Athletic Shoe And Cleat

Abstract

An athletic shoe and cleat wherein the exposed portion of the cleat is formed of a polyhedron forming at least two lines in a common plane, with one of the lines extending at a greater angle with respect to the sole of the shoe than the other of the lines. A portion of the planes forming the polyhedron each have a vertex lying in a common point to form an apex which is engaged by the ground, and the exposed portion of the cleat is manually movable with respect to the sole of the shoe to a plurality of angular positions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an athletic shoe and cleat, and, more particularly, to such a shoe and cleat whereby the cleat is formed of a polyhedron having a plurality of inclined plane surfaces.

In athletic contests, such as football, soccer, rugby, etc., the ankles and knees of the players are subjected to sudden stresses and strains in running, jumping, dodging, turning, and cutting, etc. Although many prior attempts have been made to design an athletic shoe with the goal of eliminating, or at least minimizing, these type injuries, they have been largely unsuccessful. As a result, more than half of the injuries to the legs and knees of football players, for example, are results from the design of the cleat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe and cleat whereby the cleat is formed of a polyhedron having a series of inclined plane surfaces together defining line contact surfaces which prevent the cleat, and therefore the shoe, from becoming firmly implanted in the ground, and which therefore increases the mobility of the leg and renders it less susceptible to injury.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe and cleat of the above type in which an increased surface area is presented for contact with the ground thus permitting greater traction, and in which a line surface extends at a relatively large angle with respect to the sole of the shoe to aid in pushing off from the ground during fast starts.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe and cleat of the above type in which the above-mentioned inclined surfaces form an apex which initially engages the ground.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe and cleat of the above type in which one portion of the cleat is adjustable to a plurality of angular positions with respect to the sole of the shoe.

Toward the fulfillment of these objects, the athletic shoe and cleat of the present invention features the use of an exposed cleat portion that is formed of a polyhedron forming at least two lines in a common plane, with one of the lines extending at a greater angle with respect to the sole of the shoe than the other of the lines. A portion of the planes forming the polyhedron each have a vertex lying in a common point to form an apex which is engaged by the ground. The exposed portion of the cleat is connected, via resilient means, with respect to the sole of the shoe, to permit manual movement of the exposed portion to a plurality of angular positions with respect to the sole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings for a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention. The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the objects of the invention and are not to be construed as restrictions or limitations on its scope. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of an athletic shoe and cleats according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the shoe of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view showing a cleat formed according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the cleat of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cleat of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the cleat of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing a portion of the surface of the cleat of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 9 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2 an athletic shoe 10 is shown having a sole 12, and a plurality of exposed cleat portions 14 extending therefrom.

The design and arrangement of the cleats is better shown with a reference to FIGS. 3--9. In particular each cleat is formed of a cylindrical portion 16 which is adapted to be embedded in, and fixed with respect to, the sole of the shoe in a known manner. The exposed cleat portion 14 extends outward from the sole and is in the form of a polyhedron having a plurality of plane surfaces, 18, 20, 22, 26 and 28. In the operable position of the cleat, the plane surface 18 extends horizontal in engagement with the bottom portion of the sole of the shoe, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The plane surfaces 20 and 22 are triangular shaped, are inclined with respect to the sole, and meet at a common line 24. The plane surfaces 26 and 28 are also triangular shaped and inclined with respect to the sole. They meet at a common line 30 and share a common line 34 and 36 with the plane surface 20 and 22, respectively.

The exposed portions 14 of the majority of the cleats are normally positioned so that the line 24 extends from front to rear with respect to the shoe, and so that the line 30 extends from rear to front as better shown in FIG. 4. Further, the line 30 extends at a greater angle with respect to the sole than does the line 24. In this manner, a relatively large pushoff angle is provided by the line 30.

As stated above, the plane surfaces 20 and 26 meet along a common line 34 which normally extends in a general lateral direction with respect to the shoe, and the plane surfaces 22 and 28 meet along a similar line 36. Thus, a line contact is also presented in the lateral direction.

With the above arrangement, the cleat presents only a line contact for engaging the ground in the front, rear and lateral directions. Therefore, a relatively small surface would have to be released from the ground upon a large force being applied to the cleat as a result of a sudden stop, start, or impact in that particular direction. This is achieved without sacrificing the traction necessary for running, cutting, dodging, etc.

