METHOD FOR PRODUCING A CRIMPED UPPER

Description

Application field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a crimped upper, according to the general part of claim 1.

State of the art

[0002] Footwear items are substantially composed of two parts: upper (upper part) and sole (lower part). These two parts are usually produced separately and are subsequently joined by means of common welding techniques, with glues, adhesive substances or stitching. In most footwear items presently existing on the market the upper is made in a single-piece and therefore it has a nearly constant consistency in all the surface areas, except for the different thickness (on the ankle, heel and front area of the foot) it can have according to the moulding project.

[0003] There exist in the art uppers also having different flexibility areas, in particular on the front area of the foot, in order to ensure a greater comfort to the user. As regards patents the following documents can be mentioned:

• International publication no. WO2016142737, filed on 06/03/2015 to TESSMA SRL (IT); in such document (Title: "Improved footwear item and method for making said footwear item") it is described a footwear item wherein the upper is created from a fabric single-piece having, at the surface which lays on the front area of the foot, three flexible areas adapted to partially wrap the leg and the tarsal and metatarsal parts of a person foot; the relative implementation method provides to uphold the stitches arranged centrally with respect to side stitches, in such a way as to give the fabric element a three-dimensional shape with parabolic outline according to the direction defined by the longitudinal axis. Successively the fabric is folded on itself along said longitudinal axis and the two longitudinal sides are joined at least partially (by means of stitching) such as to obtain such upper;
• US publication no. US1902780, filed on 11/04/1930 to HOLDEN KNITTING CO (US); in such document (Title: "Knitted lining for rubber footwear and method of making same") flexible areas of the knitted lining laying on the front part of the foot are obtained by implementing stitching ribs along the separation lines of said flexible areas;
• European Publication no. EP2361519, filed on 26/02/2010 to ROUCHETTE SAS (FR); in such document (Title: "Boot-type footwear") the upper is obtained from a single-piece using a flexible sealing material having an elastomeric layer, for instance made of rubber or PVC, which is assembled in successive layers on the upper.

[0004] Other documents of the state of the art are US publications no. US2675631, filed on 20/04/1954 to CARR DOUGHTY JOHN, and no. US2017/202295, filed on 20/07/2017 to MACGILBERT JOHN S. ET AL.

[0005] The most important document of the state of the art is represented by the European Publication no. EP1338690, filed on 7/08/2003 to NUOVAMAV SNC (IT); in such document (Title: "Process for making a knitted fabric and its product") the process for making a crimped upper is composed by a section edge, a leg line, a crimping arc, a metatarsal and phalanx line and side areas wherein the crimping arc is produced with a special technique called "gradual needle suspension".

[0006] The object of the present invention is to obtain a process which has, if compared to the state of the art production systems, represented particularly by EP1338690 patent, significant improvements in terms of easiness and convenience in performance.

Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention allows to overcome the drawbacks related to the devices mentioned in the state of the art, implementing a footwear upper composed of various sections (edge, leg, crimping, metatarsal and phalanx, side), wherein the crimping section is assembled through a particular technique, called "gradual needle suspension", consisting in a particular knit weaving system in order to obtain the desired upper shape. Such weaving systems make up the so called knit stitches using "work needles" (in vertical direction) and "working rows" (in horizontal direction) as a reference system.

[0008] Such technique consists in employing a rectilinear knitting machine and consists in the gradual suspension of a group of needles of a determined work area. Thereby it is obtained a difference of rows worked between two areas which are transversally on the same line. The difference between the work areas and the suspended ones develops gradually. This allows to shape a determined area of the upper, obtain the three-dimensional shape and therefore the desired crimping with extreme precision.

[0009] The working evenness of the upper thus obtained allows a result which is visually even and without interruptions in the weaving change, to such an extent that no deformity in the fabric can be visually perceived by an external observer.

[0010] The three-dimensional shape of the knitted upper is implemented by means of the crimping system, namely the above described type of working, which deforms the fabric such as to adapt it to the foot physiognomy.

[0011] The advantages of such working method if compared to working methods used so far are numerous:

• time and complexity reduction of the working phases, as the product is in form of a three-dimensional shaped single-piece, arranged to be assembled to the lower piece (the sole);
• possibility to offer different variants of the same upper models avoiding the creation of several plastic prototypes;
• reduction of waste material as the shaped entity is tailor-made according to the different sizes, with resulting containment of cutting and disposal costs;
• limitation of the labour force.

