Patent ID: 6871423

Claim:
In combination, a shoe, and a lacing system incorporated into the shoe, (a) said shoe comprising (i) a shoe body ( 12 ), (ii) a left side ( 14 ) and a right side ( 16 ), (iii) an aperture ( 18 ) for inserting a wearer's foot therethrough for putting the shoe on and taking the shoe off, (iv) an elongate expansion opening ( 20 ) having a distal end ( 22 ) in communication with the aperture, left ( 24 ) and right ( 26 ) sides of the expansion opening being defined by left ( 28 ) and right ( 30 ) edges of respective left and right upper sides of the shoe body, and (v) a plurality of eyelets ( 36 ) being arrayed along the left and right upper sides of the shoe body, adjacent the left ( 28 ) and right ( 30 ) edges of the expansion opening ( 20 ), including terminal eyelets ( 38 ) adjacent the distal end of the expansion opening and next adjacent eyelets ( 40 ) next adjacent the terminal eyelets ( 38 ), the terminal eyelets ( 38 ) and the next adjacent eyelets ( 40 ) being those eyelets closest to the distal end ( 22 ) of the expansion opening and which are used for lacing purposes; (b) the lacing system comprising (vi) first and second lacing elements ( 44 , 46 ), including respective first and second lacing ends ( 48 , 50 ), laced through the eyelets ( 36 ) along the left and right upper sides of the shoe body ( 12 ), said first ( 44 ) and second ( 46 ) lacing elements being secured with respect to the shoe body ( 12 ) such that the respective lacing elements 44 , 46 cannot, in routine lacing use, be removed from the shoe body ( 12 ), the first and second lacing elements defining first ( 52 ) and second ( 54 ) lacing loops, the first and second lacing loops being threaded through a clasp ( 78 , 278 ) along respective first and second different threading paths, with first and second loop ends ( 116 ) emerging from the clasp ( 78 , 278 ), each loop having a first loop element extending between the clasp and a first one of the eyelets, and a second loop element extending between the clasp and the shoe body or a second one of the eyelets, the first and second loops passing through the clasp along paths according to which pulling the first and second loop ends in first and second different directions draws portions of the loop elements through the clasp.