U.S. patent application number 13/487354 was filed with the patent office on 2012-10-25 for handy spur structure.
This patent application is currently assigned to EASTWEST INTERNATIONAL (TAIWAN) ENTERPRISES. Invention is credited to HSI-CHANG CHANG.
Application Number | 20120266575 13/487354 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47020204 |
Filed Date | 2012-10-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120266575 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHANG; HSI-CHANG |
October 25, 2012 |
HANDY SPUR STRUCTURE
Abstract
A handy spur structure related to a continuation-in-part
application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/7261860
includes: a spur main body, which is a curved rigid body adapted to
a configuration of a heel section of a rider's shoe/boot, the spur
main body having at least one post outward protruding from a middle
section of the spur main body; and a soft and elastic lining member
disposed on a portion of an inner circumference of the spur main
body that is closer to a lower edge thereof. Multiple
recessed/raised anti-slip stripes are formed on a surface of the
lining member. The junction face between the spur main body and the
lining member is more approximately orthogonal to the direction of
the action force when treading on a horse's belly, whereby the
possibility of peeling of the lining member from the spur main body
along the junction face is minimized.
Inventors: |
CHANG; HSI-CHANG; (TAICHUNG,
TW) |
Assignee: |
EASTWEST INTERNATIONAL (TAIWAN)
ENTERPRISES
TAICHUNG
TW
|
Family ID: |
47020204 |
Appl. No.: |
13/487354 |
Filed: |
June 4, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12726860 |
Mar 18, 2010 |
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13487354 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
54/83.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43C 17/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
54/83.1 |
International
Class: |
A43C 17/02 20060101
A43C017/02 |
Claims
1. A handy spur structure comprising: a spur main body, which is a
curved rigid body adapted to a configuration of a heel section of a
rider's shoe/boot; and a lining member disposed on a portion of an
inner circumference of the spur main body that is closer to a lower
edge of the spur main body, the lining member being made of a soft
and elastic material.
2. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
junction face is formed between the spur main body and the lining
member, the junction face being outward upward inclined on the
basis of the lining member.
3. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
junction face is a plane face.
4. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
junction face is an arched face.
5. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein multiple
recessed/raised anti-slip stripes are formed on a surface of the
lining member.
6. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4,
wherein the spur main body has two end sections each of which is
formed with at least one strap slot, whereby a strap can be passed
through the strap slots of the spur main body and fastened around
an instep of the rider's shoe/boot.
7. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the spur
main body has two end sections each of which is formed with at
least one strap slot, whereby a strap can be passed through the
strap slots of the spur main body and fastened around an instep of
the rider's shoe/boot.
8. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4,
wherein the spur main body has a post outward protruding from a
portion of the spur main body, which portion is adjacent to the
heel section of the rider's shoe/boot.
9. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the spur
main body has a post outward protruding from a portion of the spur
main body, which portion is adjacent to the heel section of the
rider's shoe/boot.
10. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
spur main body has a post outward protruding from a portion of the
spur main body, which portion is adjacent to the heel section of
the rider's shoe/boot.
11. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4,
wherein the spur main body is a U-shaped rigid body.
12. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the
spur main body is a U-shaped rigid body.
13. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
spur main body is a U-shaped rigid body.
14. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 8, wherein the
spur main body is a U-shaped rigid body.
15. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4,
wherein the lining member is made of thermoplastic urethane (TPU)
elastomer.
16. The handy spur structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the
lining member is made of thermoplastic urethane (TPU) elastomer.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/726,860, entitled "handy spur
structure", currently pending.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to an improved handy
spur structure, and more particularly to a spur structure, which is
anti-peeling, anti-slip and anti-wear and is not liable to abrade
the surface of a shoe/boot.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A conventional spur is secured to the heel of a rider's boot
by means of a strap for contacting the belly of a horse. U.S. Pat.
