Spike for golf shoe

Abstract

The present invention the present invention relates to a spike for a golf shoe, which ensures quick and rigid locking of a spike body to a nut member embedded in an outsole of the golf shoe, and allows a commercially available conventional spike body element to be threadedly locked to the nut member upon wear or breakage of the spike body, thereby lengthening a useful life of the golf shoe.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a spike for a golf shoe, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a spike for a golf shoe, which ensures quick and rigid locking of a spike body to a nut member embedded in an outsole of the golf shoe, and allows a commercially available conventional spike body element to be threadedly locked to the nut member upon wear or breakage of the spike body, thereby lengthening a useful life of the golf shoe.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] As is well known in the art, a spike for a golf shoe comprises a nut member and a spike body. In the case that the nut member and the spike body are integrally formed with each other, since they have different physical properties, a difficulty is caused in rigidly joining the spike body to the nut member, and therefore, durability of the spike is likely to be deteriorated.

[0005] To cope with this problem, a structure has been disclosed in the art, in which a nut member and a spike body are formed separately from each other in a manner such that the spike body is threadedly locked to the nut member embedded in an outsole of a golf shoe. However, the structure suffers from drawbacks in that, since the spike body should be rotated through a number of revolutions, it takes a lengthy time to threadedly lock the spike body to the nut member. Specifically, when the golf shoe is used for an extended period of time, the spike body is apt to be loosened and unlocked from the nut member.

[0006] Taking into account the above drawbacks, these days, a variety of spikes for allowing a spike body to be easily locked to a nut member have been disclosed in the art. In a typical example, a locking portion of the nut member is defined with a triangular opening, and a center portion of the spike body is formed with a triangular projection which is to be received in the triangular opening. Further, a locking groove is defined on an edge of the triangular opening, and a locking lip is formed on a surface of the triangular projection. Consequently, by slightly rotating the spike body, as the locking lip is engaged into the locking groove, the spike body is locked to the nut member. While it is easy to lock the spike body to the nut member, nevertheless, the conventional spike constructed as mentioned above has a disadvantage in that a possibility of the spike body to be unintentionally unlocked from the nut member by impact applied thereto is substantial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spike for a golf shoe, which ensures quick and rigid locking of a spike body to a nut member embedded in an outsole of the golf shoe, and allows a commercially available conventional spike body element to be threadedly locked to the nut member upon wear or breakage of the spike body, thereby lengthening a useful life of the golf shoe.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an annular groove is defined at a center portion of a nut member, and a pair of upwardly inclined projections are oppositely formed on an inner edge defining the locking groove. A sleeve part is formed at a center portion of a spike body, and a pair of downwardly inclined projections are oppositely formed on a circumferential outer surface of the sleeve part in a manner such that the downwardly inclined projections can respectively ride on the upwardly inclined projections to be slidingly and threadedly moved thereon. Therefore, due to threading rotation of the downwardly inclined projections on the upwardly inclined projections, the spike body can be quickly coupled to the nut member. Bases of the nut member and spike body are respectively formed with first and second ratchet teeth. The first and second ratchet teeth are meshed with each other when the spike body is fully coupled to the nut member, to prevent the spike body from being rotated in a reverse direction. In this way, the spike body is quickly, easily and rigidly locked to the nut member so that the locked status is maintained for extended periods. Also, according to the present invention, another sleeve part is formed at the center portion of the nut member, and an internally threaded portion is formed on a circumferential inner surface of the sleeve part to allow a commercially available conventional spike body element to be threadedly locked to the nut member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a spike for a golf shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] FIGS. 2a and 2b are cross-sectional views for explaining a locking procedure of a spike body to a nut member;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein the spike body is locked to the nut member; and

