US2742389A - Method of constructing footwear having a sealed dead-end chamber - Google Patents

Description

April 17, 1956 C. A. RILEY ET AL METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING FOOTWEAR HAVING A SEALED DEAD-END CHAMBER Original Filed May 51, 1952 United States Patent METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING FOOTWEAR HAV- ING A SEALED DEAD-END CHAMBER Chester A. Riley, Melrose, and Harold H. Whittemore,

Wobum, Mass., assignors to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application May 31, 1952, Serial No. 290,976. Divided and this application August 6, 1954, Serial No. 448,168

8 Claims. (Cl. 154-418) This invention relates to a method of constructing an article of footwear having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by the walls thereof and pertains more particularly to a method of removing air from the dead-air chamber of the footwear during the vulcanization thereof.

It is, an object of this invention to provide a method of constructing an article of footwear having a dead-air chamber formed between and by the walls thereof.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a method of bleeding air from a dead-air chamber, formed between and by the walls of an article of footwear, during the volcanization of said footwear to prevent inflation of the walls of the article during the vulcanization process caused by the expansion of air confined within the dead-air chamber.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a convenient and economical method of constructing insulated footwear.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the description and drawings which follow.

In the construction of articles of footwear provided with a sealed dead-air chamber formed between the walls thereof for providing insulation around the foot and ankle of the wearer to protect these portions of the body from extreme cold, it has been found desirable to form portions of the walls of the article of rubber or rubber-like materials which must be vulcanized to impart the desired physical properties thereto. If heat is used to vulcanize the rubber or rubber-like materials in the article of footwear, it has been found necessary during the vulcanization process to maintain the pressure of the air confined in the dead-air chamber substantially the same as the atmospheric pressure to prevent ballooning or inflation of the walls of the article caused by the expansion of the air within the dead-air chamber upon being heated. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide an opening into the deadair chamber during the process of vulcanizing the boot or shoe to allow air within the dead-air chamber to escape to the atmosphere as it expands because of being heated. It has been customary to bleed air from the dead-air chamber during the vulcanization process by puncturing a side wall of the chamber at a zone remote from the margin of the article. This method of bleeding air from the dead-air chamber during the vulcanization of the article has not proven entirely satisfactory, however, since it is a difficult and tedious operation to reseal the chamber after the completion of the vulcanization process and since an objectionable unworkmanlike seal results.

We have found a method of making articles of footwear provided with a sealed dead-air chamber between the walls of the article which attains the objectives set forth above and eliminates the deficiencies of heretofore known methods of bleeding air from a dead-air chamber in a boot or shoe during the vulcanization thereof by venting air through a marginal zone of the boot or shoe.

For a clearer understanding of this invention, reference will be made, henceforth, to a method of constructing a boot having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by the walls thereof; however, it will be understood that we do not intend our invention be limited to this specific illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view partly broken away and in section of a boot embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. l, but showing a modification.

Referring to the drawings, boot 10 comprises a flexible leg-enclosing upper portion 11 extending generally to about mid-calf height, and a sole assembly 12. Upper portion 11 is constructed of several layers disposed one over another to form a laminated assembly and includes a continuous flexible resilient waterand moisture-impervious outer barrier 13 of rubber or rubber-like material reinforced with fabric material 14, a flexible outer insulating member 15, a flexible inner insulating member 16, and a continuous flexible resilient waterand moistureimpervious inner barrier 17 of rubber or rubber-like material reinforced with fabric material 18.

Outer insulating member 15, which may be constructed of any suitable heat-insulating material, such as deep pile fabric, shearling, rabbit hair, spun glass, spun nylon, and the like, is disposed over and adhered to the inner face of barrier 13 and extends upwardly from the region of sole assembly 12 to any desired height and substantially continuously around the footand ankle-enclosing portion of upper portion 11. Inner insulating member 16, which may be constructed of the same heat-insulating material as outer insulating member 15 and which opposes outer insulating member 15 in face-to-face relationship, is disposed over and adhered to the outer face of inner barrier 17 and, like outer insulating member 15, extends upwardly from the region of sole assembly 12 to any desired height, preferably to the same height as outer insulating member 15, and substantially continuously around the footand ankle-enclosing portion of upper portion 11.

