edge) of the same.
The shoe upper (collar excluded) is preferably made as a non-stretchable upper body which is attached to the stretchable collar. This guarantees that the shoe upper as such is quite stiff and not significant stretchable while the relatively elastic and stretchable collar allows the user of the shoe to enter the same.
By the proposed concept a solution is on hand which satisfy an increased demand for a customisable fit of the shoe through lacing. The different sets of openings in the knitted shoe upper structure allow the user to position the lace in countless different and individual positions to provide more or less support and tightening respectively in specific areas of the shoe upper.
To realize a reinforcement structure, the openings (holes) can be knitted in the shoe upper part using a specific knitting method. The surrounding edge of the opening can be specifically knitted. Here, a strong Nylon bundy yarn can be used for a reinforcement of the hole perimeter to provide high tensile strength.
Such a high tensile strength Nylon yarn can also be applied into a bottom layer of the knitting structure and can be combined either with further Nylon yarns, polyester yarn, polypropylene yarns or another yarn suitable for knitting.
The shoe upper can be structured in different zones along the longitudinal extension of the shoe upper and namely in a (foremost) vamp, a central region (with the sets of openings) and a (rear) heel region. The mentioned yarns can be used also in those regions. Also the following described yarns can be used.
The shoe upper can comprise a top layer and a base layer which are knitted together.
The top layer can be made of three separate thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) coated yarns, each of which is 300 Denier consisting of a polyester filament core; the polyester core accounts for 40% of the yarn and the TPU coating is 60%; one overall yarn is classified as a multifilament yarn as many coated filaments are bound together to create one yarn. Additionally, a hotmelt yarn can be used having 150 Denier.
The base layer can be made up of four polyester yarns; two yarns can be of 75 Denier polyester yarns which are twisted together before knitting. Thus, two yarns of 2×75 Denier polyester can be employed. Additionally, a Nylon bundy yarn of 450 Denier can be used.
When, specifically in the central zone of the shoe upper (with the openings), one Nylon bundy yarn is combined with three polyester yarns a high tensile strength is obtained which is beneficial here. Across all zones of the shoe upper a hotmelt yarn can be combined to hold the fibres together.
A preferred embodiment of the invention incorporates mouldable yarns in the upper layer of the knitted structure. These yarns comprise a multi-filament polyester core coated with a thermoplastic material. By the application of heat and pressure these yarns can be moulded once their melting point is achieved, in this case mostly between 140° C. and 180° C. (melting point). After cooling the yarns retain the shape of the mould applied during the heating process. It has been found that during this heat activation process the abrasion resistance of the yarns can be improved compared with the non-activated method. That means that no additional coating is required to provide sufficient abrasion resistance as demanded by cleated footwear.
The top layer of the shoe upper can comprise three separate TPU coated yarns which are knitted together to form one layer.
The semi-permeable membrane is known as such. It is known for example as “GORE-TEX®” membrane. Here, often polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) is used as a material for the membrane. The pores of this material allow passing of water vapour. However, liquid water molecules are bigger so that they cannot pass the membrane.
In the drawings an embodiment of the invention is shown.
In
The shoe 1 is depicted in
As can be seen from the synopsis of the
Furthermore, the knitted structure 4 comprises a second set of openings 8 arranged side by side along the longitudinal extension L of the shoe upper 2 at the lateral side of the shoe upper 2 and a second set of openings 9 arranged side by side along the longitudinal extension L of the shoe upper 2 at the medial side of the shoe upper 2; both sets of second openings 8 and 9 are arranged in a defined second height level h2 (see
It should be mentioned here that the longitudinal extension L of the respective set of openings corresponds substantially with the longitudinal extension of the whole shoe but is not identical with the same. As can be seen in
The same applies when—as in the case of the shown embodiments—a third set of openings 11 at the lateral side and a third set of openings 12 at the medial side of the shoe upper is arranged (see
Additionally, and this can be seen best in
Due to the arrangement of at least two rows of openings 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 on the lateral and on the medial side of the shoe upper 2 an array of openings is created which allows a flexible and individual threading of a lace 13 as shown specifically in
At the other hand, the membrane 10 is fixed (e. g. glued or heatbonded) at the knitted structure 4 only in a bottom region 14 and a top region 15 of the shoe upper as shown in
The openings 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 are mostly designed as round or oval apertures in the knitted structure 4. The maximum diameter is mostly between 3 mm and 7 mm, preferably between 4 mm and 6 mm. The distance between two openings 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 along the longitudinal extension L is mostly between 3 mm and 7 mm, preferably between 4 mm and 6 mm. The distance between one height level h1, h2, h3 (see
This allows not only a sensitive selection of the optimal lacing openings. Also due to the array of the openings a sufficient area of openings is created which allow vapour to escape from the inner of the shoe through the membrane 10 to the outside of the shoe.
To obtain a high mechanical stability of the openings 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 the edge of the knitted structure which forms the opening 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 can be reinforced. This is depicted in
The increased thickness can be created by a knitting process in which additional meshes 19 are knitted in said region along the circumference of an opening. Also the density of meshes 19 can be increased here.
