A method and apparatus for footwear moulding

A method and apparatus for footwear moulding

A method of moulding a mouldable reinforcing element of an item of footwear 12 that comprises the steps of providing a microwave heatable mouldable reinforcing element and locating said element at an appropriate location as part of an item of footwear 12; positioning the item of footwear 12 on a last 17 to hold the item of footwear 12 in an appropriate shape; locating the item of footwear 12 in a microwave field and thereby heating the mouldable reinforcing element to a temperature at which it is mouldable; and moving the appropriate location of the item of footwear 12 relative to the microwave field during said heating. A heater 1 is also disclosed for moulding footwear that comprises a chamber 2, a microwave generator (7, figure 6) that, when in use, generates a microwave field within the chamber and apparatus (6, figure 6) for moving an item of footwear 12 located in the chamber 2 relative to the microwave field.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FOOTWEAR MOULDING

The present invention provides a method of moulding a mouldable reinforcing element of an item of footwear. The method comprises the steps of: providing a microwave heatable mouldable reinforcing element and locating said element at an appropriate location as part of an item of footwear; positioning the item of footwear on a last to hold the item of footwear in an appropriate shape; locating the item of footwear in a microwave field within a microwave chamber that contains the microwave field and thereby heating the mouldable reinforcing element to a temperature at which it is mouldable; and moving the appropriate location of the item of footwear relative to the microwave field during said heating. The method is particularly advantageous over prior art microwave methods for moulding footwear in that it does not require specific control of the microwave field and it does not require the use of external moulds. 117.-. (canceled)18. A method of moulding a mouldable reinforcing element of an item of footwear comprising the steps of:providing a microwave heatable mouldable reinforcing element and locating said element at an appropriate location as part of an item of footwear;positioning the item of footwear on a last to hold the item of footwear in an appropriate shape; and thenlocating the item of footwear in a microwave field within a microwave chamber that contains the microwave field and thereby heating the mouldable reinforcing element to a temperature at which it is mouldable; andmoving the appropriate location of the item of footwear relative to the microwave field during said heating.19. A method according to claim 18 , wherein the mouldable reinforcing element is a heel counter and the appropriate location is a back part of the item of footwear.20. A method according to claim 18 , wherein the mouldable reinforcing element is a toe puff and the appropriate location is a front part of the item of footwear.21. A method according to claim 18 , wherein the item of ...

A method and apparatus for footwear moulding

The present invention provides a method of moulding a mouldable reinforcing element of an item of footwear (12). The method comprises the steps of: providing a microwave heatable mouldable reinforcing element and locating said element at an appropriate location as part of an item of footwear (12); positioning the item of footwear (12) on a last (17) to hold the item of footwear (12) in an appropriate shape; locating the item of footwear (12) in a microwave field within a microwave chamber (2) that contains the microwave field and thereby heating the mouldable reinforcing element to a temperature at which it is mouldable; and moving the appropriate location of the item of footwear (12) relative to the microwave field during said heating. The method is particularly advantageous over prior art microwave methods for moulding footwear in that it does not require specific control of the microwave field and it does not require the use of external moulds. The present invention also provides a heater (1) for moulding footwear comprising a chamber (2), a microwave generator (7) and apparatus (6) for moving an item of footwear (12) located in the chamber (2) relative to a microwave field generated by the microwave generator (7).

Rotating contactor reactor

The present invention relates to a reactor for the treatment of a liquid stream, the reactor comprising: a liquid stream inlet, a reaction zone for holding the liquid stream, at least one rotating contactor in the reaction zone arranged to rotate through the liquid stream, and a liquid outlet, wherein the at least one rotating contactor includes a fabric mesh.

A method and apparatus for footwear moulding.

La presente invención proporciona un método para moldear un elemento de refuerzo moldeable de un artículo de calzado (12). El método comprende las etapas de: proporcionar un elemento de refuerzo moldeable, calentable por microondas y ubicar el elemento en una ubicación apropiada como parte de un artículo de calzado (12); posicionar el artículo de calzado (12) sobre una horma de zapato (17) para sostener el artículo de calzado (12) en una conformación apropiada; ubicar el artículo de calzado (12) en un campo de microondas dentro de una cámara de microondas (2) que contiene el campo de microondas y de esta manera calentar el elemento de refuerzo moldeable a una temperatura en la cual es moldeable y mover la ubicación apropiada del artículo de calzado (12) con relación al campo de microondas durante el calentamiento. El método es particularmente ventajoso sobre los métodos de microondas de la técnica previa para moldear calzado en que no requiere control específico del campo de microondas y no requiere el uso de moldes externos. La presente invención también proporciona un calentador (1) para moldear calzado que comprende una cámara (2), un generador de microondas (7) y el aparato (6) para mover un artículo de calzado (12) ubicado en la cámara (2) con relación a un campo de microondas generado por el generador de microondas (7).