Abstract:
An outsole with a configuration of protrusions that allows attachment of a gaiter. The protrusions may be similar to conventional lugs and perform ordinary lug functions or they may be highly specialized protrusions dedicated to attachment of a gaiter. Attachment is accomplished by jamming an expanded end of a gaiter cord amongst specialized surfaces on protrusions. Typically a gaiter cord first passes between protrusions typically on either the outboard side of footwear, or at the heel. Thereafter, the gaiter cord passes through a narrow slot and then enters a space wide enough for the expanded end. Tensioning of the gaiter cord further jams the expanded end of the cord in the outsole; thereby attaching the gaiter to the outsole.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable 
     SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to footwear, specifically to outsoles and their tread. 
     2. Discussion of Prior Art 
     Gaiters are conventionally attached to a boot by two lateral attachment points pulled downward by a cord that passes beneath the arch of the boot from one side of the gaiter to the other. Disadvantages include: that the cord can wear through with use; the portion of the cord beneath the outsole may build tip compacted snow to the point that one Must walk on one&#39;s arch, and lose traction; the cord at any point may catch on objects in the environment, such as branches; the inboard portion of the cord May catch a point a crampon or briefly snag a lug of the other boot. 
     Prior art shows unconventional gaiter attachment means to an upper of a footwear, such as: U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,788, to Chen, (2002), which shows a zipper and hook and loop means of attaching a gaiter to the top of the boot; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,207 to Datson, (1989), which shows a gaiter permanently fixed to the boot; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,816 to Davison, (1986), which shows a gaiter removably attached to a circumferential lip integral to the boot; U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,895 to Vallieres, (1987) shows a hook and pile means of attaching a gaiter to a shoe outsole. U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,387 to Roberts (1986) shows four means of attaching a loop of flexible material to an upper of a shoe, including hook and loop, rings, loops, and snaps. These designs require significant additions to the boot itself and their incumbent costs. Furthermore, many of these designs could snag on objects in the environment. U.S. Pat. No. 921,435 to Miller, (1909), shows a metal clip that allows the legging to rest on the top edge of the boot upper. 
     A set of unconventional, prior art, gaiter attachment means extending beneath the outsole are: U.S. Pat. No. 421,906, to Carts et al., (1890); and U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,387 to McMahan, (1955), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,250, to Bell, (1997); and U.S. Pat. No. 2,151,350 to Glowka, (1939), which show metal parts or a patch of fabric that hook or loop beneath the underside of footwear, and no special engagement surfaces on the footwear outsole. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,662 to ion (1988) shows a metal loop over a boot outsole. The metal parts and fabric could hook on objects and trip a wearer or fail by bending. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,151,350 to Glowka, (1939) also shows an outsole with a slot retaining a metal hook. It appears the hook might have a tendency to release from the slot. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are: 
     (a) to allow gaiters of lower cost due to fabrication of fewer attachment points; 
     (b) to allow attachment of a gaiter with little or no need to replace its cord due to wear; 
     (c) to greatly reduce the problems associated with buildup of compacted snow; 
     (d) to reduce the likelihood of a cord or lower edge of a gaiter on catching on objects; 
     (e) to reduce the likelihood of the inboard portion of a cord catching a crampon point. 
     Further advantages are to provide improvement in aesthetics, reduction of weight, and cost due to the inboard gaiter bottom edge being higher than on conventional gaiters; hence requiring less fabric, parts, and labor. There is some reduction of extremely unlikely accidents of the nature of a vertical nail catching a gaiter cord, or worse, a nail rising vertically, but bent nearly horizontal above that base, so as to neatly hook a cord to a surface. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with the present invention: an outsole comprising traction protrusions forward and rearward of an arch, and a slot piercing the outboard side of the outsole that allows the retention of a cord which is in outboard-ward tension. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       Figures 
       In the drawings, closely related figures have the same numeric prefix and a different alphabetic suffix. 
         FIG. 1  shows a single gaiter attachment point outsole. 
         FIG. 1A  shows a broken out portion of a gaiter attachment point. 
