Method of forming sole and sole structure with shoe nail coupled thereto and sole structure with shoe nail

Abstract

A method of forming a sole and a sole structure with shoe nails coupled thereto and the sole structure with the shoe nails are provided. The method includes pre-forming shoe nails, putting the shoe nails in an injection molding mold, injecting a thermally molten sole material into a mold in a manner that the sole material covers inner and outer surfaces of the shoe nails, and performing a cooling process whereby the sole material solidifies and turns into a sole which is then coupled to the shoe nails. The method enables a sole with shoe nails to be quickly manufactured so easily that it increases production efficiency and economic benefits.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of forming a sole and a sole structure with shoe nails coupled thereto, the method comprising:
 shoe nail pre-forming step: forming shoe nails, wherein the shoe nails each have a head and a coupling segment, with the coupling segment extending in an axial direction, wherein the axial direction is perpendicular to a radial direction, wherein an outer diameter of the coupling segment is less than an outer diameter of the head such that a filling ring portion is formed between the head and the coupling segment, wherein, an end of the coupling segment is connected to the head, wherein a slot is disposed at another end of the coupling segment and has a slot bottom and a slot inner diameter, wherein the slot penetrates the coupling segment in the radial direction;   shoe nail feeding step: putting the pre-formed shoe nails in a first mold, wherein the first mold has a shaping chamber, and the shaping chamber has an opening, wherein, after the shoe nails have been received in the shaping chamber, a shaping space is defined by and between the shoe nails and the opening of the shaping chamber;   die closing step: closing a second mold and the first mold, wherein the second mold has a corresponding forming portion protruding to form a plurality of expanding pins, wherein the expanding pins each have an expanding segment and a guiding segment connected to the expanding segment, wherein the expanding segment has an expanding segment outer diameter, wherein the expanding segment outer diameter is larger than the slot inner diameter, wherein the guiding segment is a conic structure which tapers away from the expanding segment, wherein a guiding end is disposed at an end of the guiding segment and extends away from the expanding segment, wherein the guiding end has a guiding end outer diameter, with the guiding end outer diameter being equal to the slot inner diameter, wherein a feeding passage penetrates the corresponding forming portion of the second mold, wherein the corresponding forming portion of the second mold faces the shaping chamber, so as to close the second mold and the first mold, seal the opening, and enable communication between the feeding passage and the shaping space, wherein, as soon as the corresponding forming portion seals the opening exactly, not only are the guiding ends of the expanding pins inserted into the slots of the shoe nails, respectively, but the guiding ends of the expanding pins also guide the guiding segments into the slots to abut against the slots and thus allow the slots to expand, respectively, wherein a feeding space is defined by and between the guiding end and the slot bottom;   sole material injecting step: heating and melting a sole material to a liquid state, followed by injecting the molten sole material into a space between the first mold and the second mold via the feeding passage;   forming binding step: filling the shaping space, the filling ring portion, and the feeding space with the thermally molten sole material after the sole material has been injected into the shaping space, such that outsides of the coupling segments of the shoe nails and insides of the slots are filled with the sole material, wherein a cooling process is performed after the feeding of the sole material has stopped to cause the sole material to cool, cure, and turn into a sole and enables the sole to be coupled to the shoe nails in contact with the sole material; and   die opening step: separating the first mold and the second mold, followed by taking out the shoe nails and the sole coupled together.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe nails are made of a material different from the sole material. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the shoe nails are made of rubber, and the sole material is molten plastic. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shaping chamber of the first mold has therein a plurality of positioning portions, with each said positioning portion being a concave structure formed by denting the shaping chamber, wherein a concave outline of each said positioning portion matches the head of a corresponding one of the shoe nails, wherein, in the shoe nail feeding step, the shoe nails are received at the positioning portions, respectively, and the heads abut against the positioning portions of the shaping chamber, respectively. 
     
     
         5 . A sole structure with shoe nails, comprising a sole and a plurality of shoe nails coupled thereto, wherein the sole is formed by curing a sole material, wherein the shoe nails each have a head and a coupling segment, with the coupling segment extending in an axial direction, wherein the axial direction is perpendicular to a radial direction, wherein an outer diameter of the coupling segment is less than an outer diameter of the head, such that a filling ring portion is formed between the head and the coupling segment, wherein an end of the coupling segment extends away from the head and has a slot capable of expanding, wherein the slot has a slot bottom, wherein the slot penetrates the coupling segment in the radial direction and communicates with the filling ring portion, wherein the sole material encloses and gets coupled to the filling ring portion and fills the slot via the filling ring portion, such that the sole material covers the slot bottom and fills the filling ring portion.