[0001] The present patent application for industrial invention relates to a production process
for shoe and to the shoe obtained with it.
[0002] The process of the invention can be considered as an evolutive variant of a consolidated
technology known as "GOOD YEAR", which is commonly used to make shoes that are technically
defined as "pre-assembled", in which the upper is pre-assembled on a sole with the
help of a last before being coupled with the corresponding outsole.
[0003] More precisely, according to said technology, the upper is prepared first, that is
to say the part of the shoe designed to wrap the foot on the sides and on top. Said
upper is open on the bottom along the entire perimeter of the foot, it being adapted
to be mounted on the sole, under which the outsole is applied.
[0004] As mentioned above, the "pre-assembly" operation of the upper on the sole is made
with the help of a "last" (which basically consists in a model that reproduces the
three-dimensional shape of a foot), on which the upper is worn, the lower edges of
which are then stretched, rolled up and fixed under the borders of the sole, which
has been previously centred and held in the centre of the surface of the "last".
[0005] Finally, the outsole is glued and sewn under the sole.
[0006] According to the "GOOD YEAR " technology, the outsole has a larger width than the
sole, in such a way that the border of the sole protrudes by a few millimetres outside
the upper, along its entire perimeter, except for the horseshoe arch that surrounds
the heel of the shoe.
[0007] A finishing welt is fitted on the protruding border of the sole, externally wrapping
the lower edge of the upper and covering possible workmanship defects along the entire
perimeter band of the upper that is folded and tightened between outsole and sole.
[0008] Said welt basically consists in a flexible leather strap that is bent as an "L",
in such a way that the vertical wing can adhere and be sewn on the outside of the
upper, whereas the horizontal wing can adhere and be sewn above the protruding edge
of the outsole.
[0009] Two seams run along the welt, the first one of them being composed of stitches that
cross the upper from the outside towards the inside and are used to fix the welt to
the upper, and the second one of them being composed of the high-low stitches that
are used to fix the welt to the outsole.
[0010] The shoes obtained with the "GOOD YEAR" technology are characterised by resistance
and reliability, as well as waterproofness, since the upper is protected by a thick
bottom, formed by sole and outsole, and is laterally surrounded by the welt that prevents
the passage of water between outsole and sole.
[0011] On the other hand, the shoes obtained with the "GOOD YEAR" technology are impaired
by poor comfort, due to their weight and rigidity, that prevent them from being softly,
following the natural articulation of the foot during walking.
[0012] Rigidity is basically due to the presence of said "pre-assembly" sole, the thickness
of which, normally a couple of millimetres, is added to the thickness of the outsole,
creating a thick layered bottom, which is further stiffened by the layer of glue used
to glue the outsole to the sole, before the final sewing of the welt to the sole.
[0013] The critical examination of this type of shoes has resulted in the industrial process
of the invention, the main purpose of which is to modify the process defined as "GOOD
YEAR" in such a way to obtain shoes that are light, flexibly and comfortable, while
maintaining the aforementioned resistance and waterproofness that are typical of the
traditional "GOOD YEAR " process.
[0014] To that end, the new industrial process of the invention has been devised, the main
peculiarity of which consists in the elimination of a traditional sole, and in the
introduction of a bag-shaped lining that is provided, along the perimeter of the insole,
a lower protruding border on which both the edges of the upper and the edges of the
welt are sewn externally.
[0015] This means that only the insole of the bag-shaped lining is situated between the
foot of the user and the outsole of the shoe, being characterised by insignificant
thickness, rigidity and weight, since the lining is traditionally made with fabric
or light, thin leather.
[0016] Another advantage of the shoe obtained with the new process of the invention consists
in the fact that it does not use glue to glue the outsole, which is simply sewn to
the welt, and not glue to the insole of the bag-shaped lining, thus ensuring better
perspiration for the foot that is practically cancelled in the GOOD YEAR process due
to the layer of glue applied between sole and outsole.
