METHOD OF MANUFACTURING UPPERS OF LEATHER AND MOLD FOR HOT PRESS
Technical Field The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing shoe uppers, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing shoe uppers in multi-stage forming process by use of a conventional one-stage hot press. Also, the present invention relates to a mold for a hot press manufacturing shoe uppers.
Background Art
Generally, shoe uppers are made of natural leather, vinyl, or artificial leather. The artificial leather is mostly used, because of inexpensive and good durability.
If the shoes are made of the artificial leather only, the shape of the shoe is not properly maintained and its elasticity is insufficient. Accordingly, a polyurethane foam sheet is generally hot melted to a rear side of the artificial leather.
To this end, two-stage press capable of carrying out two-stage operation is utilized, but this operation has a disadvantage of bad economic efficiency. Furthermore, expensive multi-stage hot presses (for example, 3-stage or 4-stage) which are operated in a slide mode every step are utilized, but it is difficult for small entities to purchase the expensive presses. There are some problems that the press may be operated by skilled hands and a fraction defective is high, thereby being difficult to make products of high quality.
In the case of utilizing the 2-stage hot press, since the forming work is limited to two forming stages, the press may not be utilized for 3-stage or 4-stage forming process.
Meanwhile, disclosed is the fact that when shoe uppers are made to constantly drill air holes of a small diameter (up to 1 mm) at regular positions with no error, it is impossible to correctly drill the holes, simultaneously with carrying out the pressing work, due to a contraction phenomenon by the heat. Accordingly, in the conventional method, the air holes are formed through the punching work, after the pressing work is completely terminated. Therefore, it requires much time and many skilled persons.
Disclosure of the Invention
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems involved in the prior art, and to provide a method of manufacturing shoe uppers. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing shoe uppers by use of a common inexpensive one-stage hot press, in which a middle mold can be easily replaced by manual operation to carry out an wanted operation such as 2-stage, 3-stage, 4-stage or 5-stage work.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention employs the common one-stage hot press, without using an expensive auto-slide hot press, in which a middle mold is replaced from a base mold by manual operation, regardless of processing times, thereby solving problems happened due to the use of 2-stage, 3-stage or 4-stage hot press.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing shoe uppers capable of drilling a plurality of air holes of a small diameter at regular positions with no error on an artificial leather, upon carrying out a hot press forming process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing shoe uppers, in which a pre-adhered artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet is utilized, so that manufacturing steps are reduced and manufacturing time is shorten. In order to accomplished the above-mentioned object, there is provided a method of manufacturing shoe uppers, comprising the steps of: preparing a middle mold with a protruded blade for forming a protruded pattern on a completed shoe upper, and an upper mold with a groove for receiving the blade protruded from the middle mold; laying an artificial leather on the blade protruded from the middle mold, and inserting the middle mold into a base mold; in state that the artificial leather is interposed between the upper mold and the middle mold by raising the base mold, pressing the artificial leather during 40 to 80 seconds, to form an artificial leather sheet, of which a groove is formed on a bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet and a pattern is formed on an upper surface thereof; and raising and pressing the base mold during 40 to 80 seconds so that a bottom surface of
the artificial leather sheet is adhered with an adhesive coating surface of a polyurethane foam sheet 3; wherein the polyurethane foam sheet is expanded into the groove formed at the bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet to form a protrusion, so that the polyurethane foam sheet is integrally adhered to the artificial leather, and a bottom surface of the polyurethane foam sheet is flatted.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing shoe uppers, comprising the steps of: preparing an upper mold with a groove for forming a protruded pattern on a completed shoe upper; laying a combined sheet of an artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet on a base mold, raising the base mold, and pressing the combined sheet during 40 to 80 seconds; wherein the polyurethane foam sheet is expanded into a groove formed at a bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet to form a protrusion, so that the polyurethane foam sheet is integrally adhered to the artificial leather, and a bottom surface of the polyurethane foam sheet is flatted.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing shoe uppers, comprising the steps of: preparing a middle mold including a protruded blade for forming a protruded pattern on a completed shoe upper and a pin hole for receiving a pin an upper mold, and the upper mold including a groove for receiving the blade protruded from the middle mold and the pin for forming an air hole; laying an artificial leather on the blade protruded from the middle mold, and inserting the middle mold into a base mold; in state that the artificial leather is interposed between the upper mold and the middle mold by raising the base mold, pressing the artificial leather during 40 to 60 seconds, to form an artificial leather sheet, of which a groove is formed on a bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet, protruded patterns are formed on an upper surface thereof and a plurality of air holes are formed between the protruded patterns; detaching the middle mold from the upper mold, laying a polyurethane foam sheet on an upper surface of the middle mold having an adhesive coating surface on an upper surface of the sheet, with the adhesive coating surface being oriented upward, and inserting the middle mold into the base mold; raising the base mold to engage the upper mold and the middle mold, and pressing the artificial leather during 10 seconds, so that the polyurethane foam sheet is
