GB2113971A

GB2113971A - Improvements in or relating to sports shoes

Info

Publication number: GB2113971A
Application number: GB08203134A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Simon John Peel
Original assignee: Benjamin Crook and Sons Ltd
Current assignee: Benjamin Crook and Sons Ltd
Priority date: 1982-02-03
Filing date: 1982-02-03
Publication date: 1983-08-17
Also published as: GB2113971B

Abstract

A sole for a sports shoe intended to minimize the danger of injury to players other than the wearer, has a centre portion 12 which provides at least part of the under surface of the sole and/or the mounting for studs, and a peripheral portion 10 made in a material softer than the centre portion, the two portions being secured together. The sole may be formed by moulding the outer peripheral portion and then moulding the centre portion within the peripheral portion. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to sports shoes The invention is concerned with soles for sports shoes (the expression "sole" being used herein to describe either a sole per se or a combined sole and heel). The purpose of the invention is to provide a sole which renders the shoe safer to use than conventionally manufactured sports shoes, especially in vigorous team games such as rugby football, It is to be understood however, that the invention is capable of application to the sole of any kind of sports shoe. Further, the invention comprehends the sports shoe incorporating the sole, as well as the sole itself.

According to one aspect of the invention a sole for a sports shoe comprises a centre portion and a peripheral portion, the peripheral portion being made in a material which is softer than the centre portion, the two portions being secured together.

Because of the two-part construction, it is possible to resolve the dilemma that on the one hand a soft sole will not stand up to wear and will not retain its shape properly, but on the other hand a hard sole (and especially the edge of a hard sole) is liable to injure a player other than the wearer.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the peripheral extends around the entire periphery of the centre portion, and the centre portion is located within the peripheral portion. It is further preferred that the two portions are bonded together.

Preferably at least the centre portion is made of synthetic plastics material and in the preferred construction, it is made of polyurethane. The centre portion may quite hard, because it is unlikely to come into contact with another player, and in the case of a rugby shoe for example, it may be polyurethane in the range 93 to 103 SHORE A hardness. Specifically a hardness of approximately 98 is preferred. Therefore, the centre portion is well adapted to hold its shape, provide a firm support for the foot of the wearer, and also provide a stable foundation for studs or the like, if these are required.

The peripheral portion may be made of any material which is softer than that from which the centre portion is made, and it could for example, comprise a soft rubber or rubber compound. It is preferred however, to make the peripheral portion in synthetic plastics material, and a suitable material is polyurethane. The peripheral portion preferably has a hardness in the range 75 to 85 SHORE A hardness and may also be made in polyurethane. The peripheral portion preferably has a hardness of approximately 80.

According to another aspect of the invention a method of manufacturing a sole for a sports shoe comprises the steps of: forming a peripheral portion of the sole; positioning the peripheral portion in a die for the sole and then moulding a centre portion in the die so that it completes the sole and becomes bonded to the peripheral portion, the peripheral portion being made in a softer material than the centre portion. Preferably, the peripheral portion is formed in the die in a first stage so that it becomes positioned in the die ready for the moulding of the centre portion.

It is preferred to use thermo-plastic materials for both the peripheral and centre portions and in the preferred method, the material from which the centre portion is made has a higher melting point than that of the peripheral portion, so that when the centre portion material is poured into the die, it melts those regions of the peripheral portion which it contacts and becomes bonded thereto.

A sole for a sports shoe and its method of manufacture, both in accordance with the invention, will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an underneath plan view of the sole, and Figure 2 is a section through the sole taken on the line Il-Il in Figure 1.

The sole which is herein described, is intended for use on a rugby shoe, and besides providing the necessary support for the wearer's foot, and the wearing undersurface of the shoe, it also provides location for eight studs (not shown) of which, six are positioned under the front portion or sole proper, and two are positioned under the heel portion. As is apparent from Figure 1, the general configuration of the sole is conventional.

The sole comprises an outer or peripheral portion 10, and an inner or centre portion 1 2. As is clear from Figure 1, the peripheral portion 10 generally provides a relatively narrow marginal part of the sole, although it is somewhat widened at the toe end as illustrated at 14, and the heel end 1 6 comprises two segments each of which is rather wider than the parts of the peripheral portion which extend along the sides of the sole, due to the triangular shape of the rear end of the centre portion 1 2. The cross-section of the sole can be observed from Figure 2. From this, it will be seen that the peripheral portion has a wide rebate 16 all round its underside (in Figure 2, the sole is inverted, that is to say the underside is on top).

The peripheral portion is moulded in a relatively soft grade of polyurethane for example grade 80, and has curved edges 18.

The centre portion 12 is moulded in a hard grade of polyurethane -- for example 98 grade so that it is well adapted to provide the necessary support for the wearer of the shoe, and also to provide the wearing surface on the underside. This centre portion completely fills the space bounded by the peripheral portion 10, and as illustrated in Figure 2, this includes a peripheral flange portion 20, which fills the rebate 1 6 extending around the inside of the peripheral portion 10. The undersurface of the centre portion 12 is generally flat, and the centre portion is blended smoothly into the peripheral portion, being bonded thereto as will be hereinafter described.

The centre portion also has moulded bosses 22 formed integral therewith, and there are reinforcing ribs 24 and 26 also formed integral with the centre portion, and extending between each pair of bosses 22, as illustrated in Figure 1.

An internally screw-threaded metal bush 28 is moulded into each of the bosses 22, and provides a means whereby a stud can be secured to the underside of each of the bosses 22.

