Conformable booties, shoes inserts, and footwear assemblies made therewith, and waterproof breathable socks

Abstract

Waterproof, breathable socks, booties, shoe inserts, and footwear assemblies containing the shoe inserts are provided. The booties and shoe inserts include a laminate of a seamless ePTFE membrane and at least one textile. The bootie is conformable over a range of sizes and shoe shapes, and may be shaped to fit numerous sizes and shapes of asymmetrical shoe lasts. The bootie may shrink to fit, or, alternatively, be stretched to fit, an asymmetrical last having a desired size to form a shoe insert. Such a conformable bootie eliminates the need to have multiple sizes of shoe inserts correlating to particular shoe sizes. In embodiments where the ePTFE is seamless and continuous, the shoe insert eliminates the need for a waterproof seam tape, which is conventionally used to make shoe inserts waterproof. Methods of forming the socks, booties, and shoe inserts are also provided

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of forming a shoe insert, comprising:
 positioning a first textile on a last;   stretching a single piece of ePTFE tape over the first textile and last to form a seamless ePTFE membrane having a shape of the last,
 wherein the first textile is positioned on a first side of the ePTFE membrane, 
   positioning a second textile on a second side of the ePTFE membrane opposing the first textile;   laminating the first textile, the ePTFE membrane and the second textile to form the shoe insert; and   shrinking or stretching the shoe insert to one of a range of shoe sizes,
 wherein the shoe insert is configured to be shrunk or stretched to any one shoe size in the range of shoe sizes. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising affixing the first and second textiles to the ePTFE membrane with an adhesive. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying the adhesive discontinuously to at least one of the ePTFE membrane, the first textile or the second textile. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the adhesive is applied in one of a dot or a grid pattern. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the adhesive is a breathable adhesive. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying the adhesive continuously to at least one of the ePTFE membrane, the first textile, or the second textile. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first textile and the second textile comprise elastic properties. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert maintains a three-dimensional shape of the last upon which it is formed. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ePTFE membrane has a thickness variation from a first location to a second location of at least 1.2:1. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying heat to the shoe insert to stretch the shoe insert to fit an asymmetrical last. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the heat is applied to the shoe insert in a vacuum. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying heat to the shoe insert to shrink the shoe insert to fit an asymmetrical last. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the shoe insert is heated to a temperature from 50° C. to 200° C. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising amorphously locking the ePTFE membrane by heating the ePTFE membrane to from 340° C. to 375° C. to prevent further changes in the shape and/or size of the shoe insert. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ePTFE membrane has a density greater than or equal to 2.0 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert is breathable. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the shoe insert is breathable over its entirety. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert is waterproof. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert is breathable and waterproof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert has a moisture vapor transmission rate of at least 3 g/hr. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert has a moisture vapor transmission rate of at least 5 g/hr. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert has a moisture vapor transmission rate of at least 10 g/hr. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert has a moisture vapor transmission rate of at least 20 g/hr. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert has a moisture vapor transmission rate of at least 30 g/hr. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising attaching a polymeric overlay to the shoe insert. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insert does not demonstrate leaking when a shoe containing the shoe insert is subjected to the Centrifuge Waterproofness Test. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying an abrasion resistant coating to all or part of a surface of the first textile and/or second textile. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the last is a symmetrical last.