U.S. patent application number 12/527172 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-29 for sports shoe.
This patent application is currently assigned to MEMPHIS COMPANY LIMITED. Invention is credited to John Serafino, Sophie Serafino.
Application Number | 20100101116 12/527172 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39689541 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100101116 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Serafino; John ; et
al. |
April 29, 2010 |
Sports Shoe
Abstract
A football/soccer shoe (1) is disclosed. The shoe (1) includes a
shoe body (3) having a heel (5) at one end and a toe (7) at the
other, with sides (9) extending therebetween. The toe (7) includes
a concave portion (11) for engaging a football/soccer ball during
kicking of the ball. The concave portion (11) has a radius of
around 11 cm, which substantially corresponds to that of a standard
football/soccer ball.
Inventors: |
Serafino; John; (New South
Wales, AU) ; Serafino; Sophie; (New South Wales,
AU) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TOWNSEND AND TOWNSEND AND CREW, LLP
TWO EMBARCADERO CENTER, EIGHTH FLOOR
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94111-3834
US
|
Assignee: |
MEMPHIS COMPANY LIMITED
Tortola
VG
|
Family ID: |
39689541 |
Appl. No.: |
12/527172 |
Filed: |
February 12, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
February 12, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/AU2008/000174 |
371 Date: |
December 15, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/128 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 5/02 20130101; A43B
23/087 20130101; A43B 5/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/128 |
International
Class: |
A43B 5/02 20060101
A43B005/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 14, 2007 |
AU |
2007900738 |
Claims
1. A sports shoe comprising: a shoe body having a toe at one end
and a heel at the other end, said toe having a concave portion for
engaging a sports ball.
2. A sports shoe according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion
has a radius that substantially corresponds to a radius of a sports
ball of a sport in which the shoe is intended to be used.
3. A sports shoe according to claim 1, wherein the shoe is a
football/soccer shoe.
4. A sports shoe according to claim 1, wherein the shoe is a rugby
league, rugby union, American football, Australian rules football
or cricket shoe.
5. A sports shoe according to claim 1, further comprising padding
on the inside of the shoe adjacent the concave portion.
6. A sports shoe comprising a concave toe portion for engaging a
sports ball.
7. A sports shoe according to claim 6, wherein the concave toe
portion has a radius that substantially corresponds to a radius of
a sports ball of a sport in which the shoe is intended to be
used.
8. A sports shoe according to claim 6, wherein the shoe is a
football/soccer shoe.
9. A sports shoe according to claim 6, wherein the shoe is a rugby
league, rugby union, American football, Australian rules football
or cricket shoe.
10. A sports shoe according to claim 6, further comprising
reinforcement adjacent the concave toe portion for reinforcing the
concave toe portion.
11. A sports shoe according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcement
includes a frame extending from the concave portion toward the
heel.
12. A sports shoe according to claim 11, wherein the frame includes
a plurality of ribs extending around the periphery of the body.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates generally to a sports shoe and
more particularly to a shoe for ball sports.
[0002] The invention has been developed primarily for use as a
football/soccer shoe and will be described hereinafter with
reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that
the invention is not limited to this particular field and may also
be used in other ball sports, such as rugby league, rugby union,
Australian rules football, American football and cricket.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Known football/soccer shoes have, when viewed from above, a
convex toe having a relatively small radius and adjacent curved
sides having a relatively larger radius. Moreover, the sides of the
shoe are typically relatively softer than the toe of the shoe.
[0004] Due to the small radius of the toe, it is difficult to
accurately direct a ball kicked on the is toe of the shoe. This is
because a relatively minor change in the point of impact of the
ball with the toe of the shoe can result in large variations in the
direction of a tangent to the toe at the point of impact and,
therefore, the resulting direction of the kicked ball. Accordingly,
it is more common for players to kick balls on the side of the
shoe, where the larger radius means that the point of impact with
the ball has a much lower influence on the resulting kicked ball
direction.
[0005] However, a disadvantage of kicking balls on the side of the
shoe is that less energy is transferred to the ball compared to a
toe kick. This inefficiency is created due to the side being softer
than the toe. Further, a kick on the side of the shoe must be made
with a less-efficient sweeping motion, rather than a motion in-line
with the natural alignment of the leg, as is the case with a toe
kick.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is the object of the present invention to substantially
overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the above
disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention
provides a sports shoe comprising: a shoe body having a toe at one
end and a heel at the other end, said toe having a concave portion
for engaging a sports ball.
[0008] The concave portion preferably has a radius that
substantially corresponds to a radius of a sports ball of a sport
in which the shoe is intended to be used.
[0009] The shoe is preferably a football/soccer shoe. However, in
other embodiments, the shoe is a rugby league, rugby union,
American football, Australian rules football or cricket shoe.
[0010] In another aspect, the present invention provides a sports
shoe having a concave toe portion for engaging a sports ball.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be
described, by way of examples only, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment
of a sports shoe; and
[0013] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment of a
sports shoe.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a preferred embodiment
of a football/soccer shoe 1. The football/soccer shoe 1 includes a
shoe body 3 having a heel 5 at one end and a toe 7 at the other,
with sides 9 extending therebetween. The toe 7 includes a concave
portion 11 for engaging a football/soccer ball during kicking of
the ball. The concave portion 11 has a radius of around 11 cm,
which substantially corresponds to that of a standard
football/soccer ball. Padding (not shown) is also provided on the
inside of the shoe 1 adjacent the concave portion 11 to absorb
forces applied to the shoe 1 during a toe kick and reduce the
transfer of such forces to the wearer's foot.
[0015] The concave portion 11 is of molded construction, utilising
plastics or other synthetic materials, or steel. The concave
portion 11 is also reinforced to withstand forces applied thereto
during kicking of the ball.
[0016] The football/soccer shoe 1 is constructed with a rubber sole
and a leather upper, as is well known in the art. The fronts of the
shoe upper and sole are shaped appropriately to conform to the
geometry of the concave portion 11.
[0017] Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a second embodiment of a
sports shoe 1, where reference numerals corresponding with those of
FIG. 1 indicate corresponding features. However, in the sports shoe
1 of FIG. 2, the concave portion 11 is reinforced by reinforcement,
in the form of a frame 12, which extends from the concave portion
11 toward the heel 5 of the shoe 1. The frame 12 includes a
plurality of ribs 14 spaced apart around the inside periphery of
the shoe 1. The frame 12 is constructed from a rigid plastic or
other rigid synthetic material, or steel.
[0018] It will be appreciated that the concave portion 11 allows
the ball to be kicked relatively accurately on the toe 7. Moreover,
due to the ball being kicked on the toe 7, more energy is
transferred to the kicked ball for the reasons mentioned above,
resulting in the kicked ball having a higher velocity. When used in
cricket, the shoe 1 can also facilitate faster walking, due to the
removal of the point of the toe usually provided in cricket
shoes.
[0019] Whilst the invention has been described with reference to a
specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that it may also be
embodied in many other forms. For example, the shoe upper may be
formed of synthetic material, or a combination of leather and a
synthetic material. In some embodiments, additional reinforcement
and/or padding may be provided inwardly of the concave portion to
reduce the force transmitted to a wearer's foot during a toe
kick.
* * * * *