Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
210018~
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OVER8HOE FOR CLEATED FOOTWEAR
Field of the Invention
This application relates to an overshoe for wear
over cleated footwear, such as golf shoes.
Back~round of the Invention
Cleated athletic shoes are commonly worn by
participants in many different sports, such as golf,
soccer, football and baseball. Such athletic shoes include
a plurality of cleats or spikes projecting from the sole of
the shoe to afford the user greater traction on grass
surfaces. However, cleated shoes provide very little
traction on hard pavement surfaces, such as walkways or
parking lots, which increases the likelihood that the user
will slip and fall.
Further, cleated footwear is usually not per-
mitted within certain areas of golf clubhouses and the like
in order to prevent damage to the flooring and carpeting.
Consequently, it has become common practice for golfers to
change from golf cleats to street shoes before entering
~l such restricted areas of the clubhouse following a round of
~ golf. This is often inconvenient and requires the golfer
,i,~,7 to have an extra pair of shoes readily available.
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,~ 30 Various slip-on overshoes have been proposed in
the past for wear over cleated footwear. However, such
prior art overshoes exhibit various shortcomings which have
$ hindered widespread commercial acceptance.
United States patent Nos. 3,313,047, 3,821,858,
;~l 4,258,483, 4,326,345 and 4,363,019 exemplify the prior art.
Most of the overshoes disclosed in the above patents are
designed for wear over specific types of athletic footwear.
!, Such overshoes are not sufficiently versatile to conform to
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a wide variety of cleat configurations manufactured by
different companies or designed for different sporting
activities. Further, most of the prior art overshoes
support only a portion of the cleat sole which can lead to
instability during normal walking motions.
I United States patent No. 3,858,336, which issued¦ to Brown on 7 January, 1975, relates to a removable outsole
for sports shoes which includes a bottom sole and flexible
sidewalls. A plurality of spaced-apart pliable projections
extend upwardly from the sole for conforming to the cleat
configurations of different shoe manufacturers. The
~ projections support the weight of the user, thus preventing
J the cleats from puncturing the overshoe sole. However, one
shortcoming of the Brown design is the absence of a rigid
support to provide the overshoe with peripheral stability
and to prevent over-compression of the pliable projec-
tions.
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Accordingly, the need has arisen for an overshoe
suitable for wear over a wide variety of cleated footwear
which includes a rigid peripheral support.
Summarv of the Invention
In accordance with the invention, an overshoe is
provided for wear over a shoe having a sole and a plurality
of cleats projecting from the sole. The overshoe includes
a bottom surface, a flexible upper portion extending
upwardly from a perimeter of the bottom surface for snugly
engaging an exterior surface of the shoe, and support means
for supporting the shoe sole in an elevated position above
the bottom surface to substantially prevent penetration of
the cleats into the bottom surface. The support means
includes a plurality of compressible, spaced-apart nibs
extending upwardly from the bottom surface for supporting
a portion of the shoe sole; and an upwardly projecting rim
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extending at least part way around the perimeter of the
bottom surface inwardly of the upper surface and surround-
ing the nibs for supporting a peripheral portion of the
shoe sole.
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Preferably the overshoe bottom surface is sub-
stantially flat. The rim is rigid and includes a flat
upper surface extending in a plane parallel to the bottom
surface. The nibs preferably extend above the rim upper
surface when the nibs are in an uncompressed position not
supporting a load. When the nibs are in a compressed
position supporting a load, the upper ends of the nibs
extend substantially co planar with the rim upper surface.
,~ 15 Preferably the nibs are slightly longer than the
cleats. In the uncompressed position the nibs preferably
extend about 1/16th of an inch above the rim upper surface.
Advantageously, the nibs are resiliently flexible
for accommodating different configurations of cleats
between the nibs. The nibs may consist of a plurality of
upwardly tapering cones.
The overshoe may further include a heel retention
ridge formed on an inner surface of the flexible upper
portion above the bottom surface for engaging a heel
portion of the shoe. The retention ridge is generally
horseshoe-shaped. A pull-tab may also be provided which is
secured to the flexible upper portion at a rear end of the
overshoe above the retention ridge.
~ Brief Description of the Drawinqs
;~ In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodi-
ment of the invention, but which should not be construed as
restricting the spirit or scope of the invention in any
way:
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Figure 1 is an isometric view of the applicant's
overshoe for cleated footwear;
Figure 2 is a top, plan view of the overshoe of
Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the
overshoe of Figure l and part of an athletic shoe shown in
phantom outline; and
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the appli~
cant's overshoe worn over a cleated athletic shoe.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
~ :
Figure 1 illustrates a slip-on overshoe 10 for
wear over cleated footwear. Overshoe 10 includes a bottom
~:~ sole 12 and a flexible upper 14. IJpper 14 is formed from
an elastomeric material, such as flexible rubber, for
snugly engaging the exterior of a cleated athletic shoe 16
(Figure 4). Athletic shoe 16 includes a bottom sole 18
having an outer welt 20. A plurality of cleats 22 project
downwardly from sole 18. `:.
