Separable and recyclable footwear
AssigneeTBL Licensing LLC
InventorsChao Yun Lai, Alexander Dardinski, Tadd Nicholas Smith, David Hass
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A separable footwear article may comprise an outsole oriented at the bottom of the footwear and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material; an upper portion releasably coupled to the outsole with thread using chain stitching, the upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material; and an insole removeably disposed adjacent the upper portion and the outsole, the insole comprising a third material different from the first material and the second material; wherein the outsole, the upper portion, and insole are capable of being separated by releasing the thread and hand pulling the thread from the footwear article.
Claims18
A separable footwear article comprising:
- an outsole oriented to define a bottom of a footwear article and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material;
- an upper portion the upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material;
- a welt configured to releasably join the outsole and the upper, wherein the welt is releasably coupled to the outsole and the upper portion via thread, wherein the welt is split from a center to define a Y-shaped cross section, and wherein a first branch of the welt is releasably coupled to the upper and a second branch of the welt is releasably coupled to the outsole with thread using chain stitching;
- and
- an insole removeably disposed adjacent the upper portion and the outsole, the insole comprising a third material different from the first material and the second material;
- wherein the outsole, the upper portion, and the welt are configured to be separated upon receipt of a pulling force upon the thread sufficient to remove the thread from the footwear article.
A method of making a separable footwear article comprising:
- providing an outsole oriented to define a bottom of a footwear article and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material;
- providing an upper portion, the upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material;
- providing a welt configured to releasably join the outsole and the upper, wherein the welt is split from a center to define a Y-shaped cross section;
- temporarily coupling to the outsole, the upper portion and the welt via a temporary adhesive to hold a stitching position prior to coupling the outsole, the upper portion, and the welt;
- releasably coupling the upper portion to a first branch of the welt via a thread using chain stitching;
- releasably coupling the outsole to a second branch of the welt via a thread using chain stitching wherein the welt releasably coupled to the outsole and the upper portion via the thread,
- wherein the outsole, the upper portion, and the welt are configured to be separated upon receipt of a pulling force upon the thread sufficient to remove the thread from the footwear article.
A separable footwear article comprising:
- an outsole configured to be oriented at a bottom of a footwear and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material;
- and
- an upper portion, the upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material;
- a welt configured to releasably join the outsole and the upper, wherein the welt is releasably coupled to the outsole and the upper portion via a coupling mechanism, wherein the welt is split from a center to define a Y-shaped cross section, and wherein a first branch of the welt is releasably coupled to the upper and a second branch of the welt is releasably coupled to the outsole via the coupling mechanism;
- wherein the outsole, the upper portion, and the welt are capable of being separated by releasing the coupling mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.