Patent Publication Number: US-2003233769-A1

Title: Plastic or rubber sole structure with variational stripes

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention is related to a plastic or rubber sole structure with variational stripes. A striped layer is combined with the bottom face of the sole body. A fabric layer of the striped layer presents various stripes so as to vary and beautify the appearance of the sole and reduce the plastic or rubber material used in the sole.  
       [0002]FIG. 1 shows a conventional sole structure  10  which is made of plastic or rubber material by pressing and injection molding. The front section of the bottom face  11  of the sole  10  is embossed with an area of continuous stripes  12 . Accordingly, the stripe area  12  and the sole  10  are integrally made of the plastic or rubber material.  
       [0003] The above structure has the following advantages:  
       [0004] 1. The sole structure  10  is made of plastic or rubber material by integral pressing and injection molding. Therefore, the stripe area  12  and the sole  10  are both made of the plastic or rubber material. Accordingly, increased plastic or rubber material is consumed and it is necessary to manufacture multiple molds so that the manufacturing cost is higher.  
       [0005] 2. The sole structure  10  is made of plastic or rubber material by integral pressing and injection molding. Only the front section of the bottom face  11  of the sole  10  is integrally embossed with fixed pattern of stripes  12 . The appearance of the sole  10  is monotonous.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a plastic or rubber sole structure with variational stripes. A striped layer is combined with the bottom face of the sole body. A fabric layer of the striped layer presents its own colors or stripes. Therefore, the bottom face of the sole is not completely plastic or rubber-made so as to reduce the amount of used plastic or rubber material. Moreover, only one mold is needed to create various stripes or colors so as to beautify the appearance of the sole and lower manufacturing cost.  
       [0007] It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above plastic or rubber sole structure with variational stripes, in which the material of the fabric layer of the striped layer is replaceable so that various stripes or colors of fabric layers can be used to provide various stripes and colors for the sole and thus beautify the appearance thereof.  
       [0008] The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein: 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional sole;  
     [0010]FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the sole structure of the present invention;  
     [0011]FIG. 3 is a perspective assembled view of the sole structure of the present invention;  
     [0012]FIG. 4 is a sectional assembled view of the sole structure of the present invention; and  
     [0013]FIG. 5 is a perspective assembled view of another embodiment of the sole structure of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0014] Please refer to FIG. 2. The sole  20  of the present invention is composed of a striped layer  21  and a sole body  22 . The striped layer  21  and the sole body  22  are combined in such a manner that they are placed in a mold and thermally pressed and injection molded. The striped layer  21  is made in such a manner that a fabric sheet  211  with a certain size is placed in the mold cavity of a mold. A plastic or rubber material is filled onto one face of the fabric sheet  211  and thermally pressed to combine with the fabric sheet  211  and form a thin striped layer  21  with the same profile as the fabric sheet  211 . At the same time, the surface of the fabric sheet  211  is thermally embossed with continuous stripes  212 . The bottom face of the fabric sheet  211  is formed with a plastic layer or rubber layer  213 . The sole body  22  is made in such a manner that the plastic or rubber material is injected into the mold cavity of the mold and molded to form the configuration of the sole  20 . The center of the bottom face  221  of the sole body  22  is recessed to form a connecting sink  222  with the same profile as the striped layer  21 .  
     [0015] When assembled, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the striped layer  21  is first placed in the mold cavity of a mold and the sole body  22  is placed in the mold cavity of another mold. Then the two molds are mated with each other to make the plastic or rubber layer  213  of bottom face of the striped layer  21  snugly attached to and accommodated in the connecting sink  222  of the sole body  22 . Then, by way of thermal pressing and injection molding, the plastic or rubber layer  213  of bottom face of the striped layer  21  is thermally integrally fused with the plastic or rubber material of the connecting sink  222  of the sole body  22 . Accordingly, the stripes  212  or color of the fabric layer  211  of the striped layer  21  on the bottom face  221  of the sole body  22  can present beautiful appearance.  
     [0016]FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the sole  20 ′ is composed of several striped layers  21  and a sole body  22 ′. The striped layer  21  and the sole body  22 ′ are combined in such a manner that they are placed in a mold and thermally pressed and injection molded. The striped layer  21  is made in such a manner that a fabric sheet  211  with a certain size is placed in the mold cavity of a mold. A plastic or rubber material is filled onto one face of the fabric sheet  211  and thermally pressed to combine with the fabric sheet  211  and form a thin striped layer  21  with the same profile as the fabric layer  211 . At the same time, the surface of the fabric sheet  211  is thermally embossed with continuous stripes  212 . The bottom face of the fabric sheet  211  is formed with a plastic layer or rubber layer  213 . The sole body  22 ′ is made in such a manner that the plastic or rubber material is injected into the mold cavity of the mold and molded to form the configuration of the sole  20 ′. The center of the bottom face  221 ′ of the sole body  22 ′ is recessed to form several connecting sink  222 ′ with the same profile as the striped layer  21 . When assembled, the striped layers  21  are first placed in the mold cavity of a mold and the sole body  22 ′ is placed in the mold cavity of another mold. Then the two molds are mated with each other to make the plastic or rubber layers  213  of bottom faces of the striped layers  21  snugly attached to and accommodated in the connecting sinks  222 ′ of the sole body  22 ′. Then, by way of thermal pressing and injection molding, the plastic or rubber layers  213  of bottom faces of the striped layers  21  are thermally integrally fused with the plastic or rubber material of the connecting sinks  222 ′ of the sole body  22 ′. Accordingly, the stripes  212  or color of the fabric layers  211  of the striped layers  21  on the bottom face  221 ′ of the sole body  22 ′ can present variational and beautiful appearance.  
     [0017] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.