Patent Publication Number: US-6701590-B2

Title: Unique systems and methods for locking footwear

Description:
REFERENCE TO PREVIOUSLY FILED PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION 
     Provisional Patent Application No. 60/224,580 was filed on Aug. 11, 2000. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The application applies for unique systems and methods for locking lacing-type footwear. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Lacing-type footwear is an important part of our life, but adjusting, tying, and untying a lace are time-consuming and frustrating. Plus, a bow knot is snagging and cumbersome. Accordingly, there are ever-increasing demands for a convenient, safe, and aesthetic system, which could fasten a footwear quickly and easily, and is affordable, compact, and simple without exposing a bow knot. 
     PRIOR ART 
     Prior arts heretofore have snagging and poking problem of either a bow knot or a cumbersome, hazardous device. A number of cumbersome, hazardous devices have been introduced in: 
     the U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,439 filed Sep. 29, 1981; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,998 filed May. 06, 1980; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,119 filed Aug. 27, 1991; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,787 filed Nov. 14, 1989; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,297 filed Sep. 19, 1978; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,682 filed Aug. 30, 1988; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,856 filed Feb. 25, 1986; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,437 filed Aug. 21, 1990; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,094 filed Dec. 29, 1987; the U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,238 filed Sep. 30, 1975; and the U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,854 filed Apr. 22, 1983. These patents teach that to fasten a footwear onto a foot, a user ties lace ends of a lace together, fastens them to a cumbersome, hazardous, expensive device, and exposes them, causing snagging, poking, abrading problem and, therefore, inevitable personal injury. Therefore, all prior arts heretofore teach away from the invention. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION 
     Having many advantages over all the prior arts heretofore, the unique system of the invention: 
     hides lace ends and lace-end fastener inside a footwear tongue and prevent them from moving; 
     fastens the tongue of a footwear in place when fastening the footwear onto a foot; 
     only needs to be assembled once to set predetermined lace tensions, which can be reset any time; 
     eliminates the needs for adjusting, tying a lace every time a footwear is fastened onto a foot; 
     eliminates the needs for adjusting, untying a lace every time a footwear is unfastened from a foot; 
     is inexpensive, compact, safe, and simple. Thus, it can be used by people of almost any age; 
     applies interlock method. Thus, the harder it is pulled, the more securely it fastens a footwear; 
     only needs to be assembled once; only needs one finger to be operated; and can also serve as a safety system when, for example, partially or entirely made of light-reflecting material. 
     Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the ensuing specification and drawings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A unique system comprises a tongue of a footwear, a lace, a lace-end fastener, and a lace-section fastener. The footwear has two opposite sides and lace-receivers disposed thereon. To assemble the unique system, the footwear is laced with the lace to define opposite lace sections, each of which extends between two of the lace receivers on the same side. The tongue has at least one opening. The lace is threaded through the at least one opening. Then, the lace ends are fastened by the lace-end fastener and are hidden inside the tongue and prevented from moving. The lace-section fastener is for the opposite lace sections to be fastened thereon and to be unfastened therefrom, to fasten the footwear onto and to unfasten the footwear from a foot, respectively. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows top view of the unique system. 
     FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of a tongue. 
     FIG. 3 shows a tongue. 
     FIG. 4 shows a lace-section fastener. 
     FIG. 5 shows another tongue. 
    
    
     FIRST EXAMPLE 
     FIG. 1 shows a unique system for fastening a footwear onto a foot. The unique system comprises a tongue  40  of the footwear, a lace  41 , a lace-section fastener  44 , and a lace-end fastener. The footwear has opposite sides  50  and  51  and a plurality of lace-receivers  52  disposed thereon. Tongue  40  has a tongue top  45 , outer and inner surfaces, and two openings  53  and  54 . Each of openings  53  and  54  extends from the outer surface to the inner surface of tongue  40 . Lace  41  has opposite lace sections  48  and  49  and lace ends  46  and  47 . The lace-end fastener comprises lace ends  46  and  47 . Lace-section fastener  44  comprises a hook  56  and a ring  57  attached to or integrated to each other. Ring  57  has a hole and is capable of securely fastening lace section  49  thereon when lace section  49  is threaded through the hole of ring  57 . Hook  56  has a tip  59 . Tip  59  is predeterminedly bent inward to narrow the mouth of hook  56  so that tip  59  is capable of preventing hook  56  from snagging, poking, etc. and so that hook  56  is capable of securely fastening lace section  48  thereon when lace section  48  is hooked thereon. 
