US3193950A - Fastening means for shoe laces - Google Patents

Description

July 13, 1965 SHU-LIEN LIOU FASTENING MEANS FOR SHOE LACES Filed March 26; 1963 INVENTOR. SHU- LIEN L|OU 3,193,950 FASTENING MEANS 1 R SHOE LACES Shir-Lien Lion, Tsushan-tsen, Nantao-hsien, Taiwan (Formosa), China (195 Chungking N. Road, Sec. 3, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China) Filed Mar. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 268,082

, 1 Claim. Cl. fad-5%) This application relates generally to wearing apparel and to equipment for quickly and easily applying and removing such apparel with a minimum of effort and in a minimum of time.

The application relates particularly to the applying and removing of shoes or the like and to a method and apparatus for applying and releasing the tension on the shoe laces without the necessity of untying such shoe laces.

Heretofore various means for fastening shoes have been in use and these have included shoe laces, buttons, zippers, buckles and the like, and of these the shoe lace has been the most commonly used even though it has been necessary to untie shoe laces each time the shoe is removed and to retie the laces when the shoes are again put on.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus which is used in cooperation with shoe laces and which permits the shoes to be quickly and easily applied and removed from the feet without the necessity of untying the shoe laces.

Another object of the invention is to provide shoe laces which give added support to the ankles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method wheerin the shoe laces are tied at the lower portion of the tying flap of the shoe instead of the top.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of an athletic type shoe illustrating one embodiment of the invention in an open position;

FIG. 2, an enlarged fragmentary top plan illustrating the shoe of FIG. 1 in closed position;

FIG. 3, a perspective of the fastening device per se;

FIG. 4, a perspective illustrating the fastening device applied to a work style shoe;

FIG. 5, a perspective illustrating the invention applied to a boot type shoe;

FIG. 6, a perspective illustrating the application of th invention to a low-cut athletic shoe;

FIG. 7, a perspective of a modified form of fastening device in use;

FIG. 8, a perspective of the fastening device of FIG. 7; and,

FIG. 9, a perspective of a shoe utilizing the fastener of FIG. 7.

Briefly stated the present invention is a method and apparatus for use on shoes having shoe laces and includes a clip or other fastening device which permits such shoe laces to be quickly tightened and released to allow rapid application and removal of the shoes without untying the shoe laces. The preferred form of the invention is a relatively small clip adapted to be attached to a loop in the shoe lace and which has a hook portion for releasably engaging a loop on the opposite side of the shoe.

With continued reference to the drawing, a shoe 10 is provided having a tongue 11 and a pair of flaps 12 and 13 which normally overlie the tongue and which are connected by a shoe lace 14 received within a series of eyelets 15 in each of the flaps 12 and 13 to close the front portion of the shoe. The shoe laces may be constructed of any convenient material such as woven fabric, leather, plastic or the like, and if desired may have metal tips or fer-rules 16 on each end to assist in threading the shoe laces through the eyelets 15.

3,l93,95 Patented July 13, 1965 Normally the central portion of the shoe laces connects the bottom of the flaps 12 and 13 and the shoe lace i then crossed back and forth between such flaps and the free ends are located at the top of the shoe so that when the shoe lace is tightened the flaps 12 and 13 will be closed over the tongue 11 and the ends of the shoe laceare tied in a bow to secure the shoe on the foot of the wearer.

In the present application the central portion of the shoe lace is disposed at the top portion of the flaps 12 and 13 and one or more loops 17 are formed in the shoe lace by passing such shoe lace from the inside of an eyelet on one of the flaps to the outside thereof and back in through the next lower eyelet in the same flap. If desired, the shoe lace may then crisscross to the opposite side and additional loops may be formed in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4; or, as illustrated in FIG. 5, additional loops may be formed on the same flap without crisscrossing the ends of the shoe lace. The free ends of the shoe lace are then joined at the bottom front portion of the flaps 12 and 13 and may be secured together by a bow or knot 18.

