Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Ventilated
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-18
2002-04-09
Patterson, M. D. (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Ventilated
C036S055000, C036S045000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06367166
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention is related to a boot, specifically a sports boot, such as a hiking boot, which accommodates moisture drainage and evacuation.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
The problem of circulation and evacuation of air from inside a boot is a long-standing one, and it has never been resolved in a totally satisfactory manner.
As such, the alpinist ski boot, known by its trade name “CLIMA-COMPREX” by Kolfach, consists of an impermeable outer envelope and an inner liner, equipped on its outer wall with longitudinal channels that communicate with through holes of the liner and are adapted to evacuate the moisture laden air.
The problem with such a boot is that the air evacuation output is very limited and, consequently, there is inadequate airing for the elimination of moisture. Furthermore, the spacing of the foot from the outer wall of the liner causes condensation problems, and this becomes accentuated because the outer envelope is exposed to the cold.
Various constructions have also been attempted with the so-called “breathable waterproof” materials, i.e., materials that are permeable to water vapor but impermeable to water. These constructions certainly provide an excellent impermeability against the elements, but they have the disadvantage of being inadequate in terms of breathability or evacuation of moisture.
As a matter of fact, the so-called “breathable waterproof” materials or membranes provide very little breathability, and indeed only fulfill 10% of the moisture evacuation needs of the foot.
More recently, as illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the company Boréal has developed a mountaineering boot constituted of an external upper
1
made of leather, and a lining
2
shaped like a liner, adapted to evacuate moisture, and constituted of a lower portion
21
surrounding the actual foot portion and an upper portion
22
surrounding the ankle portion.
As shown in greater detail in
FIG. 1A
, the lower portion
21
of the lining
2
is made of a multi-layered material, consisting of, from the inside outwards:
a three dimensional fabric
25
, a “breathable waterproof” membrane, of the type known by the trade name “Sympatex”, adhered to the protective textile layer
26
(abrasion resistance),
a leather layer constituting the external upper
1
.
The upper portion
22
of the lining is constituted of a leather layer
27
and foam layer
28
.
The two parts
21
-
22
are connected via a top peripheral stitch
23
, while a bottom peripheral stitch
24
provides the assembly of the lower portion
21
of the liner.
The use of the three-dimensional fabric
25
is adapted to allow the evacuation of water vapor towards the outside in a vertical and transverse direction.
In practice, however, this evacuation is blocked in the vertical direction by the presence of the top peripheral stitch
23
and the bottom peripheral stitch
24
.
As a result, the perspiration can only be evacuated transversely in the lower portion
21
of the lining, through the “breathable waterproof” membrane
26
and the external leather wall of the external upper
1
.
However, as indicated previously, these “breathable waterproof” materials do not provide an adequate evacuation of moisture, and the resulting effect is therefore not satisfactory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the instant invention to overcome these drawbacks and to provide an improved boot construction, enabling a better evacuation of the moisture produced by perspiration.
This object is achieved in the boot according to the invention, which is of the type constituted of an external upper and an internal lining, due to the fact that the internal lining is constituted of a multilayered fabric that includes two parallel textile surfaces connected together by a layer of threads extending mainly perpendicularly to the plane constituted by each of the two textile surfaces, and defining a compressible space between these two textile surfaces, due to the fact that it extends from the bottom to the upper end of the external upper, and that it is only connected to the external upper via a top peripheral stitch.
The multilayered fabric, more commonly known by the term three-dimensional fabric, defines a layer of air surrounding the foot along the entire surface of the boot and rises to the top of the boot upper, thus enabling an optimum evacuation of moist air from the foot all the way to the top of the boot, and this is achieved by a maximum exchange surface.
Such a construction resolves the problem of having an exchange surface that is too limited, as was the case in the constructions using a “breathable waterproof” layer, or a system of channels and through holes, as described previously.
In addition, the assembly of the lining to the external upper via a single top peripheral stitch guarantees that the moist air can be evacuated in an essentially vertical direction, i.e., from the bottom towards the top of the boot.
According to a preferred embodiment, the inner lining forms a liner assembled via a single median longitudinal stitch. This construction also guarantees a good circulation of moist air because it can be evacuated from the median stitch of the sole towards the sides of the liner.
The invention also provides for a boot comprising an external upper comprising an external sole and an upper end having an edge, an internal lining including an upper edge and a base disposed adjacent the external sole of the external upper, the internal lining comprising a multilayered fabric which includes two parallel textile surfaces connected together via a layer of threads extending substantially perpendicularly with respect to the two parallel textile surfaces, a compressible space being defined between the two parallel surfaces and extending from the base of the internal lining to the upper end of the external upper, the upper edge of the internal lining being connected to the edge of the external upper via a turned over top peripheral stitch, wherein the internal lining allows perspiration to circulate from the base to the top peripheral stitch.
The internal lining may allow perspiration originating within the internal lining to circulate freely from the base to the top peripheral stitch. The lining may comprise a sole portion adapted to receive a foot. The internal lining may comprise a plurality of multilayered fabric pieces which are assembled together via a single, substantially median, longitudinal stitch. At least one of the two parallel textile surfaces may comprise a breathable waterproof membrane. The external upper may comprise at least a partially breathable material. The at least partially breathable material may be leather. The multilayered fabric may be a three-dimensional fabric generally comprising two independent textile webs separated by the space and wherein the space comprises an aerated layer. At least one of the two parallel textile surfaces may comprise a jersey web. At least one of the two parallel textile surfaces may comprise one of a woven and a non-woven thread web. The internal lining may comprise a three-dimensional fabric which is made of synthetic water-resistant materials. One of the two parallel surfaces may comprise an inner surface adapted to contact a foot, the inner surface comprising a large mesh jersey material adapted to allow optimal evacuation in a direction substantially perpendicular to the two parallel textile surfaces. Another of the two parallel surfaces may comprise an outer surface disposed adjacent the external upper, and wherein the boot further comprises an additional layer disposed between the outer surface and the external upper. The additional layer may comprise a breathable waterproof membrane. The breathable waterproof membrane may comprise one of Gore Tex® and Sympatex® and Clima Dry®. The additional layer may comprise a tight mesh fabric. The internal lining may comprise two pieces of multilayered fabric which are assembled together via a single longitudinal stitch which is arranged substantia
Barthelemy Antoine
Tholin Jacques
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Patterson M. D.
Salomon S.A.
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