[0017] For purposes of clarity, the description of the process of the invention continues
with reference to the enclosed drawings, which are intended for purposes of illustration
only and not in a limiting sense, wherein:
- fig. 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the bag-shaped lining used in the production
process of the invention;
- fig. 1A is a cross-section of fig. 1 with plane I-I;
- fig. 2 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the upper of the shoe already coupled
with the bag-shaped lining, before being worn on the last;
- fig. 2A is a cross-section of fig. 2 with plane II-II;
- fig. 3 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the last on which the upper with bag-shaped
lining is worn;
- fig. 4 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the upper and bag-shaped lining worn
on the last;
- fig. 4A is a cross-section of fig. 4 with plane IV-IV;
- fig. 5 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the welt sewn to the upper;
- fig. 5A is a cross-section of fig. 5 with plane V-V;
- fig. 6 is basically the same as fig. 5, except for it shows the pad under the insole
of the bag-shaped lining;
- fig. 7 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the welt sewn both to the upper and the
outsole;
- fig. 7A is a cross-section of fig. 7 with plane VII-VII;
- fig. 8 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the shoe obtained with the process of
the invention.
[0018] Referring to the enclosed figures, the process of the invention provides first of
all for preparation of the lining (F) of the upper (T).
[0019] In this case the lining (F) is a bag-shaped lining, which comprises a first lower
part and a second upper part, which are both shaped and mutually sewn.
[0020] More precisely, the lower part has the same shape as the template of the last, being
adapted to cover the lower surface of the foot and be held on the outsole.
[0021] For the sake of brevity, the lower part is hereinafter defined as: insole (1).
[0022] The upper part (2) is shaped in such a way to wrap the sides and back of the foot,
just like the upper (T), of which it is a perfect copy, since these two parts of the
shoe must perfectly adhere one (2) inside the other (T).
[0023] The perimeter borders (1 a) of the insole (1) are joined to the lower borders (2a)
of the second part (2) by means of a perimeter seam (C1), thus creating the bag-shaped
lining (F), as shown in figs. 1 and 1A.
[0024] Both lower borders (1 a and 2a) remain outside the bag-shaped lining (F), but the
border (1 a) is inside the border (2a) .
[0025] After preparing the upper (T) according to the known art, the upper (T) is traditionally
coupled with the bag-shaped lining (F).
[0026] As shown in figs. 2 and 2A, the bag-shaped lining (F) is externally covered by the
upper (T), the lower borders (3) of which perimetrally hang under the pair of pre-sewn
borders (1 a and 2a) of the lining (F).
[0027] After coupling the upper (T) with the bag-shaped lining (F), the following operations
can be performed with the help of a last (FO).
[0028] The first operation consists in the application of a heel piece (S) of semirigid
material under the last (FO), the front of which remains uncovered, since the heel
piece (S) extends from the heel to the arch, as shown in fig. 3.
[0029] The bag-shaped lining (F) is now worn on the last (FO), the surface of which is covered
by the insole (1) that also covers the heel piece (S), although only partially, since
the insole (1) is interrupted before the heel, whereas the second upper part (2) of
the bag-shaped lining (F) adheres on the remaining lateral surface of the last (FO).
[0030] During this operation the borders (1 a and 2a) protrude under the surface of the
last (FO), being situated slightly behind the perimeter of said surface, whereas the
lower borders (3) of the upper (T) hang free on the outside of the perimeter of the
surface of the last (FO), as shown in figs. 4 and 4A .
[0031] The next operation consists in making the upper (T) adhere perfectly on the outside
of the lining (F); during this operation the lower borders (3) of the upper (T) are
glued on the outside of the lower borders (2a) of the second upper part (2) of the
lining (F).
[0032] During the gluing operation, the rear section (3a) of the lower borders (3) of the
upper (T) is stretched, rolled up and glue under the rear border of said heel piece
(S), then fixing said rear section (3a) with nails (C), as shown in fig. 4.
[0033] The folding and nailing operation affects a rear section (3a) that practically corresponds
to the external profile of the heel of the shoe, where the welt is not generally applied.
[0034] The next operation consists in fixing the welt (G) on the outside of the upper (T),
which is sewn to the pair of borders (3 and 2a) that have been previously glued together.
[0035] More precisely, the internal border (4a) of the welt (G) is fixed outside the lower
border (3) of the upper (T) by means of a seam (C2) that bites the internal border
(4a) of the welt (G), the lower border (3) of the upper (T) and the pre-sewn pair
of lower borders (1 a and 2a) of the bag-shaped lining (F), as shown in figs. 5 and
5A.
[0036] Said seam (C2) runs near to and outside of the seam (C1).
[0037] The following operation consists in trimming the borders (1a, 2a and 3) in such a
way to eliminate the exceeding part beyond the internal border (4a) of the welt (G),
which acts as reference line for said trimming operation.
