Footwear, such as a boot or shoe, having an insole comprising an extruded foamed resin sheet wherein the resin is an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer or a blend thereof with polyethylene and has a polymerized vinyl acetate content of 2-17 percent by weight. The insole has a substantially uniform thickness, a substantially closed cell structure, and a density of 17-40 pounds per cubic foot. Preferably, the insole is treated with an electric discharge prior to being bonded to the other components of the article of footwear. The insole can be bonded to these other components by any suitable means, preferably by the use of an adhesive.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a division of application Ser. No. 793,559, filed Jan. 23, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,191 issued Nov. 30, 1971.
An inner sole with a cushioning layer of polyurethane foam, with compression set less than 10%, laminated to a thinner layer of thermoformable polyethylene foam, which serves primarily as a vehicle for shaping the polyurethane.
A flexible cleaning element for rotating brushes for automatic washing of vehicles, suitable for being attached to a rotating support and made of an expanded closed-cell synthetic resin is provided. The expanded synthetic resin includes a copolymer that is obtained by adding vinyl acetate to it.
An athletic shoe of reduced weight is described employing low density, closed cell, synthetic plastic foam for an intermediate sole layer and/or heel lift sole layer between a harder outer sole layer and the shoe upper. The foam is a polyethylene or ethylene vinyl acetate foam having a density not substantially less than 5 pounds per cubic foot, preferably at least 7 pounds per cubic foot. A lateral extending heel stabilizer plate of solid plastic material or a heel lift layer having a relatively hard outer border portion may be added to improve lateral stability.
An insert, particularly for athletic shoes, is removably fitted over or affixed atop the top surface of the insole of the shoe and comprises a thin section of non-absorbant, thermally non-conductive thermoplastic material which is deformable to conform to the shape of the insole. The insert is formed with a plurality of spaced apertures to permit the passage of air and moisture between the sock and insole. The coefficient of friction of the uppermost surface of the insert is approximately equal to that of the skin of the foot so that movement of the foot and sock within the shoe is limited to reduce the incidence of turf toe, while permitting at least some motion of the foot and sock within the shoe especially during sudden stops or starts to avoid blistering of the foot.
A process for producing an ethylene vinyl acetate insole involves weighing molding compounds for manufacturing the ethylene vinyl acetate insole. The molding compounds are mixed and rolled by means of a roller so as to form a sheet material. The sheet material is cut into a plurality of elongated strips. A predetermined amount of the strips are placed into a first mold unit, which is heated and pressurized so as to form a partially foamed insole. The partially foamed insole is placed into a second mold unit, which is heated, pressurized, and cooled so as to form a completely foamed insole. The completely foamed insole is trimmed to form a finished ethylene vinyl acetate insole.
