Patent Application
20090211118
The present invention pertains to footwear cleats for field sports and, more particularly, to improvements in such cleats that result in improved traction without sacrificing running speed.
Footwear cleats used in soccer, rugby, lacrosse, American football and other field sports typically take the form of individual replaceable hard plastic or metal studs that threadedly engage respective receptacles mounted in the outsole of an athletic shoe. Depending on preferences and conditions, the studs typically range in length from ten millimeters to eighteen millimeters. For muddy and similar poor field conditions, longer studs are more desirable because they penetrate the ground more deeply to provide better traction. That is, it is the surface area of the stud in contact with the sod (i.e., the turf and top soil) below the ground level that engages the sod for traction during a push-off for a running step or during an attempt to stop. Therefore, more stud surface area makes contact with the sod as penetration into the sod increases.
However, when studs penetrate the sod more deeply, the wearer is unable to run as fast as he/she can when there is less penetration. For example, a 15 mm stud penetrates the ground only to approximately 10 mm on initial impact, and as the runner pushes off to take the next step, the downward force causes the stud to initially sink toward the maximum 15mm depth. This is referred to as secondary sink or penetration. The limit of this secondary penetration is provided by the outsole of the shoe abutting the ground. The result of secondary penetration is a significant loss of power on the push off for each step, thereby limiting running speed.
In addition, a not insignificant amount of the wearer's energy (i.e., force and time) is used in withdrawing a long stud from the muddy turf with each step.
Moreover, long studs are a cause of many field sport injuries. The longer the stud, the more deeply anchored it becomes in the turf. When studs are deeply anchored, forces applied to ankles, legs and knees are more likely to create injuries since the stud and shoe cannot readily break away from the turf in response to lateral impact from collisions and tackling. In other words, when the shoe does not easily break away from the turf, a portion of the leg is more likely to break or become sprained in response to lateral force applied to a knee or leg.
It is also known to provide golf shoes with plastic cleats that do not penetrate the ground. This is a highly desirable characteristic for golf shoe cleats because ground penetration, particularly on putting greens, can damage the grass root system and leave uneven marks that adversely affect the ability to accurately put a golf ball. A highly efficient type of golf cleat for this purpose provides dynamic traction wherein traction elements on the cleat flex under the load of the wearer's weight and, in doing so, provide traction without penetrating the ground. Examples of dynamic traction cleats may be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,209,230, 6,305,104 and 7,040,043, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. In these patents, cleats are disclosed which take the form of a hub with a connector such as a threaded shaft extending from the hub top surface that can be selectively secured to a mating connector mounted in a golf shoe outsole. Plural flexible traction elements extend generally downward and outward from the hub periphery to engage grass blades and turf, and thereby provide traction, as the traction elements flex under the weight of the wearer.
It is an object of the invention to provide a cleat configuration for field sports that permits shorter studs to be used without sacrificing traction performance and running speed under poor field conditions, and that thereby conserves the wearer's energy and minimizes injuries.
It is another object of the invention to utilize the principles of dynamic traction in combination with standard type field traction studs to permit the length of the studs to be reduced without sacrificing traction under poor field conditions. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to utilize dynamic traction to reduce secondary penetration by field studs into muddy and soggy sod.
In accordance with the present invention, a cleat for use with an athletic shoe comprises a hub, a stud of substantially non-flexible material and extending downwardly and away from a lower surface of the hub, a cleat connector extending upwardly and from an upper surface of the hub and configured to engage a shoe-mounted mating connector disposed on a sole of the shoe, the upper surface opposing the lower surface of the hub, and at least one dynamic traction element extending downwardly from the lower surface of the hub and adapted to flex upwardly when the cleat is connected to a shoe and the at least one dynamic traction element is forced downwardly to contact a ground surface due to a weight load applied to a shoe. The distal end of the stud extends further from the lower surface of the hub than the distal end of each unflexed dynamic traction element such that, when the shoe to which the cleat is connected is forced downward toward the ground surface, the stud contacts and/or begins to penetrate the ground surface to provide initial traction before each dynamic traction element makes contact with the ground surface.