Barrier 13 extends over the entire outer face of outer insulating member 15 and over the entire sole portion of boot 10; and barrier 17 extends over the entire inner face of inner insulating member 16 and over the entire sole portion of boot 10. The upper margins of barriers 13 and 17 are completely sealed together in the finished boot to provide boot 10 with a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by the walls of boot 10, the deadair chamber providing insulation for the foot and ankle of the wearer because of the air sealed therein.

In constructing boot 10 in accordance with this invention a hollow tubular member 20 is disposed between the upper margins of barrier 13 and barrier 17, before these margins are sealed together, with one of its open ends 21 extending between insulating members 15 and 16 into the dead-air chamber of boot 10 and with its other open end 22 extending to the upper edge 23 of boot ltl. Tubular member 20 is desirably constructed of a flexible material which is incapable of adhering to itself but which is capable of being adhered with a rubbery cement to rubber or rubber-like materials or to fabric or which is capable of being adhered directly to rubber or rubber-like materials by vulcanizing them together. Preferably member 20 is a flexible braided fabric tubular element. The upper margins of barriers 13 and 17 are sealed together in face-to-face relationship with tubular member 20 adhered therebetween, as shown in Fig. 3, to form a deadair chamber in boot 10 which is completely sealed except for a passageway from the dead-air chamber of boot 10 to the atmosphere formed by tubular member 20. If it is desired, tubular member 20 may be coated with a rubbery cement prior to being incorporated betwee' barriers 13 and 17 or may be disposed and adhered between strips or layers of rubber or rubber-like material, which may be reinforced with a fabric material, the assembly then being adhered between barriers 13 and 17.

After all of the elements of the boo-t have been assembled, boot is vulcanized in the usual manner while still on the last by the application of heat. As the air confined in the dead-air chamber of the boot becomes heated, it expands and is automatically vented through tubular member to the atmosphere to maintain the pressure of the air within the dead-air chamber the same as the pressure of the air on the outside of the boot preventing ballooning or inflation of the walls of boot 10 which would result if the chamber were completely sealed.

After boot lltl has been vulcanized to the desired degree, it is allowed to cool to room temperature. As the air within the dead-air chamber of the boot is cooled, the pressure of the air within the chamber decreases to a pressure below that of the air surrounding the boot and air from the atmosphere enters the dead-air chamber of the boot to establish a condition of equilibrium between the air within the chamber and the air exterior of the boot.

vhen boot iii has cooled preferably to approximately room temperature and the air within the dead-air chamber of the boot and the air surrounding the boot are in a condition of equilibrium, tubular member 2i) is sealed closed by forcing a sealing material, such as an air-curing rubbery cement or latex, into end 22 of tubular member 2t) and thereafter pressing member 20 together, or by plugging end 22 of member 20 with any suitable plug device.

in another embodiment of this invention, as shown in Fig. 3, tubular member 20 is provided with a relatively flexible supporting member or core 24 of non-collapsible material, such as a metal wire, which prevents tubular member 26" from being inadvertently collapsed during the assembly of boot iii. After boot 10 has been completely assembled and just before it is vulcanized, core 24 is removed and the boot is vulcanized and member 20 is sealed as described above.

This invention provides a method of venting air from a dead-air chamber formed between the walls of a boot or shoe containing rubber or rubber-like materials during the vulcanization process thereof to prevent ballooning or inflation of the walls of the boot or shoe because of the expansion of air within the dead-air chamber as a result of its being heated. Also, this invention allows air to flow into the dead-air chamber of the boot or shoe as the boot or shoe is cooled to room temperature after it has been vulcanized.

in bleeding the air from the dead-air chamber through the top margin of the boot or shoe during the vulcanization of the boot or shoe, the process of puncturing a side wall of the dead-air chamber is eliminated and, conseqeuntly, provides a boot or shoe of better quality and workmanship.

