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Title:
SPORTS FOOTWEAR ARTICLE, IN PARTICULAR A MOTORCYCLING BOOT, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2010/061409
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention refers to a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, and to a method for producing the same; the sports footwear article comprises a soft upper (4) and a shell (2) permanently associated to the upper (4) by overinjection moulding; the shell (2) comprises a toe portion (9) and a tongue (3), which has a substantially longitudinal extension and is arranged to extend over the top region of the wearer's foot; the tongue (3) is formed as a unitary single-piece construction with a toe piece (29) separately obtained from the shell (2) and permanently attached to the same shell (2) by fusion-bonding the contact surfaces of the toe piece (29) with the toe portion (9); the tongue (3) is separated from and independent of the upper (4) all along its longitudinal extension.

Inventors:
BERLESE REMIGIO MR (IT)
Application Number:
PCT/IT2008/000687
Publication Date:
June 03, 2010
Filing Date:
November 03, 2008
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
ABE SPORT GROUP S R L (IT)
BERLESE REMIGIO MR (IT)
International Classes:
A43B5/04; A43B5/14; A43B5/16; B29D35/12
Domestic Patent References:
WO1995024305A11995-09-14
Foreign References:
US20080172906A12008-07-24
US20060181035A12006-08-17
CH658795A51986-12-15
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
GONELLA, Mario (Via Della Colonna 35, Pordenone, IT)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1. Sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, comprising a soft upper (4), a shell (2) permanently associated to said upper (4) by overinjection moulding onto said upper (4), said shell (2) comprising a toe portion (9) and a tongue (3), said tongue (3) having a substantially longitudinal extension and being arranged to extend over the top region of the wearer's foot, characterized in that said tongue (3) is formed as a unitary single-piece construction with a toe piece (29) separately obtained from said shell (2) and permanently attached to said shell (2) by fusion-bonding the contact surfaces of said toe piece (29) with said toe portion (9), said tongue (3) being separated from and independent of said upper (4) all along its longitudinal extension.

2. Sports footweaV article according to claim 1 , wherein said shell (2) comprises a pair of side flanks (6, 7) joining each other at the heel portion (8) and at the toe portion (9), a sole (10) and a pair of walls (11 , 12), said pair of walls (11 , 12) extending at the malleolar joint from said side flanks (6, 7) in a direction substantially perpendicular to said sole (10).

3. Sports footwear article according to claim 2, wherein said tongue (3) extends longitudinally relative to said shell (2) from said toe portion (9) towards said side walls (11 , 12).

4. Sports footwear article according to claim 2, wherein said upper (4) is permanently connected to said shell (2) at the inside surfaces of said side flanks (6, 7), including said side walls (11 , 12), and at the inside surfaces of said heel portion (8) and said sole (10).

5. Sports footwear article according to claim 1 , wherein said toe piece (29) is arranged between said toe portion (9) and the toe portion of said upper (4).

6. Sports footwear article according to claim 1 , wherein a cuff (5) wrapping at least partially around said upper (4) at the lower leg portion of the wearer is pivotally and/or slidably associable to said shell (2).

7. Sports footwear article according to claims 2 and 6, wherein said walls (11 , 12) are provided with respective first accommodations (13, 14) for receiving and accommodating appropriate inserts (15, 16) adapted to pivotally and/or slidably support said cuff (5).

8. Sports footwear article according to claim 7, wherein said inserts (15, 16) are provided with respective first apertures (17, 18) enabling said cuff (5) to be supported pivotally and/or slidably.

9. Sports footwear article according to claim 8, wherein said first apertures (17, 18) have a shape elongating in a direction substantially perpendicular to said sole (10) so as to allow said cuff (5) to perform an oscillatory motion about a transversal axis, a translatory motion along an axis substantially perpendicular to said sole (10) and an oscillatory motion about the longitudinal axis of said shell (2).

10. Sports footwear article according to claim 7, wherein said inserts (15, 16) are made of a self-lubricating and wear-resistant material.

11. Sports footwear article according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said side flanks (6, 7) is provided with one or more second accommodations (19) to allow suitable fastening devices (20) for said footwear article to be removably connected thereto, each one of said second accommodations (19) comprising a second aperture (21) and a notch (22) spaced from each other and adapted to enable a support baseplate (23) of said fastening device (20) to be removably inserted thereto.