expanded into the groove formed at the bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet to form a protrusion, and the air hole is formed; and detaching the middle mold from the base mold, and raising and pressing the base mold during 40 to 80 seconds, so that a burr formed at an edge of the air hole of the polyurethane foam sheet is flatted. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing shoe uppers, comprising the steps of: preparing a middle mold including a blade for forming a protruded pattern, a column having a pin hole for receiving a pin of an upper mold, and an edge blade formed at an edge of the middle mold, in which a hollow portion is formed between the blade, the column, and the edge blade; preparing the upper mold including a groove for receiving the blade protruded from the middle mold and the pin for forming an air hole; laying a pre-adhered artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet on the blade protruded from the middle mold, and inserting the middle mold into a base mold; in state that the artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet is interposed between the upper mold and the middle mold by raising the base mold, pressing the artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet during 40 to 80 seconds, to form an artificial leather sheet, of which a groove is formed on a bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet, protruded patterns are formed on an upper surface thereof, and a plurality of air holes are formed between the protruded patterns; and detaching the middle mold from the based mold, raising the base mold to engage the upper mold and the base mold, and pressing the artificial leather sheet during 40 to 80 seconds, so that a burr formed at an edge of the air hole of the polyurethane foam sheet is flatted.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mold for use in a hot press of manufacturing shoe uppers, the mold comprising: a middle mold including a blade for forming a protruded pattern, a column having a pin hole for receiving a pin of an upper mold, and an edge blade formed at an edge of the middle mold, in which a hollow portion is formed between the blade, the column, and the edge blade; and the upper mold including a groove for receiving the blade protruded from the middle mold and the pin for forming an air hole.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The above objects, other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an artificial leather used for manufacturing shoe uppers.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the artificial leather manufactured by a first process according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the artificial leather manufactured by a first process according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 3.
Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing a manufacturing process according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Figs. 7 and 8 are views showing an upper mold and a lower mold employed in a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the artificial leather manufactured by a first process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of Fig. 9.
Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the artificial leather manufactured by a second process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 12 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of Fig. 11.
Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing the artificial leather manufactured by a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 13. Fig. 15 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of Fig. 14.
Figs. 16, 17 and 18 are cross-sectional views showing a manufacturing process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Figs. 19 and 20 are views showing an upper mold and a lower mold employed in a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing the artificial leather manufactured by a first process according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 22 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of Fig. 21.
Fig. 23 is a cross-sectional view showing the artificial leather manufactured by a third embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 24 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of Fig. 23.
Figs. 25 and 26 are cross-sectional views showing a manufacturing process according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Figs. 27 and 28 are views showing an upper mold and a lower mold employed in a third embodiment of the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Embodiment 1
A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that protruded patterns la and 10a of an artificial leather shown in the figures are optionally set, and may be varied into various shapes. Since the one-stage hot press employed in the present invention is general, detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.
As shown in Fig. 3, it must firstly prepare a middle mold 5 with a protruded blade 5b for forming a protruded pattern la (Fig. 3) on a completed shoe upper 2, as shown in Fig. 8, and an upper mold 4 with a groove 4a for receiving the blade 5b protruded from the middle mold 5, as shown in Fig. 7. Specifically, when the upper mold 4 is engaged with the middle mold 5 as shown in Fig. 5, the blade 5b protruded from the middle mold 5 is inserted into the groove 4a of the upper mold 4 to press the artificial leather 1 and thus form the patterns la.
