Abstract:
A polygonal tipped shoelace comprises at least a shoelace and a polygonal tip. Plastic films are first adhered to the two terminals of the shoelace, and are subsequently pressed by polygonal molds to form polygonal tips. The polygonal tips could provide various shapes of the shoelace to raise the delicacy and the uniqueness. The durability of the shoelace is also increased because there is a larger contacting area between the shoelace and the plastic film so that it is not easy for the tip to fall off.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 95203656, filed Mar. 06, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to a shoelace, and more particularly to a polygonal tipped shoelace.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     There are several different general shoelace tip designs depending on the need, for example, cylindrical tips attached around to plastic films, tips attached to the sleeve made from extruded metal, tips attached to the sleeve made from plastic and so on.  
         [0006]     The method of attaching metal or plastic sleeves to the shoelace tips is more complex because to attach the sleeves to the shoelace tips requires more than at least two processes. Therefore, it is more expensive and less popular.  
         [0007]     Attaching a cylinder wound by a plastic film to the shoelace tips is easier to produce and cheaper. Therefore, the most popular method is to attach the cylinders, with smaller diameters than the diameter of the shoelace, wound by the plastic film to the shoelace tips. However, these tips easily fall off when pulled or washed because no enough area and coupling strength of the cylinder structure of the shoelace are provided. Therefore, it is quite inconvenient.  
         [0008]     Consumer demand nowadays emphasizes the importance of design and uniqueness of dress accessories. In order to enhance personal dress style and creativity, the shoelace&#39;s color is no longer simple color as usual. Fashionable, colorful shoelace styles with matching features are becoming more accepted. Therefore, valuable and attractive shoelace tip designs provide consumers with more choices and achieve the goal of being unique and decorative.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0009]     It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a polygonal tipped shoelace which improves the failings of the traditional shoelace tips, like inflexible forms, and the lack of a unique sense or design.  
         [0010]     It is another objective of the present invention to provide a polygonal tipped shoelace which improves the problem of easily falling off due to the small adherent strength between the shoelace and the tip.  
         [0011]     According to the aforementioned objectives of the present invention, a polygonal tipped shoelace is provided. The terminal of the shoelace is a polygonal tip attached to a plastic film and pressed by a mold. In one embodiment of the present invention, the shoelace could be an elliptic cylinder, or a flat form cylinder. The polygonal tips are pressed by molds into desired shapes, so the terminal section of the polygonal tip is a polygon, like a triangle, a rhombus, a trapezoid, an astroid shape, an octagon, a dodecagon or some other appropriate shape.  
         [0012]     Furthermore, pictures, like trademarks, could be printed on the polygonal tips. Also, fluorescent material, jewel like substances, or other materials and items that could improve the design of the tip could be smeared on the polygonal tips in order to boost the market competitiveness.  
         [0013]     The polygonal tips could provide various shapes to increase the unique and delicacy. Moreover, it provides a larger contacting area between the shoelace and the plastic film, so the tip part wouldn&#39;t fall off easily and it would have increased durability.  
         [0014]     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates a side view of the polygonal tipped shoelace of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  illustrates a sectional view of the triangle tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  illustrates a sectional view of the pentagonal tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  illustrates a sectional view of the hexagonal tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  illustrates a side view of the hexagonal tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of the astroid shaped tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]     Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0023]     While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.  
         [0024]     Reference is made to  FIG. 1 , which illustrates a polygonal tipped shoelace of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A polygonal tipped shoelace  100  includes a main body  110 , a tipped terminal  120  located in each terminal of the main body  110 , the tipped terminal  120  is covered with plastic film and pressed into specific shape by mold, and forms a polygonal tip  130 .  
         [0025]     In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the main body  110  could be an elliptic cylinder or a flat form cylinder or an irregularly shaped shoelace. The polygonal tip  130  is pressed in the forms of specific shape by the mold, so the terminal section of the polygonal tip  130  could be a polygon, like a triangle, a rhombus, a trapezoid, an astroid shape, a hexagon, an octagon, a dodecagon or some other appropriate shape.  
         [0026]     Compared to the general circular tipped shoelace, the polygonal structure of a polygonal tip could increase the contacting area between the plastic film and the tipped terminal  120  thus increasing the strength of the attachment. Mechanical friction and coupling force increased by the corners makes the plastic film difficultly to fall off thus increasing the durability of a polygonal tipped shoelace compared to a general circular tipped shoelace. Furthermore, polygonal tip shoelaces can be held more tightly making them easier and more convenient to use.  
         [0027]     Reference is made to  FIG. 2 , which illustrates a triangle tipped section of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A plastic film  210  is smeared with mucilage or an solvent, like the acetone, and attached to the two terminals of the shoelace; then it would be heated to make it softer, and at finally shaped into a triangle tipped shoelace after being pressing by the triangle mold. Therefore, the section would also be the shape of triangle.  
         [0028]     Reference is made to  FIG. 3 , which illustrates a section of the pentagonal tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A pentagonal tip  300  makes the terminal of shoelace tip attached to the plastic film  310  pressed by pentagonal mold, and forms a pentagonal tipped shoelace. Therefore, the section would also be the shape of pentagon.  
         [0029]     Reference is made to  FIG. 4 , which illustrates a section of the hexagonal tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A hexagonal tip  400  makes the terminal of shoelace tip attached to the plastic film  410  pressed by hexagonal mold, and forms a hexagonal tip shoelace. Therefore, the section would also be the shape of hexagonal.  
         [0030]     Furthermore, in polygonal tipped shoelaces, pictures, like trademarks, could be printed on the polygonal tips. Also, fluorescent material, jewel like substances, or other materials and items that could improve the design of the tip could be smeared on the polygonal tips in order to boost the market competitiveness.  
         [0031]     Reference is made to  FIG. 5 , which illustrates a side view of the hexagonal tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 5 , the tip of the hexagonal tipped shoelace  500  has plural planes, and the picture  510 , trademarks or words, could be printed on the planes for easy brand recognition and improved production value. Pictures could also be printed on the planes and fluorescent material, jewel like substances, or other materials and items that could improve the design of the tip could be smeared on the polygonal tips in order to boost the market competitiveness.  
         [0032]     Reference is made to  FIG. 6 , which illustrates a side view of the astroid shaped tip of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 6 , the fluorescent material  610  is smeared on the tip of the astroid tipped shoelace would make the tip more unique and stylish.  
         [0033]     Moreover, there is an emphasis that both the shoelace appearances and the sizes in the figures are mere guidelines. For example, the pictures on the tip plane could be any appropriate picture or words. Besides, the shoelace in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is a cylinderical one, but it could also be some other form. There is no restriction in the scope of the present invention.  
         [0034]     According to the composition and the embodiments above, there are many advantages of the present invention over the prior art, such as:  
         [0035]     1. The polygonal tipped shoelace of the present invention increases the contacting area between the shoelace and the plastic film by using the polygonal structure so that it would be hard for the plastic film to fall off, raising the durability of the tip; furthermore, the shoelace tip would be easier to grip, too.  
         [0036]     2. The tipped terminal of the shoelace with the plastic film pressed by specific molds is relative to the existing art and there would be some advantages as following, providing changeful shoelace design, raising the unique style of the production and boosting the market competitiveness.  
         [0037]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.