Patent Publication Number: US-8109016-B2

Title: Adjustable golf spike

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/019,761 filed on Jan. 8, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by this reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This in invent relates general to golf spikes, and more specifically to a golf spike that allows for height adjustment of the spike relative to a golf shoe and where the spikes form the primary support surface or sole of the shoe. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Golf spikes are used on golf shoes to prevent unwanted slipping of the feet relative to the ground during a golf swing. Typically, a golf shoe will include eight to ten golf spikes per shoe distributed along the sole of the shoe. Golf spikes are attached to the shoe by threaded engagement with the golf spike having an externally threaded stud and the golf shoe providing a fixedly mounted internally threaded receptacle. The golf spike is tightened, as with a spike wrench, to secure the spike to the shoe. “Soft” spikes have a plastic gripping portion that is configured to provide traction while reducing penetration into the surface of a putting green to reduce damage to the green that can be caused by conventional metal spiked golf shoes. The soft spikes have an effective diameter that is typically about one inch. 
     It would be desirable, however, to provide a golf spike in a golf shoe that is vertically adjustable relative to the sole of the shoe to allow the golf spike extend various distances from the sole of the golf shoe in order to correct balance and/or stance problems that may be present in the golf stance of a person wearing such golf shoes. It would also be desirable to provide a pair of golf shows with a cleat system that is adjustable for practice and training and then adjustable to the same relative height to make them conform to the United States Golf Association&#39;s Rules of Golf. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Often, a golfer at any skill level has problems associated with his or her stance and/or balance throughout a golf swing. It is important in a golf swing to ensure that proper stance and balance is maintained throughout the swing. For example, placing too much weight on the heels or toes during a golf swing can result in an unbalanced golf swing that will affect the golfer&#39;s ability to consistently hit straight shots and/or hit the ball on the center of the clubface. Because balance is a matter of feel in the feet of the golfer, what may feel natural or correct to the golfer, may actually be incorrect when viewed by a person skilled in the art of golf instruction. Teaching someone how to change their balance feel, however, is often a fruitless endeavor, especially once the golfer is on a golf course or a practice range without an instructor overseeing their swing mechanics. 
     Often, a golf instructor will place an object, such as a golf ball, wedge, sponge or other object under one or both of the soles of the golfer&#39;s shoes to provide the golfer with a feel for placing and maintaining various degrees of the golfer&#39;s weight on certain parts of their feet in order to help correct a particularly identified weight imbalance issue. The present invention eliminates the need for such objects while allowing the golfer to correct their balance problems by physically raising or lowering the golf spikes on the golf shoe in order to change their stance and weight distribution on the soles of the golf shoes. 
     Accordingly, an adjustable golf cleat is provided that can be selectively extended a distance from the sole of a golf shoe. By including a plurality of such golf cleats on the sole of a golf shoe and adjusting the golf cleats to various heights, the golf shoe can help a golfer to correct an unbalanced golf swing. 
     The golf cleat of the present invention is received within a cleat receptacle that is attached within the sole of a golf shoe. The receptacle includes an inner recess for receiving an attachment portion of the golf cleat. The recess and the attachment portion have mating, non-circular surfaces so as to provide select rotational engagement between the cleat and the receptacle. In addition, the cleat includes an inner recess having a non-circular configuration with an interior worm gear thread disposed thereon for engaging with in a threaded fashion a non-circular post with an exterior worm gear thread disposed within the recess of the receptacle. Thus, the height of the cleat relative to the receptacle can be selectively adjusted by a user. 
     In another embodiment, the cleat is oversized. A golf shoe includes a plurality of the oversized cleats to form the primary walking surface of the shoe. 
     In another embodiment, the cleat engages the sole of the shoe to cause the sole to move with the cleat as the cleat is adjusted to prevent debris from entering the receptacle of the cleat. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a golf shoe receptacle and cleat in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the golf shoe receptacle and cleat shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of the golf shoe receptacle and cleat shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3A  is a cross-sectional side view an alternate embodiment of a golf shoe receptacle and cleat in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the golf cleat illustrated in  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 5A  is a bottom view of a plurality of golf cleats shown in  FIG. 1  attached to the bottom of a golf shoe. 
         FIG. 5B , is a side view of a plurality of golf cleats shown in  FIG. 1  attached to the bottom of another golf shoe. 
         FIG. 5C , is a bottom view of the plurality of golf cleats attached to the golf shoe shown in  FIG. 5B . 
         FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional side view of a golf cleat and receptacle of the present invention attached to a sole of a golf shoe in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of a golf shoe having an adjustable sole in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a partial cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of golf cleat and receptacle of the present invention attached to a sole of a golf shoe in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9A  is a side view of another embodiment of a golf shoe receptacle in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9B  is a bottom view of the golf shoe receptacle shown in  FIG. 9A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a golf cleat or spike, generally indicated at  10 , and a golf spike receptacle, generally indicated at  12 . The golf spike  10  is comprised of a lower gripping portion  14  that includes a plurality of protrusions  16  for gripping a surface upon which a golfer may be standing, such as grass to function as a “soft” spike. The upper portion  18  of the golf spike  10 , which may be integrally formed with the lower portion  14  or separately constructed and mechanically or chemically attached thereto, provides an adjustable coupling structure for attaching the spike  12  to the receptacle  12 . The gripping portion  14  is “oversized” and has an effective diameter that is two to three times larger or more than the diameter of conventional soft golf spikes (i.e., golf spikes configured not to penetrate the green surface to reduce damage to greens). For example, the effective diameter (defined by the outer edge of the protrusions  16 ) may be 1.5 inches or more, with a particular effective diameter of about 2 inches. This allows for the use of fewer cleats per shoe to cover a substantial portion of the sole of the shoe, and requiring the user to adjust fewer cleats to achieve the desired balance feel effect by raising and/or lowering certain cleats. 
     The receptacle  12  is provided with an upper shoe attachment portion  22  configured for being embedded within and fixedly attached to the sole of a golf shoe (not shown). The lower portion  24  is configured to receive the upper portion  18  of the golf spike and retain the upper portion  18  relative thereto. The upper portion  18  is provided with an octagonally shaped outer surface  26  to engage with a similarly configured octagonal-shaped inner recess, as will be more fully described herein, for locking the spike  10  to the receptacle  12  at various distances between the receptacle  12  and the bottom surface  28  of the gripping portion  14 . When the upper portion  18 , which may be approximately 0.5 inches in length, of the spike  10  is threaded into lower portion  24  of the receptacle  12 , the outer surface  26  provides discrete resistance to relative rotation of the two components  10  and  12  to provide discrete positions of the spike  10  to the receptacle  12  and thus discrete spacing of the bottom surface  28  to the receptacle  12 . The upper portion  18  may be provided with indicator lines  31  to provide a visual indicator for various spike  10  to receptacle  12  positions. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the upper portion  18  of the spike  10  defines the outer octagonal surface  26 . The upper portion  18  also defines an internally threaded bore  29  disposed within the upper portion  18 . An inner octagonal post member  30  is disposed within and substantially concentric with the bore  29 . The upper portion  18  thus includes an outer insert member  32  and an inner insert member  34  for being received within the receptacle  12 . The receptacle defines an octagonally shaped recess  36  sized for receiving the outer insert member  32  and for forming a friction fit therewith. The engagement of the surface  26  with the inner surface  38  prevents unwanted relative rotation of the two components. Disposed within the recess  36  is an externally threaded post  39  configured for threading with the internally threaded outer insert member  32 . The post  39  defines a second inner octagonal recess  40  sized for receiving and forming a friction fit with the inner insert  34  to provide additional resistance to relative rotation. When threadedly engaged, the outer insert member  32  fits snugly within the outer wall  42  of the receptacle. The outer wall  42  thus acts as a protective sleeve around the upper portion  18  of the spike  10  to prevent dirt or other debris from entering the receptacle  12  and from otherwise affecting the performance of the engagement between the receptacle  12  and spike  10 . It is noted that the outer surface could be of any geometric shape that generate substantial resistance to rotation when engaged with the receptacle  12  to prevent unwanted rotation of the spike  10  relative to the receptacle  12 . In addition, while the exemplary embodiment shows the engagement surfaces of the spike  10  and receptacle  12  of similar geometric shapes, it may also be the case that the shapes be different so long as they provide adequate engagement relative to one another. The combined engagement of the outer octagonal surfaces, inner octagonal surfaces and threaded engagement allows the spike to be set at any discrete height relative to the receptacle, from fully inserted to nearly fully extended. 
     As more fully illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the upper portion  18  of the spike  10  includes an internally threaded bore  29  that extends the length of the upper portion  18  to the top  50  of the gripping portion  14 . The threads  52  have a trapezoidal cross-section to engage with trapezoidally-shaped external threads  54  and to provide greater frictional contact there between. The threads  52  and  54  are in a “worm gear” configuration with relatively large and deep threads to provide substantial surface contact between the threads  52  and  54 . 
