Traction cleat for use on surfaces of variable hardness and method of making same

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention generally relates to a traction-bearing cleat for use upon a mixture of hard and soft surfaces.

[0003] 2. Background Information

[0004] In activities such as fly-fishing, individuals place themselves in an environment with varying topography and features. Within a stream, for instance, there may be various combinations of sand, silt, clay, rocks, gravel, pebbles and other materials having a variety of sizes, shapes and surface characteristics. In addition, the presence of vegetation, mosses, and other materials vary the characteristics of the surface upon which an individual will walk.

[0005] Hard cleats are one device that has been used to obtain traction on relatively soft and slippery surfaces. These cleats mainly obtain traction by inserting themselves into the softer surface. This insertion provides traction by grabbing a portion of the surface upon which the person is walking. One problem that many hard cleats have is that they are slippery when placed upon hard surfaces. If the surface is sufficiently hard and smooth a force from running or walking can be sufficient to overcome the coefficient of friction between the two surfaces and slipping will occur. This can be potentially dangerous to the parties wearing the hard cleats.

[0006] An example of this phenomenon is seen when watching a group of football players with hard cleats leave a practice field. After running, crashing and smashing into each other these individuals will tip-toe or walk very cautiously across a smooth concrete or stone surface so as to prevent falling. Those who simply run across will often flail their arms in an attempt to regain balance and to prevent a fall. Occasionally, falls and injuries do occur from such surfaces.

[0007] To prevent the slipping that occurs from hard cleats, flatter cleats having increased surface area and made of a soft flexible material such as rubber or felt are used. These materials however, do not provide gripping traction in soft surfaces like hard cleats do. Thus, these types of cleats have problems in obtaining and maintaining traction over surfaces that are wet and soft such as mud, sand, grass or mossy vegetation. All of these materials may be found on a bottom of a stream as well as hard materials such as rocks and gravel. What is needed therefore is a traction device for shoes that provides traction on a mixture of hard and soft slippery surfaces. What is also needed is a cleat that is hard enough to penetrate soft surfaces while also being soft enough to be penetrated by harder materials and worn on hard surfaces.

[0008] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a shoe surface that provides traction over a variety of surfaces. It is a further object of the invention to provide a traction-providing cleat for use in a variety of hard and soft surfaces. It is a final object of the invention to provide a removable wearable cleat that provides traction by penetrating softer surfaces and by being penetrated by harder surfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] These objects are obtained by the present invention wherein a cleat made of a malleable material is designed to provide traction over both hard and soft surfaces. The patterns of the projecting portions of the cleat are designed so as to allow the cleat to indent into softer surfacts. This same cleat is made of a material having a desired hardness whereby the cleat can be indented by harder materials when a desired amount of pressure is placed upon a portion of the cleat.

[0010] The cleat is made up of a first surface adapted for placement against a shoe, and a lower surface having a series of projections extending therefrom. The cleat is made of a material having a desired hardness and malleability. The shape and design of the cleat provide decreased surface area upon which the weight of the person wearing the cleats is dispersed. This design causes an increase in pressure, caused by a decrease in the surface area over which the weight of the person is disposed. This causes the cleats to dig into materials that are softer than the materials from which the cleats are formed.

[0011] This feature allows a party wearing shoes with the cleats attached to be able to walk through a variety of softer surfaces such as sand, silt, clay, gravel, moss and vegetation. Traction is obtained by inserting the cleat into the softer material, or through a layer of slippery material and into an underlying layer of traction-giving material.

[0012] The materials from which the cleats are made are soft malleable metals, which are chosen to provide desired amounts of indentations at selected pressures. Thus, when a selected pressure is achieved harder surface materials will indent the material of the cleat, and in some cases become incorporated. This provides traction over hard surfaces by increasing the traction profile of the surface of the cleat by incorporating small rocks within the cleat, as well as by grasping projections from the hard surface being traveled within the materials of the cleat.