12. Sports footwear article according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said sole (10) is provided with a first recessed accommodation (24) and a second recessed accommodation (25) respectively located at the heel portion and at the toe portion of said sole (10), said first recessed accommodation (24) and second recessed accommodation (25) being adapted to accommodate respective non-slip elements (26, 27).

13. Method for producing a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, comprising the use of a mould for injection-moulding a thermoplastic material, wherein such mould comprises a last (30), a first mould-half (31) and a second mould-half (32) each comprising a first complementarily shaped cavity (33) for reproducing a respective half-shell of a shell (2) of said footwear article, and a bottom plate (35) having a second complementarily shaped cavity (36) for reproducing a sole (10) of said shell (2), characterized in that it comprises the steps of: a. putting a soft upper (4) on to said last (30); b. positioning a toe piece (29), comprising a tongue (3) formed integrally with said toe piece (29), at the toe portion of said upper (4) such that said tongue (3) being arranged to extend over the top region of the foot of said upper (4); c. hermetically clamping said mould-halves (31 , 32) and said bottom plate (35) onto said last (30) along the edges of said first cavities (33) and said second cavities (36), said tongue (3) remaining outside the clamping line defined by the edges of said first cavities (33); d. injecting said thermoplastic material used to form said shell (2) into the hollow space existing between the first cavities (33) and the second cavity (36) on one side and, on the other side, said upper (4) and said toe piece (29), so as to obtain a permanent union of said upper (4) and said toe piece

(29) to said shell (2) keeping said tongue (3) separated from and independent of said upper (4).

14. Method according to claim 13, wherein respective supports (34) protrude from said first cavities (33), said step b) including a further step b') consisting in positioning appropriate inserts (15, 16) on to said supports (34) for a cuff (5) to be connected to said shell (2).

15. Method according to claim 14, wherein said inserts (15, 16) are provided with recesses or grooves (37) extending along at least one portion of the peripheral edge thereof, said thermoplastic material injected during said step d) being able to fill said recesses or grooves (37) to permanently lock said inserts (15, 16) in place onto said shell (2) by establishing a mechanical anchoring.

16. Method according to claim 13, wherein said step b) includes a further step b") consisting in positioning a first and a second non-slip element (26, 27) in said second cavity (36) at the regions corresponding to the heel portion and the toe portion of said sole (10), respectively, the permanent union of said non-slip elements (26, 27) with said sole (10) being obtained by fusion and subsequent setting of said thermoplastic material injected during said step d).

Description:
"SPORTS FOOTWEAR ARTICLE, IN PARTICULAR A MOTORCYCLING BOOT,

AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME"

DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention [0001] The present invention refers to a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, which comprises a substantially rigid shell moulded on a soft upper by overinjection of a thermoplastic material onto said upper, as well as a method for producing said sports footwear article, which comprises an overinjection-moulding step of a thermoplastic material onto a soft upper so as to obtain a substantially rigid shell wrapping at least partially around said upper.

Background of the Invention

[0002] FR 1.576.942 discloses a ski boot that comprises an upper made of inextensible fabric and provided with a protective covering of rubber or plastic material applied all over the inner face of the foot; this protective covering, which extends over the whole length of the boot and comprises also an outer sole as a unitary single-piece construction, is attached to the upper by a vulcanization or an overinjection moulding process.

[0003] US patent no. 4,447,967 discloses an athletic sports shoe which comprises a sock having an overinjected reinforcement grid structure of plastic material; the tongue of this shoe, which is obtained separately, is subsequently attached by sewing to the shoe thus formed.

[0004] WO 95/24305 discloses a sports shoe which comprises a sock of a reticular fabric co-extruded with a film of thermoplastic material, onto which there is then overinjected a substantially rigid shell of thermoplastic material; the shell includes a tongue or a pair of flaps also obtained by directly overinjecting them onto the sock lying thereunder, so that they are attached thereto in a firmly fixed manner.

