Traction element for shoes
A traction element for a shoe is provided. The traction element including: a base element; at least one spike associated with the base element; and a securing element for securing the base element to the shoe; wherein the at least one spike is configured for one of football, baseball, soccer and golf.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to shoes and attachments thereto, and more particularly to traction elements for shoes.
2. Prior Art
Shoes that are worn by most people are prone to slippage on ice, snow, grass and other slippery surfaces. Shoe manufacturers have attempted to make the bottom surface of the shoes such that they better grip the ground surface. Shoes with protruding surfaces of various geometry are fabricated that increase resistance to slippage by digging into the snow and other surfaces that allow certain level of penetration by these protruding elements. However, for highly slippery surfaces, particularly those surfaces that are relatively hard and slippery and therefore resistant to penetration at relatively low pressure levels such as ice or hard snow, the aforementioned protruding surfaces cannot produce an adequate amount of traction. This is particularly the case since such protruding surfaces are commonly made of synthetic polymers that are relatively soft and used to make the shoe bottom and heel. As a result, the wearer can still slip on ice and the like.
To increase pressure between the aforementioned protruding elements and the ground surface, such elements have to be made with small surface area, i.e., to distribute the supporting weight over a small surface area to achieve a high contact pressure. To support the resulting pressure, the protruding elements, have to be constructed with relatively rigid and high strength materials such as steel or high stiffness and strong synthetic materials as relatively sharp “spikes”. During the walking over ice or other similar hard and slippery surfaces, the sharp spikes “dig” into the surface of the ice or hard snow, and provides for a significant traction between the shoe and the ice surface, thereby allowing the wearer to walk without slipping. Hereinafter, all protruding elements that are provided to increase traction between the shoe and the ground surface by “digging” into the surface such as ice or hard snow, are referred to as “spikes”, irrespective of whether they are integral part of a base plate, etc., or not.
A user wearing a shoe with the bottom surface covered with the aforementioned relatively sharp spikes can walk over ice, hard snow or the like with relative safety with little possibility of slippage. However, the user can wear the shoe only when on ice or the like. Wearing such spiked shoes can easily damage rugs, scar hard wood floors or other coverings indoors and would actually be unsafe over concrete and other similar hard surfaces since they would have a significantly lower friction than their aforementioned (softer) protruding elements. In addition, the spikes can damage asphalt and loose its sharpness. It is therefore desirable to wear such spiked shoes while walking over ice, hard snow or other similar surfaces and not indoors or over other outdoor surfaces.
A need therefore exist for methods and devices that would enable a person to wear shoes that are equipped with the aforementioned spikes to provide traction on ice, hard snow and the like, and returning the shoes to a no-spike wearing condition for use on other surfaces where such spikes are no longer needed for safe walking.
Such methods and devices may also be used in sports such as golf to allow the wearer to walk freely off the course, such as in the clubhouse and have appropriately spiked shoes for walking on grass. As a result, a wearer does not to carry an extra shoe and does not have to exchange shoes before going into the grass covered field.
Such methods and devices may also be used to provide traction for devices such as walkers, canes, crutches, and the like, where the user can use then to reduce the chances of slipping over ice, hard snow and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, a traction element for a shoe is provided. The traction element comprising: a base element; at least one spike associated with the base element; and a securing element for securing the base element to the shoe; wherein the at least one spike is configured for one of football, baseball, soccer and golf.
The securing element can comprise two or more elastic side grips biased toward a surface of the shoe. The elastic side grips can be biased against an upper body of the shoe.
The securing element can comprises a male projection on one of the base and shoe for mating with a corresponding female recess on the other of the base element and shoe. The male projection can be formed on the base element for mating with a corresponding female recess on one of the heel or sole of the shoe.
The securing element can comprise a pair of side straps disposed on the base element and configured for securing around an ankle. The securing element can further comprise an attachment element for attaching the pair of side straps around the ankle.
Also provided is a traction element for a shoe, where the traction element comprises: a base element; at least one spike associated with the base element; and a male projection on one of the base and shoe for mating with a corresponding female recess on the other of the base element and shoe for securing the base element to the shoe.
The male projection can be formed on the base element for mating with a corresponding female recess on one of the heel or sole of the shoe.
The at least one spike can be configured for one of snow, ice, football, baseball, soccer and golf.
Still further provided is a traction element for a shoe wherein, the traction element comprises: a base element; at least one spike associated with the base element; and two or more elastic side grips biased toward a surface of the shoe for securing the base element to the shoe.
The elastic side grips can be biased against an upper body of the shoe.
