U.S. patent application number 11/420707 was filed with the patent office on 2007-08-16 for inner lacing shoes.
Invention is credited to Arturo Ramos.
Application Number | 20070186447 11/420707 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38366843 |
Filed Date | 2007-08-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070186447 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ramos; Arturo |
August 16, 2007 |
Inner Lacing Shoes
Abstract
A shoe, including: g) an upper, having an inside and an outside,
and including a toe box, a heel part, the heel part having a top
section and a bottom section, and a split throat, the split throat
having two flaps one on either side of the split throat; h) a sole,
having an arch position; i) two tightening levers, one tightening
lever on either flap of the split throat; j) a first tube entering
the top section of the heel part on a first side of the shoe,
proceeding downward and forward along the inside of the upper to
about the arch position, and crossing the shoe to a second side of
the shoe; k) a second tube entering the top section of the heel
part on the second side of the shoe, proceeding downward and
forward along the inside of the upper to about the arch position,
proceeding below the insole and crossing the shoe to the first side
of the shoe; l) a shoe lace attached at a first end to the
tightening lever on the first side of the shoe, proceeding through
the first tube and out of the shoe to form a loop outside of the
heel part, entering the second tube and proceeding out of the
second tube with a second end of the shoe lace attached to the
tightening lever on the second side of the shoe; and g) a plurality
of hooks attached to outside of the heel part, whereby the shoes
may be tightened by hooking the loop onto one of the plurality of
hooks and thereby pulling the two flaps together.
Inventors: |
Ramos; Arturo; (Fremont,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FOOTHILL LAW GROUP
777 N. FIRST STREET, SUITE325
SAN JOSE
CA
95112
US
|
Family ID: |
38366843 |
Appl. No.: |
11/420707 |
Filed: |
May 26, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60771698 |
Feb 10, 2006 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/50.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43C 1/04 20130101; A43C
3/00 20130101; A43C 1/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
036/050.1 |
International
Class: |
A43C 11/00 20060101
A43C011/00 |
Claims
1. A shoe, comprising: a) an upper, the upper having an inside and
an outside, and comprising a toe box, a heel part, the heel part
having a top section and a bottom section, and a split throat, the
split throat having two flaps; b) a sole, having an arch position,
an insole and an outer sole; c) two tightening levers, each
tightening lever attached to the shoe, one on either flap of the
split throat; d) a first tube entering the top section of the heel
part on a first side of the shoe, proceeding downward and forward
along the inside of the upper to about the arch position, and
crossing the shoe to a second side of the shoe; e) a second tube
entering the top section of the heel part on the second side of the
shoe, proceeding downward and forward along the inside of the upper
to about the arch position, and crossing the shoe to the first side
of the shoe; f) a shoelace, one end of which is attached to the
tightening lever on the first side of the shoe, the shoelace
proceeding through the first tube and out of the shoe to form a
loop outside of the heel part, the shoelace entering the second
tube proceeding out of the second tube and a second end of the
shoelace is attached to the tightening lever on the second side of
the shoe; and g) a plurality of hooks attached to outside of the
heel part, whereby the shoes may be tightened by hooking the loop
onto one of the plurality of hooks and thereby pulling the two
flaps together.
2. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the sole defines two passages
piercing down and into the sole, each passage traversing the shoe
between the two sides of the shoe, wherein the first tube and the
second tube each cross the shoe through one of the two
passages.
3. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the sole has an insole and an
outsole and further comprises an insert above the insole, and
wherein the fist tube and the second tube each cross the shoe
between the insert and the insole.
4. The shoe of claim 2, wherein the shoe comprises a pad on the
inside of the upper and the first tube and second tube proceed
downward and forward between the pad and the inside of the
upper.
5. The shoe of claim 3, wherein the shoe comprises a pad on the
inside of the upper the first tube and second tube proceed downward
and forward between the pad and the inside of the upper.
6. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the first tube and the second tube
consist of plastic.
7. The shoe of claim 6, wherein the plastic is a hard plastic.
8. The shoe of claim 7, wherein the plastic is polyvinyl
chloride.
9. The shoe of claim 7, wherein the two tightening levers consist
of metal.
10. The shoe of claim 9, wherein the two levers are each riveted to
the shoe.
11. The shoe of claim 2, further comprising an insert above the
insole of the shoe.
