Footwear having retractable spikes
OwnerWiley T. Buchanen, IIIinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Anti-skid spikes for use on shoes or boots, to provide firm footing on ice or snow. The spikes are readily extendable and retractable without the use of keys or tools, e.g., when entering a car or a house where floors and rugs might otherwise be damaged thereby. A mechanism for selectively extending and retracting the spikes is sealed within the sole and heel of the footwear to provide improved esthetics and to prevent interference with the mechanism, as by moisture and ice, when temperatures vary from hot to cold.
Claims11
Footwear having retractable spikes, comprising:
- an elongated hollow member including a sole having a tread surface with a plurality of resilient normally recessed parts therein;
- a corresponding plurality of spikes secured to respective ones of said normally recessed parts, each spike having a length such that it does not normally extend beyond said tread surface;
- a slidably movable cam member disposed within said hollow member adjacent said sole and having a corresponding plurality of cam surface portions for (i) permitting said normally recessed parts of said sole to remain in a retracted position wherein said spikes do not extend beyond said tread surface, when said cam member is in a first longitudinal position, and (ii) urging said normally recessed parts toward said tread surface to cause said spikes to extend therefrom when said cam member is in a second longitudinal position;
- and
- actuating means disposed within said hollow member and operable via a flexible wall portion thereof, for moving said cam member between said first and second positions thereof.
Retractable anti-skid spikes for footwear, comprising a sole including a flexible tread and spikes in said tread, said tread normally holding said spikes up in ineffective positions, said sole comprising a cavity containing a cam member shiftable from a first position to a second position for flexing said tread to extend said spikes in effective ground gripping positions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.