Footwear

Abstract

A boot or shoe comprises a preformed portion and a portion which is molded in one piece on to the pre-formed portion and which includes the sole unit and those parts of the upper not constituted by the pre-formed portion. The pre-formed portion comprises side panels extending along each side of the shoe and a sock for underlying the foot, which sock interconnects the side panels and the side panels and sock may be made in one piece or in separate pieces which are fastened together, as by sewing, before the molded portion is molded on to the pre-formed portion. The molded portion is made from a plastics material, e.g. polyurethane, and the material does not overlap the inner face of the pre-formed portion but overlaps at least some of the marginal regions of the two side panels. The sock lies in the top surface of the sole unit. The two side panels may together extend also round the heel region of the upper and the plastics material may cover the outer face of the panels in the heel region. The location at which the side panels join the sock, e.g. in a seam is embedded in the sole unit. The specification describes also the method of manufacture of the boot or shoe.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.