[0005] A drawback usually encountered with the solutions according to the above- cited state of the art, in particular those disclosed in US 4,447,967 and WO 95/24305, lies in the fact that, in the first case, the tongue of the footwear article is produced separately - possibly provided with a soft lining portion - and is only sewed on to the basic shoe body after the overinjection moulding process, to thereby making it necessary to carry out a further manufacturing step in view of obtaining the finished product, whereas, in the second case, the tongue of the footwear article is overinjected directly onto the sock or upper lying thereunder, so that it forms an integral part of both the shell and the sock or upper; the need therefore arises for an elastic fabric to be used for the sock or upper in order to enable the wearer to raise the tongue in order to allow the foot to be introduced in the shoe, and such fabric has to maintain its elastic properties even when it is subjected to the high temperatures that are generally reached inside the mould during injection moulding.

[0006] Another drawback found in prior art footwear articles lies in the fact that the kind of manufacturing process and construction used are such as to make it practically impossible to attach to the shell, by mechanical connecting means, moving parts such as those adapted to provide a support to the lower portion of the wearer's leg; such moving parts consist generally of a cuff, either in a unitary single-piece construction or formed by several parts assembled together, which is pivotally associated to the shell by means of screws or rivets and whose purpose is to ensure a support to the leg and to enable the latter to perform its natural motion of articulation relative to the foot at the malleolar joint; this is particularly required in the case of footwear articles that wrap around the lower portion of the leg, such as for example in the case of motorcycling boots or ski boots. The implementation of the necessary mechanical connection would in fact imply an interruption in the continuity of the fabric used to make the sock, or soft upper; consequently there is a possibility for the latter to suffer tears that might then propagate all over the structure of the footwear article, thereby impairing the integrity and the functionality thereof. The afore-discussed prior-art footwear articles, in fact, are in all cases of the so-called one-piece type, wherein it is the shell that rises up to wrap the leg, while the articulation movement of the latter relative to the foot is allowed for by a portion of the shell yielding elastically relative to another one, as shown in some embodiments disclosed in WO 95/24305. In the long run, however, the continuously reiterating occurrence of elastic deformation cycles, added to the thermal shocks and/or dynamic loads which the footwear article may possibly undergo during use, is quite likely to cause micro-cracks in the structure, which may then quite rapidly lead to a break-down of the plastic parts of the footwear article.

Summary of the Invention

[0007] The main object of the present invention is to do away with the drawbacks of prior art embodiments by providing a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, which is capable of being manufactured to a substantially finished stage with the help of high-productivity industrial methods, such as the overinjection moulding technique, such sports footwear article being also reliable in the long run and not requiring any use of special materials, such as elastic fabrics resistant to high temperatures, in order to enable it to be used and to perform in an adequate manner.

[0008] Within the above-noted general object, a purpose of the present invention is to provide a sports footwear article allowing for the wearer's foot to be introduced and firmly fastened therein in a most convenient, optimum manner.

[0009] Yet another purpose of the present invention is to provide a sports footwear article wherein the tongue of the shell is unlinked relative to, and independent of, the upper, i.e. it is not permanently associated thereto, so as to enable the wearer to put on and fasten the footwear article on his/her foot in a most convenient and effective manner, without any need arising for special materials to be used for the upper or any risk arising for the same upper to suffer breakages.

[0010] Yet a further purpose of the present invention is to provide a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, which is capable of being manufactured using high-productive industrial methods, such the overinjection moulding technique, and wherein it is possible to mechanically connect a moving part, such as a cuff, in a safe manner without running the risk of impairing the integrity or the functionality of the same footwear article.

[0011] Still another purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, wherein such footwear article is capable of being manufactured to a substantially finished form, while effectively reaching the aims set forth above

[0012] A further purpose of the present invention is to provide a sports footwear article, as well as a method for producing the same, which are effective in enabling the afore-cited purposes and aims to be reached at fully competitive costs and which can be manufactured with the use of generally readily available machinery, equipment and tools.

[0013] According to the present invention, these aims, along with further ones that will be apparent in the following description, are reached in a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, as defined in claim 1 , and in a method for producing the same sports footwear article as defined in claim 13.

