Baseplate for a shoe

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12495868-B2
Application number	US-202418811389-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 21, 2024
Priority date	Jan 15, 2015
Publication date	Dec 16, 2025
Grant date	Dec 16, 2025

Abstract

Baseplates for shoes, wherein the baseplate is removably insertable into a shoe upper, and wherein the baseplate includes a substantially planar body, which is configured to provide stability to the shoe upper, and a plurality of tread elements, which are configured to protrude through a respective opening of a plurality of openings in a bottom portion of the shoe upper when the baseplate is removably inserted into the shoe upper, wherein the plurality of tread elements are unitarily formed with the body.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1 . A method for manufacturing a shoe comprising a baseplate, the method comprising:
forming a substantially planar body of the baseplate using a 3D-printing process; unitarily forming a plurality of tread elements in one piece with the body using the 3D-printing process, so that the plurality of tread elements extend from a lowermost surface of the body; and removably positioning the baseplate within a shoe upper to provide stability to the shoe upper, the baseplate comprising a flexural modulus of elasticity of at least 1000 N/mm 2 ; wherein the shoe upper comprises a bottom portion comprising a plurality of openings; removably inserting the plurality of tread elements to protrude through a respective opening of the plurality of openings, wherein the plurality of tread elements are adapted to contact a ground; and removably engaging each of the plurality of tread elements with an edge of the respective opening of the plurality of openings to fix the plurality of tread elements relative to the shoe upper.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming the shoe upper using a 3D-printing process.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the bottom portion further comprises at least one first region and at least one second region, the at least one first region surrounding at least one of the plurality of openings and the at least one second region defining a bottommost surface of the shoe upper and at least partially surrounding the at least one first region.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the at least one first region is more elastic than the at least one second region.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, forming, during the 3D-printing process, an undercut in at least one of the plurality of tread elements for receiving at least a section of the edge of the respective opening of the plurality of openings.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the baseplate extends from a heel region of the shoe upper to a toe region of the shoe upper.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of tread elements is configured to correspond to the respective opening of the plurality of openings in the bottom portion of the shoe upper, such that there is configured to be a one-to-one correspondence between the tread elements and the openings.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the baseplate comprises a polyamide material.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising interchanging the baseplate with at least one second baseplate, wherein the at least one second baseplate comprises an arrangement or design of tread elements that is different from an arrangement or design of the plurality of tread elements of the baseplate.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the baseplate is configured to cover substantially all of the bottom portion of the shoe upper.

11 . The method of claim 1 wherein the baseplate positioned within the shoe upper to provide stability to the shoe upper comprises a drag modulus of elasticity of at least 1000 N/mm 2 .

12 . The method of claim 1 wherein the baseplate positioned within the shoe upper to provide stability to the shoe upper comprises a tensile strength of at least 40 N/mm 2 .

13 . The method of claim 1 wherein the baseplate positioned within the shoe upper to provide stability to the shoe upper comprises a Charpy impact strength of at least 40 KJ/mm 2 .

14 . The method of claim 1 wherein the shoe is manufactured without a separate midsole or outer sole component.

15 . A method for manufacturing a baseplate for a shoe, the method comprising:
forming a baseplate comprising a substantially planar body using a 3D-printing process, which provides stability to a shoe upper of the shoe when the baseplate is positioned within the shoe upper, the baseplate comprising a flexural modulus of elasticity of at least 1000 N/mm 2 ; and unitarily forming a plurality of tread elements in one piece with the body using the 3D-printing process, so that the plurality of tread elements extend from a lowermost surface of the body and comprise at least one undercut on an outer surface of at least one of the plurality of tread elements that abuts the lowermost surface of the body.

16 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the at least one undercut extends around an entirety of the at least one of the plurality of tread elements.

17 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising forming at least one groove on the outer surface of the at least one of the plurality of tread elements that intersects the at least one undercut and has a longitudinal direction that extends along a substantially vertical direction of the at least one of the plurality of tread elements.

18 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein the at least one groove extends a first distance along the longitudinal direction that is less than a height of the at least one of the plurality of tread elements.

19 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the baseplate comprises a plastic material.

20 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein a first subset of the plurality of tread elements comprises studs with a first height extending from a first adjacent portion of the lowermost surface of the body and a second subset of the plurality of tread elements comprises plugs with a second height extending from a second adjacent portion of the lowermost surface of the body, wherein the first height is greater than the second height.

21 . The method according to claim 20 , wherein the plugs comprise a flattened plate shape and the studs comprise a frustum shape.

22 . The method according to claim 20 , wherein a third subset of the plurality of tread elements comprises studs with a third height extending from a third adjacent portion of the lower surface of the body, wherein the third height is (i) less than the first height and (ii) greater than the second height.

23 . The method according to claim 20 , wherein a respective stud of the studs is configured to close a respective opening of a plurality of openings in a bottom portion of the shoe upper when the baseplate is held within the shoe upper.

24 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising determining an arrangement, respective height, and respective circumference of the plurality of tread elements based on the ground on which the shoe is used.

25 . The method of claim 15 wherein the formed baseplate comprises a drag modulus of elasticity of at least 1000 N/mm 2 .

26 . The method of claim 15 wherein the formed baseplate comprises a tensile strength of at least 40 N/mm 2 .

27 . The method of claim 15 wherein the formed baseplate comprises a Charpy impact strength of at least 40 KJ/mm 2 .

Assignees

• Adidas Ag

Inventors

• Weidl Jürgen
• Zea Jr Antonio Jamie
• Wiederer Wilfried Ernst

Classifications

• A43C15/162

  characterised by the shape · CPC title

• A43B13/30

  by screws · CPC title

• A43B13/223

  Profiled soles · CPC title

• A43B3/246 Primary

  characterised by the sole · CPC title

• A43B13/26

  projecting beyond the sole surface · CPC title