Description of the drawings

[0012] 

Figure 1 shows a right-side view of the upper, with the various components;

Figure 2 shows a view from above of the upper, with highlighted processing lines;

Figure 3 shows the crimping arc, from which it is obtained the three-dimensional deformation of the tissue which allows the upper to adapt to the foot physiognomy;

Figure 4a shows the alignment scheme of the crimping arc segments;

Figure 4b shows the weaving scheme, according to the machine programme.

Detailed description of the invention

[0013] In figure 1 it is highlighted the knitted upper structure which is the object of the present invention; the single-piece used for producing said upper is subdivided in A, B, C, D, E and F elements hereinafter specified, each of said elements identifying a different work area with its own characteristics and functions:

• section edge A: it is the initial working part, with greater elastic hold and reinforcement. It can be produced differently according to the requirement. Such area is particularly necessary to maintain the footwear adherence in its upper end (direction along the horizontal axis X);
• leg line B: it is the interconnecting area between the section edge A and the crimping arc C; it can have different size according to the required item, whose length is represented by axis Y. In the example of figure 1 it identifies the area wrapping the higher part of the ankle and the tibia terminal one;
• crimping arc C: it is the central part of the upper wherein a so called crimping working is carried out. Such upper portion benefits from the technique called "gradual suspension working" which allows to obtain a precise arc crimping and the three-dimensional shape of the item concerned. As illustrated in figure 3, the crimping arc refers to a radius circle arc (r), created with geometric constructions by means of a CAD software, from a defined shape of the instep portion of a shoe upper on the symmetry plane of the shoe upper: once the circle is acquired, it is obtained the angle formed by half-lines departing from its centre and crossing the arc ends; subsequently the arc is subdivided in equal parts to obtain a greater definition of the crimping curve. After dividing into a given number of slices of equal parts (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 as in the example), the same angle size is used to determine the alignment layout of said parts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). The view from above of the upper (see figure 2) highlights the working lines interconnected between axis X and axis Y by means of the crimping arc C division through dotted lines forming imperceptible rays along the horizontal axis, said rays representing the separation line among the 8 sub-sections (1 to 8) of the same crimping arc (C). Referring to figures 4a and 4b it is shown in detail the "gradual needle suspension" working technique to provide circular shape to the crimping arc C. Such technique uses a rectilinear knitting machine and consists in the gradual suspension of a group of needles in the work area (grey area) indicated in figures 4a and 4b. Thereby it is obtained a difference of rows worked between two areas which are transversally on the same line. The difference between the work areas and the suspended ones develops gradually. This allows to shape a determined area of the upper, to obtain with extreme precision the three-dimensional shape and therefore the desired crimping;
• metatarsal and phalanx line D: it is the post-crimping area, which extends to the terminal area of the upper (tip),
• side areas E: it is the inlaid part made by means of thermo-weldable yarn to obtain the subsequent closure of the leg. The inlaid parts are usually worked with a thickness different from the base structure of the upper and a special yarn is further inserted along this tract, which, once heated by means of suitable instruments, melts and joints the strips permanently. This alternative refined working process allows to obtain a perfect closure of the upper along all the rear tract of the leg;
• side areas F: such section is composed of a side reinforcement worked differently and possible support yarn along the shape perimeter ends (axis (Y)); such reinforcement helps to provide greater stability to the upper hold, to maximize the weaving quality and further makes the assembly phase with the sole easier and more perfect.

[0014] Elements A, B, C, D, E and F are obtained after an alignment scheme, in accordance with the model required (shape/type of working, texture).

Claims

1. METHOD FOR PRODUCING A CRIMPED UPPER, made up of a section edge (A), leg line (B), crimping arc (C), metatarsal and phalanx line (D) and side areas (E, F), wherein the crimping arc (C) is produced with a special technique called "gradual needle suspension", comprising after a group of needles is gradually suspended in the work area, obtaining in this manner different rows to be worked between the two areas that are transversally on the same line,
said method being characterized in that
it consists of the following phases:

- the starting point is an arc radius (r) of a circle, created with geometric constructions using CAD software, from an intended silhouette of the instep portion of a shoe upper at the plane of symmetry of the shoe upper;

- once the circle has been created, the angle of the half-lines that depart from its centre and cross the extremities of the arc are obtained;

- after this phase, the arc is divided into equal parts to obtain greater definition of the crimping curve;

- after dividing into a given number of slices of equal parts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), the same angle size is used to determine the alignment layout of said parts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8);

- after this phase, a group of needles (X) is gradually suspended in the work area, obtaining in this manner different rows to be worked (Y) between the two areas that are transversally on the same line.

