Abstract: A shoe securement apparatus for a shoe employing a lace having opposite ends to interconnect two sides of the shoe. The apparatus includes a fastener plug attached to each of the opposite ends of the lace, a guide formed on each side of the shoe for engaging and directing the lace and a channel formed on each side of the shoe for receiving one end of the lace and its fastener plug. The fastener plug is forcibly engageable with the channel to secure the lace in the channel with the fastener plug being formed of a soft, flexible material such as a polymer. In one embodiment of the invention, the guide in an inclined groove and in another embodiment of the invention the guide is a knob with a curved wall which engages the lace. In yet another embodiment of the invention the lace is formed of a soft, flexible material such as a polymer.

Abstract: Laces are secured through a shoe by a plurality of guides and indentations along the ankle portion of the shoe to tighten and take up slack of a shoelace which includes mating material attached to the ends and which is secured to a shoe by mating surfaces formed of interlocking bristle-like material, such as a hook and loop arrangement.

Abstract: A solid state electronic system for producing a variable time delayed echo signal from a source of electro-audio input signals including circuitry for reducing noise. For low level signal operation, the system has means for varying the internal reference to thereby require twice as many digital bits to correspond to a given analog signal input amplitude thereby doubling the resolution when operating in said low signal mode.