         FIG. 1B  shows the same broken out portion with a gaiter attachment cord. 
         FIG. 2  shows an outsole with both front and rear gaiter attachment points. 
         FIG. 2A  shows a broken out portion of the front attachment point of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 2B  shows a broken out portion of the rear attachment point of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 3  shows an outsole with one inboard and one outboard attaching point. 
         FIG. 4  shows an athletic shoe with a gaiter attachment point on its rear side. 
         FIG. 4A  shows a broken out portion of the attachment point of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  shows a modification to a cord used for clearer understanding of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Definitions 
     In the description of the Figures: “top/bottom”, “front/rear”, “right/left” are colloquial instead of engineering terminology, therefore the right side of a boot is as viewed by a wearer, and “front” refers to the toe area. “longitudinal” refers to parallel to heel to toe direction, while “transverse” refers to perpendicular to longitudinal. “Inboard” refers to the left side of a right boot and the right side of a left boot. “Outboard” refers to the right side of a right boot and the left side of a left boot. “Interior” refers to more central, and farther from the sides, front, or rear sides of an outsole. “Exterior” refers to on, or towards a side, front, or rear of an outsole. “Axial” refers to the axis of a gaiter retaining slot, for example: the dimension along which a cord lays within the slot. In this device, the cord of a gaiter is jammed into a gap, void, trough, slot to attach the cord to the outsole and thereby the gaiter to the boot. The gap, void, trough, slot is defined by boundaries; either openings or boundaries defined by being contiguous with a solid surface, the rubber of the outsole. These boundaries are further classified as either mostly surrounding the length of cord or mostly surrounding the knot; the cord space boundary and knot space boundary, respectively. The term “gaiter-ward” means “along a length of a cord or slot, the direction most directly towards a gaiter”. 
     FIG.  1   
     Preferred Embodiment 
       FIGS. 1 and 1A  is the rear, right (outboard), bottom perspective view of a right boot  12 , outsole  14 , and lower portion of a gaiter  11 . Gaiter  11  is attached to boot  12  solely by a cord  13  which is attached to outsole  14  by lodging in a slot  15 . Gaiter  11  is attached to cord  13  by conventional means of cord  13  knotting around the perimeter of a grommet set into fabric of gaiter  11 . Outsole  14  is made of elastomeric material, typical boot outsole rubber. Outsole  14  has traction protrusions  47 , occurring in two groups: front tread lugs  17  forward of an arch  16  as well as rear tread, lugs  18  rearward of arch  16 . Arch  16  being a higher, lug-free surface between front lugs  17  and rear lugs  18 . Arch  16  slopes upward-rearward to a transverse, vertical, planar surface which constitutes the forward boundary of rear lugs  18  and the front side of lug  19 F. Slot  15  is a transverse, essentially-vertical trapezoidal gap between two adjacent traction protrusions, front attachment lug  19 F and rear attachment lug  19 R. Lug  19 F is immediately rear of arch  16  and on the outboard side of outsole  14 . Traversing inboard (interior), cord  13  first intakes into slot  15  within cord intake recess  57 . Cord  13  then passes through slot  15  and lodges by means of a knot  58  jammed against the surfaces around the inboard slot terminus  48  of slot  15 . The sectioning plane used in  FIG. 1A  is indicated with line  1 - 1 . 
       FIG. 1A  is a rear, left, bottom perspective view of lug  19 F. This portion of outsole  14  is defined by broken-out boundaries and the sectional cutting-plane indicated by line  1 - 1  in  FIG. 1  which includes the axis of slot  15 , and divides slot  15  into identical halves; for illustration purposes cord  13  and its knot  58  are omitted.  FIG. 1A  shows lug  19 F as roughly box-shaped except for the complex, inboard region. The bottom side  65 , minor, inboard surface  61 , major, inboard surface  64  and nock surface  52  are all surfaces comparable to analogous surfaces on many commonly shaped boot lugs. Major inboard surface  64  and minor inboard surface  61  primarily face inboard and downward. Nock surface  52  is planar, triangular and faces downward, rearward, and inboard.  FIG. 1A  also shows reference lines X, Y, which form angle λ. Lines X, Y, are in the vertical plane which contains cord  13  axis in the region below a slot ceiling  51 . Line X is parallel to inboard portion of ceiling  51 . Line Y is parallel to abutment surface  53 . 
