TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a method for producing shoes having a top part or upper, an insole, a sole and an aeration or transpiration system, as well as to shoes produced with said method.

The aforementioned transpiration or aeration system is aimed at allowing air to be replaced within a shoe and/or preventing sweat saturation therein.

In a first known solution said system provides for the use of an appropriate membrane, usually made of Goretex or similar material, positioned between a rubber sole and an insole for mounting the shoe; the insole has a series of through holes, below which lies the membrane, the latter being positioned in correspondence with a footprint or holed seat, defined on the upper surface of the sole. The aforementioned membrane can thereby absorb the moisture inside the shoe, through the holes of the insole, and then discharge it outwards, through the holes present in correspondence with the footprint of the sole; the membrane, by virtue of the characteristics of the material that constitutes it, also prevents the entry of water towards the interior of the shoe, through the holes present in the sole.

In a second known solution, the aeration system comprises a series of ducts, open upwardly, defined in the rubber that constitutes the sole of the shoe; superiorly to the sole is provided a holed mounting insole and the sole is fitted, on one side, with a one- way valve, aimed at placing the aforesaid ducts in communication with the external environment. The air

present inside the shoe can thereby reach, through the holes of the insole, the ducts defined in the sole, and then be discharged outwards through the aforementioned valve; in this case, too, the extracted air is replaced by fresh air penetrating from the upper part of the shoe.

For purposes of the manufacture of shoes provided with the aforementioned transpiration or aeration systems, be they of the membrane type or of the valve type, the sole must be previously made as a distinct component, to be subsequently glued to the upper of the shoe; the sole cannot instead be obtained by injection moulding directly onto the upper, due to the need to obtain, within the sole itself, the various ducts and the seat for the valve, or the aforesaid footprint or holed seat for housing the membrane.

Such an arrangement considerably complicates the shoe manufacturing process, which necessarily requires a specific operation of gluing the pre-moulded sole to the upper; this fact thus also results in a higher final cost of the product.

The present invention aims to solve the aforesaid drawback.

In this general context, the main object of the present invention is to indicate a method that allows to manufacture, in a simple and economical manner, shoes provided with an aeration or transpiration system incorporated in the sole, the latter being injected or moulded directly onto the respective upper.

This object and other objects besides are achieved, according to the present invention, by a method and by the shoes having the characteristics set out in the accompanying claims, which form an integral part of the present description.

Additional objects, characteristics and advantages

of the present invention shall become readily apparent from the detailed description that follows and from the accompanying drawings, provided purely by way of non limiting example, in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic lateral view of a shoe manufactured according to the present invention; - Figure 2 is a schematic lateral view of a form shoe tree used to mould the sole of the shoe of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a schematic bottom view of the shoe tree of Figure 2; - Figures 4 and 5 are two schematic sections, obtained respectively according to the lines IV-IV and V-V of Figure 2; - Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of a mounting insole of the shoe of Figure 1; Figures 7,8 and 9 are schematic sections obtained respectively according to the lines VII-VII, VIII-VIII and IX-IX of Figure 1.

In Figure 1, the reference number 1 globally designates a shoe manufactured according to the teachings of the present invention, comprising an upper 2, known in itself and provided with a closing string 3, and a sole 4, provided with lower tread 4a. As shall be described in greater detail below, the sole 4 incorporates an aeration and transpiration system, and for this purpose it is provided with a one-way valve 5, for the escape of the air, known in itself.

According to the main aspect of the present invention, while the sole 4 does incorporate the aforesaid aeration system, it is obtained through direct injection or moulding of material onto the upper 2, differently from the methods of the prior art, mentioned above.

This capability is allowed, according to the

present invention, by virtue of the employment, for purposes of the injection or moulding of the sole 4, of a shoe tree of particular design, as well as by a particular mounting insole.

The aforesaid shoe tree, globally designated by the reference number 10 in Figures 2-5, is prevalently obtained in known manners, for instance from a metallic material (such as aluminium) or a plastic material; however, according to a specific aspect of the invention, within the lower surface 11 of the shoe tree 10 is defined a protuberance or projection, globally designated as 12.

In the case exemplified in the figures, in the projection 12 can be identified a rear portion 12A and a longitudinal portion 12b; the portion 12A, which is positioned in the heel area of the shoe tree 10, is substantially quadrangular, to form an open central space, designated as 13 in Figures 3 and 4; the portion 12B, which departs from the portion 12A and extends continuously towards the tip area of the shoe tree 10, is instead narrow and elongated.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention within the projection 12 are provided magnetic elements, whose function will be described below. In the case exemplified in Figures 3-5, in particular, two rear permanent magnets designated as 14A are provided, which are inserted in two parallel and longitudinal segments of the portion 12A of the projection 12; an additional permanent magnet, designated as 14B, is inserted in the portion 12B of the projection 12, in the terminal part thereof, i. e. towards the tip area of the shoe tree 10.

The aforementioned mounting insole is globally designated as 15 in Figure 6. The insole 16 is also prevalently obtained in known manners but, in accordance with a second important aspect of the

present invention, it comprises a through central opening, globally designated as 16, whose perimeter substantially follows the shape of the outer profile of the projection 12 of the shoe tree 10; therefore, as shown in Figure 6, the opening 16 has a substantially quadrangular rear portion, designated 16A, wherefrom departs a narrow, elongated longitudinal portion 16B.

The production process of the shoe 1 according to the invention takes place as follows.

