Lacing system

The invention relates to a lacing system suitable for lacing a shoe having eyelets, comprising a stretchable lace adapted for being laced in the eyelets; and lace locking device connected to one end of the lace and comprising an elongated body operable for engaging the other one end of the lace so that the lace ends are substantially collinear with each other and the other lace end is releasably retained in the body through friction with the body when the shoe is engaged with a foot or disengaged from a foot.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to a shoelace and the like, and more 
particularly to a lacing system for shoes, sneakers, boots and the like. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Stretchable shoelaces are known in the prior art. A recent patent thereon 
issued to Mehan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,982 which discloses a shoelace made 
of elastic strands woven into a tubular configuration with plastic tips 
thereon so that it can be tied. Laces similar to bungee cords are also 
known. Some of the advantages of stretchable shoelaces have been 
appreciated in the prior art for use in athletic shoes; however, the 
arrangements are aesthetically unattractive. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of this invention to provide a lace system enabling a shoe, 
sneaker, boot or the like to be engaged by a foot and disengaged by the 
foot without requiring the laces to be tied and untied for each event. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a lace system for a 
shoe, sneaker, boot or the like suitable for use by individuals having a 
physical disability, such as arthritis, which makes tieing laces difficult 
by eliminating the necessity of tieing and untieing the laces for each 
time the shoe is engaged or disengaged. 
Another object of the invention is a lace system for use with a shoe having 
a tongue so that the tongue of the shoe can be moved forward, thereby 
stretching the laces for insertion or removal of one's foot in or out of 
the shoe. 
Another object of the invention is to eliminate the need to knot or 
double-tie traditional shoelaces to prevent their becoming untied during 
normal wear. 
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a lace system to 
replace shoelaces and designed to be safer to use than prior art laces 
since the lace according to the invention will not become untied and 
dangle and pose a danger to its user. 
It is an additional object of the invention in one embodiment to have a 
structure of the stretchable lace unique when compared to laces of the 
prior art because the present lace is preferably composed of non-woven, 
solid-sided, tubular, or of completely solid, construction made of a 
plastic or rubber-like stretchable material which immediately returns to 
its unstretched state of which there are a variety of types available. 
In a broad embodiment, the invention relates to a lacing system suitable 
for lacing a shoe having eyelets, comprising a stretchable lace adapted 
for being laced in the eyelets; and lace locking means connected to one 
end of the lace and comprising an elongated body operable for engaging the 
other one end of the lace so that the lace ends are substantially 
collinear with each other and the other lace end is releasably retained in 
the body through friction with the body when the shoe is engaged with a 
foot or disengaged from a foot. 
In another embodiment, both ends of the lace are releasably retained 
through friction to the elongated body. 
In a specific embodiment, the ends of the lace are hollow cylinders and the 
lace closing means is shaped to be pressed into each hollow cylinder. 
In another specific embodiment, the lace closing means has openings on 
opposite ends shaped to receive the respective lace ends and the ends of 
the lace are pressed into the respective openings for the frictional 
engagement. 
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become 
apparent upon reading the specification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) 
The invention is shown in the FIGS. 1-4. Basically, the invention provides 
a simple system for "tieing" shoelaces without the problems associated 
with prior art laces. One of the elements of the invention is a 
stretchable lace. Stretchable laces are known and are commercially 
available in many different forms. 
Typically, stretchable laces are in the form of woven strands. It has been 
found that for the practice of the invention, it is preferable to use 
stretchable tubing made from a stretchable, rubber-like materials such as 
a resin or plastic including, but not limited to, elastomers, teflon, 
silicon, latex, urethanes, vinyls, PVCs and the like. Some of these 
materials are available in a variety of fluorescent colors or even 
phosphorescent glow-in-the-dark dark colors and this can be advantageously 
used for marketing the invention. 
Typically, the tubing can be provided with an outer diameter size of from 
1/8 to about 3/16 inch, suitable in size to pass through the shoe eyelets 
of most shoes, boots and sneakers. Some shoes have relatively large 
eyelets and can use a shoelace according to the invention having a 
diameter of from about 1/4 inch outer diameter down to about 1/32 inch 
outer diameter. 
The cross section of the lace can also be varied and made attractive. The 
cross section of the end of the lace engaging the locking means should be 
compatible. Hence, a cylindrical cross section can provide a wide range of 
shapes and, if desired, can include a tapered end. 
As used herein, the terms "lace" "shoelace" and "shoelaces" refer in each 
case to laces in general for shoes, sneakers, boots and other foot wear or 
the like as well as any other object having eyelets and capable of 
accepting a lace or laces for being secured. 
The lace of this invention has sufficient stretchability and retention 
memory to return substantially immediately to substantially its original 
unstretched state. 
FIG. 1 shows a typical shoe 10. Lace 12 is laced through eyelets 13. When 
lace 12 is laced into the shoe 10, the two ends of the lace 18 and 20 come 
together at a junction 14 which is seen in the enlarged view of FIG. 2. 