12. The shoe of claim 1 where the shoe is an athletic shoe.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of my Provisional Patent
Application 60/771,698 filed on Feb. 10, 2006, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention pertains to shoes, and particularly to shoes
where the shoelace passes through tubing inside the shoe so that
the shoelace does not show at the throat of the shoe.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Almost all athletic shoes are made with shoelaces which are
threaded through eyelets surrounding the sides of a split throat on
a shoe and tied to bring together the sides and tighten the shoe
onto a person's foot. This ubiquitous system has drawbacks
Shoelaces must be tied and untied in order for the shoe to fit
properly. After an extended period of usage the shoelace can break
and require immediate replacement. Tying a shoe lace is time
consuming and unwanted especially during athletic play--it might
lead to an undesirable result for an individual or team. A loose or
untied shoelace can result in a fall. Aesthetically, shoelaces do
not add style or beauty of the shoe.
[0006] Several alternatives have been proposed to the conventional
lacing to solve some of the drawbacks of the conventional lacing
system. One alternative is to use loafer type shoes which do not
require lacing. However many people prefer the extra support and
containment offered by lace up shoes.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,387 discloses an automated tightening
and loosening shoe with rigid, semi-rigid or flexible polymer bands
functioning as laces, and a tightening mechanism which operates in
one direction to cause automatic tightening of the rigid,
semi-rigid or flexible polymer bands to tighten the automated
tightening shoe and loosening shoe about a wearer's foot, and which
operates in a reverse or loosening direction to cause automatic
loosening of the rigid, semi-rigid or flexible polymer bands so
that the automated tightening and loosing shoe can be removed from
the wearer's foot.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,921 discloses a shoe having an
ergometric shoe lace design. The laces pass through tubes on the
tongue portion of the shoe and extend down to the sole of the shoe
on either side of the shoe where they pass through tubes on or near
the perimeter of the sole. The laces crisscross the foot in this
manner to secure the foot from up and down motion in the shoe.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,128 discloses an automated tightening
shoe with crisscrossed laces and a tightening mechanism which
operates in one direction to cause automatic tightening of the
crisscrossed laces to tighten the shoe about a wearer's foot, and
which can be released easily so that the shoe can be removed from
the wearer's foot.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,922,917 discloses a shoe having a canopy and
laterally mounted tightening apparatus. The canopy has a fixed end
attached to the shoe and a free end not attached to the shoe. The
free end of the canopy has lobes (or the canopy is a plurality of
straps) that are moveable relatively independently of each other
such that a lace attached to a tightening apparatus and the free
end of the canopy tightens the shoe allowing the free ends of the
canopy to facilitate the canopy molding the foot of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A shoe, including: [0012] a) an upper, having an inside and
an outside, and including a toe box, a heel part, the heel part
having a top section and a bottom section, and a split throat, the
split throat having two flaps one on either side of the split
throat; [0013] b) a sole, having an arch position; [0014] c) two
tightening levers, one tightening lever on either flap of the split
throat; [0015] d) a first tube entering the top section of the heel
part on a first side of the shoe, proceeding downward and forward
along the inside of the upper to about the arch position, and
crossing the shoe to a second side of the shoe; [0016] e) a second
tube entering the top section of the heel part on the second side
of the shoe, proceeding downward and forward along the inside of
the upper to about the arch position, proceeding below the insole
and crossing the shoe to the first side of the shoe; [0017] f) a
shoe lace attached at a first end to the tightening lever on the
first side of the shoe, proceeding through the first tube and out
of the shoe to form a loop outside of the heel part, entering the
second tube and proceeding out of the second tube with a second end
of the shoe lace attached to the tightening lever on the second
side of the shoe; and [0018] g) a plurality of hooks attached to
outside of the heel part, whereby the shoes may be tightened by
hooking the loop onto one of the plurality of hooks and thereby
pulling the two flaps together.
[0019] The shoe preferably includes padding around the inside of
the upper, at least in the region from the heel to the arch
position, and the first tube and second tube preferably proceed
downward and forward between the padding and the inside of the
upper. A preferred route for each of the tubes to traverse the shoe
is through a passage through the sole. An alternative is for the
shoe to include an insert above the insole of the shoe and for the
tubes to cross the shoe between the insert and the insole. The
tightening levers are preferably metal plate, and are firmly
attached to the shoe by conventional means, such as riveting or
using an adhesive. The tightening levers preferably have a hole
near their center for attaching the ends of the shoelace.