The combination of at least one substantially non-flexible stud with at least one dynamic traction element accordance with the present invention results in a cleat with enhanced traction while minimizing injuries to the user and conserving user energy during sports or other activities.
The above and still further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals in the various figures are utilized to designate like components.
In accordance with the present invention, a cleat comprises a hub including at least one stub formed from a substantially inflexible or non-flexible material extending downwardly from the hub, at least one dynamic traction element extending downwardly from a lower surface of the hub and a cleat connector extending from an upper surface of the hub and configured to engage with a mating connection on a shoe. Each dynamic traction element is configured or adapted to flex upwardly toward the hub when force is applied downwardly on the cleat (e.g., due to a weight load applied by a wearer of a shoe to which the cleat is attached).
In addition, the cleat is designed such that a distal end of the stud extends a greater distance below the lower surface of the hub than the distal end of each unflexed dynamic traction element. This results in the stud making contact and/or penetrating a ground surface (e.g., sod) to provide initial traction before each dynamic traction element makes contact with the ground surface.
An example embodiment of a cleat according to the present invention is depicted in
Referring to
A series of cut-out or notched sections 6 is disposed around the periphery of the stud, the notched sections being located at angularly spaced positions with respect to each other and extending in a longitudinal direction of the stud, where a portion of each notched section 6 is located at the tapered portion 5 of the stud. The notched sections 6 also provide enhanced gripping or traction against the ground surface as the stud is forced into the ground surface. While the cleat of
As further shown in
The cleat of the present invention can be provided with studs having different lengths. For example, the stud 4 shown in
The stud can be constructed of any suitably rigid material, such as hard, non-flexible plastic or polymer materials or metals or metal alloy (e.g., aluminum), or any other conventional materials known for cleats. The invention is concerned with the combination of the stud and the body part, and specifically with surrounding the stud with the traction elements on the body part to achieve enhanced traction of the cleat for particular applications.
In particular, the hub bears a plurality of depending resiliently flexible (i.e. dynamic) traction elements 22. The traction elements 22 extend outwardly and downward from the hub lower surface 27 at angularly spaced locations along the hub periphery. Each traction element 22 preferably flexes substantially independently from the others, although adjacent traction elements may cooperate to provide traction. Each traction element 22 is resiliently deflectably secured to the hub 20, so that, under the weight of the wearer, the traction element is deflected upward toward the sole of the wearer's shoe.
The dynamic traction elements are made from a resilient material such as polyurethane or other flexible elastomer. The hub may be made from the same material as the dynamic traction elements or, alternatively, from a different material. In the embodiment of
It is noted that the cleat of
The traction elements 22 depicted with the cleat of
Preferably, gussets 24 are provided along an internal side portion of the traction elements and extending the longitudinal dimension of the traction elements between a terminal end of the traction elements and the lower hub surface 27 (see
In the preferred embodiment described above, the dynamic traction elements, when unflexed, are said to extend downwardly and outwardly from the bottom surface of the hub. By outwardly it is meant that the dynamic element axis and/or outward facing surface diverges downwardly and away from the longitudinal axis of the stud 104 and hub. It will be appreciated, however, that dynamic traction elements are not necessarily required to extend outwardly and that such outward extension can be eliminated without departing from the scope of the invention. Specifically, the dynamic elements may extend only downwardly, as long as they flex to provide traction and resist undesired excess ground penetration of the stud under a weight load.
As can best be seen in
In addition, a generally V-shaped gap or “notch” is formed between adjacent dynamic tractions elements 22. During engagement of the cleat 2 with turf or a ground surface, the dynamic traction elements 22 also provide traction by the cooperation of each pair of adjacent traction elements, as the V-shaped “notch” between them traps grass when the user's foot moves laterally through the grass. Moreover, additional traction is provided as grass blades are trapped between the shoe sole and the cantilevered dynamic traction elements 22 as the elements 22 flex toward the sole, thereby mechanically locking the shoe to grass blades exposed above the sod. As the user lifts his or her foot, the traction elements 22 spring back to their unflexed state, releasing the hold on the grass blades contemporaneously with when the shoe is lifted from the ground surface.
