Patent Publication Number: US-2016242500-A1

Title: Wrestling shoe with textile on toe cap

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The present disclosure relates generally to athletic shoes, and more particularly to wrestling shoes. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, wrestling shoes are a type of footwear worn to offer wrestlers improved traction and ankle support and protection to toes and skin, without inhibiting the flexibility of the wrestler&#39;s feet and ankles. In these ways, wrestling shoes serve to improve performance and prevent or reduce injury and disease. At the same time, a wrestling shoe is typically designed to be light and very flexible. Since competitive wrestlers are highly agile and routinely execute their moves from a variety of postures other than from a simple standing position, the outsoles on wrestling shoes typically extend over the shoe upper at the heel and/or toe cap, and even at the sides, so that the wearer can maintain traction even when the foot is disposed at an angle or in oblique contact with the wrestling mat. Extending the outsole over the sides, heel and toe also extends the life of the shoe by protecting otherwise vulnerable parts of the shoe from wear. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,913,420 to Arizumi discloses a skateboard shoe wherein the top of the front of the shoe upper as a textured surface to provide enhanced traction. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,336 to Yamashita et al., discloses a wrestling shoe with separated outer soles, i.e., an outsole for the heel portion of the shoe and a separate outsole for the front of the shoe. The front outsole, seen in  FIG. 1  as including a toe cap, is made entirely of a solid body of rubber or foam having a low expansion ratio. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure discloses wrestling shoes and sole structures for such wrestling shoes. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the sole structures include toe caps formed integrally therewith and may include fibers on the surface of the toe cap that provide a region of reduced friction relative to the remainder of sole. 
     One illustrative embodiment of a sole according to the present disclosure may comprise an outsole and a toe cap formed integrally therewith, the toe cap having an outer surface, and there is a plurality of fibers adhered to the toe cap and exposed at the toe cap outer surface to provide a slip region of reduced surface friction on the toe cap outer surface. 
     In various embodiments, the fibers may be in the form of a mesh, e.g., an open spacer mesh. In one embodiment, toe cap may comprise an elastomeric material which is impregnated into the mesh and is cured around fibers in the mesh. 
     According to another aspect, this disclosure provides a method for making a toe cap for a shoe, comprising: molding an elastomeric material into a toe cap, the toe cap having an outer surface; and adhering a plurality of fibers to the toe cap outer surface to provide a slip region of reduced surface friction on the toe cap outer surface. 
     According to one embodiment, fibers may be exposed at the toe cap outer surface. 
     According to another embodiment, a toe cap may be made by molding an elastomeric material into a toe cap, the toe cap having an outer surface; and adhering a plurality of fibers to the toe cap with fibers exposed at the outer surface to provide a slip region of reduced surface friction on the toe cap outer surface. 
     In one embodiment of the method, the toe cap is made from an elastomeric material and the method may further comprise pressing the fibers against the elastomeric material under sufficient temperature and pressure to cure the elastomeric material around a portion of the fibers. Optionally, the toe cap is formed integrally with an outsole and the toe cap and outsole are both made from an elastomeric material which is cured during pressing. 
     According to yet another aspect, this disclosure provides an article of footwear comprising an upper, an outsole secured to the upper, a toe cap secured to the upper in contiguous relation to the outsole, the toe cap having an outer surface; and a plurality of fibers adhered to the toe cap and exposed at the toe cap outer surface to provide a slip region of reduced surface friction on the toe cap outer surface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The figures depict embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wresting shoe according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an underside perspective view of the outsole of the shoe of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a view of a toe cap with a mesh spaced above it for attachment to the toe cap to produce the toe cap in the shoe of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is an elevation view of the front side of a mesh for a toe cap pursuant to this disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is an elevation view of the back side of the mesh of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     This disclosure describes articles of footwear such as athletic shoes used in wrestling (“wrestling shoes”), toe caps and outsole structures for wrestling shoes. In various embodiments, the toe cap has fibers on the surface to reduce the surface friction relative to the outsole. This provides an advantage to the wearer over prior art wrestling shoes. Reduced friction on the top of the toe is advantageous because in many situations a wrestler wishes to be able to drag his or her toe on the mat while maneuvering for position, e.g., while spinning on an opponent&#39;s back to change from one position to another. Keeping the toe on the mat while moving in this way allows the wrestler to maintain a low center of gravity and maintain awareness of personal orientation relative to the mat. Prior art shoes with toe caps made from the same material as the wrestling shoe outsole drag on the mat, diminishing the wrestler&#39;s ability to maneuver. By providing fibers on top of the toe cap to reduce the surface friction of the toe cap, the toe cap and outsole can still be made from the same material as each other and optionally may be formed integrally with each other and so will be in contiguous relation to each other, as is common in the art. However, with the fibers used as described herein, the wrestler can execute spinning and other maneuvers more easily and thus gain speed, fluidity and avoid unnecessary expenditure of energy. 
