Patent Publication Number: US-6219891-B1

Title: Lacing aid and connector

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/036,193 filed Jan. 21, 1997. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to lacing devices, particularly lacing aids that may be easily used to lace tightly two elements together, and more particularly to lacing aids, and connecting means therefor, for facilitating the tight lacing of lace-tightened footwear, such as boots, ice skates, roller blades and roller skates. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For many years, laces have been used to help secure footwear, such as boots, shoes, skates and the like, onto the feet of the user. A typical boot includes first and second instep flaps that extend up the sides of the boot and are separated by a space. Usually, the flaps extend from a point close to the toe of the boot and extend rearwardly to the front surface of the ankle portion of the boot. Each of the first and second instep flaps includes or carries a series of eyelets adjacent the space between them. A single lace is generally interwoven into the eyelets. By threading a lace through the eyelets and pulling on the ends of the lace, the eyelets and the instep flaps can be pulled together in the space between them to thus tighten the flaps, and hence the boot, around the foot of a user. After the flaps are tightened, the ends of the lace are tied together to hold the boot on the foot of the user. 
     When the user wishes to remove his boot, the lace ends are untied, and the lace can be loosened, permitting loosening of the instep flaps, that is, increasing the space between the first and second flaps. This increased space between and the first and second flaps loosens the boot, thus permitting the user to remove it from his foot. One difficulty with footwear lacing systems, is that it is often difficult to tighten the footwear by pulling the flaps together with the lace and to maintain a tightened condition. 
     In many applications, it is desirable, if not essential, to secure a boot snugly onto the foot of a user. Two examples of such applications are with ice skates (including figure, speed and hockey skates) and roller skates (both regular and in-line). With ice skates and roller skates, it is essential to have the boot of the ice skate fastened tightly around the ankle, so that the boot can provide ankle support to the user. This ankle support is necessary in order to ensure good skating performance. Additionally, in certain other applications, it is also essential to fasten a boot about a user&#39;s ankle tightly in order to give the user proper ankle support. Further, certain users, as a matter of individual preference, prefer to wear boots which are snugly secure to their feet, to provide appropriate ankle support. 
     Several known methods exist for tightly lacing a boot onto a foot. Typically, a boot lace is tightened by having the user start with one pair of the lower eyelets of the instep flaps of the boot and, using two hands (or fingers), to grip the lace adjacent a pair of eyelets and to pull the pair of eyelets toward with the lace to tighten the instep flaps at the particular pair of eyelets. The same procedure is then repeated with the next eyelet “up the boot” in the rearward direction while trying to maintain the tightened condition of the first pair of eyelets. This procedure is repeated again and again until the lace has been used to tighten each pair of eyelets. Upon reaching the last pair of eyelets the user then attempts to quickly tie the ends of the lace together and preserve the tightness of the lacing, before the instep flaps have had a chance to move apart through slippage between the lace and the eyelets. 
     This method has some drawbacks. First, it is difficult to pull the laces tightly at the eyelets. In addition, as the user attempts to tighten each pair of eyelets with the lace, the lace can slip in one or more pairs of eyelets that were tightened earlier, permitting the instep flaps to move apart and the boot to thus become relatively loosened. There is no structure known presently which permits one to pull the lace at a particular eyelet, and then to prevent the lace from slipping or retreating backwardly, other than for the user to maintain his or her grip on the lace. 
     In addition to the method described above, various other methods have been attempted for tightening laces. For example, some people use a mechanical “pick” or “puller” to gain a better mechanical advantage on a lace, and thus be able to pull it tighter. Even with this system, however, when force pressure is released on the particular portion of the lace being pulled, the lace can slip or retreat back in an eyelet to a relatively looser portion. 
     Another difficulty which often faces one trying to tighten one&#39;s boot laces is the frictional resistance on the movement of the lace caused by the frictional engagement between the lace and the tongue, especially in the region where the lace becomes sandwiched between the eyelet-containing instep flaps of the shoe and the tongue. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a lacing aid to assist in lacing two elements tightly together. A lacing aid of the invention comprises a first portion that is, preferably, easily threaded and engages a lace with reduced friction, and a second portion for restraint of the threaded lace. The first portion preferably forms an opening larger than the lace, and the second portion provides frictional engagement or clamping of the lace. 
     Lacing aids of the invention may preferably be formed by bending smooth and stiff but resilient wire to form a first portion providing an opening larger than a lace with smooth inner walls, permitting the lace to slip easily when it is being tightened, and a second lace restraining portion formed adjacent to the first portion to which a tightened lace may be easily slipped and engaged. In one form, such a lacing aid can comprise a smooth wire bent to form a lace opening significantly larger than the lace and an adjacent narrow channel for gripping the lace. In preferred such lacing aids, the narrow channel formed by the second portion opens into the lace opening and extends outwardly from one side of the lace opening, for example, being formed by bending a wire back on itself to provide an intervening channel located at the side of the lacing aid. Such lacing aids can also be mitten-shaped with the first open portion corresponding to the palm/finger portion of the mitten-shape and the second lace-restraining portion corresponding to the thumb portion of the mitten-shape. Such lacing aids can have other forms; for example, the second channel-forming portion can extend outwardly from the first open portion forming a T-like, or comma-like shaped lacing aid. In another form, the lacing aid can have a curlicue form with the first portion comprising a large opening of a curlicue and the second portion being formed by an overlapping a smaller portion of the curlicue providing adjacent lace-engaging surfaces. In preferred forms, the second lace-restraining portion is contiguous with the first opening portion so that after a lace has been pulled to tighten the lacing aid and the element to which it is attached, the lace may be easily slid into restraining engagement with the second portion to retain the lace in the tightened position that has been achieved. 
