GB2023403A - Shoes - Google Patents

Abstract

A shoe is provided with a sole which presents an uncontoured, substantially smooth, flat wear surface for gripping the floor or equipment, the material of the sole having a low hardness value, typically 25 to 40 shore. The sole may be of rubber, PVC or polyurethane. The upper is provided with lateral lacings, instep supporting straps, and an upper padded portion 7 of softer material than lower portion 6. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Shoe having a non-slip sole This invention relates to shoes, particularly to sports shoes. The invention has especial application to shoes which are suitable for wind surfing and skateboarding, for example, but also to shoes for indoor sports played on a smooth floor, such as tennis and badminton.

In wind surfing and skateboarding, equipment is used which has a substantially smooth surface, more usually a totally smooth, polished surface or plastics surface, with which the player has to make close contact. It is therefore understandable that care must be taken to prevent slipping - particularly in totally wet conditions, in the case of wind surfing. To meet this problem, it has been proposed to apply adhesive non-slip strips to the boards, which are made of wood, aluminium, fibre glass and various plastics (Stiftung Warentest 7/77, page 438). This solution is unsatisfactory, since the application of strips means that the non-slip properties are differently dependent on direction and the grip of the foot on the surface between the non-slip strips is not uniform.

One solution to overcome this difficulty and thereby obtain the desired non-slip qualities, would be to use special non-slip profiles which are known perse, particularly those having suction pads.

However, this can also be an unsatisfactory solution, since on the one hand the grip is restricted to the areas where the suction pads are provided and does not extend over the entire surface of the sole, and on the other hand the use of suction pads may have the disadvantage of making the foot grip too firmly on the standing surface, i.e., the surface of the sports equipment, with the result that a change of position cannot be effected quickly enough and, in particular, the foot cannot be easily and rapidly released from the standing surface. This disadvantageous suction effect is particularly noticeable when the standing surface of the sports equipment is dry, whereas, on the other hand, the use of suction pads on a wet standing surface can cause an aquaplaning effect.

The present invention then, aims to provide a sports shoe, wherein on the one hand the entire surface of the sole can be used to prevent slipping and on the other hand the position of the foot on the standing surface can be altered rapidly and without any resistance.

According to the invention, a shoe has a non-slip sole presenting an uncontoured, substantially smooth, flat wear surface, the material of the sole having a low hardness value. Typically, the hardness is in the range of 25 to 40 shore. Excellent protection against slipping together with a reliable degree of stability can be obtained with shoes according to the invention, even if water washes over the equipment; and there is the additional advantage of a minimal uptake of dirt.

Slight graining of the surface of the running sole may be advantageous but is not absolutely necessary; rather, the running surface may be provided with slight impressions imitating rivets and/or quilting. Nor is it necessary for the lower surface to be exactly flat when the shoe is being worn; in fact, it is advantageous to chamfer the edges of the sole in order to facilitate release.

The preferred range of hardness for the sole is 25 to 40 shore, particularly for a rubber sole. However, the sole is desirably as soft as possible. Surprisingly, it has been found that an increase in softness, i.e., a reduction in hardness, by no means reduces the wear resistance and hence the service life of the sole to the extent that one might expect. It is though, advisable not to go below a hardness of 30 shore.

For manufacturing reasons, it is advisable to produce the sole from a unified material of the same hardness, although it is possible merely to provide the running surface of the sole with a soft layer. The sole may be made from various materials, rubber, PVC, PU being particularly suitable.

Particularly in those cases where the entire sole is made from only one material, it is advisable to provide a mudguard strip or a correspondingly turned up sole with a mudguard area, in order to improve the grip of the foot and provide a reliable joint between the sole structure and the upper, in known manner.

In the sports mentioned above, great flexibility of the upper is essential. For this reason, it is advantageous to provide an external lateral tie fastening on each shoe, in per se known manner; this tie fastening for the upper, which reaches above the ankle region, should extend from the top to just above the mudguard. In order to seal the shoe, a tongue may be provided in known manner which is joined, e.g., stitched, on both sides over its entire length to the edges of the slot in the upper, whilst the tie fastening may consist of two eyelet strips made of plastics which are joined, e.g., stitched, to the upper via bands and from which the eyelets project towards one another, so that a strong, highly flexible tie strip can reliably be laced up and closed without any parts of the fastening projecting appreciably beyond the general plane of the upper.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the shoe is provided with one or more joint support straps on each side of the foot which preferably start at the sole and are connected to the upper. They preferably run diagonally forwards towards the instep. They can terminate there at a spacing from each other and comprise tie fastenings at their ends. This releasable connection gives the foot a particular hold without affecting the flexibility of the top part of the upper.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a perspective view of a shoe according to the invention.

The sole 1 of the shoe shown is made from a soft PU material with a hardness of 35 shore. The running surface 2 has a slightly creped contour and is substantially flat. The edges 3 merge into the mudguard 4 via a rounded off area; this mudguard reaches high up at the heel, slightly less high up in the outer and inner side areas, is lowest in the region of the ball of the foot, rises again towards the toe and is reinforced at 5. The upper 6 is made of waterproof canvas material and is provided with an internal foam layer for insulation and padding and is also lined. The top part 7 of the upper is made of softer material, has more padding and extends over the ankle region. The upper has a lateral slot 8 which reaches to just above the mudguard 4 and which has plastics strips stitched to its edges 9 via bands 10, from which eyelets 11,which have been produced by injection moulding in the same operation, project towards one another and are joined together by means of a ribbon-like lace 12. The tongue 13 is stitched tightly to the edges of the slot over its entire length.

A joint support strap 14 is attached to the upper 6 on each side of the shoe. The two joint support straps 14terminate at a spacing from each other on the instep and have a tie fastening 15 at their ends.

Claims (15)

1. A shoe having a non-slip sole presenting an uncontoured, substantially smooth, flat wear surface, the material of the sole having a low hardness value.

2. A shoe according to Claim 1 wherein the material of the sole has a hardness of 25 to 40 shore.

3. A shoe according to Claim 2 wherein the material of the sole is one of rubber, polyvinylchloride and polyurethane, and has a hardness of at least 30 shore.

4. A shoe according to any preceding Claim wherein the wear surface is grained and wherein the edges thereof are chamfered.

5. A shoe according to any preceding Claim including a mudguard extending around the shoe adjacent the sole.

6. A shoe according to any preceding Claim including an external lateral fastening.

7. A shoe according to Claim 6 including an upper portion for extending over the ankles and wherein the fastening reaches from the top of the shoe to a point proximate the sole.

8. A shoe according to Claim 6 or Claim 7 including a tongue stitched over its entire length to the edges of the fastening.

9. A shoe according to any of Claims 6 to 8 wherein two eyelet strips are stitched to an upper part of the shoe via bands and form a tie fastening, the eyelets projecting towards one another.

10. A shoe according to any preceding Claim wherein an upper part of the shoe is padded.

11. A shoe according to Claim 10 wherein said upper part extends over an ankle portion of the shoe.

12. A shoe according to any preceding Claim having top and bottom parts made from different materials, the material of the top part being softer than that of the bottom part.

13. A shoe according to Claim 12 wherein both said parts are made from a waterproof textile material.

14. A shoe according to any preceding Claim having one or more joint support straps on each side of the foot, which joint support strap or straps termi nate on the instep at a spacing from one another and comprise a tie fastening at their ends.

15. A shoe substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.