     To assemble the unique system, the footwear is laced with lace  41  so that each of lace sections  48  and  49  extends between two of lace receivers  52  on the same side of opposite sides  50  and  51 , with lace section  49  threaded through the hole of ring  57  to fasten lace section  49  onto lace-section fastener  44 . Next, lace  41  is threaded through openings  53  and  54 . Then, lace ends  46  and  47  are tied together so that they are fastened together, to set predetermined lace tensions of lace  41 , and are hidden securely inside tongue top  45  so that lace ends  46  and  47  are secured in place and prevented from moving, and so that lace ends  46  and  47  stay above the rest of lace  41 . To fasten the footwear onto a foot after inserting the foot thereinto, pull opposite lace sections  48  and  49  to increase the tension of lace  41 , and hook lace section  48  on hook  56  to fasten lace section  48  onto lace-section fastener  44 . To unfasten the footwear from the foot, unhook lace section  48  from hook  56  to unfasten lace section  48  from lace-section fastener  44 . For example, to unhook lace section  48  from hook  56 , lift hook  56  until lace section  48  slides off hook  56 . 
     VARIATION, RAMIFICATION, AND CONCLUSION 
     A tongue, equivalent to tongue  40 , can have at least one opening, each of which can have any shape and size, can be disposed at any location thereon in any direction. For example, FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a tongue  64 , equivalent to tongue  40 . Tongue  64  has three openings and a padding  61 . Padding  61  has a padding opening  62 . Each of lace ends  46  and  47  is threaded through one opening, through padding opening  62 , and through the last opening. Lace ends  46  and  47  are tied together so that they are fastened together, to set predetermined lace tensions of lace  41 , and are hidden securely inside the tongue top of tongue  64  and prevented from moving. For example, FIG. 3 shows a tongue, equivalent to tongue  40 . The tongue has two openings and is sewed between its two openings to define its tongue top  60 , which is for lace ends and lace-end fastener to be hidden therein and prevented from moving. To define its tongue top  60 , thread or any other attaching device can be used, for example, glue, rivet, velcro, snap-lock, the like, etc. For example, a tongue, equivalent to tongue  40 , has at least one opening . One or each of lace ends  46  and  47  can be threaded through at least one of the at least one opening of the tongue. 
     A tongue, equivalent to tongue  40 , can have no padding or can have at least one padding inside. Each padding can have no opening nor recess, or can have at least one opening and/or recess, for lace ends and lace-end fastener to be threaded therethrough and/or to be hidden therein and prevented from moving. For example, FIG. 2 shows padding  61  having padding opening  62 . 
     The unique system can partially or entirely be made of material(s), which is elastic, non-elastic, transparent, flexible, resilient, rigid, semi-rigid, fluorescent, light-reflecting, glittered, glow-in-the-dark, fabric, cotton, leather, vinyl, nylon, rubber, plastic, thread, eye-catching, metallic, steel, bronze, zinc, copper, iron, alloy, tin, the like, etc., or a combination of at least any two above. The unique system can have at least one lace-section fastener. Each lace-section fastener can be separate from, attached to, or integrated to a footwear at any portion(s) thereof and can fasten at least one lace section thereon. For example, FIG. 4 shows the unique system having a lace-section fastener  58 , which is equivalent to lace-section fastener  44 . Lace-section fastener  58  comprises two opposite hooks, each attached to or integrated to one of opposite sides  50  and  51  of the footwear. Each of the opposite hooks is equivalent to hook  56  of lace-section fastener  44 , and is for one of opposite lace sections  48  and  49  to be fastened thereon and to be unfastened therefrom to fasten the footwear onto and to unfasten the footwear from the foot, respectively. These fastening and unfastening methods are equivalent to the fastening and unfastening methods described in the first example above. For example, FIG. 4 shows lace  41 , which can be made of elastic material and assembled as shown so that to fasten the footwear onto a foot or to unfasten the footwear from a foot, without the needs for tying lace  41  nor the needs for untying lace  41 , respectively, the foot is inserted into the footwear or the foot is pulled out of the footwear, respectively. These fastening and unfastening methods are equivalent to the fastening and unfastening methods described in the first example. For example, the unique system can have two lace-section fasteners  58 , each attached to or integrated to the footwear and functioning as described above, or can have lace-section fasteners  58  attached to or integrated to the footwear and functioning as described above and lace-section fasteners  44  separate from the footwear. 
