Sports shoe cleats

• US 5,794,367 A
• Filed: 02/20/1997
• Issued: 08/18/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Greenkeepers Of Delaware LLC (Greenkeepers Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Greenkeepers Incorporated
• Inventors: Carroll, Francis C.
• Primary Examiner(s): PATTERSON, MARIE D
• Application Number:
  US08/802,908
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: 36/127, 36/134, 36/67 R, 36/67 A, 36/67 D, 36/59 A, 36/59 C
• US Class Current: 36/134
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/001 Golf shoes
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/162 characterised by the shape

Abstract

A sport shoe cleat especially for golf shoes has a main body member having a dome-shaped outer face and a planar inner face, a threaded stud molded integrally with the main body member and projecting outwardly from the inner face. A plurality of pseudo pyramid-shaped teeth projecting around the perimeter of the main body member, each of the pseudo pyramid-shaped teeth having an outward angle to provide lateral stability and traction through the plane of a sports swing. The traction teeth have a low profile to reduce damage to putting green surfaces for example. The body member has a wear pad at the center of said dome-shaped outlet face, the wear pad being a weight-bearing surface such as to support the majority of the body weight placed on the cleat and keeping weight off the traction teeth to prolong the life of the traction teeth and the cleat. The dome shape and wear pad being adapted so that the body weight is directed toward the center of the cleat so that it wears from the inside out and that as the cleat wears from the inside out, the traction teeth also wear in an outward manner to allow the traction teeth to maintain the outward angle needed to provide lateral traction throughout the life of the cleat.

Claims

1. A sports shoe cleat comprising

a body member having an outer face and an inner face,

a threaded stud molded integrally with said main body member and projecting outwardly from said inner face and having an axis perpendicular to said inner face,

a plurality of perimeter traction teeth projecting around the perimeter of said outer face, and

a central wear tooth having an axis AL aligned with the axis of said threaded stud member and wherein each perimeter traction tooth has an axial line ALT which is angled outward relative to said axis AL to provide lateral stability and enhanced traction.

2. The sports shoe cleat defined in claim 1 wherein said perimeter traction teeth have an inside surface facing said central wear tooth and an outside surface facing away from said central wear tooth, and said inside surface is pyramid-shaped and said outside surface is cone-shaped.

3. The sports shoe cleat defined in claim 1 wherein said sports shoe cleat is molded from a polyurethane having a hardness range from 45 D to 95 D durometer hardness.

4. The sports shoe cleat defined in claim 1 wherein said central wear tooth is encircled by said traction teeth and wherein each traction tooth is angled about 371/2°

measured from said axis AL passing axially through the center of wear tooth and said axial line ALT passing axially through each traction tooth, respectively.

5. A golf shoe cleat comprising a main body member having a dome-shaped outer face and a planar inner face,

a threaded stud molded integrally with said main body member and projecting vertically outwardly from said inner face, said main body member having a circular perimeter,

a plurality of perimeter traction teeth circumferentially spaced around said circular perimeter of said main body member, each tooth having an outward angle to provide lateral stability and traction through the plane of a golf swing,

said body member having a central wear pad at the center of said dome-shaped outer face, said central wear pad being a weight-bearing surface such as to support the majority of the body weight placed on the cleat and tending to keep weight off said traction teeth to prolong the life of said traction teeth and the golf shoe cleat.

6. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 5 wherein said traction teeth are pseudo pyramid-shaped.

7. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 5 wherein said cleat is molded from a polyurethane having a hardness range from 45 D to 95 D durometer hardness.

8. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 7 wherein said plastic material is polyurethane having a hardness of about 55 D durometer hardness.

9. The golf cleat defined in claim 5 wherein said threaded stud has a helical groove extending from the base of said main body member outwardly and an at least one plastic fillet member bridging a portion of said helical groove so as to prevent loosening of said cleat during use.

10. A golf shoe cleat comprising

a main body member having a dome-shaped outer face and a generally planar inner face,

a threaded stud molded integrally with said main body member and projecting outwardly from said inner face and having an axis AL which is perpendicular to said generally planar inner face,

a plurality of pseudo pyramid-shaped teeth projecting around the perimeter of said main body member, each said pseudo pyramid-shaped teeth having an axial line ALT exiting at an outward angle relative to said axis AL to provide lateral stability and traction through the plane of a golf swing, said teeth being in a low profile to reduce damage to putting green surfaces,

said body member having a wear pad at the center of said dome-shaped outer face, said wear pad being a weight-bearing surface such as to support the majority of the body weight placed on the cleat and keeping weight off said traction teeth to prolong the life of said traction teeth and the cleat,

said dome shaped outer face and wear pad being adapted so that the body weight is directed toward the center of the cleat so that it wears from the inside out and that as the cleat wears from the inside out, said traction teeth also wear in an outward manner to allow said traction teeth to maintain said outward angle needed to provide lateral traction throughout the life of the cleat.

11. A golf shoe cleat comprising a main body member having a dome-shaped outer face and an inner face,

a threaded stud extending integrally from said main body member and projecting vertically outwardly from said inner face and having an axis AL,

a wear pad at the center of said dome-shaped outer face, said wear pad having an axis which is co-linear with said axis AL and constituting a weight bearing surface such as to support the majority of the body weight placed on said golf shoe cleat,

a plurality of perimeter traction teeth in a circular array around said wear pad, each perimeter traction tooth having an axis ALT which is at an outward angulation relative to said axis AL to provide lateral stability and enhanced traction through said dome of a golf swing,

said dome-shaped outer face and wear pad being adapted so that the body weight is directed toward the center of the cleat so that said cleat wears from the inside out and that as the cleat wears from the inside out, said traction teeth also wear in an outward manner to allow said traction teeth to maintain said outward angle to continue to provide lateral traction throughout the life of the cleat.

12. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 11 wherein said golf shoe cleat is molded from a polyurethane having a hardness range from about 45 D to about 95 D durometer hardness.

13. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 11 wherein said threaded stud has a helical thread extending from the base of said main body member outwardly and at least one plastic fillet member bridging a portion of said thread so as to prevent loosening of said golf cleat during use.

14. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 11 wherein said outward angulation is about 371/2°

.

15. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 11 wherein each said perimeter traction tooth has a tip which is flat.

16. The golf shoe cleat defined in claim 11 wherein each said perimeter traction tooth has a peak which is rounded.