Patent Publication Number: US-11376519-B2

Title: Nestable starting block

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/885,486, filed on Aug. 12, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure is directed to an athletic equipment system, specifically an easily transportable starting block. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The sprinting events in the sport of track and field universally begin with the runners crouched in starting blocks. Conventional starting blocks include a central rail extending front-to-back between the runner&#39;s legs. Two foot pedals, one for the runner&#39;s left foot and the other for the runner&#39;s right foot, are movably attached to the central rail. Every runner has his or her own preferred foot placement for achieving a fast start. Thus, prior to a race or practice sprint, a runner will adjust the foot pedals forward or backward along the central rail to his or her preferred footing. More sophisticated starting blocks also include additional adjustment means to adjust the foot pedals inward and outward relative to the central rail to accommodate runners having a narrower or wider stance in the blocks, as well as the angle of the pedals relative to the running surface. 
     The starting blocks are anchored in some fashion to the running surface. In formal track competitions, either indoor or outdoor, the track events are held on an oval track. The surface of the oval may be made of any number of different materials: grass, clay, synthetic materials, asphalt, cinders, etc. In less formal situations, a sprint or practice run might take place on a typical high school football field or soccer pitch of natural turf. In either situation, the purpose of starting blocks is to give the runner a firm anchor to the ground, against which the runner propels himself from a standstill to a full-on sprint as quickly and forcefully as possible. 
     The process of starting a sprint from starting blocks, however, takes practice. In such short events, a smooth and powerful start is a key element to success. In the shortest sprint event, the 100-meter dash, even at the high school level, the entire race is over in well under 15 seconds. (The current girls high school record for the 100-meter dash in Wisconsin is 11.38 seconds—Dezerea Bryant, 2011. For boys, the record is 10.33 seconds—Michael Bennet, 1998.) Thus, serious sprint competitors always practice using starting blocks. 
     Conventional starting blocks, though, are bulky contraptions that are expensive and not easily transportable. Thus, there is a long-felt and unmet need for starting blocks that are inexpensive, easily transportable, and highly functional on the variety of running surfaces typically encountered in track and field events. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     One embodiment of the present invention is a starting block with a wedge-shaped body having an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface defines an inclined surface with respect to the lower surface. At least one blind bore extends through the lower surface. At least one cleat extends from the lower surface, the cleat being associated with the at least one blind bore. The at least one blind bore and the at least one cleat are dimensioned and positioned relative to each other such that when the wedge-shaped body is rotated from a first position to a second position 180° about a horizontal axis extending across and through a center point of the lower surface, at least a portion of the at least one cleat extends through a location previously occupied in the first position by the at least one blind bore. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention is a starting block system including a first starting block and a second starting block, the first and second starting block having an identical configuration as described above. When the lower surface of the first starting block contacts the lower surface of the second starting block and the upper surface of the first starting block is parallel to the upper surface of the second starting block, at least a portion of the at least one cleat of the first starting block extends into the at least one blind bore of the second starting block, and at least a portion of the at least one cleat of the second starting block extends into the at least one blind bore of the first starting block. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         FIG. 1  is an upper right, rear perspective view of a preferred version of the starting block of the invention disclosed and claimed herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a lower, right, front perspective view thereof. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a first block  10  nested to a second block  10 ′. 
         FIG. 4  is a partially cutaway view of  FIG. 3  passing through the cleats  12  and  12 ′ and the blind bores  14  and  14 ′ of blocks  10  and  10 ′ (respectively). 
         FIG. 5  is a partially cutaway view of  FIG. 3  passing through the fasteners  16  and  16 ′ of blocks  10  and  10 ′ (respectively). 
     
    
    
