Footwear manufacturing process
OwnerLana S. Krauseinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of reclaiming used tennis balls and transforming the material reclaimed from the tennis balls into soles for footwear. This multi-step process requires acquiring used tennis balls, grinding the tennis balls into ground rubber bits (usable elements) and tennis ball “fuzz” (unusable elements). The rubber and fuzz are passed through a screen which allows the rubber bits to exit the screen but retains the fuzz. The rubber is then mixed with an H2O and Polyurethane mixture to form a rubber mixture. This mixture is then pressed into a shape using a mold, cured, and then used to manufacture footwear.
Claims7
A method of manufacturing a shoe sole, the method comprising the steps:
- acquiring a plurality of tennis balls;
- grinding the tennis balls in a granulator, thereby generating felt fuzz and rubber granules;
- passing said felt fuzz and rubber granules through a rotary machine comprising teeth which remove said felt fuzz from said rubber granules;
- passing said felt fuzz and rubber granules through at least one screen, thereby separating said rubber granules from said felt fuzz;
- combining water and polyurethane, resulting in a water and polyurethane mixture;
- combining said water and polyurethane mixture with said rubber granules;
- mixing said rubber granules and said water and polyurethane mixture into a rubber mixture;
- placing said rubber mixture into a mold;
- forming a footwear sole with said mold;
- curing said footwear sole;
- and
- applying said sole to a piece of footwear.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.