WO1990009117A1

WO1990009117A1 - An outsole for an article of footwear

Info

Publication number: WO1990009117A1
Application number: PCT/GB1990/000146
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nicholas Richard Grunfeld
Original assignee: Nicholas Richard Grunfeld
Priority date: 1989-02-08
Filing date: 1990-02-01
Publication date: 1990-08-23
Also published as: AU5023490A

Abstract

An outsole for an article of footwear, particularly but not exclusively in the form of a boot, comprises a plurality of fixed ground-engaging projections (6) spaced around the periphery of the bottom of the outsole, and a plurality of ground-engaging studs (14) detachably mounted on the outsole bottom and spaced inwardly of the periphery thereof. When the outsole is provided on a boot, the boot is of at least ankle height and preferably of about calf height. Such boots are particularly useful on rough, soft or muddy ground.

Description

"An Outsole for an Article of Footwear" This invention relates to an outsole for an article of footwear, and to footwear equipped with such an outsole. "Splatballing" is a real life adult army game of growing popularity which involves movement of the participants on rough, soft or muddy ground. Many participants wear what are commonly known as "trainers" , that is leisure shoes often provided with a rugged outsole pattern. These suffer from the drawback that they let in water and do not provide a good grip on soft or muddy ground. Army boots minimise the ingress of water but do not provide a good grip because the soles tend to become clogged with mud. Rugby or soccer boots go some way to providing the required grip but tend to let in water and mud, particularly in long grass or on very muddy ground.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved outsole for articles of footwear, especially but not essentially for persons participating in "Splatballing".

According to the present invention, there is provided an outsole for an article of footwear, comprising a plurality of fixed ground-engaging projections spaced around the periphery of the bottom of the outsole, and a plurality of ground-engaging studs detachably mounted on the outsole bottom and spaced inwardly of the periphery thereof. It is preferred that the projections form a discontinuous ring of even height about the periphery of the bottom of the outsole, and that the studs are located inwardly of the discontinuous ring. Furthermore the projections are preferably formed integrally with, and of the same material as, at least the lower part of the outsole body. The outsole body may itself be formed of several layers, namely a hard-wearing lower layer made, for example, of rubber, and a relatively resilient upper layer made, for example, of a spongy material, such as ethylvinylacetate (EVA) .

Preferably the bottom of the outsole is substantially smooth and free of any tread pattern except where provided with the projections and studs, and the heel portion does not project below the remainder of the outsole. However, the heel portion of the outsole may be thicker than the rest of the outsole to provide additional support.

Conveniently, the studs have a height of at least 0.5 cm, and preferably a height of at least l.o cm. The studs are also preferably of frustoconical shape having a diameter at their larger end of at least 1.0 cm.

The invention also provides an article of footwear in the form of a boot of ankle height or more and provided with an outsole having a plurality of studs.

As stated above, the boot is of at least ankle height, and it may be of calf height. In either event the height of the boot from the lower surface of the outsole is preferably at least twice that of a normal shoe having an equivalent outsole size.

The outsole and upper of the boot are preferably waterproof. Preferably, the boot is a lace-up boot.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a boot according to the invention; and

Figure 2 is a view from below of the outsole of the boot shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the boot shown therein has an upper 10 and an outsole 11. The upper 10 is of Pittards R100 impregnated leather so that it remains waterproof and supple in use, and includes panels

9 of a waterproof semipermeable fabric, such as Aquatex

(Registered Trade Mark) on each side. The outsole 11 has a rubber lower layer 8 and a spongy upper layer 7 of EVA. The lower layer 8 of the outsole 11 is integrally formed with projections 6 forming a discontinuous ring of even height about the periphery of the bottom of the outsole 11, and is provided with integral sockets for receiving removable studs 14. There are a number of known arrangements for connecting studs to sockets but commonly these comprise a threaded shaft on the stud and a threaded hole in the socket. The sole of the boot may be built up in the region of the heel with a further EVA layer 5, but not in such a manner that the heel projects below the remainder of the outsole.

