U.S. patent application number 10/963012 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-21 for boot with at least two lacing zones.
This patent application is currently assigned to LAFUMA S.A.. Invention is credited to Mathieu, Guillaume.
Application Number | 20050081403 10/963012 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34385372 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050081403 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mathieu, Guillaume |
April 21, 2005 |
Boot with at least two lacing zones
Abstract
The boot including a lacing device, is noteworthy in that the
boot (1) comprises at least two independent successive zones of
lacing (Z1-Z2), allowing a differential adjustment and tightening
of the lacing chosen and adapted by the user himself, whatever the
lacing means may be.
Inventors: |
Mathieu, Guillaume; (Les
Cotes D'Arey, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BURR & BROWN
PO BOX 7068
SYRACUSE
NY
13261-7068
US
|
Assignee: |
LAFUMA S.A.
Anneyron
FR
|
Family ID: |
34385372 |
Appl. No.: |
10/963012 |
Filed: |
October 12, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/50.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43C 1/003 20130101;
A43C 1/00 20130101; A43C 7/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
036/050.1 |
International
Class: |
A43C 011/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 20, 2003 |
FR |
03.12363 |
Claims
1. A boot, which comprises at least two different, successive
lacing zones allowing differentiated, separate tightening and
adjustment of the lacing, chosen and adapted by the user himself,
irrespective of the lacing means, wherein, for each lacing zone, an
attachment and rapid-tightening means is associated on the lace or
end part of the lace, and wherein, between the attachment and
rapid-tightening means, the lacing zones are extended to form an
intermediate linking and pulling part allowing, by means of a
single action of gripping said intermediate parts, differentiated
tightening and adjustment of the boot in the lacing zones concerned
by the positioning of each attachment means.
2. The boot, including a lacing device, which comprises at least
two differentiated lacing zones (Z1-Z2) but only one lace (2),
wherein said lace receives at least two attachment (3) and
rapid-tightening means in a number that corresponds to the number
of lacing zones, allowing, by means of a single action of grasping
the lace in the zone (2c) between said attachment means,
differentiated tightening and adjustment of the boot in the lacing
zones concerned, for positioning each attachment means.
3. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end strands (2a-2b)
are adjacent at the exit from the attachment means to the gripping
and pulling part (2c).
4. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the free ends (2a-2b) of
each lace beyond the attachment and tightening means (3) are
inserted, positioned and held in a long sleeve (5) forming a
gripping means.
5. The boot as claimed in claim 4, wherein the sleeve consists of a
component that can be rolled up on itself, with linking and closure
hook/loop fastening means.
6. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end strands (2a-2b)
of the laces are secured together by means of stitching, welding
and the like.
7. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end strands (2a-2b)
extending beyond the attachment means are secured by welding,
stitching and the like to the gripping part (2c).
8. The boot as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a catching zone
(4) arranged on the side of the boot, close to the tongue (1b), for
receiving the parts of the lace that are left free.
9. The boot as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a pocket
arranged on the side of the boot or close to the tongue (1b) for
receiving and storing the parts of the lace that are left free.
10. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means (1c) for
passage of the laces (2) are formed from a plurality of loops in
the form of V-shaped strands, the free ends of which are secured to
the sole of the boot and the base of the V serving to change the
direction of the lace.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to the technical sector of footwear
and, more specifically to the lacing of footwear.
[0002] The majority of footwear for wearing in town, for sports,
for hiking, or for climbing is provided with lacing zones using
hooks or eyelets arranged on facings located on either side of the
opening zone of the footwear in order to facilitate insertion of
the user's foot.
[0003] The lace-fastening zone thus comprises, depending on the
intended use of the footwear, several rows of pairs of hooks or
eyelets that hold the foot in the footwear. Adjustment of tightness
remains largely uniform and unaffected, and depends on the tension
force exerted on the two strands of the lace.
[0004] Furthermore, and by way of example, when boots are used for
sports hiking, the athlete's feet are very highly stressed, firstly
on account of the constraints of the terrain, with lateral tilting
effects, which effects may be prejudicial, and secondly by the
foot's sliding in the boot itself.
[0005] To enhance boot comfort, certain manufacturers have moved
the zones receiving the eyelets and/or hooks or the like onto the
lateral sides of the boot's upper, substantially at mid-height,
thereby enlarging the lacing zone.
[0006] The feet are able more easily to slide sideways inside the
boot and provide greater comfort.
