1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to footwear having an upper and a lower, more specifically to a cushion structure integrated as part of a cleat included in the lower.
2. Description of the Related Art
The modern shoe is a system of various parts, all contributing an important part to the performance of the athlete and to the support, comfort, and protection of the athlete's foot. There are specialized shoes designed for athletes in very different activities from: football, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, and golf. Each of these activities require a special blend of performance specifically tied to weight, traction, support, comfort, and protection. Shoes may also be customized for the user's physical characteristics such as the user's weight, shoe size and gait (i.e. pronated, supinated, neutral). Specifically, the weight, cushioning, and lateral stability characteristics of a shoe can be a strong determinant of performance because they may directly impact an athlete's speed, endurance, and sure-footing.
There have been previous attempts to create shoe cleats to improve shock absorption, stability, and traction. Yet these efforts have produced overly stiff shoes, shoes with inadequate lateral stability, or unnecessarily heavy shoes not meeting the requirements of serious athletes and active athletic participants.
Although foregoing efforts have been met with varying degrees of success, there remains an unresolved need for cleated athletic footwear with improved shock absorption, lateral stability, and low weight. The problem is that the previous shoe technology does not provide the level of shock absorption required by the wearer for demanding applications without an unacceptable stiff sole, heavier weight, or high center of gravity. There are additional issues to consider such as the shoe's flexing characteristics as shock absorbing materials are used that might compromise measures to control pronation or other undesirable walking or running characteristics of the wearer.
One aspect of the present invention is to address and resolve the above-noted limitations with conventional footwear wherein the integration of shock absorption elements unsatisfactorily compromises lateral stability, increases the weight, or increases the thickness of the midsole.
In a first aspect, the present invention may include a lower adapted to attached to an upper. The lower may include a primary midsole, an outsole, a cushion, and a cleat. The primary midsole may be sized to be the full length of the wearer's foot. The outsole may be attached to the bottom of primary midsole. The cleat may be connected to the outsole. The cushion may be made of a flexible planar material and attached to the bottom surface of the primary midsole and disposed between the primary midsole and the outsole. The cushion may be located only above the cleat. There may be open space between the primary midsole and the outsole to allow the cushion edges to expand when under compression forces. The components may be attached together using cement glue or a general epoxy adhesive.
In a second aspect, the lower may include a primary midsole, an outsole, a cushion, a cleat, and a disk cylinder. The outsole may be attached to one or more cleats. Each cleat may be attached to the outsole at a hollow raised protrusion. The hollow raised protrusion may have opening at the bottom surface and may include a disk cylinder. The disk cylinder may be located inside the hollow raised protrusion and provide an interface to attach the cleat to the outsole through the opening in the outsole. The interface may be an interference or a threaded mechanical interface to attach the cleat to the outsole. The cushion may be made of a flexible planar material and attached to the bottom surface of the primary midsole and disposed between the primary midsole and the cleat. The cushion may contact a top surface of the disk cylinder and/or a perimeter of the hollow raised protrusion. There may be open space between the primary midsole and the outsole to allow the cushion edges to expand when under compression forces. The components may be attached together using cement glue or a general epoxy adhesive.
In a third aspect, there may be more than one cleat attached to the outsole. Adjacent hollow raised protrusion may be associated with adjacent cleats may be connected by an outsole bridge that may contact the ground. The outsole bridge may provide extra support for the adjacent cleats as they come under stress during activity. Further, the outsole bridge may provide additional forward traction as the bridge established contact with the ground. The outsole bridge may include spikes to enable the bridge to more easily penetrate the ground and thereby provide more traction.
In a fourth aspect, the lower may include a primary midsole, a cushion, and an outsole, wherein a cleat is integrated in the outsole. The cushion may be made of a flexible planar material and attached to the bottom surface of the primary midsole and disposed between the primary midsole and the outsole. The cushion may be located only above the cleat.
As should be apparent, the invention can provide a number of advantageous features and benefits. It is to be understood that, in practicing the invention, an embodiment can be constructed to include one or more features or benefits of embodiments disclosed herein, but not others. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the preferred embodiments discussed herein are provided as examples and are not to be construed as limiting, particularly since embodiments can be formed to practice the invention that do not include each of the features of the disclosed examples.
