WO1992008384A1

WO1992008384A1 - Shoe sole, in particular a sports-shoe sole

Info

Publication number: WO1992008384A1
Application number: PCT/DE1991/000874
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wolf Anderie; Edgar STÜSSI
Original assignee: Adidas Ag
Priority date: 1990-11-07
Filing date: 1991-11-06
Publication date: 1992-05-29
Also published as: DE4035416A1

Abstract

Described is a sole for sports shoes in particular, the sole having a shock-absorbing layer and, joined to the side of this layer nearest the ground, an external wear layer which may incorporate a tread or carry a treaded layer. The shock-absorbing layer is made of hard, flexurally elastic plastic and has a number of supporting walls, disposed essentially parallel to the longitudinal exis of the shoe, which enclose cavities between them. Viewed in section, the supporting walls are disposed to fit together, inclined at an angle and/or curved, between the external wear layer and the top of the shock-absorbing layer.

Description

Shoe bottom, in particular for sports shoes

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The invention relates to a shoe bottom, in particular for sports shoes, with the features according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for its production.

The realization that, in particular for the exercise of certain sports, the design of certain shoes has to be adapted to biomechanical conditions has become established. This is especially true for the design of the shoe bottom, and with ^'the rolling process takes the foot against the track and has the task, on the one hand to reduce the sometimes considerable impact forces and distribute to avoid health problems, on the other hand, the foot enough to stabilize and to guide during the rolling process so that the user maintains a feeling for the track (rail contact). For this purpose, numerous suggestions for the formation of outsoles have been made in recent years, some of which have been put into practice, with the aim of minimizing the natural movement behavior of the foot in the rolling process, but nevertheless influencing it that the best possible power transmission is achieved during the run. Suggestions in this direction are to choose the elastic compliance differently in the individual sole sections in order to achieve extensive cushioning in areas subject to high levels of force, to inhibit pronation or supination that is too extensive and to take into account changes in shape of the foot itself during the rolling process .

In the vast majority of shoe bottoms developed and put into practice for this purpose, flat sole parts made of flexible material are used, the compressive deformability of the material being used essentially to control the properties mentioned. Possibly. this compressive deformability of outsoles and, if applicable, midsoles is influenced by local recesses, inserts, denser or less dense consistency of the sole material, etc. However, all of these proposals, which> make use of the compressive deformability of essentially flat soles or sole parts for cushioning, supporting and guiding, come up against a limit in the compatibility of the different requirements. This is due to the fact that a sufficient reduction in the foot forces, which are particularly high when running fast on hard tracks, can only be achieved by means of a relatively long deformation path, ie with soft sole material. A long deformation path, however, requires a relatively thick outsole, however, through which the runner loses the desired track contact feeling and, above all, not only allows compression deformations that are directed vertically to the track, but also to the side, that is, deformations that are parallel to the track, and thereby a feeling of swimming generated. In order to avoid this and also to keep the weight of the outsole low as the sole thickness increases, a compromise is therefore always made in practice which amounts to a reduction in the damping capacity. There have always been suggestions for so-called air cushion soles, in which more or less extensive compressed air-filled chambers are provided in the shoe bottom (cf., for example, DE-OS 24 60 034). In the case of a shoe bottom of the type mentioned at the outset, the air cushion function of air ducts running in the longitudinal direction of the sole has also been combined with the damping ability of the support webs existing between the air ducts due to the compressibility of the sole material (DE-OS 36 10 .354). However, air cushion soles with extensive air chambers have not achieved the desired result in practice because it is not possible to differentiate the damping generated by the air pressure in the individual zones of the sole so that it meets the requirements. Shoe bottoms, in which the support webs present between air-filled longitudinal channels essentially produce the damping effect and the shock-absorbing effect of the air channels is only used as a support, essentially have the disadvantages associated with the compressibility, described above.