The plane surfaces 20, 22, 26, and 28 can each be formed with a plurality of small grooves or indentations which are shown by the lines in FIGS. 3--6, and in particular in FIG. 7, which is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of one of these surfaces. These shaped grooves are shown in general by the reference numeral 38, and, although they are shown as having a V-shaped cross section, it is understood that they can take other forms, such as raised portions, cutouts, etc., in order to provide a suction effect during wet weather.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the manner in which the exposed portion 14 of the cleat is fixed to the shoe and the relative movement afforded between the portions of the cleat. In particular, the cylindrical cleat portion 16 is embedded into a socket formed in the sole of the shoe in any known manner, the bottom surface of the sole being represented by the line L in FIG. 8. The exposed portion 14 of the cleat shown below the line L is movable axially and angularly with respect thereto to the cleat portion 16. This movement is achieved by means of an assembly including a threaded bolt 40 which extends through the cylindrical cleat portion 16 into a cavity 41 formed by hollow portions formed in the cylindrical cleat portion 16 and the exposed cleat portion 14. A nut 42 is disposed in the cavity 41 and is threaded on the end of the bolt 40. A spring 44 is provided between the nut and a shoulder portion 45 of the upper portion 46a of the plug member 46, and normally extends within the above-mentioned cavity. The spring engages the nut 42 to prevent rotation of the same so that rotation of the bolt will regulate the degree of compression of the axial position of the nut and the spring 44. The lower portion 46b of the plug member 46 has a cylindrical groove 47 formed in the outer wall thereof, in which a flange 48 on the internal wall of the exposed cleat portion 14 extends to secure the latter portion with respect to the plug member. Therefore upon axial movement of the exposed cleat portion 14 with respect to the cylindrical portion 16 in a downward direction as viewed in FIG. 8, the plug portion 46 will move in the same direction causing the shoulder portion 45 to engage and thereby further compress the spring 44 against the stationary nut to permit limited axial movement of the exposed cleat portion 14.

As better shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of teeth 50 are formed on the outer surface of the upper portion 46a of the plug member 46 which are adapted to mesh with a plurality of teeth 52 provided on the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 16 in the normal position of the exposed cleat portion 14 as shown. Therefore, in the event it is desired to change the angular position of the exposed cleat portion 14 with respect to the shoe, this exposed portion can be simply pulled out from the sole causing the above-mentioned movement of the plug member 46 and resulting movement of the teeth 50 out of engagement with the teeth 52. The exposed cleat portion 14 can then be rotated in either direction and released to effect a different meshing arrangement of the teeth 50 and 52 and thereby secure the exposed portion in another angular position.

Referring again to FIG. 1 it is seen that five exposed cleat portions 14 are shown extending at a substantially different angles, and it can be appreciated that the number of cleats, their position, and their angle can be changed in accordance with different requirements. For example, in the game of football, for example, a flanker back, which engages in a relatively large amount of running, may desire a different angular position of his exposed cleat portions 14 than a relatively immobile interior lineman. Also, it is noted that the general position of the exposed cleat portions 14 are reversed on the heel portion of the shoe with respect to the toe portion. This is to provide adequate backup movement afforded by the relatively large inclined line 30.

It is understood the variations of the above may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a male member similar to the cylindrical cleat portion 16 may extend partially from the bottom of the sole of the shoe and may be adapted to extend with a socket formed in the cleat to secure the cleat with respect to the shoe. Also, one or more portions of the cleat may be molded integral with respect to the sole, in the event it is not necessary to adjust the angular position of the cleat.

Other variations of the specific construction and arrangement of the athletic shoe and cleat disclosed above can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A cleat for a shoe, said cleat being formed of a polyhedron, at least a portion of the faces of said polyhedron having edges which form at least two lines extending in a common plane, one of said lines extending at a greater angle with respect to a plane perpendicular to said common plane than the other of said lines.

2. A cleat for a shoe, said cleat being formed of a polyhedron, one plane surface forming said polyhedron being adapted to engage the bottom of the sole of said shoe, and the remaining plane surfaces forming said polyhedron each having a vertex lying at a common point forming an apex.

3. A cleat for a shoe, said cleat comprising a first portion adapted to be fixed with respect to a sole of a shoe, a second portion adapted to engage the ground, resilient means connecting said portions together to permit manual movement of said second portion with respect to said first portion, and means to retain said second portion in a plurality of angular positions with respect to said first portion.

4. A shoe having a sole, a cleat disposed on said sole and having at least a portion extending outwardly therefrom, the outwardly extending portion being formed of a polyhedron, at least a portion of the faces of said polyhedron having edges which form at least two lines extending in a common plane, one of said lines extending at a greater angle with respect to said sole than the other of said lines.

5. The cleat of claim 4 wherein said one of said lines extends from the sole of said shoe in a general frontward direction with respect to said shoe, and said other of said lines extends from the sole of said shoe in a general rearward direction with respect to said shoe.

6. A shoe having a sole, a cleat disposed on said sole and having at least a portion extending outwardly therefrom, the outwardly extending portion being formed of a polyhedron, one plane surface forming said polyhedron engaging the bottom of the sole of said shoe, and the remaining plane surfaces forming said polyhedron each having a vertex lying at a common point to form an apex.

7. The shoe of claim 6 wherein said apex is the outermost portion of said cleat and is adapted to initially engage the ground.

8. A shoe having a sole, a cleat disposed on said sole and having a first portion fixed with respect to said sole, a second portion adapted to engage the ground, resilient means connecting said portions together to permit manual movement of said second portion with respect to said sole, and means to retain said second portion in a plurality of angular positions with respect to said sole.