     The invention also includes an eyelet-connecting means that may be used to fasten an eyelet, such as a lacing aid of the invention, to a substrate element. The connecting means can be formed by two legs projecting from a junction, with one of the legs including a sleeve for rotatably carrying a first portion of the lacing aid or other eyelet-forming means and with the distal ends of the legs providing means for fastening the lacing aid or eyelet to a substrate, such as pair of mating fasteners, one mate being carried by each of the legs. The leg including the sleeve is preferably provided with detent-forming means to hold the eyelet being carried so it extends upwardly and away from the leg. Such a connecting means, or substrate engaging means, preferably comprises thin sheet steel bent into a U-shape, with one of the legs of the U being stamped to form notch-like portions and bent adjacent the notch-like portions to form a sleeve sized to engage the first portion of the lacing aid with a snap-fit so the first portion of a lacing aid is captively, but rotatably, carried by the U-shaped clip and can be held upwardly away from connecting means for easy threading. The extremities of the legs of the U-shaped member can carry mating fasteners, one leg being punched to carry a captive screw and the other leg being punched to form a receiving hole for the captive screw. Such a substrate engaging means can permit lacing aids of the invention to be added to existing footwear by sliding the open end of the U-shaped member over the eyelet-carrying flap of the footwear and engaging the mating fasteners at the ends of the legs through the existing eyelets of the footwear thereby fastening the lacing aid in rotatable engagement with the footwear. 
     Thus, a lacing aid of the invention can comprise an eyelet for use in the lacing the element together including a first portion for sliding engagement with a lace, a second portion for restraint of a lace, with the first and second portions of the lacing aid cooperating so that a lace be easily engaged with the second portion after it is tightened, and a third portion connected to the first and second portions and adapted for engagement with a substrate, such as the instep flaps, of footwear. The third portion can provide connecting means for connecting a lacing aid to footwear so the first and second portions provide lacing means, with the first portion permitting a lace to be easily tightened in a relatively friction-free manner, and the second portion permitting the lace to be restrained in such a manner as to substantially resist movement of the tightened lace. 
     The invention thus provides a lacing aid that can be fitted to all kinds of footwear, such as shoes, skates and boots, either when the shoe, skate or boot is originally manufactured, or after manufacture by retrofitting existing shoes, skates and boots to provide the advantages of the lacing aid of the invention to existing skates and boots. 
     For example, with the invention, it requires less effort to tighten skates than prior lacing systems, permitting young children to tighten and maintain the desired tightness of the skates without the aid of adults. Another advantage of the invention is that by fitting a pair of skates or boots with a complete set of the such lacing aids in the eyelet pairs extending from the toe area of the shoe to the ankle area, the eyelet pairs and the adjacent footwear portions can be individually tightened and maintained in their selected tightness by the second lace restraining portions of the lacing aids, thus enabling a user to customize the tightness of the footwear and to correct for misfitting portions of the footwear. 
     The invention thus can permit a footwear user ease in lacing and tightening the laces of his footwear and in maintaining the desired tightness of eyelet pairs and equally fast unlacing of his footwear. 
    
    
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the drawings, and the more detailed description of the invention that follows. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art ice skate; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view, partly broken away, of the top of the prior art skate of FIG. 1, showing the first and second eyelet containing flaps, and the eyelets contained thereon; 
     FIG. 3 is a top view, similar to FIG. 2, showing a lace engaging the eyelets of the prior art skate; 
     FIG. 4 is a top elevational view, similar to FIG. 2, showing a first and a second embodiment of a lacing aid of the present invention engaged within the eyelets of the skate; 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of a skate, similar to FIG. 3, showing a lace engaging the first and second embodiments of the lace aids, illustrated in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a top view of a first embodiment of the lacing device of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of an alternate (second) embodiment of the lacing device of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a shoe engaging member for connecting a lacing aid of the present invention to a shoe; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional partly exploded view taken along lines  9 — 9  of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along lines  10 — 10  of FIG. 4; 
     FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate a presently preferred embodiment of a lacing aid of the invention; 
     FIGS. 12A through 12E are plan views of other forms of lacing aids of the invention; FIG. 12F illustrates a use of the lacing aid of FIG. 12E; 
     FIGS. 13A through 13H illustrate a preferred connecting means, or a substrate-engaging means for the attachment of lacing aids of the invention, and other eyelet-forming means such as standard D-rings, to elements to be laced together. FIGS. 13A and 13B are a pair of perspective views of the preferred connecting means, and FIG. 13C is a plan view of a stamped sheet from which the connecting means is formed. FIG. 13D is a view from above the connecting means; FIG. 13E is a view from the side of connecting means; FIG. 13F is a view from below the connecting means; FIG. 13G is a cross-sectional view of the connecting means taken at a vertical plane through line  13 G— 13 G of FIG. 13D; and FIG. 13H is an enlarged detail view of the eyelet-engaging portion of the connecting means; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the connecting means of FIGS. 13A-H assembled with a lacing aid; 
     FIG. 15 is an alternate embodiment of a lacing aid of the invention; and 
     FIGS. 16,  17 A,  17 B,  18 A, and  18 B illustrate embodiments of lacing aids of the invention with a moving part. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a prior art ice skate  10  (here shown as an ice skate sized for fitting on a user&#39;s right foot) includes a boot portion  12  having a heel  13 , a sole member  14  and a toe portion  15 . The boot portion  12  uses sole  14  to engage a platform  16 , the other end of which is attached to a blade  18  for engaging the ice. The boot portion  12  of the ice skate includes a lateral instep flap  22  and a medial instep flap  24  which extends along the instep portion of the boot portion  12 , (and adjacent the top surface of the user&#39;s foot) from a point slightly removed from the toe  15 , to the top surface of the boot portion  12 . As best shown in FIG. 2, a tongue member  26  extends between, and partially underlays the lateral and medial instep flaps  22 ,  24 . 
