Shoe

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods and devices for forming an upper of a piece of footwear, wherein the method comprises the steps of forming a first shaped piece and a second shaped piece of the footwear upper and laminating the two shaped pieces together. The present invention further relates to a method of printing on the surface of a piece of a shoe while the piece is in a substantially planar configuration, and then shaping the piece. The piece may then subsequently be used in the method of forming a piece of footwear.

1 . A method of forming an upper of a shoe, the method comprising the steps of:
 forming a first shaped piece of the shoe upper;   forming a second shaped piece of the shoe upper;   laminating the first shaped piece of the shoe upper to the second shaped piece of the shoe upper.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the laminating of the first shaped piece and second shaped piece occurs during molding. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the forming of at least one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece comprises one or more steps of molding. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the forming of at least one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece comprises one or more steps of laminating. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the forming of at least one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece comprises a step of trimming from a larger piece. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece is formed by joining two or more components to form the first shaped piece or the second shaped piece. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least two of the components are joined together by one or more of:
 stitching;   adhesive means;   ultrasonic welding; or   heat treatment.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the forming of at least one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece comprises the step of laminating two or more components. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the laminating of the two or more components occurs during one or more molding steps. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the components comprises a previously shaped component. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the previously shaped component is shaped by molding. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the components comprises a laminated component. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the components comprises one or more of fabric and foam. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the components comprises a portion at least partially adapted to overlay one or more other of the components. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the components comprises a cushioning component. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 wherein at least one of the components comprises a portion at least partially adapted to overlay one or more other of the components; and   wherein the one or more cushioning components are positioned between overlaying portions.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein at least one of the overlaying components further comprises a portion which does not overlay at least one other component. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising the step of hemming the portion which does not overlay the other component. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of one of the first shaped piece and a portion of the second shaped piece is at least partially adapted to overlay a portion of the other shaped piece. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein at least one of the first shaped piece and second shaped piece further comprises a portion which does not overlay the other piece. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising the step of hemming the portion of one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece which does not overlay the other shaped piece. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of joining the first shaped piece to the second shape piece. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the joining of the first shaped piece to the second shaped piece occurs prior to the laminating. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the joining is performed by one or more of:
 stitching;   adhesive means;   ultrasonic welding; or   heat treatment.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of inverting the configuration of the pieces such that an outermost piece of the first shaped piece and second shaped piece becomes an innermost piece of the first shaped piece and second shaped piece. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the first shaped piece and at least a portion of the second shaped piece collectively form an aperture having a rim. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising the step of adding a strip to at least partially cover the rim of the aperture. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the strip is added by using one or more of:
 stitching;   adhesive means;   ultrasonic welding; or   heat treatment.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of attaching one or more sole components to the shoe upper. 
     
     
         30 . A method of making a shoe comprising the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         31 . An upper for a shoe, the upper comprising:
 a first, shaped piece;   a second, shaped piece;   wherein at least a portion of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece are laminated together.   
     
     
         32 . The upper of  claim 31 , wherein at least one of the first and second shaped pieces is a molded piece. 
     
     
         33 . The upper of  claim 31 , wherein at least one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece is a laminated piece. 
     
     
         34 . The upper of  claim 31 , wherein at least one of the first and second shaped pieces comprises a plurality of components. 
     
     
         35 . The upper of  claim 34 , wherein at least two of the plurality of components are joined together by one or more of:
 stitching;   adhesive means;   ultrasonic welding; or   heat treatment.   
     
     
         36 . The upper of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece comprises a plurality of laminated components which collectively comprise the first shaped piece or the second shaped piece. 
     
     
         37 . The upper of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the components comprises a previously shaped component. 
     
     
         38 . The upper of  claim 37 , wherein the previously shaped component is shaped by molding. 
     
     
         39 . The upper of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the components comprises a laminated component. 
     
     
         40 . The upper of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the components comprises one or more of fabric and foam. 
     