A specific and preferred embodiment of the aspect is the following: The circumference of the openings can be reinforced in the mentioned manner, e. g. with additional or denser meshes. A yarn or combination of yarns can be used for the knitting process which has thermoplastic behavior. In this case it is possible to flatten the surface of the knitted structure before mounting the same into the shoe by means of a heat process (like an ironing process). In this case the outer surface of the knitted structure will be flat (i. e. no bigger thickness T) but the material in the surrounding region of an opening is compressed and has a higher mechanical stability.
The outer surface of the knitted structure 4 can additionally be coated or a printing can be applied.
The knitted upper 4 can also be provided with a surface structure like reinforcement ribs or the like. This can specifically be taken in consideration in the forefoot region to stiffen the soccer shoe here.
A preferred embodiment of the knitted structure 4 comes up with two layers, i. e. a top layer arranged at the outer surface of the shoe upper and a bottom layer facing the foot of the wearer. The top layer can be made of yarns coated with thermoplastic material; these yarns contain a multi-filament core with an outside coating. Those yarns are thus fusable by application of heat and pressure. Those yarns require no additional film coating to provide sufficient abrasion resistance. The bottom layer of the knitted structure 4 consists preferably of a minimum of two different yarn types, preferably of polyester and Nylon bundy; this provides a high tensile strength.
With regard to the knitting technique of the shoe upper 2
In general a two layer structure is given for the knitted structure 4, i. e. a top layer and a base (bottom) layer. For the knitting of the top and base layer a flat knitting texture is created as shown in
For the creation of the edges of the openings 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 a different knitting technique is used: Locking stitches as illustrated in
The knitting process is electronically controlled in the knitting machine by a respective knitting program. Here, the locking stitches for the back edge and for the front edge of the hole structure are programmed as well as for knitting the opening as such (fly stitches to create the openings, i. e. no catching of the hook on this pass) and for the creation of the flat knitting texture.
The membrane 10 can be laminated to another textile structure (carrier structure) and can be affixed to the knitted structure 4 by a stitching process.
A specifically preferred embodiment of the membrane 10 and its attachment to the knitted structure 4 is the following:
The membrane 10 as such is, as mentioned above, preferably laminated to a separate (textile) structure (carrier structure). The membrane 10 as such has preferably a thickness between 0.015 mm and 0.025 mm, specifically preferred 0.02 mm, which is quite small regarding the used on an article of cleated footwear due to the high physical demands placed on the footwear during use.
The membrane is thus laminated with a (textile) structure (carrier structure) to enhance mechanical stability. By doing so, the laminated membrane with its (textile) carrier structure can be positioned loosely under a protective upper layer (knitted structure 4) which has the openings to allow for the passing of water vapour.
The single layer membrane 10 has preferably a moisture permeability of 600 to 800 g/m2 24 hrs, preferably of 700 g/m2 24 hrs. The (knitted) structure (carrier structure) is chosen in such a manner that the laminate of (knitted) structure and membrane 10 has a moisture permeability between 450 and 550 g/m2 24 hrs, preferably of 500 g/m2 24 hrs.
As a benchmark test a TPU skin with hotmelt can be applied on a base textile, which is a typical construction for cleated footwear; the breathability and waterproof level of this specimen is compared with the same textile laminated with the membrane 10. Both of these material packages are incorporated into a finished shoe to count for any heating and cementing processes during the assembly process.
The specimens are tested using ASTM E96-95 BW (23° C., 50% relative humidity) standard (test for water vapour transmission).
By using the above preferred structure, i. e. the laminate consisting of membrane 10 on the (knitted) carrier structure, delivered a clear benefit of the proposed structure. It can be said that on average there is 770% more breathability when using the proposed membrane laminate compared with common TPU skins with hotmelt.
The connection between the shoe upper 2 and the sole 3 can be done by all known techniques.
During the assembly process of the shoe a full board lasted technique can be employ as well as a half board lasted and half strobel technique.
To sum up the proposed article of cleated footwear comprises a knitted structure, combining a plurality of different yarn filaments. The knitted upper component includes a plurality of openings that allow for a wide range of lacing combinations. The openings in the lateral and medial region of the shoe upper allow an airflow to the inner of the shoe. The inner lining construction is a combination of a lining material laminated to a breathable and water resistant membrane. The inner layer lining construction is attached to the knitted outer component at the proximal and distal end of the knitted structure by stitching. This method of attachment avoids damage to the membrane layer.
The shoe upper consists preferably of two components, i. e. the base part of the shoe upper and a (separately) knitted collar region. The collar comprises a polyester and spandex yarn to provide a stretchable opening to receive the foot of the wearer. The collar can comprise different yarns twisted with the spandex yarn depending on the requirements. This stretchable collar is connected to the non-stretchable shoe upper part. This non-stretchable part of the shoe upper comprises a variety of yarns knitted in two layers. The top layer can consist of a single yarn type, the bottom layer can comprise different yarn types to provide strength to the upper component.
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PCT/EP2018/060819 | 4/26/2018 | WO |
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WO2019/206423 | 10/31/2019 | WO | A |
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