     Surfaces on and near lug  19 F more closely related to the functionality of this invention are: slot wall  50 , slot ceiling  51 , abutment surface  53 , guard surface  54 , thrust surface  55 , knot recess surface  56 . These can be divided into two groups: those forming a cord space, and those forming a knot space  60 . The first two surfaces  50 ,  51  and their counterparts on lug  19 R form the cord space, which is the upper portion of slot  15 . The second four planar surfaces  53 ,  54 ,  55 ,  56  and their counterparts on lug  19 R form knot space  60 . The functionality surfaces of lug  19 R being mirror-images of functionality surfaces of  19 F through the cutting-plane  1 - 1 . 
     Wall  50  is planar, transverse, and slopes 86° to horizontal, upward-frontward. Slot  15  juncture with surfaces  53 ,  55  is inboard slot terminus  48 . Therefore vertical sections of cord slot  15  have trapezoidal shapes perpendicular to its axis. Inboard slot opening  48  is planar, longitudinal and slopes 30° to horizontal, upward-outboard-ward. Shown is the front half of ceiling  51 , which is planar immediately outboard of the inboard opening of slot  15 . Outboard of that planar area, ceiling  51  becomes curved around a longitudinal axis; the 30° slope increasing to tangential to the outboard side of outsole  14 . Outboard-ward slot  15  widens and becomes a broad, shallow, near-vertical recess  57  into which cord  13  enters slot  15  from gaiter  11 . 
       FIG. 1B  shows the same view of a portion of insole  14  as does  FIG. 1A  and includes cord  13  and knot  58  in slot  15  and knot space  60 , respectively. Knot space  60  roughly surrounds knot  58  on 5 sides. Knot  58  thrusts against abutment surface  53  and vertical, thrust surface  55 . Abutment surface  53  slopes upward outboard-ward at 75° to horizontal and adjoins vertical, thrust surface  55  along a horizontal, longitudinal edge. Thrust surface  55  outboardly caps recess surface  56  of an ellipsoidal recess in which knot  58  resides. Guard surface  54  faces upward, inboard and forward, thus partly faces knot  58  and is overhung by outsole  14 . 
     Operation  FIG. 1   
     Installation starts with inserting cord  13  into the nock made by nock surfaces  52  and its counterpart on lug  19 R and then pulling cord  13  outboard-ward until knot  58  abuts abutment surface  53  and thrust surface  55 . With more tension; cord  13  will come to rest against ceiling  51 . The 30° slope of ceiling  51  combined with the 75° slope of abutment surface  53  shown on  FIG. 1A  to sum to the net angle λ between abutment surface  53  and cord  13  to be 135° at the inboard opening of slot  15 . The angle being obtuse means that one component of the tensional force of cord  13  forces knot  58  upward and into recess surface  56 . Being forced upward, it is forced away from the bottom edge of abutment surface  53 . Retention would fail if knot  58  pulled past the bottom edge of abutment surface  53 . Guard surface  54  shields knot  58  from objects on the ground. The bottom opening of slot  15  is narrower than ceiling  51 ; this helps exclude debris and retain cord  13 . Cord  13  may be pulled with reciprocating motion to allow cord to be used in “sawing” fashion to clear slot  15  of mud, snow, debris, etc. Removal of cord  13  is accomplished by pulling on cord  13  in a direction approximately 150° to 180° from the direction of pull for installation. 
