US-20230284732-A1 - CLEATED FOOTWEAR

US20230284732A1US 20230284732 A1US20230284732 A1US 20230284732A1US-20230284732-A1

Abstract

A cleat plate for cleated footwear comprising a rigid forefoot plate, a rigid heel plate, and a flexible bridge element connecting the rigid forefoot plate and the rigid heel plate. The rigid forefoot plate includes a concave depression extending downward from the top of the rigid forefoot plate and configured to lie directly under the first metatarsal head of the wearer, wherein the depression extends as a convex surface below the bottom of the rigid forefoot plate and has plurality of cleats extending therefrom.

Inventors

DANANBERG Howard
HUGHES BRIAN G R

Assignees

HBN SHOE LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20230914
Application Date: 20230303
Priority Date: 20220314

Claims (17)

1 . A cleat plate for cleated footwear comprising a rigid forefoot plate, a rigid heel plate, and a flexible bridge element connecting the rigid forefoot plate and the rigid heel plate.
2 . The cleat plate of claim 1 , wherein the rigid forefoot plate includes a concave depression extending downward from the top of the rigid forefoot plate and configured to lie directly under the first metatarsal head of the wearer, wherein the depression extends as a convex surface below the bottom of the rigid forefoot plate and has plurality of cleats extending therefrom.
3 . The cleat plate of claim 2 , wherein the depression includes a central cleat and a plurality of additional cleats radially arranged along edges of the convex surface of the depression.
4 . The cleat plate of claim 3 , wherein the rigid forefoot cleats include a further plurality of cleats located essentially on a radius extending from the toe end of the rigid forefoot plate along an outer lateral bottom side of the rigid forefoot plate.
5 . The cleat plate of claim 1 , wherein the rigid rear heel plate includes a concave heel depression configured to underlie and match the underside of the wearer's calcaneus bone, wherein the heel depression extends as a convex surface below the bottom of the rigid heel plate and has a plurality of cleats extending therefrom.
6 . The cleat plate of claim 5 , wherein the depression includes a central cleat and a plurality of additional cleats radially arranged along edges of the convex surface of the heel depression.
7 . The cleat plate of claim 6 , further comprising a further plurality of cleats provided in a pattern essentially on a radius extending from the central cleat along an outer edge of the rigid heel plate.
8 . The cleat plate of claim 1 , wherein the flexible bridge element is adjusted to accommodate the wearer's ball of foot length.
9 . A cleated shoe comprising a cleat plate as claimed in claim 1 .
10 . The cleated shoe as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the cleat plates are left and right shoe specific mirror images of one another.
11 . The cleated shoe as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the shoe is selected from the group consisting of a soccer shoe, a football boot, a baseball shoe, and a track shoe.
12 . The cleated shoe as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the flexible bridge element is adjustable to accommodate the wearer's ball of foot length.
13 . A pair of cleated shoes as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the cleat plates have a central cleat configured to lie directly under the first metatarsal head of the wearer, and all additional cleats are radially arranged around the central cleat of each shoe.
14 . A pair of cleated shoes as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the cleat plates have a central cleat configured to lie directly underlie the calcaneus bone of the wearer, and all additional cleats are radially arranged around the central cleat of each shoe.
15 . A pair of cleated shoes as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the cleat plates are different for left and right shoes.
16 . A pair of cleated shoes as claimed in claim 15 , wherein one of the left or the right shoe has a central cleat configured to lie directly under the first metatarsal head of the wearer, and all additional cleats on that one shoe are radially arranged around the central cleat of that one shoe, and the other of the left or the right shoe has a central cleat configured to lie directly underlie the calcaneus bone of the wearer, and all additional cleats on that one shoe are radially arranged around the central cleat of that one left shoe.
17 . The pair of cleated shoes as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the shoes are selected from the group consisting of golf shoes, shot put shoes, discus shoes and javelin shoes.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/319,595, filed Mar. 14, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to new designs for cleated athletic shoes. The disclosure has particular applicability to cleated soccer footwear and will be described in connection with such utility, although the disclosure also may be advantageously used with other cleated footwear including, but not limited to football boots, baseball shoes, track shoes, and the like. The disclosure also advantageously may be used with cleated footwear subject to unidirectional or asymmetric rotational motion such as golf shoes and sport shoes for shot put, discus, javelin, and the like. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,530 athletic shoes are a combination of many elements which have specific functions, all of which must work together for the support and protection of the wearer's foot during an athletic event. Cleated athletic shoes, particularly soccer boots, typically include a sole having an upper extending upwardly from the sole and into which the foot of the athlete is positioned and secured in place. The sole provides traction, protection, and a durable wear surface. In addition, a plurality of cleats are secured to, or incorporated in, the sole and extend downwardly from the sole to provide traction to the shoe when the athlete runs on an athletic field or turf like surface. The design of athletic shoes has become a refined science. However, the advancement of that science to cleated footwear has in some ways been less rapid and less developed. 1 The sport of soccer imposes special demands upon player footwear. To begin with, players run long distances. In a 90 minute match, a player may run as much as (or more than) 14 kilometers (over 8.5 miles). When practice sessions are also considered, a player may run in excess of 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) per week while wearing soccer shoes. It is thus important that soccer shoes protect and support the foot while minimizing discomfort. The presence of cleats on the shoe sole presents additional problems in this regard. Specifically, cleats can cause point pressures on a player's foot, particularly when the player is running over a hard playing field. Moreover, the long distances that a player must run, in combination with the side-to-side motions, foot-planting motions (for kicking a ball) and other common motions, can cause a player to become even more fatigued and injury prone than the player might be from simply running. Pronation, or the rolling of a foot from the outside to the inside during running, is of special interest. In particular, pronation occurs as a runner's foot strikes the ground on the outside (or lateral) edge of the foot and the foot then rolls inward so as to place the inner (or medial) edge on the ground. A certain amount of pronation is natural and necessary for normal running. However, excessive pronation can lead to fatigue and injuries. Also in the case of cleated footwear there is a “mismatch” between traction and available rotation during running, stopping and changing direction. Non-contact injuries to the knee are a major issue in sports, particularly soccer, where stopping abruptly and changing direction causes excessive rotational stress on the cruciate ligament in the knee. Rupture of this structure is unfortunately common. The present disclosure addresses the foregoing problems and other problems of the prior art by providing cleated footwear that controls motion of the wearer's foot, increases comfort and reduces fatigue, while also reducing stress by permitting normal foot joint flexibility while simultaneously maintaining traction while running, stopping and changing direction. Cleated footwear normally is fabricated with a single rigid bottom plate with protrusions extending from the bottom outward towards the field surface. When cleats are placed directly under the first metatarsal head (which is traditional), they create an upward force on the wearer's first metatarsal head, causing the first metatarsal phalangeal joint (toe joint) to either reduce its ability to flex or completely lock up during the loading phase of running. To facilitate both traction and flexibility, and also reduce stress on the cruciate ligament of the knee, we provide a cleat plate comprising a rigid forefoot plate and a rigid heel plate connected by a flexible bridge element. A specially shaped depression is formed extending downward from the top of the rigid forefoot plate and is configured to lie directly under the first metatarsal head of the wearer. The shape of this depression preferably is not simply round, but instead of oblique orientation, so as to permit the first metatarsal head of the wearer to plantarflex and evert while under load, i.e., in accordance with the teachings of prior U.S. Pat. No. 8,166,674 the contents