LACE FASTENER
The present invention is a lace fastening device that can be attached to items requiring the use of laces that firmly ties the laces of the said item. The fastening device comprises; a housing base (3), a gripping plate (1); a central aperture (3A), into which both free ends of the lace are threaded to penetrate through; a gap spacer (2) (optional); a safety strap (7); and a pair of lace clips (4) that retains the free ends of the lace. The gripping plate (1) having serrations (1A) allows for sliding the lace when the lace is pulled along the lateral slots and, prevents the lace from sliding back towards the central aperture (3A) when the lace is released. Therefore, the device gives the user greater ease, speed and convenience in fastening and undoing laces on the said items.
The present invention relates to lace fastening devices, and more particularly to a knotless lace-fastening device, which is attached to a lace so as to firmly maintain the tied state of the lace on items such as footwear, bags, garments, packages, sports equipment, etc.
BACKGROUND ARTFor the purpose of explaining the lace fastening device in accordance with the present invention and not limiting the scope of the present invention, an ideal example will be a footwear using lace.
Generally, most footwear, which uses lace, threaded through eyelets of a footwear, are designed to enable a wearer to adjust the lace to a tightening degree that retain the footwear in place on the feet of the wearer.
However, the shoelace-type footwear has several disadvantages for people with learning disabilities or physical disabilities, such as, arthritis or difficulty tying or untying the shoelace whenever putting on or taking off the footwear, which are commonly experience by young children and the elderly. There are also the possibilities of tripping caused by the shoelace becoming inadvertently loosened and untied while walking.
Various related devices have come into the market to address this problem. However, most devices do not conveniently allow for easy adjustment of the shoelaces of the footwear to be tightened or loosened, as well as, the inconvenience of the footwear to gradually loosen while walking. There are also devices having multiple parts, which are not user friendly, as well as, the high manufacturing costs and relatively poor durability. While fasteners made of VELCRO have the disadvantages of its weak gripping capability and strength that further decline after repeated usage and laundering.
Therefore, in view of the inconvenience of tying a shoelace, it would be desirable to have an inexpensive, durable, user friendly and easy to use device for tightening and loosening laces.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTIONTherefore, the present invention has been designed to resolve the above-mentioned problems, and it is a product that functions as a lace fastening device which can easily accommodate any type of lace, be it thick or thin, round or flat. At the same time the present invention enables the lace to be easily and rapidly fasten and unfasten when putting on and taking off one's footwear.
The present invention aims to prevent a lace from becoming inadvertently loosened and untied while being fasten to the footwear. It also enables both hanging ends of the lace to be secured after fastening and neatly clipped.
In relation with the present invention, the suitable form of releasable and fastening means can be accomplished by the provision of a lace fastening devise comprising: a housing (consist of the gripping plate attached to the housing base) having an aperture into which both free ends of the lace are threaded to penetrate through, a gap spacer (optional), a safety strap that also stabilises the housing, and a pair of lace clips to retain the free ends of the lace. The housing in which both free ends of the lace, penetrating through the lace aperture, is pulled to tighten the footwear, has lateral slots acting as guide members for the lace with one side of the gripping plate surface having serrations with low friction surfaces to facilitate sliding of the lace when the lace is pulled within the lateral slots, whereas, when the lace is released after being pulled, the serrations, which are designed to give a high friction grip, prevent the lace from sliding back towards the central aperture, which is justified by the alignment of the plate aperture and central aperture.
Preferably, the pair of lateral slots that also function as lace passages to be obliquely designed as a space defined between an upper surface and a lower surface of the housing, respectively, the inclined serrations may be obliquely positioned as the upper surface, while the smooth lower surface is positioned horizontally flat, thereby causing the lateral slots to be narrow inwardly or wider outwardly, forcing the lace to move inward to the narrower space and being secured by the gripping actions of the serrations after tightening the lace onto the footwear.
Preferably, the safety leash may be made out of fabric, which is adjustable, attachable and detachable to the housing and the footwear, that include a metal chain at one end of the leash.
Preferably, the lace-fastening device may further comprise a pair of lace clips to be use with the housing, which both hanging ends of the lace are fitted and secured. The lace clips may be mounted on the footwear or the said items by means of sewing or gluing or both. The lace clips may have a hole on each three ends of its base to allow for sewing means.
This invention may further provide an effective and convenient alternative to known devices for fastening laces or the like on footwear, bags, garments, packages, sports equipment, etc. The present invention, comprising of three triangular durable members, which consist of; a housing as the main component for fastening and releasing of lace; a pair of lace clips as sub-components, will function as clips for attaching the loose ends of the lace to the footwear or said items. The housing will be attached to the footwear via a safety leash as illustrated in
The following drawings with the accompanying detailed descriptions will further clarify the practicality of the above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present inventions:
To best describe the invention and its component parts, reference to examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings will now be made in detail. Application of the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive to the scope of the present invention, and limited only by the appended claims. The lace fastening device in accordance to the present invention will be explained with reference to
The lace fastening device, which comprises of the following enumerate components; gripping plate (1), gap spacer (2), housing base (3), lace-clip device (4), screw (5), strap chain (6) and safety strap (7).
