US2876563A

US2876563A - Adjustable cleat attachment for shoes

Info

Publication number: US2876563A
Application number: US679986A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles W Aitken
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-08-23
Filing date: 1957-08-23
Publication date: 1959-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 1976-03-10

Description

March 10, 1959 c. w. AlTKEN ADJUSTABLE CLEAT ATTACHMENT FOR SHOES Filed Aug. 23, 1957 INVENTOR.

ATTOIZMEYS United States Patent 2,876,563 ADJUSTABLE CLEAT ATTACHMENT FOR SHOES (Iharles W. Aitken, Greenwood, S. C. Application August 23, 1957, Serial No. 679,986 4 Claims. (Cl. 367.7)

The invention relates to wearing apparel, and more specifically, the invention pertains to an attachment for shoes. 1

One of the primary objects ,of this invention is to provide a cleat attachment for conventional street shoes to provide the advantages normally obtained by use of golfing shoes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cleat attachment of the type generally referred to above which does not require alteration of the users street shoes nor will the attachment damage the same when attached thereto.

A further object of this invention is to provide an adjustable cleat attachment of the type referred to supra, which may be readily attached to or removed from the sole of the conventional street shoe, it being understood that the shoe includes at least an outsolefl It is a still further object of this invention to provide an adjustable cleat attachment for conventional street shoes, the cleat attachment being adapted for application to the soles of shoes which may vary in their respective longitudinal and lateral dimensions.

This invention contemplates, as a still further object thereof, the provision of a cleat attachment for conventional street shoes, the attachment being non-complex in construction and assembly, inexpensive to manufacture, and durable in use.

Other and further objects andadvantages of the instant invention will become more evident from a consideration of the following specification when read in conjunction with the annexed drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the under side of the cleat attachment constructed in accordance with this invention, the attachment being illustrated as secured to the sole of a conventional street shoe;

Figure 2 is a detailed, cross-sectional view taken substantially upon the vertical plane of line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; this view illustrating the cleat attachment in an inverted position with respect to the illustration of the attachment shown in Figure l; and

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cleat attachment, per se.

Referring now more specifically to the drawing, reference numeral designates, in general, a cleat attachment for conventional street shoes constructed in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention. As illustrates in the figures, the cleat attachment 10 is seen to comprise an elongated substantially rectangular first plate member 12 formed of a metal or of any other suitable substantially rigid material, the plate member 12 terminating at its other end in a flange 14 which projects laterally therefrom at substantially right angles with respect thereto. The flange 14 is integrally formed with one end of a flange 16 reverted over the plate mem- 0 her 12 and disposed in vertically spaced and substantially parallel relation with respect thereto. A screw Q otherends of the plate28a're vertically offset with reice 18 has one of its ends rigidly secured to the plate member 12 adjacent the other end thereof and projects laterally therefrom at substantially right angles with respect thereto in the direction opposite to the direction of the projection of the flange 4. v

A second elongated substantially rectangular plate member 20 formed of metal or of any other suitable substantially rigid material terminates at one of its ends in a flange 22 which projects laterally. therefrom at substantially right angles relative thereto. The flange 22 is integrally formed with one end of a flange 24 reverted over the platemember 20 in vertically spaced and substantially parallel relation with respect thereto. The other end of the plate member 20 is provided with a longitudinally extending elongatedsubstantially rectangular slot 26 extending transversely therethrough.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a third elongated substantially rectangular plate member formed of metal or of any other suitable substantially rigid material. The plate member 28 terminating at one of its ends in a flange- 30 which projects laterally therefrom at substantially right angles relative thereto. The flange 30 is integrally formed with one end of a flange 32 reverted over the plate member 28 in vertically spaced and substantially parallel relation relative thereto. I

The other end of the plate member 28 is provided with a longitudinally extending elongated substantially rectangular slot 34 extending transversely therethrough. As is seen in thedrawingathe aforementioned one and spect' to each other and are substantially parallel. The

one and other ends of the plate member 28 are intescrew 18 to hold the cleats in loose association. Sub-' grally connected by abridge element 36 angularly inclined with respect thereto.

