US3328901A

US3328901A - Detachable golf cleat

Info

Publication number: US3328901A
Application number: US469949A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert E Strickland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-07-06
Filing date: 1965-07-06
Publication date: 1967-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 1984-07-04

Description

July 4, 1967 R. E. STRICKLAND 3,328,901

DETACHABLE GOLF CLEAT Filed July 6, 1965 INVENTOR. @055er 57am/MND United States Patent() 3,328,901 DETACHABLE GOLF CLEAT Robert E. Strickland, 1965 S. Beverly Glen, Los Angeles, Calif. 90025 Filed July 6, 1965, Ser. No. 469,949 12 Claims. (Cl. 36-59) The present invention relates to cleated shoes, and more particula-rly, to detachable cleat assembly for converting ordinary street shoes into cleated shoes.

One of the more popular forms of cleated shoes is the golf shoe. Generally speaking, it resembles .the ordinary street shoe with the addition of Ian extra heavy sole having -a number of base sockets for threadedly receiving golf cleats. Unfortunately for the golfer however, such shoes are quite expensive and are generally limited in their utility to the golf links.

To avoid the separate purchase of street shoes and cleated shoe for golf, detachable cleat assemblies have been developed for converting ordinary street shoes to golf or other type of cleated sport or utility shoes. In con-struction, such cleat assemblies generally include a metal plate, or metal strips, with cleats connected thereto. The plate, in turn, is attached to the sole of the shoe either by clamps extending over the outer edges of the shoe sole or by securing a hook on the plate into -a socket arrangement stationed in the shoe sole.

Unfortunately such detachable cleat assemblies are fairly heavy and relatively expensive to manufacture. Fu-rther, they require periodic servicing and adjustment during use. More important, they are fairly rigid and do not closely follow the sole contour and `do not ben-d freely with the sole of the shoethereby interfering with the wearing and walking comfort of the street shoes.

In view of the foregoing problems, it is a general object of the presen-t invention to provide improved detachable cleat assemblies, for converting ordinary street shoes into cleated shoes, which assemblies do not inte-rfere with the wearing comfort of the shoes to which they are attached.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a detachable cleat assembly which closely follows and bends with the sole of the shoe to which it is attached.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved detachable cleat assembly of the foregoing type which is lightweight and inexpensive, yet long lasting and trouble-free.

Still another object `of this invention is to provide an improved detachable cleat assembly of a simple, flexible yet strong construction which is inexpensive to manu- .facture and which may be mass-produced in large quantities.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improved detachable cleat assembly which is easily and rapidly attached to ordinary street shoes to convert them into cleated sport or utility -shoes and which does not permanently damage the shoes.

The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages of this invention, may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken with the drawing which, by way of example only, illustrates two forms of detachable cleat assemblies embodying the features of the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary street shoe with the detachable cleat assembly anchored to the sole of the shoe;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view yof the cleat assembly illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side View of the cleat assembly ilustrated in FIGURE 2;

illustrated in FIGURE 6y for the side strap lfront portion 24 is rear portion 26 is connected to the back of FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary bottom view of the back end portion of the cleat assembly taken along .the line 4-4 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5 5 in FIGURE 2, illustrating the inner construction of a detachable cleat for anchoring the cleat assembly to the sole of the shoe;

' FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6 6 in FIGURE 2, showing the integral molding of a side cleat to the fiat, web of the cleat assembly;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective View of the detachable rear cleat of the cleat assembly;

FIGURE 8 is a side view of an alternate form of cleat assembly; and

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary side view of the front end portion of the alternate form of the cleat assembly lshown attached tothe sole of a shoe.

Referring initially to FIGURE 1, the detachable cleat assembly is represented geenrally by the numeral 10 and includes a one-piece, integrally molded, plastic web 12 including a plurality of cleats 14, and anchoring means 16 for securing the web to the bottom of the sole 17 of a street shoe 19. Preferably, the web is formed of a durable, long lasting plastic, such as polypropylene, and is flexible to freely bend and stretch slightly in a fore and aft direction to follow the .changing contour of the sole 17. Since the web 12 and cleats 14 are formed of a single piece, plastic, the cleat assembly 10 is Very lightweight. Also, beca-use -of the single-piece construction, the web, such as 12, may be formed using conventional mass-production, plastic molding techniques, thereby rendering the cleat yassemblies ve-ry inexpensive to produce.