Finally, a shock-absorbing shoe base is also known, in which profile bodies projecting beyond the lateral sole edge are arranged on the running side and the inside thereof has a grating structure of vertically standing, crossing supporting walls for reasons of weight saving (EP-OS 206 438). The height of the profile body projecting laterally from the sole edge decreases towards the center of the sole, so that the shoe bottom is supported essentially only at the outer ends of the profile body and a damping effect essentially results from a bending of the profile body and from a compression of the sole cavities lying immediately above it . However, this construction only results in a cushioning on the edge, while the intermediate sole sections remain largely rigid and do not allow adaptation to the conditions when the foot rolls off. The object of the present invention is therefore to create a shoe bottom of the type specified at the outset which, with sufficient damping, allows the deformation behavior to be adapted to the biomechanics of the foot, is simple to produce and is light in weight.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the configuration according to the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

In the sole design according to the invention, therefore, the compressive deformability of a relatively soft, resilient sole material is not exploited, but the bending deformability of support walls made of a relatively hard, resilient elastic material, which are arranged and formed obliquely and / or arched relative to the load, so that bending moments therein as a reaction arise. A hard plastic, for example polyamide, polyurethane or PVC, can be considered as the material, which has a sufficiently elastic resilience. The support walls, which run essentially in the longitudinal direction of the shoe floor, essentially retain their shape, but change their width to match the shape of the sole and their height to, for example, a wedge shape of the shoe floor. The support walls form a support structure for absorbing the weight load and the other forces occurring during the exercise, the formation of this support structure being of particular importance in the sole cross section. Because the support walls, viewed in the sole cross-section, together with the top and the running cover layer form a kind of framework, in which the deformation behavior of the individual support walls influences the distribution of forces and the load on the other support walls. In this way, a targeted anisotropic can be achieved through the geometric design and through the wall thickness measurement Bending behavior can be achieved in the individual zones. The anisotropy can be pronounced in such a way that with a vertical load the supporting structure formed by the support walls is relatively compliant and therefore damping, but is stiffened against lateral loads by the corresponding deformation, the deformation process itself leading to a stiffening geometry of the support walls. This avoids swimming to the side even with a relatively thick and therefore good cushioning shoe bottom.

The wall thickness of the retaining walls must be designed according to the loads that occur. For weight reasons, it is preferably in a range from 1 to 3 mm. Since, with a corresponding design, relatively few retaining walls are required, extensive ^* cavities are obtained next to the retaining walls, which means that the weight of the shoe bottom is very low.

For the formation and arrangement of the support walls in the cross section of the sole, there are various advantageous basic structures ^“ by means of which the bending ability of the“ truss structure ”can be used in the most advantageous manner. For example, the support walls in cross section can be formed by at least one support arch curved upwards or downwards It is expedient to arrange several support arches of different widths one inside the other and symmetrical to the longitudinal center line of the shoe bottom.

According to another embodiment, the support walls, viewed in the sole cross section, form a multi-curved support arch, which has the character of a wave shape. Thus, between a double curvature directed upwards or downwards, a counter-curvature of the support arch can be provided, the apex of which lies approximately in the middle of the sole width. Significant effects which are essential for the anisotropic behavior described above are obtained in particular if at least some of the support walls are only firmly connected to the upper side of the shock-absorbing sole layer or to the running cover layer, but are otherwise arranged displaceably with respect to these surfaces.

The retaining walls can pass through from the tip to the heel of the shoe bottom while maintaining their basic cross-sectional shape, only the dimensions changing in accordance with the desired sole width and height. However, it is also conceivable to form the front sole with a different cross-sectional structure of the support walls than the rear sole in order to achieve special deformation characteristics.

A method which is particularly favorable for the production of the support structure of the shoe bottom according to the invention is the blow molding method. This is because, in a simple manner, it is also possible to use supporting walls which have a closed edge, i.e. fully enclose a cavity, be easily manufactured. Here, the top of the shock-absorbing sole layer or the running cover layer can be molded in one piece with at least a number of the support walls in the blow molding process. Then the top layer on the running side or the top of the shock-absorbing layer is connected to the free edges or surfaces of the supporting walls, so that a type of box profile results.

Embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe equipped with a shoe bottom according to the invention. Figure 2 is an exploded view of the individual parts of the shoe bottom.