     Each of the lateral and medial instep flaps  22 ,  24  include a series of eyelets. As shown in the drawing of FIG. 1, the boot portion  12  of the ice skate  10  includes  11  eyelets on each of the two flaps  22 ,  24 . Although the number of eyelets will vary in different skates, depending upon such factors as size, manufacturer&#39;s preference, and skating type (e.g., hockey skate, speed skate or figure skate), the typical number of eyelets contained on a skate are generally between about 5 and 14 or so. 
     As best shown in FIG. 2, the lateral instep flap  22  includes a distal eyelet  28  which is that eyelet disposed closest to the toe  15  of the skate  10 ; a proximal eyelet  30 , which is the eyelet, disposed furthest away from the toe  15 , (and hence, more closely adjacent to the user&#39;s ankle); and a series of other eyelets  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  38  (and others not shown) disposed therebetween. Similarly, the medial instep flap  22  includes a distal eyelet  44 , a proximal eyelet  46  and a series of other eyelets  48 ,  50 ,  52  and  54  disposed therebetween. 
     Turning now to FIG. 3, the skate  10  is shown with a lace  60  engaging the various eyelets  28 - 54 . The lace  60  is generally a continuous lace having a first end  62 , a second end  64  and a middle portion  66  which extends through the various eyelets. One generally starts lacing a shoe by passing the first end  62  through the distal eyelet  28 , passing the second end  64  through the distal eyelet  44 , and then pulling on the respective ends  62 ,  64 , so that the middle of the shoestring  66  is disposed between the two proximal eyelets  28 ,  44 . The first end  62  is then extended across the tongue  26 , between the tongue and the interior surface of the medial instep flap  24 , and then passed outwardly through eyelet  48 . Similarly, the second end  64  is passed diagonally, across  26 , passed between the upper surface of tongue  26  and the underside surface of lateral flap  22 , and passed outwardly through eyelet  32 . This procedure is generally continued until the respective first and second ends  62 ,  64  emerge from the respective proximal eyelets  30 ,  46 . 
     If one desires to tighten the skate, the usual manner for doing so is to thread the skate generally as shown in FIG.  3 . After threaded (but before being tightened), the fingers are used to engage the underside surface of the laces at points adjacent to the pairs of the lower eyelets, usually either the distal eyelets  28 ,  44 , or the next eyelets  32 ,  48  of the respective instep flaps  22 ,  24 . 
     For example, with a finger from her right hand, the user can engage the underside of the lace adjacent to eyelet  32 , while with a finger from the left hand the user can engage the lace adjacent to eyelet  48 . The fingers then engage the lace and pull the lace outwardly in such a manner so as to pull the respective instep flaps  22 ,  24  closer together. After they are pulled sufficiently tightly, the lace is then released, and the fingers of the right and left hand are used to engage the lace at a position adjacent to the next eyelets  34 ,  50  of the instep flap. Because of the frictional engagement between the laces (such as where they overlay each other in the area adjacent to the middle of the tongue), and the frictional engagement between the lace and the tongue  26  and the underside of the instep flaps, the lace and flaps are not completely free to slide back to their former position when the lace is released. Nonetheless, the pressure exerted on the flaps and lace by the foot in the shoe will cause some slippage of the lace, thus causing the lace to not be as tight as desired. 
     The procedure described above is continued sequentially along the eyelets, until it is performed on the lace adjacent to the penultimate eyelets, adjacent to the proximal eyelets  30 ,  46 . After the lace is tightened to the penultimate eyelets (not shown), the ends  62 ,  64  of the lace are then grabbed, and pulled tightly, to finish the tightening job. The lace ends  62 ,  64  are then tied together in a traditional bow-type knot. 
     Through the procedure described above, a relatively tight and secure fit can be obtained. However, obtaining such a tight and secure fit requires some work. Substantial effort is required to overcome the frictional engagement between the laces and the skate parts (such as the tongue  26  and instep flaps  22 ,  24 ) to tighten the laces significantly. In tightening the flaps, a wearer is not working just to overcome the force exerted by the foot and footwear in its resistance to compression, but is also working to overcome frictional resistance. As such, tightening the skates is more difficult than it would be without this substantial frictional resistance. 
     On the other hand, this frictional resistance is somewhat helpful as it prevents the flaps and lace from returning completely to their former positions once tightened. However, the frictional resistance still permits substantial slide-back. 
     It has been the experience of the applicants that young skaters (such as those younger than 9 or 10 years old) often have difficulty tightening their skates to a point that they are acceptable. Further, the older, or infirm who may be afflicted by arthritis, may also have difficulty tightening their skates to an acceptable level. Further, because many skaters, especially hockey skaters, prefer that their skates be especially tight to provide maximum ankle support, even many healthy adults are unable to muster sufficient finger and hand strength to tighten the skates sufficiently to comply with their preferences. 
     One way to help make it easier to tighten skates by reducing friction is to use round laces, rather than flat laces, as round laces generally have less frictional engagement with the skate than flat laces. However, round laces have the disadvantage of sliding back more easily than flat laces. As such, most hockey skates and figure skates tend to use flat laces. 
