Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
  • A43B13/14—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the constructive form
  • A43B13/22—Soles made slip-preventing or wear-resisting, e.g. by impregnation or spreading a wear-resisting layer
  • A43B13/24—Soles made slip-preventing or wear-resisting, e.g. by impregnation or spreading a wear-resisting layer by use of insertions
  • A43B13/26—Soles made slip-preventing or wear-resisting, e.g. by impregnation or spreading a wear-resisting layer by use of insertions projecting beyond the sole surface
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43C—FASTENINGS OR ATTACHMENTS OF FOOTWEAR; LACES IN GENERAL
  • A43C15/00—Non-skid devices or attachments
  • A43C15/16—Studs or cleats for football or like boots
  • A43C15/161—Studs or cleats for football or like boots characterised by the attachment to the sole

Definitions

• ankle injuries in the young athlete clearly exhibit the extreme difference between adult and childhood sport injuries. It has been found that ligaments in the skeletally immature athlete are stronger than the bones, so that ligament and other soft- tissue injuries are rare. With the tremendous increase in childhood and adolescent involvement in organized competitive athletics, the percentage of growth plate injuries attributable to sport is on the increase. Specifically, football, skateboarding, basketball, skiing, gymnastics and ice skating have increased dramatically. It would be most advantageous to provide shoes and foot supports for all of these athletic activities which would give way under certain forces in order to prevent the growth plate injuries which are currently being experienced.
• the inventor of the present invention does not know of any examples of any previous attempt to provide a break away shoe in order to substantially reduce ankle and knee injuries.
• Several shoes have been made with replaceable soles for various other reasons, however.
• an athlete it would be advantageous for an athlete to have available to him or her a break away shoe such that substantial ankle and knee injuries would be substantially reduced. Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe device which is responsive to lateral load forces in order to shear off break away sole portions from an upper shoe body. It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe device which includes break away cleats, again responsive to a predetermined lateral load force, so that the cleats will break away from the shoe if the athlete is hit very hard.
• An athletic shoe having break-away cleats on the shoe sole which includes an upper shoe body having a sole attached thereto with releasably engageable adhesive connection units attached to at least portions of the sole. At least one complementary mating cleat base is releasably engaged to the sole. At least one cleat is attached thereto, with the cleat base having a mating adhesive connection unit adapted for releasably engaging the at least one cleat base to the adhesive connection units attached to the sole of the upper shoe body.
• the respective complementary mating connection units attached to the shoe sole and the at least one cleat base are sequentially disposed for releasably engaging the at least one cleat base to the portions of the sole also having adhesive connection units so that the cleat bases will sequentially sever across the shoe sole in response to a substantially lateral loading force at least equal to the total shear breakaway force of individual pairs of the interlocking connection units, whereby low non-injury potential lateral forces subject the connections to sufficient shear loading to deform the connection units and sequentially break the interlocking connections so that the at least one cleat base, and consequently the at least one cleat attached thereto, is broken away from the shoe sole in a substantially lateral direction only.
• an athletic shoe having hinged cleats on the bottom of the shoe which includes an upper shoe body having a sole attached thereto with at least one hingeably mounted cleat unit attached to at least a portion of the sole. At least one complementary mating cleat base having the at least one hingeably mountable cleat unit attached thereto is hingeably mounted to the shoe.
• a cleat base having a hinged connection unit adapted for hingeably engaging the at least one cleat unit to the sole of the upper shoe body is attached to the sole.
• another athletic shoe which includes break ⁇ away shoe sole portions.
• This embodiment includes an upper shoe body having a first sole attached thereto with releasably engageable adhesive connection units attached to at least portions of the first sole.
• At least one complementary mating second sole portion having at least one mating adhesive connection unit is adapted for releasably engaging the at least one second sole portion to the adhesive connection units attached to the first sole of the upper shoe body.
• FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of the inventive device constructed in accordance with the present invention, wherein the athletic shoe is shown as having releasably engageable cleat units fastened to the sole of the shoe body;
• FIGURE 2 illustrates a bottom plan view of the shoe of Figure 1, illustrating the placement of the cleats
• FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of one possible connection unit configuration showing interlocking parts
• FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the connection units showing cleats in place;
• FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the connection unit showing interlocking portions;
• FIGURE 6A shows a top plan view of a second sole portion to be attached to a first sole attached to the upper shoe body
• FIGURE 6B shows a top plan view of a second sole portion to be attached to the front portion of the shoe
• FIGURE 6C is a bottom plan view of the first sole showing the placement of the fastening means
• FIGURE 7A is a top plan view of a second sole portion heel showing the relative placement of the connection units
• FIGURE 7B is a top plan view of the second shoe portion to be attached to the front of the shoe of Figure 7C;
• FIGURE 7C is a bottom plan view of the upper body shoe having a sole attached thereto;
• FIGURE 7D is a cross-sectional side view of a connection unit used to fasten the second sole portions to the first sole;
• FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the fastening connection unit.
• FIGURE 9 is a top plan view of the fastener of
• an athletic shoe is generally denoted by the numeral 10.
• the athletic shoe 10 includes an upper shoe body 12.
• the sole 14 of the shoe 10 includes recessed areas 16 with male connecting unit portions 18.
• the cleats 20 are attached to cleat bases 22 which may then be attached to recessed areas of the sole portions 24 and 26.