Description of the Drawings

[0014] The features and advantages of a sports footwear article and a related production method according to the present invention will be more readily understood from the description of a particular, although not sole, embodiment which is given in greater detail below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, according to the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 is an exploded view of the sports footwear article shown in Figure 1 , illustrating the main component parts thereof;

[0017] Figure 3 is a plan view of the sports footwear article shown in Figures 1 and 2; [0018] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view according to the plane IV-IV of the sports footwear article shown in Figure 3;

[0019] Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view according to the plane V-V of the sports footwear article shown in Figure 3;

[0020] Figure 5a is an enlarged view of a detail of the sports footwear article shown in Figure 5;

[0021] Figures 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views of a detail of a flap of the footwear article shown in the preceding Figures, with a fastening device for the footwear article being associable thereto;

[0022] Figures 8 through to 11 are schematical views illustrating the operating steps of the method for producing a sports footwear article according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention [0023] With reference to the above-listed Figures, a sports footwear article is generally indicated at 1 ; in the embodiment illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, it is constituted by a motorcycling boot. Such sports footwear article 1 comprises a shell 2, made of essentially rigid plastic material such as for instance polyurethane, which a tongue 3, made again of an essentially rigid plastic material, is associated to. Inside the shell 2 and the tongue 3 there is contained a soft upper 4, which extends vertically beyond the upper edge of the shell 2 and is provided with a flap 4a that is capable of being swung open so as to enable a foot to be introduced in the footwear article; a cuff, made of an essentially rigid plastic material and formed of either a single-piece construction or of a plurality of component parts linked to each other, is associable to the shell 2 so as to at least partially wrap around the portion of the upper 4 which extends beyond the upper edge of the shell 2 and, therefore, such cuff affects the lower portion of the wearer's leg; shown in Figure 1 is one element 5 adapted to be connected to other elements (not shown) to form the above-mentioned cuff. The latter is associable to the shell 2 with capacities of relative oscillatory and, advantageously, translatory motion, as this shall be explained in greater detail further on.

[0024] In the following description, the term "cuff 5" is used to indicate both a complete cuff in a unitary single-piece construction and one of a plurality of elements adapted to be connected to each other to form a complete cuff.

[0025] The shell 2 comprises a pair of side flanks 6, 7 joining each other at the heel 8 and the toe 9, as well as a sole 10. A pair of walls 11 , 12 provided with respective first accommodations 13, 14 adapted to accommodate appropriate inserts 15, 16 extend at the malleolar joint from the side flanks 6, 7 in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the sole 10.

[0026] Such inserts 15, 16 are provided with respective first apertures 17, 18 enabling the cuff to be pivotally supported, preferably in a removable manner, by means of appropriate pins or rivets; advantageously, the shape of said first apertures 17, 18 is of a kind elongating in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the sole 10 so as to allow the cuff 5 to perform both an oscillatory motion about a transversal axis essentially corresponding to the malleolar axis, and a translatory motion substantially perpendicularly to the sole 10, or an oscillatory motion about the longitudinal axis of the shell 2, depending if the sliding motion of the side portions of the cuff 5 connected to the shell 2 along the first apertures 17, 18 occurs in the same direction or, respectively, in mutually opposite directions; it has to be understood that the resulting relative motion of the cuff 5 may be a combination of the motions mentioned above.

[0027] The inserts 15, 16 are preferably made of a self-lubricating, wear-resistant material, such as an acetal resin, so as to both favour the relative movement of the cuff 5 relative to the shell 2 and reduce wear caused by rubbing of these two component parts of the footwear against each other. Inserts 15, 16 of a different material are practically necessary when both the shell 2 and the cuff 5 are made of plastic materials of the same nature, such as for instance polyurethane, owing to the effect due to the two sliding-contact surfaces becoming "gummed", thereby hindering the correct movement of the footwear parts relative to each other to a considerable extent.

[0028] In correspondence to one or both side flanks 6, 7 of the shell 2, as well as in the cuff 5, there may be provided appropriate second accommodations 19 to allow suitable fastening devices 20 for the footwear article 1 , such as for instance suitable levers as illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 by way of example, to be connected thereto, preferably in a removable manner. To such purpose, each such accommodation 19 may include a second aperture 21 and a notch 22 - duly spaced from each other - for a support baseplate 23 of the fastening device 20 to be allowed to be removably inserted thereto.