     Turning now to FIG. 6, a first embodiment of the lacing aid  80  of the present invention is shown (in approximately actual size) as comprising a generally mitten-shaped bent wire. The lacing aid  80  includes a shoe engaging portion  82  which is provided for engaging an eyelet engaging member  120  (FIGS.  8  and  9 ), which, as described below, is provided for engaging one of the eyelets  28 - 54  of the shoe. The lacing device  80  includes a first lateral leg  84  and a second lateral leg  86 . The first and second lateral legs  84 ,  86  are disposed generally parallel to each other, and generally perpendicular to the shoe engaging portion  82 , forming a generally curved, right angle portion between the respective lateral legs,  84 ,  86  which generally parallels the shoe engaging portion  82 . 
     The lacing device  80  also includes a lace engaging portion  88 , which comprises that portion of the lacing device  80  that is disposed generally opposite to the shoe engaging portion  82 . The lace engaging portion  88  includes a reduced friction portion  90  through which the lace can move with a relatively reduced level of friction, to promote relatively free movement of the lace therethrough. 
     The device also includes a lace locking portion  92 , which is sized and positioned to snugly engage the lace, to impart a great deal of frictional resistance to the lace by “squeezing it” in the small space, thus making it difficult for the lace to move through the lace locking portion  92 . 
     The lacing device  90  includes a hairpin-shaped bent portion  94  which is disposed between the reduced friction portion  90  and lace locking portion  92 , and forms a part of each portion. The hairpin bent portion  94  includes a pair of parallel legs, each of which are generally parallel to the first and second lateral legs  84 ,  86 . 
     As will be noted, the device  80  has a shape somewhat similar to that of a mitten, wherein the lace locking portion  92  has a relatively smaller thickness, similar to the thumb of a mitten; and the reduced friction portion  90  has a relatively greater diameter (greater thickness), similar to the “fingers portion” of the mitten. Because of this relatively increased diameter of the reduced friction portion  90 , when compared to the lace locking portion  92 , the lace is less likely to become “squeezed” in this area, and should be able to be threaded and tightened with relative ease. Because of the preferably metal construction of the lacing device  80 , the surface of the device  80  are not likely to impart a large amount of frictional engagement with the lace. As will be described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 4, the positioning of both the reduced friction portion  90  and the lace locking portion  92  also aids in reducing the frictional engagement of the lace with the device. As is shown in FIG. 4, the device is designed so that the reduced friction portion  90  overhangs the tongue of the shoe, so that the lace is never sandwiched between the upper side of the tongue  26  and the underside of the instep flaps  22 ,  24 , thus eliminating the frictional engagement caused by this sandwiched arrangement. 
     Turning now to FIG. 7, an alternate embodiment lacing aid  96  is shown. Lacing aid  96  includes construction generally similar to lacing device  80 , as lacing device  96  comprises a bent or stamped wire curlicue that is formed into a generally endless ring or otherwise has two ends that overlap along the shoe engaging portion  98 . Lacing device  96  includes a shoe engaging portion  98  which serves a function generally similar to shoe engaging portion  82 . Shoe engaging portion  98  is generally the same size as shoe engaging portion  82 . The lacing device  96  shown in FIG. 7, similar to the lacing device  80  shown in FIG. 6, is drawn close to “actual size” of a preferred embodiment. In addition to the shoe engaging portion  98 , the lacing device  96  includes a first lateral leg  100  and a second lateral leg  102 , which are disposed generally parallel to each other, with both generally perpendicular to the shoe engaging portion  98 . Lacing device  97  also includes a lace engaging portion  104  having a reduced friction portion  106 , and a lace locking portion  108 . A coil portion  110  separates the reduced friction portion  106  from the lace locking portion  108 . 
     The coil portion  110  defines a wedge-shaped lace locking portion  108 , which is provided for securely gripping a lace that passes therethrough, and imparting to the lace a great deal of frictional engagement to help prevent the lace from slipping through the lace locking portion  92 . The reduced friction portion  90  has a generally greater width, which helps to foster relatively free movement of the lace therethrough. 
     A connecting means  118  is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 which is capable of connecting either of the lacing devices  80 ,  96  to a shoe. The connector means  118  includes an eyelet engaging member  120 , which is preferably a medial rivet, and a strap-like lacing aid engaging member  122 . The lacing aid engaging member  122  comprises a generally strap-like member having generally flat sides and rounded ends, including a first end  123  and a second end  125 . A first aperture  124  for receiving the shaft of the male rivet member  130  is formed at one end of the strap-like device engaging member  122 , and a second aperture  126  is formed at the second end of the device engaging member  122 . The eyelet engaging member  120  comprises a male, medial rivet member  130  having a head  121  which has a sufficient diameter so as to not be able to pass through aperture  124  and has a bulbous distal end for receiving, and securely engaging the female rivet member  134  when the bulbous head and shaft of the male rivet member  130  are inserted into the central orifice of the female rivet member  134 . 
     Turning now to FIG. 10, the assembled connector means  118  is shown as it is coupled to an eyelet. In FIG. 10, an eyelet, (which is defined by the grommet  32 , that is inserted through an aperture in the lateral flap member  22 ) is provided for receiving the connecting means  118 . The male member  130  of the medial rivet has its shaft inserted through the first aperture  124  of the lacing aid engaging member  122 , so that the upper surface of the lacing aid engaging member  122 , adjacent to first end  123  is placed adjacent to the underside surface of the head  121  of the male rivet member  130 . The lacing aid engaging member  122  is looped around, and is passed around the shoe engaging portion  82  of the lace aid  80  (numbered  150  in FIG.  4 ), to securely engage the lace aid to the device engaging member  122 , and hence the connector means  118 . The shaft portion of the male rivet member  130  is inserted through aperture  126  to complete the closed loop, to maintain the lace aid in engagement with the connector  118 . The male rivet member  130  is then inserted through the aperture defined by grommet  32 . The male rivet member  130  is further inserted through the central aperture of the female rivet member  134 , so that the lateral legs of the female rivet member  134  are placed axially inwardly of the bulbous head of the male member  130 , to retain the female rivet member  134  in position, and to retain the male rivet member  130  within the grommet  32 , and hence the eyelet. 