No. 7,552,576, entitled "spur with removable end piece", discloses
a spur for equitation. The spur includes a U-shaped main body and
an end piece for contacting a portion of a body of an animal being
ridden. The main body includes two arms terminating in ends. Each
end has slots, through which a strap may be threaded for securing
the spur to a rider's boot or shoe. The main body further includes
a protruding post terminating in a flattened portion. The end piece
is removably attached to the post. In use, the main body is fitted
onto a heel section of the rider's boot or shoe. Then the strap is
passed underneath the boot or shoe and fastened around an instep
thereof to secure the spur to the boot or the shoe.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,931, entitled "strap-attached spur",
discloses a substantially U-shaped body with two lateral bars and a
base part between the lateral bars. Each lateral bar has a free
end. Two spur strap eyelets are provided for in each free end of
each lateral bar. A spur protrudes from a middle section of the
base part in opposite direction from the two lateral bars. In use,
the base part is fitted onto a heel section of a rider's shoe/boot.
A spur strap is passed through the strap eyelets of the lateral
bars and fastened around an instep of the shoe/boot to secure the
spur to the shoe/boot.
[0007] In horse riding, a rider frequently kicks (reversely treads
on) a lateral side of the belly of a horse with the spur secured to
the heel of the rider's boot. Therefore, the spur must have a
certain structural strength to ensure that the spur can bear
continuous impact for a long time and the spur is durable to a
certain extent. Most of the early-stage spurs are made of metal
materials. Such metal-made spur has a considerably heavy weight and
is manufactured at higher cost. Thank to the advance of material
technique and processing method, many kinds of hard plastic-made
spur products have been developed recently. Most of the existent
spur products (including the spur structures disclosed in the above
two patents) are single-material products with relatively high
hardness. Moreover, in use, the spur is kept in contact with the
shoe or boot. Accordingly, the surface of the shoe or boot is very
liable to be abraded by the spur under continuous impact.
[0008] Moreover, both the spur structure and the shoe or boot have
polished surfaces in contact with each other and the spur structure
is secured to the shoe or boot simply by means of the strap. As a
result, in use of the spur, the spur tends to slip on the shoe or
boot and displace or deflect away from its true position. This will
cause inconvenience in use of the spur. To overcome this problem,
various improved spur products have been developed recently. The
improved spur has a section made of relatively soft material.The
soft section covers a portion of the main body of the spur that is
liable to contact a shoe or a boot so as to provide protection
effect for the shoe or boot. In form and structural design, the
improved spurs can be substantially divided into an enclosure type,
which has an enclosure member for fully enclosing the hard U-shaped
main body of the spur and a lining type, which has a soft lining
member disposed on the inner circumference of the hard U-shaped
main body of the spur that is liable to contact a shoe or a boot so
as to provide an impact buffering effect. With respect to the full
enclosure type of spur, a large part of the soft material is
wasted. On the other hand, with respect to the lining type of spur,
it often takes place that the soft lining member is forcedly peeled
off from the hard U-shaped main body of the spur in use.
[0009] The reason why the lining member is likely to peel off from
the hard spur main body in use is that a rider generally kicks or
treads on the lateral side of a horse's belly with the spur
approximately at a lower part of the lateral side of the horse's
belly. This part has a slightly downward inclined curved face (as
shown in FIG. 6). Therefore, when kicking this part with the spur,
the reaction force exerted on the spur by the lateral side of the
horse's belly generally is not normal to the free end of the
protruding post of the spur, but is slightly directed downward in
the form of an oblique action force P. In this case, the action
force and reaction force between the spur main body and the heel of
the shoe/boot are also non-orthogonal to each other. Accordingly,
the direction of the action force and reaction force is
non-orthogonal to the junction face between the soft lining member
and the hard U-shaped main body to produce shear stress. As a
result, after a long period of use, the soft lining member disposed
on the inner circumference of the hard U-shaped main body of the
spur is very liable to peel off from the spur main body along the
junction face under the shear stress.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide an improved handy spur structure, which not only can
increase friction force between the spur structure and a rider's
shoe/boot to avoid slippage of the spur structure on the shoe/boot,
but also can further provide a better design of connection between
the spur main body and the soft lining member so as to overcome the
problem of the conventional spur that the soft lining member is
liable to peel off from the spur main body along the junction face
under shear stress.
[0011] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
the above improved handy spur structure in which a portion in
contact with the shoe/boot has better anti-wear property so that
the lifetime of the spur product is prolonged.
[0012] It is still a further object of the present invention to
provide the above improved handy spur structure in which a soft and
thicker material is disposed on a portion of the spur main body in
orthogonal contact with the shoe/boot so that the abrasion of the
shoe/boot can be more effectively minimized.
