US-12622485-B2 - Dual purpose running and cycling shoe

US12622485B2US 12622485 B2US12622485 B2US 12622485B2US-12622485-B2

Abstract

A dual purpose running and cycling shoe. The shoe can include an upper portion, an outsole portion, and a midsole portion disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion. The shoe can also include a rigid plate that is configured to selectively couple to a clipless cycling pedal. The rigid plate can be disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion, and the rigid plate can extend along a horizontal axis at least partially from an end portion of a heel portion of the rigid plate towards an oppositely located end portion of a toe portion of the rigid plate.

Inventors

James W. Hurt

Assignees

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210823

Claims (16)

1 . A shoe, comprising: an upper portion; an outsole portion defining at least a portion of a recess; a midsole portion disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion, the midsole portion defining at least a portion of the recess; a rigid plate configured to selectively couple to a clipless cycling pedal, wherein the rigid plate is disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion, wherein the rigid plate extends along a horizontal axis at least partially from a heel portion of the rigid plate towards an oppositely located toe portion of the rigid plate; a selectively attachable and detachable clipless pedal cleat, wherein the rigid plate includes one or more fasteners to couple the clipless pedal cleat to the rigid plate in a cycling mode of the shoe, wherein the clipless pedal cleat is disposed within the recess and spaced apart from a bottom surface of the outsole portion; and at least one selectively attachable and detachable plug configured to fill the recess in a running mode of the shoe, the plug comprising a midsole plug portion and an outsole plug portion, the plug being formed and dimensioned to fit completely within the portion of the recess defined by the midsole portion and the portion of the recess defined by the outsole portion.
2 . The shoe of claim 1 , wherein the midsole portion comprises a first cushioned midsole and a second cushioned midsole, and wherein the rigid plate is disposed between the first cushioned midsole and the second cushioned midsole.
3 . The shoe of claim 1 , wherein the rigid plate is a full length rigid plate that extends along the horizontal axis from an end of the heel portion of the shoe to an end of the oppositely located toe portion of the shoe.
4 . The shoe of claim 1 , wherein the outsole portion comprises a first section and a second section laterally separated from the first section by the recess, wherein the midsole portion comprises a first section and a second section laterally separated from the first section by the recess, wherein the plug is formed and dimensioned to completely fit between first and second sections of each of the outsole portion and the midsole portion.
5 . The shoe of claim 1 , wherein the rigid plate extends at least from a location corresponding to the heel portion of the shoe to at least a location corresponding to the clipless pedal cleat.
6 . The shoe of claim 1 , wherein at least part of the rigid plate is configured to define at least one aperture or hole such that the at least one aperture or hole is configured to receive at least part of a pedal cleat and/or at least part of a clipless pedal to selectively couple the rigid plate to the clipless pedal.
7 . The shoe of claim 1 , wherein at least part of the midsole portion is constructed with a cushioned material and wherein at least part of the outsole portion is constructed with a flexible material.
8 . A shoe, comprising: an upper portion; an outsole portion defining a hole; a cushioned midsole portion disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion; and a rigid plate disposed above the outsole portion, the rigid plate comprising an integrated cleat on a surface of the rigid plate, wherein the rigid plate is a full length plate extending along a horizontal axis from an end of a heel portion of the shoe to an end of an oppositely located toe portion of the shoe, wherein the cleat extends at least partially through the hole of the outsole portion and is configured to selectively couple to a clipless cycling pedal, wherein the rigid plate further includes a magnetic portion configured to selectively and magnetically couple to a clipless cycling pedal.
9 . The shoe of claim 8 , wherein the cleat of the rigid plate defines at least one aperture or hole such that the at least one aperture or hole is configured to receive at least part of a clipless pedal to selectively couple the rigid plate to the clipless pedal.
10 . The shoe of claim 8 , wherein the rigid plate is further disposed above the midsole portion, wherein the midsole portion defines a recess aligned with the hole of the outsole portion, wherein the cleat extends at least partially through the recess.
11 . The shoe of claim 10 , further comprising at least one selectively attachable and detachable plug configured to fill the hole and the recess, the at least one selectively attachable and detachable plug comprising a midsole plug portion and an outsole plug portion.
12 . The shoe of claim 8 , wherein the midsole portion comprises a first cushioned midsole and a second cushioned midsole, and wherein the rigid plate is disposed between the first cushioned midsole and the second cushioned midsole.
