Patent Application
20220322792
The invention described herein was conceived and reduced to practice without the benefit of federal funding.
The invention relates to the field of footwear, and in particular footwear for cyclists having a need for shoes with good traction on slippery surfaces, such as cyclist participants in cyclo-cross racing. Cyclo-cross racing is a form of bicycle racing that requires racers to dismount at various stages of a race and carry their bicycles for some distance before remounting and continuing on the bicycles. During the muddy season, there is a need in the art for better footwear traction, as traditional cycling shoes do not provide for this due to their major purpose being to provide locking mechanisms for bicycle pedals to allow cyclists to maximize the transmission of power to the wheels. This lack of means for providing traction when a cyclo-cross race is on foot on muddy terrain results in slippage and risk of injury.
Current solutions to this problem come in the form of different shoe options with means for supplying varying degrees of traction to the soles, but no current solution on the market allows for soles or components or sections thereof to be swapped out for better traction as conditions warrant. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to allow for greater versatility in selecting the appropriate amount of traction by way of providing modular sole and cleat systems that may be used interchangeably with cycling shoes while retaining the ability of the cycling shoes to lock into place in the bicycle pedals.
The present invention comprises a modular cycling shoe, and more particularly a unitary or modular sole that is quickly and easily removable and capable of reattachment to a cycling shoe in order to provide the user with a desired amount of traction. A shoe sole as described herein may be selected based on the types of traction means such as spikes or cleats, in each case temporarily or permanently affixed to the bottom of the sole, with varying degrees of traction being provided by varying spike or cleat designs. It is a further object of the present invention to allow a user, a cyclist for example, to dismount from a bicycle and quickly attach a sole according to the present invention to the bottom of a cycling shoe in order to allow for a desired amount of traction for the cyclist for walking or running over a various ground surfaces, including low-traction surfaces such as muddy surfaces.
A modular shoe sole as described herein may comprise anterior, medial and posterior sections made from suitable materials to achieve the intended purpose of providing selectable levels of traction to cyclists for use after dismounting, all while allowing for reengagement of the shoe to which the sole is affixed with a bicycle pedal via a temporary locking mechanism of the shoe and pedal, as will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art. A traction means of a sole as described herein comprises at least one and preferably multiple gripping mechanisms such as cleats and the like, suitable for selecting a desired traction and stability of a cyclist when off-cycle, for example, on slippery terrain such as muddy ground. It is an object of the present invention to facilitate the mounting and dismounting of a cyclist onto and off of a bicycle, respectively, while allowing the cyclist to easily run or walk across slippery terrain while maintaining the ability to quickly reengage with the bicycle by locking in a shoe as described herein to a bicycle pedal.
The invention of the present disclosure enables a modular shoe by providing a removable sole that allows a wearer to select a sole for attachment to the shoe having a traction means suitable for a ground surface upon which the wearer intends to walk or run. A unitary or modular sole as described herein is removably attachable to a cycling shoe while still allowing for engagement of the shoe with the pedal of a bicycle, allowing the wearer to quickly and easily alternate between cycling and walking or running on the ground surface with adequate traction to prevent slippage, falling and injury. It is an object of the present invention to provide multiple sole designs to account for various types of locking mechanisms that allow cycling shoes to lock into bicycle pedals, as will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Referring now to a preferred embodiment of a removable shoe sole 101 according to the present invention illustrated in
In certain embodiments, a shoe sole as described herein is designed with various insertion points for traction means such as spikes or cleats according to the present invention. In certain embodiments, the insertion points may comprise an anterior, medial or posterior insertion points or combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, individual insertion points may correspond to an individual traction means such as a cleat or spike. In other embodiments, a traction means may be in the form of a cluster of cleats or spikes corresponding to an insertion point on a shoe sole capable of receiving the cluster of cleats or spikes on the bottom of a shoe sole.
As illustrated in
Still, on other embodiments a sole of the present invention, whether in unitary or modular form, may comprise permanent traction means such as cleats or spikes that may be fabricated as part of the sole, not removable therefrom. This may be achieved using existing manufacturing technologies such as molding or adhesion.
In certain embodiments, a shoe sole of a modular shoe as described herein may be fabricated from rubber, carbon or any other suitable material, and a base may be configured with attachment points for the sole, whether a modular sole or a sole in unitary form. In one embodiment, a shoe base may be fabricated of carbon while an attachable sole may be fabricated of an upper layer of rubber and lower layer of carbon, to allow for flexibility near the toe area of the shoe as may be desired for walking, jogging or running. In another embodiment, a base of a modular shoe as described herein may be fabricated of carbon while an attachable sole may be fabricated of rubber. In another embodiment, a base may be fabricated of rubber while an attachable sole may be fabricated of an upper layer of carbon and lower layer of rubber. These possibilities are introduced by way of example only and are not to be construed as limitations as to the possible materials and possible number of layers of each material selected, as will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
In certain embodiments, a sole of a modular shoe as described herein is equipped with attachment points for removable attachment to a shoe base, enabling the rapid engagement and disengagement of the sole from the shoe base. A shoe base as referred to herein means the bottom or base part of a shoe, such as a cycling shoe. In certain embodiments, an engagement means may comprise T-nuts 110 each corresponding to a collar 120 located on a base of a modular shoe as contemplated herein. A modular shoe of the present disclosure is further equipped with a means for keeping a foot of a wearer securely and removably within the shoe, such as may be selected from the group consisting of laces and hook-and-loop fasteners.
