Footwear Outsole

• US 20120180344A1
• Filed: 08/19/2011
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SR Holdings LLC (Authentic Brands Group, LLC)
• Original Assignee: SR Holdings LLC (Authentic Brands Group, LLC)
• Inventors: Crowley, Kevin II, Nau, David M., Cheney, James, Wong, Nicholas W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,984,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 36/32.R
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 1/0009 made at least partially of alveolar or honeycomb material
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 1/0027 made at least partially from a material having special colours
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/223 Profiled soles
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/0225 Composite materials, e.g. material with a matrix
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/08 Bathing shoes ; Aquatic sports shoes

Abstract

An outsole for an article of footwear. The outsole includes an outsole body having a ground contact surface and defining grooves having a sinusoidal path along the ground contact surface. The grooves are arranged to provide an edge density of between about 40 mm/cm2 and about 200 mm/cm2 and a surface contact ratio of between about 40% and about 95%.

Claims

1. An outsole for an article of footwear, the outsole comprising:

an outsole body having a ground contact surface and defining grooves having a sinusoidal path along the ground contact surface;

wherein the grooves are arranged to provide an edge density of between about 40 mm/cm² and about 200 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of between about 40% and about 95%.

2. The outsole of claim 1, wherein at least some of the sinusoidal grooves are arranged substantially parallel to each other to provide an edge density of about 59 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 67%.

3. The outsole of claim 1, wherein at least some of the sinusoidal grooves are arranged substantially parallel to each other to provide an edge density of about 106 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 91%.

4. The outsole of claim 1, wherein at least some of the sinusoidal grooves are arranged substantially parallel to each other to provide an edge density of about 80 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 84%.

5. The outsole of claim 1, wherein at least some of the sinusoidal grooves are arranged substantially parallel to each other to provide an edge density of about 77 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 90%.

6. The outsole of claim 1, wherein at least one sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface has an amplitude of between about 3 mm and about 25 mm and/or a frequency of between about 4 mm and about 50 mm.

7. The outsole of claim 6, wherein the corresponding groove of the at least one sinusoidal groove path has a width of about 0.4 mm.

8. The outsole of claim 7, wherein the groove has a depth of about 1.2 mm.

9. The outsole of claim 1, wherein each groove has a sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface having an amplitude of about 5 mm and a frequency of about 6.3 mm, adjacent grooves offset from each other along the ground contact surface in a common direction by an offset distance of about 3.15 mm.

10. The outsole of claim 9, further comprising at least one channel connecting two adjacent grooves.

11. The outsole of claim 10, wherein the at least one channel has a depth of about half a depth of the grooves.

12. The outsole of claim 10, wherein the at least one channel has a width substantially equal to a width of the grooves.

13. The outsole of claim 1, wherein at least one sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface has an amplitude of about 17.6 mm and a frequency of about 40 mm.

14. The outsole of claim 13, wherein the corresponding groove of the at least one sinusoidal groove path has a width of about 1 mm.

15. The outsole of claim 14, wherein the groove has a depth of about 1.5 mm.

16. The outsole of claim 1, wherein each groove has a sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface having an amplitude of about 17.6 mm and a frequency of about 40 mm, adjacent grooves offset from each other along the ground contact surface in a common direction by an offset distance of between about 3 mm and about 3.75 mm.

17. The outsole of claim 16, wherein for three consecutive grooves along the ground contact surface, a first groove is offset from a second groove by an offset distance of about 3 mm and the second groove is offset from a third groove by an offset distance of about 3.75 mm.

18. The outsole of claim 16, wherein each groove has at least one shoulder edge with the ground contact surface, the at least one shoulder edge defining a right angle with a substantially non-radiused corner.

19. The outsole of claim 16, wherein the outsole body comprises at least one of rubber having a durometer of between about 45 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 0.9 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, and a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 1.1 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A.

20. An outsole for an article of footwear, the outsole comprising:

an outsole body having a ground contact surface and defining grooves having a sinusoidal path along the ground contact surface;

wherein the grooves define a sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface having an amplitude of about 5 mm and a frequency of about 6.3 mm.

21. The outsole of claim 20, wherein the grooves have a width of about 0.4 mm.

22. The outsole of claim 20, wherein the grooves have a depth of about 1.2 mm.

23. The outsole of claim 20, wherein adjacent grooves are offset from each other along the ground contact surface in a common direction by an offset distance.

24. The outsole of claim 23, wherein the offset distance is about 3.15 mm.

25. The outsole of claim 23, further comprising at least one channel connecting the adjacent grooves.

26. The outsole of claim 25, wherein the at least one channel has a depth of about half a depth of the grooves.

27. The outsole of claim 25, wherein the at least one channel has a width substantially equal to a width of the grooves.

28. The outsole of claim 20, wherein the grooves are arranged substantially parallel to each other to provide an edge density of about 106 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 91%.