13 . The shoe of claim 8 , wherein the rigid plate further comprises a downward-extending protrusion integrally formed with the rigid plate, the downward-extending protrusion forming the cleat.
14 . The shoe of claim 8 , wherein the rigid plate further comprises an upward-extending protrusion integrally formed with the rigid plate, the upward-extending protrusion forming the cleat.
15 . The shoe of claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the cleat is disposed within the hole and spaced apart from a bottom surface of the outsole portion.
16 . The shoe of claim 8 , further comprising at least one selectively attachable and detachable plug configured to fill the hole.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a U.S. National Stage application filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT/US2021/047148 filed Aug. 23, 2021, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application 63/068,514 filed Aug. 21, 2020, each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND Traditionally, high performance cycling shoes are designed to be very stiff, and running shoes are designed to be more flexible. Even the stiffest of running shoes have not approached the stiffness of most high performance cycling shoes. Cycling shoes generally consist of an upper and a rigid plate. The rigid plate includes a cleat that snaps into place on a cycling pedal. Cycling shoes are generally engineered to be as stiff as possible in order to provide a high mechanical output and allow the cyclist to achieve maximum velocity while sprinting, for instance. However, recent research has shown that many existing cycling shoes are built far stiffer than necessary for maximal performance. Additionally, running shoes with stiffer components have become more prevalent. High performance running shoes generally include an upper, a midsole, and an outsole. There are various running shoes with rigid plates made of carbon fiber or nylon, for instance, worn by professional runners. The rigid plate assists in propulsion, energy return, and distributing the force of the runner's foot into the cushioning midsole each time the runner's foot hits the ground. As a result of the inclusion of a rigid plate, many current high-performance running shoes are stiffer than those in the past. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the various aspects of the present disclosure are described herein. SUMMARY In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to a dual purpose running and cycling shoe. In some aspects, shoes according to various embodiments of the present disclosure combine aspects of a high-performance cycling shoe and running shoe. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, and in accordance with some embodiments, a shoe includes: an upper portion; an outsole portion; a midsole portion disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion; and a rigid plate configured to selectively couple to a clipless cycling pedal. The rigid plate is disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion. The rigid plate extends along a horizontal axis at least partially from an end portion of a heel portion of the rigid plate towards an oppositely located end portion of a toe portion of the rigid plate. In some embodiments, the midsole portion can comprise a first cushioned midsole and a second cushioned midsole. The rigid plate can be disposed between the first cushioned midsole and second cushioned midsole. In some embodiments, the rigid plate can extend along the horizontal axis from a heel portion of the shoe to an oppositely located toe portion of the shoe. In some embodiments, the rigid plate can extend along a horizontal axis from an end of the heel portion of the shoe to an end of the oppositely located toe portion of the shoe. In some embodiments, the shoe further comprises at least one attachment component that is configured to couple to a clipless pedal cleat. In some embodiments, the rigid plate extends at least from a location corresponding to the heel portion of the shoe to at least a location corresponding to the clipless pedal cleat. In some embodiments the shoe also comprises a selectively attachable and detachable clipless pedal cleat. In some embodiments the rigid plate comprises one or more fastening members to removably couple a clipless pedal cleat to the rigid plate. In some embodiments, at least part of the outsole portion is configured to define a recess to receive the clipless pedal cleat. In some embodiments, at least part of the midsole portion, along with the at least part of the recess defined in the outsole portion, further defines a recess to receive the clipless pedal cleat. In some embodiments, the shoe also comprises at least one selectively attachable and detachable plug configured to replace a clipless pedal cleat when a clipless pedal cleat is not selectively attached. In some embodiments, at least part of a rigid plate is configured to define at least one aperture or hole such that the at least one aperture or hole is configured to receive at least part of a pedal cleat and/or at least part of a clipless pedal to selectively couple the rigid plate to the clipless pedal. In some embodiments, at least part of a midsole portion is constructed with a cushioned material. In some embodiments, at least part of an outsole portion is constructed with a flexible material. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, and in accordance with some embodiments, a shoe comprises: an upper portion; an outsole portion; a cushioned midsole portion directly disposed between the upper portion and the outsole portion; and a r