BACKGROUND

[0001] The present invention relates to a tool for creating cuts on the sole of shoes using a press, and a method for manufacturing such soles.

[0002] Such cuts may be created using a heated knife, which requires cleaning of the blades after a few cuts as the material for shoe outsole, EVA (ethel vinyl acetate) gets stuck on the blades or knives after cutting the outsoles. This will result in the transfer of the residue to the subsequent outsoles in the manufacturing process.

[0003] Moreover, using the heat knife process requires more time to heat the knives or blades, and applying pressure slowly resulting in the heating cutting process being much slower as compared to the cold cutting process.

SUMMARY

[0004] The disclosure is directed to creating cuts in a sole of a footwear preferably using a booster press wherein the sole is positioned inside the inventive assembly. In particular, the sole may be an outsole of the footwear, and further in particular, the cut may occur on the outer side of the outsole of the footwear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below, and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein;

[0006] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a booster press with an upper plate prepatory for mounting onto an upper plate support member. [0007] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the booster press with the upper plate, a lower plate, and a pattern cutting sub-plate prior to lowering the upper plate.

[0008] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the booster press with the upper plate lowered onto the lower plate.

[0009] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the upper plate with a pattern cutting sub-plate mounted on a face thereof, and in facing relation to the lower plate.

[0010] Figure 5 is a perspective view of the upper plate with a pattern cutting sub-place mounted on a face thereof, and in facing relation to the lower plate.

[0011] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the upper plate with the pattern cutting sub-plate pressed downwardly.

[0012] Figure 7 is a perspective view of the upper plate and lower plate illustrating a shoe last placed within a cavity.

[0013] Figure 8 is an exploded view of the upper plate illustrating a plurality of springs, blades, segments, and the pattern cutting sub-plate.

[0014] Figure 9 is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the pattern cutting sub-plate and the segments.

[0015] Figure 10 is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the pattern cutting sub-plate mounted on the upper plate. [0016] Figure 11 is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the lower plate with a shoe last placed within a cavity.

[0017] Figure 12 is a perspective view of lower plate illustrating a cavity, and a shoe last prepatory to be placed within the cavity.

[0018] Figure 13 A is a side sectional view of the upper plate, lower plate, and a shoe sole disposed therebetween in preparation to the upper plate being pressed against the lower plate.

[0019] Figure 13B is a side sectional view of the upper plate lowered against the lower plate and against the shoe sole.

[0020] Figure 13C is a side section view of the upper plate lowered against the lower plate in which the pattern cutting sub-plate has been pressed in to expose the blades to create cuts within the shoe sole.

[0021] Figure 14 is a shoe sole having cuts and grooves in a bottom thereof created by the cutting assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Referring to Figure 1, a hydraulically and/or pneumatically driven press such as, but not limited to, a booster press is generally shown at (20). The booster press (20) includes an upper plate support member (21) hydraulically movable in a vertical direction generally shown by the down arrow (22) in Figure 3. The upper plate support member (21) includes a pair of opposing elongated flanges (23). As will be explained in greater detail, an assembly (12) comprises an upper plate (4) and a lower plate (1). The upper plate (4) includes a pair of elongated grooves (24) which engage the corresponding elongated flange (23) on each side as the upper plate (4) slides relative to the upper plate support member (21) for being mounted thereon. The assembly (12), which is to be loaded into the booster press (12), includes the lower plate (1) which carries the sole that is to be cut, and the opposing upper plate (4) that harbors a cutting blade (6). [0023] Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the assembly (12) is shown mounted on the booster press (20), with the upper plate (4) and the lower plate (1) are in relation to one another prepatory to a cutting process. The bottom plate (1) has a cavity or depression (3), preferably in the shape and size to receive a shoe last (10). Within the cavity (3) may be built in or placed a plurality of height adjuster (2) (shown in Figure 12), which may be used to control the raising of the shoe last (10) from the lower plate (1) on the site directly over the height adjuster (2). There may be multiple or plurality of height adjusters (2), wherein the shoe last (10) may be raised according to the placement of the height adjusters. Optionally, the height adjusters may be bonded to the bottom of the shoe last (10) itself and thus the control of the height or raise of the shoe last (10) may be controlled by adjusting the height adjuster located on the shoe last itself.

[0024] Referring to Figure 4, the upper plate (4) and the lower plate (1) are illustrated. A cutter sub-plate (9) is attached to the upper plate and is segmented according to a desired configuration of cutting that is desired to be applied on the shoe sole. The cutter sub-plate (9) includes a plurality of cut-outs or bores (16) bounding a desired shape and configuration. The cut-out portions of the cutter sub-plates may form a plurality of segments (5), which may include multiple segments of different shapes and configuration.

