A SPORTS SHOE

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a sports shoe and more particularly to a shoe for ball sports. s The invention has been developed primarily for use as a football/soccer shoe and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field and may also be used in other ball sports, such as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football, American football and cricket. o Background of the Invention

Known football/soccer shoes have, when viewed from above, a convex toe having a relatively small radius and adjacent curved sides having a relatively larger radius. Moreover, the sides of the shoe are typically relatively softer than the toe of the shoe.

Due to the small radius of the toe, it is difficult to accurately direct a ball kicked on thes toe of the shoe. This is because a relatively minor change in the point of impact of the ball with the toe of the shoe can result in large variations in the direction of a tangent to the toe at the point of impact and, therefore, the resulting direction of the kicked ball. Accordingly, it is more common for players to kick balls on the side of the shoe, where the larger radius means that the point of impact with the ball has a much lower influence0 on the resulting kicked ball direction.

However, a disadvantage of kicking balls on the side of the shoe is that less energy is transferred to the ball compared to a toe kick. This inefficiency is created due to the side being softer than the toe. Further, a kick on the side of the shoe must be made with a less- efficient sweeping motion, rather than a motion in-line with the natural alignment of thes leg, as is the case with a toe kick.

Object of the Invention

It is the object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the above disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a sports shoe comprising: a shoe body having a toe at one end and a heel at the other end, said toe having a concave portion for engaging a sports ball. The concave portion preferably has a radius that substantially corresponds to a radius of a sports ball of a sport in which the shoe is intended to be used.

The shoe is preferably a football/soccer shoe. However, in other embodiments, the shoe is a rugby league, rugby union, American football, Australian rules football or cricket shoe.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a sports shoe having a concave toe portion for engaging a sports ball.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of a sports shoe; and Fig. 2 is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment of a sports shoe.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a preferred embodiment of a football/soccer shoe 1. The football/soccer shoe 1 includes a shoe body 3 having a heel 5 at one end and a toe 7 at the other, with sides 9 extending therebetween. The toe 7 includes a concave portion 11 for engaging a football/soccer ball during kicking of the ball. The concave portion 11 has a radius of around 1 lcm, which substantially corresponds to that of a standard football/soccer ball. Padding (not shown) is also provided on the inside of the shoe 1 adjacent the concave portion 11 to absorb forces applied to the shoe 1 during a toe kick and reduce the transfer of such forces to the wearer's foot. The concave portion 11 is of molded construction, utilising plastics or other synthetic materials, or steel. The concave portion 11 is also reinforced to withstand forces applied thereto during kicking of the ball.

The football/soccer shoe 1 is constructed with a rubber sole and a leather upper, as is well known in the art. The fronts of the shoe upper and sole are shaped appropriately to conform to the geometry of the concave portion 11.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown a second embodiment of a sports shoe 1, where reference numerals corresponding with those of Fig. 1 indicate corresponding features. However, in the sports shoe 1 of Fig. 2, the concave portion 11 is reinforced by reinforcement, in the form of a frame 12, which extends from the concave portion 11 toward the heel 5 of the shoe 1. The frame 12 includes a plurality of ribs 14 spaced apart around the inside periphery of the shoe 1. The frame 12 is constructed from a rigid plastic or other rigid synthetic material, or steel.

It will be appreciated that the concave portion 11 allows the ball to be kicked relatively accurately on the toe 7. Moreover, due to the ball being kicked on the toe 7, more energy is transferred to the kicked ball for the reasons mentioned above, resulting in the kicked ball having a higher velocity. When used in cricket, the shoe 1 can also facilitate faster walking, due to the removal of the point of the toe usually provided in cricket shoes.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that it may also be embodied in many other forms. For example, the shoe upper may be formed of synthetic material, or a combination of leather and a synthetic material. In some embodiments, additional reinforcement and/or padding may be provided inwardly of the concave portion to reduce the force transmitted to a wearer's foot during a toe kick.