     The receptacle  12  and spike  10  may be molded from a hard durometer rubber, plastic or other material known in the art. The hardness of the material, to a large extent, determines the relative resistance to turning of the spike  10  to the receptacle  12 . As previously discussed, the spike  10  and receptacle  12  may each be integrally formed as illustrated herein, or formed from individual components that are later molded, bonded or otherwise mechanically attached. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3A , the upper portion  218  of the spike  210  includes an internally threaded bore  229  that extends the length of the upper portion  218  to the top  250  of the gripping portion  214 . The threads  252  have a trapezoidal cross-section to engage with trapezoidally-shaped external threads  54  and to provide greater frictional contact there between. The threads  52  and  54  are in a “worm gear” configuration with relatively large and deep threads to provide substantial surface contact between the threads  52  and  54 . Unlike the spike  10  shown in  FIG. 3 , the spike  210  does not include the octagonal post or mating recess. Rather, the wall  230  defining the threads  252  and externally threaded post  239  have been made relatively thicker to provide added rigidity to the post  239  and upper portion  218  so that the engagement of the octagonal threads  252  and  254  as well as the outer surface  226  and inner surface  238  of the receptacle  212  hold the spike  210  relative to the receptacle  212  at any desired engaging position to selectively increase or decrease the height of the spike  210  relative to the receptacle  212 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the gripping portion  14  is of a configuration that provides a relatively large surface  60  area for providing balance while providing various protrusions  62  and  64  for gripping a surface, such as grass. Thus, the gripping portion  14  includes a plurality of radially spaced feet  64  with a plurality of radially spaced blades  62  interposed therein between. In addition, a plurality of radially spaced blades  66  extends from the inside of the feet  64  toward the center of the surface  60 . The relative height or elevation of each protruding part of the gripping portion, including the feet  64  and blades  62  are substantially the same so as to reduce or eliminate damage to the surface of a green. The recesses or grooves  63  formed between each blade  62  and foot  64  are not of consistent width such that each groove  63  narrows toward the center of the groove  63 . This allows the gripping portion  14  to capture blades of grass within each groove  63  to effectively increase the gripping ability of the gripping portion  14 . 
     The surface  60  of the cleat  10  may be substantially oversized relative to a typical golf spike known in the art (e.g., two to three times larger). This allows the cleat  10  to cover a larger surface area per cleat  10  of the sole of a golf shoe. Thus, fewer cleats will be necessary to cover the sole of a golf shoe. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5A , a plurality of golf spikes  10  are attached to a golf shoe  70 . The golf spikes  10  are distributed about the sole  72  of the shoe  70  with one spike near the toe  74 , one spike near the heel  76  and spikes near the left side  78  and right side  80 . This distribution and arrangement of spikes  10  about the sole  72  allows a golfer to adjust the height of each spike  10  relative to the sole  72  to correct any balance anomaly. For example, if the golfer tends to place too much weight on the toes when swinging, the spike  10  near the tow  74  can be extended to lift the toes of the golfer in a golf stance. This will cause the golfer to naturally put more weight toward the heels. Conversely, if the golfer tends to swing with excessive weight on the heels, the spikes  10  near the heel  76  can be extended to cause the golfer to balance more toward the toe  74 . In addition, to prevent swaying or shifting of weight outside of the stance of the golfer, the spike  10  on the outside of the foot may be extended to cause more weight to be placed on the inside of the foot during the swing. As desired, various combinations of extended and retracted spikes  10  may be employed to customize the golf shoe  70  to a particular golfer. Also, because of the oversized nature of the golf spikes  10 , fewer numbers of spikes  10  are needed for a given shoe, thus reducing the number of spikes that have to be adjusted for a particular balance problem. 
