GB2160146A

GB2160146A - Studded footwear

Info

Publication number: GB2160146A
Application number: GB08514691A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roy Stanley Collins
Original assignee: Triman Ltd
Current assignee: Triman Ltd
Priority date: 1984-06-12
Filing date: 1985-06-11
Publication date: 1985-12-18
Also published as: GB8414949D0; GB8514691D0; JPS6111001A; AU4349085A

Abstract

A top piece for the heel of an article of studded footwear is made in two stages. In the first stage a stud holder (1) is moulded from a plastics material such as an acetal resin. The stud holder has internally screw-threaded sockets (3) interconnected by support means which may be in the form of straps (5 and 6). In the second stage a body (2) is moulded around the stud holder so that the stud holder becomes embedded in it. In use, threaded attachment portions (17) of studs are screwed into the sockets. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Footwear This invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to the manufacture of heels for studded footwear, that is footwear of the kind provided with sockets for receiving studs or spikes. For convenience of description the term stud will be used herein in a broad sense to include within its scope all forms and shapes of projections for engagement with the ground, whether blunt or sharp.

Various constructions have been proposed for the soles of studded footwear, but less attention has been directed to the heels. In general the soles of shoes are required to be relatively thin and flexible, while heels are required to be thicker and stronger. The problem of designing a satisfactory heel is therefore rather different from that of designing a satisfactory sole.

An aim of the present invention is to provide an improved design of heel for studded footwear.

From one aspect the present invention consists in a method of making a top piece for the heel of an article of studded footwear, the method comprising the steps of moulding a unitary stud holder from a plastics material, the stud holder comprising a plurality of internally screw-threaded aockets, for receiving complementary threaded attachment portions of studs, and support means interconnecting said sockets, and moulding a top piece body around the stud holder so that the stud holder becomes embedded in the body.

From another aspect the present invention consists in a top piece for the heel of an article of studded footwear made by the method outlined in the last preceding paragraph.

From yet another aspect the present invention consists in an article of studded forwear having a heel incorporating a top piece of the kind outlined in the last preceding paragraph.

The arrangement is preferably such that in the completed top piece an upper surface of the stud holder (i.e. a surface which faces upwards when the shoe incorporating the top piece is standing in a normal position of use) is flush with an upper surface of the body of the top piece so that the load taken by studs mounted in the sockets of the stud holder is at least partially transmitted to a part of the shoe overlying the top piece without being transmitted through the body of the top piece. In particular, upper surfaces of the stud holder directly above the sockets are preferably flush with an upper surface of the body. Conversely the body of the top piece preferably extends beneath the whole of the stud holder, except beneath the sockets, which must of course be open so as to be able to receive attachment portions of complementary studs.

The stud holder is preferably moulded from a relatively rigid material such as an acetal resin, while the body of the top piece is preferably moulded from rubber or a rubber-like material which is more flexible and resilient than the material from which the stud holder is formed.

In one method of attaching a top piece embodying the present invention into an article of footwear, headless nails are driven into an undersurface of an upper part of the heel of the article of footwear, and the top piece is forced onto projecting portions of said nails so that those projecting parts enter the body of the top piece.

Headed nails may then be driven through the body and into said upper part of the heel, preferably near the periphery of the body. In order to reduce the likelihood of the projecting portions of the headless nails piercing the stud holder, the support means of the stud holder is preferably of openwork form. It may, for example, comprise a plurality of straps interconnecting the sockets.

At least one of the sockets is preferably provided with anchorage means which forms an integral part of the stud holder and extends outwards from an upper part of the socket. The anchorage means preferably includes a portion extending downwards at a location spaced from said socket.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a top piece embodying the present invention, Figure 2 is a view from below of a stud holder which constitutes part of the top piece, Figure 3 is a side view of the stud holder, Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 2, Figure 5 is a section, to a larger scale, along the line 5-5 of Figure 1, and includes studs mounted in sockets in the stud holder, Figure 6 is a view from below of one of the studs shown in Figure 5, Figure 7 is a section along the line 7-7 of Figure 6, and Figure 8 is a side view of the rear part of a shoe incorporating a top piece of the kind shown in Figures 1 to 5, the heel being sectioned to show its construction.

