WO2005082193A1

WO2005082193A1 - Studs

Info

Publication number: WO2005082193A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/000656
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Charles Fell
Original assignee: Andrew Charles Fell
Priority date: 2004-02-25
Filing date: 2005-02-24
Publication date: 2005-09-09
Also published as: GB0404163D0

Abstract

This invention relates to studs for shoes and, in particular, but not exclusively horseshoes and sport shoes such as golf shoes and football and rugby boots or shoes. A horseshoe (10) includes threaded holes (11) adjacent the heels (12). An insert (14) is screwingly engaged into the hole (11) to sit generally flush with ground engaging surface (15) of the horseshoe (10). The insert (14) defines a central bore 16 which can receive a cylindrical extension (17) that projects from the centre of the base (18) of the stud (13). A magnetic washer (19) encircles the extension (17) to clamp the stud (13) and insert (14) together.

Description

Studs This invention relates to studs for shoes and in particular but not exclusively horseshoes and sports shoes such as golf shoes and football and rugby boots^' or shoes. It has been known for many years to provide studs at the heels of a horseshoe in order to provide increased grip. Examples of such proposals can be seen in GB-A-234251 and GB-A-2346538, but studs of the type illustrated in 2377613 are currently more typicai. s vϋi ue seen sucn stu s have an integral threaded portion, which can be screwed into a threaded hole formed in the horseshoe by the manufacturer. Such studs work perfectly well, whilst in situ, but in between periods of use the threaded holes in the horseshoes become packed with mud and what is in effect a tapping tool has to be used to clean out the threads. In inexpert hands, the result is that the threads quite often become cross threaded and the studs cannot be used until a new horseshoe is fitted. Screw in threaded studs are known for golf and rugby and football boots. The user may wish to change their studs to suit the conditions. Screwing the threads in and out is laborious. From one aspect the present invention consists in a stud assembly for use with a shoe having threaded stud holes, including: (a) a magnetic insert for threadingly engaging in a threaded hole and defining a central bore;

(b) a magnetic stud having an extension for location in the bore; and

(c) a magnet locatable between the insert and the bore to retain the stud on the insert and/or the horseshoe. It will be understood that in most cases the insert and the stud will be magnetic in the sense that they are attracted to the magnet and will, themselves, not normally be permanently magnetised. Although a system in which the insert and/or the stud were magnetised, would be theoretically possible, it would make the insertion of the insert more difficult and the length of the extension might need to be limited to avoid repulsive forces or the extension might need to be rendered in non-magnetic material. it will be understood that by providing the insert, the threads are kept clean at all times and it is only the bore that needs to be cleaned out alternatively this can be very readily blanked. Preferably the stud has a base and the extension extends from its base. The cross-section of the base may be larger than that of the insert. In an alternative embodiment the insert may have a head for overlying a portion of the horseshoe circumjacent the mouth of the hole and in that case the stud may have a base of at least substantially the same cross-section of the head. The magnetic element may be in the form of a washer, which will usually be a separate element so that it can also be used with a blanking stud, but it could be attached to or integral with the base of the stud. The stud may have a formation for engagement by a removal tool, for example the formation may be a -groove which at least partially encircles the outer face of the stud. The stud can be of any appropriate shape, but most usually it will be generally conical. The assembly may further include a disc shaped blanking stud for attachment when the main non-slip stud is not required. This too would have an extension and would be^' provided to keep the bore clear. The invention includes a shoe such as a horseshoe or sports shoe incorporating at least one_. stud as herein before defined. The term shoe includes a boot for the purposes of this specification. Although the invention has been defined above it is to be understood that it includes any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following description. The invention may be performed in various ways and specific embodiments will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a horseshoe having threaded holes;. Figure 2 is a similar view with studs mounted in the holes; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through an insert hole showing one embodiment of the Applicant's stud assembly; Figure 4 is a corresponding view to Figure 3 over blanking stud; and Figure 5 shows an alternative arrangement to the embodiment of Figure 3. As shown in Figure 1 a horseshoe 10 includes threaded holes 11 adjacent the heels 12. This is currently the standard horseshoe provided for those that wish to use studs. In Figure 2 a pair of the Applicants studs are mounted in respective holes 11 to show how the horseshoe looks in use. Both views are of the horseshoe with its ground engaging face shown upwardly. Turning to Figure 3, an insert 14 is screwingly engaged into the hole.11 to sit generally flush with the ground engaging surface 15 of the horseshoe 10. The insert 14 defines a central bore 16 which can . receive a cylindrical extension 17 that projects from the centre of the base 18 of the stud 13. A magnetic washer 19 encircles the extension 17 so that when the extension 17 is fully inserted in the bore 16, the magnetic washer 19 is sandwiched between the base 18 and the insert 14 and serves to clamp the stud 13 and insert 14 together. The provision of the extension 17 sitting in the bore 16 guards against the stud being displaced due to lateral forces. The stud 13 has an encircling groove 20, which can be gripped by a removal tool to make it easier to extract the stud 13, when it is not required: As has been explained above, the insert 14 will be left in position to substantially protect the hole 11 and in particular its thread. The bore can fairly readily be cleaned out, before the next use of the stud 13 using a pin or the like, but if the user wishes to avoid that, they can replace the stud 13 by a disc shaped blanking stud 13a, as shown in Figure 4. In the arrangement shown in Figure 5 the insert 14 has a annular head 21 designed to sit on the surface 15. This has the dual benefit of significantly increasing the area of magnetic engagement, because the size of the washer 19 can be increased and because the head 21 provides a clean flat surface and thus enhances the engagement. With such an arrangement it is particularly preferred that the blanking disc 13a be used to protect the head 21. The stud 13 may have a tungsten carbide tip. As has been mentioned before, the studs can equally well be used with sports shoes having threaded bores. The shape and size of the studs will of course be dependent on the particular usage.

Claims

Claims 1. A stud assembly for use with a shoe having threaded stud holes including: (a) a magnetic insert for threadingly engaging in a threaded hole and defining a central bore: (b) a magnetic stud having an extension for location in the bore; and (c) a magnetic iocatabie between the insert and the bore to retain the stud on the insert and/or the horseshoe.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stud has a base and the extension extends from its base.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the stud has a base or larger cross-section than the insert.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the insert has a head for overlying a portion of the horse shoe circumjacent the mouth of the hole.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein the stud has a base of at least substantially the cross-section of the head.

6. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the magnetic element is in the form of a washer.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the stud has a formation for engagement by the removal tool.

8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the formation is a groove which at least partially encircles the outer face of the stud.

9. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the stud is generally conical.

10. An assembly as claimed- in any one of the preceding claims further indicating a disc shaped blanking stud.

11. A stud assembly as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A shoe incorporating at least one stud as defined in the preceding claims.

13. A shoe as claimed in ciaimed 12 wherein the shoe is a horseshoes or a sports shoe or boot.