Patent Publication Number: US-2022218072-A1

Title: Composite cleat

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a cleat for an athletic shoe and particularly to a composite cleat constructed from a metal material and a nonmetal material. 
     Cleats for athletic shoes have long been used to provide traction in dirt and grass. Such cleat typically has been made of a single material such as metal, ceramic or plastic. The metal cleats cannot reduce the weight of numbers of cleats. The ceramic cleats have high hardness but easy breakage. The plastic cleats are low in cost and light in weight but easy abrasion. 
     Thus, in spite of the variety of alternative cleats now available, improvements in cleats for athletic shoes are still being sought. 
     SUMMARY 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide a composite cleat, which includes a first component and a second component. The first component is made of a first material and is formed a first connecting portion extended along a longitudinal axis and a ground contact surface disposed at one end thereof. The second component is made of a second material different from the first material and is formed a second connecting portion fixedly connected with the first connecting portion and a threaded stud disposed at one end thereof. 
     In an embodiment, the first material is a carbon fiber composite material, and the second material is a metal material. 
     In an embodiment, the second material is an aluminum metal material. 
     In an embodiment, the first connecting portion is formed in the shape of a recess and has at least one middle internal diameter section, a large internal diameter section, and a small internal diameter section disposed between the at least one middle internal diameter section and the large internal diameter section. The second connecting portion is formed in the shape of a column and has at least one middle external diameter section, a large external diameter section, and a small external diameter section disposed between the at least one middle external diameter section and the large external diameter section. The at least one middle external diameter section corresponds and is fixedly connected to the at least one middle internal diameter section. The large external diameter section corresponds and is fixedly connected to the large internal diameter section. The small external diameter section corresponds and is fixedly connected to the small internal diameter section. 
     In an embodiment, the threaded stud is extendedly formed from the large external diameter section along the longitudinal axis. 
     In an embodiment, an outer periphery of the first component is formed a plurality of grooves arranged at equal intervals around the longitudinal axis. 
     In an embodiment, one end of the first component opposite to the ground contact surface is formed a disk portion disposed adjacent to the plurality of grooves. 
     In an embodiment, an end face of the disk portion forms an annular recess around the threaded stud. 
     The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of this invention described in connection with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a composite cleat of an embodiment according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded, perspective view of the composite cleat of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the composite cleat of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1-3  show a composite cleat for a athletic shoe of an embodiment according to the present invention. The composite cleat includes a first component  10  and a second component  20  fixedly connected with the first component  10 . The first component  10  is made of a first material. The second component  20  is made of a second material different from the first material. In the embodiment, the first material may be a carbon fiber composite material, and the second material may be a metal material, such as an aluminum metal material. 
     The first component  10  is formed a first connecting portion  11  extended along a longitudinal axis A 10  and a ground contact surface  12  disposed at one end thereof. Further, the first connecting portion  11  is formed in the shape of a recess and has at least one middle internal diameter section  111 , a large internal diameter section  112 , and a small internal diameter section  113  disposed between the at least one middle internal diameter section  111  and the large internal diameter section  112 . 
     An outer periphery of the first component  10  is formed a plurality of grooves  13  arranged at equal intervals around the longitudinal axis A 10 , and one end of the first component  10  opposite to the ground contact surface  12  is formed a disk portion  14  disposed adjacent to the plurality of grooves  13 . 
     The second component  20  is formed a second connecting portion  21  fixedly connected with the first connecting portion  11  and a threaded stud  22  disposed at one end thereof and adapted for mounting to a threaded hole at a sole (not shown). Further, the second connecting portion  21  is formed in the shape of a column and has at least one middle external diameter section  211 , a large external diameter section  212 , and a small external diameter section  213  disposed between the at least one middle external diameter section  211  and the large external diameter section  212 . 
     The at least one middle external diameter section  211  corresponds and is fixedly connected to the at least one middle internal diameter section  111 . The large external diameter section  212  corresponds and is fixedly connected to the large internal diameter section  112 . The small external diameter section  213  corresponds and is fixedly connected to the small internal diameter section  113 . Thus, the first component  10  and the second component  20  are firmly joined to form the composite cleat. 
     In the embodiment, the first connecting portion  11  may have two middle internal diameter sections  111  respectively connected with two opposite ends of the small internal diameter section  113  along the longitudinal axis A 10 . One of the two middle internal diameter sections  111  is disposed to a terminal end of the first connecting portion  11 , and the other middle internal diameter section  111  is connected to the large internal diameter section  112 . Accordingly, the second connecting portion  21  may have two middle external diameter sections  211  respectively connected with two opposite ends of the small external diameter section  213  along the longitudinal axis A 10 . One of the two middle external diameter sections  211  is disposed to a terminal end of the second connecting portion  21 , and the other middle external diameter section  211  is connected to the large external diameter section  212 . 
     In the embodiment, the threaded stud  22  may be extendedly formed from the large external diameter section  212  along the longitudinal axis A 10  and exposed out of the disk portion  14 , and an end face of the disk portion  14  may form an annular recess  15  around the threaded stud  22 . 
     In addition, the first component  10  and the second component  20  can be processed by a special process, so that the two dissimilar materials can be connected more easily and have a better combination. Generally, the original carbon fiber composite material can be processed and molded into a base material to form the first component  10 , and the aluminum material can be processed and surface treated to form the second component  20 , and the first component  10  can join with the second component  20  by hot pressing. 
     In summary, the composite cleat made of at least two different materials (the first and second materials) can have high pulling force resistance, high rigidity and lightweight (compared with aluminum cleat, it can reduce weight by 40-50%) and other functions, to perfectly replace conventional cleat made of a single material. 
     Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications and variations are still possible without departing from the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is limited by the accompanying claims.