2. METHOD FOR PRODUCING A CRIMPED UPPER, according to claim 1, characterized in that the equal parts of the crimping arc (C) can be in a number between 1 and 50, depending on the degree of approximation to the required circle arc.

Ansprüche

1. VERFAHREN ZUR HERSTELLUNG EINES GEKRÄUSELTEN SCHUHOBERTEILS, bestehend aus einer Schnittkante (A), einer Beinlinie (B), einem Kräuselungsbogen (C), einer Mittelfuß- und Phalanxlinie (D) und Seitenbereichen (E, F), wobei der Kräuselungsbogen (C) mit einer speziellen, als "schrittweise Nadelaussetzung" bezeichneten Technik hergestellt wird, welche nach schrittweisem Aussetzen einer Gruppe von Nadeln im Arbeitsbereich das Erhalten verschiedener, zu bearbeitender Reihen zwischen den beiden Bereichen umfasst, die quer auf derselben Linie liegen,
wobei das Verfahren dadurch gekennzeichnet ist, dass
es aus folgenden Phasen besteht:

- der Startpunkt ist ein Bogenradius (r) eines Kreises, der mit geometrischen Konstruktionen unter Verwendung von CAD-Software, ausgehend von einer beabsichtigten Silhouette des Ristabschnitts eines Schuhoberteils auf der Symmetrieebene des Schuhoberteils erzeugt wird;

- nach Erzeugung des Kreises wird der Winkel der Halblinien, die von seinem Mittelpunkt ausgehen und die Bogenfüße durchqueren, erhalten;

- nach dieser Phase wird der Bogen in gleich große Teile geteilt, um eine höhere Definition der Kräuselungskurve zu erhalten;

- nach dem Teilen in eine gegebene Anzahl von Scheiben gleich großer Teile (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) wird derselbe Winkel verwendet, um das Achslayout der Teile (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) zu bestimmen;

- nach dieser Phase wird eine Gruppe von Nadeln (X) schrittweise in dem Arbeitsbereich ausgesetzt, wodurch unterschiedliche, zu bearbeitende Reihen (Y) zwischen den beiden Bereichen erhalten werden, die quer auf derselben Linie liegen.

2. VERFAHREN ZUR HERSTELLUNG EINES GEKRÄUSELTEN SCHUHOBERTEILS nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die gleich großen Teile des Kräuselungsbogens (C) in einer Zahl zwischen 1 und 50 vorliegen können, je nach dem Grad der Annäherung an den erforderlichen Kreisbogen.

Revendications

1. MÉTHODE POUR LA FABRICATION D'UNE EMPEIGNE FAÇONNÉE, composée d'un bord de section (A), d'une ligne de jambe (B), d'un arc de façonnage (C), d'une ligne de métatarse et de phalange (D) et de zones latérales (E, F), dans lequel l'arc de façonnage (C) est produit au moyen d'une technique spéciale appelée « suspension progressive des aiguilles », comprenant, depuis la suspension progressive d'un groupe d'aiguilles dans la zone de travail, d'obtenir de cette manière différentes rangées à travailler entre les deux zones qui sont transversalement sur la même ligne,
ladite méthode étant caractérisée en ce que
elle comprend les phases suivantes :

- le point de départ est un rayon d'arc (r) d'un cercle, créé avec des constructions géométriques à l'aide du logiciel de CAO, à partir d'une silhouette voulue de la portion de cou-de-pied d'une empeigne de chaussure dans le plan de symétrie de l'empeigne de chaussure ;

- une fois le cercle créé, l'angle des demi-droites partant de son centre et traversant les extrémités de l'arc est obtenu ;

- après cette phase, l'arc est divisé en parties égales pour obtenir une meilleure définition de la courbe de façonnage ;

- après la division en un nombre donné de tranches de parties égales (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), la même taille d'angle est utilisée pour déterminer la disposition d'alignement des dites parties (1, 2, 3 , 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) ;

- après cette phase, un groupe d'aiguilles (X) est progressivement suspendu dans la zone de travail, obtenant de cette manière différentes rangées à travailler (Y) entre les deux zones qui sont transversalement sur la même ligne.

2. MÉTHODE POUR LA FABRICATION D'UNE EMPEIGNE FAÇONNÉE, selon la revendication 1, caractérisée en ce que les parties égales de l'arc de façonnage (C) peuvent être dans un nombre compris entre 1 et 50, selon le degré d'approximation de l'arc de cercle requis.

Drawing