Toe protector for athletic footwear having removable cleats

Abstract

A toe protector adapted to be removably attached to an external portion of the toe-box of cleated athletic footwear having removable cleats to protect an athlete's foot from crush injuries. The toe protector includes a pair of plantar flanges, each having pair of spaced apart threaded cleat stud receiving holes used to attach the toe protector to the cleated athletic footwear. It is formed plastic, or other materials, having sufficient thickness and hardness to withstand deformation and deflect crush forces applied to the toe-box of the cleated athletic footwear. It is designed to be universally applicable to most all athletic footwear having removable cleats available from known manufacturers and can be easily transferable to other similarly sized cleated footwear.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A toe protector adapted to be removably attached over at least a portion of a toe-box of cleated athletic footwear with removable cleats having threaded cleat studs, the toe protector comprising:
 a semi-rigid arc-shaped body having a lateral wall, a medial wall, and a central portion disposed between the lateral wall and the medial wall, the lateral wall terminating in a lateral plantar flange having a pair of spaced apart threaded cleat stud receiving holes, the medial portion terminating in a medial plantar flange having a pair of spaced apart threaded cleat stud receiving holes.   
     
     
         2 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein the lateral plantar flange extends from the lateral wall and terminates in a lateral planter flange end, and the medial plantar flange extends from the medial plantar wall and terminates in a medial plantar flange end spaced apart from the lateral plantar flange end, whereby the lateral plantar flange and the medial plantar flange extend towards each other in a facing relationship. 
     
     
         3 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein the first plantar flange and the second plantar flange are generally coplanar. 
     
     
         4 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein at least some of the threaded cleat stud receiving holes are round. 
     
     
         5 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein at least some of the threaded cleat stud receiving holes are slotted. 
     
     
         6 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein the central portion includes a parabolic shaped proximal end extending between the lateral wall and the medial wall. 
     
     
         7 . The toe protector of  claim 6  wherein the parabolic shaped proximal end defines a parabolic arc having a swept angle of about 137 degrees to about 147 degrees. 
     
     
         8 . The toe protector of  claim 7  wherein the parabolic shaped proximal end defines a parabolic arc having a swept angle of about 142 degrees. 
     
     
         9 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein the central portion includes a distal end terminating in a distal plantar flange having a threaded cleat stud receiving hole. 
     
     
         10 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein the toe protector body is left-foot specific and shaped to more closely conform to a toe-box of left foot cleated athletic footwear than a toe-box of associated right foot cleated athletic footwear. 
     
     
         11 . The toe protector of  claim 1  wherein the toe protector body is right-foot specific and shaped to more closely conform to a toe-box of a right foot cleated athletic footwear than a toe-box of associated left foot cleated athletic footwear. 
     
     
         12 . A method of protecting the toe-box of cleated footwear comprising:
 placing a toe protector over an external portion of the toe-box of the cleated footwear;   aligning a pair of threaded cleat stud receiving holes in a lateral plantar flange of the toe protector with a pair of lateral threaded cleat stud receiving holes in the sole of the cleated footwear;   aligning a pair of threaded cleat stud receiving holes in a medial plantar flange of the toe protector with a pair of medial threaded cleat stud receiving holes in the sole of the cleated footwear;   pushing a respective threaded cleat stud of a respective removable cleat through each of the pair of threaded cleat stud receiving holes in the lateral plantar flange and into each of the pair of threaded cleat stud receiving holes in the medial plantar flange; and   screwing each of the respective removable cleats into the sole of the cleated footwear to secure the toe protector to the cleated footwear.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 aligning a threaded cleat stud receiving hole in a distal plantar flange of the toe protector with a distal threaded cleat stud receiving hole in the sole of the cleated footwear; 
 pushing a threaded cleat stud of a removable cleat into the threaded cleat stud receiving hole in the distal plantar flange; and 
 screwing the removable cleat into the sole of the cleated footwear.