     The same reference numerals are use throughout the figures to refer to the same elements in each drawing. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows the visible surfaces of the block  10  when placed on the running surface. The block  10  comprises a wedge-shaped body, and includes an inclined surface  11  at the top onto which a runner places one of his or her feet. A second block, not shown, is used for the other foot. The body of the block  10  may be made from any suitable rigid material, such as plastic, wood, metal, or composite materials, or any combination thereof. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the inclined surface  11  preferably comprises a stippled, mottled, knurled, grooved, or otherwise roughened surface to give a high-friction, minimal-slip interface between the inclined surface  11  of the block  10  and the runner&#39;s shoe. To reduce weight, material, and cost, at least one block hollow  17  may extend into at least part of a lower surface  13  of the block  10 . To strengthen the block  10 , at least reinforcing rib  18  may extend across the block hollow  17 . 
       FIG. 2  shows the underside of the block  10 . The block  10  includes at least one, and preferably two, three, four, or more cleats  12  extending from the lower surface  13  of the block  10 . The cleats  12  may be integrally formed with the block  10  or may be removable, using the threaded, friction-fit, or snap-in type cleat connections conventionally used in cleated shoes (such as the removable cleats found on racing flats, golf shoes, and the like). Removable cleats  12  allow substitution of longer or shorter cleats  12  or cleats  12  having a different anchoring configuration to be installed based on the type and/or conditions of the running surface. By way of non-limiting example, when used on natural surfaces such as turf or clay, longer cleats  12  will anchor the block  10  to the surface more firmly. On closely groomed surfaces or artificial surfaces, shorter cleats  12  might suffice, and would have less potential to mar the running surface. 
     Each cleat  12  is paired with a corresponding blind bore  14  extending through the lower surface  13 . The exemplary embodiment of the block  10  shown in  FIG. 2  includes four sets of cleats  12  and corresponding blind bores  14 . As described more fully below with respect to  FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 , the cleats  12  and blind bores  14  are dimensioned, configured, and positioned in such a way that two blocks  10  and  10 ′, rotated at a 180° offset to one another, can be nested together via contacting their lower surfaces  13  and  13 ′ together. In other words, when the block  10  is rotated 180° about the horizontal axis A-A′ (as seen extending across and through the center point of the lower surface  13  in  FIG. 2 ) from a first position to a second position, the cleats  12  in the first position are in the same location as the blind bores  14  in the second position. The reverse is also true, that is, in the first position the blind bores  14  are in the same location as the cleats  12  in the second position. 
     Typically, at least one reversible fastener  16  is located in the center of the lower surface  13  of the block  10 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the exemplary fastener  16  is a magnetic washer or button held in place by a separate anchor, in this embodiment a threaded screw  15 . In other embodiments, the fastener  16  does not require a separate anchor, being held in place via threaded, friction-fit, adhesive, or snap-in connections with the block  10 . The fastener  16  may be any reversible fastener now known or developed in the future, such as a male/female friction fastener, a hook-and-loop fastener, a slot-and-tab fastener, any other mechanically interlocking fastener, and the like. The fastener  16  is dimensioned and configured to reversibly connect two blocks  10  together in face-to-face orientation via their lower surfaces  13  and hold them in such a configuration. 
     The nested and fastened configurations are depicted in  FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 , which shall be described together. As shown in  FIG. 3 , two blocks according to the present disclosure, a first block  10  and a second block  10 ′, are rotated 180° relative to each other and stacked in face-to-face orientation via their respective lower surfaces  13  such that their upper, inclined surfaces  11  are parallel to each other. As shown in the partial cutaway view of  FIG. 4 , the cleats  12  and blind bores  14  are configured in such a fashion that cleats  12  of the first block  10  extend into the blind bores  14 ′ of the second block  10 ′. Likewise, the cleats  12 ′ of the second block  10 ′ extend into the blind bores  14  of the first block  10 . In this fashion, the two blocks,  10  and  10 ′ can be nested together in a very compact configuration, without any of the cleats  12  being exposed, preventing damage to the cleats  12  and preventing the cleats  12  from causing damage. The exemplary two blocks  10  and  10 ′ are then reversibly held together in the nested configuration via fasteners  16  and  16 ′ as shown in the center, partial cutaway view depicted in  FIG. 5 . 
     Any version of any device element or system component or method step of the invention may be used with any other device element, system component, or method step of the invention. The device elements, system components, and method steps described herein can be used in any combination whether explicitly described or not. 
     As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Numerical ranges as used herein are intended to include every number and subset of numbers contained within that range, whether specifically disclosed or not. Further, these numerical ranges should be construed as providing support for a claim directed to any number or subset of numbers in that range. For example, a disclosure of from 1 to 10 should be construed as supporting a range of from 2 to 8, from 3 to 7, from 5 to 6, from 1 to 9, from 3.6 to 4.6, from 3.5 to 9.9, and so forth. 
     All patents, patent publications, patent applications, and peer-reviewed publications (i.e., “references”) cited herein are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual reference were specifically and individually indicated as being incorporated by reference. In case of conflict between the present disclosure and the incorporated references, the present disclosure controls. 
     The devices, methods, compounds and compositions of the present invention can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations described herein, as well as any additional or optional steps, ingredients, components, or limitations described herein or otherwise useful in the art. 
     While this invention may be embodied in many forms, what is described in detail herein is a specific preferred embodiment of the invention. The present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular examples, process steps, and materials disclosed herein as such examples, process steps, and materials may vary somewhat. It is also understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the present invention will be limited to only the appended claims and equivalents thereof.