The loops 17 which have been formed in one of the flaps are adapted to be connected to the corresponding loops in the opposite flap and in order to do this a clip 20 is slidably attached to one of the loops by an eye 21. The eye 21 is formed with an arc 22 so that the shoe lace 14 will not engage a sharp corner which would eventually sever the shoe lace. The opposite end of the clip 2t) is provided with a hook 23, the bight portion of which has an arcuate portion 24 adapted to engage the loop 17 of the opposite flap.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, clips 20 are applied to the loops 17 of the flap 13 and when the shoe 10 is applied to the foot of the wearer the loops 17 of the flap 12 are engaged by the hook 23, as illustrated in FIG. 2, to close the flaps 12 and 13. When it is desired to remove the shoe it is only necessary to remove the loops of the flap '12 from the hook portion of the clips 20 whereupon the loops will provide sufficient slack to easily remove the shoe from the foot without the necessity of untying the ends of the shoe lace.

Relatively tall high-cut shoes which project upwardly about the ankle of the wearer may have an additional eyelet 26 located adjacent to the top of the shoe and in spaced relation to the uppermost of the eyelets 15 so that the shoe lace 14 may extend around the upper portion of the shoe and give added support to the ankle of the wearer.

With reference to FIGS. 7-9 a shoe 30 is provided having flaps 31 and 32 and each of said flaps has a series of eyelets 33 for the reception of a shoe lace 34. In this modification the flap 32 is provided with one or m re projections 35 on which a button 36 having a stem 37 is fixed. The shoe lace 34 is provided with loops 38 as described in the previous modification, and in order to tighten the shoe lace after the shoe has been applied to the foot of the wearer, the loops 38 of the flap 31 are first placed around the stem 37 of the button 36, after which the loops 38 of the flap 32 are placed about the same stern.

In the use of the device when the shoe is applied to the foot of the wearer the loops 17 or 38 are drawn through the eyelets to tighten the shoe laces and draw the flaps toward each other, and such loops are then engaged with the clips 2% or the stems 37 to maintain the shoe laces tight. When it is desired to remove the shoe it is only necessary to disconnect the loops from the attaching members and the loops will provide sufiicient slack to permit the shoe to be easily removed without untying the shoe laces.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing ing and described in the specification, but only tion is not limited by that which is illustrated in the draw,- as indicated in the accompanying claim. g

What is claimed is a 2 a 1 Apparatus for fastening a shoe having a'pair of spaced generally parallel flaps connected 'by a shoe lace having opposed loops, saidapparatu's comprising a clip having a thin relatively small body, an integral tubular eye aton end of said body, said eye extending entirely across said body and being formed on a transverse arc, said eye-being slidably mountedon one loop of one of said flaps with-' I out cutting the same, an integral hook at the -opposite a tang, said big-ht portion extending entirely across said body and being'formed on a transverse are, said light portion being of a size to selectively receive an opposed loop on the other flap without cutting the same,v.said tang overlying said body and having a portion extending to- .ward said body and terminating in an upwardly curved portion to facilitate insertion of the shoe lace, said hook and said eye being substantially in the same plane when in use, whereby said fi-aps will be in close generally parallel position and the shoe laces will bettight when the apparatus. is connecting opposed loops of the shoe lace and will provide sufficient slack to remove the shoe from the foot of the wearer when the hook is'detached trorn one of the loops. i I n References (Zited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS, W 146,913 1/74 Keith 24-140 21,469,661 10/23 Migita 24-140 1,995,243 3/352 -Clarke 24-140 2,109,751 3/38 Matthias r al. -7 36-'-50X 2,266,083 :12/41 Rzepaf. 24- -1411 2;611,940 9/52 Cairns 24-140 7 2 V FOREIGN PATENTS 525,166 1/54 Belgium. r 173 ,099 1/05 Germany.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

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