Footwear and Method of Manufacturing Same
A footwear article is formed by providing at least one spent automobile tire having a tread, separating a portion of the tread of the tire, trimming the separated portion into the general shape of a foot and securing the separated portion to a top sole portion. The bottom sole portion of the footwear article has a generally, non-uniform thickness and irregular pattern. The bottom sole portion can fixer have elements of a scrub pattern indicator element, a tie bar indicator and/or a ply fragment visible on an outer edge thereof.
The present invention claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/894,247, filed Mar. 12, 2007 and entitled “Footwear and Method of Designing and Manufacturing Same,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to footwear articles such as a casual sandal or flip-flop type article incorporating recycled tire tread, pairs of such articles as well as a method for manufacturing same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSpent tires (i.e., used, worn or scrub tires) do not biodegrade and are often disposed of in landfills. Such disposed tires can catch fire or house mosquitoes, rats and other disease-bearing pests. The fraction that are salvaged are mostly burned as fuel, for industrial uses or in electricity generation—a waste of high quality rubber that should and could be re-used. While typical passenger tires can last for 50,000 or more miles, tires used in professional auto racing can become worn and spent after only 100 miles of racing. What is needed is a way to turn this rubber waste into a desirable product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention takes scrub tires received from various collection areas and processes them into useful footwear articles. An example collection area is a race track and/or speedway venue, where automobile races occur and where large numbers of tires are quickly spent. The collected scrub tires are transported to a suitable processing center, where the tires are cut, punched and/or stamped to form portions of footbeds which act as bottom sole members for footwear articles. As scrub tires from an auto race can have varying degrees of wear, the bottom sole members of each footwear article according to the present invention can have varying bottom sole thicknesses or depths along with irregular patterns, even as between two footwear articles in the same pair. In one embodiment of the present invention, a top sole portion and a bottom sole portion are secured together to form a footwear article, wherein the bottom sole portion has a generally non-uniform depth and irregular pattern. In addition, the present invention provides footwear having a corded appearance as a result of ply fragments extending from the processed scrub tires in the manufacturing process according to the present invention.
As shown in
In one embodiment of the present invention, for example, one or more intermediate sole members are positioned in between the top 14 and bottom 16 sole portions. The intermediate sole member can be provided for additional comfort, height, fashion or other reason. In such an embodiment, the top sole portion 14 and bottom sole portion 16 are not in direct contact, yet remain secured via the intermediate member.
The top sole portion 14 can be formed of any suitable material for footwear such as sandals, for example, as contemplated by the present invention. Materials such as leather, ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) and rubber are known materials for such purposes. The bottom sole portion comprises rubber material separated from a spent or scrub tire and can therefore have a generally, non-uniform thickness and irregular pattern that can differ from one footwear article to the next, even within the same pair. The non-uniform thickness and irregular pattern are provided as a result of being separated from a spent or scrub tire, and not from being specially formed from a uniform block of rubber material, for example. Automobile racing tires, such as those used in connection with NASCAR® sanctioned events, are suitable candidates for use with the present invention.
When racing tires are spent, the wear on the tread or tire outer surface (see 17 in
The cross-section of a typical tire reveals an outer tread or tire surface, an optional cap ply layer, one or more belt layers (such as steel belts, for example), one or more radial or bias body layers and an optional inner liner layer built over a bead bundle. The cap, belt, body and liner layers are comprised of different types of fabrics, such as polyester cord, for example. The layers are typically called plies. The cords in a radial tire run perpendicular to the tread, while the cords in a bias-ply tire run diagonally to the tread. The plies are coated with rubber to help them bond with the other components and to seal in the air. A tire's strength is often described by the number of plies it contains. Whereas a typical passenger car tire has two body plies, racing car tires have many more to accommodate the high heat and speed experienced in racing conditions.
Racing tires are also provided with much thinner tread or outer surface 17 than standard passenger vehicle tires and are typically “slicks” in that they are not provided with typical tire tread blocks and grooves of standard passenger vehicle tires, because they are not meant to be raced in wet conditions. With the advancement of technology and investment in racing, tires are being manufactured specifically for use with certain tracks, temperatures, distances and racing conditions, for example. Since slicks have greater surface area contact with the race track, they provide greater traction and control to the driver. Because they are so thin and flat, however, racing tires are not capable of being driven for long distances without blowing out. In many cases, racing tires are only capable of going roughly one hundred miles before needing replacement. During the time that racing tires are operable, they generate tremendous heat and become sticky, often picking up minute articles of debris that may have found their way on to the race track, or may have been kicked off another car tire, bounced up against the outer wall of the race track and deflected back onto the track driving area. Additionally, because many automobile races involve an oval-shaped track requiring drivers to turn left at every corner, the tires are worn in an uneven manner.
