Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains generally to cleated
athletic shoes and more particularly to an improved arrange-
ment and structure of cleats integrally molded with the
outer sole of the shoe.
The prior art includes numerous examples of cleating
arrangements on the sole of athletic shoes. In most cases,
the cleats on a particular sole are of a uni~orm shape,
whereas, in some cases, cleats of more than one type are
provided. U. S. Patent No. 3,988,840, of Robert P.
Minihane, issued November 2, 1976, is an example of a sole
structure having cleats of two different types including
uniformly spaced frustoconical cleats in the ball and heel
areas and spaced peripheral cleats at the edges of the
sole. In accordance with an important aspect of the
Minihane patent, the peripheral cleats are shorter than
the frustoconical cleats. The sole described by the
Minihane patent was specifically designed for use on
artificial turf and it was noted that the design of a sole
for use on a natural surface is not necessarily the best
design for use on a synthetic surface.
It would be desira~le to provide a cleated sole
structure which performs well on both synthetic and
natural surfaces and yet is li~ht in weight, durable, and
inexpensive to fabricate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of this invention there is
provided a sole for an a-thletic shoe, comprisin~ an outer
sole member of a resilient polymeric material having a base
and plurality of integrally molded first and second cleats
extending outwardly from the base, the sole member including
a toe portion, a ball portion, an arch portion and a heel
porti.on correspondingly posi.tioned with respect to the toe,
ball, arch and heel of the human foot, the base having
arcuate inside and outside edgës correspondingly positioned
wi.th respect to the inside and outside edges of the human
foot, the first cleats being peripherally disposed along
the inside and outside edges of the base primarily in the
toe, ball and heel portions, the second cleats being
disposed in a generally uniformly spaced arrangement
throughout at least the areas of the toe r ball and heel
portions not occupied by the first cleats, the first cleat
being greater in height than the second cleats, each of
the first cleats having an essentially flat crown lying
generally parallel to the base and further having at least
a first essentially flat surface lying adjacent to the
proximate edge of the base, the flat surface being
generally perpendicular to the base and aligned with the
proximate edge of the base.
By way of added explanation, in accordance with an
aspect of the present invention, an athletic shoe is pro-
vided with a sole structure and two types of inte~rallymolded cleats. A plural.ity of first cleats are peripheral-
ly disposed along curved edges oE the sole and a plurality
of second cleats are disposed intermediate the first
cleats in a generally uniform pattern primarily in the toe,
ball and heel portions. The fixst cleats are greater in
height than the second cleats. Each of the first cleats
has at least one essentially flat surface and one taper-
ing surface extending outwardly from a major exterior
surface of the sole to an essentially flat crown which
forms the weight-bearing surface of each of the first
cleats~ The flat outwardly extending surface of each of
the first cleats forms a peripheral face of each such
cleats and conforms to the curved cont:our of the adjacent
edge of the sole. The tapering surface forms, at leastin part,
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a forward facing surface of each first cleat. Each first
cleat preferably also includes another essentially flat
surface which is perpendicular to the major exterior
surface and forms the rearward face of each such cleat.
One advantaye of the inventive sole structure is
the excellent longitudinal stability provided as the heel,
ball and toe of the sole strike the turf, particularly
during rapid longitudinal acceleration and deceleration
movemen-ts, due primarily to the effect of the forward
facing portions of the tapering surfaces diffusing some
of the shock of initial contact of the respective portions
of the sole with the turf, before the gripping action of
the pointed second cleat takes effect.
Another advantage is the excellent lateral traction
provided during quick lateral movements ~changing directions)
due primarily to the effect of the essentially flat
peripheral ~ace of each of the first cleats engaging
relatively large surface areas of turf at the edges of
the sole.
Yet another advantage is the excellen-t forward
acceleration derived from the flat rearward faces of each
of the first cleats ln the toe and ball portions of the
sole engaging relatively large surface areas of turf
with each step taken during the forward propulsion phase of
running.