[0007] However, lacing remains the same in terms of the boot
itself, such that the tightening pressure remains the same over the
entire length of the boot throughout the period of use. Even
assuming that lacing starts off by the pressure being different in
different parts, in practice, it has been observed that, over a
period of use, the pressure equalizes over the entire tightening
zone.
[0008] The applicant sought to obviate these drawbacks and to
improve foot holding and comfort for the user whenever force is
exerted by enabling tightening to be adapted to the particular area
of the foot, the instep, ankle and metatarsus in particular.
[0009] The applicant aimed to propose a solution that is rapid and
simple to implement with a view to modulating the tightening
pressure as a function of the various parts of the foot, wanting
this pressure to remain constant over a specific tightening zone
throughout the duration of the particular activity.
[0010] A further aim sought according to the invention was to
enlarge the tightening zone for the foot in order to increase foot
holding and comfort by allowing the boot to adapt to all types of
terrain covered by the athlete and general user.
[0011] These and other objects will become clearly apparent from
the remainder of the description.
[0012] According to a first characteristic of the invention, the
boot is noteworthy in that it comprises at least two different,
successive lacing zones allowing differentiated, separate
tightening and adjustment of the lacing, chosen and adapted by the
user himself, irrespective of the lacing means and in that, for
each lacing zone, an attachment and rapid-tightening means is
associated on the lace or end part of the lace, and in that,
between the attachment and rapid-tightening means, the lacing zones
are extended to form an intermediate linking and pulling part
allowing, by means of a single action of gripping said intermediate
parts, differentiated tightening and adjustment of the boot in the
lacing zones concerned by the positioning of each attachment
means.
[0013] According to another characteristic, the boot is noteworthy
in that it comprises at least two differentiated lacing zones but
only one lace, and in that said lace receives at least two
attachment and rapid-tightening means in a number that corresponds
to the number of lacing zones, allowing, by means of a single
action of grasping the lace in the zone between said attachment
means, differentiated tightening and adjustment of the boot in the
lacing zones concerned, by the positioning of each attachment
means.
[0014] These and yet other characteristics will become clearly
apparent from the remainder of the description.
[0015] In order to establish the subject of the invention
illustrated in a non-limiting manner in the figures of the drawings
in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a view of a single lace according to the invention
provided with rapid attachment means suitable for use on the
boot;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a view of a boot provided with two laces according
to the invention. The boot is shown before tightening;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a view of a boot provided with a lace according to
the invention. The boot is shown before tightening;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a view of the boot according to FIG. 2 after
differentiated tightening;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a view of a boot provided with two laces with a
rapid tightening means arranged in order to allow, by a single
means, adjustment and tightening of the lacing zones;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a partial view of the single means shown in FIG.
5.
[0022] In order to render the subject of the invention more
concrete, it is now described in a non-limiting manner, illustrated
in the figures of the drawings.
[0023] The invention applies to all types of footwear. For the
purposes of understanding the invention, the illustration shows a
sports boot for hiking, climbing or orienteering, which is
referenced overall by (1). On its top part, conventionally, it has
an opening (la) with a tongue (1b) and, around these, a lacing zone
that may be based on hooks, eyelets or other means arranged in
several successive rows in the facing part around said opening.
There may be any number of pairs of means (1c) for passage of the
laces, such as hooks or eyelets, and this number varies in
accordance with the intended use for the boot. For the purposes of
understanding the invention, four pairs of lace-passage means are
shown.
[0024] According to a first arrangement of the invention, the
latter aims to introduce, by means of the lacing means (2), at
least two successive, independent lacing zones, that are equal or
different in size, to allow differentiation of the tightening force
and the latter's adjustment depending on the parts of the foot
involved and in accordance with the user's desired level of
comfort. Thus, in the implementation illustrated, two lacing zones
(Z1, Z2) have been defined, each with two pairs of lace-passage
means. Lacing may take place in any appropriate manner and, for
example, conventionally.
[0025] FIG. 2 shows an implementation of the invention based on the
use of two laces, while FIG. 3 illustrates optimized implementation
of the invention, with a single lace carrying out the desired
function of lacing with differentiated tightening force.
[0026] If the boot comprises two lacing zones with two laces, in
addition to traditional lacing, a rapid attachment means (3) is
associated with each lace. If the boot comprises only one lace, the
latter, as shown in FIG. 1, receives two rapid attachment
means.
[0027] In practice, the rapid attachment means is known per se. By
way of example, one of them has been shown. It comprises a fixed
body defining an inner volume in which a push-button (3a) moves
against an elastic return means. The body and the push-button are
arranged in order to remain linked together. The body and the
push-button have, respectively, openings (3b), which, in a certain
position of the push-button relative to the body, and against the
elastic return means, leave a passage for threading through the
strands of the lace or laces. Other embodiments of rapid attachment
means fulfilling the same function may be used.