[0013] Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description wherein I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]
FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of a preferred first embodiment of the invention.

[0015]
FIG. 2A is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 when the cleat is new.

[0016]
FIG. 2B is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 when approximately 1 of the cleat has been worn.

[0017]
FIG. 2C is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 when all of the projections have been worn.

[0018]
FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of FIG. 2 showing insertion of materials into the cleat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019] While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0020] While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims.

[0021] The present invention is a cleat for attachment to the bottom or soles of shoes. These cleats provide traction by being able to both penetrate soft and slippery materials and to be penetrated by harder objects. While the description of the invention is specified in the context of a cleat for shoes to be used in stream-wading, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is capable of use in a variety of applications wherever traction over a mixture of surfaces is desired. Furthermore, while dimensions, patterns, sizes, and materials are designated to describe a specific embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that any or all of these features may be modified or substituted to achieve a desired result. The examples that follow should therefore be seen as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

[0022] A 200-pound (lb.) fisherman wading in a waist deep stream would weigh approximately 150 lb. in the water because of the buoyant effects of the water. The buoyant force of the water is equal to the weight of the amount of water displaced by the fisherman. This buoyant force counteracts the downward force of gravity against the fisherman in the water. Depending upon the depth of the water in which the fisherman is standing, his weight upon the bottom would be increased or decreased depending upon the amount of water that he displaces. The more of the fisherman's body that is immersed within the water, the greater the buoyant effect would be and the lesser his weight on the bottom would be. The maximum amount of weight that the fisherman could place upon the bottom would be his full body weight (200 lb.) together with any additional amounts of weight due to materials, clothing etc. The least amount of weight or force that he could place upon the bottom of the stream would be zero. In this instance he would be completely floating. The amount of weight placed upon the bottom of the stream is dependent upon the amount of water displaced by the fisherman as he entered or exited deeper water.

[0023] The weight of the fisherman upon the bottom of the stream (weight) would be spread out along the surface area of both of his feet. If the area of both of his feet combined was equal to one half of one square foot he would exert a pressure of about 2 pounds per square inch (psi) while standing still in waist deep water.

[0024] Depending upon the composition of the surface upon which he is standing, his feet may not appreciably penetrate the surface. In fact tests done by the inventor demonstrate that a pressure of about 30 psi is required to indent a model streambed.

[0025] If the fisherman had cleats on however, the force of the weight of his body would be concentrated upon a smaller surface area. The smaller surface area would increase the pressure of the fisherman on the surface and allow the cleat to penetrate the surface upon which the fisherman is standing. The amount of pressure exerted by a person can be increased by decreasing the surface area over which the weight is distributed. Likewise, the amount of pressure exerted by a person can be decreased by increasing the area over which the weight is spread.

[0026] Thus, it is possible for a 100-lb. person to exert more pressure upon a surface than a 300-lb. person if the area over which the 100-lb. person's weight is disposed is sufficiently small. A 100-lb. person disposing their body weight over one half of one square foot would place a pressure of about 1.4 psi upon a surface. A 300-lb person disposing their weight over this same surface places a pressure of about 4.2 psi upon a surface. However, if the area over which the 100-lb. person's weight is displaced is reduced to an area of 10 square inches, this person could produce a pressure of 10 psi, more than twice the pressure of the 300-lb. person.

[0027] Cleats can be designed in a variety of patterns desired to achieve a desired amount of surface area upon which the weight of the party wearing them will be disposed. By reducing the amount of surface area over which a person's weight is disposed the pressures can be varied to achieve a desired pressure.