     When so positioned, the distal end of the bulbous head of the male rivet member  130  is placed adjacent to the upper surface of the tongue  26  of the boot, and the lace engaging portion  88 , including the reduced friction portion  90  of the lace aid numbered  150 , is positioned to overlay the upper surface of the tongue  26 , and to hang over the inner end  136  of the lateral flap  22 . 
     It will also be appreciated that the connecting means  118  shown and described above can be used as an “add on” connecting means for already existing skates having eyelets. However, standard connecting means, such as the connecting means used to fasten D-ring eyelets to footwear, can also be used to attach lacing aids of the invention to footwear manufactured “OEM” at the factory, without the need for designing them as retrofits. 
     Turning now to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 shows a boot top, similar to that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, where the lacing aids of the present invention have been used. As is shown in FIG. 4, the distal eyelets  28 ,  44  of both the lateral flap  22  and medial flap  24  do not have a lacing aid inserted therein. Lacing aids are frequently not necessary in the eyelet pair nearest the footwear toe because this portion of the footwear rarely requires tightening. However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a series of lacing aids numbered  148 ,  150 ,  152 ,  154  and  156  and accompanying connecting means  158 ,  160 ,  162 ,  164  and  166  are shown as being attached to the eyelets  28 - 38  of the lateral flap member  22 . It will be noted that each of the lacing devices  148 - 156  that are attached to lateral flap member  22  are the lacing devices of the embodiment first described above, and are generally mitten-shaped, with the “thumbs”  92  of the mittens being preferably disposed relatively closer to the top end of the boot  10 . Put another way, the reduced friction portions  90  are preferably disposed toward the toe at the boot. 
     Each of the lacing aids numbered  148 - 156  in FIG. 4 are generally identical to lacing aid  80  shown in FIG.  6 . Similarly, the connector means  158 - 166  shown in FIG. 4, are generally identical to connector means  118 , shown in FIGS. 8,  9  and  10 . 
     A second series of lacing aids numbered  170 ,  172 ,  173 ,  176  and  178  in FIG. 4 are shown as being attached by respective connector means  180 ,  182 ,  184 ,  186  and  188  to the eyelets  46 - 54  of the medial flap  24 . The lacing aids numbered  170 - 178  are generally similar to lacing aids  96  shown in FIG.  7 . 
     This illustration of a first embodiment of lacing aids  80  on the lateral flap  22 , and a second embodiment of lacing aids  96  on the medial flap  24 , is only a convenient illustration of the invention. In practice, it is likely that one would use a single embodiment of lacing aids in the footwear, for example, either all of the “mitten-shaped” lacing devices as shown in FIG. 6, or all of the “curlicue” lacing aids  96  shown in FIG. 7 on any one particular pair of footwear. However, nothing would prevent a user from mixing lacing devices in a manner like that shown in FIG.  4 . In addition, nothing would prevent a user from using a plurality of standard D-ring eyelets (for example, in place of lacings aids  148 ,  150 ,  152 ,  154 ,  170 ,  172 ,  174 ,  176 ) with only a pair of lacing aids of the invention (Such as lacing aids  156 ,  178 ). After tightening a lace through the plurality of D-ring eyelets, the lace can be maintained in its selected tightened condition by the lacing aids (e.g., lacing aids  156 ,  178 ). 
     The lacing devices  170 - 178  of the medial flap  24  are all positioned preferably so that their locking portions  108  are disposed relatively closer to the top end of the boot, and their reduced friction portions  106  are preferably disposed relatively closer to the toe. 
     The preferred use of the reduced friction portions  96 ,  106  closer to the toe of the boot, and the lace retaining portions  92 ,  108  closer to the top of the boot, aids in the lacing process, as will be described in more detail below with respect to FIG.  5 . 
     Turning now to FIG. 5, a skate boot  10  is shown wherein a lace  200  having a first end  202  and a second end  204 , and a middle  208  is laced up into, and extends through the various lacing aids  148 - 156 , and  170 - 178  of the present invention. 
     Comparing FIG. 5 to FIG. 3, the lacing configuration is generally similar, with the middle  208  of the lace  200  being placed between the two distal eyelets  28 ,  44 . The lace is then crisscrossed, so that a segment extends between eyelet  44  and lacing device  148 ; and similarly, a segment extends between eyelet  28  and lacing device  170 . The procedure by which the lace is passed through the eyelets is similar to that described above in connection with FIG.  3 . The laces are tightened with the tightening procedure beginning at the lacing aids  148 - 170  closest to the toe and proceeding up the boot to the topmost lacing aids  156 ,  178 . 
     When the boot is first laced up, the lace is positioned so that it is passed through the reduced friction portions  90 ,  106  of all of the lacing aids  148 - 156  and  170 - 178 . To tighten the boot, the user grasps the lace portions adjacent the lacing aids  148  and  170  and pulls the lace portions so the lace slides through the reduced friction portions  90 ,  106  and pulls the lacing aids and attached flaps toward each other, tightening the flaps of the footwear. While maintaining the tension on the lace, the user then moves the lace portions from the reduced friction portions  90 ,  106  of the lacing aids to the lace restraining portions  92 ,  108  so the lace and the footwear flaps are retained in their tightened positions by the lacing aids. The user may then move to the next pair of lacing aids  150 ,  172  and repeat the tightening procedure by grasping the lace portion adjacent the lacing aids  150 ,  172  and pulling the lace portions through the reduced friction portions  90 ,  106  to move the lacing aids  150 ,  172  and the attached flaps toward each other to a position of tightness, and then moving the lace portions from the reduced friction portions  90 ,  106  to the lace restraining portions  92 ,  108  to retain the tightness. 
     Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 4-7, a lacing aid of the invention can comprise a first portion, such a portion  90  of the lacing aid  80  of FIG.  6  and portion  106  of the lacing aid  96  of FIG. 7, that provides easy tightening of a lace, and a second portion, such as portion  92  of the lacing aid  80  of FIG.  6  and portion  108  of the lacing aid  96  of FIG. 7, that restrains a lace against movement and retains its tightened condition. As noted from FIGS. 6 and 7, lacing aids of the invention can comprise eyelets formed by bending a single piece of wire into contiguous first and second portions that cooperate to permit ease in lacing and tightening and maintenance of a selected degree of tension when so tightened. 
     FIGS. 11A through 11C illustrate a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, including a preferred bent wire lacing aid  210 . FIGS. 11B and 11C comprise enlarged views showing the formation of the ends of the wire. 
     The preferred lacing aid, as shown in FIG. 11A, comprises a first portion  211  that may be easily threaded and will impose little restriction to the relative movement of a lace and the lacing aid as a lace is tightened, and a second portion  212  into which a lace may be moved for engagement and restraint against movement. The lacing aid  210  may be formed from a single length of wire which is bent to form the first opening  211   a  by an outwardly extending leg  213  and a transversely but slightly inwardly extending leg  214  to form the first relatively friction-free lace engaging portion. The second lace restraining portion  212  is formed by bending the wire outwardly from the leg  214  in a further outwardly extending leg  215  and doubling the wire back at a sharp bend  216  to form an inwardly extending leg  217  that is substantially parallel to the outwardly extending leg  215  for a fraction of an inch to form a narrow channel  212   a  between the legs  215 ,  217 , at which a lace is clamped and retained. As shown in FIG. 11A, the ends of the wire  218  and  219  are bent inwardly toward each other on a substantially common central axis and form an axle so the lacing aid may be rotatably carried, as described further below. The ends of the wire  218 ,  219  are further provided with small disk-like terminals  218   a ,  219   a , preferably by cold-forming the wire ends. 
     The preferred lacing aid  210  may be formed with smooth wire of hardened steel, for example, 1060 annealed spring steel, aus tempered after forming (34-38 HRC), preferably having a diameter of about 1.8 mm. Legs  213  and  214  can provide an opening  211   a  with a height of about 6 to 8 mm., preferably about 7.1 mm., and a width of about 8 to 12 mm., preferably about 10 mm. (an open area of about 48 to 96 sq. mm., preferably about 70 sq. mm.). Legs  215  and  217  can form a channel  212   a  with a width of preferably about 0.7 mm. and a length of about 5 to about 7 mm. The cold-formed ends  218   a  and  219   a  provide at their outmost transverse surfaces, engagement surfaces for the connecting means illustrated in the FIGS. 13 that are transverse to the axis of rotation formed by ends  218 ,  219 . In the lacing aid of FIG. 11A, the outermost transverse surfaces are spaced a distance  220  of about 2 to 3 mm., preferably about 2.5 mm., and the ends  218   a  and  219   a  can be separated a distance  221  of about 0.3 mm., as shown in FIG.  11 B. As shown in FIG. 11C, the ends  218   a  and  219   a  are offset at about 45 degrees by a small distance  222 , for example, about 2 mm. The cold-formed ends prevent the lacing aid  210  from separating from the connecting means in use. 
     The preferred lacing aid  210  of FIGS. 11A-11C differs from lacing aid  80  of FIG. 6 primarily by its departure from the mitten-like appearance of lacing aid  80  in that its second lace-restraining portion  212  extends outwardly from its first open portion  211  rather than lying adjacent to it as the first and second portions  90  and  92  lie in lacing aid  80  of FIG.  6 . Lacing aids of the invention may take still other forms as illustrated by FIGS. 12A-12E. In the lacing aid  240  of FIG. 12A, the second lace restraining portion  242  extends outwardly from the central portion of the first open portion  244  in a T-like shape, and in the lacing aids  250 ,  260  and  270  of FIGS. 12B,  12 C and  12 D, respectively, their respective lace restraining portions,  252 ,  262  and  272 , respectively, extend outwardly and slightly angularly from their respective open portions  254 ,  264  and  274  in a comma-like shape. In the lacing aid  280  of FIG. 12E, the second lace restraining portion  282  is formed by a hook-like portion  282  forming a channel  283  that does not open into its first open portion  284 . In using the lacing aid  280 , a lace is moved into channel  283  and under hook-like portion  282  after it is tightened, as indicated by FIG.  12 F. 