The upper mold 4 is secured to the upper portion of the hot press by means of bolts, while the middle mold 5 is inserted into a base mold 6. To this end, the base mold 6 is
formed with grooves 6a at both ends of the base mold, while the middle mold 5 is formed with flanges 5a at both ends of the middle mold. Accordingly, the middle mold 5 may be inserted into or pulled out from the base mold 6, with a tolerance being exactly maintained. It should be noted that the above manner is identical to those shown and described in the second and third embodiments.
When the upper mold 4 and the middle mold 5 are prepared, the artificial leather 1 is laid on the blade 5b protruded from the middle mold 5, with the upper surface of the artificial leather being oriented upward. And, the middle mold 5 is inserted into the base mold 6 of the hot press. At that time, the upper mold and base mold are maintained in heated state. The artificial leather 1 is interposed between the upper mold 4 and the middle mold 5 by raising the base mold 6. At that time, temperature of the upper and base molds is heated by 130 to 200°C. Upon carrying out the pressing process during 40 to 80 seconds, the blade 5b protruded from the middle mold is inserted into the groove 4a of the upper mold to treat the artificial leather 1, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby forming an artificial leather sheet Ik, of which a groove lb is formed on the bottom surface of the artificial leather and the pattern la is formed on an opposed surface, i.e., upper surface, of the artificial leather 1.
Next, the middle mold 5 is detached from the base mold 6. The bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet Ik is adhered with an adhesive coating surface of a polyurethane foam sheet 3 of the same size as that of the artificial leather sheet Ik. The base mold 6 is raised and is pressed against the upper mold 4 during 40 to 80 seconds. Accordingly, the polyurethane foam sheet 3 is expanded into the groove lb formed at the bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet Ik to form a protrusion 3a, as shown in Fig. 4. Therefore, the polyurethane foam sheet is integrally adhered to the artificial leather sheet Ik, and the bottom surface of the polyurethane foam sheet is flatted. In addition, a thickness of the polyurethane foam sheet is thinned.
If the pre-combined artificial leather-polyurethane foam sheet is utilized in the first embodiment, it is not necessary to employ the middle mold 5, thereby cutting down cost of manufacturing the middle mold 5 and also reducing one manufacturing step. The
combined artificial leather-polyurethane foam sheet is laid on the base mold 6, and the base mold 6 is raised, thereby completing the forming process at the same time, as shown in Fig. 6.
Embodiment 2 A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Figs. 9 to 20. Comparing with the first embodiment, it is different to form dozens or more than air holes lc and 3b of up to 1 mm at constant positions of show upper 2b at regular intervals, as shown in Figs. 13 and 15. It is difficult to punch the air holes after forming the artificial leather, because of the contraction thereof. Therefore, the second and third embodiments of the present invention are characterized by forming the air holes during the pressing process of the artificial leather.
It prepares a middle mold 50 including blades 50b for forming protruded patterns on a completed shoe upper 2b (as shown in Fig. 13), pin holes 50c for receiving pins 40b of an upper mold 40 and flange 50a protruded an edge of the middle mold, as shown in Fig. 20. Next, it prepares the upper mold 40 including grooves 40a for receiving the blades 50b protruded from the middle mold 50 and pins 40b for forming air holes lc and 3b on the shoe uppers, as shown in Fig. 19.
An artificial leather 1 is laid on the blades 5b protruded from the middle mold 50, with the upper surface of the artificial leather being oriented upward. Then, the middle mold 50 is inserted into a base mold 60 of a hot press, as the first embodiment. The artificial leather 1 is interposed between the upper mold 40 and the middle mold 50 by raising the base mold 60. If the pressing process is carried out during 40 to 80 seconds, an artificial leather sheet lw is formed to have a groove lb formed on the bottom surface of the artificial leather, patterns la formed on an upper surface of the artificial leather, and the air holes lc between the patterns la, as shown in Fig. 9. At that time, a burr Id is formed on a bottom edge of the air holes 1 of the artificial leather sheet lw, due to the penetration of the pin 40b of the upper mold 40.