The at least one spike can be configured for one of snow, ice, football, baseball, soccer and golf.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Although the present invention is applicable to numerous types of shoes, it is particularly useful in the environment of shoes for providing traction during walking on snow and ice. Therefore, without limiting the applicability of the present invention to shoes and attachments for providing traction on shoe and ice, it will be described in such environment. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the shoes and attachments of the present invention can be utilized for general uses and for providing traction for sports, such as on golf shoes and baseball, soccer and football cleats.
The present invention provides spikes of various sizes and shapes that are distributed with some pattern and density over the bottom of shoes. The wearer is, however, able to remove or otherwise retract the spikes at will and with minimal effort. As a result, the user is provided with shoes with high traction over slippery surfaces such as ice, hard snow and the like, and is able to turn the shoe into a regular shoe that could be worn on any other surface where traction is not needed.
One embodiment is shown in
In the schematic of
In the schematic of
In another embodiment, the traction surface elements are designed to snap onto the shoe. One such embodiment is shown in the schematic side view of
In yet another embodiment, the traction surface element 40, as shown in
In yet another embodiment shown in
In yet another embodiment shown in
Another method of providing traction surface elements is provided where the spikes are retractable into a housing, such as the sole and/or heel of the shoe, or on a surface of the shoe, and are deployed by the user. The spikes may be those discussed above, such as being configured for snow, ice, football, baseball, soccer and golf. The deployment (and retraction) mechanism may require certain manual action or an action of the leg (foot). The deployment (retraction) action can be simple and easy to perform, particularly considering the harsh environment in which they have to be operated. In addition, since water, snow, ice, dirt, sand, etc., are almost always present, the mechanism can be capable of operating without hindrance in all such environments. The primary objective is to eliminate the need to change shoes and/or the need of putting the traction surface elements on when needed and taking them off when they are not needed (and possibly the need to carry around the traction surface elements in case they are needed).
In one embodiment of the present invention, the spikes are assembled into the shoe and are deployed or retracted at will by the user. In one such embodiment, the assembly is an integral part of the shoe. A side view of one embodiment is shown schematically in
The member 71 can be made as an angle 76 as shown in the side view of
Alternatively, attachment housing with the retractable spikes can be attached to the shoe by the user using, for example, one of the attachment methods described in the embodiments of
Although the spikes shown in the figures are shown in two-dimensional rows, they can be disposed in any pattern on the base elements, such as patterns that are used in golf, baseball, football, and soccer shoes. The spikes can also be proved in a variety of sizes, such as being very small for ice and longer for snow.
While there has been shown and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A traction element for a shoe, the traction element comprising:
- a base element;
- at least one spike associated with the base element; and
- a securing element for securing the base element to the shoe;
- wherein the at least one spike is configured for one of football, baseball, soccer and golf.
2. The traction element of claim 1, wherein the securing element comprises two or more elastic side grips biased toward a surface of the shoe.
3. The traction element of claim 2, wherein the elastic side grips are biased against an upper body of the shoe.
4. The traction element of claim 1, wherein the securing element comprises a male projection on one of the base and shoe for mating with a corresponding female recess on the other of the base element and shoe.
5. The traction element of claim 4, wherein the male projection is formed on the base element for mating with a corresponding female recess on one of the heel or sole of the shoe.
6. The traction element of claim 1, wherein the securing element comprises a pair of side straps disposed on the base element and configured for securing around an ankle.
7. The traction element of claim 6, wherein the securing element further comprises an attachment element for attaching the pair of side straps around the ankle.
8. A traction element for a shoe, the traction element comprising:
- a base element;
- at least one spike associated with the base element; and
- a male projection on one of the base and shoe for mating with a corresponding female recess on the other of the base element and shoe for securing the base element to the shoe.
9. The traction element of claim 8, wherein the male projection is formed on the base element for mating with a corresponding female recess on one of the heel or sole of the shoe.
10. The traction element of claim 8, wherein the at least one spike is configured for one of snow, ice, football, baseball, soccer and golf.
11. A traction element for a shoe, the traction element comprising:
- a base element;
- at least one spike associated with the base element; and
- two or more elastic side grips biased toward a surface of the shoe for securing the base element to the shoe.
12. The traction element of claim 11, wherein the elastic side grips are biased against an upper body of the shoe.
13. The traction element of claim 11, wherein the at least one spike is configured for one of snow, ice, football, baseball, soccer and golf.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 1, 2006
Publication Date: Jan 3, 2008
Inventors: Jahangir S. Rastegar (Stony Brook, NY), Thomas Spinelli (East Northport, NY)
Application Number: 11/479,344
International Classification: A43B 3/16 (20060101); A43B 15/00 (20060101); A43C 15/00 (20060101);