Patent ID: 7007413

Claim:
In combination: a mounting connector adapted to be mounted in the sole of an athletic shoe, said mounting connector including a base and a male engagement member in the form of an externally threaded shaft projecting a predetermined distance from said base beyond said sole; a cleat adapted to be removably connected to the mounting connector, said cleat including a flange, a plurality of traction elements extending from one surface of said flange away from said mounting connector, and a first annular wall extending from a second surface of said flange toward said mounting connector and having a threaded female receptacle defined on an interior-facing surface of said first wall for threadedly receiving and removably engaging said shaft in response to mutual rotation between said cleat and said connector; wherein said shaft is formed of plastic material to prevent it from scratching and penetrating vulnerable surfaces when forced directly into contact with said vulnerable surfaces; locking means responsive to a predetermined extent of rotation of said shaft relative to said receptacle in a first angular direction for resisting turning of said shaft in a second opposite angular direction, said locking means comprising: a second generally annular wall surrounding said shaft extending axially from said base a distance less than said predetermined distance, said second wall having an interiorly facing surface with a series of angularly spaced short radial projections; an annular array of angularly spaced posts extending axially from said flange at a radial location at which the posts engage said radial projections in a ratcheting manner to permit relatively free turning of said shaft in said receptacle in said first angular direction and to resist turning of said shaft in said receptacle in said second angular direction.