Method for making an article of footwear

Abstract

A method for making a footwear includes the steps of preparing an upper that has a bottom peripheral edge, preparing a thermoplastic skin that has a base wall and a peripheral wall and that confines an inner space, preparing a filler pad, mounting the upper on a last, preheating the thermoplastic skin to a softened state, and thermal molding the softened thermoplastic skin together with an assembly of the filler pad and the upper in such a manner that the filler pad is fittingly received in the inner space and is bonded to the base wall and the peripheral wall.

1 . A method for making an article of footwear, comprising the steps of: 
 preparing an upper that has a bottom peripheral edge;    preparing a thermoplastic skin that has a base wall and a peripheral wall which extends from a periphery of said base wall in a transverse direction relative to said base wall and which confines an inner space therein, said peripheral wall having a shape that conforms to that of said bottom peripheral edge of said upper;    preparing a filler pad that has a shape conforming to that of said base wall;    mounting said upper on a last;    preheating said thermoplastic skin to a softened state; and    thermal molding said softened thermoplastic skin together with an assembly of said filler pad and said upper in a mold in such a manner that said peripheral wall of said thermoplastic skin is patterned and is bonded to said bottom peripheral edge of said upper and that said filler pad is fittingly received in said inner space and is bonded to said base wall and said peripheral wall of said thermoplastic skin.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said thermoplastic skin is made from ethylene vinylacetate copolymer.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said thermoplastic skin is made from thermoplastic polyurethane.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said filler pad is made from plastic waste.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising attaching a wear-resistant pad to a bottom surface of said base wall in said mold during the molding operation.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising binding an insole to said bottom peripheral edge of said upper prior to the molding operation.  
   
   
       7 . A method for making an article of footwear, comprising the steps of: 
 preparing an upper that has a bottom peripheral edge which confines a bottom opening;    preparing a thermoplastic skin that has a base wall and a peripheral wall which extends from a periphery of said base wall in a transverse direction relative to said base wall and which confines an inner space therein, said peripheral wall having a shape that conforms to that of said bottom peripheral edge of said upper;    preparing a filler pad that has a shape conforming to that of said base wall;    mounting said upper on a last;    preheating said thermoplastic skin to a softened state;    thermal molding said softened thermoplastic skin together with said upper in a mold in such a manner that said peripheral wall of said thermoplastic skin is patterned and is bonded to said bottom peripheral edge of said upper;    cooling said mold and removing an assembly of said upper and said skin from said mold; and    inserting fittingly said filler pad in said inner space through said bottom opening in said upper.    
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said thermoplastic skin is made from ethylene vinylacetate copolymer.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said thermoplastic skin is made from thermoplastic polyurethane.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said filler pad is made from plastic waste.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising laying an insole on an upper surface of said filler pad, and connecting said insole to said bottom peripheral edge of said upper after the molding operation.