Sole element
This invention concerns a sole element for a cleated article of footwear, in particular for a football shoe. The sole element includes a composite element with an anisotropic bending property. The sole element further includes a polymer element, and the polymer element at least partially covers the composite element of the sole element.
1. A method of producing a sole element for an article of footwear, comprising:
providing a composite element;
over-injecting a polymer element on the composite element to at least partially cover the composite element; and
forming at least one opening in the polymer element on its ground-facing side to expose a part of the composite element.
2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising forming at least one stud dome on the polymer element for carrying a stud tip at a location wherein the stud tip does not overlap with the composite element.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the composite element comprises an anisotropic bending property.
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the composite element has a first bending stiffness for bending upwards in a toe region of the sole element and a second bending stiffness for bending downwards in the toe region, wherein the second bending stiffness is lower than the first bending stiffness.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein over-injecting comprises covering at least partially a ground-facing surface of the composite element by the polymer element.
6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising attaching an insole board to the polymer element.
7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising forming a slit in the composite element, wherein the slit is arranged substantially along a longitudinal direction of the sole element.
8. A method of producing a shoe comprising producing a sole element by a method according to claim 1 .
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein over-injecting the polymer element comprises using the slit as an injection gate.
10. The method of claim 1 , comprising clamping the composite element during the over-injecting the polymer element.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein clamping the composite element comprises applying a clamping mechanism to contact the composite element at a clamping point, and forming the at least one opening comprises forming the at least one opening at the clamping point.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein over-injecting the polymer element comprises causing over-injected material to flow around the clamping point to form the at least one opening.
13. The method of claim 10 , comprising over-injecting the polymer element within a mold comprising a first mold part and a second mold part, and wherein the clamping element comprises a raised element of the first mold part.
14. The method of claim 1 , comprising over-injecting the polymer element within a mold and resting the composite element at a resting point on a surface of the mold, and wherein forming the at least one mold opening comprises forming the at least one mold opening at the resting point.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein over-injecting the polymer element within the mold comprises causing over-injected material to flow around the resting point to form the at least one opening.
16. The method of claim 2 , wherein the sole element comprises studs comprising the stud domes, and the studs are configured to interact with each other to influence bending of the sole element.
17. The method of claim 2 , wherein the sole element comprises studs comprising the stud domes, the studs are arranged in a first row, a second row, and a third row in order of distance from a front end of the sole element, and the sole element comprises a slit arranged outside of an area defined between the second row and the third row.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein over-injecting the polymer element comprises using the slit as an injection gate.