AU677033B2 - Winter golf shoe spikes - Google Patents

Description

4-1- TITLE OF INVENTION: WINTER GOLF SHOE SPIKES

INVENTORS:

ERNIE L. DEACON, 319 MEADOWBROOK DRIVE, NAMPA, IDAHO 83686; FARIS W. MC MULLIN, 10907 WEST HIGHLANDER ROAD, BOISE, IDAHO 83709 D E S C R I P T ION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application claims the priority of U. S. Patent Application Serial No. 08/106,205, originally filed August 13, 1993, entitled WINTER GOLF SHOE SPIKES.

Technical Field. This invention generally relates to cleat devices for shoes. More particularly, this inven- .:tion relates to detachable cleats or "spikes" for golf shoes which are suitable for winter play.

Background Art. During the winter months, some greens 20 keepers of golf courses prohibit the use of standard metal golf shoe spikes bedcause of their detrimental effect on the fairways and greens of the golf course. This is especially true in the northern states where the dormancy period of grass can exceed six to nine months.

Many avid golfers continue golfing regularly throughout the winter months, even though they cannot use spikes.

"1 e Until the instant invention, the only alternative for winter golfers who usually wear spikes has been to wear tennis shoes which do not damage the golf course. Besides the problem of not providing sufficient traction to the golfer, this tennis shoes approach requires an additional investment by the golfer in a second pair of shoes.

Fig. of the drawings shows a typical prior art metal spiked golf shoe, which is there denoted as 1.

A plurality of metal spikes 4 are attached to the sole 2 of golf shoe 1. Each metal spike 4 includes a molded unitary body 5 having a disk-shaped flange 7, and a threaded stud 9 formed on the upper surface of the flange. A pointed protuberance, or spike, 6 is formed on the bottom surface of the flange to provide traction for the wearer. A pair of installation tool 1. 0 engagement holes 8 are provided at diametrically opposing points in the bottom surface of flange 7 to facilitate the threaded engagement of the threaded studs 9 in each threaded hole 3 within the sole 2 of golf shoe 1.

A similar replaceable cleat golf shoe is taught in REDDIEN, U.S. Patent No. 4,330,950. This patent teaches manufacturing the cleats from a non-conducting material to prevent the spikes from acting as an electrical connection to ground in the case of an electrical storm.

JORDAN, U.S. Patent No. 3,583,082 teaches a removable track shoe cleat for use on synthetic type surfaces which incorporates a plurality of bristles protruding from the traction surface of each individual cleat or spike.

What is needed is a replaceable cleat or spike for use in place of a standard metal spike for a golf shoe which does not cause damage to the golf course, especially in inclement or cold weather. Accordingly, one of the objects of the instant invention is to 4 provide a spike which satisfies this need.

AVT7 Or c~m DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Accordingly, the invention provides a replaceable cleat for a shoe sole, said replaceable cleat comprising a bottom surface which is provided with a plurality of traction ribs formed thereon, said traction ribs having:vertical ridges with rounded edges (as herein defined) emanating from a central part of said bottom surface; and 1. 0 (ii) peripheral edges which are merged smoothly o (as herein defined) into the bottom surface.

The replaceable cleat may be formed of a thermoplastic or similar material. Traction ribs are used in place of standard pointed protuberances. The 15 cleat may be formed generally in a unitary body suitably having attachment means to the sole which attachment means may extend outwardly from an upper surface of the cleat. Preferably the attachment means, in one form, may comprise a threaded stid axially protruding from an upper surface of a generally concavo-convex flange as described hereinafter. The ribs may be present in a variety of configurations, and may be formed with an arcuate, triangular or rectangular cross section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a partially exploded bottom perspective view of a typical prior art metal spiked golf shoe.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of our winter golf shoe spike.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of an embodiment of our RA,, winter golf shoe spike showing the traction surface.

I ~'I Fig. 4 is a side view of an embodiment of our winter golf shoe spike, the remaining side views being identical and unadorned.

Fig. 5 is a side, cross-sectional view of the winter golf shoe spike depicted in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a top view of an embodiment of our winter golf shoe spike.

Figs. 6-7 are partial, cross-sectional views of different embodiments of the traction ribs of our 10 invention.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged, side, cross-sectional "view of an embodiment of our invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT INVENTION Referring again to the Figures, our winter golf 15 shoe spike 10 is illustrated in detail in Figs. 2-10.

o Golf shoe spike 10 generally has a main cleat body 11 e• molded or otherwise formed of durable plastic material which is advantageously the same material used to manufacture the 4 sole 2 of golf shoe 1. It should be noted that spike may be manufactured from any suitable material or combination thereof, and it may easily be assembled from two or more separate pieces. For instance, the threaded stud 13, explained below, may be manufactured from a metal material such as aluminum, while the remainder of the cleat body 11 may be made of a synthctic plastic material.

