Patent ID: 8707588

Claim:
A traction cleat for attaching to and locking with a shoe-mounted receptacle, said cleat comprising: a hub having to and bottom surfaces and a longitudinally extending cleat attachment axis extending substantially perpendicular to said top and bottom surfaces; at least one ground-engaging traction element projecting generally downward from said bottom surface; at least one stem having a proximal end at the top surface of said hub and a distal end, said stem extending axially upward from said top surface substantially concentrically about the cleat attachment axis; an attachment flange structure configured to be received in the receptacle and having a predetermined lateral periphery configuration and including at least one flange member extending generally radially from said stem proximate the distal end of said stem; a cleat locking structure for engaging a mating structure in the receptacle to prevent inadvertent rotation of the cleat in the receptacle from a locking angular orientation; and at least one arcuate hub ramp segment projecting gradually in an axial direction from the hub to surface as a function of angular location about the cleat attachment axis to provide an angled interface for contacting the receptacle, the hub ramp segment having maximally and minimally raised angularly displaced ends disposed at different distances from said hub top surface; wherein said attachment flange structure includes plural flange members extending generally radially from said stem proximate the distal end of said stem at angularly spaced positions about the cleat attachment axis.