Reference numeral 38 indicates, in general, one of the cleat elements, per se. Each of -the cleats 38 are identically constructed and each is seen to comprise a substantially circular disc or main body portion 40 having a plurality of integrally formed, radially spaced, substantially triangular teeth 42 positioned at the circumferential marginal edge thereof, the teeth 42 projecting laterally from the disc 40 in the same direction and at substantially right angles with respect thereto.

A cleat 38 has the disc portion 40 thereof fixedly secured, as by welding 44, to each of the plate members 12 and 20, respectively, intermediate their respective opposed ends with the teeth thereof projecting laterally therefrom in a direction opposed to the direction of the projecting

flanges

14 and 22, respectively. 1

A pair of similar cleats 38'are connected to the aforementioned one end of the third plate 28 in longitudinally spaced relation with the teeth thereof projecting laterally away therefrom in a direction opposite to the direction of the projecting flange 30.

Reference numeral 46 designates'a second type of cleat. As is seen in the figures, the cleat 46 includes a disc portion 48 having a centrally located internally threaded opening 50 extending transversely therethrough and a plurality of integrally formed, radially spaced, substantially triangular teeth 52 projecting laterally from the disc 48 at the circumferential marginal edge thereof.

To utilize this attachment, the

several plates

12, 20 and 28 are first loosely connected together by extending the screw 18 through the

slots

26 and 34 in the order named, with the

flanges

14, 22 and 30 extending in the same direction. Thereafter, the cleat 46 is threaded on the sequently, the user engages theflange 14 of the plate 12 against one side of an outsole 54 of a shoe 56 having a last 58 with the flange 16 hooking 'over the upper marginal edge of the outsole 54.

The flange 22is-now"engagcd "against the opposite side of the outsole 54 with the flange 24 also hooked over the upper marginal edge of the outsole 54.

Thereaften the flange 30 of the plate 28 is engaged in the forward end of the outsole 54 with the flange 32 hooking over the upper marginal edge thereof.

With the

plates

12, 20 and 28 positioned in the manner described, the cleat 46 is now tightened against the above-mentioned other end of the plate'28 to releasably secure the plates in their respective assembled positions.

To remove the attachment from the outsole 54 it is only necessary to loosen the cleat 46 so that the

flanges

14, 22 and 30 may be moved away from adjacent portions of the side and end of the outsole 54 until the

flanges

16, 24 and 32 become disengaged from the upper marginal edges thereof.

It will be recognized by those skilled inthis art that the plates 20 and 22 are pivotally mounted on the pin 18 whereby the same may be turned towards and away from the plate 28. At thessame time,'the plates .12 and 20 may be moved toward and away from each other at any desired angle with respect to-each other, and the adjacent ends thereof may be moved toward or away from the opposed ends of the plate 28.

'It will be understood that while .a number of sequential steps for connecting the attachment 10 to a shoe 56 have beeniset forth in detailabove, the order recited is not controlling and may be varied at the will of the user without departing from the spirit and. scope of this invention. Further, while reference has been made above for the provision of an attachment to street shoes for use in playing golf, it is self-evident that the attachment finds other utility whenever the user must cross slippery terrain such as, for example, snow and ice-filled streets.

In setting forth this invention, reference has been made to the application of the attachment 10 to the outsole of a shoe. This term has been employed to distinguish away from such articles of clothing of the moccasin type, sneakers, etc., which are not normally provided with a sole having a marginal edge separated from the shoe last. As employed herein, the term sole comprehends any construction which may include an insole, slipsole, or outsole, or any combination thereof.