Preferably, however, the main cleat body 11 is molded from a durable plastic type material in single unitary fashion. The cleat body 11 is preferably made from a plastic material which is also very resilient, even in temperatures below about OOC. This way, the cleat maintains its resiliency for traction, and for protection of the turf, in cold weather. A preferred material for our cleat is polyether block urethane, available as Estanel m from B.F. Goodrich Co.

A threaded stud 13 is formed on the upper surface of

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generally concavo-convex flange 12 and protrudes axially therefrom. The threads on threaded stud 13 are sized to cooperate with the female threads of the threaded hole 3 in the sole 2 of golf shoe 1.

Threaded stud 13 may be a different cleat attachment means in other embodiments. For example, stud 13 may be a tipped prong that relies on a reversible snap-fit engagement with a slot or rim in hole 3. For now, however, we prefer the threaded stud for its firm and strong engagement with hole 3.

Optionally, the concave upper surface of flange 12 may S: be roughened, dimpled or furrowed to increase the friction 30 between it and sole 2 when the cleat body 11 is tightened in position against the sole. Also, the concave feature of the upper surface tends to create more of a sharp edge there on the perimeter of the flange 12 for a firmer 5 engagement with sole 2. Also, the concave feature of the upper surface tends to create a disc spring effect on cleat body 11 when threaded stud 13 is run into threaded hole 3 and tightened. This way, there is tension placed on stud 13, and its threads bind more securely with those of hole 3.

There is a slight recess provided in many golf shoe styles in sole 2 for a short annular distance around hole 3. For these styles, the flange 12 may be advantageously sized to fit snugly within the annular recess, thereby providing an ever firmer fit.

A plurality of traction ribs 15 are formed on the bottom traction surface of generally concavo-convex flange 12. While the ribs 15 may be present in a variety of configurations, preferably they are arranged in a radial fashion emanating from near the center of concavo-convex flange 12. The cross sectional shape of ribs 15 may be So arcuate, triangular, rectangular or a combination thereof.

Preferably, ribs 15 are triangular, but with rounded edges to provide the best compromise between traction and damage to the turf. By "rounded edges" we mean that whenever two surfaces meet (the edge), the region of the edge is free from sharp points or angularity (rounded). This is true wherever our cleat may meet the turf on the ribs 15 and on the bottom surface of the flange. It is important that the ribs 15 not present an excessively aggressive surface to the ground. In this vein, the edges of the ribs are preferably rounded, both at their tops and sides, or .".merged smoothly into the bottom surface of flange 12. By 30 "merged smoothly" we mean there is no break in the transition region between the surfaces which creates a sharp or abrupt edge. Referring specifically to Figs. 7, 8, 9 and the side edge features of the ribs are shown in more 0 I 6 detail. Different rounded side and top edges for the ribs are shown. The side edges may be rounded and merged smoothly with flange 12 on the outside as depicted by 16; or merged smoothly with flange 12 on the inside as depicted by 17. In any event, no sharp point or abrupt or angular edge exists on the rib or ont he bottom surface of the flange or on the side of the flange to cause damage to the ground. Furthermore, the shoulder 18 at the bottom circumference of flange 12 is preferably also rounded or merged smoothly into the bottom surface of flange 12.

By "generally concavo-convex from the perspective of sole 2" we mean that flange 12 bends slightly away from sole 2 at both its upper and its lower surfaces. These bends, however, may be different and they may be very slight. The upper bend aids in securely engaging the cleat body 11 to the shoe sole 2 as disclosed above. The lower bend aids in enlarging the surface area of the cleat to provide more room for traction ribs 15, and to provide more surface area over which to distribute the weight of 2. the golfer, two goals of our invention. The maximum lower bend would be for a hemispherical cleat, but we prefer one less pronounced than that, about one-half hemispherical.

By "one-half hemispherical" we mean a spherical cap zone where the first plane which intersects the sphere is onehalf the radius of the sphere away from the second parallel plane which is tangential to the sphere. This way, the cleat is not so pronounced, and it does not do so much damage to the turf. The minimum lower bend would be for a flat cleat, but we prefer one more pronounced than that.

30 This way, there is more angle on the sides of the cieat surface, and the ribs there are presented to the turf more aggressively for more traction.