     FIG.  2   
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the rear, bottom, outboard sides of right boot  22  and lower portion of a gaiter  21 . Gaiter  21  is attached to boot  22  solely by two cords  23 F and  23 R to an outsole  24  by their lodging in two slots  25 F (front) and  25 R (rear). Gaiter  21  is attached to cords  23 F,  23 R by conventional means of cords  23 F,  23 R knotting around the perimeter of grommets set into gaiter  21 . Outsole  24  is made of elastomeric material; typical boot outsole rubber. Outsole  24  has traction protrusions, front lugs  27  forward of an arch  26  as well as traction protrusions, rear lugs  28  rear of arch  26 . Arch  26  being a higher, lug-less surface between front lugs  27  and rear lugs  28 . Arch  26  slopes upward rearward to a transverse, vertical, planar surface forward of rear lugs  28 . Transverse, vertical slot  25 F is a gap between two protrusions, attachment lugs  59 F,  59 R. Approximately 101° forward to longitudinal; slot  25 R is a vertical gap between two protrusions, attachment lugs  49 F,  49 R. Cords  23 F,  23 R are attached to outsole  24  by lodging in slots  25 F,  25 R. The sectioning plane used in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  is indicated with line  2 - 2  and  3 - 3 , respectively. 
       FIG. 2A  shows the front, left, bottom perspective view of a broken-out portion of outsole  24  bounded by plane  2 - 2 . The sectioning plane indicated by line  2 - 2  includes the axis of slot  25 F, and divides slot  25 F into identical halves. Rear side, outboard side, inboard side  77 , slot trench surface  73 , nock surface  78  and bottom surface  82  are shaped and function similar to analogous surfaces commonly found on boot lugs. 
     Surfaces shown in  FIG. 2A  on or near attachment lug  59 R which cause the functionality of this invention are: slot wall  74 , slot ceiling  75 , abutment surface  76 . Slot walls  74  are transverse, vertical and planar. Slot ceiling  75  is horizontal, planar near its inboard terminus, and increasing in slope outboard-ward to tangential with the outboard side of outsole  24 . In use, cord  23 F rests between wall  74  and its counterpart on lug  59 F, and against ceiling  75 . In use; a knot in cord  23 F is located mostly within knot space boundary  72  and abuts abutment surface  76 . Knot space boundary  72  is a horizontal, right, circular, cylindrical surface. The upper surface of boundary  72  is tangential with the plane containing the bottom surface of outsole  24  between the traction protrusions. Some of boundary  72  is overhung by another portion of boundary  72 . Abutment surface  76  is planar, vertical and longitudinal. 
       FIG. 2B  shows the front, left, bottom perspective view of a broken-out portion of outsole  24  bounded by line  3 - 3 . The sectioning plane indicated by line  3 - 3  includes the axis of slot  25 R, and divides slot  25 R into identical halves. Rear side  94 , outboard side, inboard side  87 , lug bottom  93 , and slot trench surface  83 , are shaped and function similar to analogous surfaces commonly found on boot lugs. 
       FIG. 2B  shows the surfaces on or near attachment lug  49 R which cause the functionality of this invention: slot wall  84 , slot ceiling  85 , abutment surface  86 . Slot walls  84  are transverse, vertical and planar. Slot ceiling  85  is horizontal, planar near its inboard terminus, and increasing in slope outboard-ward to tangential with the outboard side of outsole  24 . In use, cord  23 R rests between wall  84  and its counterpart on lug  49 F, and against ceiling  85 . In use; a knot in cord  23 R is located almost entirely within knot space boundary  88  and abuts abutment surface  86 . Knot space boundary  88  is a horizontal, right, circular, cylindrical surface that slopes approximately 6° to horizontal and extends beyond the space that may enclose a knot. Some of boundary  88  is overhung by a higher portion of boundary  88 . Abutment surface  86  is planar, vertical and approximately 11° from longitudinal. Inboard side  87  is roughly triangular section of a vertical cylinder. Slot trench surface  83  is a planar rectangle sloping 45° to horizontal. 
     Operation— FIG. 2   
     Insertion and removal of cord  23 F,  23 R into slot  25 F,  25 R is similar to operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1 . λ for this embodiment is 90°, so there is no retention effect of an obtuse λ. Instead, the lower, lobe-like, lip-like protrusion forming knot boundary  72 ,  88  retains the knot of cord  23 F,  23 R from being pulled down and out of retention by simple mechanical interference. 
