Lacing aid
AssigneeHockey Tech L.L.C.
InventorRichard A. Maurer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lacing aid is disclosed which quickly and surely guides and holds an elongated flexible member. The device includes a body, a plurality of fingers defining a slot between them and a fixation portion for fixation to a foot covering or other object to be tightened or fastened using an elongated flexible member. The fingers are bent with respect to the body to form a channel. The channel guides and assists in tightening an elongated flexible member, and the slot between the fingers enables the holding of the elongated flexible member without loss of tension.
Claims26
A lacing aid for footwear capable of use as a speed lacing aid and as a lace gripping device, comprising:
- a body portion including a fixation portion attached to footwear;
- a connecting portion connected to said body portion and defining a channel adapted to accommodate the lace for speed lacing;
- and
- a plurality of fingers connected to said connecting portion, said fingers each having a substantially linear edge defining at least one slot therebetween, said slot being substantially perpendicular to said channel, and having a width dimension and a length dimension, and said width dimension is at its smallest adjacent to said connecting portion,
- said fingers and said slot being adapted to grip said lace when said lace is placed within said slot, by pinching said lace between and in contact with said edges of said fingers that define said slot.
A lacing assembly for securing an article of footwear onto the foot of a user, said lacing assembly comprising:
- a plurality of lacing aids, each of said lacing aids including a body having a fixation portion, each of said lacing aids further including a plurality of fingers connected to said body by a curved connecting portion, said fingers each having a substantially linear edge defining at least one tapered slot therebetween, and said fingers having at most one substantially continuous curve that is one of concave and convex, wherein said lacing aids are fixed to the article of footwear at said fixation portion;
- and
- a lace operationally connected to at least one of said lacing aids such that a portion of said lace is placed in one of a first and second position, said first position being along said curved connecting portion and between said body and said fingers, said second position being within said slot of said lacing aid, so that when a portion of said lace is within said curved connecting portion and said lace is pulled, the article of footwear is tightened on the user's foot, and when a portion of said lace is lodged within said slot, said portion of said lace is gripped therein by pinching between said edges of said fingers.
A method for lacing, comprising the steps of:
- providing a first member having at least one lacing aid, said at least one lacing aid comprising a body portion including a fixation portion for attachment to said member, a connecting portion connected to said body portion, and a plurality of fingers connected to said connecting portion, the fingers each having a substantially linear edge defining at least one tapered slot therebetween, and said fingers having at most one substantially continuous curve that is one of concave and convex;
- providing a second member and a lace operationally connected to said second member;
- placing said lace along the connecting portion and between the body portion and fingers of at least one of said lacing aids;
- applying tension to a portion of said lace so that said at least one of said lacing aids is under tension along with said lace portion;
- placing a portion of said lace within the slot between the fingers of at least one of said lacing aids, so that said fingers grip said lace by pinching said lace to maintain the tension on said lace;
- and
- fastening said lace so that said first member and said second member are held in a desired spatial relationship.
A footwear lacing aid adapted for use with a footwear lace in both a speed lacing mode and in a lace gripping mode, comprising:
- a body portion including a fixation portion, said fixation portion adapted to be attached to a piece of footwear;
- a connecting portion connected to said body portion and defining a channel, said channel adapted to have a lace placed therein and to enable speed lacing of the lace;
- and
- a plurality of fingers connected to said connecting portion, said fingers each having a substantially linear edge defining at least one slot therebetween, said slot being substantially perpendicular to said channel, said fingers being adapted to grip said lace when said lace is placed in a portion of said slot adjacent said connecting portion, by pinching said lace between said edges of said fingers,
- wherein said lacing aid operates as a speed lacing aid when a lace is placed within said channel, and said lacing aid operates as a lace gripping aid when a lace is placed within said slot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.