[0038] In other words it can be said that the result of the trimming operation is a cord
(5) with regular thickness, formed of the borders (1a, 2a, 3 and 4a) sewn together;
said cord (5) runs along the perimeter of the insole (1) and defines a central "tub"
(6), designed to be filled with a layer (7) of cork or felt, in order to compensate
the thickness of said cord (5) and obtain a flat regular surface under the insole
(1) of the lining (F), for application of the outsole (8), as shown in fig. 6.
[0039] The last operation consists in mounting the outsole (8), the perimeter border (8a)
of which is glued under the external border (4b) of the welt (G), on which the outsole
(8) is fixed safely and firmly by means of a vertical seam with up-down-up direction
(C3).
[0040] The seam (C3) runs all around the base strap of the upper (T), whereas the seam (C2)
with horizontal external-internal-external direction remains hidden under the welt
(G) and under the base strap of the upper, as shown in figs. 7 and 7A.
[0041] Now the shoe (9) is removed from the last (FO) and subjected to the final operations
of known type for heel mounting and finishing.
[0042] Fig. 8 shows the shoe (9),
characterised in that the outsole (8), on the front half of the foot, is dominated only by the insole (1)
of the bag-shaped lining (F), with the only interposition of a thin, light and flexible
layer (7) of cork or felt.
1. Production process of shoes
characterised in that it comprises the following sequence of operations:
a) - manufacturing of a bag-shaped lining (F), which comprises a first lower part
or insole (1) and a second upper part (2), which are both shaped and mutually sewn
by means of a perimeter seam (C1), in such a way that the perimeter borders (1 a)
of the insole (1) and the lower borders (2a) of the second part (2) are external to
the perimeter seam (C1) that joins the said borders (1 a and 2a);
b) - coupling of the said bag-shaped lining (F) with the corresponding premanufactured
upper (T);
c) - insertion of the last (FO) inside the bag-shaped lining (F);
d) - gluing of the upper (T) externally to the lining (F), including the lower borders
(3) of the upper (T), which are glued externally to the lower border (2a) of the upper
part (2) of the bag-shaped lining (F);
e) - application to the upper (T) of the welt (G), whose internal border (4a) is fixed
externally to the lower border (3) of the upper (T), by means of a seam (C2) that
bites the internal border (4a) of the welt (G), the lower border (3) of the upper
(T) and the said pre-sewn pair of borders (1 a and 2a) of the bag-shaped lining (F);
f) - trimming of borders sewn together (1a, 2a and 3), in such a way to eliminate
the exceeding part beyond the internal border (4a) of the welt (G), which acts as
reference line for the said trimming operation, from which a cord (5) with regular
thickness is obtained, which runs along the perimeter of the insole (1) and defines
a central "tub" (6);
g) - filling of the said "tub" (6) with a layer (7) of cork or felt, in order to compensate
the thickness of the said cord (5) and obtain a flat regular surface for application
of the sole (8).
h) - mounting on the last (FO) of the sole (8), whose perimeter border (8a) is first
glued under the external border (4b) of the welt (G), on which it is successively
sewn along the perimeter with a vertical seam (C3).
i) - extraction of the shoe (9) from the last (FO) and final mounting operations of
heel and finish.
2. Process according to the above claim characterised in that a heel piece (S) is applied under the plant of the last (FO) after operation b) and
before operation c).
3. Process according to the above claim, characterised in that during operation d) the rear section (3a) of the lower borders (3) of the upper (T)
is stretched, rolled up and glued under the rear border of the said heel piece (S),
where it is fixed with nails (C).
4. Shoe obtained with the process according to the above claims, characterised in that it comprises a welt (G), whose external border (4b) is sewn with an up-down seam
(C3) above the border (8a) of the sole (8), while the internal border (4a) of the
welt is sewn to the upper (T) with a seam (C2) that bites the internal border (4a)
of the welt (G), the lower border (3) of the upper (T) and the pre-sewn pair of borders
(1 a and 2a) of the insole (1) and of the upper part (2) of the bag-shaped lining
(F) that covers the upper (T) internally.
5. Shoe according to the above claim characterised in that on the front half of the foot the sole (8) is dominated by the insole (1) of the
bag-shaped lining (F), with the interposition of a thin, light and flexible layer
(7) of cork or felt.