     As further illustrated in  FIGS. 5B and 5C , a golf shoe  82  is provided with a plurality of cleats  84  attached to the sole  86  of the shoe. The number of cleats  84  has been increased from that shown in  FIG. 5A  to include ten such cleats  84 . The number of cleats  84  may be increased or decreased, and their relative arrangement on the sole, depending on the shoe size and the relative spacing of the cleats  84  (e.g., 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 cleats  84 ). By closely spacing the cleats  84 , the cleats  84  function as the primary sole of the shoe  82  such that when a user walks in the shoe  82 , the cleats  84  form the walking surface. Also, increasing the number of cleats  84  to substantially cover the sole  86  of the shoe prevents the wearer from feeling the cleats  84  through the sole  86  of the shoe  82 . Each cleat  84  can be adjusted up or down relative to the sole  86  to provide varying cleat heights in order to correct balance issues as described with reference to  FIG. 5A . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , in order to provide additional adjustability to a golf spike assembly  100  in accordance with the present invention, a sole  102  of a golf shoe  104  may be made adjustable as well such that the sole  102  can be stretched around the golf spike assembly  100 , Embedded within the sole  102  is a rigid plate member  106 . The plate member  106  is positioned above and attached to the tread portion  108  of the sole  102 . A layer  110  of flexible sole material is positioned above the plate member  106  and fixedly attached thereto. A plurality of sole adjustment assemblies  112  are positioned adjacent the golf spike assemblies  100 . The sole adjustment assemblies  112  are comprised of an externally threaded hex bolt  114  threadedly engaged into an internally threaded housing  116 . The housing  116  is embedded within and fixedly attached to the layer  110 . By using a hex wrench  118 , the hex bolt  114  can rotated relative to the housing  116  to extend the bolt  114  from the distal end of the housing  116  causing the plate  106  to be forced away from the distal end of the housing  116  and thus effectively widen the sole  102  at that location. This effectively causes the spike assembly  100  to be further retracted into the sole  102 . Conversely, as the hex bolt  114 ′ of the sole adjustment assembly  112 ′ is retracted within the housing  116 ′, the plate  106  and thus the thread portion  108  is in a non-stretched state to expose more of the spike assembly  100 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , a golf shoe  130  includes a plurality of adjustable golf spike assemblies  132 ,  134 ,  136  and  138 . The top surface  140  surface of the sole  142  extends around the perimeter of the shoe upper  144 . A plurality of sole thickness adjustment members  152 ,  154 ,  156  and  158  are embedded within the sole  142  and positioned proximate a respective adjustable spike assembly  1332 ,  134 ,  136  and  138 . Each sole thickness adjustment members  152 ,  154 ,  156  and  158  are each provided with exposed hex bolts (as previously described) to allow for adjustment of the hex bolts from the top surface  140  of the sole  142 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , a golf spike  118  is configured to engage a sole  119  of a golf shoe in order to prevent debris, such as dirt or grass, from getting between the spike  118  and the sole  119 . In this example, the sole  119  is formed from a wear layer  120  of a harder material that is laminated or otherwise bonded to a softer layer  121 . The cleat  118  is provide with a plurality of tabs  123  that extend outwardly from the top portion  124  of the cleat  118 . The tabs are formed from a flexible material, such as the plastic that forms the cleat  118 , and are biased at an angled so that the top portion  124  of the cleat  118  can be inserted through an opening  125  in the layer  120  of the sole  119  where the cleat receptacle  126  resides. As the top portion  124  is inserted through the layer  119 , the tabs  123  bend inwardly until they reside on the top side of the layer  119  at which point they spring open as shown. A circumferential channel  127  for receiving the tabs  123  is formed between the layer  120  and the layer  121 . This channel  127  allows the cleat  118  to be rotated relative to the receptacle  126  as the cleat  118  adjusted relative to the receptacle. As the cleat  118  is rotated such that the cleat  118  become spaced further from the receptacle  126 , the tabs  124  engage the top surface of the layer  120  such that the layer  120  at the location surrounding the cleat  118  is deflected to moves with the cleat  118 . By forming the layer  121  from a relatively softer material, such as foam rubber, that can expand and contract as it is pulled and expanded or compressed by the movement of the layer  120 , the thickness of the sole  119  can be adjusted along with adjustment of the cleat  118  so that any gap between the cleat  118  and the sole  119  is minimized. 
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  illustrate a receptacle  200  configured for attachment within the sole of a shoe and for receiving and securing a cleat in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The receptacle includes a top plate  202  and a plurality of side fins  204  for being embedded within a sole of a golf shoe that prevent the receptacle  200  from becoming dislodged or from being able to rotate relative to the sole of the shoe. The receptacle includes a first outer wall  206  that defines an inner, octagonal-shaped recess  208 . The recess  2038  is configured to mate with an outer surface of a similarly shaped cleat body. Inside the recess  208  extends an externally threaded post  210 . The post  210  has an octagonal outer shape and includes an octagonal “worm gear-type” thread  212  wrapping around the post  210 . The cleat is provided with an octagonal-shaped inner recess having a cooperating worm gear-type thread for engaging with the thread  212 . The octagonal shape of the work gear thread  212 , post  210  and inner surface  214  of the post  210  allows the cleat to engage with and be held at discrete rotational positions relative to the receptacle  200 . Thus, as the cleat is rotated relative to the receptacle  200 , the cleat will snap at each point of rotation where the octagon features of the cleat and receptacle  200  align. As such, the cleat can be extended from the receptacle  200  by rotation but still remain firmly coupled to the receptacle  200  to prevent the cleat from become dislodged from the receptacle  200 . Of course, other geometric shapes, while not specifically illustrated, may be employed within the spirit and scope of the invention, such as triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon, or other non-circular shape. 
     It should be noted that a cleat according to the principles of the present invention can be incorporated into any preexisting golf shoe. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments to illustrate what is believed to be the best mode of the invention, it is contemplated that upon review of the present invention, those of skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and combinations may be made to the present embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as recited in the claims. Reference herein to specific details of the illustrated embodiments is by way of example and not by way of limitation.