US3029529A - Shoe soles for baseball and like athletic shoes - Google Patents

Description

April 17, 1962 s. SCHWARTZ 3,029,529

SHOE SOLES FOR BASEBALL AND LIKE ATHLETIC SHOES Filed Sept. '7, 1961 FiG. 1.

SOL SCHWARTZ ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,629,529 SHOE SOLES FOR BASEBALL AND LIKE ATHLETIC SHOES Sol Schwartz, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to L. N.

Schwartz & Sons, Inc., hiiadelphia, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 136,563 6 Claims. (ill. Fad-2.5)

This invention relates broadly to a shoe sole construction, and more particularly to improvements in shoe soles for baseball and like athletic shoes.

According to the prior art pertaining to baseball shoes and the like, means have been devised to reinforce the sole of the shoe adjacent to the metal spikes or cleats, and such means has commonly consisted of a separate metal plate interposed between layers of the sole or between the insole and outsole of the shoe. The metal cleat is then attached with rive-ts or the like which penetrate the layers of the sole and the metal reinforcing plate. Such a construction is shown in expired United States Patent 1,724,190 to D. 3. Golden.

Various means have also been devised in the prior art to eliminate or lessen the tendency for the metal cleats to become clogged with dirt and mud, and such means have generally been in the form of attachments separate from the cheat proper and any cleat reinforcing means which might be simultaneously employed. A typical example of the prior art means for preventing the cleats of athletic shoes from becoming clogged with dirt is shown in expired United States Patent 1,827,515 to Goldenberg.

These prior art proposals while partly successful have possessed certain obvious disadvantages in that they are difiicult and costly to manufacture and involve the utilization of quite a number of separate metal parts which are difficult to secure in assembly and likely to separate or fail during rough usage which shoes of this character are certain to encounter.

According to the present invention, the above deficiencies of the prior art are fully overcome by the provision of a sole structure embodying combined unitary means to reinforce the sole adjacent tothe metal cleat and to prevent the accumulation of mud and dirt in the cleat with resultant separation of the clea-t from the sole during rough usage, '1

More particularly, an object of the present invention is to provide a one piece or unitary sole for an athletic shoe having integral bosses molded thereonto serve as reinforcing means beneath and adjacent to the metal cleat and as means for preventing the accumulation of mud in the cleat and for keying the metal cleat to the sole in a very firm manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved sole structure for baseball shoes and the like utilizing a minimum number of metal parts in conjunction with a one piece sole formed of molded rubber, synthetic rubber, plastic or like moldabie shoe sole material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

FIGURE 1 is a bottom plan view of an athletic shoe sole according to the invention, with the metal cleats thereof omitted,

FIGURE 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section taken on line '2-2 of FIGURE 1 and showing the metal cleats attached to the sole in broken lines,

FIGURE 3 is a partially exploded perspective view "ice of the shoe sole and metal cleats according to the invention.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 119 designates generally a one piece or unitary athletic shoe sole, conveniently formed from molded rubber, synthetic rubber or like moldable material Well known in the art. The sole 10 is of a shape and size to conform to a particular style and length and width size designation, and obviously, the molded sole may be produced in a variety of sizes and shapes to meet the needs of various users.

The shoe upper 11 shown in broken lines in FIGURE 2 may be of any preferred type and may include an insole 12 attached to the sole 1% in any conventional man her. For example, a stitch receiving groove 13 may be provided in the molded sole 11 to receive the stitches which secure the sole 11) to the shoe upper 11. Any other preferred means may be employed for attaching the sole 16 to the shoe upper 11.

According to the present invention, integral means are provided upon the sole 10 to reinforce the latter in the local areas thereof adjacent the metal cleats 14 and 15 which are employed near the toe and heel ends of the sole, as is usual in baseball shoes or the like. Such means comprises first elevatedbosses 16 and 17 molded integrally upon the bottom face of the sole 10 near the toe and heel portions thereof and conforming marginally to the shapes of the metal cleats 14 and 15. The marginal shapes of the bosses 16 and 17 may vary in accordance with the design of the particular metal cle'at employed, and it is therefore contemplated within the scope of the invention to provide bosses 16 and 17 having varied marginal contours or shapes. In the present illustrative example, the boss 16 at the toe region is generally three sided and tapers forwardly and has square corners as indicated at 13, but in no sense is this present invention limited to this particular design for the boss 16. Similarly, the boss 17 at the heel region of the sole has rounded longitudinal edges 19 rendering the boss 17 rearwardly tapering, and the boss 17 has a truncated rear transverse end 2% and a forward generally straight transverse edge 21, as shown. As will be further explained hereinafter, the integral raised bosses 16 and 17 of the sole 1% serve as underlying reinforcements or local stiffening areas for the metal cleats 14 and 15 applied to the completed sole structure. the need for any separate metallic plate inserts or the like in the sole structure for reinforcing the same adjacent to the metal cleats is entirely eliminated, thus rendering the sole structure highly economical to manufacture and extremely sturdy and durable, without the necessity for numerous metal parts.

A further important feature of the invention resides in the provision upon the first or reinforcing bosses 16 and 17' of second raised integral bosses 22 and 23, which are likewise integrally molded with the sole 10 and entirely unitary in construction. The second bosses 22 and 23 like the bosses 16 and 17 have flat outer faces and are externally contoured to fit the body or frame of the particular metal cleat applied thereto. The boss 22 embodies preferably three keying edge portions 24 separated by concave or recessed edge'portions 25, as shown. The marginal shape of the boss 22 is adapted to conform to and fit within a central contoured opening 26 of the forward cleat 14 as shown in the drawings. The shape of the opening 26 and the marginal shape of the boss 22 may vary considerably within the scope of the invention and the present showing in the drawings is for the purpose of illustration and should not be construed in a limiting sense. The boss 22 is arranged centrally of the underly- According to the invention,

ing integral boss 16 and symmetrical therewith, as shown.