Our invention, also, eliminates the tedious and timeconsuming operation of sealing the punctured side wall of the chamber subsequent to the vulcanization of the boot or shoe and provides a more positive seal of the deadair chamber than is obtained in sealing a puncture in the side wall of the chamber.

it is clear that obvious modifications and variations of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 290,976 filed May 31, 1952.

We claim:

1. The method of making an article of footwear having generally parallel opposing wall members comprising vuleanizable rubber-like material sealed together along their marginal zones to form a hermetically-sealed deadair chamber therebetween, which method comprises providing a passage between opposing faces of said vulcanizable wall members in the marginal zones thereof communicating with said chamber and with the atmosphere and being open for the flow of gas through said passage both out of and into said chamber, heating said article to vulcanize the rubber portions of the article and simultaneously discharging gases from said chamber to the atmosphere through said open passage, cooling said article and simultaneously vdrawing gases from the atmosphere through said passage into the chamber, and sealing said passage to stop completely the passage of gases either out of or into said chamber.

2. The method of making an article of footwear having a pair of generally parallel opposing wall members comprising resilient vulcanizable rubbery material completely sealed together along their marginal zones to form a hermetically-sealed dead-air chamber therebetween, which method comprises providing a hollow open-ended tubular member between the opposing faces of said vulcanizable wall members in the marginal zones thereof communicating with said chamber and with the atmosphere, said tubular member being open for the flow of gas both into and out of said chamber, heating said article to vulcanize it and simultaneously discharging gases from said chamber to the atmosphere through said tubular member, cooling said article to approximately room temperature and simultaneously passing air from the atmosphere through said tubular member into the chamber, and sealing said tubular member closed to stop completely the flow of gases either out of or into the chamber.

3. The method of making an article of footwear having a pair of generally parallel opposing walls comprising a resilient vulcanizable rubbery material and having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by the walls thereof by completely sealing the margins of said walls together, said method comprising providing a tubular member between the opposing faces of said margins of said vulcanizable Walls with one of its ends extending intosaid dead-air chamber and with its other end communicating with the atmosphere, sealing said margins of said walls together with said tubular member adherently sealed therebetween, said tubular member being open for the tlow of gases both out of and into said chamber, heating said article to vulcanize it and simultaneously discharging gases from the chamber through said tubular member to the atmosphere, cooling said article to approximately room temperature and simultaneously drawing air from the atmosphere through said tubular member into the chamber, and sealing said tubular member closed to stop completely the passage of gases out of or into said chamber.

4. The method of making an article of footwear having a pair of generally parallel opposing walls comprising a resilient vulcanizable rubbery material and having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by the walls thereof by completely sealing the margins of said walls together, said method comprising providing a hollow openended tubular member between the opposing faces of the upper margins of said vulcanizable walls with one of its open ends extending into said deadair chamber and with its other open end communicating with the atmosphere, sealing said margins of said walls together with said tubular member adherently sealed therebetween, said tubular member being open to permit a free flow of fluids both into and out of the said chamber, heating said article to vulcanize it and simultaneously discharging gases from the chamber through the tubular member into the atmosphere, cooling said article to approximately room tem perature and simultaneously admitting atmospheric air through said tubular member into the chamber, and sealing said tubular member closed to stop completely the passage of fluids either out of or into said chamber.

5. The method of making an article of footwear having a pair of generally parallel opposing walls comprising a resilient vulcanizable rubbery material and having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by the walls thereof by completely sealing the margins of said walls together,

said method comprising providing a hollow open-ended tubular member between the opposing faces of the upper margins of said vulcanizable walls with one of its open ends extending into said dead-air chamber and with its other open end communicating with the atmosphere, sealing said margins of said walls together with said tubular member adherently sealed therebetween, heating said article to vulcanize the rubber portions of the article while venting gases from said chamber to the atmosphere through said tubular member, cooling said article to approximately room temperature while admitting atmospheric air through said tubular member into said chamber, and sealing said tubular member closed by disposing a rubbery sealing material in the tubular opening thereof to stop completely the flow of fluids through said tubular member.

