Golf Shoe Spike Wrench

The present invention relates to wrenches, and more particularly to a wrench for removing and/or replacing spikes on the soles of golf shoes. Spikes are attached to the sole of golf shoes to provide the golfer a firm stance on turf as the golfer swings to hit the golf ball.

Golf shoes until rather recently, were made of leather uppers and leather soles and heels. To the soles and heels were attached metal spikes by means of a male screw integral with the spike body engaging a female screw embedded in the sole of the shoe. The spikes were usually circular in shape with a concavo-convex surface, the convex surface facing away from the sole of the shoe. Two apertures were provided inward from the periphery of the spike body on either side of the spike to receive a spike wrench having affixed thereto two metal pins adapted to engage the apertures of the spike body for removing and/or replacing the spike body from the golf shoe sole. Approximately twelve spikes were provided on the sole of each shoe.

Over the past quarter century, there has been a veritable revolution in the materials utilized in making golf shoes and spikes. Synthetic materials are now commonly used for the uppers, the soles and even the spike bodies. The soles are made of a rubber-resin blend composition and the spike bodies in some cases are encapsulated in a thermoplastic jacket. The shape of the soles, the shape of the spike bodies and the number of spikes per shoe remain substantially the same. Two factors resulted in the present invention. First, the thermoplastic encapsulated spike bodies tend to "weld" to the sole composition and consequently become very difficult to remove. Secondly, the thermoplastic encapsulated spike bodies damage rather readily when a conventional metal spike wrench is employed to remove them for replacement with new spike bodies. Because of the aforementioned "welding" effect and the damage caused by the conventional metal spike wrench, it is oftentimes practically impossible to remove the spike bodies from the shoes.

A very simple, efficient spike wrench which effectively removes spike bodies from the soles of golf shoes is provided. The present spike wrench utilizes two screws which are inserted in the spike body apertures and rotated by a screwdriver to securely engage the apertures of the spike body to efficiently and effectively remove the spike body from the shoe sole when the wrench is turned.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the wrench;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the manner in which the wrench engages a spike body.

The spike wrench of the present invention comprises a body 1 having a handle 2, a hexagonal-shaped head 3 and an auxiliary head 16. The body 1 can be made of any castable or moldable material. For lightweight, it is preferably made of a good quality, moldable engineering plastic, such as, nylon, polycarbonate, graft ABS copolymer such as Cycolac resin, or the like. To further reduce the weight of the wrench and to increase its strength, cavities 5 with reinforcing ribs 24 are provided (FIG. 2) in the handle 2.

The hexagonal-shaped head 3 embodies the crux of my invention and comprises a convex-shaped recess 6 being further recessed at 7. The recesses 6 and 7 are adapted to receive the circular convex shaped spike body 25 including the spike 26. The spike body 25, in FIG. 5, is shown embedded in a golf shoe sole 27.

Referring now to FIG. 4, two elongated holes 8, 9 are provided in the head 3 for receiving two screws 11, 12. The holes 8, 9 are counterbored at 20, 21 to receive the heads 13, 13 of the screws 11, 12. The counter bores produce flanges 22, 23. Each of the screws has a head 13 and a helical threaded shank 14 with preferably a tapered or conical tip having a continuation of the helical threads as shown at 14'. The head 13 is preferably of the Phillips type but other screws will work, such as slotted head screws. The screws 11, 12 have a blunt end 15 to prevent screw engagement with and damage to the sole of the shoe to which the spikes are attached. The auxiliary head 16 is provided on the wrench body 1 and contains standard juxtaposed metal pins 17 embedded in the body as shown in FIG. 3. The auxiliary head 16 is not a part of my invention, but is provided for quick and easy attachment of spike bodies to a shoe sole. The head 16 has a concave portion 18 and a recess 19 adapted to receive a spike body and spike respectively. The spike body 25 has two juxtaposed apertures 28, 29, (see FIG. 5) adapted to normally receive the standard juxtaposed pins of a conventional golf shoe spike wrench.

In operation, the head 3 of the present wrench is placed over and in contact with the spike body 25 of the shoe sole 27, as shown in FIG. 5. A screwdriver is utilized to rotate the screws 11, 12. As the screws 11, 12 are rotated, the conical tips of the screws engage the two apertures 28, 29 of the spike body 25 thereby locking securely into the spike body. The wrench is then rotated in a counterclockwise direction to remove the spike body from the shoe sole. For replacing a spike body, the head 16 with its pins 17 is placed over the spike body which is in contact with the shoe sole. The wrench is then rotated clockwise to attach the spike body to the shoe sole.