Having described and illustrated one embodiment of this invention in detail, it is to be understood that the same is ottered merely by way of example and that this invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a cleat attachment for a shoe having an outsole, said cleat attachment being adapted for extension across the under side of said outsole, said cleat attachment including a plurality of elongated rectangular plate members, each of said plate members terminating at one of their respective ends in a flange projecting laterally therefrom and in the same direction and at right angles with respect thereto, the outer ends of each of said flanges being reverted over its associated plate in spaced, parallel relation relative thereto, one of said platemembers having a pin projecting laterally from a side thereof in a direction opposite to the direction of its said associated flange, said pin being disposed adjacent the other end of said one plate member, a pair of said plate members each having their respective other ends overlapped and having an elongated substantially rectangular slot formed therein, said pin extending through said slots whereby said plate members may be pivotally and slidably adjusted relative to each other to selected adjusted positions, means mounted on said. pin and engaging one plate of said pair of slotted plate members to releasably secure said plate members.- in said adjusted positions, cleat means for each of said platemembers, and said one plate of said pair having "abridge portion adjacent its said slotted end whereby the major portion of said one :3 plate of said pair maybe superimposed against said underside of said outsole.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a cleat attachment for a shoe having an outsole, said cleat attachment being adapted for extension across the under side of said outsole, said cleat attachment including a plurality of elongated rectangular plate members, each of said plate members terminating at one of their respective ends in a flange projecting laterally therefrom and in the same direction at right angles with respect thereto, the outer ends of each of said flanges being reverted over its associated plate in spaced and parallel relation relative thereto, one of said plate members having a pin projecting laterally from a side thereof and in a direction opposed to the direction of its associated flange, said pin being disposed adjacent the other end of said plate member, a pair of said plate members each having their respective other ends overlapped and having an elongated rectangular slot formed therein and extending transversely therethrough, said pin extending through said slots whereby said plate members may be pivotally and slidably adjusted relative to each other to selected adjusted positions, means mounted on said pin and engaging one plate of said pair of slotted plate members to releasably secure said plate members in their said adjusted positions, and cleat means for each of said plate members, each of said cleats comprising a plurality of radially spaced triangular teeth projecting laterally from said plate members in the same direction as said pin, said flanges of said plate members and their respective reverted ends engaging against and hooking over said outsole at its opposed sides and forward end thereof, and said one plate'of said pair having a bridge portion adjacent its said slotted end whereby the major portion of said one plate of said pair may be superimposed against said underside of said outsole.

3. Cleat means for attachment to the underside of an outsole of a shoe, said means including three elongated rectangular plate members, each of said plate members terminating at one of their respective ends in an integrally formed flange projecting laterally away from a side thereof, each of said flanges terminating in a reverted end disposed in vertically spaced and parallel relation relative to said plate member associated therewith, one of said plate members having a screw rigidly secured thereto adjacent the other end thereof and projecting laterally from its other side, the other ends of the other two of said plate members being overlapped and provided with a rectangular longitudinally extending slot, said screw extending through said slots to pivotally and slidably connect said plates to one another for adjustment to a selected position relative to each other, the outermost one of said overlapped plate members having an offset bridge formed therein adjacent said slotted end thereof whereby the major portion of said last named overlapped plate member is superimposed against said underside of said outsole, means threaded on said screw for holding said plate members in their said adjusted positions with said flanges and reverted ends engaging against and hooking over the opposed sides and forward end of said outsole.

4. An article of manufacture comprising a cleat attachment for a shoe having an outsole, said cleat attachment being adapted for extension across the under side of said outsole, said cleat attachment including a plurality of elongated rectangular plate members, each of said plate members terminating at one of their respective ends in a flange projecting laterally from a side thereof and in the same direction at right angles with respect thereto, each of said flanges terminating in'ends reverted over and extending parallel in vertically spaced relation relative to its associated plate member, one of said plate members having a pin projecting laterally from the other side thereof, said pin being disposed adjacent the other end of s id one plate member, the other pair of said plate members each having an elongated rectangular slot formed therein adjacent their respective other ends, said pin extending through said slots to pivotally and slidably connect said plate members for adjustment relative to each other to preselected positions, means mounted on said pin and engaging one plate of said pair of slotted plate members to releasably secure all of said plate members in their respective adjusted positions, one of said pair of plate members having an intermediate ofiset portion, and cleat means for each of said plate members, each of said cleats comprising a plurality of radially spaced triangular teeth projecting laterally from said plate members in the same direction as said pin, said flanges and reverted ends of said plate members engaging against and extending over said outsole at the upper marginal edge thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Guilford Aug. 31, Brittan Aug. 11, Grafi Nov. 19, Forbes Nov. 29, Rogers Mar. 27, Conway July 24,

FOREIGN PATENTS Austria Apr. 1,