[0013] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein a conventional spike body element is threadedly locked to the nut member according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0015] A spike for a golf shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes a nut member 10 and a spike body 20. The nut member 10 has a first base 11. First ratchet teeth 14 are formed at a center portion of the first base 11. An annular groove 12 is defined inward of the first ratchet teeth 14. A first sleeve part 15 is placed inward of the annular groove 12 and is formed on a circumferential inner surface thereof with an internally threaded portion. The nut member 10 is formed, on an inner edge thereof defining the annular groove 12, with a pair of upwardly inclined projections 13. The spike body 20 has a second base 21. Second ratchet teeth 24 are formed at a center portion of the second base 21 to be meshed with the first ratchet teeth 14 of the nut member 10. A second sleeve part 22 is placed inward of the second ratchet teeth 24 to be inserted into the annular groove 12 of the nut member 10. The second sleeve part 22 is formed on a circumferential outer surface thereof with a pair of downwardly inclined projections 23 which can ride on the pair of upwardly inclined projections 13 of the nut member 10 to be slidingly and threadedly moved thereon. The reference numeral 30 designates a commercially available conventional spike body element, 31 an externally threaded part, and 40 an outsole of the golf shoe.

[0016] The nut member 10 is embedded in the outsole 40 of the golf shoe in a conventional manner such that the annular groove 12, the first ratchet teeth 14 and the first sleeve part 15 are exposed to the outside to allow the spike body 20 to be locked to the nut member 10. The first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 of the nut member 10 and spike body 20 are formed to face each other. It is to be noted that each of the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 has an acute obliqueness angle. The first sleeve part 15 which is placed inward of the annular groove 12 projects downward from the first base 11. In this consideration, the second sleeve part 22 of the spike body 20, which is inserted into the annular groove 12, has a circular cross-sectional shape. The second sleeve part 22 is nearly press-fitted into the annular groove 12. The pair of upwardly inclined projections 13 are formed on the inner edge of the nut member 10, defining the annular groove 12, in a manner such that they are spaced apart from each other along a circumferential direction by 180 to be oppositely positioned. In the same manner, the pair of downwardly inclined projections 23 are formed on the circumferential outer surface of the second sleeve part 22 in a manner such that they are spaced apart from each other along the circumferential direction by 180 to be oppositely positioned.

[0017] When assembling the spike body 20 to the nut member 10, the second sleeve part 22 of the spike body 20 is inserted into the annular groove 12 of the nut member 10 so that the downwardly inclined projections 23 formed on the circumferential outer surface of the second sleeve part 22 of the spike body 20 are not collided with the upwardly inclined projections 13 formed on the inner edge of the nut member 10. FIGS. 2a and 2b are cross-sectional views for explaining a locking procedure of the spike body 20 to the nut member 10. In FIGS. 2a and 2b, some constitutive parts are not illustrated for the sake of clarity in explaining an operational relationship between the upwardly inclined projections 13 and the downwardly inclined projections 23 upon locking the spike body 20 to the nut member 10. Referring to FIG. 2a, the downwardly inclined projections 23 of the second sleeve part 22 respectively pass between the pair of upwardly inclined projections 13 of the nut member 10 in a manner such that one end of each downwardly inclined projection 23 of the spike body 20, which one end has a minimum thickness, is positioned slightly above one end of each upwardly inclined projection 13 of the nut member 10, which one end also has a minimum thickness. Then, by rotating the spike body 20 in one direction, the downwardly inclined projections 23 respectively ride and then slidingly and threadedly moved on the upwardly inclined projections 13. In this way, as the second sleeve part 22 of the spike body 20 is moved upward, it is more deeply inserted into the annular groove 12, and thereby, the spike body 20 is fully coupled to the nut member 10.

[0018] While the spike body 20 is threadedly rotated to be moved upward, the second ratchet teeth 24, which are formed on the second base 21 of the spike body 20, continuously go over and finally meshed with the first ratchet teeth 14, which are formed on the first base 11 of the nut member 10. That is to say, when the spike body 20 is rotated to lock the spike body 20 to the nut member 10, the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 are rubbed against each other. At this time, because each of the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 has a predetermined obliqueness, only a flimsy level of frictional resistance is produced. Of course, while the spike body 20 is rotated to be moved toward the nut member 10, the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 momentarily resist against rotation of the spike body 20. By forcibly rotating the spike body 20 using a tool, it is possible to overcome the resistance of the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24. Because the first and second bases 11 and 21 of the nut member and spike body 10 and 20 are formed of synthetic resin or urethane having a predetermined elasticity, the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 can be momentarily contracted to be finally meshed with each other.

