Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Occupational or athletic shoe
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-14
2001-06-19
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Occupational or athletic shoe
C036S062000, C036S064000, C036S06700D
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247253
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a removable cleat that is mounted on a snowshoe, and in particular to a removable cleat that is mounted on a peripheral frame portion of a snowshoe with a band clamp that provides traction on slippery surfaces.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Snowshoes are designed to provide a user with floatation when walking on the snow. Snowshoes generally have an outer frame made from wood, metal or plastic that supports an interior decking. A binding enables the user's footwear to be secured to the snowshoe. The frame and decking provide displacement of the user's body weight over a surface area that is greater than that provided by conventional footwear, thereby enabling floatation of the snowshoe across the surface of the snow.
Snowshoe frame and decking designs have not changed much in recent years. Since the design criteria must satisfy the objective of weight distribution, all snowshoe designs tend to have the same general size, shape and weight. Recent approaches in snowshoe design depart from the more traditional ones by molding the frame and decking of plastic into an integrated unit. This approach tends to reduce the cost of manufacturing the snowshoes and also provides a continuous surface area to which traction enhancing devices, such as cleats, can be permanently attached.
Bindings are also an important part of snowshoe design. There are as many different approaches to binding design as there are different snowshoe designs. Comfort, ease of use, control and durability describe the best bindings of the art. Many designs employ an ice crampon under the center of the binding that pivots downward as the user steps forward to aid with traction. For example, Klebahn et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,630 describes a binding mounted crampon. In addition to the crampon, a metal cleat is screwed or riveted to the decking material below the user's heel to permanently mount the cleat to the snowshoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As a part of the present invention, it is recognized that when a snowshoe is used, the user's weight is transferred from the footbed region of the snowshoe to the suspended area of the decking material and out to the frame. As a result, the gripping ability of traction devices mounted on the decking or in the binding area of the snowshoe is insufficient in many conditions. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an ice cleat that is able to be mounted to the outer frame of the snowshoe for providing traction on icy or hard-packed snow conditions.
As another part of the present invention, it is recognized that users of snowshoes encounter many different types of conditions, such as deep powdery snow, deep snow with a top layer of ice, hard packed snow and solid ice. While traction devices provide mechanical gripping that is desired on icy or hard-packed snow, traction devices inhibit the snowshoe from easily sliding over snow in looser conditions, such as powdery snow. Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide a readily removable ice cleat that is easily mounted or clamped onto the frame of a snowshoe, preferably on the outer periphery of the snowshoe frame, for use in hard packed snow or icy conditions wherein the ice cleats are removable from the snowshoe frame for looser snow conditions, such as powdery snow.
It is yet another object of the present invention to enable a user to mount a selected number of ice cleats, as the conditions warrant, to a peripheral frame of an existing (previously manufactured) snowshoe to enable the user to experience enhanced traction ability of the snowshoe on hard-packed snow and icy surfaces without substantial modification to existing snowshoes.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an ice cleat that is removably mounted on a snowshoe frame that has angled, downwardly facing spikes that are securely mounted to the snowshoe frame. The downwardly facing, outwardly angled spikes prevent snow and ice from being compacted into the space between the spikes, thereby minimizing the need for cleaning the spikes. Further, even when the tips of the angled spikes become rounded over time as a result of use of the cleats, the cleats still provide sufficient traction.
Preferably, the ice cleat of the present invention has a metal band that is clamped around an outer frame member of a snowshoe without modification to the snowshoe frame being required. Further, preferably the band is adjustable to accommodate a range of outer diameters of the outer frame member of snowshoes of various snowshoe designs. The band is constricted in diameter about the outer frame member of the snowshoe to tightly secure the ice cleat to the outer frame member with the spikes pointing downwardly and angled outwardly from the band.
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Cabela's Mid-Winter Sale Catalog, “Denali Llama Showshoes”, p. 62, and “Cabela's Outfitter Snowshoes”, p. 63.
Mattingly Stanger & Malur, P.C.
Sewell Paul T.
Stashick Anthony
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