Graining, for example, can be caused by racing or by overworking the tires before getting them up to a working temperature. Once a graining pattern is worn into the surface of a tire, it can be difficult to wear the pattern away. The ridges tend to perpetuate as wear continues. The graining is generally not present across the entire tread or outer surface, which results in an irregular pattern across a given section of tire tread or tire outer surface.
Abrasion is generally initiated by local stress concentrations at the contact between track debris or rough spots and rubber. Abrasion patterns can appear as an array of nearly parallel ridges at right angles to the abrasion direction, for example. The shape of the ridges in cross section can be saw-toothed, for example, with the teeth pointed against the direction of abrasion. During sliding, for example, deflection waves in the rubber turn into peaks which are bent over, exposing the upstream side to abrasion. The peaks can be worn into teeth with tips that eventually wear off. Abrasion intensity usually depends on shape rather than size of the track rough spots. Abrasion, like graining, results in an irregular pattern across a given section of tire tread, and farther results in non-uniform wear that can cause tire tread or outer surface thickness to vary across a given section.
As shown in
As shown at the bottom of
Each of areas 16h, 16i, 16j and 16k can be a different thickness within the 1/24- 3/32 inch range, for example. Similarly, each of areas 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 16e, 16f and 16g in the right foot article 83 can have a different thickness, or even the same thickness separated by a different thickness. For example, elements 16a and 16b in
The footwear article provided in accordance with the present invention can also include unique patterns visible on the sole bottom portion thereof as a result of employing scrub tires having different objects embedded or formed therein. As shown in
As shown in
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims of the application rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
Claims
1. A pair of sandals, comprising:
- a first footwear article for a left foot having a top sole portion and a bottom sole portion secured together, wherein the bottom sole portion comprises rubber material separated from a scrub tire and having a first average thickness; and
- a second footwear article for a right foot having a top sole portion and a bottom sole portion secured together, wherein the bottom sole portion comprises rubber material separated from a scrub tire and having a second average thickness, with the second average thickness being different from the first average thickness.
2. The pair of sandals of claim 1 wherein the scrub tire is an automobile racing tire.
3. The pair of sandals of claim 1 wherein at least one of the footwear articles includes at least a scrub pattern indicator element.
4. The pair of sandals of claim 1 wherein the bottom sole portions each include an outer edge and wherein at least one of the footwear articles includes a ply fragment visible on the outer edge of the bottom sole portion thereof.
5. A footwear article, comprising:
- a top sole portion; and
- a bottom sole portion secured to the top sole portion, the bottom sole portion comprising rubber material separated from a scrub tire and having a ply fragment visible on an outer edge thereof.
6. The article of claim 5 wherein the bottom sole portion includes at least a portion of a scrub pattern indicator element visible thereon.
7. The article of claim 5 wherein the bottom sole portion has a generally non-uniform thickness as a result of being separated from the scrub tire.
8. A method of manufacturing a footwear article, comprising:
- providing at least one scrub automobile racing tire having a tread;
- separating a portion of the tread of the tire, and trimming the separated portion into the general shape of a foot; and
- securing the separated portion to a top sole portion.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the tread is of generally non-uniform thickness.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the tread has a thickness of less than or equal to 3/32 inch.
11. The method of claim 8 wherein the separated portion is a bottom sole portion having a ply fragment visible on an outer edge thereof.
12. The method of claim 8 wherein the separated portion is a bottom sole portion having at least a portion of a scrub pattern indicator element visible thereon.
13. A footwear article, comprising: a bottom sole portion secured to the top sole portion, the bottom sole portion comprising rubber material separated from a scrub tire and having at least a portion of a scrub pattern indicator element visible thereon.
- a top sole portion; and
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 12, 2008
Publication Date: Sep 18, 2008
Inventors: David Carwile Viar (Great Falls, VA), Gregory E. Day (Great Falls, VA)
Application Number: 12/046,915
International Classification: A43B 3/12 (20060101); A43B 1/12 (20060101); A43B 13/04 (20060101);