ARTICLE CHAUSSANT ANTIDERAPANT

ANTI-SKIDDING FOOTWEAR

Abrégé anglais

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An anti-skidding foot-wear for use on ice, comprising
an outsole of resiliently collapsible material including an ice-
engaging main portion and an upstanding lateral edge portion character-
ized by the latter, having traction studs projecting from the
upstanding lateral edge portion as well as from the ground-engaging
main portion and arranged such that, upon collapse of the outsole,
the traction studs of the upstanding lateral edge portion also tractively
engage the ice surface on which the user stands, whereby, upon pre-
dominant engagement of the upstanding lateral edge portion with the
ice, the traction studs of the lateral edge portion will maintain
adequate anti-skidding effect.

Revendications

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED, ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An anti-skid foot-wear for use on an ice surface comprising
an outsole, of substantial thickness, defining flat inner and outer
faces and a lateral upstanding edge portion completely surrounding
the outsole, the latter made of resilient, soft and flexible rubber-
like sponge material and having spaced cavities extending therein
through a major portion of the thickness thereof, 80 that said outsole
will yield under the weight of a wearer and a part of said lateral
edge portion will collapse into engagement with said ice surface by a
force component exerted on said footwear in any direction parallel
to said ice surface, and traction studs integral with and projecting
from said flat outer face and from said lateral edge portion, said
studs yieldable and deformable in any direction relative to said outter
surface and said lateral edge portion, said studs being of uniform
size and shape and evenly distributed over said outer face and over
said lateral edge portion around the complete periphery of said outsole.
2. An anti-skid foot-wear as defined in claim 1, wherein said
lateral edge portion is rounded in cross-section and merges with said
outer flat face.
3. An anti-skid foot-wear as defined in claim 1 or 2, wherein
said cavities are open at said inner face and are closed at said
outer face.
4. An anti-skid foot-wear as defined in claim 1 or 2, wherein
said cavities are closed at said inner face and open at said outer
face.