     The unique system can be used with any type of footwear, for example, sneaker, tennis shoe, etc. Any element(s) of the unique system can be made separate from, attached to, or integrated to any other element(s) of the unique system and/or a footwear, which the unique system is used with. 
     The unique system can, further, comprise at least one relief, design, printing, painting, stamping, device, inscription, decal, engraving, embossing, decor, or a combination of at least any two above, which can be attached to or integrated to any element of the unique system. For example, a light-reflecting tape or a relief can be attached to or integrated to lace-section fastener  44 . 
     Lace  41  can have at least one lace section. The lace-end fastener for fastening lace ends  46  and  47  can be a separate device from lace  41 , e.g. a clamp. The foot can be inserted into the footwear before or after lace ends  46  and  47  are fastened to set predetermined lace tensions of lace  41 . Lace ends  46  and  47  can be refastened any time to reset predetermined lace tensions of lace  41 . 
     A lace-section fastener, equivalent to lace-section fastener  44 , can comprise at least one hook, at least one ring, the like, the equivalent, or a combination thereof, which are made separately, attachedly, or integrally. Each hook is for at least one lace section of a lace to be hooked thereon. Each ring is for at least one lace section of a lace to be threaded therethrough. For example, a lace-section fastener, equivalent to lace-section fastener  44 , can comprise a wire with its one half bent into a hook and its other half bent into a ring. The hook and ring function similarly as hook  56  and ring  57 . For example, a lace-section fastener, equivalent to lace-section fastener  44 , can comprise a wire spring, which is resilient. The wire spring has one of its two ends bent into a hook and the other one of its two ends bent into a ring. The hook and ring function similarly as hook  56  and ring  57 . For example, a lace-section fastener, equivalent to lace-section fastener  44 , can be made of the same material as the footwear and integrated to the footwear as part of the footwear. 
     Equivalent to the predeterminedly bent tip  59  of hook  56 , which prevents hook  56  from snagging thing, poking thing, etc., a preventing device, for example, having the form of a hill, can be disposed adjacent to, attached to, or integrated to each hook of a lace-section fastener, which is equivalent to lace-section fastener  44 , to prevent each hook from snagging thing, poking thing,etc. 
     Each lace receiver of a footwear with the unique system applied thereto can be disposed at any portion of the footwear, for example, the topside, the edge, or the underside of one of the opposite sides of the footwear. The footwear can be laced with a lace in any way to define any opposite lace sections of the lace and to form any lacing style, using some or all of its lace receivers. 
     The unique systems and methods are capable of various: variations, ramifications, equivalents, structures, materials, colors, forms, functions, dimensions, operations, permutations, styles, alternatives, extensions, arrangements, applications, configurations, simplifications, additions, adaptations, modifications, substitutions, combinations, associations, etc. without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, FIG. 5 shows a tongue, equivalent to tongue  40 . Lace ends  46  and  47  are threaded through the tongue&#39;s openings. Similar to the examples in FIGS. 1-4, lace ends  46  and  47  are tied together and threaded back into the tongue to be hidden therein. The scope of the invention will be determined by the ensuing claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the aforementioned exemplifications.