A further advantage of -the invention is the
tendency of the preferred sole structure hereinafter des-
cribed to reduce common leg injuries by virtue of -the
slightly delayed gripping ac-tion which occurs upon plan-ting
the foo-t.
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The presently pre~erred way of carryin~ out the
invention and various inherent advantages thereof will
become apparent from the following description of two
illustrative embodiments thereof when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of an athletic
shoe having a cleated sole structure in accordance with a
first embodiment of the present invention looking at the
outside edge of the sole.
Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the shoe of Fig.
1 showing a first preferred arrangement of cleats on the
sole.
Fig. 3 is an enlar~ed fragmentary cross-section
taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a bo-ttom plan view similar to Fig. 2
showing a cleated solè structure in accordance with a
second embodiment of the present invention wherein a second
preferred arrangement of cleats is employed.
Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view showing
a modified arrangement of rearmost peripheral cleats.
The various parts in each of the figures are drawn
essentially to scale.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to Fig. 1, an athletic shoe in accordance
with the present invention is illustrated and designa-ted
generally by reference numeral 10. The shoe 10 includes
an essentially conventional shoe upper 12 which is joined
to a multi-layered sole assembly includin~ a cleated outer
sole 14 and a heel lift sole layer 16. I-t will be
appreciated that the sole construction also includes a
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cushioning inner sole which has not been specifically
illustrated inasmuch as its features bear no particular
relationship to the present invention. It will also be
appreciated that the sole layers 14 and 16 can be
integrally formed as a single unit rather than being
provided separately as in the present example. The cleated
outer sole 14 comprises a relatively hard rubber or other
moldable, resilient, polymeric material which is highly
resistant to wear and abusive treatment. The sole 14
includes a base 18 having a major exterior surface 20,
outwardly from which a plurality of cleats of two different
types extend.
Referring now to Fig. 2, a first preferred
structure and arrangement of cleats will be described. The
sole l~ can be considered to consist of four functionally
distinct areas defined along the length of the shoe 10.
The functionally distinct areas consist of a toe area 22,
a ball area 24, an arch area 26, and a hee~ area 28. The
cleats include relatively large cleats disposed along the
periphery of the base 18 and smaller conical cleats dis-
posed in a generally uniformly spaced array in the portions
of the base 18 not occupied by the large peripheral cleats,
except for an optional clea~less region in the arch 26.
Since cleats in the arch area 26 are only of minimal
benefit, this area is ideal for placement of a trademark
logo or the like. The cleatless region serves this purpose.
The relatively large peripheral cleats are
designated by reference numeral 30 with appended let-ters
being used to distinguish among cleats a-t different
posi-tions. The smaller conical cleats, of which only some
are designated by reference numeral 32 for clarity of
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illustration, are uniform in sizeO The.base 18 of the sole
has a curved border portion 34 around the entire periphery
including arcuate inside and outside edges 36 and 33. The
peripheral cleats 30 preferably are disposed in groups
of four in each of the toe 22, ball 24 and heel 28 portions
of the sole 14 in order to provide four-point stability in
each such portion. For example, two cleats 30a and 30b are
disposed along the outside edge 38 within the toe portion
22 and two cleats 30h and 30i are disposed along the
inside edge 36 within the toe portion 22, corresponding
cleats preferably bei.ng positioned in a s~aced balanced
manner on opposite sides of the sole 14 as shown. In
order to increase the lateral stability of the sole 10
while making quick turns, an additional large cleat 30e
is optionally provided along the outside edge 38 at the
interface of the arch and heel portions 26 and 28.