3 shows a view of the underside of the shock-absorbing ^' sole layer, with the running cover layer being removed;

Fig. 4, 5 cross sections along the lines IV-IV and V-V in Fig. 3;

6 shows a bottom view of a further embodiment of the shoe bottom according to the invention;

7 shows a perspective illustration of the shoe bottom according to FIG. 6, the front sole part and the rear sole part being shown pulled apart;

8, 9 cross sections along the line VIII-VII or IX-IX in FIG. 6, the running-side cover layer being drawn at a distance from the sole layer having the supporting walls;

10 to 15 advantageous cross-sectional shapes, which can preferably be produced in the blow molding process, and

16, 17 are cross-sectional representations of the shoe bottom according to the invention, which illustrate the deformation behavior under one-sided loading.

1 consists of a shaft 1 and a shoe base designated as a whole by 2, which according to FIG. 2 is composed of a shock-absorbing sole layer 21, a running cover layer 22 and a profiled wear sole 23 which are made for the front sole and the There are separate parts of the rear sole. The shock-absorbing sole layer 21 has the structure shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and consists essentially of an upper wall 210, two side walls 211 and support walls 212 to 215, which are integrally connected to the upper wall 210. The outer side walls 211 diverge from the upper wall 210 and are connected to the support walls 212, 215 arranged within them, each forming a closed cavity 217, 218 and a running surface 219, 220. The support walls 213 and 214 form an annular closed tubular profile which extends in a straight line approximately in the longitudinal center of the shoe bottom from its heel-side edge to the tip (FIG. 3). The running surfaces 219, 220 determine the sole contour in connection with the side walls 211. Accordingly, they curve at the tip and at the heel to the respective apex and in this way close off the cavity between the support walls 212, 213 and 214, 215 at the front and rear. The front and rear ends of the tubular profile forming the support walls 213, 214 can be closed by a protective strip (not shown) running transversely at the tip and heel of the shoe.

The running cover layer 22 is connected to the surfaces 219, 220 and to the underside of the tubular profile, which forms the support walls 213, 214, by gluing or heat sealing. The wear sole parts 23 are in turn glued to the underside of the running cover layer 22.

The inner wall structure of the shock-absorbing sole layer 21 in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 5 has a similar design that runs from front to back and only changes in dimensions with respect to width and height, as can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5. The cross-sectional design corresponds to that according to FIG. 8 and is therefore explained in connection with it: The support walls 212 and 215 are at an angle of approximately 70 ° to the running cover layer 22 and are curved toward one another in their upper edge section, with which they run into the upper wall 210 and are connected to it. As a result, they form a bridge-like support arch that is subjected to bending when subjected to a load from above. The support walls 213, 214 are arranged under the apex region of this support arch, and due to their curvature also undergo a bending outwards when subjected to a load. The upper wall 210 is widened beyond the two side walls 211 and bent back onto the side walls 211 and connected to them, so that a bead 222 running along the upper edge of the shoe bottom is formed on both sides. The running cover layer 22, which is connected to the shock-absorbing sole layer in the finished state of the shoe bottom, has two hollow ribs 225 arranged symmetrically with respect to its longitudinal center line, which protrude into the cavities 226 between the support walls 212, 213 and 214, 215.

In the embodiment according to a forward sole portion 230 and a rear sole portion 231 ^'in FIGS. 6 and 7, the shock-absorbing sole layer 21' is divided, the support structure formed by supporting walls not only in terms of the dimensions (height, width), but also with regard to the cross-sectional shape of the Retaining walls differs. In FIG. 7 it is indicated that the front sole part 230 has support walls with a cross-sectional structure according to FIG. 8, while the rear sole part 231 has a cross-sectional structure corresponding to FIG. 9. This cross-sectional structure provides an upper wall 240, side walls 241 and a bead 262 running longitudinally on both sides, which are identical in design to those in the cross-sectional shape according to FIG. 8 and therefore do not need to be explained in more detail. However, the inner support structure, which is formed by a corrugated partition wall 242, is different. The intermediate wall 242 forms a support arch, which has on both sides of the middle of the sole an upward arch section 243 and 244 and an intermediate, downward arch section 245. The rising or falling walls of the arch sections 243, 244 and 245 each form the support walls. The corrugated intermediate wall 242 is only firmly connected to the side walls 241 via its side edges, while the apex areas of the arched sections 243, 244 and 245 are not connected to the upper wall 240 or the running-side cover layer 22 ', but rather are each a short distance away from it Comply with the order of 1 mm.