[0028] For example, in a first preferred embodiment of the invention, a cleat having the pattern shown in FIG. 1 is utilized. This cleat 10 is comprised of a first set of four projections 12, and a second set of four projections 14 each extending outward from a shoe surface (not shown). FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are side views of this same first embodiment of the invention showing the cleat as wear occurs. FIG. 2A is a side profile of a new cleat 10. The outermost projections 12 of the lower surface 18 extend further from a shoe contact surface 16 than the smaller projections 14. A combination of the four outermost projections forms a contact surface 22. FIG. 2B is a profile of the same cleat 10 when ½ worn. Wear on the cleat causes the outermost portions 12 of the lower surface 18 to wear, and shorten to a position where the length of the outer surface portions 12 are approximately equal to the length of smaller projections 14. In this position the contact surface 22 is made up of the combination of both the outermost projections 12 and the smaller projections 14. As wear continues both the outer projections 12 and the smaller projections 14 wear away until the contact surface 22 of the lower portion of the cleat 18 is basically flat. FIG. 2C is a profile of the cleat at this point in time.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the area of the contact surface 22 when the cleat is new is made up of the four outermost projections 12, and is roughly 0.55 square centimeters, (0.08525 square inches) As these outermost projections 12 wear down, the contact surface 22 of these outermost projections 12 is joined by the surfaces of the four smaller projections 14, raising the amount of surface area to approximately 0.87 square centimeters, (0.13485 square inches). As these areas wear, the profile of the entire cleat 10 will soon simply be flat. The area at this point would be the area of the surface of the cleat, 3.8 square centimeters (0.588999 square inches). These dimensions are taken from the actual embodiment of the cleat. FIG. 1 is drawn to be larger than the actual embodiment of the cleat so as to better illustrate the cleat pattern.

[0030] In a situation where this same 200-lb. fisherman is standing in waist deep water and wearing two shoes each shoe having 5 cleats, the pressure exerted by him upon the surface is approximately 16.53 psi, with new cleats, 10.4 psi with half worn cleats and 2.5 psi with worn cleats. In an embodiment wherein each shoe had eight cleats the pressures would be 10.33 psi with new cleats, 6.25 psi with worn cleats, and 1.5 psi with worn cleats.

[0031] The weight of the fisherman when concentrated upon these projections gives an increased pressure to the surface upon which he is standing. This increased pressure forces the cleats into the surface upon which the fisherman is standing. Thus, giving him increased traction and stability in soft surfaces that are penetrable by his cleats. The pressure exerted by the fisherman is further increased when the fisherman walks and transfers all of his weight to one leg. When this occurs, the aforementioned psi values would be approximately respectively doubled.

[0032] Thus, without cleats the wading fisherman would place a pressure of approximately 2 psi while standing still, and approximately 4 psi while transferring all of his weight to one foot if he were walking. If however, this person is wearing these cleats his pressure can be increased to about 16.5 psi when standing and to approximately 33 psi when walking. This is sufficient pressure to indent the bottom of the streambed and to give traction to the person walking in the stream.

[0033] The amount of pressure desired to be placed upon the stream-bed by the cleats can be varied by altering the number, design and configuration of the cleats so as to vary the surface area of the cleat over which the body weight is disposed. Smaller surface areas give higher pressures and larger surface areas give lower pressures.

[0034] The 100-lb. and 300-lb. fishermen would place different pressures when wearing these same cleats. However, in these instances the 100-lb. fisherman could choose cleats having decreased surface area or shoes having a fewer number of cleats placed upon them. The 100-lb. fisherman in waist deep water could place the same pressure as the 200-lb. fisherman if the 100-lb. fisherman were wearing shoes with cleats having roughly one half of the amount of surface area as the 200-lb. fisherman's cleats. The 300-lb. fisherman could place the same amount of pressure as the 100-lb. fisherman by having three times as much surface area on his cleats as the 100-lb. fisherman had on his.

