Shoelace tying device
AssigneeWisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
InventorsLeah D. Holmes, Ross T. Borchardt, Jacob J. Mikulsky, David M. Moseler, Michael E. Vioski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A shoelace tying apparatus allows individuals with limited or no use of one hand to tightly tie footwear with standard shoelaces. The apparatus is lightweight and portable. The apparatus alleviates the need for special shoelaces or shoes, such as those equipped with hook-and-loop fasteners.
Claims20
A shoelace tying apparatus for tying the shoelace of a shoe, comprising:
- a shoe platform for receiving the shoe;
- an arm extending upwardly from the shoe platform;
- a tying platform connected to the arm and spaced from the shoe platform to define a shoe reception area;
- a pair of axially reciprocating hooks supported by the tying platform;
- an anchor supported by the tying platform;
- and
- a pair of lace end retainers supported by the tying platform;
- and
- wherein through a predefined sequence of movements of securing free ends of the shoelace to the lace end retainers, anchoring a free end about the anchor, and movement of the hooks, a double-loop knot is formed in the shoelace.
A shoe tying device for tying a shoelace having a first and a second free end, comprising:
- a first anchor and a second anchor, the first anchor configured to secure the first free end of the shoelace and the second anchor configured to secure the second free end of the shoelace;
- a first loop forming element and a second loop forming element;
- a rack and pinion arrangement including a first rack connected to the first loop forming element and a second rack connected to the second loop forming element;
- wherein:
- rotation of the rack induced by lateral movement of one loop forming element causes equal and opposite lateral movement of the other loop forming element;
- and
- movement of the loop forming elements from a first position to a second position causes a pulling force to be applied to both free ends of the shoelace such that a first loop is formed in the first free end of the shoelace and a second loop is formed in the second free end of the shoelace and a knot formed between the loops.
A knot tying apparatus for forming a double-loop knot when presented with a slip knot, the apparatus comprising:
- a pair of reciprocating hooks adapted to hold respective loops of a shoelace in which the slip knot has been formed;
- a rack and pinion arrangement connected to the pair of reciprocating hooks and configured to cause movement of one of the pair of reciprocating hooks in response to movement of the other one of the pair of reciprocating hooks;
- and
- a pair of retainers configured to securely hold the free ends of the shoelace such that the double-loop knot is formed in the shoelace as the reciprocating hooks are moved away from one another.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.