Next, the middle mold 50 is detached from the upper mold 40, and simultaneously the middle mold 50 is drawn from the base mold 60. It prepares a polyurethane foam
sheet 3 of the same size as that of the artificial leather sheet lw and with an adhesive coating surface coated on an upper surface thereof. The polyurethane foam sheet is laid on the upper surface of the middle mold 50, with the adhesive coating surface thereof being oriented upward, and simultaneously the middle mold 50 is again inserted into the base mold 60. The base mold 60 is raised and is pressed against the upper mold 40 and the middle mold 50 during 10 seconds. Accordingly, the polyurethane foam sheet 3 is expanded into the groove lb formed at the bottom surface of the artificial leather sheet lw to form a protrusion 3a, as shown in Fig. 11. Therefore, the polyurethane foam sheet 3 is integrally adhered to the artificial leather sheet lw. The polyurethane foam sheet is formed with the air holes 3b, and the artificial leather sheet lw is formed with the air holes lc. As will be seen from Fig. 12, a burr 3c formed at the air hole 3b of the polyurethane foam sheet is overlapped around a burr Id formed at the air hole lc of the artificial leather sheet lw. If the burr 3c is formed at the shoe upper as described above, a following process must be performed to remove it, because of defectives. Specifically, in the state that the middle mold 50 is removed from the base mold 60, the base mold 60 is raised and engaged to the upper mold 40 such that the pins 40b of the upper mold 40 are inserted into the pin holes 60b of the base mold 60. Simultaneously, the base mold 60 is pressed during 40 to 80 seconds, as shown in Fig. 18. Therefore, the burr 3c formed at the edge of the air hole 3b of the polyurethane foam sheet 3 is flatted, as shown in Fig. 14. Referring to Fig. 15, while the polyurethane foam sheet engaged to the bottom of the artificial leather sheet lw is pressed, the burr 3c is compressed to be flat, thereby causing the bottom of the completed shoe upper 2b to be flatted. The reason is because the pins 4b of the upper mold 40 are inserted into the pin holes 60b of the base mold 60 in an exact tolerance when the upper mold 40 is engaged to the base mold 60, as shown in Fig. 18. At that time, the burr 3c is compressed and shaped by the edge of the pin hole 60b, as shown in Fig. 15.
Meanwhile, when the artificial leather sheet lw is engaged to the polyurethane foam sheet 3 as shown in Fig. 17, a problem happens that the edge of the air hole lc does not processed clearly if the base mold 40 without carrying out the process of utilizing the
middle mold 50. Accordingly, the middle mold 50 having pin holes 50c of a diameter larger than that of the pins 40b of the upper mold 40 is utilized until the polyurethane foam sheet 3 is engaged to the artificial leather sheet lw, as shown in Fig. 17. Finally, the pins 40b of the upper mold 40 are inserted into the pin holes 60b formed at the base mold 60, such that the burr 3c is flatted. The above result was obtained from several tests. The pinhole 60b of the base mold 60 has a dimension such that the pin 40b of the upper mold 40 may be inserted in a tolerance of mid-insertion. It reaches a conclusion that the diameter of the pin hole 50c of the middle mold is preferably one or two times as large as that of the pin 40b of the upper mold 40. Embodiment 3
A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Figs. 23 to 28. Comparing with the first and second embodiments in which the artificial leather and the polyurethane foam sheet are separately prepared and then are integrally engaged to each other, the third embodiment utilizes pre-adhered artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet. The construction of a middle mold utilized in the third embodiment is different from the construction of the middle mold utilized in the first and second embodiments.
Referring to Fig. 27, an upper mold 400 including grooves 400a for forming a protruded pattern 10a and pins 400b for forming air holes 10c at regular intervals is prepared, the construction of which is identical to that of the upper mold 40 shown in Fig. 19.
In addition, the construction of a middle mold 500 will be known from Fig. 28. The middle mold includes a blade 500b for forming a protruded pattern 10a (as shown in Fig. 20), and a column 500d having pin holes 500c for receiving the pins 400b of the upper mold 400. An edge blade 500k is formed at an edge of the middle mold, except for a flange 500a. The middle mold 500 according to the third embodiment of the present invention has a hollow portion E formed at an upper surface and a bottom surface, except for a middle frame for integrally forming the protruded blade 500b, the edge blade 500k and the column 500d, as shown in Fig. 25. The reason is because the third embodiment
utilizes the pre-adhered artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet and high heat does not apply to the artificial leather and polyurethane foam sheet.