     FIG.  3   
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the rear, bottom, inboard sides of left boot  32  and the lower portion of a gaiter  31 . Boot  32  features an outsole  34  which attaches gaiter  31  with an attachment point on each side. Gaiter  31  is attached to boot  32  by cords  331 ,  330  (inboard and outboard). The cord knots lodge in outsole  34  inboard of two slots  351 ,  350  (inboard and outboard). Gaiter  31  is attached to cords  33 I,  33 O by conventional means of cords  33 I,  33 O knotting around the perimeter of grommets set into gaiter  31 . Outsole  34  is made of elastomeric material, typical boot outsole rubber. Outsole  24  has traction protrusions, front lugs  37  forward of an arch  36 ; as well as traction protrusions, rear lugs  38  rear of arch  36 . Arch  36  being a higher, lug-less surface between front lugs  37  and rear lugs  38 . Arch  36  slopes upward-rearward to a transverse, vertical, planar surface forward of rear lugs  38 . Approximately 72° forward to longitudinal, vertical slots  35 I,  35 O are a gap between protrusions, inboard attachment lugs  69 F,  69 R and outboard attachment lugs  79 F,  79 R. The knot space and slot space of this embodiment are very similar to those of the rear attachment point of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , as best seen in  FIG. 2B . 
     FIGS.  4  and  5   
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the rear, bottom, outboard side of right athletic shoe  92  and a scree gaiter  91 . Shoe  92  features an outsole  94  which attaches gaiter  91  with a single gaiter attachment point  107  on the rear of shoe  92 . Gaiter  91  is attached to shoe  92  by cord  93  which attaches to outsole  94 . Gaiter  91  is attached to cord  93  by conventional means of cord  93  knotting around the perimeter of grommets set into gaiter  91 . Outsole  94  is made of typical shoe outsole rubber, elastomeric material. Outsole  94  has traction protrusions, front lugs  97  forward of a lug-less surface arch  96  as well as traction protrusions, rear lugs  98  rear of arch  96 . Formed in outsole  94  are a number of surfaces, attachment point  107 , in which cord  93  lodges. Attachment point  107  is primarily on the rear of shoe  92 , and partly on the bottom of shoe  92 . The sectioning plane used in  FIG. 4A  is indicated with line  4 - 4 . 
       FIG. 4A  is a right, rear, bottom, perspective view of a portion of shoe  92 . The portion is both broken-out and bounded by cutting plane  4 - 4  showing the left half of heel counter, attachment point  107 . The sectioning plane indicated by line  4 - 4  includes the axis of cord slot  95 , and divides slot  95  and the entire attachment point  107  into mirror-halves. The upper portion of attachment point  107  is a combination of cord slot  95  and an abutment surface sloped to force a cord end deeper within attachment point  107 . The lower portion of attachment point  107  includes retaining lobes, dogs  106  extending over a space  100  for a cord end  115 . 
     The axis of slot  95  is in a vertical, longitudinal plane. Slot  95  is parallel-sided and tapers from zero depth above to a few millimeters depth below at its juncture with cord end space  100 . The top/front surface of slot  95  is a slot ceiling  104 ; which is planar, transverse and slopes 60° to horizontal, upward-rearward. Slot  95  is bounded laterally by a slot space wall  108  and its mirror-counterpart. Slot  95  terminates below at an abutment surface located immediately left of its inboard, abutment surface edge  103 . The abutment surface is planar, transverse, four-sided, and slopes 45° to horizontal upward-forward. Thus it makes an obtuse angle of 105° with ceiling  104  when measured as is measured in  FIG. 1A . 
     Cord end space ceiling  110  is coplanar with slot ceiling  104 . Cord end space  100  is trapezoidal viewed along the slot axis with knot space ceiling  110  being the wider of the trapezoid&#39;s parallel edges and its rearward opening being the narrower of its two parallel edges. The sides of the trapezoidal shape are identical, mirror, planar, slot space walls  105 . Dogs  106  are trapezoidal viewed in sections parallel to plane  4 - 4 . Dog  106  and its mirror-counterpart partly cover cord end space  100 , leaving a gap between them through which a cord may pass. Located between dogs  106  and the abutment surface, relief surface  111  flanks cord end space  100 . Surface  111  slopes rearward away from cord end space  100 . Downward of dogs  106  cord end space  100  is flanked by planar, nock surfaces  102 . 