The invention will be better understood from reading the description which follows and from examining the accompanying figures. These are provided solely as non-limiting examples of the invention. In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference characters will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
The opening 9 may be loosened or tightened upon a portion of the wearer's foot using a variety of closures including laces, buckles, hook-and-loop fasteners, and other means. An upper 21 consistent with this disclosure may also be an assembly that merely serves the purpose of attaching the lower to the sole of the foot for a desired time period. The upper 21 may be made of various materials to optimize shoe performance in certain conditions such as leather, canvas, or synthetic materials such as plastic, artificial suede, synthetic leather, nylon weave, nylon mesh, or the like. The components of the upper 21 may be attached using stitching or an adhesive, such as cement glue.
The lower 20 may include a footbed, a midsole, and an outsole. In one embodiment the footbed may include a full length insole made of a structural member, such as cardboard, to provide stability in a construction that is known as “board lasting.”
Another embodiment, called “slip lasting” replaces the structural member with a cloth structure to maximize flexibility for the shoe to twist. A further embodiment provides may be a “combination last” where the front of the shoe may be slip lasted and the back may be board lasted. Another embodiment may be a construction without the cloth structure as part of the footbed and the upper may be attached to the midsole by sewing or adhesive. The footbed may be the structural foundation of the shoe wherein the upper may be attached to the footbed with the wearer's foot between a portion of the upper and the insole. A removable sock liner may be used to provide an interface between the wearer's foot and the top of the footbed structure.
The outsole may be attached to the footbed via the midsole. The outsole provides the contact surface between the shoe and the ground. The outsole may contain a thermoplastic elastomer, a flexible polyether, a rigid polyamide, and the like. An assortment of other materials and pigments may also be used to produce different textures and colors for the outsole.
The top surface 91 of the cushion 90 interfaces respectively with a sunken midsole area 40 on the primary midsole 30 as shown in
The cleat 50 is shown in the schematic version in
As shown in
The primary midsole 30 may be attached to the outsole 60 so that the hollow raised portion 70 is positioned under the cushion 90, when the cushion 90 is disposed within the sunken midsole area 40 as shown in
A second embodiment of a cleat assembly may be shown by
The outsole 260 consistent with the second embodiment may include solid raised protrusions 270 where a cleat 50 may be attached. The outsole 260 may include a top outsole surface 261 and a bottom outsole surface 262, as well as grooves 63, 64 (not shown) to improve stiffness. The outsole 260 may be made of polyurethane material, thermoplastic urethane, or the like.
As shown in
The primary midsole 30 may be attached to the outsole 260 so that the solid raised protrusion 270 may be positioned under the cushion 90, when the cushion 90 is disposed within the sunken midsole area 40 as shown in
A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The cleat 150 may be molded to the outsole 160. The cleat 150 may include a bottom cleat surface 151. The primary midsole 30 may be attached to the outsole 160 so that the cleat 150 may be positioned under the cushion, when the cushion 90 is disposed within the sunken midsole area 40 as shown in
The primary midsole 30 may be attached to the outsole 360 so that the raised portion 370 may be positioned under the cushion 90, when the cushion 90 is disposed within the sunken midsole area 40 as shown in
All embodiments of the shoe 1 are intended to be used by the wearer in a similar way. The wearer inserts the foot into the upper opening 9. The wearer fastens the upper 21, as needed, to the foot so that there is a comfortable fit and the foot is disposed between the upper 21 and the lower 20. The wearer may engage in whatever activity desired so that the bottom cleat surface may have a set of impacts with the ground 8. The set of impacts cause a set of forces to be applied to the cleat that are partially dampened by the cushion 90 and further dampened by the primary midsole 30. The dampened set of forces may provide a safer and less tiring experience to the wearer than without damping, particularly as the user travels on a hard surface that do not allow the cleat to penetrate soft ground 8. Further, during the activity the wearer may run side-to-side with quick cuts and the side-to-side forces subsequently created and applied to the outsole 70 may be dampened by the cushion 90 and further dampened by the primary midsole 30. The softness of material used for the cushion 90 allow a much thinner lower to be created and with less weight than if the entire lower were to be manufactured using traditional approaches. When the activity has been completed the wearer merely unfastens the upper 21 as needed and removes the foot from the opening 9.
Further, it should be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments of the invention are not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown and described above. While this invention has been described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations and/or improvements, whether known or that are, or may be, presently unforeseen, may become apparent. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention, as set forth above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. The various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the systems and methods according to exemplary embodiments of this invention are intended to embrace all now known or later-developed alternatives, modifications, variations and/or improvements.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100229427 A1 | Sep 2010 | US |