It is an object of a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, to provide a unitary or modular sole that may be attached, removed and reattached in a “snap-on, snap-off” fashion, or “slide-on, slide-off” fashion. It is an object of the present invention to enable a cyclist, for example, to quickly and seamlessly attach, remove and reattach a shoe sole with traction means as described herein from a shoe base of a shoe, particularly a cycling shoe, all while allowing for a cycling shoe to reengage with a locking mechanism of a bicycle pedal.
In certain embodiments, a traction means comprising at least one of a cleat or spike such as are illustrated in
Referring to
The possible configurations and materials for use with the present invention are numerous and may be selected based on usability, expected product life and other factors. For example, embodiments comprising reciprocal threads of traction means such as cleats or spikes and insertion points of a sole as described herein may confer the ability to more easily replace parts that have been subjected to significant wear and tear and select from a wide range of materials for fabrication, such as metals, fiberglass and thermoplastics. There is also a desire to employ an attachment means on the the upper surface of the sole which remains flush with the upper surface of the shoe base when the sole is attached thereto so as not to protrude into the interior of the shoe and cause discomfort to a wearer.
In addition to a traction means being selectable from multiple materials and configurations, the location of insertion points about the lower surface of a sole of a modular shoe of the present invention may be selected from several possible locations.
To further illustrate the cluster concept with respect to the clustering of individual cleats, spikes or the like within a traction means,
In certain embodiments such as are illustrated in
Additional material considerations include material for the upper surface of a sole of a modular shoe as described herein, which should be comfortable to the wearer and ideally at least partially waterproof, while allowing for the fabrication of attachment points for the sole to the bottom of a shoe base, which must be of compatible material to enable firm attachment. In certain embodiments, a modular shoe of the present disclosure may further comprise a shoe base of breathable nylon mesh or leather. A high-density nylon thread may be employed to hold the heel cup together, which may comprise the same material used to fabricate a sole as described herein.
Turning now to the design of traction means as described herein, as described above, individual members such as cleats or spikes may be employed, or more preferably, clusters with multiple insertion points and various topographies may be employed to correspond to a surface of interest. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that traction clusters or indeed the bottom of an entire sole of a modular shoe as described herein may be fabricated to comprise various patterns designed for particular activities (such as walking or running) taking place on various surfaces (such as rock or mud). Topographies may comprise ridges and valleys of a range of geometric shapes, such as rectangles, triangles and the like, each offering comparative advantages based on the type of activity and terrain of interest.
Gripping ridges and valleys may be of various lengths and widths and may be fabricated at various angles. For example, rectangular peaks may comprise only right angles, while triangular peaks may be fabricated at more acute angles such as but not limited to 45° angles relative to the lower surface of the sole. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the possible topographies are virtually unlimited in number and that multiple topographies may be employed, for example, depending on the section of the sole—anterior, medial or posterior—or the lateral position of the area of interest on the sole.
Insertion points for a traction means of the present invention may incorporate components that will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art, such as flat head cap screws (FHCS), socket head cap screws (SHCS) and the like. The selected components will depend on the desired durability and interchangeability of components, among other considerations. Weld nuts may be employed. The friction created by each grip design will be tested as part of the design process to inform material and component selection. This impacts the location of traction means on the sole. In certain embodiments, a selected material will have a coefficient of friction of at least 75 grams (75 g); or more preferably 80 g; or more preferably 95 g; or more preferably 100 g; or more preferably 105 g; or more preferably 150 g; or more preferably 215 g; or more preferably 250 g; or more preferably 275 g; or more preferably 300 g; or more preferably 350 g, in each case when tested for compatibility with a desired surface.
Referring again to the attachment means for a unitary or modular sole of a modular shoe of the present invention, an object of the invention is to allow for a user, such as a cyclo-cross racer, to quickly and seamlessly attach or remove a sole of the present invention to the bottom surface of the modular shoe base. One possibility is that the attachment means comprise at least one but more preferably multiple press-fit threaded inserts on the upper surface of the sole, each insertable to corresponding insertion points on the bottom surface of the modular shoe base. However, the attachment means may consist of any configuration that imparts equivalent functionality, holding sole firmly to shoe base but allowing for easy removal and reattachment.
As will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, soles of the present disclosure, whether unitary or modular in design and regardless of whether equipped with permanent or removable traction means, are designed to be made available to users in pairs. In each case, a left sole and right sole will be provided, the bottom surfaces of which mirror each other. This and other aspects of the invention of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, who will also appreciate the interchangeability of materials and designs, all of which may confer upon each specific embodiment equivalent or alternative functional, durability and versatility attributes.
This application claims the benefit of the priority date of U.S. Provisional Patent App. Ser. No. 63/007,694, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
