EP3069626B1

EP3069626B1 - Tread structure in rubber or in plastic material for soles of shoes

Info

Publication number: EP3069626B1
Application number: EP16160598.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianni Frasson
Original assignee: RubbermacIt Srl
Current assignee: RubbermacIt Srl
Priority date: 2015-03-17
Filing date: 2016-03-16
Publication date: 2019-03-27
Anticipated expiration: 2036-03-16
Also published as: EP3069626A1; ITPD20150018U1; ES2731262T3

Description

The present invention relates to a tread structure in rubber or in plastic material for soles of shoes, as defined in the appended independent claim 1.
Such tread structure is intended in particular for soles designed for sectors where the rubber sole is usually characterized by considerable volume and weight, such as for example the soles of trekking shoes and outdoor footwear in general, of safety shoes and of utility shoes in general, and the like.
A detail of a conventional tread for soles of shoes is shown schematically, in cross-section, in Figure 2; such a tread A comprises a flat body B from which anti-skid raised portions C extend.
Nowadays rubber soles that are used in the trekking and outdoor sector can reach a weight of 500 grams per pair, a weight which is relatively non-negligible if one considers the peculiar application on shoes for activities that require the user to apply a continuous and very prolonged effort over time, i.e. effort that can last for many hours over the course of a day, such as for example an endurance run or an excursion or a day of work for a firefighter.
US2014202042 A1 discloses a cleat structure, e.g., for football shoes, which may include: (a) a cleat base; (b) a cleat free end; and (c) a concave side edge and at least two additional side edges extending between the cleat base and the cleat free end. Such cleats may be incorporated into sole structures (e.g., outsole components) that have one or more of: a base plate having a V-shaped support structure with lateral and medial support members extending forward from a base support area located in a heel or rear midfoot area of the outsole component; a base plate having a matrix structure with recesses or openings formed between rib elements that make up the matrix structure; and/or a base plate having a rear heel support.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a tread structure for soles of shoes which can be used with less exertion and less effort by a user.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to devise a tread structure that offers levels of technical performance that are not lower than similar conventional treads.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tread structure that can be mounted on conventional shoes without particular contrivances or limitations in the step of assembly/mating with the overlying components of a sole.
This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a tread structure in rubber or in plastic material for soles of shoes, according to appended independent claim 1.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the tread structure according to the invention, which is illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a tread structure according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a detail of a conventional tread;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a detail of a tread structure according to the invention;
Figure 4 is a plan view from below of a detail of a tread structure according to the invention in a variation of embodiment;
Figure 5 is a plan view from below of a detail of a tread structure according to the invention in a further variation of embodiment.

With reference to the figures, a tread structure in rubber or in plastic material for soles of shoes according to the invention is generally designated with the reference numeral 10.
The tread structure 10 is of the type comprising a sheet-like body 11 from which anti-skid raised portions 12 extend.
The peculiarity of the tread structure 10 consists in that the sheet-like body 11 is provided with a plurality of lightening recesses 13.
The lightening recesses 13 are defined on the exposed surface 14 of the sheet-like body 11 from which the anti-skid raised portions 12 extend.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the recesses 13 are distributed in an ordered manner on the exposed surface 14 between the anti-skid raised portions 12.
The tread structure 10 in rubber or in plastic material is preferably made of vulcanized rubber, for example with a process of vulcanization of rubber with compression presses, or by way of injection molding.
The lightening recesses 13 define an ordered matrix of bas-reliefs shaped like pyramids.
In the embodiment in Figures 1 and 3, the lightening recesses 13 are pyramid-shaped based on a quadrangular-based pyramid.
In the variation of embodiment in Figure 4, on the exposed surface 114 lightening recesses 113 are defined which are pyramid-shaped based on a triangular-based pyramid.
In the further variation of embodiment in Figure 5, on the exposed surface 214 lightening recesses 213 are defined which are pyramid-shaped based on a hexagonal-based pyramid.
Obviously, the recesses 13, 113, 213 can have any useful shape, for example hemispherical, and a main direction of extension so as to define a slotted or channeled profile, extending straight or in a broken line or in a curved line or in a mixed line.
Thanks to the recesses 13, 113 and 213, a tread structure 10 according to the invention is lighter by 15% - 25% with respect to a similar tread that does not have lightening recesses.
The sheet-like body 11 at the points of lesser thickness, at the deeper points of the recesses 13, 113, 213, has a minimum thickness of 0.5 mm, such as to ensure the tread has characteristics of long life and resistance to stress.
In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects.
In fact, with a tread structure 10 according to the invention there is a reduction in the portion of weight of a shoe attributed to the sole, and in particular to a sole in rubber.
Furthermore, with the invention a tread structure has been devised which lightens a sole in rubber while maintaining the performance of the final product and adding the advantages of lightness and comfort.
The use of a tread structure according to the invention benefits the end consumer who has less weight on the shoe for the same technical performance.
With the invention in fact the tread structure in rubber is lightened by way of an emptying of what is known as the 'meat', i.e. the flat body 11, and such emptying of the meat is obtainable by defining cavities of different dimensions and geometric shapes, arranged in different solutions that enable a reduction of the weight and of the volume of the sole of which the tread structure is part.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, within the scope of the appended claims.
In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.
This application claims priority from the disclosures in Italian Utility Model Application No. PD2015U000018 (202015902338763).
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

A tread structure in rubber or in plastic material (10) for soles of trekking shoes, outdoor footwear, safety shoes utility shoes, of the type comprising a sheet-like body (11) from which anti-skid raised portions (12) extend, said sheet-like body (11) being provided with a plurality of recesses (13), said recesses (13) being defined on the exposed surface (14) of said sheet-like body (11) from which said anti-skid raised portions (12) extend, said recesses being lightening bas-relief areas (13) defining an ordered matrix of recesses characterized in that said recesses are shaped like pyramids which mutually share base lines of said pyramids arranged on a plane of said exposed surface (14).
The tread structure in rubber or in plastic material (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of vulcanized rubber.
The tread structure according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said recesses (13) are distributed in an ordered manner on said exposed surface (14) between said anti-skid raised portions (12).