Alternatively there can be other conventional means for attaching
the lace, such as a knob.
[0020] The shoe is used by releasing the lace from any of the
hooks, putting a foot in the throat of the shoe, spreading apart
the two flaps, pulling on the loop extending from the heel part
until the shoe is tightly on the foot and attaching the loop to the
nearest hook. It is an object of the invention to provide a shoe
which has the advantages of lace up shoes without shoelaces laced
outside the shoe.
[0021] The shoe is preferably an athletic shoe, though could be
used on any shoe having padding, in which to imbed the tubes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 1B is a top view of the preferred embodiment.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second preferred
embodiment.
[0025] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood with regard to the
following description, appended claims and accompanying
drawings.
DESCRIPTION
[0026] FIGS. 1A and 2A show a shoe 10 which is one preferred
embodiment of the invention. The shoe has an upper 12, the upper
having an inside 18 and an outside 13, a heel part 16, a split
throat 45 having two flaps 47 and 49, one on either side of the
split throat, a toe 14 two tightening levers 30 and 42, each
tightening lever attached to the upper by rivets 23 and 25
respectively. The tightening levers are preferably metal, but could
be hard plastic. Adhesive (not shown) may alternately be use to
attach the tightening levers to the upper of the shoe. The shoe
also has a sole 41, having an arch position 27, and includes an
insert 28, above the insole (the insole is the uppermost part of
the sole which is inside the shoe). The insert is a removable
padded piece which fits above the insole. Inside of the shoe, on
the inside of the upper the shoe has padding 35 which extends at
least from the heel portion to the arch of the shoe. A first piece
of tubing 34 enters the shoe at an upper portion of the heel part
on one side of the shoe and proceeds inside of the padding downward
and forward along the inside of the upper to about the arch
position and then proceeds under the insert and across the shoe. A
second piece of tubing 36 enters the shoe at an upper portion of
the heel part on the other side of the shoe and proceeds inside of
the padding downward and forward along the inside of the upper to
about the arch position and then proceeds under the insert and
across the shoe. The tubing is preferably a hard plastic, such as
polyvinylchloride and have a diameter of about 1/4 inch.
[0027] A shoe lace 44, has a first end 43 and a second end 40. The
first end 43 is attached to the first tightening lever at point 32,
which could be a hole through the lever and the upper of the shoe,
or some other means of attachment such as a small knob to which the
lace could be attached, proceeds to the opening of the first tube
34 at the arch position of the shoe, enters the tube and threads
through the first tube to where the first tube exits at the heel.
The lace exits the shoe at this point to form a loop 20 and
reenters the shoe through the second tube 36 and is threaded
through the second tube to the other end of the tube. The second
end 40 of the shoelace 44 exits from second tube and is tied onto
second tightening lever 44 at point 33.
[0028] The shoe has a number of hooks attached to the to the heel
part of the upper. Three hooks 50,52, and 54 are shown in FIG. 1.
There should be at least one hook, preferably 2 to 5 hooks and more
preferably three hooks. The hooks are preferably metal and are
attached to the shoe by conventional means.
[0029] The shoe is used by inserting a foot into the split throat
of the shoe while the loop 20 is not engaged on a hook. When the
foot is in the shoe the loop is pulled down until the two levers
pull the flaps together sufficiently for a comfortable fit. The
loop is then hooked on an appropriate hook.
[0030] FIG. 2 shoes a variation of the shoe shown in FIG. 1A. In
this case a first piece of tubing 100 enters the shoe at an upper
portion of the heel part on one side of the shoe and proceeds
inside of the padding downward and forward along the inside of the
upper to about the arch position and then enters a passage way 104
into the sole, which passageway crosses the sole, beneath the
insole, to the other side of the shoe. A second piece of tubing 102
enters the shoe at an upper portion of the heel part on the other
side of the shoe and proceeds inside of the padding downward and
forward along the inside of the upper to about the arch position
and then enters a passage way 106 into the sole, which passageway
crosses the sole, beneath the insole, to the other side of the
shoe. This variation preferably also has an insert 108 above the
insole, though it is optional in this embodiment.
[0031] Although the present invention has been described in
considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions
thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore the spirit and
scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the preferred
versions herein.
* * * * *