[0035] Depending upon the surfaces to be traveled, and the weight of the person using the shoes, the design and materials of the cleat can be altered to provide a desired level of penetration and traction. Cleats with longer projections and smaller exposed surface area could be used to increase pressure. These would be useful to lighter weight persons or in situations where the surface was frozen, harder or more densely packed. Cleats with shorter projections and larger exposed surfaces may be more appropriate for heavier persons or on softer surfaces. The length of the cleat projections increase the amount of distance between the contacting surface 22 of the cleat 10 and the shoe contacting surface of the cleat 16. This increase in length also increases the pressure that can be applied by a cleat before the force of the weight is more evenly distributed along the rest of the bottom of the shoe.

[0036] The cleat is held in place by an attachment means 20. This attachment means may be permanent or removable depending upon the desires of the party wearing the cleat. In this embodiment the attachment means 20 is a threaded portion which is designed to interfit with a complimentary portion within the surface of the shoe 24. This embodiment however is merely illustrative and not restrictive. Any means that attaches a cleat to a shoe may be used to accomplish this result and is contemplated by this invention. Such means include but are not limited to rivets, bolts, clips, screws, adhesive compounds, nails, tacks, oversheathing, and similar devices. In some embodiments the shoes themselves may be waterproof, thus the means of attachment should be designed so as to ensure that this waterproof quality is not compromised.

[0037] The reduced surface area of the contract portion of the cleat 22 gives the cleat the ability to penetrate softer surfaces to obtain traction. The present invention also gives traction over a variety of hard surfaces by yielding to projections and portions of these harder surfaces.

[0038] The ability of a material to resist being indented by a material under pressure is called hardness. The hardness of various materials is determined by a test where an object under a defined amount of force is pressed into a material. A ratio of the force on the object and the size of the indentation caused by the object into the material yields a number called a hardness score or a hardness number.

[0039] The Brinell Hardness Scale rates the hardness of materials based upon the results of a test wherein a 10 millimeter ball under 500 kilograms of force is forced into a piece of a material. The ratio of the force to the area of the indentation is the hardness number. Usually, this number is given without units. However, the units that do apply to all Brinell Hardness numbers are kilograms of force per square millimeter kgf/sq mm. This is an amount of pressure that can be used as an indicator of a level of pressure at which a certain material will be indented.

[0040] Harder materials resist being indented by the test ball. These materials yield at higher pressures and leave smaller indentations. These materials then have higher hardness numbers. Softer materials yield at lower pressures and leave larger indentations when acted upon by the same force and pressure. These materials have smaller hardness numbers.

[0041] The minimum amount of pressure obtained in the Brinell Hardness test is about 3.1 kgf/sq mm (4,409 psi). At this pressure the 10 mm ball used in the test leaves an indentation approximately equal to its own size in a material having a Brinell Hardness number of about 3.1. This is about the hardness number for pure lead.

[0042] The fisherman in the above mentioned example could achieve this pressure by exerting all of his body weight over an area of about 22 square millimeters (0.0341 square inches). This is an area smaller than the surface area of all four contact portions of a new cleat, but larger than any one of these individual contact portions. This area is also roughly the size of a small rock.

[0043] The surface of the bottom of a stream provides ample pebble sized projections, which can be indented into a cleat. When the force of an individual's weight is transferred to the irregular surfaces of the rocks along the bottom of the surface in which he is standing, portions of the rocks press up into spaces within the cleat. Large rocks will fit between the projections from the cleats themselves. Small rocks or projections will indent into the material if an appropriate pressure is placed upon the cleat by the surface materials within the stream. FIG. 3 shows the same embodiment as FIG. 2A where the additional inclusion of rocks and projections 40 into the cleat surface 22 are shown. The indenting of materials into the cleat gives traction to the person wearing the cleat. In addition, the materials that indent into the cleat a greater traction profile to the cleat by providing a variety of small surfaces over which the wearer's weight is disposed.

[0044] The amount of indentation desired into the cleat, the ease at which the materials will indent and the wear qualities of the cleats would determine the materials to be used to form the cleats. Materials with higher hardness numbers are harder, less likely to be impressed, and will wear more slowly, while those with lower numbers are softer, more easily impressed and wear more quickly. A variety of factors play into the decision of the type of material that the cleat is to be made of. These factors include: the weight of the person; the forces to be placed upon the cleat including distance, terrain, and activity, such as running, walking, standing, jumping or other activities or special circumstances.