Each end 18 and 20 has a hole defined therein extending longitudinally. 
Lace closing means such as closure 16 is inserted into respective holes of 
ends 18 and 20. By inserting ends 18 and 20 over closure 16 until ends 18 
and 20 substantially abut one another, the ends of the lace form what 
appears to the eye to be a smooth continuous lace surface, thereby 
providing an improved visual appearance. This is particularly attractive 
to footwear in contrast to the often unsightly appearance of shoes with 
traditional laces. 
The closure 16 can be substantially permanently affixed to one end of the 
lace. The closure 16 can be formed as an integral part of one of the ends 
of the lace 12. The closure 16 can have printing thereon, such as a 
company logo, or other decoration. 
The lace of this invention can be available in many lengths based on the 
number of eyelets of the shoe to be laced. Adjustments in length can be 
made simply by cutting off one or both ends of the shoelace until the 
desired length is achieved for a smooth continuous lace surface. 
Preferable a shoe tongue 19 is present to contribute to the smooth movement 
of the laces 12 as it expands and contracts in response to the shoe 10 
being removed or put on by the user. 
FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the closure 14a which can be 
solid and can have a length no longer than the distance between the top 
two eyelets of the shoe on which the lace will be used. Closure 14a 
engages first and second openings 22 and 24 of first and second ends 18 
and 20, respectively, of lace 12. The closure 14a can be cylindrical as 
shown but can be of other shapes as well, such as flat members, as long as 
it engages snugly in openings 22 and 24. When the closure 14a is inserted 
into ends 18 and 20, there is sufficient friction between plug 14 and the 
insides of respective ends 18 and 20 to retain the ends 18 and 20 in 
closure 14a during the expected tension arising from walking, removing and 
putting on the shoe 10. If however, it is desirable to remove one or both 
ends 18 and 20, then ends 18 and 20 are pulled with sufficient force by 
hand therefrom to remove one or both from closure 14a to allow for the 
removal of the lace 12. 
It has been found that one does not frequently have to undo laces according 
to the invention as they stretch without separating form the lace closing 
means thereby allowing the foot to be inserted or removed from the shoe 
while leaving the lace unchanged. 
Closure 28 is another embodiment as shown in FIG. 4. The closure 28 has the 
form of a tubular member having longitudinal openings at the respective 
ends. Preferably, the tubular member is a hollow tubular cylinder which 
can engage the outside diameter of the lace ends 30 and 32. If the inside 
diameter of the closure 28 is large enough to fit over the outside 
diameter of each end of shoelace 12 as seen in FIG. 4 and provide 
sufficient friction, then the closure 28 can function as a lace closing 
means. 
In its preferred embodiment, lace closing means engages the inside the lace 
ends so as to from a smooth junction between the lace ends. Lace closing 
means can be made of rubber, plastic or other equivalent rigid or 
semi-rigid material having a relatively high coefficient of friction with 
the lace according to the invention. To further increase friction between 
the lace and the lace closing means, the lace closing means can have 
ridges on its outer surface or equivalent means to increase friction 
between the lace and the lace closing means. Techniques for achieving good 
friction and retaining forces for the practice of the invention are well 
known in the prior art. 
The tubular configuration of the lace of according to the invention can be 
an extruded tubing or otherwise formed and even can be constructed in 
non-cylindrical outer shapes such as triangular, hexagonal, oval or square 
cross-sectional shapes such as shape 32 in FIG. 4 as long as the lace is 
stretchable and the shapes of the hollow portion within the tubing and the 
shape of the lace closing means are compatible and engage each other 
according to the invention. 
In an alternate embodiment where the shoelace is formed of a solid, 
elongated, non-hollow cylindrical piece such as end 30 of the stretchable 
material. The corresponding lace closing means preferably should be an 
externally fitting sleeve as described above which fits over the solid 
ends of such shoelace. The closure sleeve which fits over such solid lace 
of this invention can be decorative. 
The lace in one of the preferred embodiments for use in popular athletic 
shoes can be made of tubing in bright fluorescent colors, but the tubing 
does not necessarily have to be of a single color. It can, for example, be 
multicolored with stripes, such as candy cane design, or can be 
co-extruded in many colors, have metallic flakes or have grooves with a 
different color on the sides of the grooves. 
It is believed that the tubular material of the lace of this invention 
provides a significant improved appearance over the woven, stranded 
material of prior art laces which will collapse into a flattened shape as 
they are laced through the eyelets of a shoe and pulled tight. The lace of 
this invention when laced through shoe eyelets has been found to retain 
much of its circular cross-sectional configuration which gives the shoe a 
very neat appearance and is an advance in footwear technology. 
Although the present invention has been described with reference to 
particular embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art 
that variations and modification can be substituted therefor without 
departing from the principles and spirit of the invention.