     FIGS. 13A through 13H illustrate a preferred connecting means, or substrate-engaging means,  300  for the attachment of lacing aids of the invention, and other eyelet-forming means such as standard D-rings, to elements to be laced together. FIGS. 13A and 13B are a pair of perspective views of the connecting means  210  and FIG. 13C is a plan view of a stamped sheet  300   a  from which the connecting means  300  is formed. FIG. 13D is a view above the connecting means  300 ; FIG. 13E is a view from the side of connecting means  300 ; FIG. 13F is a view from below the connecting means  300 ; FIG. 13G is a cross-sectional view of the connecting means  300  taken at a vertical plane through line  13 G— 13 G of FIG. 13D; and FIG. 13H is an enlarged detail view of the eyelet-engaging portion of the connecting means  300 . FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a connecting means  300  assembled with a lacing aid  210 . 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 13A, B, D-H, the connecting means, or substrate-engaging means,  300  comprises a U-shaped element formed from thin sheet steel  300   a  (FIG. 13C) with a pair of legs  301 ,  302  extending outwardly from a U-junction  303 , a small U-shaped bend  304  extends upwardly from and across one of the legs  301  as shown, and the distal ends  301   a ,  302   a  of legs  301 ,  302  provide a pair of mating fasteners. (See FIG. 14.) Preferably, a threaded screw  305  is carried by leg  301  and a complimentary opening  302   b  is formed in leg  302  with threads  302   d  to receive the threaded portion of screw  305 . In addition, the edge portions  301   b ,  301   c  of leg  301  are formed to provide a stop by projections  301   d  and  301   e  and a detent by notch portions  301   f  and  301   g . When the connecting means  300  is assembled with an eyelet element, such as a lacing aid  210 , shown in FIG. 14, the side portions of the eyelet (e.g., legs  213  and  217  of lacing aid  210 ) engage the notch portions  301   f  and  301   g  and the eyelet is held to extend upwardly away from the connecting means  300  as shown in FIG.  14 . Edge portions  301   b ,  301   c  prevent the eyelet from lying adjacent leg  301 . 
     The connecting means  300  of FIGS. 13A-13H is formed from thin stamped sheet metal  300   a , for example, 1050 spring steel which is about 0.5 mm. thick and aus tempered (34-38HR). The end  301   a  is punched to form a hole  301   h  and a tab  301   j  that deforms to engage and retain screw  305  in leg  301 . End  302   a  is punched to form a hole  302   b  and deformed, as at  302   c , to provide a thread-engaging surface  302   d  for screw  305 . In addition, the sheet metal form  300   a  is stamped centrally (in the area to form the U-shaped bend  304 ) to provide an opening  307  to receive the disk-like terminations  218   a  and  219   a  upon assembly of the lacing aid  210  in the connecting means  300 . The edge portions  301   b ,  301   c  of the form  300   a  are stamped to form the stop projections  301   d ,  301   e  and the adjacent notch portions  301   f ,  301   g  where the U-shaped bend  304  will be formed. The form  300   a  is bent to form the U-shaped connecting means  300  with legs  301  and  302  extending outwardly from U-junction  303 . In addition, the U-shaped bend  304  is formed to provide an upwardly extending sleeve  304   a  that is sized to engage the straight axle-like portions  218 - 219  with a snap-fit into the U-shaped bend  304  and to rotatably retain the lacing aid  210  therein by the resilience of its metal. As indicated by FIG. 13H, the U-shaped bend may be gradually thinned over about 234 degrees, with a minimum thickness  304   d  of about 0.2-0.3 mm. Assembly of a lacing aid  210  into the connecting means  300  is indicated by FIG. 14 wherein the axle-like portions  218 ,  219  of the lacing aid  210  have been inserted between legs  301 ,  302  of the U-shaped element  300  and positioned with its disk-like elements  218   a ,  219   a  adjacent opening  307  and is pressed upwardly into snap-fit engagement with the U-shaped bend  304 , which rotatably retains the lacing aid  210  and the connecting means  300  in an assembly usable to fasten the lacing aid to a substrate, such as the instep flaps of footwear. As indicated in FIG. 14, the sides  213  and  217  of the lacing aid  210  will engage the notch portions  301   f ,  301   g  of the connecting means  300 , and the lacing aid  210  will be retained in an upright position so that opening  211   a  may be easily threaded with a lace. 
     The stamped form  300   a  from which connecting means  300  is formed is 1050 spring steel, aus temper (34-38 HRC) as indicated above, with a width of preferably about 7.6 mm to about 8.6 mm and a length of about 44 mm. the form  300   a  is provided with an opening  307  having a width  301   w  of about 3.5 mm and a length of about 5.5 mm. The sides of form  300   a  are formed with a pair of projections  301   d ,  301   e  that extend outwardly from the sides of form  300   a  adjacent hole  307  a distance of about 1.3 mm. and a further pair of projections  301   k ,  301   l  that extend outwardly from the sides of form  300   a  adjacent hole  307  a distance of about 0.9 mm. Notch-like detent surfaces  301   f  and  301   g  are formed between projections  301   d  and  301   k  and  301   g  and  301   l , respectively. Preferably, projections  301   d  and  301   e  are formed with radii of about 0.8 mm; projections  301   k  and  301   l  are formed with radii of about 0.6 mm; and detent surfaces  301   f  and  301   g  are formed with radii of about 0.9 mm. The opening  301   h  has a radius for carrying flat head 6-32 machine screw  305 , e.g., about 1.8 mm, but the tab  301   j  terminates at a distance  301   n  of about 3.2 mm and can thus engage and retain a 6-32 machine screw in hole  301   h . The centers of openings  302   b  and  301   h  are separated a distance of about 35.2 mm, and hole  307  extends from a distance of about 17.5 mm from the center of hole  302   b  to a distance of about 26.5 mm from the center of hole  302   b . Hole  302   b  is pierced into a deformation  302   c  which is threaded to receive a 6-32 machine screw. Form  300   a  is bent at the U-junction  303  to provide a spacing of about 4.4 mm between legs  301  and  302  at U-junction  303 , and leg  301  preferably extends upwardly and slightly away from parallel to leg  302  by a small angle, such as 7.5 degrees. Leg  301  is further bent to form sleeve-like portion  304  with an inner radius  304   a  of about 1 mm over an angle  304   b  of about 234 degrees and an opening  304   c  into the sleeve having a width of about 1.8 mm. Leg  301  may be further bent to form an offset  301   n  between the sleeve portion  304  and its distal end  301   a.    