With particular reference to Fig. 3, ~arious
prefexred detailed features of the cleats will now ~e
described. It will be appreciated from this sectional
view that the various cleats 30 and 32 are integrally
molded with the base 18, providing excellent integrity and
durability. The larger cleats 30 extend outwa.rdly.to
about twice the height of the smaller cleats 32. The
height "~" of each of the larger cleats 30 is preferably
about 7/16 inch and the height "Y" of the smaller cleats 32
is preferably about 7/32 inch. The smaller cleats 32
are generally conical in shape with a slightly rounded
outer tip. The larger cleats 30 assume the general shape
of a section of a frustum, as will be appreciated best
from the view of Fi~. 2. Each cleat 30 has a conical
sur~ace, only some of which are designa-ted by reference
numeral 40 for sake o~ clarity. Each cleat 30 also has
three essentially flat sur~aces consisting of a peripheral
verical surface 42, a rearward vertical surface 44, and a
horizontal surface or crown 46. The essen-tially flat
surfaces 42, 44 and 46 intersec-t at a point which defines
a gripping corner 48 at the periphery of the sole 14.
"Essentiall~ flat" as used herein is intended to include
a slightly curved surface, such as the surfaces 42 on the
rearmost cleats 30g and 30n. As seen in Fig. 2, each
peripheral surface 42 conforms to the curved contour of
the adjacent edge of -the base 18. ~ll of the essentially
flat vertlcal surfaces 42 and 44 preferably lie in planes
which are perpendicular to the major exterior surface 20
of the base 18~ All of the rearward vertical surfaces 44
of this embodiment lie in parallel planes which are
generally transversely oriented with respect -to the sole
14. Since the various peripheral vertical surfaces 42 are
aligned with the proximate portion of the respective
adjacent edge 36 or 38, the flat vertical surfaces 42 and
44 on each cleat 30 will define various different angles,
as is apparent from the view of Fig. 2. In particular,
all of the cleats 30 in the toe portion 22, cleat 30c in
the ball portion 24, the odd cleat 30e, and cleats 30f and
30m in the heel portion 28 exhibit various acute angles.
Cleats 30d, 30j and 30k in the ball portion 24 and cleats
30g and 30n in the heel portion 28 have sur~aces 42 and 44
which intersect to form various ob-tuse angles.
Re~erring now to Fig. 4, a second pre~erred s-truc-
ture and arrangemen-t o~ cleats will be described. The
same re~erence numerals employed with the previousl~
described embodimen-t oE Figs. 1-3 ar~ repea-ted on similar
par-ts in the embodiment oE Fig. 4. The t~o embodiments
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differ in the manner in which the cleats are positioned in
the toe and ball areas 22 and 24. Those skilled in -the art
will appreciate that it is typical for shoes other than
straight lasted shoes to have ~wo longitudinal axes. As
depicted in Fig. 4, the shoe has a rearfoot longitudinal
axis Ll bisecting the heel area 28 and a forefoot longitu-
dinal axis L2 bisecting the toe and the ball areas 22 and
24.
It will be readily apparent that the large peri-
pheral cleats 30 in the toe and ball areas 22 and 24 of the
sole of Fig. 4 are provided in transversely balanced pairs
straddling the forefoot longitudinal axis L2. For example,
cleat 30a is aligned with respect to cleat 30h so that the
rearward vertical surfaces 44 of each lie in a single
plane that is perpendicular to the L2 axis. The samerelationship with respect to the L2 axis exists for the
other pairs of cleats (30b and 30i; 30c and 30j; 30d and
30k) in the toe and ball areas 22 and 24 of the sole of
Fig. ~. A similar relationship with respect to the rear-
foot longitudinal a~is Ll exists for the pairs of cleats~30f and 30m; 30g and 30n) in the heel area 28.
