Boot and shoe making – Tools – Interiorly stretching assembled shoes
Patent
1992-06-05
1994-08-16
Meyers, Steven N.
Boot and shoe making
Tools
Interiorly stretching assembled shoes
121144, A43D 500
Patent
active
053374320
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to slalom boots and more particularly to a method of shaping and a series of shaping implements of slalom boots, in which the slalom boot consists of an outer shell made from hard plastic and an inner boot made from flexible material.
BACKGROUND ART
A slalom boot should transfer the movements of the foot precisely as a force directed at the ski. On the other hand, a slalom boot should fit the individual foot of the user without any feeling of cramping. In accordance with the known technique it is as such possible to shape a boot entirely in accordance with the user's foot by first choosing a large outer shell and by fitting the inner boot to the shape of the user's foot with the aid of urethane foam. Operationally a boot of this kind is not, however, optimal, because the excessive flexibility of the inner boot reduces the technical operation of the boot.
In certain slalom boot models there are adjustments to alter the height of the arch of the foot and to tilt the ankle to a limited amount to a desired angle. In any event the boot is not a perfect fit for most users and it is generally believed that a slight cramping by the boot is normal.
Because the costs of the forms used in the manufacture of the outer shell are high, it is not possible to manufacture even different shapes in the same model and size. On the other hand even this would not be sufficient, because there is such an immense number of combinations of different anatomical properties that a solution of this kind is not possible.
A slalom boots and implements to shape it locally in accordance with the user's foot are shown in patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,974. According to this a piece to be heated is pressed outwards from inside the shell of the boot. In practice shaping of a boot with an implement of this kind is rather limited unless high temperatures are used in heating it, which may then damage the plastic material of the boot. The grades of plastic used at present in boots stick easily to a heating head. On the other hand the publication gives no hint as to how the anatomical form of the foot is transferred to the inside of the boot in the form of directions for shaping.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
An object of this invention is to create a method of shaping and a series of shaping implements for slalom boots, by means of which a foot with nearly arbitrary properties can be fitted to existing slalom boots.
In carrying out the above object, the characteristic features of the shaping method in accordance with the invention are preformed on a slalom boot consisting of a hard plastic outer shell and an inner boot made of flexible material. A boot of the correct length is selected in accordance with the user's foot and the individual forms of the foot protruding from the boot are recorded. A point in the outer shell corresponding to each protrusion is shaped by locally heating the point to be shaped and pressing from inside the heated point, when the plastic material stretches and a protrusion arises. The heating is carried out by hot-air blowing from outside and the internal pressing by means of a wooden shaping head. The characteristics of a series of implements developed for the shaping of the outer shell of the boot consist of a hot-air blower, at least one pressing device and one or more wooden shaping heads to be attached to the pressing device. From the point of view of the invention it is essential that it makes it possible to select a boot of the correct length, after which the outer shell of the boot is given a shape fitting the foot. The shaping is most advantageously carried out with the aid of hydraulic pressing devices, in which wooden pressing heads are used. A wooden pressing head does not adhere to the plastic material, which would hinder the shaping. Other advantages and forms of application of the invention appear later.
In what follows the invention is illustrated with the aid of the accompanying figures, which show one form of application of the invention and advantageous s
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