[0045] For example, this same 200-lb. fisherman weights approximately 150 lb. (68.04 kg) while standing in waist deep water. If all of this weight was placed upon one object having an area of one square millimeter (0.00155 square inches) the resulting pressure would be the 68.04 kgf/sq mm (about 96,718 psi). This corresponds to a Brinell hardness number of about 68. Thus, this fisherman in water has the ability to indent materials having a surface of area of one square millimeter or less into his cleats if the cleats are made of a material having a Brinell hardness number of about 68 or less. These materials include various alloys of aluminum, some copper alloys, and alloys of tin, magnesium, bismuth, magnesium, some forms of bronze, lead, zinc, and other materials.

[0046] Depending upon the ease at which indentation into the materials is desired and the rate of wear desired various materials may be used. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the cleat is made of an alloy of aluminum, Aluminum 1100, having a hardness of about 23. This alloy of aluminum was determined to be a good material for this application based upon the combination of: resistance to wear; softness, ability to obtain traction; its relative light weight; and its oxidation and reactivity qualities.

[0047] This alloy of aluminum will be indented when a pressure of about 23 kgf/sq mm (32,000 psi) is applied to the material. The 200 lb. wading fisherman in this example can exert this much pressure when placing all of his weight on an area of about 3 square millimeters (0.00465 square inches) or less. This area is the size of small indentations, small pebbles and projections extending from a rock. This material is about three times as soft as the hardest materials that could be indented by an object having an area of 1 millimeter or larger by this fisherman. Other properties such as reactivity, weight and resistance to oxidation and corrosion are also factors to be considered in choosing a material to fashion the cleat from.

[0048] If the fisherman were to be engaged in activities in a location where the buoyant force of the water would not be a significant force to be dealt with, he could exert all of his weight against a one square millimeter area. In this situation the he could exert a pressure of up to about 90 kgf/sq mm. Thus, he could wear cleats made of materials having a Brinell Hardness of less than 90. This would increase the possible number of materials that could be used to include most alloys of aluminum, copper, tin magnesium, bismuth, bronze, lead, zinc as well as other materials.

[0049] A 100-lb. fisherman on dry land could exert a pressure of up to about 45.36 kgf/sq mm, upon a one square millimeter area. This corresponds to a Brinell number of about 45. Thus, this person could use materials having a Brinell number of less than 45. These materials would include some alloys of aluminum, some alloys of copper, lead, tin, and other materials.

[0050] A 300-lb. fisherman on dry land could exert a pressure of up to about 136.kgf/sq mm upon a one square millimeter area. This corresponds to a Brinell number of about 136. Thus, this person could use any of the other previously mentioned materials and also could use some softer types of steel, and some steel alloys. Harder materials may be required when heavier persons are using the cleats in order for the cleats to hold up and prevent rapid wear because of the increased weights and pressures.

[0051] In designing the cleat, the combination of the design and the materials of the present invention should be modified to allow a variety of configurations to be created. These cleat configurations provide traction over a mixture of surfaces in several ways. First, traction is obtained by inserting the projections of the cleat into softer surfaces. Second, traction is obtained by allowing insertion of larger pieces of surface material to be grasped between the projections of the cleat. Third, the yielding of the cleat material to penetration by small pieces of hard material or protrusions on a hard surface allows for traction to be obtained by incorporation of these small pieces within the cleat material. This increases the friction profile of the cleat surface. Depending upon the hardness and abrasive composition of the materials that are indented into the cleat, these incorporated materials may also scratch other surfaces and obtain traction on the rocks in the bottom of a stream.

[0052] From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Traction cleat for use on surfaces of variable hardness and method of making same

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