Reel based closure system
AssigneeBoa Technology Inc.
InventorsGary Hammerslag, Michael Mayberry, Mark Soderberg
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is a closure system used in combination in any of a variety of applications including clothing, for example as a footwear lacing system comprising a lace attached to a tightening mechanism. The lace extends through a series of guide members positioned along two opposing footwear closure portions. The lace and guides preferably have low friction surfaces to facilitate sliding of the lace along the guide members so that the lace evenly distributes tension across the footwear member. The tightening mechanism allows incremental adjustment of the tension of the lace. The closure system allows a user to quickly loosen the lace and inhibits unintentional and/or accidental loosing of the lace.
Claims1
A footwear lacing system, comprising:
- a footwear member including first and second opposing sides configured to fit around a foot;
- at least a first and second opposing cable guide members positioned on the opposing first and second sides;
- a cable guided by the guide members and rotationally linked to a spool;
- and
- a tightening mechanism attached to the footwear member and coupled to the spool, the tightening mechanism including a spring for winding a first length of cable around the spool and a manual control for manually winding a second length of cable around the spool to tighten the footwear.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.