TIGHTENING DEVICE FOR SIMPLIFYING THE TIGHTENING AND LOOSENING OF SHOE LACES
There is provided a tightening device for tightening a plurality of lace sections on a shoe. The tightening device includes an elongate member having means for engaging with the plurality of lace sections. The tightening device includes a retaining means for rotatably retaining the elongate member and for interposing between the plurality of lace sections and the shoe. The tightening device includes a lever extending from the elongate member for rotating the elongate member from a first position where the plurality of lace sections are slidably engageable with the elongate member to a second position where the lever causes the plurality of lace sections to fixedly engage around the elongate member and thereby tighten the plurality of lace sections on the shoe. The lever is connectable to the retaining means when the elongate member is in the second position.
This application claims the benefit of provisional application 61/029,791 filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 19, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference and priority to which is claimed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. section 120.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a tightening, locking & loosening device. More particularly, it relates to a tightening, locking & loosening device for simplifying the tightening and loosening of shoe laces.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTIt is known to employ a device for tightening one's shoes. For example U.S. Pat. No. 2,611,940 to Cairns illustrates a circular knob with a slot that is placed between two lace sections. The knob is then rotated like a spool to wrap the lace sections therearound and thereby tighten the shoe. However the device of Cairns may require a high degree of dexterity to be able to grip and rotate the relatively small circular knob. Also the device of Cairns may require a high degree of force to actuate the knob in order to tighten the shoe.
European Publication No. FI107874B to Matias illustrates a tightening and locking arrangement for shoe laces. The device of Matias teaches the use of a device that has many parts through which the lace must be carefully woven. A lever that actuates from the top face of the shoe towards the bottom face is employed to pull laces together. Because the device of Matias has many parts, it is likely more expensive to manufacture. Also, the degree of weaving of the lace means that the device requires a relatively high degree of dexterity to employ.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,323 to Dickie et al. illustrates a positive lace zone isolation lock system and method. The device of Dickie is placed between two lace sections and a lever is used to clamp down on these sections. However the device of Dickie merely holds any tension between the laces—it does not act to positively tighten the shoe as a whole. The lever is relatively small, and thus the device of Dickie may require a high degree of dexterity. Also, the device and lever of Dickie are in close proximity to the lace. As a result, the operation of the device in Dickie may lead to the user inadvertently touching various parts of the lace, which may be unhygienic.
Accordingly there is a need for an improved shoe tightening device for tightening, locking & loosening that overcomes the above disadvantages.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTIONAn object of the present invention is to provide an improved tightening device for simplifying the tightening and loosening of shoes that overcomes the above disadvantages.
More particularly, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a tightening device for tightening a plurality of lace sections on a shoe. The tightening device includes an elongate member having means for engaging the plurality of lace sections. There is a retaining means for rotatably retaining the elongate member and for interposing between the plurality of lace sections and the shoe. A lever extends from the elongate member for rotating the elongate member from a first position where the plurality of lace sections are slidably engageable with the elongate member to a second position where the lever causes the plurality of lace sections to fixedly engage around the elongate member and thereby tighten the plurality of lace sections on the shoe. The lever is connectable to the retaining means when the elongate member is in the second position.
According to another aspect, there is provided a shoe and a tightening device therefore. The shoe has a front and a plurality of lace sections extending along and adjacent to the front of the shoe. The tightening device includes a mounting member extending along the plurality of lace sections for placing between the front of the shoe and the plurality of lace sections. The mounting member has a first projection extending outwards from the shoe. The first projection has a hook. The tightening device includes an elongate member having a slot for receiving the plurality of lace sections. The elongate member pivotally mounts to the first projection of the mounting member. The tightening device includes a lever connected to and radially extending outwards from the elongate member for rotating the elongate member. The lever is adjacent to the first projection and is engageable with the hook. Rotation of the lever in one direction causes the elongate member to engage the plurality of lace sections via the slot, the plurality of lace sections wrapping around the slot thereby for tightening the shoe and disposing the lever to engage with the hook.
According to a further aspect, there is provided a shoe tightening device for tightening and loosening a shoe. The shoe has a front and a plurality of lace sections extending along and adjacent to the front of the shoe. The shoe tightening device includes a mounting member extending along the plurality of lace sections for placing between the front of the shoe and the plurality of lace sections. The mounting member has a first projection extending outwards from the front of the shoe. The first projection has a hook and an aperture. The mounting member has a second projection spaced-apart from the first projection. The second projection extends outwards from the front of the shoe and has an aperture. The shoe tightening device further includes an elongate member having a proximal end, a distal end spaced-apart from the proximal end, and a slot extending parallel with the front of the shoe for receiving the plurality of lace sections. The slot extends inwardly from the distal end and towards the proximal end. The proximal end of the elongate member extends through the aperture of the first projection of the mounting member. The distal end of the elongate member extends through the aperture of the second projection of the mounting member. The elongate member is pivotally mounted to the mounting member thereby. The shoe tightening device includes a lever connected to and radially extending outwards from the elongate member near the proximal end for rotating the elongate member. The lever is engageable with the hook. Rotation of the lever in one direction causes the elongate member to engage the plurality of lace sections via the slot, the plurality of lace sections wrapping around the slot thereby for tightening the shoe and disposing the lever to engage with the hook.
