U.S. patent application number 13/839245 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-18 for footwear lacing system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Chinook Asia LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Andrew J. Linth. Invention is credited to Andrew J. Linth.
Application Number | 20140259761 13/839245 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51520714 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140259761 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Linth; Andrew J. |
September 18, 2014 |
Footwear Lacing System
Abstract
A lacing system for footwear of a type having a pair of
spaced-apart flaps that are pulled together by tightening a lace
includes a plurality of lace-receiving elements which are
attachable to the flaps at multiple locations which allows the user
to tailor the location of the lace-receiving elements to obtain a
comfortable fit.
Inventors: |
Linth; Andrew J.; (Portland,
OR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Linth; Andrew J. |
Portland |
OR |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Chinook Asia LLC
Lake Oswego
OR
|
Family ID: |
51520714 |
Appl. No.: |
13/839245 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/50.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43C 11/22 20130101;
A43C 11/12 20130101; A43C 11/004 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/50.1 |
International
Class: |
A43C 11/00 20060101
A43C011/00 |
Claims
1. A system for lacing footwear having a pair of spaced-apart
elongate flaps, which are pulled toward one another by laces:
comprising a) a plurality of lace-receiving elements, at least some
of said lace-receiving elements being attached to each of said
flaps; wherein b) at least some of said lace-receiving elements are
attachable to the respective flap at multiple locations on said
flap.
2. The system of claim 1 including an attachment system for
attaching said lace-receiving elements at desired locations on said
flaps.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein said attachment system comprises:
a) a pair of rails, one of which extends longitudinally along a
margin of each said flap; b) one or more sliders, which are
attached to and slidable along said rails; and c) lace-receiving
elements, which are located on said sliders.
4. The lacing system of claim 3 wherein said lace-receiving
elements are hooks.
5. The lacing system of claim 3 wherein said lace-receiving
elements are eyes.
6. The lacing system of claim 3 wherein said sliders include a
lock, which prevents said sliders from sliding along said
rails.
7. The lacing system of claim 6 wherein said sliders rotate around
said rails between a first position where said lock is disengaged
and a second position where said lock is engaged.
8. The lacing system of claim 7 wherein said slider is urged toward
said second position when a lace on said lacing system is
tightened.
9. The lacing system of claim 2 wherein said attachment system
comprises: a) a plurality of receptacles located in said flaps; b)
a plurality of lace-receiving clips; wherein c) said receptacles
and said lace-receiving clips include an engagement system, which
allows one of said lace-receiving clips to be removeably attached
to one of said receptacles.
10. The lacing system of claim 9 wherein said lace-receiving clips
are eyes.
11. The lacing system of claim 9 wherein said lace-receiving clips
are hooks.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Boots and other footwear have opposed flaps which cover the
tongue at the front of the boot. The ends of a lace, which is
placed through eyes or around hooks in a zigzag pattern, are pulled
to draw the flaps together and tighten the boot on the user's foot.
However, peoples' feet are unique, and even for a given shoe size
any particular pattern of the eyes or hooks on the flaps does not
provide a comfortable fit for everyone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The subject invention provides a lacing system having
lace-receiving elements, which are attachable to their respective
flaps at multiple locations, thereby allowing the lacing pattern to
be varied to better fit the foot of a user.
[0004] The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages
of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration
of the following detailed description of the invention taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is front view of a portion of a boot showing one
embodiment of the lacing system of the subject invention.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, at an enlarged
scale, taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing two different
embodiments of an attachment system with one embodiment showing the
lace-receiving element separated from the system.
[0008] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing two additional
embodiments of an attachment system with one embodiment showing the
lace-receiving element separated from the system.
[0009] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of
FIG. 4.
[0010] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of
FIG. 4.
[0011] FIG. 7 is a front view of a portion of a boot showing
another embodiment of the lacing system of the subject
invention.
[0012] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the lace-receiving element
of the lacing system of FIG. 7.
[0013] FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the lace-receiving element of
FIG. 8.
[0014] FIG. 10 is a front view of a portion of a boot showing the
lacing system of FIG. 7.