[0025] A plurality of cutting blades (6) extend downwardly from an upper surface of the upper plate (4). The cutting blades (6) are shaped and configured such that they extend between outwardly along an inner periphery of the cut-outs (16) and the outer periphery of each segment (5). Each segment (5) may also be backed individually with a spring (8) at one end, and the other end of the spring (8) in contact with the upper plate (4). Each spring (8) extends over a corresponding alignment bar (15). Each alignment bar (15) may have a desired height, and each spring (8) may have a desired height extending above the tip of the corresponding alignment bar (15). The compression of each spring (8) results in the lower surface of corresponding segment (5), which it supports, to come into contact with the tip of the alignment bar (15). The cutter sub-plate (9) may also be supported on the upper plate (4) by a plurality of alignment bars (15) extending through each spring (8). The cutting blade (6) remains substantially immovable by being in contact with the upper plate (4) without being backed with any spring. An open face of the cutter sub-plate (14) with the segments (5) and cutting blade (6) faces the open cavity (3) of the lower plate in the assembly (12). The cutting blade (6) may be positioned in a vertical manner, or angled, and have various shapes and configurations such as being arcuate.

[0026] Referring to Figures 4 to 7, both lower plate (1) and the upper plate (4) include alignment holes (7) through which alignment bars may be inserted to align the lower plate (1) with the upper plate (4) to form the assembly (12), such that the cutting blades are positioned to cut the shoe sole in a controlled manner.

[0027] Referring to Figures 8 to 12, the height of the shoe last (10) with respect to the cavity regarding how much the shoe last is raised is controlled by the height adjuster (2). In the exemplified embodiment, the height adjuster (2) is simply a bolt on which can be placed a number of washers, where each added washer provides added height to the shoe last over the bolt region. This would be possible because the bolt normally inserts into a groove of the shoe last, and by sliding a washer on the bolt the shoe last sits less deeply into the cavity thereby raising this portion of the shoe last. For instance, if each washer has 3.5mm in thickness, then by the addition of each washer, the height of the last would be raised by about 3.5 mm in the area of the washer. It can be envisioned that other methods of raising the height of the last regionally can be effectuated such as by adding a spring to the bottom of the shoe last itself at strategic locations. Controlling the height of the shoe last (10) across the length and width of the shoe last allows for the control of the depth of cutting through the shoe sole (11), which is placed over the shoe last (10).

[0028] Referring to Figures 13A to 13C, the press cutting of the shoe sole (11), the following sequence can be considered in forming the assembly (12). The shoe last (10) is placed in the cavity (3) of the lower plate (1) having a cavity (3) and height adjuster (2). A shoe sole (11) is placed over the shoe last (10). Optionally, a buffer material such as a foam or ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) material may be placed on the shoe last first and the shoe sole placed over the buffer material. The segmented cutter sub-plate (9) of the upper plate (4) is made to align with the lower plate (1), preferably by inserting the alignment bars (15) into the alignment holes (7) in both plates. The booster press (20) may be used in creating pre-determined cuts in the shoe sole (11) using the assembly (12). The upper plate (4) is installed on the booster press (20). The bottom plate (1) is installed on the booster press. A shoe last (10) is placed in the cavity (3) of the lower plate (1). A shoe sole (11) is placed over the shoe last (10). Optionally, a buffer material such as a foam or ethylene- vinyl acetate (EVA) material may be placed on the last first and the blank sample placed over the buffer material.

[0029] As the upper plate (4) is pressed down, the segments (5) and cutting blade (6) contact the shoe sole (11) that is desired to be cut along the outline of the segments (5). The segments (5) meet resistance from the shoe sole (11) and do not cut into the shoe sole as the springs behind the segments allow the segments to give way, while the cutting blade (6) proceeds to cut either partially or fully the shoe sole according to pre-determined pattern and depth and settings by the design of the segments.

[0030] Figure 14 shows various cuts (13) that are made in the shoe sole, which may be a shoe outsole as exemplified.

[0031] The material for the upper and lower plates may be made of any sturdy material, preferably metal or aluminum. The shoe last may be made of metal, aluminum or hard rubber.

[0032] The segments on the sub-plate may be any shape that is desired to be fully or partially cut on the shoe sole, and in particular the bottom of an outsole.

[0033] It is noted that the use of segmented retainer molds securing the outsole in its entirety (3D configuration) allows for no movement on the outsole when it is compressed against the cutting blades and each segment or cavity can be adjusted on its heights to adjust the desired cutting depth of such segment without having to change the entire mold, and further the entire process may be conducted without the use of heat and/or heated cutter or blade.

[0034] Moreover, every outsole (thermoplastic and elastomers or mixed) is made by injection or molding melting and injecting or pouring the polymers into the molds. The outsole is then cooked for a period of time, then cooled, cured, and finally undergoes cosmetics adjustments to create the final shoe product. The cooking process uses heat and it creates a skin or crust throughout the entire surface of the outsole in which it is harder than the nuclear or central part of the outsole. This skin on the outsole makes it harder to cut as it requires a specific amount of pressure against the blade which causes the outsole to deform (compress) towards the opposite direction or towards the areas that have space. Moreover, after the cutting blades cut through the skin portion, the central portion or part of the outsole will require much less force to be cut. Finally, after cutting the skin, there will be a rebounding force after cutting the skin left over consequently added to the cutting of the central portion. Therefore, it will be very difficult to accomplish uniform cuts or sipes on an outsole with a variable shape (3D) without securing retainers in each of these segments. Therefore, in one aspect, the cutting process of the invention is carried out by securely holding the outsole within the assembly in a three-dimensional manner with use of the upper plate and lower plate securely aligned and held together.

[0035] Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention specifically described herein.