6. The method of making an article of footwear having a pair of generally parallel opposing walls comprising a resilient vulcanizable rubbery material and having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by opposing walls thereof by completely sealing the margins of said walls together, said method comprising providing a flexible hollow open-ended fabric tubular member between opposing faces of said margins of said vulcanizable walls with one of its open ends extending into said dead-air chamber and with its other open end communicating withthe atmosphere, sealing said opposing faces of said margins of said walls together with said tubular member adherently sealed therebetween, heating said article to vulcanize the rubber portions thereof while venting gases from said chamber to the atmosphere through said tubular member, cooling said article to approximately room temperature while admitting atmospheric air through said tubular member into said chamber, and sealing said tubular member together to stop completely the flow of fluids into said chamber.

7. The method of making an article of footwear having a pair of generally parallel opposing Walls comprising a resilient vulcanizable rubbery material and having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by opposing walls thereof-by completely sealing the margins of said walls to gether, said method comprising providing a tubular memher having a readily removable internal supporting member between the opposing faces of the upper margins of said vulcanizable walls with one of its ends extending into said dead-air chamber and with its other end communicating with the atmosphere, sealing said opposing faces of said margins of said walls together with said tubular member adherently sealed therebctween, removing said supporting member from said tubular member to provide an open passageway for fluids between the chamber and the atmosphere, heating said article to vulcanize the rubber portions thereof while venting gases from the chamber through said tubular member to the atmosphere, cooling said article to approximately room temperature while admitting atmospheric air through said tubular member into said chamber, and sealing the opening of said tubular member closed to prevent completely the flow of fluids through said tubular member.

8. The method of making an article of footwear having a pairof generally parallel opposing Walls comprising a resilient vulcanizable rubbery material and having a sealed dead-air chamber formed between and by opposing walls thereof by completely sealing the margins of said walls together, said method comprising providing a flexible fabric tubular member having a readily removable internal supporting member between the opposing faces of the upper margins of said vulcanizable walls with one of its ends extending into said dead-air chamber and with its other end communicating with the atmosphere, sealing said opposing faces of said margins of said walls together with said tubular member adherently sealed therebetween, removing said supporting member from said fabric tubular member to provide an open passageway for fluids between the said chamber and the atmosphere, heating said article to vulcanize the rubber portions thereof While venting gases from the chamber through said tubular member to the atmosphere, cooling said article to room temperature while admitting atmospheric air through said tubular member into said chamber, and sealing opposing walls of said fabric tubular member together to prevent completely the flow of fluids through said! tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims (1)

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING AN ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR HAVING GENERALLY PARALLEL OPPOSING WALL MEMBERS COMPRISING VULCANIZABLE RUBBER-LIKE MATERIAL SEALED TOGETHER ALONG THEIR MARGINAL ZONES TO FORM A HERMETICALLY-SEALED DEADAIR CHAMBER THEREBETWEEN, WHICH METHOD COMPRISES PROVIDING A PASSAGE BETWEEN OPPOSING FACES OF SAID VULCANIZABLE WALL MEMBERS IN THE MARGINAL ZONES THEREOF COMMUNICATING WITH SAID CHAMBER AND WITH THE ATMOSPHERE AND BEING OPEN FOR THE FLOW OF GAS THROUGH SAID PASSAGE BOTH OUT OF AND INTO SAID CHAMBER, HEATING SAID ARTICLE TO VULCANIZE THE RUBBER PORTIONS OF THE ARTICLE AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DISCHARGING GASES FROM SAID CHAMBER TO THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH SAID OPEN PASSAGE, COOLING SAID ARTICLE AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DRAWING GASES FROM THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH SAID PASSAGE INTO THE CHAMBER, AND SEALING SAID PASSAGE TO STOP COMPLETELY THE PASSAGE OF GASES EITHER OUT OF OR INTO SAID CHAMBER.

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