Shoe sole and method

Abstract

An outsole (1) for a shoe has a backing member (4) of thermoplastic rubber and on an area of the exterior surface of that backing member an intermediate layer (12) of thermoplastic polyurethane and an outermost layer of fabric (10), the area comprising at least 51 percent of the contact surface of the outsole. In producing the outsole, a sheet of fabric is overlain with a sheet of thermoplastic urethane, the sheet is heated to about the melting point of the TPU to permit the TPU to adhere to the fabric, and the fabric is cooled. The TPU-covered fabric is cut to the size and shape required to fit a backing member, and position in a mold on a bottom surface of a mold, and a quantity of TPR is injected at a temperature lower than the melting point of the TPU but high enough to render the TPU tacky, to insure the inherence of the TPU-covered fabric to the backing, including the resultant outsole.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.