DANCE SHOE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF
A dance shoe (100) is provided which comprises an upper (102) and a sole (104) attached to the upper (102). Heel and tip portions (10, 40) formed from a moulded plastics material are attached to rear and front portions of the sole (104), respectively. A method of forming such a shoe is also provided. By forming the heel and tip portions from a moulded plastics material the shape, weight and sound created by the heel and tip portions will be consistent across different pairs of the dance shoe.
The present invention is directed to a new dance shoe, and also to a new method of manufacturing such a shoe.
In certain forms of dance it is important that the shoes worn by dancers have a heel and tip that are not only strong but also produce a particular sound when the heel and tip come into contact with a floor surface. One known example of such a shoe has a main portion of the sole and arch formed from a relatively flexible material, and the heel and tip formed from a more rigid and hard wearing material. The heel and tip components are usually hand-formed from blocks of material, with the blocks ground down and sanded to the desired shapes. The heel and tip are then bonded to the main sole component. Heel and tip components formed from these grinding and sanding processes are inconsistent in weight, size and shape. Thus, seemingly identical pieces of footwear may have entirely different characteristics depending on how accurately the heel and tip have been formed. Additionally, where the sound created by the heel and tip contacting the ground is important, the inconsistencies in the manufacture of the heel and tip can also lead to inconsistencies in the sound created by a pair of seemingly identical footwear items.
It is an aim of the present invention to mitigate or obviate one or more of these disadvantages.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dance shoe comprising:
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- an upper;
- a sole attached to the upper;
- a heel portion attached to a rear portion of the sole; and
- a tip portion attached to a front portion of the sole;
- wherein the heel and tip portions are each formed from a moulded plastics material.
One or both of the heel and tip portions may be substantially hollow. The, or each, hollow portion may include one or more strengthening members located therein which define a plurality of cavities.
The tip portion may have an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole and an exposed lower surface which is convex.
The plastics material may be a thermoplastic material selected from the group comprising polyoxymethylene (acetal resin), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), glass filled nylon, and glass filled acetal resin.
The heel and tip portions may be formed from different plastics materials.
The shoe may further comprise a plurality of mechanical fixtures adapted to fix the heel and tip portions to the sole. The heel and tip portions may include a plurality of bores adapted to receive the mechanical fixtures.
The shoe may further comprise a resilient plate member adapted to be located between the upper and sole. The shoe may further comprise a plurality of interchangeable plate members having varying degrees of resilience or flexibility.
The plate member may include apertures adapted to receive the mechanical fixtures, whereby the heel and tip are fixed to the plate member by the fixtures.
The shoe may further comprise a layer of shock-absorbing material located over the heel portion of the shoe.
The heel portion may comprise an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole, a lower surface spaced from the sole, and inner and outer side walls extending between the upper and lower surfaces, wherein the inner side wall has a projecting portion extending outwardly from the inner side wall. The inner side wall may be convex.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a dance shoe, the method comprising the steps of:
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- forming a sole;
- moulding each of a heel and tip portion from a plastics material;
- attaching the heel and tip portions to rear and front portions of the sole, respectively;
- forming an upper; and
- attaching the upper to the sole.
The step of attaching the heel and tip portions to the sole may be achieved using mechanical fixtures.
The step of moulding the heel and tip portions may include forming a plurality of bores therein, the bores adapted to receive the mechanical fixtures.
The step of moulding one or both of the heel and tip portions may include forming a cavity therein, and forming one or more strengthening members in the cavity which define a number of smaller cavities.
The step of moulding the tip may include forming an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole and forming an exposed lower surface which is convex.
The method may further comprise the step of inserting a resilient plate member between the upper and the sole.
The method may further comprise the step of locating a layer of shock-absorbing material over the heel portion.
The step of moulding the heel portion may comprise forming an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole, a lower surface spaced from the sole, and inner and outer side walls extending between the upper and lower surfaces, wherein the inner side wall is formed such that a projecting portion extends outwardly from the inner side wall.
The heel portion may be moulded such that the inner side wall is convex.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The lower surface 24 of the heel 10 is shown in
As seen in
Also shown in
Whether or not a plate member 108 is inserted, a shock absorbing layer 112 can optionally be provided on top of the sole 104 in order to cushion the foot of the wearer. The shock absorbing layer 112 can be located either above or below the sole 104, and can extend along the entire length of the shoe 100 or else can be located in the region of the heel 10 only, as shown in
By forming the separate heel and tip portions from a plastics material the shoe of the present invention is lightweight and provided with good balance between the front and rear portions thereof. By moulding the heel and tip portions from a plastics material the shape, weight and dimensions of these portions will be consistent over numerous pairs of the shoe, so a replacement pair of shoes will have exactly the same characteristics as the pair being replaced.