Referring more specifically to FIGURE 2, the integrally mol-ded, plastic web 12 is illustrated as including two series of metal screw-tipped cleats arranged in forwardly converging paths along the right and left sides of the web. Pairs of parallel, generally flat, vside straps 18 are integrally molde-d to and interconnect the cleats 14 of each series (see FIGURE 6). Also, corresponding cleats in the two series are aligned with each other and are interconnected by plastic cross straps 20 which, in turn, are connected to adjacent cross Istraps by central straps 22.

The double side straps 18 provide a reinforced connec' ycross straps 20 'are relatively thick and prevent relative transverse movement of the cleats.

In addition to Ithe foregoing, the web 12 includes centrally aligned, disc-shaped, front and

back portions

24 and 26 adapted to receive the anchoring means 16 for attaching the web 12 to the sole 18 of the shoe 20. The connectedto the front end of the two series of cleats by two pair of forwardly converging

side straps

28 and 30, and to the front cross strap 20 by a thin central strap 32. The construction of the parallel side yst-raps 28 and 30 lis the same `as the side straps 18, while the central strap 32 resembles the central straps 22. The the two series cleats by outwardly

curved side straps

34 and 36. r1`he

side straps

34 and 36 are 'also of a thin plastic and are integrally molded to the rear cleats of each series as The construction of the front and

back portions

24 and 26 is substantially the same, each including a central hole 38 for receiving Ione of the anchoring means 16 to connect the web 12 to the sole 18 of the shoe 201. As illustrated most clearly in FIGURES 4 and 5, for the back portion 26, the hole 38 has an outwardly beveled top portion and is surrounded at its lower edge by a collar 40. Also, the bottom surface of the back portion around the collar 40 is rough, either including etched radial lines or pits caused by Sandblasting as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Thus arranged, the back portion 26 is adapted to tightly receive and frictionally interlock with the anchoring means 16, here comprising a detachable cleat for snapping into the hole 38 and hand screwing into the sole 17 of the shoe 19.

The detachable cleat 16 is more clearly illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 7 and includes a cone-shaped spike portion 42 having a metal screw tip 43, a radial ange 44 extending from the base of the spiked portion, and a pair of wings 4S between the lian-ge and the spiked portion. The top of the radial flange 44 is rough and forms an interlocking friction surface with the bottom of the back portion 26.

A screw 46 extends from the base of the cleat 16 and has an eccentric head 48 embedded or otherwise securely fixed within the base to prevent relative rotation between the screw Iand cleat as the cleat is turned to anchor the screw in the sole of the shoe 19.

The screw 4 Gis surrounded by a collar 50, which, in turn, is surrounded by :an annular groove 52 in the base -of the cleat. The marginal portion S4 of the collar 50 is radially enlarged and includes a slot 56 which allows the collar to contract and then return to its original shape. Also, the radial dimens-ion of the marginal portion S4 is slightly larger than the bottom dimension of the hole 38 in the back portion 26. Therefore, to connect the detachable cleat 16 to the web 12, the tip of the screw 46 is inserted through the opening 38 in the back portion 26 and the detachable cleat 16 pressed toward the web to cause the marginal edge S4 of the collar 50 to engage the collar 40, contract, and snap through the hole 38-a-gain enlarging to its original size in the upper beveled portion of the hole. In this po-sition, the collar 40 rests within the vannular groove 52 in the base of the detachable cleat and the marginal edge 54 loosely engages the beveled surface of the hole 3S to allow the cleat 14 to freely rotate within the hole 38.

The other `detachable cle-at 16 for the front of the tassembly is likewise inserted through the hole 38 in the front portion 24 of the web, readying the assembly 10 for attachment t-o the sole of the shoe 19.

To attach the assembly 10 to the shoe 19, the user of the assembly first positions the web 12 over the sole 17, `and presses the tips of the screws 46 slightly into the s-ole. One of the detachable cleats 16 is then tightly gripped, using the wings 45, and turned to drive the screw 46 part way int-o the sole of the shoe. The same step is followed for the other detachable cleat and the process repeated until the front and back of the web 12 presses tightly against the bottom of the sole to firmly anchor the assembly to the shoe. Under these conditions, the friction surfaces of the detachable cleat 16 and front and

back portions

24 and 26 of the web tightly interlock with each other to resist further tightening or loosening of the cleats 16.