As best shown in Figure 1, overshoe upper 14
includes a heel portion 24 and a toe portion 26. A narrow
horseshoe shaped heel retention ridge 28 is formed on the
inner surface of heel portion 24 above sole 12. As de-
scribed further below, retention ridge 28 engages a heel
portion of athletic shoe 16 to help maintain overshoe 10
securely in position.
A pull-tab 30 is located on the uppermost edge of
the heel portion 24 at the rear of overshve 10. Tab 30 is
;l 35 provided to enable the wearer to conveniently stretch heel
-` portion 24 rearwardly when overshoe 10 is slipped on and
5~) off athletic shoe 16.
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A plurality of spaced-apart nibs 32 project
upwardly from the upper surface of overshoe sole 12 within
the interior of overshoe 10. Nibs 32 are formed from
pliable rubber and are preferably cone-shaped.
A narrow rim 34 having a flat upper surface 36
extends around the perimeter of sole 12 surrounding nibs
32. Rim 34 is preferably formed from rubber and is sub- -~
stantially rigid. Rim upper surface 36 extends in a hori-
zontal plane parallel to sole 12 slightly below the upper
ends of nibs 32. Preferably nibs 32 are about 1/16 of an
inch longer than the athletic shoe cleats 22. Rim upper
surface 36 preferably extends about 1/16th of an inch below
the upper ends of nibs 32 when nibs 32 are in an un-
compressed position as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
1 As shown best in Figure 4, when overshoe 10 is
~, slipped on athletic shoe 16, nibs 32 and peripheral rim 34
~'j 20 support the weight of the user. This prevents athletic
shoe cleats 22 from substantially penetrating into overshoe
sole 12 during normal walking motions. In particular, each
shoe cleat 22 fits between or on top of a plurality of nibs
32 depending upon the cleat configuration. Nibs 32 are
sufficiently pliable to accommodate a wide variety of cleat
configurations.
As shown in Figure 4, rigid peripheral rim 34
contacts the outer welt 20 of athletic shoe sole 18 to
provide peripheral support. Nibs 32 are forceably com-
pressed against the inner portions of sole 18. When nibs
~932 are compressed in this fashion, their upper ends extend
substantially co-planar with the flat upper surface 36 of
rim 34. ~he length of nibs 32 and the compression factor
of the rubber is preferably calculated so that cleats 22
contact overshoe sole 12 with only a minute amount of
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contact pressure. Accordingly, sole 12 is not intended to
be weight bearing.
Rigid rim 34 ensures that pliable nibs 32 will
not compress beyond a predetermined amount irrespective of
¦ the weight of the wearer. For example, a 250 pound golfer
would ordinarily compress nibs 32 to a much greater extent
than a 150 pound golfer. However, rim 34 is sufficiently
rigid to prevent over-compression of nibs 32 which would
otherwise result in penetration of cleats 22 into overshoe
sole 12. This ensures that overshoe 10 is sufficiently
~i versatile for use by users within a wide weight range.
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Another important function of rim 34 is to
, 15 provide peripheral support for athletic shoe 16. This
ensures that overshoe 10 will not slide relative to ath-
letic shoe 16 as pliable nibs 32 flex during normal walking
motions. For example, overshoe 10 is suitable for wear
~l over golf cleats on wet fairways to ensure the wearer's
feet stay dry. Accordingly, overshoe 10 must have suffi-
cient peripheral support to allow the wearer to walk
comfortably for long distances and to play golf shots while
standing on uphill or downhill slopes. Prior art golf
overshoes comprising pliable projections do not have the
;~ 25 same degree of peripheral stability as the applicant's
invention.
The ground-engaging surface of overshoe sole 12
preferably has a non-skid tread to provide the wearer with
i~ 30 enhanced traction when playing golf shots and the like. -
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With reference to Figure 3, most athletic shoes
16 have a small indentation 40 formed between heel 42 and
the outside counter 44. When overshoe 10 is slipped onto
35 shoe 16, retention ridge 28 is seated within heel indenta- ~-
tion 40. This helps prevent overshoe 10 from slipping off
shoe 16 during normal heel and toe walking motions. In
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order to remove overshoe 10 from shoe 16, it is necessary
to grab hold of tab 30 and stretch heel portion 24 rear-
wardly to dislodge retention ridge 28 from indentation 40.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art
in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations
and modifications are possible in the practice of this
invention without departing from the spirit or scope
thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be
construed in accordance with the substance defined by the
following claims.
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PA~ENT AGEN15
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