Thus, the cleat of
While the cleat embodiment described above and depicted in
It is also within the scope of the invention to provide a shaped boss on the top surface of the cleat hub to permit different orientations of the cleat on a shoe sole during its connection with the shoe. For example, referring to
In the previous embodiments, the threaded section of the stud connects the cleat with a corresponding female threaded portion in the shoe sole. However, it is noted that any other suitable connection elements can also be provided on portions of the stud and/or portions of the hub of the cleat to facilitate connection with corresponding connection elements disposed on or in the shoe sole.
In one embodiment depicted in
As can be seen in
The stud 204 is also substantially similar in design to the stud 4 depicted in
The stud further includes a threaded section 208 that engages with a female threaded section disposed within a central opening of the hub 220, where the hub central opening further extends through spigot 230. As may best be seen in
The cleat embodiment of
While each of the embodiments illustrated in
An example of such an asymmetrical cleat is illustrated in
The stud 304 is substantially similar to the studs of the previous embodiments, including a threaded section 308 that is inserted through a central opening of the hub 320, and a tapered section 305 and notched sections 306 near the terminal end of the lower traction portion of the stud to enhance traction of the cleat when the stud engages and/or penetrates the ground surface. The stud 302 further includes a flange located between its lower traction portion and its threaded section 308 that is suitably dimensioned so as to abut with a corresponding annular shoulder formed along the central aperture of the hub 320 and located near the hub lower surface 327. When the stud 304 is inserted through the central aperture of hub 320 at the hub lower surface 327, the annular flange on the stud 304 engages with the annular shoulder of the hub 320 so as to force hub 320 against the shoe sole as the stud threaded section 308 engages with a corresponding female threaded connector section in the shoe sole.
In addition, as can be seen in
The various embodiments described above are only some examples of different ways to implement the principles of the invention in which at least one rigid and substantially inflexible or non-flexible stud is combined with at least one other traction element (e.g., one or more dynamic traction elements) with the stud extending a further distance from a lower surface of the hub of the cleat in relation to the other traction element so as to enhance traction and performance of the cleat for a variety of different applications.
It will be further appreciated that the traction elements surrounding the stud on the hub of the cleat need not all be dynamic traction elements. In other words, at least some of the peripherally disposed traction elements may be relatively inflexible or non-flexible to provide static traction and effect different overall tractional characteristics, as desired for particular applications. Examples of combinations of dynamic and static traction elements are described in the previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,446. Moreover, one or more static traction elements may project downwardly from hub locations that are radially inward of the hub periphery. Further still, and as noted above, any two or more traction elements on a cleat can have different geometric shapes or configurations and also different lengths as measured from an upper or lower surface of the hub to the terminal end of the traction elements.
One or more studs may also be provided at various locations with respect to the hub. While the previous example embodiments depict a stud positioned at a generally central location of the hub, it is noted that a cleat can be provided with a stud located at any non-central location along the hub or, alternatively, two or more studs located at varying positions along the hub.
As noted above, the cleat can be designed such that the stud easily separates from the hub upon disengagement with the shoe sole (e.g., as shown in the embodiment of
In the embodiments described above, the body member including the hub and traction elements can be formed in a single molding (e.g., “one shot”) step. Alternatively, the body member can be formed in two or more steps, with different components or parts of the body member being molded together to form a single, integral body member. The multiple molding process may be used, for example, to effect different functional characteristics (e.g., different hardness characteristics for different portions of the hub) or aesthetic (e.g., different color) characteristics.
In addition the advantages described above, the capability of providing studs of different lengths without sacrificing functional performance serves to enhance the comfort of the wearer. Specifically, athletic shoes with longer studs are less comfortable to walk in than athletic shoes with shorter studs or no studs. With improvements in comfort, there is also less stress on muscles and joints.
Having described example embodiments of traction cleats, variations and changes will be suggested to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings set forth herein. It is therefore to be understood that all such variations, modifications and changes are believed to fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/031,412, filed Feb. 26, 2008, and entitled “Improved Traction Cleat for Field Sports,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61031412 | Feb 2008 | US |