The method of manufacturing the sole illustrated in the drawings will now be described, although it is not necessary for present purposes to illustrate the die which is used for this purpose.

The die itself has a lower part which is contoured to form the top side of the sole, and first and second upper parts which are used successively in the manufacture of the sole. The first upper part of the die is contoured to form the underside of the peripheral portion only of the sole. In other words, the upper part of the die has a relatively large core piece, which occupies the space which will eventually be filled by the centre portion of the sole, and is adapted to form the rebates in the peripheral portion. The second upper part of the die is contoured to form the underside of the entire sole, and more particularly, to form the underside of the centre portion 12, including the bosses 22 and the reinforcing ribs 24 and 26. Furthermore, the lower part of the die is provided with locations for the screw-threaded bushes 28.

In a first stage of the moulding process, the lower and first upper parts of the die are brought together, and relatively soft polyurethane is forced into the cavity within the die, and then allowed to set. This produces the peripheral portion 10 of the sole, and when the first upper part of the die is removed, the peripheral portion 10 is lying within the lower part of the die. The eight metal bushes 28 are then placed in the lower part of the die, the second upper part is brought on to the lower part of the die, and the harder grade of polyurethane is forced into the cavity within the die.This cavity is already partly occupied by the peripheral portion 10, and it is a feature of the method, that the melting temperature of the hard grade centre part 12, is higher than the melting temperature of the peripheral part 10, so that where the molten polyurethane for the centre portion contacts the peripheial portion, it melts some of the peripheral portion, and the two portions become bonded together. This bonding occurs mainly at the interface between the flange 20 on the centre Dortion and the rebate 1 6 in the peripheral portion. It will be appreciated, that one of the advantages of the wide rebate is that it provides an extended bonding surface between the two portions which constitute the sole.When the centre portion has set, the upper part of the die is removed, and the bushes 28 will have become bonded into the polyurethane centre portion 12, each bush being located in the centre of one of the bosses 22 which will be formed on the centre portion. The sole can then be removed from the die.

It is unnecessary to describe the construction of the shoe itself, since in the main this is conventional. The sole produced by the process just described, can be secured by an adhesive to the underside of the shoe, and then studs each of which has a screw-threaded spigot, can be fitted to the sole, by screwing the spigots into the bushes 28. The shoe is then complete.

For all practical purposes, the wearing surface of the sole is provided by the centre portion, which is made of similar material to that which has previously been found satisfactory for the wearing sole of a sports shoe. Furthermore, most of the support for the foot of the wearer is derived from the relatively hard centre portion of the sole.

However, the shoe is considerably safer than a conventional shoe in which the entire sole is made of a relatively hard grade of plastics material. This is because many injuries occur when the edge of the sole comes into contact with the flesh of a player other than the wearer of the shoe. When this happens, severe bruising or even tearing of the skin can occur. Since the sole of the shoe constructed in accordance with the invention has a peripheral portion which is made in a relatively soft grade of plastics material, any injury resulting from engagement of the edge of the sole with the flesh of a player, is likely to be considerably reduced.

Apart from the increased safety, it is possible to mould the two portions of the sole in differently coloured materials, and this enhances the appearance of the sole.

Claims

1. A sole for a sports shoe comprising a centre portion which provides at least part of the under surface of the sole, and a peripheral portion, the peripheral portion being made in a material which is softer than the centre portion and the two portions being secured together.

2. A sole for a studded sports shoe comprising a centre portion providing the mounting for the studs, and a peripheral portion, the peripheral portion being made in a material which is softer than the centre portion, the two portions being secured together.

3. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the peripheral portion extends around the entire periphery of the centre portion, and the centre portion is located within the peripheral portion.

4. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which the two portions are bonded together.

5. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which at least the centre portion is made of synthetic plastics material.

6. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in Claim 5, in which the centre portion is made of polyurethane.

7. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, in which the centre portion is made of a material in the range 93 to 103 SHORE A hardness.

8. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in Claim 7, in which the centre portion is made of material of approximately 98 SHORE A hardness.

9. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, in which the peripheral portion is made in synthetic plastics material.

10. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in Claim 9, in which the peripheral portion is made in polyurethane.

11. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, in which the peripheral portion has a hardness in the range 75 to 85 SHORE A.

12. A sole for a sports shoe as claimed in Claim 11, in which the peripheral portion has a hardness of approximately 80 SHORE A.

13. A sole for a sports shoe constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of manufacturing a sole for a sports shoe comprising the steps. forming a peripheral portion of the sole; positioning the peripheral portion in a die for the sole and then moulding a centre portion in the die so that it completes the sole and becomes bonded to the peripheral portion, the peripheral portion being made in a softer material than the centre portion.

1 5. A method of manufacturing a sole for a sports shoe as claimed in Claim 14, in which the peripheral portion is formed in the die in a first stage so that it becomes positioned in the die ready for the moulding of the centre portion.

16. A method of manufacturing a sole for a sports shoe as claimed in Claim 14 or Claim 15, in which thermo-plastic materials are used for both the peripheral and centre portions.

1 7. A method of manufacturing a sole for a sports shoe as claimed in any one of Claims 14 to 16, in which the material from which the centre portion is made has a higher melting point than that of the peripheral portion, so that when the centre portion material is poured into the die, it melts those regions of the peripheral portion which it contacts and becomes bonded thereto.

1 8. A method of manufacturing a sole for a sports shoe substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 9. A sport shoe incorporating a sole in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 13, or manufactured by the method of any one of Claims 14to 18.