Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Occupational or athletic shoe
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-11
2001-04-03
Kavanaugh, Ted (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Occupational or athletic shoe
C036S134000, C036S05900D
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209230
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
Athletic shoes for use in sporting activities often employ spikes protruding from the soles of the shoes for better traction. Referring to
FIG. 1
, golf shoes such as shoe
60
traditionally have a series of individual spikes
62
protruding from the sole
60
a
which extend downwardly about 8 mm from respective base flanges
64
mounted to the sole
60
a
. Spikes
62
are long enough to penetrate into the soil
36
to provide traction. Recently, golf courses have begun to prohibit the use of these traditional golf spikes due to the damage they cause to the turf, particularly to golf course greens.
The response of golf spike manufacturers to the prohibition of traditional spikes is to position a series of small protrusions
66
approximately 2 mm high in a circular pattern on a traditional spike base flange
64
as seen in
FIG. 2. A
drawback of this approach is that little ground engaging ability is provided particularly on wet surfaces resulting in sub-standard support and protection for the golfer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to cleats for footwear such as golf shoes which provide support similar to traditional spikes while at the same time do not damage turf such as golf course greens. The present invention footwear cleat includes a central hub portion and a series of protrusions or projections cantilevered from and extending radially outward from the hub portion for engaging turf.
In preferred embodiments, the protrusions also extend slightly downwardly beyond the hub portion. When the cleat is secured to a footwear sole, the protrusions are spaced away from the footwear sole. The cleat is formed from flexible plastic so that the protrusions are resilient and are capable of deflecting upwardly. The protrusions are curved with a first convex edge and a second concave edge and the second edge is preferably shorter than the first edge. A threaded portion extends from the central hub portion for securing the cleat to footwear.
While traditional spikes are designed to penetrate turf, the cleat of the present invention is not adapted to provide traction between the footwear and the turf by penetrating the turf. Should a user of the present cleat invention cleat start to slip in any direction on a fairway or in a rough area with a hilly surface, the protrusions snare strands of turf above the soil, trapping some grass in the area between the protrusions and the sole of the footwear. However, when walking on a relatively flat, firm surface such as golf greens, the weight of the user causes the protrusions to deflect or fold upwardly retracting the protrusions from engagement with the turf. This renders the cleats dormant and prevents damage to surfaces such as golf greens. Most golf greens are relatively flat surfaces so that traction is generally not needed and there is little chance of slipping while walking without traction. An additional benefit of the present cleat invention is that footwear including the cleats can be worn indoors without damaging the flooring due to the soft plastic material of the cleats and the fact that the cleat protrusions become inactivated or detented when pressed upon the flooring.
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Advertisement “Introducing Gripper Golf Cleats”, Feb. 1997.
Advertisement for Softspikes (1996).
“Retail Report—Big Step for Softspikes,” Nov. 5, 1996.
Purkey, M., “The Spikeless Debate,” Nov. 5, 1996.
“#10 Softspikes,” Golf World, p. 65, 1996 Annual Issue.
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