Boat Shoe

To provide the tread surface of a shoe bottom with friction engendering means in the form of nubs or ribs distributed over the forepart and heel ends of the sole is, of course, not new in the art and various patterns of distribution are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:

2,557,946

3,444,632

3,808,713

3,824,716

4,044,479

4,141,158

1,607,375

1,979,391

2,155,166

Conventionally, the nubs or ribs as shown in the aforesaid patents are designed for improving traction and, for the most part, are designed for road work as distinguished from boating and the structures shown in these patents fail to meet the requirements for boat use wherein the presence of a film of water so reduces the frictional resistance to sliding that the conventional protrusions, ribs and the like afford very little resistance to slip. A purpose of this invention is to provide a bottom so structured that movement of the bottom parallel to the surface on which it rests will wipe it dry to thus allow a novel friction engendering surface inwardly thereof to become efficiently resistant to slip.

Another purpose is to provide a unique surface structure at the bottom which is self-cleaning in that it will, when flexed, eject grit and small pebbles and thus minimize damage to smooth, fiberglass, gel-coated and painted surfaces.

As herein illustrated, the shoe bottom has a tread side characterized in that there is means at the edge of the tread side defining a wiper and means on the surface of the tread side bounded by the wiper defining a plurality of uniformly distributed, friction engendering means. The wiper comprises first and second ribs with a space therebetween, the first rib protruding perpendicularly from the bottom at the edge and the second rib protruding perpendicularly from the bottom inwardly of the first rib and being of lesser height than the first rib and spaced therefrom. The said first and second ribs and the groove therebetween constitute means for wiping the surface trod upon substantially free of surface water. The friction engendering means comprise nubs distributed in spaced, parallel rows transversely of the bottom and spaced apart in each row, the nubs and spaces alternating in adjacent rows. The spaces between rows of nubs is greater than the spaces between the nubs in the rows and the nubs are of arcuate section transversely of the sole and of rectangular cross section longitudinally of the sole so that the nubs have greater flexibility longitudinally of the sole than transversely thereof. The crowns of the nubs are substantially flush with the edge of the first rib.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a boat shoe provided with a sole according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the sole prior to attachment to the shoe upper;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the attaching side of the sole shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view to larger scale of the tread side of the sole shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a transverse section taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1, there is shown a boat shoe constructed according to this invention comprising an upper 10 of conventional style and a sole 12 made according to this invention attached thereto by conventional methods. The upper is made up of any suitable material and the sole is composed of a flexible material, preferably a rubber-like composition such as natural latex, rubber or synthetic substitutes.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the sole 12 is made in the form of a preformed blank which can be attached to a lasted upper by means of vulcanization or by means of an adhesive and comprises a heel portion 14, a shank portion 16 and a forepart portion 18. The sole blank has an attaching side 20 and a tread side 22. The attaching side 20 as shown in FIG. 3 at the forepart 18 is substantially smooth and at the heel or rear portion 14 is recessed to reduce the overall weight by deep and shallow cavities 24 and 26. A continuous rib 28 standing perpendicularly from the attaching surface bounds the entire bottom. The structure just described is conventional.

The tread side 22, as shown in FIG. 4, embodies the structural novelty of this invention and, as illustrated, the bottom of the tread side is bounded by a continuous rib 30 perpendicular to the tread side, the outer surface 32 of which is flush with the outer surface 34 of the rib 28. The rib 30 is of rectangular transverse section and has a flat face 34. Inwardly of the rib 30 and spaced therefrom there is a second rib 36, FIG. 6, which parallels the first rib and defines in conjunction therewith a groove 38. The second rib 36 is also of rectangular transverse section and has a flat face 40. The second rib is of lesser height than the first rib. The first and second ribs 30 and 36 define wiping means at the edge of the bottom which, under pressure, wipe a wet surface relatively dry. As illustrated, there is a groove 44 extending around the edge face of the bottom which permits the bottom to be more effectively attached to the upper.

Inwardly of the ribs 34 and 36, the tread side is provided at the forepart and heel end with friction engendering means 46 in the form of uniformly distributed nubs 48 distributed in spaced, parallel rows 50 transversely of the bottom. Within each row, the nubs are spaced transversely to provide spaces 52 between nubs and between rows there are spaces 54, the latter being transversely wider than the spaces between nubs in the rows. The nubs 48, FIGS. 6 and 7, are of arcuate section transversely of the sole end of rectangular section longitudinally of the sole and are so arranged in adjacent rows that the nubs in one row alternate with the spaces in adjacent rows. The crowns of the arcuate nubs lie substantially in the plane of the face of the outer rib 30. The nubs are of greater length transversely than their width longitudinally of the sole, hence, they afford a greater resistance to deflection transversely than longitudinally. In other words, the ribs will bend or yield longitudinally of the sole to a greater degree than they will bend or yield transversely of the sole.

As previously stated, the nubs 48 are confined to the forepart and heel end portions of the sole. The shank 16 has a relatively smooth surface and is divided from the forepart and heel end by transverse ribs 60 and 62, the faces of which are flush with the face of the rib 30. Grooves 64 and 66 extend along the opposite sides of the shank portion which are defined by continuations of the rib 30 on the one side and by the surface of the shank on the other side.

As previously described, the first and second ribs and groove defined by the space therebetween function to wipe a wet surface substantially dry so that now the friction engendering nubs bounded by the wiping edges function in their capacity when pressed against the relatively dry surface to effectively resist slipping, thus providing a boat shoe bottom which is particularly effective as distinguished from conventional traction devices on the tread surface of the sole.

The bottom surface as thus described has the further advantage that it is self-cleaning. The alternate spacing of the nubs creates a situation where the nubs, when flexed, will eject any grit or small pebbles from the spaces between the rows of nubs.

As mentioned above, the bottom may be made as a unit and attached to a lasted shoe upper, or it may be molded directly to the bottom of a shoe upper by injection molding.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and includes all modifications or improvements which fall within the scope of the appended claims.