29. The outsole of claim 20, wherein the outsole body comprises at least one of rubber having a durometer of between about 45 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 0.9 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, and a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 1.1 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A.

38. The outsole of claim 20, wherein the grooves are arranged substantially parallel to each other to provide an edge density of about 59 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 67%.

39. The outsole of claim 20, wherein the outsole body comprises at least one of rubber having a durometer of between about 45 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 0.9 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, and a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 1.1 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A.

30. An outsole for an article of footwear, the outsole comprising:

an outsole body having a ground contact surface and defining grooves having a sinusoidal path along the ground contact surface;

wherein the grooves define a sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface having an amplitude of about 17.6 mm and a frequency of about 40 mm.

31. The outsole of claim 30, wherein the grooves have a width of about 1 mm.

32. The outsole of claim 30, wherein the grooves have a depth of about 1.5 mm.

33. The outsole of claim 32, wherein adjacent grooves are offset from each other along the ground contact surface in a common direction by an offset distance.

34. The outsole of claim 33, wherein the offset distance is between about 3 mm and about 3.75 mm.

35. The outsole of claim 34, wherein for three consecutive grooves along the ground contact surface, a first groove is offset from a second groove by an offset distance of about 3 mm and the second groove is offset from a third groove by an offset distance of about 3.75 mm.

36. The outsole of claim 30, wherein each groove has at least one shoulder edge with the ground contact surface, the at least one shoulder edge defining a right angle with a substantially non-radiused corner.

37. The outsole of claim 32, wherein at least some adjacent grooves intersect each other periodically along their respective sinusoidal paths.

40. An outsole for an article of footwear, the outsole comprising:

an outsole body having lateral and medial portions and a ground contact surface, the outsole defining a longitudinal axis along a walking direction and perpendicular transverse axis, the ground contact surface having

a first tread region disposed on the lateral outsole body portion near a lateral periphery of the outsole,

a second tread region disposed on the medial outsole body portion near a medial periphery of the outsole, and

a third tread region disposed between the first and second tread regions in at least a ground striking portion of the outsole;

wherein the first and second tread regions define grooves having a sinusoidal path along the ground contact surface with an axis of propagation substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the outsole, adjacent grooves offset from each other along the transverse axis by a first offset distance; and

wherein the third tread region defines grooves having a sinusoidal path along the ground contact surface with an axis of propagation substantially parallel to the transverse axis of the outsole, adjacent grooves offset from each other along the longitudinal axis by a second offset distance.

41. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the grooves of the first and second tread regions define a sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface having an amplitude of about 17.6 mm and a frequency of about 40 mm.

42. The outsole of claim 41, wherein the grooves of the first and second tread regions have a width of about 1 mm.

43. The outsole of claim 41, wherein the grooves of the first and second tread regions have a depth of about 1.5 mm.

44. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the first offset distance is between about 3 mm and about 3.75 mm.

45. The outsole of claim 44, wherein for three consecutive grooves along the ground contact surface of the first and second tread regions, a first groove is offset from a second groove by an offset distance of about 3 mm and the second groove is offset from a third groove by an offset distance of about 3.75 mm.

46. The outsole of claim 40, wherein at least some adjacent grooves of the first and second tread regions intersect each other periodically along their respective sinusoidal paths.

47. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the grooves of the first and second tread regions are arranged to provide an edge density of about 59 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 67%.

48. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the grooves of the third tread region define a sinusoidal groove path along the ground contact surface having an amplitude of about 5 mm and a frequency of about 6.3 mm.

49. The outsole of claim 48, wherein the grooves of the third tread region have a width of about 0.4 mm.

50. The outsole of claim 48, wherein the grooves of the third tread region have a depth of about 1.2 mm.

51. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the second offset distance is about 3.15 mm.

52. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the third tread region further comprise at least one channel connecting adjacent grooves.

53. The outsole of claim 52, wherein the at least one channel has a depth of about half a depth of the grooves of the third tread region.

54. The outsole of claim 52, wherein the at least one channel has a width substantially equal to a width of the grooves the third tread region.

55. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the grooves of the third tread region are arranged to provide an edge density of about 106 mm/cm² and a surface contact ratio of about 91%.

56. The outsole of claim 40, wherein each groove has at least one shoulder edge with the ground contact surface, the at least one shoulder edge defining a right angle with a substantially non-radiused corner.

57. The outsole of claim 40, wherein the outsole body comprises at least one of rubber having a durometer of between about 45 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 0.9 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A, and a rubber having a minimum coefficient of friction of about 1.1 and a durometer of between about 50 Shore A and about 65 Shore A.