[0015] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of
FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] Referring now to FIGS. 1,7 and 10 of the drawings, a boot
20, or other footwear, has a pair of opposed flaps 22, which are
drawn together by a lacing system 24 to tighten the boot on a
user's foot. The flaps have inwardly facing elongate margins 26.
Attached to the margins 26 are a plurality of lace-receiving
elements 30. A lace 32 extends between lace-receiving elements 30
on opposed flaps in a zigzag pattern such that when the extremities
34 of the lace are pulled, the lace acts through the lace-receiving
elements 30 to draw the opposed flaps toward one another to tighten
the boot on the user's foot. The lace-receiving elements 30 are
attachable to the flaps 22 at multiple locations on the flaps. This
allows the manner in which the flaps are drawn toward one another
to be adjusted in order that the lacing system is tightened in a
comfortable manner for a given user.
[0017] The lace-receiving elements 30 are attached to the flaps 22
by an attachment system 36. In a first embodiment, shown in FIGS.
1-3, the attachment system comprises a pair of elongate rails 38,
which are located adjacent to the inwardly facing edges of the
flaps. In the embodiment illustrated, the rails are circular in
cross-section and have outwardly extending flat tabs 40, which are
attached to the margins 26 of the flaps 22. The tabs 40 can be sewn
onto the flaps as shown in the drawings, or attached by adhesive or
any other attachment method.
[0018] The rails 38 are made from a material that is flexible
enough to bend with the flaps to which they are attached but stiff
enough to remain generally linear. In this embodiment, the
lace-receiving elements 30 are attached to sliders 42, which are
slidably attached to the rails. The sliders wrap around the rails
38 and have openings 43 through which the tabs 40 fit. In the
embodiment shown in the drawings, the openings 43 located on the
sliders are opposite the lace-receiving elements 30, but they could
be slightly offset from one another. The lace-receiving elements 30
can be eyes 44 or hooks 46. When the lace is loose, the sliders 42
can be moved to any desired position along the rails 38. However,
due to the zigzag pattern of the lace, when the lace is tightened
the sliders are twisted slightly on the rails and become fixed at
their current position.
[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 4-6, in another embodiment the
sliders 42 and rails 38 contain a locking system 48, which allows
the sliders to be located immovably at selected locations along the
rail. The locking system 48 includes slots 50 located at
spaced-apart locations along the tabs 40. The slots 50 are slightly
longer than the sliders 42 and have a width that is slightly less
than the width of the sliders. In this embodiment, the openings 43
in the sliders 42 are oriented approximately 90.degree. from the
lace-receiving elements 30. When a slider is rotated around the
rail 38 to a first position (FIG. 6), the locking mechanism is
disengaged and the slider is free to slide along the rail. When the
slider 42 is rotated approximately 90.degree. to a second position
(FIG. 5), the slider is located in the slot 50, which engages the
locking system 48 and prevents the slider from moving along the
rail. Because the openings 43 in the sliders 42 are oriented
approximately 90.degree. with respect to the lace-receiving
elements 30, the locking mechanism is engaged when the
lace-receiving elements 30 are rotated to where the locking
mechanism is engaged when the lace 32 is tightened.
[0020] In another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 7-11, the attachment
system 36 includes a plurality of seats 52 located in the flaps 22.
The seats are placed at spaced-apart locations along the
longitudinal extent of the flaps and at different locations
relative to the inside edges of the flaps. The seats have elongate
receptacles 54 located in them. The receptacles open out of the top
surface of the seats 52 and extend toward one side of the seats
below the top surface of the seats. Clips 56 have
downwardly-depending elongate anchors 58, which fit into the
receptacles and can be moved into the portion of the receptacles
below the top surface of the seats where they cannot be pulled back
out of the receptacles. The clips 56 contain the lace-receiving
elements 30, with either eyes 44 or hooks 46.
[0021] In use, clips 56 are placed in the desired seats 52 and
moved toward the center of the boot to place the anchors in the
position below the top surface of the bases. The laces are then fed
through the lace-receiving elements in the normal manner. When the
lace is tightened, it urges the anchors into the portion of the
receptacles that is below the top surface of the bases and locks
them in place.
[0022] The terms and expressions that have been employed in the
foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description
and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such
terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features
shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that
the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the
claims which follow.
* * * * *