In like manner, the boss 23 is disposed centrally of the boss 17 and comprises three keying portions 27 and separating recessed edge portions 28 which impart to the boss 23 a marginal shape for interlocking or keying engagement with the central opening 29 of like shape formed in the body portion of the rear cleat 15.

As shown in the drawings, the cleats 14 and 15 have fiat plate-like body portions 30 and 31 respectively for engagement upon the first reinforcing bosses 16 and 17 and corresponding marginally to the shapes of these bosses. The contoured openings 26 and 29 of the cleats 14 and 15 snugly receive the elevated contoured bosses 22 and 23 in assembly, and the heights of the bosses 22 and 23 above the integral reinforcing bosses 16 and 17 are about equal to the thickness of each body portion 30 and 31, so that in assembly, the lower faces of the cleat body portions are substantially flush with the lower faces of the bosses 22 and 23. The contoured bosses 22 and 23 engaging within the correspondingly shaped openings 26 and 29 of the cleats serve to key the two cleats positively to the sole structure so that the cleats will not turn or shift in any direction when assembled to the sole structure.

The cleat body portions 30 and 31 are provided near their corners with suitable small openings 32 for the reception of small fastener elements 33, which may be nails, screws, rivets or the like for attaching the cleats 14 and 15 to the sole structure. The bosses 16 and 17 may, if desired, have small recesses 34 molded therein to receive and guide the fastener elements 33. These recesses 34 may be omitted entirely, if preferred.

The cleats 14 and 15 are provided at their corners with the usual downturned prongs or spikes 35, integral therewith for penetrating engagement with the ground during the use of the athletic shoe.

It may now be seen that a sole structure is provided in accordance with the invention wherein the only metallic parts employed are the cleats themselves and the attaching elements 33. The first bosses 16 and 17 molded integrally with the sole provide materially thickened reinforcing sole portions which underlie the body portions of the cleats and provide the desired stiffness and strength at the areas of the sole adjacent the cleats, and the usual metallic inserts for this purpose are entirely unnecessary and are successfully dispensed with. The secondary bosses 22 and 23 integral with and molded upon the first bosses 16 and 17 serve the dual purpose of keying the cleats 14 and to the reinforcing bosses 16 and 17 so that the cleats will not turn or shift slidably upon the sole structure, and also prevent undesirable clogging of the cleats with mud or dirt which may tend ultimately to loosen the cleats and/ or impair their effectiveness in preventing slipping and sliding of the wearer. The bosses 22 and 23 completely fill the contoured openings 26 and 29 of the cleat body portions and are flush with the same, as stated, so that mud cannot work into the openings 26 and 29 or underneath the cleat body portions which lie flat against the reinforcing bosses 16 and 17.

The construction according to the invention is sturdy and durable, highly compact and neat and workmanlike in appearance, and as previously pointed out, the need for embedded metallic reinforcing plates and/ or separate mud or dirt protectors or guards is entirely eliminated. The construction of the sole 10 with the pairs of bosses 16 and 22 and 17 and 23 is entirely unitary, and this greatly facilitates manufacturing and reduces the cost of manufacturing considerably as compared to the prior art.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an athletic shoe sole structure, a sole body portion, a first reinforcing boss formed integrally with the sole body portion and projecting beyond the lower face of the same and having a substantially fiat face, a combined keying and mud excluding boss smaller in area than the reinforcing boss and formed integrally thereon and projecting from the lower face thereof, a cleat having a substantially flat plate-like body portion engageable upon the reinforcing boss and having an opening conforming substantially to the shape of keying and mud excluding boss and receiving the latter, said cleat body portion having a thickness approximating the height of the keying and mud excluding boss and such boss substantially entirely filling said opening of the cleat body portion and substantially fiush in assembly with the lower face of the cleat body portion, and fastener means for attaching the cleat body portion to the reinforcing boss outwardly of the margin of the keying and mud excluding boss.

2. The invention as defined by claim 1, and wherein the sole body portion, reinforcing boss and the combined keying and mud excluding boss constitute an integral section of molded rubber-like material.

3. The invention as defined by claim 1, and wherein said reinforcing boss and cleat body portion have substantially registering marginal edges, and said combined keying and mud excluding boss and said opening of the cleat body portion have irregular matching edge contours which coact in assembly to prevent the cleat from turning or shifting in any direction.

4. An athletic shoe sole structure comprising a sole body portion of one piece molded construction and having first and second raised bosses formed integrally thereon in superposed relation projecting below the lower face of the sole body portion in stepped relation and with the second boss smaller in area than the first boss and symmetrically located upon the first boss, the marginal edge of the second boss having an irregular contour, and a metallic cleat having a plate-like body portion mounted in abutting relation to the first boss and having an opening shaped to correspond to the irregular edge contour of the second boss and receiving the same in keying relation, said plate-like body portion having its lower face substantially flush with the lower face of the second boss in assembly.

5. The invention as defined by claim 4, and means for anchoring said plate-like cleat body portion to said first boss.

6. The invention as defined by claim 4, and wherein pairs of said first and second bosses and a pair of said cleats are arranged one each near the toe and heel regions of said sole body portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,041,667 Pierce Oct. 15, 1912 1,810,577 Richardson June 16, 1931 1,937,712 Nester Dec. 5, 1933 2,678,507 Dye May 18, 1954

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