[0028] Thus, in the implementation of a boot with two lacing zones
and two laces, each receiving a rapid attachment means, it suffices
to move each attachment means in the manner of a slide in order to
close the boot and achieve the desired tightening. It is thus
possible to differentiate the tightening force of the two means and
to vary the tightening pressure at the desired points of the boot
independently. When the attachment and rapid-tightening means (3)
are positioned, the free-end strands (2a-2b) of each lace may be
left free or be fastened to a fastening strip (4) in the form of a
hook/loop fastening tab or the like arranged on one of the sides of
the boot, or be placed in a small pocket arranged close to the
tongue (1b). In a variant embodiment, the two end strands (2a-2b)
may be secured together by stitching, welding or the like so as to
exert an even, regular pulling force on the two strands.
[0029] In an optimized implementation shown in FIGS. 3 and 5-6,
according to two variant embodiments, the differentiated tightening
and adjustment action for the boot in the lacing zones concerned
takes place in a unique manner by means of the gripping of an
intermediate linking part consisting of at least one or more lace
parts extending beyond the lacing zones.
[0030] The optimized implementation of the invention in a first
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 relates to the use of a single
lace (2) receiving the two rapid attachment means (3) in the
hypothetical case of two lacing zones. In this case, the two means
are advantageously arranged in the median part of the lace, being
separated from one another by a lace-strand part (2c) capable of
forming a gripping and pulling means--arrow F--for carrying the
pair of boots, irrespective of the distance between said attachment
and tightening means. In this implementation, threading-through of
the lace in each zone takes place for each free end of the lace,
passing through each lace-passage means--hook, eyelet or the
like--then, after it has all been threaded right through, the
remaining free end (2a-2b) of the lace is in turn threaded into the
attachment and tightening means (3). The operator can then, without
difficulty, carry out the operation of appropriate, differentiated
tightening and adjustment to identical or different degrees. The
gripping part (2c) may then be held on the side, on the catching
zone (4) provided for this purpose. The strands (2a-2b) are
advantageously secured together by stitching, welding or the like,
and are linked to the gripping part (2c)
[0031] In the second optimized implementation shown in FIGS. 5 and
6, the free ends (2a-2b) of each lace located beyond the attachment
and tightening means (3) are inserted, positioned and held in a
long sleeve (5) forming a gripping means. This sleeve may, as shown
in FIG. 5, be formed as a component that can be rolled up on
itself, with linking and closure hook/loop fastening means (5a).
Thus, the free ends (2a-2b) of the laces are held tightly in the
sleeve. This can then be grasped by the user in an identical manner
to the single action carried out in the implementation described
according to FIG. 3.
[0032] Given the subject of the invention and the objects sought at
the beginning--improved foot holding and comfort for the user as a
function of the stresses exerted--a particular solution of the
lace-passage means is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Said
lace-passage means (1c) are produced from a plurality of loops in
the form of strands of textile or other material, the ends of which
are fastened and secured at the sole (1d) of the boot. This link is
made by stitching, adhesive bonding or the like. Each loop thus has
a V shape, the base of which serves to change the direction of the
lace. Each loop may have a certain deformation elasticity in order
to be placed under tension, depending on the tightening force. It
may be envisaged that one or more loops are thus arranged on the
side, in the rear zone of the foot.
[0033] In any event, this implementation is highly practical and
enables the user's foot to adapt its position within the body of
the boot in accordance with external stresses and constraints.
Gripping of the foot is perfectly maintained. The foot is better
held in the boot and the risk of injury is reduced.
[0034] By means of a very rapid movement, each user may thus adjust
the position of the adjustment means (3) and, during walking,
hiking, orienteering or the like, adapt the tightening effects of
the parts of the boot in accordance with a particular situation at
a particular time.
[0035] The advantages are clearly apparent from the invention. The
simplicity of implementation of the invention and its ability to be
adapted to any existing boot, irrespective of the lace-passage
means, is highlighted.
[0036] Furthermore, and by implementing the invention, at any time
during use the respective pressures exerted in the lacing zones
remain the same.
[0037] Without departing from the scope of the invention, the
lacing means may be used to receive a plurality of linking loops
uniformly arranged around the boot. Any combination of loop
positions is possible on the boot in order to guarantee optimum
foot holding and comfort.
* * * * *