Shoe upper having an adhesive impregnated fabric strip stitched thereto for sole attached thereto

Abstract

A footwear construction including an upper to which a sole is to be attached. The upper has a peripheral edge, having an inner surface and an outer surface. A heat activatable adhesive impregnated substrate strip stitched to the outer surface of the peripheral edge whereby when the adhesive is activated a sole can be bonded thereto. A method for adhering an upper to a sole including applying a heat activatable adhesive to a substrate, attaching at least a portion of the upper and activating the adhesive.

Having described my invention, what I now claim is:  
     
         1 . A footwear construction which comprises: 
 an upper to which a sole is to be attached, the upper having a peripheral edge, the edge having an inner surface and an outer surface; and    a heat activatable adhesive impregnated substrate strip stitched to the outer surface of the peripheral edge whereby when the adhesive is activated a sole can be bonded thereto.    
     
     
         2 . The footwear construction of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the heat activatable adhesive is selectable from the group consisting essentially of polyester or polycaprolactone-based urethane polymers in the molecular weight range of 80,000-160,000.  
 
     
     
         3 . The footwear construction of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the substrate strip material is selected from the group consisting essentially of polyester nonwovens, polyester/nylon nonwovens; polyester/olefin nonwovens; polyester, cotton or nylon fabrics.  
 
     
     
         4 . The footwear construction of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the upper is selected from the group consisting essentially of leather or synthetic coated upper fabrics.  
 
     
     
         5 . The footwear construction of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the stitch is a strobel stitch.  
 
     
     
         6 . The footwear construction of  claim 4  wherein: 
 the stitch is a bonus stitch.  
 
     
     
         7 . The footwear construction of  claim 1  which comprises: 
 a sole bonded to the substrate material.  
 
     
     
         8 . The footwear construction of  claim 7  wherein: 
 the sole is characterized by a film of adhesive on it's periphery.  
 
     
     
         9 . The footwear construction of  claim 8  wherein: 
 the film of adhesive is selected from the group consisting of polyester or polycaprolactone-based polyurethanes.  
 
     
     
         10 . The footwear construction of  claim 7  wherein: 
 the sole material is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, SBS rubber, EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), EVA blends, or leather.  
 
     
     
         11 . A method for adhering an upper to a sole comprising: 
 applying a heat activatable adhesive to a substrate;    attaching at least a portion of the substrate to at least a portion of the upper to form an attached substrate;    activating the adhesive; and    contacting the attached substrate with the sole.    
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11  wherein attaching comprises stitching.  
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12  wherein the upper has a peripheral edge and which further comprises: 
 stitching the substrate to the peripheral edge.  
 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13  wherein applying comprises impregnating.  
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14  wherein the heat activatable adhesive meets or exceeds the SATRA TM409 standard.  
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15  wherein the heat activatable adhesive is selected from the group consisting essentially of polyester or polycaprolactone-based urethane polymers in the molecular weight range of 80,000-160,000.  
     
     
         17 . The method according to claims  16  wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting essentially of polyester nonwovens, polyester/nylon nonwovens; polyester/polyolefin nonwovens; polyester, cotton or nylon fabrics.  
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17  wherein the upper is selected from the group consisting essentially of leather or synthetic coated upper fabrics.  
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 18  wherein the sole is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, SBS rubber, ethylene vinyl acetate, or leather.  
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 19  wherein the sole is primed or coated with an adhesive.  
     
     
         21 . A method for adhering an upper having peripheral edge to a sole, the sole having a primer or adhesive coated thereon, comprising: 
 impregnating a heat activatable polyurethane adhesive into a polyester/olefin non-woven, the adhesive meeting or exceeding the SATRA TM409 standard;    stitching at least a portion of the non-woven to the peripheral edge to form a stitched non-woven;    activating the adhesive; and    contacting the attached non-woven with the sole.