US 12,714,204 B2Granted

Footwear closure system

AssigneePlae, Inc.

InventorsRyan Ringholz, Hung-Chia Lin

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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. The adjustment of the tightness of the shoe can also be made by sliding a barrel that is located over the top of the tongue.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A shoe closure system for use with a shoe comprising:

first and second flaps with the first flap positioned on a first side of the shoe and the second flap positioned on a second side of the shoe opposite the first side of the shoe;
a first series of eyelets in said first flap and a second series of eyelets in said second flap;
a shoelace having a length sufficient to be threaded alternately between eyelets in said first series of eyelets and eyelets in said second series of eyelets;
a first end of said shoelace being securely fixed in a sliding barrel, a second end of said shoelace being threaded through a top eyelet on a first flap of said two flaps and then back through said sliding barrel, said shoelace also being alternately threaded through eyelets in both the first and second series of eyelets;
the second end of said shoelace being threaded under said second flap of said two flaps after said second end of said shoelace is alternately threaded through said eyelets;
and
whereby said second end of said shoelace can be pulled to tighten said shoe and can be tucked under said second flap, and wherein when the second end of said shoelace is tucked under said second flap, the sliding barrel is slidable along a portion of the shoelace to adjust a position of the first end of the shoelace relative to the second flap to tighten or loosen the shoe.

4 more elements

A shoe comprising:

an upper having a first side and a second side spaced apart along a lateral-medial axis, a first flap on the first side of the upper, a second flap on the second side of the upper, wherein the first flap is spaced apart from the second flap along the lateral-medial axis, the first flap having a first series of eyelets extending along a length axis of the shoe, and the second flap having a second series of eyelets extending along the length axis of the shoe, wherein the second series of eyelets includes a first eyelet closest along the length axis to an opening of the upper configured for insertion of a wearer's foot and a second eyelet adjacent the first eyelet along the length axis;
a shoe lace having a first portion comprising a first end of the shoelace and a second portion comprising a second end of the shoelace, the first portion of the shoelace being laced through a first sequence of eyelets from among eyelets in the first series of eyelets and the second series of eyelets, wherein the eyelets in the first sequence of eyelets sequentially alternate between an eyelet from the first series of eyelets and an eyelet from the second series of eyelets, the first end of the shoelace being secured on the first side of the shoe, the second portion of the shoelace being laced through a second sequence of eyelets in the first series of eyelets and the second series of eyelets, wherein the eyelets in the second sequence of eyelets sequentially alternate between an eyelet from the first series of eyelets and an eyelet from the second series of eyelets, the second portion of the shoe lace further being laced through the first eyelet and the second eyelet in the second series of eyelets to define a single loop extending from the first eyelet in the second series of eyelets to the second eyelet in the second series of eyelets, wherein the single loop is pullable past the first series of eyelets in a direction from the second side of the upper to the first side of the upper along the lateral-medial axis to tighten the shoe, wherein the first end of the shoelace is tucked under said first flap, the second end of the shoelace is securely fixed in a sliding barrel, the sliding barrel being slidable along a portion of the shoelace, and the sliding barrel is slidable along a portion of the shoelace to adjust a position of the second end of the shoelace relative to the first flap to tighten or loosen the shoe.

A shoe comprising:

an upper having a first side and a second side spaced apart along a lateral-medial axis, a first flap on the first side of the upper, a second flap on the second side of the upper, wherein the first flap is spaced apart from the second flap along the lateral-medial axis, the first flap having a first series of eyelets extending along a length axis of the shoe, and the second flap having a second series of eyelets extending along the length axis of the shoe, wherein the second series of eyelets includes a first eyelet closest along the length axis to an opening of the upper configured for insertion of a wearer's foot and a second eyelet adjacent the first eyelet along the length axis;
a shoe lace having a first portion comprising a first end of the shoelace and a second portion comprising a second end of the shoelace, the first portion of the shoelace being laced through a first sequence of eyelets from among eyelets in the first series of eyelets and the second series of eyelets, wherein the eyelets in the first sequence of eyelets sequentially alternate between an eyelet from the first series of eyelets and an eyelet from the second series of eyelets, the first end of the shoelace being secured on the first side of the shoe, the second portion of the shoelace being laced through a second sequence of eyelets in the first series of eyelets and the second series of eyelets, wherein the eyelets in the second sequence of eyelets sequentially alternate between an eyelet from the first series of eyelets and an eyelet from the second series of eyelets, the second portion of the shoe lace further being laced through the first eyelet and the second eyelet in the second series of eyelets to define a single loop extending from the first eyelet in the second series of eyelets to the second eyelet in the second series of eyelets, wherein the single loop is pullable past the first series of eyelets in a direction from the second side of the upper to the first side of the upper along the lateral-medial axis to tighten the shoe;
a button secured to the first side of the upper of the shoe, wherein the single loop is capable of being stretched to be pulled over the button, wherein the first flap is located between the button and the second flap along the lateral-medial axis, and the first series of eyelets is located between the button and the second flap along the lateral-medial axis.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/368,383Filed 14 Sep 2023 · division
Priority: 27 Oct 2015
Published: US 2024/0000191 A14 Jan 2024
Granted: 25 Aug 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

A43C 1/06
Shoe lacing fastenings: tightened by draw-strings
A43C 1/006
Shoe lacing fastenings: rear lacing, i.e. with a lace placed on the back of the foot in place of, or in addition to the traditional front lace
A43C 1/02
Shoe lacing fastenings: with elastic laces
A43C 5/00
Eyelets

Family

Application62/246,742Us provisional application · filed 27 Oct 2015
Application62/298,712Us provisional application · filed 23 Feb 2016
Application15/336,094Parent of this division · filed 27 Oct 2016
US 2024/0000191 A1Pre-grant publication · published 4 Jan 2024
US 11,812,824 B2Parent of this division
US 2017/0112237 A1Published application
US 12,714,204 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.