     An assembly, including a lacing aid  210 , or standard D-ring, may be easily fastened to footwear by sliding the open ends  301   a ,  302   a  of the U-shaped element  300  over the inside edge of one of the flaps  22 ,  24  (shown in FIG. 2) forming a shoe opening, inserting the shank of the threaded screw  305  through one of the eyelets  28 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  38 ,  40 ,  44 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and tightening it into the thread-receiving portion to fasten the lacing aid to the shoe flap. Such a connecting means  300  when attached to a footwear flap with a lacing aid  210  of the invention, or with a standard D-ring, holds the lacing aid or D-ring outwardly from the footwear so it may be easily threaded and laced, prevents twisting of the connecting means as a lace is tightened and aids in preventing the screw from working loose. 
     The invention thus provides an inexpensive lacing aid and an inexpensive method of forming such a lacing aid by the use of a single piece of wire, by bending the wire to form a first open loop or eyelet and a second contiguous clip-like portion. In addition, the method provides a convenient, inexpensive means for connecting such a lacing aid or other eyelet-forming means to footwear by the formation of the thin sheet strip bent to provide a U-shaped element with one of the legs of the U-shaped element being further bent to provide a sleeve sized to rotatably capture a wire-formed lacing aid and being stamped to releasably locate such a lacing aid for easy lacing. 
     Although the preferred lacing aid may be formed in one piece from a wire, less preferred lacing aids of the invention may be formed by other means. FIG. 15 illustrates an alternate embodiment  310  in the form of an eyelet having a first portion  311  forming an opening and a second lace-restraining portion  312  formed by a thickened portion of the eyelet which has been channeled to provide edge surfaces to frictionally engage a lace  308 . As illustrated at the left of FIG. 15, a lace can be threaded through the open portion  311  of the eyelet, and after the lace is tightened or adjusted, the lace can be inserted into the channeled portion  312  and engaged with the restraining edge surfaces. FIG. 16 illustrates a lacing aid of the invention with a moving part. The lacing aid  320  of FIG. 16 is formed from a thin sheet bent into a “V” and includes a first portion  322 , forming an opening  324  through which a lace  328  is threaded and a second lace-restraining portion  326 , which in combination with the first portion  322  forms a clamp for the lace  328 . As indicated in the lower portion of FIG. 14, as the end  328   a  of lace  328  is tightened, lace  328  bears downwardly on the first portion  322  and clamps the lace  328  between the first and second portions  322 ,  326 . 
     FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate a further lacing aid  330  of the invention with a moving part. The lacing aid  330  includes a first portion  331  forming an eyelet, such as a standard D-ring and a second portion  332  forming a lace-restraining portion, which in combination with the first portion  331  restrains a lace  335  from movement after it is tightened. As indicated by FIG. 17B, as lace  335  is tightened, it pulls the first portion  331  downwardly against the second portion  332  forcing the lace into engagement with one or more lace-restraining edges  332   a . FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate a still further lacing aid  340  of the invention with a moving part. The lacing aid  340  includes a first portion  341  forming an eyelet and a second part  342  forming a lace-restraining portion which, in combination with the first part  341 , restrains a lace  345  from movement after it is tightened. As indicated in FIGS. 18A and 18B, the second portion  342  is split frustoconical inner part which moves in a mating frustoconical eyelet-forming means  341 , and, as shown in FIG. 18A, as a lace is being tightened, part  342  is moved upwardly so it does not interfere with the tightening movement of the lace  345 , but part  342  is moved into engagement with part  341  if the lace  345  tries to move backwardly (in the direction of the arrow) and part  342  is squeezed downwardly and inwardly into engagement with the lace  345  where its lace-engaging edges  342   a  bites into the lace, restraining it from movement. 
     The lacing device of the present invention provides several advantages, over prior art. Such lacing aids permit any two elements connected by a lace to be laced together easily with a selective tightness that is easily maintained. 
     For example, one advantage of the present invention is that the lacing aid can be fitted to skates and boots. The lacing aid can be designed as original equipment, that is, manufactured, for example, as part of the skating boot or, alternately, can be provided as a retrofit part which is designed to engage existing eyelets of skates and boots. 
     Another advantage of the present invention is that it permits less effort to be used to tighten footwear than prior known lace engaging systems, such as eyelets. According to one test run by the applicants, the lacing aid of FIG. 6 requires up to 60 percent less effort to achieve a certain tightness, when compared to conventional round eyelet-only systems. This advantage enables some persons who are unable to sufficiently tighten their footwear, without help, to do so without requiring assistance. This is especially advantageous to young children and their parents. 
     An important advantage is that the lace-restraining portion of lacing aids of the invention helps to prevent a lace from sliding backwardly from a desired tightened condition, and thus loosening up the tightened elements. The invention enables a user to better customize the tightening of a boot or skate by applying and maintaining a desired tension at each portion of the footwear flaps. This enables the user to tighten some footwear portions more tightly and maintain the desired tightness, but to allow other footwear portions to be more loose. The invention will also enable a user to lace and unlace their skates more quickly by placement of the lace into the reduced friction portions of the lacing aids. 
     While the preferred embodiment of the lacing aid is formed by a bent single length of wire, lacing aids of the invention may be formed by other methods such as stamping, die casting and the like. In addition, while lacing aids of the invention may be provided with the connecting means described above for attachment to elements such as the instep flaps of existing footwear, lacing aids of the invention may be attached to elements by existing means, such as the connecting means currently in use to attach standard D-ring eyelets to footwear. 
     While we have described the presently preferred embodiment and a number of alternative embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that other forms and embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the scope of the following claims.