Specifically, the polyurethane foam sheet 30 adhered to the artificial leather 10 by an adhesive is laid on the blade 50b protruded from the middle mold 500. Then, the middle mold 500 is inserted into the base mold 600 of a hot press. The artificial leather 10 and the polyurethane foam sheet 30 are interposed between the upper mold 400 and the middle mold 500 by raising the base mold 600, and are pressed during 40 to 80 seconds.
At that time, the heat applied to the base mold 600 is blocked by the cavity portion E of the middle mold 500, so that the heat does not directly apply to the polyurethane foam sheet 30, but concentrates on the upper surfaces of the blade 500b, column 500d and edge blade 500k of the middle mold 500.
With the pressing work as shown in Fig. 25, a protruded portion 30a of the polyurethane foam sheet 30 is formed in the groove 10b formed at a portion opposite to the protruded pattern 10a of the artificial leather 10, thereby forming the protruded pattern 10a. Therefore, the artificial leather 10 with the air holes 10c and 30b formed between the protruded patterns 10a is manufactured. A burr 30c is formed at the edge of the air hole 10c of the artificial leather 10 and the edge of the air hole 30b of the polyurethane foam sheet 30, shown in Fig. 22. This is identical to the embodiment of Fig. 12.
Since the pre-adhered artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet is utilized to make the shoe uppers in the third embodiment of the present invention, a trace 30d is formed at the bottom of the polyurethane foam sheet by the protruded blade 500b of the middle mold
500, through the process of Fig. 25. The trance 30d is not significantly protruded, and thus is disappeared through a final process.
After the above process, the middle mold 500 is released from the base mold 600, and the base mold 600 is engaged to the upper mold 400 by raising the base mold 600 and is pressed during 40 to 80 seconds. At that time, as the upper mold is engaged to the base mold 600 as shown in Fig. 26, the thickness of the polyurethane foam sheet becomes more thin, so that the burr 30c formed around the air hole 30b is flatted. And also, the protruded trace 30d is compressed and thus disappeared, as shown in Fig. 23. It will be
understood from Fig. 24 depicting an enlarged cross-sectional view of the Fig. 23. Referring to Fig. 24, since the burr lOd formed at the artificial leather 10 is buried by the polyurethane foam sheet 30, it brings about a problem in the quality of article, which is identical to the second embodiment of Fig. 15. Therefore, the third embodiment of the present invention reduces one process in comparison with the second embodiment.
The reason why the cavity portion E is formed in the middle mold 500 except for the middle frame which is minimally necessary for the strength is that a lot of heat is applied to the polyurethane foam sheet to produce high fraction defective. This is obtained from the same test as the second embodiment by using the pre-adhered artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet.
Therefore, the third embodiment of the present invention modifies the construction of the middle mold 500 so as to heat the protruded blade 500b of the middle mold 500 by a temperature of up to 100°C. The cavity portion E may be formed in the upper mold 400, as the middle mold 500, if necessary. Meanwhile, a heat insulator may be inserted into the cavity portion E of the middle mold 500, such that it blocks the heat applied to the middle mold 500 from the base mold 600. The heat insulator can be commercially available from several products.
The first embodiment of the present invention relates to the method of manufacturing sheet material for shoe uppers, in which the sheet material has the simple protruded pattern with no air holes. Meanwhile, the second and third embodiments relate to the method of manufacturing sheet material for shoe uppers, in which the sheet material has the air holes clearly formed at regular intervals, as well as the protruded pattern. The methods can be easily and economically carried out.
While the present invention has been described and illustrated herein with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Industrial Applicability
As apparent from the above description, the common inexpensive one-stage hot press is utilized, and the middle mold can be easily replaced by manual operation. The operation of releasing/engaging the middle mold to/from the base mold is easily executed, thereby improving precision and thus reducing the fraction defective. Therefore, the sheet material for shoe uppers of high quality may be manufactured. In addition, the method can be performed by a worker who is not a highly skilled person, so that the workability is excellent to improve the productivity thereof. Furthermore, since the shoe upper is manufactured by use of the common one-stage hot press, small entities can utilize the method, without purchasing expensive equipments.
Also, the present invention utilizes the pre-adhered artificial leather/polyurethane foam sheet, so that manufacturing steps are reduced and the number of middle molds is decreased. A number of air holes having a diameter of up to 1 mm can be formed on the sheet material at regular intervals, in the pressing process.