Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Occupational or athletic shoe
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-28
2001-09-18
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Occupational or athletic shoe
C036S05900D, C036S05900D
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289611
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to shoes, and more particularly to sports shoes having outer soles or outsoles having protrusions to provide increased traction.
Golf shoes are typically comprised of a shoe upper which is attached to some or all of an inner sole, a mid-sole and an outsole. For many years, golf shoes have employed nail-type spikes to increase the traction between the shoe and the grass of the golf course and thereby improve the golfer's footing. These spikes were threaded into sockets carried by a plate mounted on the hidden side of the outsole. Recently, a growing trend has developed away from the use of metal spikes to reduce the incidence of damage to the putting greens.
Initially, golf shoe manufacturers replaced the metal spikes with disc-like, softer spikes composed of a polymeric material, which do less damage to the putting greens. Such soft spikes often utilize the same threaded mounting as did traditional metal spikes, and can be directly substituted in the threaded sockets. New forms of sockets have been developed to accommodate further developments in such soft spikes to improve the traction provided by such spikes and to make it easier and quicker to replace the soft spikes. Some newer golf shoe designs have utilized outsoles having a plurality of integral, pyramid-shaped protrusions instead of spikes. The protrusions are also composed of polymeric material.
The soft spikes and protrusions have reduced the incidence of damage to the putting greens. However, the polymeric material of such soft spikes and protrusions is more susceptible to wear than the metal spikes and must therefore be replaced at more frequent intervals. In an attempt to lengthen the expected lifetime of the soft spikes and protrusions, golf shoe manufacturers have modified the design of the outsoles to include wear bars composed of polymeric material. Such wear bars generally have a rectangular shape and extend downwardly from the surface of the outsole to a support surface which has a much greater surface area than that of the spikes and protrusions. Positioning the wear bars on the outsole is critical to the design of the golf shoe since the wear bars have an adverse effect on traction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly stated, the invention in a preferred form is an outsole for a golf shoe which includes a sole member having an outer surface. A plurality of traction enhancing protrusions and a plurality of spikes extend outwardly from the outer surface of the sole member to a ground engagement tip and at least one ground gripping surface, respectively. The outsole also includes a plurality of longitudinally extending wear bars. Each of the wear bars extends outwardly from the outer surface of the sole member to a pair of ground engagement surfaces which are separated by a notch.
The positions of the spikes and wear bars and the orientation of the wear bars are in part determined by bio-mechanical factors determined by the path of the center of pressure and the forces generated during the golfer's swing. In a preferred embodiment, the outsole for a right shoe has three spikes and three wear bars disposed in the lateral area of the sole portion of the sole member, two spikes and four wear bars disposed in the medial area of the sole portion of the sole member, and a single spike and a single wear bar disposed in each of the lateral and medial areas of the heel portion of the sole member. The outsole for the left shoe has three spikes and three wear bars disposed in the lateral area of the sole portion of the sole member, two spikes and five wear bars disposed in the medial area of the sole portion of the sole member, and a single spike and a single wear bar disposed in each of the lateral and medial areas of the heel portion of the sole member. The spikes and the wear bars of the sole portion are longitudinally spaced.
Each of the wear bars has first and second sides and oppositely disposed ends. The first and second sides converge at the ends at an acute angle to define vertically extending end ridges. The notch defines a pair of oppositely disposed dimples in the first and second sides of the wear bar.
It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved outsole for a golf shoe.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an outsole for a golf shoe having wear bars that provide improved traction with the ground and which reduce the rate of wear of other traction-enhancing elements of the outsole.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the drawings and specification.
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Patterson Chad
Singer Joel A.
Mohandesi J.
Sewell Paul T.
Spalding Sports Worldwide Inc.
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