Referring again to Fig. 2, it will be seen that
all of cleats 30 are positioned with their flat rearward
surfaces 44 in planes that are perpendicular to the rear-
foot longitudinal axis Ll. It is believed that theparticular running style of the athlete will determine which
of the two preferred sole embodiments herein described will
be most preferable. Athletes who employ long straight
running strides migh-t favor the embodiment of ~ig. 2
whereas athletes who employ short quick running strides
with their -toes pointing slightly outward might favor the
embodiment of Fig. ~. It will of course be appreciated
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that the particular sporting event will have a bearing on
the style employed by the athlete and thus also on his
preference between the two sole embodiments. It is anti-
cipated that soccer players will prefer the embodiment of
S Fig. 2 and that football players will prefer the embodiment
of Fig. 4.
From the foregoing description of the two preferred
embodiments herein described, it will be apparent that the
sole structure of the present invention afords many
advantages. The athletic shoe 10 with either preferred
sole will perform particularly well in activities requiring
the user to make abrupt turns in various directions.
~ccordingly, the inven-tion is particularly use~ul in
football, soccer and similar sporting activities. Excellent
lateral traction is provided while making abrupt turns
primarily by the flat peripheral surfaces 42 at the edges
o~ the sole 14 engaging relatively large surace areas of
turf. The gripping corners 48 are useful for digging deep
into natural turf, particularly when wet. Excellent for-
ward propulsion is provided by the flat rearward surfaces44, par-ticularly those on the cleats 30 in the toe and ball
portions 22 and ~4 of the sole 14, which dig in and work
against relatively large areas of tur. Excellent control
during deceleration (while stopping) and during abrupt
turns is provided by the tapered or conical surfaces 40,
which soften the shock of impact with the turf. The
conical surfaces 40, particularly the orward facing
portions thereof, allow the sole 14 to glide slightly a-t
initial impact with the turf until the penetration is
sufficien-t for the conical cleats 32 to obtain good
gripping action in the -turf. In ef~ect, a slightly delayed
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gripping action is ach`ieved, thus reducing the shock on the
foot, ankle and lower leg of the athlete. It is believed
that the foregoing features of -the sole 14 not only
provide many improvements in performance but also tend to
reduce the commonly occurring leg injuries.
In accordance with an important feature of the
present invention, the preferred sole structures described
above perform extremely well both on synthetic and natural
surfaces. It should be apparent to -those skilled in the
art that the relatively large, sharp-cornered, peripheral
cleats 30 will readily penetrate natural turf to provide
excellent traction. With regard to synthetic turf, however,
a unique cooperation between the large peripheral cleats
30 and the small conical cleats 32 takes effect. It will
be appreciated that a resilient, compressible cushion or
pad underlies the top layer of synthetic turf. The large
cleats 30 deform this underlying pad around the periphery
of the sole when the foot is planted causin~ the grass-like
synthetic surface to be driven up within the interior
spaces of the sole where contact is made with the small
conical cleats 32. In effect, the top layer of synthetic
turf becomes mechanically locked within the peripheral
cleats 30 and the resiliency of the underlying pad forces
the top layer of synthetic turf in-to frictional engagement
with the small conical clea~s 32. The relatively large
surface area provided by the many small conical cleats 32
greatly increases the coefficient of friction between the
sole and the synthetic turf, thereby greatly increasing
traction.
Referring to Fig. 5, a modifica-tion which can be
applied to either of the two previously described sole
embodiments will now be described. The rearmost cleats 30g
and 30n are each arranged so that a flat vertical surface
44' forms the forward (instead of the rearward) face of the
cleat. The conical surfaces 40l face rearward and inward.
Other features of the cleats 30g and 30n are similar to
their previously described counterparts. The flat forward
facing surfaces 44' are intended to achieve faster stopping
action as the heel is planted. It is believed that this
feature might be preferred by some football players who
desire to make quick stopping or turning movements. It
will be appreciated that the surfaces 44' will dig in and
engage relatively large surface areas of turf as the heel
is planted thereby assisting in making a quick stop.
Although two preferred embodiments of the invention
and a modification thereof have been described in detail,
it will be appreciated that various other alternative
embodiments and modifications thereof are within the spirit
and scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
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