     In certain embodiments, the fibers on the toe cap are provided in the form of a mesh, and the mesh is adhered to the toe cap with the fibers exposed. To the extent that the elastomeric material of the toe cap and outsole covers fibers, the fibers are close enough to the surface to imbue the surface with an uneven contour yielding reduced friction, i.e., less drag on the mat, than a smoother outer surface in the absence of the fibers would give. 
     In one embodiment, the fibers give the toe cap a surface contour which resembles the surface of the mesh comprising the fibers. 
     Footwear as described herein may be embodied in various forms. One embodiment of an article of footwear  10  is shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . Footwear  10  includes an upper  12  with an outsole  14  and a toe cap  16  described in further detail herein secured thereto. The upper  12  is formed of a flexible textile material, which can easily stretch about and conform tightly to the user&#39;s foot, for example, knit, woven or non-woven material made using fibers  18  such as, but not limited to: nylon, polyester, polyurethane and or spandex, optionally with elastomeric properties, as is known in the art. The upper  12  is shown in the form of a bootie configured to rise above the ankle of the wearer. However, this is not a limitation on the disclosure and in other embodiments, the upper  12  may have a low-rise (below the ankle) or other configuration. 
     The toe cap  16  is adhered to the upper and in the illustrated embodiment is formed from the same material as the outsole  14 . As illustrated, the toe cap  16  and the outsole  14  are formed integrally together and secured to the upper  12  together, by way of stitching  26 , by an adhesive, or any other suitable fastener. However, the disclosure is not limited in this regard and in other embodiments, the toe cap and outsole may be formed separately from each other but are adhered to the upper  12  in contiguous relation to each other. The toe cap  16  and the outsole  28  are formed of a flexible resilient material, e.g., an elastomeric material such as a rubber or polyurethane or any of a variety of other materials known in the art. 
     The toe cap  16  has a plurality of fibers  18  adhered to its surface. The fibers  18  are provided in the form of a mesh  20 , shown in  FIG. 3 , giving the toe cap  16  a textured surface. The mesh may be woven or non-woven and may have an open spacer mesh configuration. Preferably, the uppermost parts of the fibers  18  are exposed at the surface of the toe cap  16 . The mesh  20  of the illustrated embodiment is applied to the toe cap  16 , and the mesh is then pressed into the toe cap in a mold. 
     In one embodiment, the toe cap  16  is initially in an uncured (i.e., at least partially uncured) state and the mesh  20  is pressed onto the toe cap subject to pressure, temperature and time conditions effective to result in at least partial curing of the toe cap material. Advantageously, pressing causes some of the toe cap material to become impregnated into the mesh and the toe cap cures around some of the fibers, resulting in a very secure bond between the toe cap material and the mesh. 
     In one embodiment, the fibers  18  are disposed on the upper part of the toe cap above the substantially vertical, peripheral portions  16   a  of the toe cap (the front- and side-facing surface of the toe cap between the outsole and the top of the toe cap with the fibers thereon), which do not have the fibers thereon and which provide better traction than the upper part of the toe cap having the fibers thereon. 
     The fibers  18  may be made from any material which can withstand the pressing conditions for adhering the fibers to the toe cap. In one embodiment, the fibers are made from a type of polyester but this disclosure is not limited in this regard and in other embodiments, fibers made from other polymeric materials or blends of materials may be used. 
     One embodiment of a mesh  20  described herein is an open spacer mesh having two sides whose surface configurations differ one from the other, i.e., there is an open mesh face  22  and a mesh backside  24 . The open mesh face  22 , depicted in  FIG. 4 , has greater surface variability than the mesh backside  24 , depicted in  FIG. 5 , which is relatively smooth. The open mesh face  22  is applied directly to the material comprising the toe cap  16  while the mesh backside  24  is exposed at the top surface of the toe cap  16 , and this arrangement facilitates the ability of uncured toe cap material to impregnate the mesh and cure around the fibers in applicable embodiments. However, the disclosure is not limited in this regard and in other embodiments, the mesh  20  may have sides that are substantially the same as one another. 
     While the present disclosure describes various embodiments of a wrestling shoe and various embodiments of fibers on the toe caps of wrestling shoes, it will be understood that various modifications can be made to the embodiments of the present disclosure herein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting the disclosure, but merely as embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the disclosure as defined by the claims appended hereto.