Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Strap tighteners – Accordion straps
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-07
2001-12-11
Sakran, Victor N. (Department: 3626)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Strap tighteners
Accordion straps
C024S0700SK, C024S712100, C024S712200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06327750
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND—FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to closure systems which employ cords or laces, and more particularly to a tensioning device to be used in the closure system of an article of footwear secured by a shoe lace.
BACKGROUND—GENERAL
Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the word “shoe” is used to refer to any exterior footwear, be it boot, shoe, sneaker, or any athletic shoe, skate, or cleat.
Laced shoes have been in widespread use for hundreds of years. The conventional shoe lace is a smooth, strong, flexible, elongated member made of cloth, leather, or plastic.
A typical laced shoe is made up of two general parts, an upper and a sole. The sole, normally of a more durable and stiff material than the upper, contacts the ground and is fastened to the upper. The upper is designed to enclose the foot snugly and comfortably, with an opening or throat through which the wearer inserts and retracts the foot. In principle, all shoe closure systems serve to secure the upper against the foot.
Guide elements disposed in series along the lateral and medial edges of the throat opening receive and guide the shoe lace, anchoring the shoe lace to the upper while allowing the shoe lace to slide freely along its length. Such a guide element may be a simple through-hole, a friction-reducing eyelet, a hook, or any other element which serves the same function. The shoe lace is threaded through the guide elements and back and forth across the opening such that it straddles the throat in a crisscross pattern. After the foot is inserted into the shoe, the two ends of the shoe lace are pulled to bring together the edges of the throat opening, thereby tightening the upper around the foot. Then the two ends of the shoe lace are tied together to prevent the inadvertent loosening of the shoe.
One of the difficult and time-consuming activities of athletes who wear skates or other lace-up footwear is adjusting the lace tension so that the footwear is securely fastened to the foot. For the best athletic performance, the footwear must be laced so that it does not allow the foot to move within the boot or shoe.
The tight fit beneficial to athletic performance is a disadvantage to an athlete at rest. During periods of relative inactivity, to promote circulation and to prevent cramping, the athlete may untie and unlace the boot or shoe, which requires that he or she then go through the entire procedure of securing the shoe again before resuming vigorous activity.
The problem, known to anyone who has attempted to secure ice skates, is that one hand is required to grip each of the two ends of the lace and pull it tight. The hands must then be repositioned to grip the two ends of the lace beyond the next pair of eyelets. If the shoe is not completely laced, the hands must thread the lace through the next eyelets before pulling those lace segments tight. Finally, the hands must again reposition in order to tie together the two ends of the lace at the proximal end of the throat. During the times of repositioning, the tension in the lace relaxes so that the completely laced and tied shoe does not fit as securely as it would if the periodic repositioning and relaxing had not taken place. Adding to the difficulty is that the fitting of the athletic footwear must be accomplished while the user is in a relatively awkward position, often encumbered by the equipment donned prior to the footwear.
BACKGROUND—PRIOR ART
There have been several devices and designs intended to address or partially solve the above problems. One of the best and simplest solutions is the lace hook, a tool with a hook which projects from a handle that fits a closed or clenched hand. The hook projects between the two middle fingers and is used after a shoe or boot is laced to pull the laces tighter than they could be pulled by merely holding the lace in the fingers or hand.
Another device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,640 to Nichols (1995). With this device, the lace is threaded through a cinch plate which is adjustably fastened to the side of the shoe. After tying the lace, the cinch plate may be adjusted sideways and downward to take up any slack in the lace. This appears to be a simple and workable device for shoes which must only be snug and where preventing movement of the foot relative to the shoe is not critical.
There are several devices for securing a previously tied shoe where the user does not untie the lace to insert or withdraw the foot, but only loosens the tied lace. All such devices contemplate elimination of the tying procedure. Their common purpose is to simplify the securing procedure at the time the foot is inserted into or retracted from the shoe, while still using a shoe lace. All of these devices are based on the assumption that every time the shoe or boot is put on, the length below the knot of the properly tightened lace will be the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,483 to Louviere (1994) describes such a device which is composed of two pieces, each with three eyelet holes at the same spacing as the eyelet holes at the throat of the shoe. These two pieces are fastened to opposing sides of the throat opening by the lace, which is threaded through both the attached pieces and the shoe eyelets. The lace is tied in a preferred tightness preferably at the distal end of the throat. To secure the shoe, the two pieces are hingeably connected together by the wearer, and the free piece is rotated to a parallel position with the other piece and captured by a fastening element which is not part of the invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,458 to Marzocchi (1965) describes a fastening device which must be made a part of the shoe rather than being attached as an after-market item. In this device one row of eyelets is a separate piece from the rest of the shoe. It is connected to the shoe by two “crank levers” which rotate to open the shoe and rotate back to a secured over-center position to close the shoe. The laces, if necessary at all, remain tied in a preferred degree of tightness. Except for the fact that it must be part of the shoe design, it appears to accomplish its purpose simply and effectively.
Still another device for opening and closing a previously tied shoe is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,777 to Shelton (1996). In this invention, which can be added to almost any shoe, the lace is threaded through parallel tunnels in the flat body of the device. One such tunnel is positioned near the proximal end of the throat opening and another is several eyelets away toward the distal end of the throat. The lace is loosely secured and the ends are tied together. The shoe may be slipped on or removed at this stage. The flat body of the device is then reversed end for end so that the tunnels have changed position. The lace now must travel a longer path; in so doing the slack in the lace is effectively reduced. The operation of this device tends to pull together the distal and proximal ends of the throat, but this may not cause any problems when the goal is simply to reduce the slack in the lace. This device does not have an over-center securing feature, but one of the tunnels has an oval cross section so that when it is reversed, the lace moves to the other side of the oval, which inhibits the rotation of the device back to its original position.
Making the shoe easier to secure, specifically, for children, elderly, or handicapped people is the common purpose of these last three devices described. There is no intention nor any claim of tensioning the laces tighter than would be possible without each device. All three suggest tying the lace and leaving it tied, using the device only to loosen or tighten the fit of the shoe. All three suggest tying the lace ends at the distal rather than the proximal end of the throat, a position which makes tying the lace ends together more convenient for an assistant, not for the wearer of the shoe.
Nothing in the prior art suggests a final tensioning of a shoe lace to a value which prevents relative movement between the wearer's foot and the boot or shoe.
Nothing
Muldowney Loren S.
Scott Donald W.
Don Scott Associates, Inc.
Sakran Victor N.
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