[0029] Furthermore, the sole 10 of the shell 2 is advantageously provided with a first recessed accommodation 24 and a second recessed accommodation 25 respectively located at the heel portion and at the toe portion of the sole, for respective non-slip elements 26, 27, such as rubber inserts preferably provided with some tread pattern, to be accommodated there, as exemplified in Figures 4, 5 and 5a.

[0030] In the case that the sports footwear article is a motorcycling boot or, anyway, is intended for use in the motorcycling or a similar field of application, there may be further provided at the plantar arch of the foot a so-called

"shankpiece" 28, i.e. a non-slip insert preferably affixed to the sole 10 in a removable manner for convenient replacement in case of breakdown or excessive wear, whose purpose is to ensure a stable and safe contact with the pedal crank and the footrests of the motorcycle; US 4,184,273 discloses an example of such

"shankpiece".

[0031] Taking part in the construction of the shell 2 there is furthermore a toe piece 29, which is made separately from the shell 2 and is adapted to be associated to the shell 2 in a permanent manner by fusing the respective contact surfaces together through an overinjection moulding process at the region of the toe portion 9. The toe piece 29 is made in a unitary single-piece construction with the tongue 3, which extends roughly longitudinally along the top region of the foot, from the toe portion 9 towards the side walls 11 , 12. [0032] The soft upper 4, made of a preferably thermoformed multilayer fabric generally comprising a lining, one or several intermediate padding layers and an outer abrasion-resistant layer, as well as an insole sewed on to said multilayer fabric, is permanently connected to the shell 2 at the inside surfaces of the side flanks 6, 7 - including the side walls 11 , 12 - and at the inside surfaces of the heel portion 8 and of the sole 10. The permanent connection of the soft upper 4 with the shell 2 is obtained by means of an overinjection moulding process, as this shall be explained in greater detail further on in connection with the method according to the present invention.

[0033] Once the sports footwear article 1 is formed in the above-described manner, possibly with the exception of the cuff 5 that can be mechanically connected thereto at a subsequent moment, the toe piece 29 comes to be arranged between the toe portion 9 of the shell 2 and the toe portion of the upper 4.

[0034] It should be specially noticed that the tongue 3, although joined to the shell 2 via the toe piece 29, is separated from and, therefore, independent of and not permanently connected to the upper 4 all along its longitudinal extension, as this is best illustrated in Figure 5.

[0035] The method for producing the afore-described sports footwear article 1 , and schematically illustrated in the various steps shown in Figures 8 to 11 , provides for preparing a thermoplastic material injection mould comprising a last 30, a first and a second mould halves 31 , 32, each one of which comprises a first complementarily shaped cavity 33 for reproducing the respective half-shells forming the shell 2, and a support 34 protruding from the cavity 33 at a region corresponding to the malleolar region of the foot, as well as a bottom plate 35 having a second complementarily shaped cavity 36 for reproducing the sole 10 of the shell 2.

[0036] The method according to the present invention comprises a preliminary preparation step, as shown in Figure 8, in which the soft upper 4 is put on a last 30 and, thereupon, the toe piece 29 with the tongue 3 is positioned on the toe portion of the upper 4. The inserts 15, 16 are then positioned on the respective supports 34 of the first cavities 33, while the non-slip elements 26, 27 are positioned in the second cavity 36 at the heel side and at the toe side, respectively. The arrangement of the various parts and pieces, once this preparation step of the method is completed, is illustrated schematically in Figure 9.

[0037] The above-described step is then followed by a moulding step, as schematically illustrated in Figure 10, in which the two mould-halves 31 , 32 and the bottom plate 35 are hermetically clamped onto the last 30 all along the edges of the cavities 33 and 36 and the thermoplastic material used to form the shell 2, such as for instance polyurethane, is injected into the hollow space existing between the first cavities 33 and the second cavity 36 on the one side and, on the other side, the upper 4 and - at the region of the toe portion - the toe piece 29; it has to be noticed that the tongue 3 remains outside the clamping line of the mould as defined by the edges of the cavities 33.