Description

FIELD OF THE [NVENTION
.
Thls invention relates to a foot-wear of the type made with
an outsole particularly constructed for anti-skid characteristics
on an ice surf~ce.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Foot-wears of the above type are descrlbed ~n applicant's
Canadian Patent N 867,576 dated April 6, 1971 and Pater.t 1,Olf 743
dated September 6, 1977. They are characterized by a soft and
resiliently-collapsible outsole havlng traction studs pro~ectiTIg
from its ground-engaging main portion bue not Erom its lateral edge
portion. This is done and useful in particular for shoes and
boots to play broom ball games on ice. Those foot-wears provide
good adherencc on the ice upon collapse of th~ outsole against the
ice. The traction studs on the ground-engaging main portion thu~
tractively enga~e the ice. However, the collapse o the outsole
also results in collapse of the lAteral edge portion into engagement
with the ise. When the foot is set flat on the ground or ice, the
traction studs of the mfiin portion are in good tractive engagement
with the ice and they provide adequate antl-skidding.
However, it ha3 been noted that, when the foot i8 not flat on
the ground or ice, the anti-skidding effect is substantiai]y reduced.
It is found thAt this occurs due to prevailing engag~ment of the non-
studded lateral edge portion Against the ice, as compared t, th~, studded
maln portion of the outsole upon par~icular coll~pse of the latter.
Such particular collapse may, for in~ta;nce, occur with foot movements
such as starting, stopping, ~umplng, changes of directions and late~al
stopping.
SUMMARY OF THE INYE~iTlON
It is ~ ~eneral object of the present inven'tion to provide an
anti-skidding foot-wear of the above type that avoids the above-
mentioned disadvantages.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provlde
an anti-skidding foot-wear of the above type, which is aLso effect-
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Ive al2linst 3klc~ing when the latera1 edge portion of the
coLIapse(l oo~:ole makeg T)redominanc engagement on ice.
It i~ an object of tha pressnt invantion to provide an anti-
skidding footwear of tha above type, which i~ provided with an
out~ola having ~action stud~3 on its lataral 3dgs portion a~ wall
as on its ground-engaging m~in portion and which, thus, produc~s
adequate anti-skidding affect euen wh0n the lateral adg0 portion makea
predominant engagement on ice.
ORIEF DESCRIPTION DF THE DRAWING5
~ he above and othar objects and advantagas of the pra3snt
invention will be b~tter undf3rgtood with referenca tD the fo~lclw.ing
oatailed dl3scription of prefi3rr~d embodiments theri30f which are
illustratsd, ~y way Df exampla, in the accompany,ing drawings, in which:
Fi9Urf3 1 iS a cross-sHctional UiBW taken transverasly through
an anti-skidding footwear accordins to a first embodiment of tha
prasent inuen~ic~,;
Figure 2 i8 a crogs-sectional view as in Figure 1 but taksn
longitudlnally of the hsel portion o~ only part of the aaml3 anti-
~kidding footwear;
Figure 3 i~ a longitudinal cross-section through the front
portion of still the sarne anti-skidding:foot-wear according to the
prasent invantion;
Figure b is a cross-3ectlonal view as in Figure 1 nf a foot-
waar accordi~ o a ~econd ernbodiment of the prar3ent lnv~ntion~
Figura 5 is a cross-uactional ulaw with part broken ~way
of a footw~ar r~ccordins to a third embodiment of tho pr0~ant
invention;
Figura 6 is a partial viaw of Figure 4 showing th~ outsol~
resiliently coll~lpsad with pradominant angagemr3nt of an up~3tanding
l~teral edge of t.e outsole again~t an :ice surface;
~0 Figure 7 i3 a partif31 uiew of Figure 4 showing the outsole
rasilir3ntly collapsed with flat engagement of the ice-engag;.ng .
rnain portion with tha ice, ill~strati~g
suma co11ap-3ed r~ngagament o~ the 1ataral edge with the ice; and
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5i53
Figure 8 shows another collapsing behavlor of the re~illently-
collapsible outsole according to the embodiment of Figure 4.
DETAILED DESCRI~T ~I~ OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
.
The anti~skidding foot-wear according to the embodiment of
Figures 1, 2, and 3 comprises an outsole 10, made of resiiiently-
collapsible material, such as soft rubber or resilient foam, closed or
open-cell sponge rubber, microcellular rubber3 latex foam and plaatic
foam. The outsole 10 is of sub3tantial thickness and includes an
ice-engaging main sole portion 11 and an upstanding lateral edge
portion 12 completely surrounding the foot-wear inclu~ve of the
heel portion, toe portion and opposite sides. The rela~lvely thlc'.i ice-
engaging main ~ole portion 11 is formed with a plurality of cavities 13
extending along a major portion of the thickness of the ice-en~aging
main sole portion. The cavities 13 add to the softness of the outsole
over and above the inherent softness of the material forming the outaole.
Traction studs 14, of uniform size and shspe, are integrally
formed with the;~uc~ole 10 and outwardly project from the upstanding
lateral edge portloll 12, as well as from the ground-engaging main sole
portion. Traction studs 14 are evenly distributed over the sole portions
11 and 12 and have a shape as in the above-noted Patents and, therefore,
can yield and deform in anydirection. The purpose of these traction
studs 14 on the up3tanding lateral ed8e portion has been defined in
the preceding ob~ec~s oE the present ivnention and will be Eurther
explained wlth reference toFigure fi, 7, and 8.
The anti-~kidding foot-wear in the embodlment shown in Figllre
4 comprises a slightly difierent form of outsole, indicated by 15.
The ~ole 15 merely forms a cushion or soft pad on which 18 adhered
the upper oi the foot-wear.
The outsole 15 includes an ice-engaigng main sole portion 16,
an upstanding lateral edge portion 17, traction studs 14 and cavities
13.
The anti-skidding foot-wear in the embodiment shown in Figure
5 comprises another form of outsole 18. The latter is made of the
:.
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same type of resiliently-collapsible materlal as the outsoles lO
and 15. The outsole 18 comprise~ an ice-engaging main ~ole portion
19 and an upstanding lateral edge portion 20. Cup-shaped cavities
21 are also formad in the 801e portion 19 and have their larger end
downwardly opeil tc lncrease the softness of the sole, and to thus
produce enhanced adherence upon collapsed engagement on ice. Traction
studs 14 are provided on the main portion 19 and edge portion 20.
Obviously, it is po~sible to do away with the cavities 21 of
Figure 5 or wlth the cavities 13 of Figure 1 to 4, if the sole i8
made of a sufficiently ~oft and collapsible material. Good adherence i9
achieved due to the presence of the lateral stud~ 14.
Figures 6, 7, and 8 illustrate three different collapsing
behsviors of ~he collapsible outsole which result with p72dominant
engagement of the lateral edge portion wlth the ice, compared to _he
main sole portlon, Due to the traction studs added on the lateral
edge portion, in ~uch cases adequate adherence of the outsole i8
maintained. l~us, for certain movements of the foot, such as when
starting, stopping, jumping, changes of directions and lateral stop-
ping, althougn th~ lateral edge portion is collapsed into engag~ment
with the ice, the ~ddition of traction studs on ~he lateral edg,e
portion compensates for the anti-skidding that would otherwi~e be
lost, since leg8 of themain sole portion provides anti-~kLdding.
"