Shown in
Although the housing base (3) and the lace-clip device (4) has a triangular plan shape in the embodiment shown in
In the component parts of
In restricting the movement of the housing base (3) and the attached gripping plate (1) from rotating either to the left or to the right, while the lace (9) is being pulled to tighten the lace fastening device to the footwear (8), the safety strap (7) which is detachable from the footwear, is secured to the housing base (3) and the footwear (8) (refer to
Considering that once the lace have been tighten, both free hanging ends would need to be secured to the footwear. Therefore, a pair of lace-clip device (4) is to be used as part of the lace fastening device. As illustrated in
- 1. The two loose ends of the lace are threaded through the central aperture (3A) and the plate aperture (1B).
- 2. The lace is then pulled horizontally above the gripping plate (1) towards direction A, until reaching the optimal tightness.
- 3. Both ends of the tensioned lace are then swivel to direction B, while still maintaining the optimal tightness of the lace.
- 4. The lace in tension is then guided through the cap slit (1D) and is pull towards direction A, through the lace passage defined by the gap between the gripping plate (1) and the housing base (3).
- 5. Once the two loose ends of the lace have been pulled to the optimal tightness, they are then release to allow the serration member (1A) to naturally grip and secure the tightness of the lace onto the footwear.
- 6. The loose ends of the lace are then retained by the lace-clip device (4), through insertion in between the ridge (4C) and tooth (4B) of the head (4F) and base (4E), respectively.
- 1. The loose ends of the lace are pulled off from the retaining grip of the lace-clip device (4).
- 2. Both loose ends of the lace are then pulled slightly towards direction A to release the lace from its current locked condition.
- 3. While still maintaining the tensions of the lace, both ends of the lace are then swivel towards direction B at the same time to be parallel to each other.
- 4. Once both ends are align with the plate slit (1D), they are then raise vertically towards direction C, passing through the plate slit (1D) and entering the plate aperture (1B). Both free ends of the lace can now be loosen or taken off from the housing base (3).
When fastening or loosening the device to or from the footwear, it is advisable to hold the lace close to the housing base while pulling or guiding the lace.
Thus, the lace fastening device which is symmetrical on both left and right side will be fashionable, user friendly and provide an even tension when the lace is pulled to tighten. Also the housing of the present invention can be detached from or attached to the footwear or said items at the user's preference.
Claims
1. A knotless lace-fastening device or the like, comprising; a gripping plate, having serrations with high friction surfaces to secure free movement of the lace when released after being pulled for tightening; a gap spacer, which is optional for use with thicker lace; a housing base, into which both free ends of the lace are threaded to penetrate through the central aperture and plate aperture; a pair of lace-clip device, for retaining the free ends of the lace after tightening the lace to the footwear or the said items; screws, for securing the gripping plate and the gap spacer to the housing base; a strap chain; and a safety strap, which is used to restrict the free rotation of the fastening device, while securing it to the footwear or the said items.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the material of the said present invention can be of plastic, wood or metal.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said housing base has a central aperture for both free ends of the lace to be threaded through.
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the lace when pulled after both it's free ends have been threaded through said central aperture; slides through the lace passage define by the spacing in between the gripping plate and the housing base.
5. The device according to claim 4, wherein said gripping plate has angled serrations on one surface for gripping the lace into a lock position.
6. The device according to claim 4, wherein said lace passage can be widen with the option of including the said gap spacer when a thicker lace is being used with the present invention.
7. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a safety strap, which attached the housing base to the footwear or the said items.
8. The device according to claim 1, wherein said lace-clip device comprising a head and a base, is use for clipping the free ends of the lace after fastening the present invention to the said items.
9. The device according to claim 8, further comprising a ridge moulded below the head and a pair of tooth moulded on top of the base, which restrain the free ends of the lace from involuntarily release from the slit between the head and base.
10. The device according to claim 8 and claim 9, further comprising three apertures for sewing at each corner of the base, and an aperture groove formed into the head.
11. The device according to claim 8 to claim 10, wherein the pair of said lace-clip device are attached to the said items by means of sewing or gluing or both and are separate from the fastening device.
12. A lace fastener substantially as herein described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 23 of the accompanying drawings.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 22, 2008
Publication Date: May 13, 2010
Inventor: Yew Jin Fong (Victoria)
Application Number: 12/450,915
International Classification: A43C 7/00 (20060101);