The front sole part 230 is connected to the rear sole part 231 via an inclined abutment surface 234, which is formed by a flat intermediate plate, not shown.

The shock-absorbing sole layer 21 or the sole parts 230, 231 of the shock-absorbing sole layer 21 'can be produced in a simple manner using the blow molding process. In the context of this method, the cavities 217, 218 and the cavity enclosed by the tubular profile of the support walls 213, 214 are formed, for example, from a tubular film of predetermined wall thickness in its deformable state by being inflated in a separable blow mold. The same applies to the cavity located between the upper wall 240 and the intermediate wall 242. The blow molding process is known and requires no further detailed explanation at this point. Subsequent to the production of the shock-absorbing intermediate layer, it is connected, for example by gluing or heat sealing, to the cover layer 22 or 22 'on the running side. 10 to 15 show further cross-sectional modifications in which the shock-absorbing sole layer 21 or 21 'can be produced, one here too. Shaping in the blow molding process is possible. The parts to be connected to one another, namely the shock-absorbing sole layer and possibly the cover layer or the upper side of the shock-absorbing sole layer, are shown in a state before the mutual connection.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 10, the support walls are formed by a single support arch 270 which is symmetrical with respect to the cross-sectional center and which is integral with the side walls 271 and grown together with the upper wall 272. The running cover layer 273 has flat longitudinal ribs 274 which have a wave shape in cross section.

The embodiment according to FIG. 11 has three tubular profiles 275 running alongside one another in the longitudinal direction of the sole, which form support walls of a similar type and function as explained in connection with the support walls 213, 214 in the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 7.

12, the support walls are formed by a first support arch 280 of greater width, which is integral with the side walls 281, while a second support arch 283 of reduced width is attached with its "legs" to the running cover layer 284 and with its apex can be attached to the underside of the apex region of the further support arch 280, but need not. In the latter case, the second support arch 283 is displaceably supported with respect to the first support arch.

The embodiment according to FIG. 13 is constructed very largely the same as that according to FIG. 8 and differs only with regard to the shape of the tubular profile 285, which is not supported between the hollow ribs 225 of the running cover layer, but directly on these hollow ribs themselves. Here, too, a connection can be made between the tubular profile 285 and the hollow ribs, but also a mere support or even a small distance between these elements available.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 14, the running cover layer and the supporting walls are formed as a one-piece unit by a plurality of tubular profiles with a polygonal cross section, which run alongside one another in the longitudinal direction of the sole and are connected to one another. This is stabilized. Tubing arrangement through an upper wall 290, which is stiffened on both sides by hollow beads 291. This upper wall 290 is connected to the upper cover surfaces of the tubular profiles.

The embodiment according to FIG. 15 again largely corresponds to that according to FIG. 8. Different is the type of support walls 295, 296 which support the apex region of the support arch 297 and are formed by a closed tubular profile which is coil-shaped in cross section. The inwardly arched support walls 295, 296 are subjected to bending under a vertical load and, in extreme cases, can be supported against one another.

16 and 17 show purely schematically the deformation behavior of the support structure shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 under a lateral load, which is indicated by the arrow P. If the support structure is loaded centrally and vertically from above, for example when the runner is resting on it, the individual support walls deform essentially symmetrically. With one by de. Arrow P indicated, acting obliquely from above and from the side, however, the support walls are loaded on one side. 16, both * the right support wall 215 and the support walls 214 and 213 are loaded by bending, so that the Support wall 215 flattened, but the support walls 213, 214 are curved more strongly. The left support wall 212 also experiences a certain greater curvature. In particular, due to the flattened and therefore strongly curved shape of the support walls 213 and 214 on its two longitudinal sides, which form the tubular profile, the support structure created by deformation in the transverse direction is stiffer than before that lateral displacement due to bending deformation and thus "swimming" is prevented.