     
         41 . The upper of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the components comprises a portion at least partially adapted to overlay one or more of the other components. 
     
     
         42 . The upper of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the components is a cushioning component. 
     
     
         43 . The upper of  claim 42 ,
 wherein at least one of the components comprises a portion at least partially adapted to overlay one or more of the other components; and   wherein the one or more cushioning components are positioned between one or more of the overlaying portions of two or more other components.   
     
     
         44 . The upper of  claim 42 , wherein at least one of the overlaying components further comprises a portion which does not overlay the other component. 
     
     
         45 . The upper of  claim 44 , further comprising a hemmed portion which does not overlay the other component. 
     
     
         46 . The upper of  claim 31 , wherein at least a portion of one of the first shaped piece and second shaped piece is at least partially adapted to overlay the other of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece. 
     
     
         47 . The upper of  claim 46 , wherein at least one of the first shaped piece and second shaped piece further comprises a portion which does not overlay the other piece. 
     
     
         48 . The upper of  claim 47 , further comprising a hemmed portion of one of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece which does not overlay the other shaped piece. 
     
     
         49 . The upper of  claim 31 , wherein the first shaped piece and the second shape piece are joined. 
     
     
         50 . The upper of  claim 49 , wherein the join comprises one or more of:
 stitching;   adhesive means;   ultrasonic welding; or   heat treatment.   
     
     
         51 . The upper of  claim 31 , wherein at least a portion of the first shaped piece and at least a portion of the second shaped piece collectively form an aperture with a rim. 
     
     
         52 . The upper of  claim 31 , further comprising a strip to at least partially cover the rim of the aperture. 
     
     
         53 . The upper of  claim 52 , wherein the strip is attached to the upper by one or more of:
 stitching;   adhesive means;   ultrasonic welding; or   heat treatment.   
     
     
         54 . The upper of  claim 31 , further comprising one or more sole components. 
     
     
         55 . A shoe comprising an upper of  claim 31 . 
     
     
         56 . A method of forming a decorative pattern on a portion of an upper of a shoe, the method comprising:
 printing a decorative pattern on at least a portion of a shoe upper, the portion of the shoe upper having a substantially planar configuration; and   shaping the portion of the shoe upper to form a predetermined shape.   
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the portion of the shoe upper comprises a laminated portion. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the shaping of the portion of the shoe upper to form a predetermined shape comprises molding. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the portion of the shoe upper comprises at least one of fabric, foam, plastic or leather. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the step of printing comprises screen printing. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the step of printing comprises printing on a plurality of substantially planar portions of the shoe upper. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 61 , wherein the steps of printing onto one of the plurality of substantially planar portions occurs separately from the step of printing onto any other of the plurality of substantially planar portions. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 61 , wherein the steps of printing onto one of the plurality of substantially planar portions occurs sequentially. 
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 56 , further comprising the steps of:
 forming a first shaped piece of the shoe upper;   forming a second shaped piece of the shoe upper;   laminating the first shaped piece of the shoe upper to the second shaped piece of the shoe upper.   
     
     
         65 . A decorated portion of an upper for a shoe comprising:
 one or more layers of substantially planar material; and   a decorative image;   wherein the decorative image is printed on at least part of a surface of a portion of the shoe upper whilst the portion of the shoe upper is in a substantially planar configuration,   and wherein the portion of the shoe upper is subsequently shaped into a predetermined shape.   
     
     
         66 . The decorated portion of  claim 65 , wherein the portion is at least partially a laminated portion. 
     
     
         67 . The decorated portion of  claim 65 , wherein the portion of the shoe upper comprises at least one of fabric, foam, plastic or leather. 
     
     
         68 . The decorated portion of  claim 65 , wherein the printed decorative image comprises at least one screen printed decorative image. 
     
     
         69 . The decorated portion of  claim 65 , further comprising:
 a first, shaped piece;   a second, shaped piece;   wherein at least a portion of the first shaped piece and the second shaped piece are laminated together.