# US 2016/0249709 A1 · Rigid Cantilevered Stud > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0249709 A1 - Document ID: US20160249709A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/148,212 - Filed: 2016-05-06 - Published: 2016-09-01 - Earliest claimed: 2009-10-01 - Assignees: NIKE, Inc. - Applicants: NIKE, Inc. - Inventors: Brian D. Baker - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160249709A1 ## CPC - A43C 15/14: with outwardly-movable spikes - A43B 13/223: {Profiled soles} - A43B 13/26: projecting beyond the sole surface - A43C 15/02: attached to the sole - A43C 15/161: {characterised by the attachment to the sole} - A43C 15/162: {characterised by the shape} - A43C: FASTENINGS OR ATTACHMENTS OF FOOTWEAR; LACES IN GENERAL - A43B: CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR ## Abstract Articles of footwear may include selectively engageable traction elements that engage with a surface or the ground during certain activities and do not engage with the surface or the ground during other activities. The selectively engageable traction elements are caused to engage with the ground or surface when a portion of the footwear is flexed. When the footwear is in its unflexed position, the selectively engageable traction elements may not engage with the ground or surface. Selectively engageable traction elements may be desired or may be useful during particular, targeted movements such as sharp turns, pivoting, sudden or abrupt starting and stopping motions, and the like and in changing environmental conditions, such as on various surfaces having different characteristics. Wearers of such footwear may benefit from the extra traction provided by the selectively engageable traction elements when performing the targeted movements and/or when wearing the footwear on surfaces with varying conditions. ## Claims ### Claim 1 (canceled) ### Claim 2 A sole structure for an article of footwear, comprising: a sole base member that forms a portion of a ground-contact surface of the sole structure; and a rigid cantilevered stud having an attached end and an opposing free end, wherein the attached end is secured to the sole base member by a mechanical connector and the free end extends away from the attached end and is positioned to form a portion of the ground-contact surface of the sole structure during at least a portion of a step cycle, wherein the free end is movable away from the sole base member as a result of flexure of the sole base member in a region of the attached end, the sole base member includes a recess formed therein, and a portion of the free end is contained within the recess when the sole structure is in an unflexed condition. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The sole structure of claim 2, wherein the mechanical connector comprises a bolt. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The sole structure of claim 3, wherein the rigid cantilevered stud comprises a metal. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The sole structure of claim 3, wherein the rigid cantilevered stud is tapered from the free end to the attached end so as to be wider at the free end than at the attached end. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The sole structure of claim 3, wherein a line passing from the attached end to the free end extends toward a toe region of the sole structure. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The sole structure of claim 6, wherein the sole structure is incorporated into an article of footwear, and the rigid cantilevered stud is positioned beneath a portion of the sole base member configured to correspond to a first metatarsophalangeal joint of a foot of a wearer of the article of footwear during use. ### Claim 8 (depends on 3) The sole structure of claim 3, further comprising a static traction element having a first wall and a second wall, wherein the first wall extends along the sole base member on a first side of the attached end and the second wall extends along the sole base member on a second side of the attached end, the first wall and the second wall form the ground contact surface in an area of the sole base member proximate to the attached end, a portion of the second wall extends forward of the attached end, the first wall and the second wall are configured in a U-shape defining an interior space, and the attached end is positioned within the interior space. ### Claim 9 (depends on 3) The sole structure of claim 3, wherein the free end comprises a downwardly projecting tip, and wherein a bottom surface of the rigid cantilevered stud between the tip and the attached end is flat. ### Claim 10 A sole structure for an article of footwear, comprising: a sole base member that forms a portion of a ground-contact surface of the sole structure; a static traction element having a first wall and a second wall; and a rigid cantilevered stud having an attached end and an opposing free end, wherein the attached end is secured to the sole base member and the free end extends away from the attached end and is positioned to form a portion of the ground-contact surface of the sole structure during at least a portion of a step cycle, wherein the free end is movable away from the sole base member as a result of flexure of the sole base member in a region of the attached end, the sole base member includes a recess formed therein, a portion of the free end is contained within the recess when the sole structure is in an unflexed condition, the first wall extends along the sole base member on a first side of the attached end and the second wall extends along the sole base member on a second side of the attached end, the first wall and the second wall form the ground contact surface in an area of the sole base member proximate to the attached end, a portion of the second wall extends forward of the attached end, the first wall and the second wall are configured in a U-shape defining an interior space, and the attached end is positioned within the interior space. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The sole structure of claim 10, wherein a line passing from the attached end to the free end extends toward a toe region of the sole structure. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The sole structure of claim 11, wherein the sole structure is incorporated into an article of footwear, and the rigid cantilevered stud is positioned beneath a portion of the sole base member configured to correspond to a first metatarsophalangeal joint of a foot of a wearer of the article of footwear during use. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The sole structure of claim 10, wherein the rigid cantilevered stud comprises a metal. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The sole structure of claim 10, wherein the rigid cantilevered stud is tapered from the free end to the attached end so as to be wider at the free end than at the attached end. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The sole structure of claim 10, wherein the free end comprises a downwardly projecting tip, and wherein a bottom surface of the rigid cantilevered stud between the tip and the attached end is flat. ### Claim 16 A sole structure for an article of footwear, comprising: a sole base member that forms a portion of a ground-contact surface of the sole structure; and a rigid cantilevered stud located in a forefoot region of the sole structure and having an attached end and an opposing free end, wherein the attached end is secured to the sole base member and the free end extends away from the attached end and is positioned to form a portion of the ground-contact surface of the sole structure during at least a portion of a step cycle, wherein the free end is movable away from the sole base member as a result of flexure of the sole base member in a region of the attached end, the rigid cantilevered stud is tapered from the free end to the attached end so as to be wider at the free end than at the attached end, the sole base member includes a recess formed therein, and a portion of the free end is contained within the recess when the sole structure is in an unflexed condition. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The sole structure of claim 16, wherein a line passing from the attached end to the free end extends toward a toe region of the sole structure. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The sole structure of claim 17, wherein the sole structure is incorporated into an article of footwear, and the rigid cantilevered stud is positioned beneath a portion of the sole base member configured to correspond to a first metatarsophalangeal joint of a foot of a wearer of the article of footwear during use. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The sole structure of claim 18, wherein the rigid cantilevered stud comprises a metal. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The sole structure of claim 16, wherein the free end comprises a downwardly projecting tip, and wherein a bottom surface of the rigid cantilevered stud between the tip and the attached end is flat. ### Claim 21 (depends on 16) The sole structure of claim 16, wherein the attached end is secured to the sole base member by a bolt, the rigid cantilevered stud comprises a metal, and a line passing from the attached end to the free end extends toward a toe region of the sole structure. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The sole structure of claim 21, further comprising a static traction element having a first wall and a second wall, wherein the first wall extends along the sole base member on a first side of the attached end and the second wall extends along the sole base member on a second side of the attached end, the first wall and the second wall form the ground contact surface in an area of the sole base member proximate to the attached end, a portion of the second wall extends forward of the attached end, the first wall and the second wall are configured in a U-shape defining an interior space, and the attached end is positioned within the interior space.