The invention will be more readily understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof given, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to the Figures and first to
A second projection 36 extends outwards perpendicularly from the plate 23 at the second end 26 of the mounting member 22. The second projection 36 has an aperture 38 which aligns with the aperture 34 of the first projection 27.
The tightening device 20 further includes an elongate member 40. The elongate member 40 is shaft-like in this example and is rotatably mounted to the mounting member 22 by extending through the aperture 34 and the aperture 38. Referring to
The tightening device 20 has a lever 60 extending from the elongate member 40. In this example, the lever 60 fits into and extends from the lever aperture 56. Referring to
In operation and referring to
Referring now to
The lace 76 of the shoe 72 in this example is tied in a bow 80 and has slack portion 82 such that a person can easily slide a foot within the shoe 72. Put another way, the shoe 72 is initially set up by lacing up and bow knotting the shoe loosely enough to allow the person to step in or out of the shoe with unobstructed ease. An average looseness guide is for the shoe 72 to be loose enough to allow four fingers to slide in between the tongue 74 and the top of the foot.
The lever 60a is shown rotated to the left from the perspective of
Referring next to
Referring to
Referring to
To remove the shoe 72, the process described above is reversed. The lever 60a is released by a deliberate nudge by either a foot or a hand against the lever 60a which allows the lever 60a to slip free, allowing it to spin back to its original starting position of
As a result of the above structure, the present invention provides many advantages. Because the lever extends radially outwards from the elongate member, the lever lowers the force which needs to be applied by the user at the knob to achieve the torque necessary for actuating the elongate member. This feature is particularly advantageous for those who are less dexterous and/or who are more frail or weak. Because the lever extends radially outwards, this also means the user is less likely to come into manual contact with the laces, which are oftentimes dirty.
The tightening device enables a shoe to be fastened very quickly with one hand. The device also enables the shoe to be unfastened very quickly without the need of hands. The device completely unfastens the shoe, or put another way allows the shoe to be removed, without the wearer having to bend over. The device requires little finger strength or dexterity to tighten the shoe. The device easily attaches to shoes without tools. The device is easily transferred to new shoes without damaging the old ones. The device can fasten up shoes to the same preset tension every time. The device can unfasten shoes to the same preset looseness every time. The preset lace tension is easily adjustable for changing conditions. The device is waterproof and operates reliably in mud, dirt, sand, snow. The device is light weight. In one example, where the device is made of aluminum, it weighs only 24 grams per shoe. The device is even lighter when made of plastic. The device is very durable with few, simple to manufacture parts and fewer moving parts. The device is hygienic in operation because the wearer needs only to handle the lever or knob, and need not actually handle the laces to tighten the shoe. The device does not snag or catch laces or carpeted stairs, as the lever inwardly pulls up into the connection member and thereby is tucked away. The device can be set up to fasten and unfasten on either side of the shoe.
The device provides a solution for people having a great variety of different needs, likes or conditions regarding the tightening of shoes. These people include those who: do not like kneeling in entrance ways to tie up their shoes; like to hold things in one hand while putting on shoes; like their shoes to be tightened and knotted in a few seconds; have hygiene issues with handling shoe laces; would like to have their hands free when unfastening shoes; do not want to bend over to untie their shoes; would like to untie and unfasten their shoes in a few seconds; have medical limitations that restrict the usage of one arm, elbow, wrist or hand; want to minimize bending over for reasons of balance, pain or damage; find shoe tying difficult due to blindness, age, mental limitations, carpel tunnel syndrome, arthritis, stroke, or disease; or work stations and those who want a loosely laced shoe that can be tightened up quickly when they need to move about.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The elongate member 40.1 has a tapered shaft 112 whose thicker dimension allows the laces to be tightened more as compared to the skinnier straight shaft of the embodiments shown in
The lever aperture 56.1 of the elongate member 40.1 is larger to accommodate a lever 60.1 of a diameter 66.1 that is larger, as illustrated in
Referring to
Referring back to
Referring to
Section 118 of the lever 60.1, which is disposed through the elongate member 40.1, is no longer reduced in size compared to the embodiments shown in
The connection end 62.1 of the lever 60.1 includes the outwardly extending flange 64.1 and a further outwardly extending flange 67 spaced-apart from flange 64.1. The flanges 64.1 and 67 in this example are made of hard polycarbonate plastic. The lever 60.1 may be force fitted through the lever aperture 56.1 of the elongate member 40.1. Referring to
In one preferred method of manufacturing, the lever 60.1 is formed by injection molding without flange 64.1. The lever 60.1 is then slid through the elongate member 40.1, and the end 62.1 is then mushroomed over to create the flange 64.1. This may be done by applying ultrasound treatment to the end 62.1. With the flange 64.1 thus made, it acts to inhibit the lever 60.1 from ever coming out of the elongate member 40.1 or tightening device 20.1. It would otherwise be inconvenient were the lever 60.1 to accidentally spring off.