[0038] Once the moulding step is completed, such that the two mould-halves 31 , 32 are opened apart along with the bottom plate 35 and the upper 4 is removed from the last 30 as shown schematically in Figure 11 , the solidified thermoplastic material forming the shell 2 will, at this point, be intimately connected by fusion to the parts of the upper 4 and of the toe piece 29 - on the last 30 - interfacing the cavities 33 and 36, thereby obtaining a permanent connection of the upper 4 to the inside surfaces of the side flanks 6, 7, including the side walls 11 , 12, and to the inside surfaces of the heel portion 8 and of the sole 10.

[0039] On the other hand, the tongue 3 will on the contrary remain separated from and independent of the upper 4, since it lies externally relative to the clamping line of the two mould-halves 31 , 32 onto the last 30, so that it is not affected by the injection process.

[0040] The inserts 15, 16 will also be incorporated, due to the effect of the injection process, in the side walls 11 , 12 of the shell 2; however, since such inserts 15, 16 could be made of a material that is not compatible with the thermoplastic material being injected, the required anchoring to the shell 2 is ensured mechanically by the provision of appropriate recesses or grooves 37 extending partially or all along the peripheral edge of the inserts 15, 16, into which the injected thermoplastic material is then able to penetrate so that, upon setting and - as a result - forming the border of the first accommodations 13, 14, it permanently locks the inserts 15, 16 in place onto the shell 2.

[0041] The non-slip elements 26, 27 are also joined permanently to the sole 10 due to the effect of the fusion and following setting of the injected thermoplastic material; the incorporation of such elements in the injected mass at the respective recessed accommodations 24, 25 ensures an effective protection against accidentally detaching - even partially - as this may well occur during the use of the footwear article.

[0042] Advantageously, even the second accommodations 19 intended to receive the fastening devices 20, along with the respective second apertures 21 and notches 22, are obtained directly in the side flanks 6, 7 of the shell 2 during the injection-moulding process.

[0043] Fully apparent from the above description is therefore the ability of the present invention to effectively reach the purposes and advantages cited afore by in fact providing a sports footwear article, in particular a motorcycling boot, and a method for producing the same, which are effective in doing away with the drawbacks of prior art embodiments, wherein such footwear article is capable of being produced to a substantially finished stage by means of the high-productivity industrial method of moulding the shell 2 by overinjection directly onto the upper 4; the result that is obtained with such method is a highly reliable product that - owing to the easy and convenient manner in which it can be put on the foot, jointly with the possibility for it to be firmly and optimally fastened onto the wearer's foot owing to the tongue 3 being separated from the upper 4 - does not require any use of special or premium-grade materials, such as heat-resistant textiles, in order to enable the foot to be introduced and the footwear article to be then fastened tightly thereonto in an easy manner. [0044] In addition, the possibility for the upper to suffer damages or even break off as a consequence of the tractive force applied onto it for opening the flaps apart when putting on the footwear article, is considerably reduced, if not practically done away, since the ability of the tongue 3 to rise independently - and by a greater extent - relative to and as compared with the flap 4a of the upper 4 enables the foot to be easily slipped thereinto at the narrowest region of the footwear article, i.e. the region corresponding to the instep of the foot.

[0045] The separation of the tongue 3 from the upper 4 and its independent condition relative thereto enable also an optimum fastening of the footwear article on the top of the foot to be obtained, since the desired fastening force can be applied to the tongue 3 without any risk of folds, wrinkles or crimps forming on the upper 4, which might in fact give rise to localized pressure points acting on the foot with a resulting reduction in wearing comfort and the possibility for the foot to suffer pain.

[0046] A further advantage lies in the fact that the sports footwear article produced with the method of overinjecting the shell 2 onto the upper 4, as described hereinbefore, allows for a moving part, such as the cuff 5, to be connected to the shell 2 in a safe manner, without impairing the integrity or the functionality of the footwear article, and in particular of the upper 4, to any extent. In fact, the presence of the inserts 15, 16 is such as to allow the cuff 5 to be mechanically connected in a pivotable, and possibly even slidable manner to the shell 2 without interfering with the upper 4 or interrupting its continuity thereof.

[0047] ] It shall be appreciated that the present invention as described above may be the subject of a number of applications, further embodiments and modifications without departing from the scope set forth and defined in the independent claims 1 and 13.

[0048] It shall further be appreciated that the materials used, as well as the shape and the sizing of the various parts, may each time be selected so as to more appropriately meet the particular requirements or suit the particular application.