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US 11,812,824 B2Granted
Footwear closure system
AssigneePlae, Inc.
InventorsRyan Ringholz, Hung-Chia Lin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A closure system for a shoe includes a single shoelace which can be secured and tightened through the use of one hand. The shoe includes a button around which the shoelace is wrapped to facilitate easy removal of the shoe. In one embodiment one end of the shoelace is secured under the upper of the shoe near the toe and a second end of the shoelace is secured in a slider that is slidably mounted on the rear of the shoe to provide micro-adjustments of the tightness of the shoe. Alternatively, the shoe includes a strip of piping around the rear of the shoe and a slider in which the second end of the shoelace is secured slides along the piping when the user wants to make micro-adjustments.
Claims11
A shoe, comprising:
- a rearmost point and a foremost point defining a shoe length axis from the rearmost point to the foremost point;
- two flaps with a first of the two flaps positioned on a lateral side of the shoe and a second of the two flaps positioned on a medial side of the shoe, wherein the lateral side of the shoe and the medial side of the shoe define a lateral-medial axis;
- a first series of eyelets in the first of the two flaps;
- a second series of eyelets in the second of the two flaps;
- an opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said opening having a lateral side and a medial side;
- a shoelace having a length sufficient to be threaded alternately between said two flaps through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a first end of said shoelace being securely fixed at a location near a first eyelet, wherein the first eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the foremost point along the shoe length axis, said shoelace also being alternately threaded through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a second end of said shoelace being threaded under one of said two flaps through a second eyelet, wherein the second eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said second end of said shoelace being secured to a slider which is slidably mounted over a guide positioned around a heel portion of said shoe, said slider being slidable over said guide around the heel portion of said shoe;
- and whereby said slider is adjustable by sliding said slider over said guide to tighten and loosen the shoe, wherein said guide is one selected from i) a cord secured to an interior of the shoe under an outer surface of the shoe along each of the lateral and the medial side of the opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot and extends around the heel portion of the shoe, and ii) piping secured to an interior of the shoe under an outer surface of the shoe along each of the lateral and the medial side of the opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot and extends around the heel portion of the shoe.
6 more elements
A shoe, comprising:
- a rearmost point and a foremost point defining a shoe length axis from the rearmost point to the foremost point;
- two flaps with a first of the two flaps positioned on a lateral side of the shoe and a second of the two flaps positioned on a medial side of the shoe, wherein the lateral side of the shoe and the medial side of the shoe define a lateral-medial axis;
- a first series of eyelets in the first of the two flaps;
- a second series of eyelets in the second of the two flaps;
- an opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said opening having a lateral side and a medial side;
- a shoelace having a length sufficient to be threaded alternately between said two flaps through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a first end of said shoelace being securely fixed at a location near a first eyelet, wherein the first eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the foremost point along the shoe length axis, said shoelace also being alternately threaded through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a second end of said shoelace being threaded under one of said two flaps through a second eyelet, wherein the second eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said second end of said shoelace being secured to a slider which is slidably mounted over a guide positioned around a heel portion of said shoe, said slider being slidable over said guide around the heel portion of said shoe;
- and whereby said slider is adjustable by sliding said slider over said guide to tighten and loosen the shoe, the shoe further comprising a sole, wherein the slider is not located in the sole.
6 more elements
A shoe, comprising:
- a rearmost point and a foremost point defining a shoe length axis from the rearmost point to the foremost point;
- two flaps with a first of the two flaps positioned on a lateral side of the shoe and a second of the two flaps positioned on a medial side of the shoe, wherein the lateral side of the shoe and the medial side of the shoe define a lateral-medial axis;
- a first series of eyelets in the first of the two flaps;
- a second series of eyelets in the second of the two flaps;
- an opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said opening having a lateral side and a medial side;
- a shoelace having a length sufficient to be threaded alternately between said two flaps through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a first end of said shoelace being securely fixed at a location near a first eyelet, wherein the first eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the foremost point along the shoe length axis, said shoelace also being alternately threaded through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a second end of said shoelace being threaded under one of said two flaps through a second eyelet, wherein the second eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said second end of said shoelace being secured to a slider which is slidably mounted over a guide positioned around a heel portion of said shoe, said slider being slidable over said guide around the heel portion of said shoe;
- and whereby said slider is adjustable by sliding said slider over said guide to tighten and loosen the shoe, wherein said slider is adjustable by sliding said slider from a first position along the lateral-medial axis relative to the guide to a second position along the lateral-medial axis relative to the guide to tighten or loosen the shoe.
6 more elements
A shoe, comprising:
- a rearmost point and a foremost point defining a shoe length axis from the rearmost point to the foremost point;
- two flaps with a first of the two flaps positioned on a lateral side of the shoe and a second of the two flaps positioned on a medial side of the shoe, wherein the lateral side of the shoe and the medial side of the shoe define a lateral-medial axis;
- a first series of eyelets in the first of the two flaps;
- a second series of eyelets in the second of the two flaps;
- an opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said opening having a lateral side and a medial side;
- a shoelace having a length sufficient to be threaded alternately between said two flaps through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a first end of said shoelace being securely fixed at a location near a first eyelet, wherein the first eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the foremost point along the shoe length axis, said shoelace also being alternately threaded through the eyelets in said first and second series of eyelets;
- a second end of said shoelace being threaded under one of said two flaps through a second eyelet, wherein the second eyelet is an eyelet from among said first series of eyelets and said second series of eyelets which is located closest to the opening configured for insertion of a wearer's foot, said second end of said shoelace being secured to a slider which is slidably mounted over a guide positioned around a heel portion of said shoe, said slider being slidable over said guide around the heel portion of said shoe;
- and whereby said slider is adjustable by sliding said slider over said guide to tighten and loosen the shoe, wherein the guide extends from the medial side of the shoe to the lateral side of the shoe.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.