The upper 2 is pre-assembled in known manners, associating to its main body all the various necessary complements (inner linings, borders, tongue, eyelets for the strings, etcetera). The mounting insole 15, in which the opening 16 is defined, is also obtained in known manners.

The upper 2 is then positioned on the shoe tree 10, in the upper part thereof, whereupon to it is fastened the mounting insole 15; said fastening operation can be carried out by any known technique, for instance gluing, seaming or stitching; note that, in principle, nothing prohibits fastening the insole 15 to the upper 2, and then inserting the shoe tree 10 into the semi- finished product thereby obtained. Regardless of the procedure followed, after the aforesaid steps, from the lower part of the insole 15 there projects downwards a substantial part of the projection 12, through the opening 16 of the insole itself.

The working assembly thereby obtained, comprehensive of upper 2 and insole 15 fitted onto the shoe tree 10, is then inserted into a related mould, incorporated in an apparatus, known in itself, aimed at directly injecting or moulding on the semi-finished product the material destined to form the sole 4 of the shoe 1, for instance rubber, polyurethane, PVC, thermoplastic rubber or other known materials for the

moulding of the sole by direct injection. Once the moulding operation, carried out in known fashion, is complete, the shoe tree 10 will be extracted from said semi-finished product.

The part of the protuberance 12 that projects from the opening 16 of the insole 15 allows, during the moulding operation, to define within the sole 4 an upwardly open cavity, as shown in the sections as per Figures 7-9. This cavity, globally designated as 20, comprises two portions 20A and 20B shaped complementarily to the portions 12A and 12B of the projection 12; the presence of the open space 13 of the projection 12 allows to form, following the moulding operation, a central relief, designated as 21, within the portion 20A of the cavity 20.

As shown in Figure 1, the height of the projection 12 is greater in the portion 12A thereof, i. e. the one destined to operate in the heel area of the shoe 1; consequently, the depth of the cavity 20 is also greater in its portion 20A than in the portion 20B.

From Figure 7 it is readily apparent that the valve 5 is positioned in correspondence with the portion 20A of the cavity 20; the seat of the valve 5 is obtained by drilling from the exterior, in manners known in themselves, a lateral hole that traverses the solid body of the sole 4, until reaching the portion 20A; the valve 5 is then inserted into said hole, possibly with the placement of an adhesive or the like, in order to enhance the strength characteristics of the coupling between the parts.

Preferably, the shoe 1 is completed inserting an additional insole, for instance an anatomical arch support or a removable cleaning insole, provided with aeration passages in the form of holes or incorporated in the structure of the same material that constitutes

it; said additional insole, indicated as 22 in Figures 8 and 9, is thus superposed on the mounting insole 15, to cover the through opening 16 and the cavity 20.

In the embodiment of the invention exemplified in the figures, the shoe 1 is provided with a steel blade, designated as 23, which is buried in the moulding material constituting the sole 4. Said blade 23 constitutes a protective element, aimed at preventing any extraneous bodies, such as nails or similar sharp objects, from coming in contact with the user's foot, after penetrating through the sole of the shoe 1; it should be considered, however, that the presence of the protective blade 23 must be construed as merely optional for the purposes of implementing the present invention.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the bottom of the cavity 20, i. e. of its portions 20A and 20B is delimited by the upper surface of the blade 23.

If the shoe 2 is to be provided with the protective element, onto the projection 12 of the shoe tree 10, already inserted in the semi-finished product comprising upper 2 and insole 14, is set the blade 23, which is kept in the chosen position by means of the magnets 14A and 14B.

In this way, into the mould of the injection apparatus of the sole 4 is inserted an assembly including both the semi-finished product mounted on the shoe tree 10 and the protective blade 23; following the subsequent injection operation, the blade 23 will be for the most part buried in the material constituting the sole 4. Naturally, in this case as well, after the moulding of the sole 4, the shoe tree 10 will easily be extracted from the shoe 1 being formed.

The operation of the aeration o transpiration system of the shoe 1 is wholly similar to the one

mentioned previously in the introductory part of the present invention.

Briefly, the air present within the shoe 1 can reach, through the passages of any cleaning insole 22 and through the opening 16 of the mounting insole 15, the cavity 20 defined in the sole 4; the air is then discharged to the exterior through the valve 5; in this case as well, the extracted air is replaced by fresh air that penetrates from the upper part of the shoe 1.

From the description provided above, the characteristics of the method and of the shoes according to the present invention are readily apparent, and will be described in further detailed in the accompanying claims. The description also makes readily apparent the advantages of the invention; among them it should be stressed once again that the described solution allows to produce shoes provided with an aeration or transpiration system incorporated in the sole, the latter being injected or moulded directly onto the upper; all in simple fashion and with evident savings in terms of time and processing and assembly costs with respect to the prior art, which instead presupposes an appropriate production of the sole, in the form of an autonomous component, to be glue to the upper at a subsequent time.

Naturally, without changing the principle of the invention, the construction details and embodiments may be widely varied with respect to what is described and illustrated herein, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

The protective blade 23 could be held in position with respect to the assembly formed by upper 2, insole 15 and shoe tree 10 during the moulding operation with means other than the magnets 14 and 15, for instance by

means of rubber bands.

The shoe tree 10 could have more than one lower projection and the insole could have corresponding through holes, in order to obtain multiple cavities within the sole 4.

The aeration system could also comprise multiple valves of the type previously designated 5, in which case the sole 4 will be provided with a corresponding number of holes, each in communication with the cavity or cavities provided in the sole itself.

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