Testing footwear soles

Apparatus for testing footwear soles, comprising a frame,

• treadmill supports mounted on said frame for movement along an axis,
• a treadmill assembly mounted on said supports, said assembly including an operative treadmill surface movable in its own plane along a direction transverse to said axis,
• resilient means connected to said frame and said supports for biasing said treadmill surface in a rest position and for resiliently opposing movement of said surface along said axis away from said rest position to a range of operating positions,
• a shaft mounted on said frame, said shaft being located with its longitudinal axis parallel to said operative treadmill surface and spaced from said rest position of said surface in the direction away from its said range of operating positions,
• a drive for rotating said shaft about its said axis, and
• a sole support mounted on said shaft at a distance from said shaft axis sufficient so that when a sole to be tested is installed on said sole support and said shaft is rotated by said drive, said sole support will carry said sole along said operative treadmill surface to move said surface along its said plane and, against the resilient force of said resilient means, to said range of operating positions,
• said treadmill assembly comprising a plurality of rollers having shafts carried between said supports, and an endless belt wrapped around said rollers,
• means being provided for adjusting the position of one of said shafts to vary the force necessary to move said operative treadmill surface along its said plane, whereby said soles can be caused to at least partially slip along said operative surface when said shaft is rotating, to simulate scuffing.

Apparatus for testing footwear soles, comprising

• a frame having a base and a plurality of posts on said base,
• treadmill supports mounted on said frame for movement along an axis, said supports having openings through which said posts extend,
• coil springs mounted around said posts between said base and said supports to bias said supports in the direction away from said base,
• a treadmill assembly comprising a plurality of rollers each having shafts carried between said supports, and an endless belt wrapped around said rollers to define an operative treadmill surface movable in its own plane along a direction transverse to said axis,
• said coil springs thereby acting to bias said treadmill surface in a raised position and to resiliently oppose movement of said surface along said axis away from said raised position to a range of operating positions,
• a shaft mounted on said frame, said shaft being located with its longitudinal axis parallel to said operative treadmill surface and spaced away from said raised position in the direction away from said range of operating positions,
• a drive for rotating said shaft about its said axis,
• a hub mounted on said shaft,
• a plurality of threaded rods screwed in said hub, said rods being angularly spaced about said shaft axis to provide a balanced assembly and being adjustable radially with respect to said shaft axis,
• a plurality of sole plates respectively connected to the free ends of said threaded rods, each said sole plate having a toe portion hinged to a heel and shank portion,
• said rods and said sole plates being located such that when soles to be tested are installed on said sole plates and said shaft is rotated by said drive, said sole plates will carry said soles along said operative treadmill surface to move said surface along its said plane and, against the resilient force of said resilient means, to said range of operating positions, the hinged arrangement of said toe portion causing said sole to flex along the line of intended flexure in use on a foot, and
• means for adjusting the position of one of said shafts of said treadmill assembly to vary the force necessary to move said operative treadmill surface along its said plane, whereby said soles can be caused to at least partially slip along said operative surface when said shaft is rotated, to simulate scuffing.