The top piece illustrated is intended for incorporation in the heel of a golf shoe, and comprises a stud holder 1 and body 2. In the manufacture of the top piece, the stud holder 1 is first formed as a unitary moulding of relatively rigid and strong plastics material such as an acetal resin. The holder comprises a plurality of sockets 3, four in this particular embodiment, each of which is of generally cylindrical shape and is formed internally with a screw-thread. Each socket 3 is closed at its upper end by an integral closure disc 4. The sockets are interconnected by support means of openwork form comprising a plurality of straps, of which there are two relatively broad straps 5, parallel with each other and each having a socket at each end, and four relatively narrow straps 6 which radiate to the four sockets from a central boss 7.In the specific embodiment illustrated the broad straps 5 are relatively thin and are the same thickness as the closure discs 4. The narrow, radiating straps 6 and the boss 7 are of greater thickness than the straps 5. A pair of flanges 8 projects out wards from the upper end of each socket 3 and each flange has at its outer end a depending lug 9.

The flanges 8 are coplanar with the straps 6 and 7.

The flanges associated with each socket extend away from the straps and in radial directions at right angles to each other. It will be seen from Figures 3 and 5 that the top surface of the holder is planar. Other arrangements of straps, flanges and lugs may be employed if desired.

In manufacture, the plastics material from which the stud holder is formed is injected into that part of the mould which defines the boss 7 and flows from there to those parts defining the sockets 3, flanges 8 and lugs 9. The presence of the closure disc 4 at the top of each socket encourages the plastics material to flow axially down that part of the mould defining the wall of the socket, and in this way the likelihood of material flowing around the socket-froming part of the mould from opposite directions, and the consequent risk of a line of weakness occuring where the two flows of material meet, is much reduced.

After its formation the stud holder 1 is secured as an insert in a second mould, this second mould defining the body 2. Material from which the body is to be formed is injected into the second mould and the stud holder thus becomes embedded in that material. The material from which the body is formed is a synethetic rubber of the kind known as a thermoplastic rubber or TPR. It is strong but is more flexible and resilient than the material from which the stud holder 1 is formed.

The outline of the body 2 is of conventional shape, conforming to that of the heel of a shoe, and the upper surface of the body is flat and is coplanar with that of the stud holder 1. The lower surface of the body 2 is largely planar and is parallel with the upper surface, but, as shown in Figure 5, there is a circular opening opposite the open mouth of each of the sockets 3 and a shallow circular recess 10 of larger diameter concentric with each of those openings. The thickness of the body 2 is rather greater than that of the stud holder 1 so that the open end of each socket is set back from the lower surface of the body. If desired the shallow circular recesses 10 may be omitted so that the entire lower surface of the body is planar.

The top piece is such that the material from which the body 2 is formed is so shaped that it conforms accurately with the shape of the stud holder 1, so that no gaps are present between the body and the stud holder. Nevertheless the stud holder 1 may not be anchored tightly in the body 2. This, however, is no disadvantage, for as will become apparent there is no opportunity for the holder to become dislodged when the top piece has been incorporated in a shoe.

In manufacture of the shoe the top piece is attached to a shoe in the manner illustrated in Figure 8, which shows only the rear part of a shoe 11 of largely conventional construction. Initially the shoe is provided with a shallow heel body or packer 12 to which the top piece is subsequently attached.

The packer 12 is of uniform thickness and of the same outline as that of the top piece. It is secured to the remainder of the shoe by headless nails 13 which are driven through the packer into the remainder of the shoe but are not driven fully home, with the result that part of each nail remains projecting from the lower surface of the packer. Each nail 13 is of a well-known kind, being severed from strip metal of uniform thickness and in the shape of an isosceles triangle with a relatively short base.

After the nails 13 are in place the top piece is forced onto the projecting broader end parts of the nails, which enter the body 2 but are too short to extend fully through the body. The nails 13 are so positioned that their projecting broader end parts do not engage or pierce the stud holder 1. The open-work nature of the support means reduces the likelihood of any of the nails striking the holder even if some of the nails are slightly misplaced.

After the top piece has been forced into abutment with the packer 12 a line of headed nails 14 may be hammered through the body 2 into the packer, the line being close to the periphery of the body and extending around at least part of the periphery.