       FIG. 5  shows the right, top, rear sides of cord end  115  broken-out from cord  93 . End  115  is merely a 180° bend in cord  93  with a whipping  116  holding it together. This forms cord end  115  that cannot pass through slot  95  due to interference. It is shown to illustrate a cord end that is flatter than a knot, and thereby more suitable for this embodiment. 
     Operation— FIG. 4   
     Insertion of cord  93  in slot  95  is done by placing end  115  in cord end space  100  between nock surfaces  102 . This might be done by elasticity of gaiter  91  or by closing a frontal gaiter zipper after placing end  115  in cord end space  100 . Tension upon cord  93  pulls end  115  under dogs  106  and against the abutment surface. Removal of cord  93  is accomplished by pulling more rearward than upward on the gaiter-ward portion of cord  93 . This force extracts end  115  from cord end space  100  through the opening between relief surface  111  and its mirror-counterpart, with some flexure of dogs  106 . Attachment point  107  retains cord  93  by use of an obtuse angle λ as well as interference by dogs  106 . 
     CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE OF THE INVENTION 
     Thus the reader will see that this invention provides a safer, more convenient, and higher performance means of attaching a gaiter to a boot. Rarely, the gaiter cord can catch on a foreign object, or ones own gear, and this invention reduces such occurrences. Commonly it occurs that on snow, or mud, that a gaiter cord gathers material and causes endless, uneven, uncomfortable walking, as well as shaking of the boot to dislodge the material. This invention lacks the source of these problems. Additionally, it saves a user time lost to replacing a worn cord. In the case of athletic shoes lacking an arch, there are at least three benefits: the present invention cannot be felt underfoot, and; the cord does not constantly abrade on the ground surface, and; the cord is not able to catch on objects underfoot. 
     While my above specification provides many specificities, many other embodiments are viable. The outsole  24  of  FIG. 2  could be modified to have one or more attachment points on its inboard side. Any combination of single or multiple attachment points on any or all sides may be viable. For example: an outsole could have attachment point(s) on its outboard side as well as its rear side. To accommodate a gaiter cord on a side; an outsole, and/or welt, and/or rand may be recessed deeper than slot  15 . 
     The outsole may be made of any sort of elastomeric compound. It may be variable in density, elasticity, flexibility, color, durability and friction coefficients. A knot space boundary and/or slot space boundary elastomer may be very soft to allow release of snagged objects, nails, etc. The juncture between knot space and cord space may be a region of reinforcement; such as more competent elastomer, less flexible elastomer, embedded metal or plastic. 
     Slot shape may vary considerably. A cord slot may close onto itself underneath a cord, thus precluding collection of snow, mud and stones. Such a close-lipped slot would only open upon insertion and removal of a cord. Facilitation of insertion may be by formation of the close-lipped slot at the top of an inverted V-shaped trough designed to spread the sides of that cord slot. A similar slot wall spreading structure may be formed below the slot ceiling. A slot may widen downward from its ceiling. A slot may have a cord-protective ridge of retaining protrusions just below the cord&#39;s location, with the slot widening below that. Slot orientation and location may vary considerably: a slot may be angled such that a cord from a gaiter enters the slot under the arch of the footwear, such as in the vertical, transverse surface just rear of the arch. A slot axis viewed from below may be curved or have an angle(s) in its length. Thusly, a knot space may be oriented along a different axis than some or all of the slot space. Measured in a horizontal plane and perpendicular to the slot axis; a slot may narrow at or near its junction with a knot space. A slot may have ridges, protrusions, lips, etc to retain the cord or knot. A slot space or knot space may be crossed by a slot, such that it may appear that the slot space is formed by more than two lugs or protrusions. A slot ceiling may be penetrated by a much more narrow slot, or by a cut in the outsole that does not open to leave a slot. A slot may have a V-shaped slot ceiling. 