[0019] While the locking procedure for locking the spike body 20 to the nut member 10 was described in detail, in practice, at the same time that the second sleeve part 22 of the spike body 20 is inserted into the annular groove 12 of the nut member 10, the spike body 20 is rotated, and then, at the same time that the spike body 20 is fully coupled to the nut member 10, the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 are meshed with each other. In this way, locking of the spike body 20 to the nut member 10 is implemented in an extremely short period of time. Specifically, the locking of the spike body 20 to the nut member 10 within the short period of time is facilitated by the fact that an angle, through which the downwardly inclined projections 23 are rotated on the upwardly inclined projections 13 to lock the spike body 20 to the nut member 10, is set to a small value of about 90. As a consequence, according to the present invention, excellent assemblability can be accomplished upon providing the spike to the outsole of the golf shoe. In order that the spike body 20 may be unlocked from the nut member 10, the downwardly inclined projections 23 of the second sleeve part 22 of the spike body 20 have to be disengaged from the upwardly inclined projections 13 of the nut member 10. Further, in order that the downwardly inclined projections 23 of the second sleeve part 22 of the spike body 20 may be disengaged from the upwardly inclined projections 13 of the nut member 10, the spike body 20 has to be rotated in a reverse direction. However, in the present invention, due to the presence of the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 which are meshed with each other, the spike body 20 is perfectly prevented from being rotated in the reverse direction. Also, in the present invention, due to the presence of the upwardly and downwardly inclined projections 13 and 23, the spike body 20 is prevented from being released downward from the nut member 10. In other words, the first and second ratchet teeth 14 and 24 prevent the upwardly and downwardly inclined projections 13 and 23 from being disengaged from each other (that is, the spike body 20 from being rotated in the reverse direction). Resultingly, the spike body 20 can be quickly and rigidly locked to the nut member 10, and this locked condition can be maintained for an extended period of time.

[0020] Meanwhile, in the present invention, the first sleeve part 15 which is placed inward of the first ratchet teeth 14 is formed of a metallic material. While it is the norm to newly buy a golf shoe when a spike body loses its functionality due to breakage or wear thereof, in the present invention, by forcibly removing the spike body 20 from the nut member 10 using the tool, the externally threaded part 31 of the commercially available conventional spike body element 30 can be driven into the first sleeve part 15 of the nut member 10 to lengthen a useful life of the golf shoe.

[0021] As apparent from the above description, the spike for a golf shoe according to the present invention provides advantages in that, due to quick and rigid locking of a spike body to a nut member, assemblability of the spike is improved, a cost of the spike is reduced, and a useful life of the golf shoe is lengthened to render economy. Also, since a commercially available conventional spike body element can be threadedly locked to the nut member upon wear or breakage of the spike body, the useful life of the golf shoe can be further lengthened. Meanwhile, it is to be noted that the spike according to the present invention can be applied to other sports shoes having spikes as well as a golf shoe.

[0022] In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A spike for a golf shoe, comprising:

a nut member having a first base, first ratchet teeth which are formed at a center portion of the first base, an annular groove which is defined inward of the first ratchet teeth, a first sleeve part which is placed inward of the annular groove and is formed on a circumferential inner surface thereof with an internally threaded portion, the nut member being formed, on an inner edge thereof defining the annular groove, with a pair of upwardly inclined projections; and

a spike body having a second base, second ratchet teeth which are formed at a center portion of the second base to be meshed with the first ratchet teeth of the nut member, and a second sleeve part which is placed inward of the second ratchet teeth to be inserted into the annular groove of the nut member, the second sleeve part being formed on a circumferential outer surface thereof with a pair of downwardly inclined projections which can ride on the pair of upwardly inclined projections of the nut member to be slidingly and threadedly moved thereon.