Studs of any suitable kind can be screwed into the holder 1. One suitable form of stud is illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7. It is the subject of British patent No. 2 028 102 of Triman Limited. The stud comprises a support 15 made of a plastics material and a metal pin element 16. The support 15 has an externally screw threaded sleeve or attachment portion 17, for engagement in any one of the sockets 3, and an outwardly directed flange 18 for engagement with the bottom surface of the top piece. The pin element 16 comprises a stem 19, a ground-engaging head 20 and an outwardly directed flange 21. An upper end portion of the stem 19 is riveted over to secure the support and the pin element permanently together. In use the sleeve 17 is screwed tightly into one of the sockets 3 with the aid of a face spanner having pegs which enter recesses 22 in the bottom face of the flange 18.

The flange 18 enters the associated shallow recess 10 and comes into tight frictional contact with the base of that shallow recess. The form of the screwthread in each of the sockets 3 and the form of the complementary screw-thread on each of the studs may be of the kind described and illustrated in the specification of British Patent Application No. 2 115 683 A of Triman Limited.

As a stud is screwed into one of the sockets 3, the flange 18 of the stud presses onto the bottom of the body 2 while the sleeve 11 pulis downwards on the socket. The flanges 8 and lugs 9 associated with the socket serve to resist any tendency there might otherwise be for the socket to be bodily displaced relative to the body 2. The flanges 8 and lugs 9 therefore serve as anchorage means for the socket. Even if the lugs 9 were omitted the flanges 8 on their own would act in a similar manner, though to a lesser extent.

The type of stud illustrated incorporates additional features, although it is to be understood that they are optional features and that either of both of them may be omitted. The first of these features comprises a retaining ring 23 integral with the flange 18 and projecting upwards from that flange.

In use, when the stud is screwed into one of the sockets 3 the ring 23 embraces a lower end portion of the socket and helps to resist any forces which might tend to split or burst the socket. The inner face of the ring 23 is tapered, as shown, to tighten onto the socket during the final stages of installation of the stud. The other feature comprises a ring of teeth 24, also integral with the flange 18, extending between the sleeve 17 and the retaining ring 23. Each tooth is of asymmetric shape and presents a first face which is sloping and a second face which is vertical. The faces meet at a sharp edge which extends in a radial direction. The arrangement is such that in use, during the final stages of installation of the stud in a socket the teeth engage the bottom end face of the socket. As the stud is being rotated the sloping first faces of the teeth slide over the bottom end face of the socket, but when the stud is in place, the sharp edges tend to bite into that end face of the socket and resist any torque that might be inadvertently applied to the stud in use and acting in a direction such as to try to unscrew the stud.

When the shoe is in use it will be appreciated that much of the load on the studs is transmitted through the stud holder 1 directly to the packer 12, rather than being tansmitted through the body 2 of the top piece.

Claims

1. A method of making a top piece for the heel of an article of studded footwear, the method comprising the steps of moulding a unitary stud holder from a plastics material, the stud holder comprising a plurality of internally screw-threaded sockets, for receiving complementary threaded attachment portions of studs, and support means interconnecting said sockets, and moulding a top piece body around the stud holder so that the stud holder becomes embedded in the body.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which the arrangement is such that in the completed top piece an upper face of the stud holder is flush with an upper surface of the body of the top piece so that the load taken by studs mounted in the sockets of the stud holder is at least partially transmitted to a part of the shoe overlying the top piece without being transmitted through the body of the top piece.

3. A method according to claim 2 in which upper surfaces of the stud holder directly above the sockets are flush with an upper surface of the body.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the body of the top piece extends beneath the whole of the stud holder, except beneath the sockets, which are open so as to be able to receive attachment portions of complementary studs.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims in which the body of the top piece is moulded from a material which is more flexible and resilient than the material from which the stud holder is formed.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims in which at least one of the sockets is provided with anchorage means which forms an integral part of the stud holder and extends outwards from an upper part of the socket.

7. A method according to claim 6 in which the anchorage means includes a portion extending downwards at a location spaced from said socket.

8. A method of making a top piece for the heel of an article of footwear, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

9. A top piece for the heel of an article of studded footwear made by a method according to any one of the rpeceding claims.

10. A top piece for the heel of an article of footwear substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

11. An article of studded footwear having a heel incorporating a top piece in accordance with either of claims 9 and 10.

12. An article of studded footwear according to claim 11 and substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.