     The attachment point of  FIG. 4  may be formed in the rear of the shoe instead of the rear of the outsole. In this case it might be formed in material of different composition than the outsole; such as leather or plastic. The attachment point of  FIG. 4  could be formed lower on the shoe, and/or face more downward, and be formed by two or more traction protrusions. 
     A slot boundary may have twist or otherwise mate with a knots&#39; shape and/or cords&#39; shape. A slot may have double-butted ends or a wider midsection such that a plug may be placed to fill the slot when a gaiter is not used; and the plug may be retained by interference against downward as well as slot axial forces. A plug may be retained by hook and loop devices. A knot space and cord space may be entirely below the bottom surface of an outsole between lugs. The abutment surface may be convex towards the knot; such as dome, or a frustum with the inboard terminus of a slot bisecting that abutment surface. A knot space may have a wider space than required for the knot to allow the knot to be turned around more easily during extraction. This might be done by allowing more space beneath or above the knots&#39; in-use location. A slot need not be approximately vertical, it may be horizontal, such as with one wall flush with the outsole surface between traction protrusions. 
     A gaiter attachment point may be designed for a cord of any shape or type construction. A cord could be substituted by metal cable, plastic strap, plastic bar, elastic cord, elastic fabric, webbing, etc. Any expanded end device may be substituted for a knot. For example; a cord may thicken as a substitute for a knot by use of an end splice, or additional fibers, alteration or replication of a weaving pattern, or melting, or addition of objects within its core or woven into its sheath or mantle. Thickening may be accomplished by: coiling, or braiding, or weaving, or laying of its core, or its cover, or its entirety. A gaiter attachment point may be designed for a cord with any system of knot, ferrule, or a ring, washer, or a swaged plastic end, or swaged metal end, or applied molten plastic end, or plastic parts that snap or clamp onto the end of a cord, or metal parts that snap or clamp onto the end of a cord, or thick whipping, or thick, close stitching similar to embroidery, or rubber wedge or other shaped stopper, or other part may be substituted for knot and for causing interference. A plastic, metal or rubber hook or “L” or “T” shape having a combination of such interferences protrusions may be used as a cord expanded end. An outsole may have a expansion space that approximately mates with a hook, “L” or “T” shaped cord expansion. For example, a expansion space may deepen or widen near its interface with a cord slot to mate with a “L” or hook shaped cord expansion. A expansion space may expand outside of a cord slot in two opposing directions to approximately mate with a “T” shaped cord expansion end oriented approximately in a horizontal plane, the T shaped cord end space may be narrow and high in outsole to preclude retention of stones. A slot cord may be generally round or approximately strap shaped. A slot cord may be a strip of fabric or piece of webbing. Such webbing-type cord may be used to fill a slot to prevent mud and ice buildup. Such webbing-type cord may be used to allow a narrower slot to be used. Such webbing-type cord may have a expanded end formed by folding and stitching of itself or some roughly spherical or approximately planar plastic, rubber or metal end. Such webbing-type cord may twist or fold within a slot, such as twist to form a rope-like shape, or fold to form a double thickness portion approximately filling a slot. A wholly or partially plastic strap may be used to form a slot cord. Such a strap may have a thickened end of approximately planar shape, roughly spherical shape or a combination of both. Such a strap may have holes for use in a buckle. A slot and cord may substitute hook and pile for knot interference. A cord may be whipped or stitched with two bends.  FIG. 5  shows a cord with a single bend whipped. Bend the end again and it forms a trigonal or flat cross section with a thickening on two sides of the cord. A gaiter attachment point may be designed to retain a variety of cord ends: a variety of knots in a variety of cord types as well as for both knots and ends composed of material other than that of the cord. For example: designed for both an overhand knot in 3 mm cord or and a 1 mm thick metal T-shaped end swaged onto a 2 mm cord. 
     Retention lobes may extend over a cord end space from one side, or both sides of the cord end space. Retention lobes may extend far enough to contact each other to better retain a cord end. Retention lobes may extend across a cord end space and connect to form a continuous loop of material over the cord end space, possibly leaving a hole through which a cord end might be pulled through to remove the gaiter.