Footwear

• US 6,101,746 A
• Filed: 07/22/1998
• Issued: 08/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Anthony Evans
• Inventors: Evans, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Kavanaugh, Ted
• Application Number:
  US09/120,546
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• Field of Search: 36/128, 36/59 R, 36/59 C, 36/134, 36/67 D, 36/67 R
• US Class Current: 36/128
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/223 Profiled soles
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/0042 with circular or circle shaped parts
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/02 Football boots or shoes, i.e. for soccer, football or rugby
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/162 characterised by the shape

Abstract

A football boot has a plurality of studs disposed in a pattern which includes a part of at least one ring. The studs are asymmetric in that they provide grip along a first axis and permit sliding along another axis in a manner to encourage self cleaning. The studs are arranged with their respective first axes aligned along the locus of the ring and their respective second axes aligned transversely of the ring.

Claims

1. A boot having a plurality of studs for penetrating a penetrable surface, said studs depending from the base of the boot, the studs being in the form of an arcuate body having, when viewed in underneath plan, a first axis and a second axis transverse to the first axis, the body providing at each end of the first axis a ramp surface which leads in an inclined manner substantially from a surface of the boot base substantially to a crown surface of the stud body and the body having a concave barrier surface provided at one of the ends of the second axis, the stud being asymmetric about the first axis in the plane of the second axis, so that when the stud penetrates a penetrable surface, a force tending to cause movement of the stud along the second axis in one direction is resisted and said stud grips the surface, and a force tending to cause movement of the stud along the first axis is not substantially resisted, the stud performing movement relative to the surface tending to wipe any accumulated surface material from its surfaces at the ends of the second axis and wherein at least some of the studs are disposed in a pattern which includes one or more partial or complete rings, the studs being arranged such that the barrier surface of the stud is located at the inside of the ring and the outer stud surface, that is, the surface located at the outside of the ring, is, at least in part, convex, characterized in that the barrier surface of the stud is more steep than the outer stud surface, and wherein said ramp surface has a convex portion adjacent to said crown surface.

2. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stud is longer along its first axis than its second axis.

3. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the barrier surface is a flat planar surface.

4. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ramp surface, when viewed along the first axis, also has a concave part adjacent to the base surface, the convex part being between the concave part and the stud crown surface.

5. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some of the studs are integral with the boot.

6. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the studs does not have a flat crown surface.

7. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the length of the stud along the first axis to the length of the stud along the second axis is in the range from 1:

1 to 10;

1.

8. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the length of the stud along the first axis to the length of the stud along the second axis is in the range from 2:

1 to 5;

1.

9. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the length of the stud from the sole to the crown surface of the stud to the width of the stud is in the range from 1:

0.7 to 1;

3.

10. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the length of the stud from the sole to the crown surface of the stud to the width of the stud is in the range from 1:

1 to 1;

2.

11. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer stud surface is wholly convex.

12. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer stud surface, when viewed in a horizontal plane, is a plane curve.

13. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein a respective array of said studs is provided on a heel and a sole portion of the boot base.

14. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the array of studs on the sole is arranged in partial or complete rings surrounding a central area of the sole.

15. A boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein all of the studs are similarly shaped.