Article of footwear having non-clogging sole
First Claim
1. An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper for accommodating and securing said article of footwear to a wearer'"'"'s foot;
a sole attached to said upper, said sole including a generally planar ground engaging surface and at least two traction members projecting from said generally planar ground engaging surface, each of said at least two traction members including a base surface adjacent said generally planar ground engaging surface, side surfaces, and a tip;
wherein at least a portion of said base surface and said side surfaces of each of said at least two traction members and at least a portion of said generally planar ground engaging surface between said at least two traction members are integrally molded and comprise an adhesion prevention material having both a low coefficient of friction and a low wettability with regard to water; and
wherein said tip of each of said at least two traction members remains substantially free of said adhesion prevention material.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides an article of footwear having an upper and a non-clogging sole attached to the upper. The sole includes a generally planar ground engaging surface and at least one traction member or cleat projecting from the generally planar ground engaging surface. The traction member or cleat is attached with a base surface adjacent the generally planar ground engaging surface, side surfaces projecting downwards, and a tip attached at a bottom end of the traction member. At least a portion of the base surface and the side surfaces of the traction member or cleat and at least a portion of the ground engaging surface of the sole includes an adhesion prevention material having both a low coefficient of friction and a low wettability with respect to water in a preferred embodiment. However, the tip of the traction member remains substantially free of the adhesion prevention material. The adhesion prevention material has a coefficient of friction of less than 0.4, preferably between 0.1 and 0.3, and the low wettability of the material is preferably characterized such that the average of the advancing and receding contact angles of a drop of pure distilled water on said adhesion prevention material (herein called the wettability index) is equal to or greater than about 90 degrees.
-
Citations
34 Claims
-
1. An article of footwear comprising:
-
an upper for accommodating and securing said article of footwear to a wearer'"'"'s foot; a sole attached to said upper, said sole including a generally planar ground engaging surface and at least two traction members projecting from said generally planar ground engaging surface, each of said at least two traction members including a base surface adjacent said generally planar ground engaging surface, side surfaces, and a tip; wherein at least a portion of said base surface and said side surfaces of each of said at least two traction members and at least a portion of said generally planar ground engaging surface between said at least two traction members are integrally molded and comprise an adhesion prevention material having both a low coefficient of friction and a low wettability with regard to water; and wherein said tip of each of said at least two traction members remains substantially free of said adhesion prevention material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
-
-
34. An article of footwear comprising:
-
an upper for accommodating and securing said article of footwear to a wearer'"'"'s foot; a sole attached to said upper, said sole including a generally planar ground engaging surface and at least two traction members projecting from said generally planar ground engaging surface, said traction members each including a base surface adjacent said generally planar ground engaging surface, side surfaces, and a tip; wherein at least a portion of said base surface and said side surfaces of each of said traction members and at least a portion of said generally planar ground engaging surface between said at least two traction members comprises an adhesion prevention material having both a low coefficient of friction and a low wettability with regard to water; and wherein said tip of said traction member is formed as an integral portion of the sole and is substantially free of said adhesion prevention material.
-
Specification
-
- Resources
-
Current AssigneeNike, Inc., Robert M. Lyden
-
Original AssigneeNike, Inc., Nike International Ltd. (Nike, Inc.)
-
InventorsWu, Souheng, Lyden, Robert M.
-
Primary Examiner(s)PATTERSON, MARIE D
-
Application NumberUS08/709,537Time in Patent Office795 DaysField of Search36/134, 36/67 D, 36/67 R, 36/127, 36/59 R, 36/67 A, 36/59 CUS Class Current36/59.00RCPC Class CodesA43B 13/26 projecting beyond the sole ...A43B 5/02 Football boots or shoes, i....A43B 5/025 characterised by an element...
