Technical field

The technical solution concerns a method for producing rubber footwear with printed designs.

Description of the Prior Art

The original single-colour rubber boots, which were produced in the form of an upper with a coloured sole, e.g. with a yellow, red or green sole, were transformed in terms of design in 2004 by the British company Emilyhannah Ltd., which brought a wide range of coloured rubber boots to the market.

Utility model CN 2297088 describes waterproof over- shoes produced from a transparent or coloured solid flexible plastic. Rubber boots are also manufactured by the British company Evercreatures, which uses natural rubber and a multi-coloured pattern applied on a matte surface and an abrasion-resistant covering applied from the inside.

Currently PVC footwear is produced with a coloured lining where PVC is injected into a lining form, which, once cooled, creates footwear with coloured motifs.

The goal of this technical solution is use new technology to produce rubber footwear with multi-coloured printing and based on a natural material in order to create footwear that is practical and provides reliable protection from unpleasant weather while preventing sweaty feet, even when worn for an extended period of time.

Disclosure of the technical solution

The method used to produce rubber footwear with printing based on the technical solution features the combination of a transparent rubber mixture and a coloured motif applied to lined or printed textile pieces.

A coloured motif print is applied on the inner side of the lining, to which a transparent rubber mixture is applied or this transparent rubber mixture is applied to a coloured or printed textile.

In footwear production pursuant to the technical solution, the adhesion of the transparent rubber mixture is critical in order to ensure the resulting footwear is sufficiently waterproof and transparent to ensure the coloured motif on the lining or the printed piece is visible. The best results are achieved when the basis weight of the applied transparent rubber layer is between 1000 to 2000 g/m ² .

Footwear produced in the manner described is then vulcanized using hot air at a temperature from 120 to 150 °C and at a pressure of 0.05 to 0.5 MPa.

Rubber footwear based on the technical solution is intended for use in wet environments and is equipped with a lining that is sufficiently resistant to wear and tear while the footwear is breathable, meaning that feet do not sweat, even when worn for extended periods of time.

Examples of embodiments of the technical solution

Example 1 Printing is applied to the inner side of a lining treated with a coating of the rubber mixture; the printing method used can be one of many: screen printing is simplest, but etching (intaglio printing) or tampon printing of the coloured motif is also possible. The lining is then stitched together using a regular method and pulled onto a shoe tree. The individual outer components, made from a transparent or coloured rubber mixture with a basis weight of 1500 g/m2 for example, of the footwear are glued onto the inner, treated side of the lining separately and by hand. Finally the prepared footwear is vulcanized using hot air at a temperature from 120 to 150 °C and at a pressure of 0.05 to 0.5 MPa.

Example 2

A layer of transparent rubber mixture with a basis weight of around 400 g/m2 is applied using a three-roll calender machine onto a coloured or printed fabric or knit work. Shin pieces are cut from such a prepared material and then are glued to the lining. The rest of the production procedure and vulcanization is the same as in Example 1.

Industrial applicability

The technical solution can be used in the footwear industry to produce rubber footwear for occupational use and for everyday street use.