• a bottom plan view, as shown in figure 2 shows the relative placements of the sole portions 24 and 26, as well as the cleats 20 and cleat bases 22.
• the recessed area 14 may be used to contain taping of the shoe which is common among athletes. As the tape may be placed over recessed area 14, it does not interfere with the break away action of the cleats and cleat bases 20 and 22, respectively.
• figure 3 shows one configuration of a releasably engageable adhesive connection unit which is attached to at least portions of the sole and at least one complementary mating cleat base.
• the cleat base has at least one cleat attached thereto, and also has a mating adhesive connection unit adapted for releasably engaging the at least one cleat base to the adhesive connection unit attached to the sole of the upper shoe body.
• Figure 3 shows a recessed portion 32 with the male protrusion 34 attached to the sole 30 of the shoe.
• the mating cleat 36 is shown having a female indentation 38 to mate with the male protrusion 34.
• Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment of the cleat portion showing metallic cleats 40.
• the cleats 40 may be hingeably attached to either the cleat base or may be attached directly to the shoe sole as is shown in figure 4.
• the ball socket shown at the top of cleat 40 is secured into the cleat material and is held to a degree which will release upon impact with a certain predetermined lateral load force.
• Figure 5 shows another embodiment of the releasably engageable adhesive connection unit as it is molded into sole 42 with recessed area 44.
• the male protrusions 46 have a voided area 48 which is designed to compress as the male protrusion 46 is squeezed into the recessed area 52 of cleat base 50.
• FIG. 6A shows a second embodiment of the present invention which includes break-away sole portions 70 and 74 including fasteners 72.
• Fastener 72 may be of many configurations, including, but not limited to the fastening configurations disclosed in figures 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9, as well as a hook and loop fastening means, such as VELCRO, a registered trademark of the Velcro Corporation, or Dual Lock, a trademark of the 3-M Industrial Specialties Division.
• Figure 6C shows the placement of the engageably adhesive connection units in placed on sole 66 in heel region 62 and front region 64.
• the connection units 68 are designed to mate with the connection unit 72 shown in figures 6A and 6B.
• connection units which are utilized in this embodiment may be tailor made for specific weight and medical requirements for individual athletes in order to "program” the amount of lateral load force which can be applied before the second sole portion breaks away from the first sole which is attached to the upper shoe body.
• Second sole portions shown in figures 6A and 6B are separate pieces to enable the athlete to tape his shoe to his foot over recessed area 66.
• Figure 6D shows how the -10- sole 76 includes connecting units 82, while the second sole portion 78 includes its complementary mating connection units 80. The frequency of occurrence of the connection units 82 will determine the amount of shear strength which will be required to tear the second sole portion from the first sole portion.
• connection units 82 were the same size as the connecting unit 80 on second sole portion 78, a much greater shear strength would be required to break away the second sole portions than it would if connecting units 82 were smaller in size in comparison to the connecting units 80 of the second sole portion.
• FIG. 7A illustrates the heel portion 110 which includes connecting units 112 for mating with the complementary connection units 108 shown on heel portion 102 of the first sole.
• figure 7B shows a second sole portion 114 having connection units 112 which may mate with complementary sole portion 104.
• Connection unit 108 of the first sole 100 will mate with complementary connecting units 112 as shown in figure 7B.
• connection interlock shown in figure 7D it is envisioned that it is possible for the connection interlock shown in figure 7D to be employed.
• the shoe sole 116 has a male protrusion which will mate and interlock into recessed area 119 of the second sole portion 118.
• Spring 122 may include slits 125, and may include either a removed portion 126, or a solid portion 127, depending upon the strength of the spring required.
• the low profile shape of the male protrusion 121, in relationship to first sole 120, will allow for a better surface for energy reduction once release has occurred. Release is achieved by the floating spring 122 that is molded separately from cleat 123.
• the spring may be bonded to the cleat by sonic welding, or any other standard means of attachment. Free movement independent from the spring retention action when male protrusion 121 is inserted or released from recessed area 128 is accomplished by the void slot 125.
• the releasably engageable adhesive connection units as shown above will have a peel strength and a shear strength in order to break away before about 350 to 950 Newtons of force would be translated to soft tissues in and around the knee.
• the soft tissues which we desire to protect include the anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate, medial collateral and lateral collateral ligaments.
• the cleats should be removable with the same amount of force which is required to reduce soft tissue injury as in the embodiment with the removable sole portions.
• connection units may be individually selected in response to the individual weight or certain medical requirements of the athletic shoe wearer, so that the shear and peel strength may be individually responsive and dependent upon the predetermined break away force in order to substantially reduce injuries.
• At least one complementary mating cleat base having at least one hingeably mountably cleat unit attached thereto is adapted for hingeably engaging the cleat unit to the sole of the upper shoe body.
• the industrial applicability of the present invention includes athletic footwear used in any athletic activity, particularly in any turf sport (including, but not limited to soccer, rugby, American-style football and baseball) , having the potential for blows or impacts to the lower extremities of an athlete.
• the present invention reduces the likelihood or severity of soft tissue injuries during such activity or sport.

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• Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)

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• 1992
  • 1992-04-14 EP EP92912700A patent/EP0636005A4/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 1992-04-14 WO PCT/US1992/003053 patent/WO1992018027A1/fr not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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