Shoe lacing system
OwnerRobert J. Veylupekinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shoe lacing system comprises a lace, anchor elements, and a mechanism for releasably attaching the ends of the lace to the shoe. The anchor elements comprise guides having a first portion for attachment to an existing eyelet of the shoe, and a second portion through which and with respect to which the lace may move. The lace comprises a double-strand of material having a low friction outer surface. A middle portion of the lace is routed through and between the anchor elements located on opposite sides of a tongue of the shoe. The ends of the lace extend from the anchor elements near a top of the tongue along opposite sides of the shoe to the rear of the shoe. Each lace is connected to a tab having a section of hook or loop material designed for engagement with a mating section of material on the rear of the shoe.
Claims18
A lacing system for use with a shoe having an upper body and a tongue comprising:
- a plurality of anchor elements adapted to be disposed on the body on either side of the tongue, each anchor element including a guide member with an inside surface;
- a substantially inelastic flexible line adapted to be threaded through said anchor element guide members, said line having an outer surface adapted to pass over the inside surface of each anchor element with low friction, the line having two ends;
- a pair of tabs each substantially larger than the cross-sectional dimension of the line;
- means for securing each of the line ends to a tab;
- and
- means for releasably fastening each tab to the shoe,
- whereby a wearer pulls the tabs to draw the line through the anchor elements to tighten the shoe onto their foot and releasably fastens the tabs to the shoe, said low friction between the line and anchors maintaining a substantially uniform tension in the line throughout the lacing system.
A lacing system for use with a shoe having an upper body, eyelets fashioned in the upper body and a tongue comprising:
- a plurality of anchor elements adapted to be disposed on the body on either side of the tongue, each anchor member including a hook portion adapted to hook through an eyelet and a guide member with an inside surface;
- a substantially inelastic flexible line adapted to be threaded through said anchor element guide members, said line having an outer surface adapted to pass over the inside surface of each anchor element with low friction, the line having two ends;
- a pair of tabs each substantially larger than the cross-sectional dimension of the line;
- means for securing each of the line ends to a tab;
- and
- means for releasably fastening each tab to the shoe,
- whereby a wearer pulls the tabs to draw the line through the anchor elements to tighten the shoe onto their foot and releasably fastens the tabs to the shoe, said low friction between the line and anchors maintaining substantially uniform tension of the line throughout the lacing system.
A lacing system for use with a shoe having an upper body and a tongue comprising:
- a plurality of anchor elements adapted to be disposed on the body on either side of the tongue, each anchor member including a hook portion adapted to hook through an eyelet and a guide member with an inside surface;
- a pair of substantially inelastic flexible lines adapted to be threaded through said anchor element guide members, each line having an outer surface adapted to pass over the inside surface of each anchor element with low friction, the line pair defining two ends;
- a pair of tabs each substantially larger than the cross-sectional dimension of the line;
- means for securing the ends of each line pair to a tab;
- and
- means for releasably fastening each tab to the shoe,
- whereby a wearer pulls the tabs to draw the lines through the anchor elements to tighten the shoe onto their foot and releasably fastens the tabs to the shoe, said low friction between the line and anchors maintaining substantially uniform tension of the lines throughout the lacing system.
A lacing system for use with a shoe having an upper body and a tongue comprising:
- a plurality of anchor elements adapted to be disposed on the body on either side of the tongue, each anchor element including a guide member with an inside surface;
- a substantially inelastic flexible line adapted to be threaded through said anchor element guide members, said line having an outer surface adapted to pass over the inside surface of each anchor element with low friction, the line having two ends adapted to be attached to the shoe,
- whereby a wearer pulls the ends to draw the line through the anchor elements to tighten the shoe onto their foot, said low friction between the line and anchors maintaining a substantially uniform tension in the line throughout the lacing system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.