Methods And Devices Of Applying Wax

Article and method are provided to increase surface friction and gription of shoelaces and bootlaces to prevent untying of the knots of shoelaces and bootlaces and make the surfaces of the shoelaces and bootlaces bitter in taste to deter pets from chewing them. An applicator comprising a wax-based compound formulated from vegetable oils, beeswax, coconut oil and bitter apple extract increases the surface friction and gription of shoelaces and bootlaces as well as make them bitter in taste for pets when applied on the surfaces of the shoelaces and bootlaces. The wax-based compound of the applicator may also function as water and moisture repellant on the surfaces of footwear, garments, and sports equipment in addition to shoe and boot laces under all types of conditions and climates.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel wax-based applicator to increase the stiction, the static friction that needs to be overcome to enable relative motion of stationary objects which are in contact with each other, and gription, the property of gripping and providing traction, of the surfaces onto which the wax-based applicator is applied. The present invention also provides a novel wax-based applicator to deter pets from chewing surfaces onto which the wax-based applicator is applied.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Shoelaces becoming untied is a problem everyone has encountered. The knots of the shoelaces may untie while walking or running for a variety of reasons such as forces being transmitted to the knots as the user's foot strikes the ground, the motion of user's leg, etc. These forces cause the knots in the laces to stretch and relax and ultimately untie.

To mitigate the problem of untying the knots of the shoelaces, the surfaces of the shoelaces need to be modified with increased friction. If the friction of the knot surfaces is higher than the aforementioned forces, the shoelaces will not stretch and relax and remain stationary at and around the knots despite the combined impact of these force and motion.

Also, pet owners often notice that the shoelaces or bootlaces are chewed by pets. Making the surfaces of the shoelaces or bootlaces bitter in taste may deter pets from chewing these surfaces.

Hence, there is a need to develop a compound which may increase the stiction and gription on the surfaces of the shoelaces and bootlaces as well as make the shoelaces and bootlaces bitter in taste.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel wax-based coating compound which provides increased friction on the surfaces of the shoelaces and bootlaces and resolves the problem of premature untying of the knots of the shoelaces and bootlaces.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a handheld applicator for shoelaces comprises: a wax-based compound comprising beeswax, and coconut oil. In some embodiments, wax-based compound further comprises non-organic additives, for examples, carnauba wax and paraffin wax. The wax-based compound of the present invention increases friction on surfaces of the shoelaces.

According to some embodiments, the present invention uses a handheld applicator for shoelaces and bootlaces. The handheld applicator comprises a body comprising an inner chamber, a removable cap attached to a top portion of the body, and a swivel base attached to a bottom portion of the body. The inner chamber of the body further comprises a wax-based compound comprising, beeswax, vegetable oil and bitter apple extract. According to some embodiments, the wax-based compound further comprises cayenne pepper. The wax-based compound provides bitterness to the surfaces of the shoelaces to deter pets from chewing them.

In some embodiments, the present Application describes a method of application of a wax-based applicator on shoelaces to prevent shoelaces from becoming untied and to provide a bitter taste to said shoelaces. The method involves providing a wax-based substance in a hand-held applicator and rubbing said wax-based substance onto surfaces of said shoelaces to form a coating. Next said shoelaces are tied into a knot located at said surfaces, whereby said wax-based substance increases friction and gription of the surfaces of the knot and provides a bitter taste to the shoelaces.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements. While different embodiments are described, features of each embodiment can be used interchangeably with other described embodiments. In other words, any of the features of each of the embodiments can be mixed and matched with each other, and embodiments should not necessarily be rigidly interpreted to only include the features shown or described.

Referring initially toFIG. 1, a wax-based applicator100of the present invention generally includes a cylindrical body110. A removable cap120is positioned on the top portion of the cylindrical body110and a swivel base130is positioned at the bottom of the cylindrical body110. Without limiting the shape of the body110of the applicator100to be cylindrical, it should be known that the body110of the applicator100can be of any shape.

As can be seen inFIG. 2, the cylindrical body110of the wax-based applicator100comprises an inner chamber140.FIG. 2further shows that a wax-based stick150protrudes from the inner chamber140of the cylindrical body110of the wax-based applicator100.

The swivel base130positioned at the bottom of the cylindrical body110may be twisted with fingers in a clockwise fashion to protrude the wax-based stick150from the inner chamber140of the cylindrical body110.

The wax-based stick150may be rubbed on the surface160of the shoe and boot laces, as shown inFIG. 3, to increase the friction and gription of said surface160.

As can be seen inFIG. 4, the wax-based compound of the applicator100forms a groove170on the top of the stick150through use. The groove170allows the coverage of the surfaces to be applied to increase and surrounds both sides of the bootlace surfaces160.

In some embodiments, the wax-based compound comprising the stick150increases the surface friction of the shoe and boot laces when the wax compound is rubbed on those surfaces. The increase in surface friction prevents the stretching and relaxing of the knots of the shoelaces and help the knots remain stationary in response to the combined impact of the force of the user's foot striking the ground and the motion of user's leg on the ground. The compound comprising the stick150increases the stiction of the surfaces in contact, which is defined as the static friction that needs to be overcome to enable relative motion of stationary objects which are in contact with each other. The compound comprising the stick150also increases the gription, the property of gripping and providing traction, of the surfaces in contact.

According to some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100assists to increase friction on the surfaces of footwear, garments, and sports equipment in addition to shoe and boot laces under all types of conditions and climates, for example, under rainy, snowy, and muddy conditions. In some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100may be used for winter apparel, water sports, mountain sports, hunting and fishing equipment. In some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100may be applied to zipper. According to some embodiments, the wax-based compound increases the friction on the surfaces of the zipper to keep it from opening under very cold temperature.

In some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100functions as a water and moisture repellant and provides water or moisture proofing surface of the garments by creating a coating of the wax on the surfaces of the garments.

In some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100provides a bitter taste and or odor to the shoelaces and bootlaces and deter pets from chewing the shoelaces and bootlaces.

According to some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100is formulated by using nontoxic, odorless, organic compounds comprising beeswax, and other natural ingredients, for example, natural oils such as coconut oil and vegetable oil. In some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100may also include tree rosin. According to some embodiments, the wax-based compound optionally comprises non-organic additives such as carnauba wax, and paraffin wax.

**According to some embodiments, the wax-based compound of the applicator100is formulated to prevent pets from chewing the shoelaces or bootlaces. In some embodiments, the anti-chewing formula comprises beeswax, vegetable oil, and bitter apple extract in a ratio of 3:1:1 by volume. According to some embodiments, the anti-chewing formula further comprises cayenne pepper. The composition of the wax-based compound is organic and fully environmentally safe to use and apply on different surfaces.

In some embodiments, the wax-based compound function as a moisture and water repellant. The wax-based compound of the applicator100does not need heating to function as a water or moisture repellant or increase the friction and gription of the surfaces onto which it is applied.

The wax-based compound of the applicator100may be applied directly to footwear, shoelaces, bootlaces, garments and both indoor and outdoor sports equipment, water sports and mountain sports equipment, athletics, hunting and farming equipment. Without limiting the use of the wax-based compound of the applicator100to the above equipment surfaces, it can be used for all possible indoor and outdoor surfaces to increase the friction and gription of the surfaces or make the surfaces water or moisture repellant.