The studs 14 are typically of the type employed on rugby or soccer boots. They can be made of metal, rubber, plastics material or any combination thereof. They are frustoconical and have a height of at least 0.5 cm, and preferably a height of at least 1.0 cm and typically a height of about 1.5 cm. Typically the studs 14 have^" a diameter of about 1.5 cm at their upper or larger diameter ends and a diameter of about 1.0 cm at their lower or small diameter ends.

The bc-ot shown in the drawings has six studs 14, but other arrangements could be employed. It is, however, preferable that each boot has no more than 10 studs, and that the outsole 11 has no tread pattern apart from the studs 14 and the projections 6..

It will be appreciated that the studs 14 provide good grip on muddy ground. Furthermore the projections 6 give the boot an attractive appearance and provide stability when walking on hard ground. Because of the spacing of the studs 14 and the provision of wide spaces between adjacent projections 6, the boot does not easily become clogged with mud, so that the boot retains its ability to grip even under very adverse muddy conditions. The boot has a lace 12, and a reinforced region

16 in which lace holes 17 are provided. In addition the lace 12 is wound around metal eyelets 15 in conventional manner to secure the upper part of the boot around the leg.

The upper is of at least ankle height, and, as shown, is above ankle height and of substantially calf height. Preferably, the upper extends at least 5 cm, and typically 10 cm or more, above ankle height. In any event the upper should be of sufficient height to closely fit around the lower part of a wearer's leg well above the foot in order to minimise the ingress of water or mud when worn on wet or muddy ground. Generally the total height of the boot from the bottom of the sole to the top of the upper is between 20 cm and 30 cm, and is typically about 27 cm.

Conceptually the upper 10 may be considered as comprising a lower foot receiving part 18 and an ankle or leg receiving part in the form of a sleeve 19. The hypothetical line of delineation between the part 18 and the sleeve 19 is shown in broken lines at 20 and corresponds to the rim of a normal shoe. The distance between the line 20 and the upper end of the sleeve 19 should be at least equal to, and preferably, as shown, about twice the distance between the bottom of the outsole

11 and the line 20.

The boot also has a tongue 13, and, to prevent ingress of water between the tongue 13 and the upper 10, the tongue is connected to the inner surface of the upper 10 by gussets.

Boots as described above are particularly suitable for use when participating in the sport of "splatballing" , but they may be worn by persons participating in other activities.

Claims

-7-CLAIMS

1. An outsole for an article of footwear, comprising a plurality of fixed ground-engaging projections spaced around the periphery of the bottom of the outsole, and a plurality of ground-engaging studs detachably mounted on the outsole bottom and spaced inwardly of the periphery thereof.

2. An outsole as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the projections form a discontinuous ring of even height about the periphery of the bottom of the outsole., and the studs are located inwardly of the discontinuous ring.

3. An outsole as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the projections are formed integrally with, and of the same material as, at least the lower part of the outsole body.

4. An outsole as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the outsole body is formed of a plurality of layers.

5. An outsole as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the outsole body includes a hard wearing lower layer and a relatively resilient upper layer.

6. An outsole as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bottom of the outsole is substantially smooth and free of any tread pattern except where provided with the projections and studs.

7. An outsole as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the heel portion does not project below the remainder of the outsole.

8. An outsole as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the studs have a height of at least 0.5 cm.

9. An outsole as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the studs have a height of at least 1.0 cm.

10. An outsole as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the studs are of frusto- conical shape having a diameter at their larger end of at least 1.0 cm.

11. An article of footwear provided with an outsole according to any one of the preceding claims.

12. A boot comprising an upper of at least ankle height and an outsole according to any one of Claims 1 to 10.

13. A boot as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the upper is above ankle height and of substantially calf height.

14. A boot as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13, wherein the height of the boot from the bottom of the outsole to the top of the upper is between 20 cm and 30 cm.

15. A boot as claimed in any one of Claims 12 to

14, wherein the outsole and upper of the boot are waterproof.

16. A boot as claimed in any one of Claims 12 to

15, in the form of a lace-up boot.

17. An article of footwear in the form of a boot of ankle height or more and provided with an outsole having a plurality of studs.

18. An article of footwear as claimed in Claim 17, wherein the studs are removable.

19. An article of footwear as claimed in Claim 17 or Claim 18, wherein the boot is of calf height.