The foregoing operation is repeated for the users other shoe to complete the transition from street to cleated shoes.

Since the cleat assembly 10 is very lightweight and freely bendable in a fore and raft direction, it `does not interfere with the weaning comfort of the shoe 19 land closely follows the changing contour of the sole 17 during movement of the wearer of the shoe. During bending of the sole y17, the web 12 also expands and contracts slightly to prevent undesired shear forces from acting in the screws 46 in the shoe sole. This is primarily accomplished by expansion and contraction of the curved side straps 34 land 36 connecting the back portion 26 of the web.

When it is desired to again return the shoes to street use, the detachable cleats 16 are simply unscrewed from the soles to separate the webs from the soles. yIt should be noted that the screws 46 attac 'ng the Webs to the soles of the shoes are relatively small and do not permanently damage the soles, impair the wearing comfort of the shoes, or reduce the wearing life of the shoesA An alternate form of cleat assembly is illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9. As represented, the alternate form of cleat assembly is very similar to the cleat assembly 10. Therefore, the alternate form is represented by numeral 10' and parts of the cleat assembly 10 corresponding to like parts of the cleat assembly 10 are represented by similar numerals with a prime notation.

The primary difference between the cleat assembly 10 and the cleat assembly 10 is in the form taken by the anchoring means 16. As illustrated, the anchoring means 16' comprise screws, having hexagonal heads. The screws 16' pass upward through holes 58 in cleats 60, integrally molded with and extending downward from the bottom of the fore and

aft end portions

24 and 26 of the web 12.

Thus, to attach the web 12 to the sole of a shoe, the top of the web is laid over the sole and the screws 16' introduced into the sole by means of a wrench or other suitable tool. When it is desired to remove the web 12 from the shoe, the foregoing is simply reversed.

It should lbe noted from both FIGURES 8 and 9 that the cleats 60 are shorter than the cleats 14. In fact, when the screws 16' extend into the sole of the shoe, the bottom of the screw heads lie slightly above the bottom of the cleats 14'. Accordingly, when the shoe is being worn for walking over hard surfaces, the central cleats 14 bear the weight of the personwearing the shoes with the heads of the screws 16 slightly above the hard surface. This minimizes the wear on the screws 16' and avoids defacing of the screw heads.

In the foregoing, the

cleat assemblies

10 and 10 have been described with particular reference to converting a street shoe into a golf shoe. It should be noted, however, that the cleat assemblies are equally applicable to converting shoes or boots to other types of sport shoes, such as those employed in track and football, or to utility shoes for mountain climbing or walking over :snow and ice. Also, in the foregoing, particular forms of cleat assemblies have been described in some detail. It is, of course, possible to make changes and modifications in the illustrated forms, such :as changes in the web design and in the shape of the cleats, without departing from the spirit of this invention. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention be limited in scope only by the terms of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A detachable cleat assembly for shoes, comprising:

a plurality of thin, flexible and slightly elastic straps integrally molded to define an open network expandable in the fore and aft direction, said network f'urther having a plurality of cleats integrally molded therein;

and means for anchoring said network to a portion of the bottom of a shoe.

2. A detachable cleat assembly for shoes, comprising:

a thin, flexible, plastic web having a plurality of cleats integrally molded therein;

and means for anchoring said web to the bottom of a shoe to follow the contour thereof, said means including a detachable cleat turnable relative to said web .and having a screw extending therefrom through said web for screwing into the bottom of said shoe.

3. A ldetachable Icleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a plastic, cleat carrying web expandable in the fore and aft direction including a plurality of spaced, downwardly extending cleats and bendable straps integrally molded to and interconnecting said cleats, at least some of which bendable straps are slightly elastic;

land means for anchcoring said web to the bottom of the sole of a shoe to follow the contour thereof.

4. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a plastic, cleat carrying web including a plurality of spaced, downwardly extending cleats and bendable and slightly elastic straps integrally molded to and interconnecting said cleats;

and means for anchoring said web to the bottom of the sole of a shoe to follow the contour thereof, said anchoring means including detachcable screw members extending through said web for screwing into the sole of said shoe.

5. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a plastic, cleat carrying web including a plurality of spaced, downwardly extending cleats and slightly elastic outside straps integrally molded to and interconnecting said cleats;

and means for anchoring said web to the bottom of the sole of a shoe to -follow the contour thereof, said anchoring means including a pair of detachable cle-ats each having la screw iixedly connected thereto for extending through an opening in said web and screwing into the sole of said shoe.

6. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a single piece, plastic, cleat carrying web including two series of cleats, front and back screw receiving portions, relatively thin, bendable and slightly elastic outside straps extending between the cleats of each series and between each series of cleats in said front and back portions, and relatively thick cross straps between corresponding cleats in said series of cleats;

and a pair of detachable screw members for extending through said front and back portions into the sole of a shoe thereby anchoring said web to said sole to follow the contour thereof.

7. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a single piece, plastic, cleat carrying web including two series of cleats, front and back screw receiving portions, relatively thin, bendable and slightly elastic outside straps extending between the cleats of each series and between each series of cleats and said front portion, outside straps between each series and said back portion to allow slight expansion of said web in a fore and aft direction;

and a pair of detachable screw members for extending through said front or back portions into the sole of a shoe thereby anchoring said web to said sole to follow the contour thereof.

8. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a single piece, integrally molded, plastic, cleat carrying web including two series of cleats, front and back screw receiving portions, pairs of generally parallel, relatively thin, bendable straps extending between the cleats of each series of cleats and between each series and said front portion, an outside strap extending between each series of cleats and said back portion, to allow slight fore and aft expansion of said web, and relatively thick cross straps between corresponding cleats in said series of cleats;

9. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a single piece, plastic, cleat carrying web including a plurality of cleats, generally flat front and back screw receiving portions, and generally flat, bendable and slightly elastic outside straps between said cleats and said front and back portions, said front and back portions having holes therethrough;

and a pair of detachable cleats including means for lpassing through said holes to snap said detachable cleats to said web, each detachable cleat also having a screw xedly connected thereto and screwing into the sole of a shoe to securely anchor said web to said sole to follow the contour thereof.

10. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe comprising:

a single piece, plastic, cleat carrying web including a plurality of cleats integrally molded therein and extended downwardly therefrom, two of said cleats being located fore and aft of the remainder of said cleats and being shorter than the remainder of said cleats, and bendable, slightly elastic straps between said cleats;

and a pair of screws extending through said fore and aft cleats to -anchor said web to the sole of a shoe to follow the contour thereof.

11. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a single piece, plastic, cleat carrying web including two series of cleats of predetermined height, front and back cleats shorter than said two series of cleats and having screw receiving holes passing therethrough, relatively thin, bendable and slightly elastic outside straps extending between the cleats of each series and between each series of cleats and said front and back cleats, and relatively thick cross straps between corresponding cleats of said series of cleats;

and a pair of screws for extending through said screw receiving holes in said front and back cleats into the sole of a shoe, thereby anchoring said web to said sole to follow the contour thereof with the heads of said screws lying in a horizontal plane above the lowermost surface of said two series of cleats.

12. A detachable cleat assembly for the sole of a shoe,

comprising:

a single piece, plastic, cleat carrying web including two series of cleats of predetermined height, front and back cleats shorter than said two series of cleats and including screw receiving holes passing therethrough, relatively thin, bendable and slightly elastic outside straps extending between the cleats of each series and between each series of cleats and said front cleat, curved outside straps between each series and said back cleat to -allow slight expansion of said web in a fore and aft direction;

and a pair of screws for extending through said screw receiving holes in said front and back cleats into the sole of a shoe, thereby anchoring said web to said sole to follow the contour thereof with the heads of said screws lying in a horizontal plane above the bottom of said two series of cleats.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. FRANK I. COHEN, Examiner.

Claims

1. A DETACHABLE CLEAT ASSEMBLY FOR SHOES, COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF THIN, FLEXIBLE AND SLIGHTLY ELASTIC STRAPS INTEGRALLY MOLDED TO DEFINE AN OPEN NETWORK EXPANDABLE IN THE FORE AND AFT DIRECTION, SAID NETWORK FURTHER HAVING A PLURALITY OF CLEATS INTEGRALLY MOLDED THEREIN; AND MEANS FOR ANCHORING SAID NETWORK TO A PORTION OF THE BOTTOM OF A SHOE.