According to FIG. 17, the one-sided load P in turn causes a flattening of the right bulge section 244, but at the same time a displacement of the middle bulge section 245 to the left, since this is not connected to the cover layer on the barrel side. As a result of this displacement, the left bulge section 243 experiences an increase in its bulge, which leads to a corresponding stiffening. This stiffening means that the left cross-sectional part has less deformability to the side, which in turn reduces lateral displacement of the shoe bottom and thereby prevents a feeling of swimming.

As far as due to the type of manufacture, e.g. by means of the blow molding process, the cavities between the support walls formed in the shoe bottom are sealed air-tight, compensation openings opening into the shoe interior or to the upper edge of the sole outer edge are made in order to avoid different air pressure conditions inside and outside the shoe bottom.

Claims

1. Shoe bottom, in particular for sports shoes, with a shock-absorbing sole layer (21, 21 ^• ) and a cover layer (22, 22 ') connected to it on the running side, optionally profiled or bearing a profile sole, the shock-absorbing sole layer consisting of an elastically flexible plastic and contains essentially in the longitudinal direction of the support walls (212, 213, 214 ^' , 215), which form cavities (217, 218, 226) between them, characterized in that the shock-absorbing sole layer consists of a relatively hard flexible plastic and that the support walls, in Viewed sole cross-section, run obliquely and / or curved in itself between the running cover layer and the top of the sole layer.

2. Shoe bottom according to claim 1, characterized in that support walls (212 to 215), viewed in the sole cross section, are formed by at least one support arch (270, 280, 283) which is simply curved up or down.

3. Shoe bottom according to claim 2, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the support arch is arranged approximately symmetrically to the sole cross-section center.

4. Shoe bottom according to claim 2 or 3, so that the two ends of the support arch near the side walls (211) of the shock-absorbing sole layer are connected to the running-side cover layer.

5. Shoe bottom according to claim 3, that a plurality of support arches (280, 283) of different widths are arranged one inside the other.

6. Shoe bottom according to claim 4 or 5, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the two ends. the farthest of several support arches are connected to the respective side wall of the shock-absorbing sole layer.

7. Shoe bottom according to one of claims 1 to 6, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that support walls (213, 214; 275; 285; 295, 296), im

Considered sole cross-section, are formed by at least one annularly closed support profile.

8. Shoe bottom according to claim 1, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that support walls, viewed in the sole cross-section, are formed by a multi-wave curved support arch (242).

9. Shoe bottom according to claim 8, characterized in that the support arch has a double, upward or downward curvature (243, 244) and one that the support arch has a double, upward or downward curvature (243, 244) and an intermediate, downward or upward curvature (245), the apex of which lies approximately in the center cross-section of the sole.

10. Shoe bottom according to one of claims 1 to 9, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that at least some of the support walls are only firmly connected to the top of the shock-absorbing sole layer or to the running cover layer.

11. Shoe bottom according to one of claims 1 to 10, so that the running cover layer has one or more hollow ribs (225) extending in the longitudinal direction of the sole, which protrude into cavities of the shock-absorbing sole layer.

12. Shoe bottom according to one of claims 1 to 10, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the running cover layer has one or more hollow ribs running in the longitudinal direction of the sole, on which support walls of the shock-absorbing. Support the sole layer.

13. Shoe bottom according to one of claims 1 to 12, so that the shock-absorbing sole layer is divided into a front sole part (230) and a rear sole part (231), which are connected to one another by a continuous running-side cover layer.

14. Shoe bottom according to claim 13, characterized in that the support wall arrangements of the front sole part and the rear sole part are different from each other.

15. Shoe bottom according to claim 13 or 14, so that the facing end faces of the front sole part and the rear sole part are closed.

16. Shoe bottom according to claim 15, so that the front sole part and the rear sole part are connected to one another at their mutually facing end faces.

17. A method for producing a shoe bottom according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the top of the shock-absorbing sole layer or the running cover layer are integrally molded with the or a number of support walls by blow molding and then the running cover layer or the top of the shock absorbing Layer is connected to the free edges of the retaining walls.