The heel and tip are both preferably manufactured from a thermoplastics material which is moulded into the desired shape. Preferred thermoplastics materials from which to mould the heel and tip are polyoxymethylene (also known as acetal resin), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (also known as ABS plastic), and glass filled nylon. Both the heel and tip are preferably manufactured from the same thermoplastics material. However, if particular characteristics are desired for the heel and tip individually, then they may also be formed from different plastics materials. The applicant has recognised that the properties of glass filled acetal resin make this material particularly suited for forming the heel and tip
The preferred embodiment of the invention includes a heel and tip which are hollow and contain a number of cavities defined by strengthening members extending across the respective components. It should be appreciated that the number of strengthening members may be varied to a lesser or greater degree if desired, with a resultant decrease or increase in the number of cavities provided. Furthermore, it may be desired to enclose the cavities by having the upper surface extending across the entire heel or tip. In addition, the heel and/or tip may be solid with no cavities at all. In these two latter instances, the threaded bores for the fixtures would be formed at appropriate points in the solid upper surfaces of the heel and tip.
The bores provided in the heel and tip need not be threaded. In such an instance the mechanical fixtures may be self tapping screw fixtures, preferably manufactured from stainless steel. Furthermore, the invention is not limited to the use of mechanical fixtures. For example, the heel and tip may be bonded to the sole using a suitable bonding agent.
Although the preferred embodiment of the shoe has a tip portion whose lower surface is convex, the present invention is not limited to this particular arrangement. Instead, for example, the lower surface of the tip portion may be substantially flat.
Although the preferred embodiment of the shoe has a heel portion whose inner side wall includes a projecting portion, the present invention is not limited to this particular arrangement. For example, the inner side wall may instead be substantially flat without a projecting portion.
The shock absorbing layer is preferably formed from a cellular urethane foam. However, the invention is not limited to this specific type of shock absorbing material. For example, the layer may be formed from a viscoelastic urethane polymer.
These and other modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A dance shoe comprising:
- an upper;
- a sole attached to the upper;
- a heel portion attached to a rear portion of the sole;
- a tip portion attached to a front portion of the sole; and
- wherein the heel and tip portions are each formed from a moulded plastics material.
2. The shoe of claim 1, wherein at least one of the heel and tip portions is substantially hollow.
3. The shoe of claim 2, wherein the at least one hollow portion includes one or more strengthening members located therein which define a plurality of cavities.
4. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the tip portion has an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole and an exposed lower surface which is convex.
5. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the plastics material is a thermoplastic material selected from the group comprising polyoxymethylene (acetal resin), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), glass filled nylon, and glass filled acetal resin.
6. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the heel and tip portions are formed from different plastics materials.
7. The shoe of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of mechanical fixtures adapted to fix the heel and tip portions to the sole.
8. The shoe of claim 7, wherein each of the heel and tip portions includes a plurality of bores adapted to receive the mechanical fixtures.
9. The shoe of claim 7 further comprising a resilient plate member adapted to be located between the upper and sole.
10. The shoe of claim 9 further comprising a plurality of interchangeable plate members having varying degrees of resilience or flexibility.
11. The shoe of claim 9, wherein the plate member includes apertures adapted to receive the mechanical fixtures, whereby the heel and tip are fixed to the plate member by the fixtures.
12. The shoe of claim 1 further comprising a layer of shock-absorbing material located over the heel portion of the shoe.
13. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the heel portion comprises an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole, a lower surface spaced from the sole, and inner and outer side walls extending between the upper and lower surfaces, wherein the inner side wall has a projecting portion extending outwardly from the inner side wall.
14. The shoe of claim 13, wherein the inner side wall is convex.
15. A method of manufacturing a dance shoe, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming a sole;
- moulding each of a heel and tip portion from a plastics material;
- attaching the heel and tip portions to rear and front portions of thesole, respectively;
- forming an upper; and
- attaching the upper to the sole.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of attaching the heel and tip portions to the sole is achieved using mechanical fixtures.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of moulding the heel and tip portions includes forming a plurality of bores therein, the bores adapted to receive the mechanical fixtures.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of moulding one or both of the heel and tip portions includes forming a cavity therein, and forming one or more strengthening members in the cavity which define a number of smaller cavities.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of moulding the tip includes forming an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole and forming an exposed lower surface which is convex.
20. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of inserting a resilient plate member between the upper and the sole.
21. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of locating a layer of shock-absorbing material over the heel portion.
22. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of moulding the heel portion comprises forming an upper surface adapted to be attached to the sole, a lower surface spaced from the sole, and inner and outer side walls extending between the upper and lower surfaces, wherein the inner side wall is formed such that a projecting portion extends outwardly from the inner side wall.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the heel portion is moulded such that the inner side wall is convex.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 26, 2010
Publication Date: Oct 18, 2012
Inventor: Gordon Campbell (Bothwell)
Application Number: 13/508,112
International Classification: A43B 5/12 (20060101);