7 By "flange" we mean a projecting rim or collar around threaded steel 13 to form a disk-like structure. This way, the flange 12 is relatively thin and the length of cleat body 11 from the flange's upper surface to the bottom of ribs 15 is not great, -referably about 0.25" or less. The flange may be circular, square, rectangular, or any other shape. Most common shoe styles are designed for circular cleat flanges.

By "ribs" we mean more than one vertical ridges in the bottom surface of flange 12. The ridges have a crest that is at least one line, compared to the crest of the prior art spikes which are a point or a circle (for a truncated cone, for example). Preferably, the ridges are about as wide at their base as they are high. The ridges may be straight or curved in planes parallel to the shoe sole, and they may be chords, diameters, or radii of the bottom surface of the disklike flange 12. Preferably, the ridges are between about 0.03125" and 0.125" high. Preferably, the flange's bottom surface has 8 crescent shaped ridges.

20 Optionally, a pair of installation tool engagement holes 14 are provided at diametrically opposing points in the bottom surface of flange 12. The conventional installation tool has two prongs which fit into engagement holes 14, plus a shaft and a handle like a screwdriver to help impart rotary motion to cleat body 11. This way, the :....cleat body 11 may be conveniently driven in and out of the threaded hole 3 on threaded stud 13, and securely tightened in the in position against sole 2.

In use, the golfer simply removes the metal cleats on 30 his or her golf shoes with the installation tool and replaces the metal cleats with the winter golf shoe spikes of the instant invention.

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8 While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto, but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims.

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Claims (11)

1. A replaceable cleat for a shoe sole, said replaceable cleat comprising a bottom surface which is provided with a plurality of traction ribs formed thereon, said traction ribs having:- vertical ridges with rounded edges (as herein defined) emanating from a central part of said bottom surface; and 10 (ii) peripheral edges which are merged smoothly (as herein defined) into the bottom surface.

2. The cleat of Claim 1 wherein the bottom surface is convex which, in use, bends away from the S 15 shoe sole.

3. The cleat of Claim 2 which comprises a disk- like flange having a periphery and an upper surface placement underneath the shoe sole, said upper surface opposing said convex bottom surface, wherein at least the periphery of the disk-like flange contacts the shoe sole when attached thereto.

4. The cleat of Claim i, 2 or 3 wherein the traction ribs are integral with said bottom surface. The cleat of any preceding claim wherein the ribs are made from a resilient plastics material for supplying traction with the ground.

6. The cleat of any one of Claims 3 to 5 having attachment means to the shoe sole extending outwardly from said upper surface.

7. The cleat of Claim 6 wherein the attachment Smeans comprises a threaded stud, integrally formed -qCClp-Cd with and extending upwardly from a central part of said upper surface, for removably attaching the cleat to the shoe sole, whereby the cleat provides traction, but does not damage the surface being walked upon.

8. The cleat of any preceding claim wherein each of the traction ribs are crescent shaped.

9. The cleat of Claim 8, wherein the crescent shaped ridges are triangular in cross section. 0. The cleat of Claim 8, wherein the crescent shaped ridges are square in cross section. S11. The cleat of Claim 8, wherein the crescent shaped ridges are arcuate in cross section. S12. The cleat of any one of Claims 3 to 11, wherein eight ridges are included on the bottom 15 surface of the disk-like flange.

13. The cleat of any one of Claims 3 to 12, wherein the bottom surface of the disk-like flange curves in a smooth, half-hemispherical shape (as herein defined).

14. The cleat of any one of Claims 9 to 13, wherein the triangular ridges are widest at a central portion thereof and progressively narrower toward each end thereof. The cleat of any one of Claims 3 to 14, wherein the bottom surface is such that a central portion of the bottom surface is located at a position the greatest perpendicular distance from the plane defined by the outer periphery of the upper surface.

16. A replaceable cleat for a shoe sole substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS. 2-10 of the accompanying drawings. MMMEMMW 11 DATED this thirteenth day of February 1997. ACTION MARKETING, INC., by their Datent Attorneys, FISHER ADAMS KELLY. e **a o ee •ee e e e os e *e ee *e I ABSTRACT The invention is a replaceable golf shoe cleat or spike 10 for use in place of a standard metal spike 4. Winter golf shoe spike 10 preferably has a main cleat body 11 molded from a durable plastic type material in single unitary fashion. A threaded stud 13 is formed on the upper surface of generally concavo-convex flange 12 and protrudes axially therefrom. A plurality of traction ribs are formed on the bottom traction surface of concavo- convex flange 12. While the ribs 15 may be present in a variety of configurations, they are preferably triangular ridges arranged in a radial fashion emanating from the center of concavo-convex flange 12. a o