[0013] To achieve the above and other objects, the handy spur
structure of the present invention includes a spur main body and a
soft and elastic lining member. The spur main body is a curved
rigid body adapted to a configuration of a heel section of a
rider's shoe/boot. The lining member is disposed on an inner
circumference of the spur main body.
[0014] In the above handy spur structure, multiple recessed/raised
anti-slip stripes are formed on a surface of the lining member for
keeping the spur structure from slipping on the shoe/boot and
avoiding abrasion thereof.
[0015] In the above handy spur structure, the spur main body has
two end sections each of which is formed with at least one strap
slot. A strap can be passed through the strap slots of the spur
main body and fastened around an instep of the shoe/boot to secure
the spur main body to the shoe/boot.
[0016] The present invention can be best understood through the
following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing that the spur structure
of the present invention is connected with a strap;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a side view showing the application of the present
invention to a boot;
[0021] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the junction face between
the spur main body and the lining member of the present invention;
and
[0022] FIG. 6 is a sectional view according to FIG. 5, showing that
a rider treads on a lateral side of a horse's belly with the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 4. The handy spur structure of
the present invention includes a spur main body 1 and a lining
member 2. The spur main body 1 is a curved (substantially U-shaped)
rigid body made of hard plastic. The spur main body 1 has two end
sections each of which is formed with at least one strap slot 11
for a strap 3 to pass therethrough. A middle section of the spur
main body 1 has an outward protruding post 12. The lining member 2
is disposed on a portion of an inner circumference of the spur main
body 1 that is liable to contact a shoe/boot 4. Preferably, the
lining member 2 is disposed on a portion of the inner circumference
of the spur main body 1 that is closer to a lower edge of the spur
main body 1. The junction face 22 (13) between the lining member 2
and the spur main body 1 is outward upward inclined on the basis of
the lining member 2 (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6). The junction face
22 (13) can be a plane face or an arched face. The lining member 2
can be made of a soft elastic material such as thermoplastic
urethane (TPU) elastomer or the like material. Accordingly, the
lining member 2 is soft, elastic, anti-wear and bending-resistant.
In addition, multiple recessed/raised anti-slip stripes 21 are
formed on a surface of the lining member 2 for increasing friction
force.
[0024] In use, the spur main body 1 is fit ted onto a heel sect ion
of a rider's shoe/boot 4. Then the strap 3 is passed underneath the
shoe/boot 4 and fastened around an instep of the shoe/boot 4 to
secure the spur main body 1 to the heel section of the shoe/boot 4.
In this case, the post 12 rearward extends from the heel section.
The lining member 2 is disposed on the portion of the inner
circumference of the spur main body 1 that is liable to contact the
shoe/boot 4, and preferably disposed on the portion that is closer
to the lower edge of the spur main body 1. Under such circumstance,
the lining member 2 is in contact with the shoe/boot 4 to serve as
a soft and elastic cushioning member. When the rider treads on a
lateral side of a horse's belly with the heel section of the
rider's shoe/boot 4 and the spur, the lining member 2 provides a
buffering effect to reduce the surface abrasion of the shoe/boot 4.
Moreover, the lining member 2 is positioned right between the inner
circumference of the spur main body 1 and an impacted portion of
the heel so that the lining member 2 can provide an optimal
buffering effect. In addition, as aforesaid, the junction face 22
(13) between the spur main body 1 and the lining member 2 is
outward upward inclined. Therefore, the junction face 22 (13) is
approximately orthogonal to (perpendicular to) the direction of the
action force and reaction force produced when treading on the
horse's body. In this case, the non-orthogonal tangential force
(shear stress) applied to the junction face 22 (13) due to the
action force and the reaction force can be reduced. Accordingly,
the possibility of peeling of the lining member 2 from the spur
main body 1 along the junction face 22 (13) is minimized. The
material of the lining member 2 has a property of high adhesion and
is formed with the anti-slip stripes 21. Therefore, the spur main
body 1 is not liable to slip on the shoe/boot 4 away from its true
position. Accordingly, the rider can more conveniently use the spur
structure to control a horse.
[0025] In conclusion, the handy spur structure of the present
invention is anti-slip and anti-wear and is not liable to abrade
the surface of the shoe/boot 4.
[0026] The above embodiment is only used to illustrate the present
invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many
modifications of the above embodiment can be made without departing
from the spirit of the present invention.
* * * * *