When the lever 60.1 and elongate member 40.1 are connected together, as shown in
One skilled in the art will appreciate that a mirror image of the tightening device 20.1 shown in
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the connection member 28 could include many different variations. The connection member could be a snap connection, a magnetic connection with the elongate member, a clamp connection or other such variation.
Also, the means 47 for engaging with the lace may have different embodiments. For example, instead of having a slot 48, the elongate member 40 may have a plurality of outwardly extending hooks for connecting with the lace. The elongate member 40 could simply have a rough exterior surface or teeth members for promoting frictional or mechanical engagement with the lace. The elongate member could have a plurality of laterally extending tapered recessed portions on the exterior or within an interior of the elongate member for engaging the lace. The elongate member 40 also may have a plurality of outwardly extending knobs through which the lace may wrap around.
For actuating the device, instead of using a hand 84, a person's foot could also be used, as mentioned above. This is particularly advantageous if the person has difficulty bending down or has some other kind of physical or medical disability that inhibits the easy and accurate use of the hand.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate instead of the first projection and the second projection, only one projection could be used to pivotally support the elongate member, with the connection member being apart thereof. This one projection could for example be centrally disposed along the plate.
It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that many of the details provided above are by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is to be determined with reference to the following claims.
Claims
1. A tightening device for tightening a shoe having a plurality of lace sections, the tightening device comprising:
- an elongate member having means for engaging with the plurality of lace sections;
- retaining means for rotatably retaining the elongate member and for interposing between the lace sections and the shoe;
- a lever extending from the elongate member for rotating the elongate member from a first position where the lace sections are slidably engageable with the elongate member to a second position where the rotation of the lever causes the lace sections to fixedly engage around the elongate member and thereby tighten the plurality of lace sections on the shoe, the lever being fixedly connectable to the retaining means when the elongate member is in the second position.
2. In combination, a shoe and a tightening device therefore, the shoe having a front and a plurality of lace sections extending along and adjacent to the front of the shoe, and the tightening device comprising:
- a mounting member extending along the plurality of lace sections for placing between the front of the shoe and the plurality of lace sections, the mounting member having a first projection extending outwards from the shoe, the first projection having a hook;
- an elongate member having a slot for receiving the plurality of lace sections, the elongate member pivotally mounting to the first projection of the mounting member;
- a lever connected to and radially extending outwards from the elongate member for rotating the elongate member, the lever being adjacent to the first projection and being engageable with the hook,
- whereby rotation of the lever in one direction causes the elongate member to engage the plurality of lace sections via the slot, the plurality of lace sections wrapping around the slot thereby for tightening the shoe and disposing the lever to engage with the hook.
3. The combination as claimed in claim 2, the mounting member further including a second projection, the elongate member pivotally mounting to the second projection of the mounting member.
4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein the first projection has an aperture, the second projection has an aperture, and the elongate member extends rotatably within the aperture of the first projection and the aperture of the second projection for pivotally mounting to the mounting member thereby.
5. The combination as claimed in claim 2, wherein the tightening device includes a first position where the plurality of lace sections are received loosely within the slot of the elongate member for easily slipping a foot into the shoe and a second position where the plurality of lace sections are tightly wrapped around the elongate member and the shoe is tightened.
6. The combination as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lever is disposed away from the hook of the first projection of the mounting member when the tightening device is in the first position, the lever rotates the elongate member from the first position to the second position, and the lever is engaged with the hook when the tightening device is in the second position.
7. The combination as claimed in claim 6 wherein the lever causes the elongate member to rotate 180 degrees when the tightening device is actuated from the first position to the second position.
8. The combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein the shoe includes an opening for a user's foot, the lever being adjacent to said opening.
9. The combination as claimed in claim 3, the elongate member having a proximal end and a distal end spaced-apart from the proximal end, the slot extending inwardly from the distal end of the elongate member and towards the proximal end.
10. The combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein the slot of the elongate member extends parallel with the front of the shoe.
11. The combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein the first projection extends outwards from the front of the shoe and the second projection extends outwards from the front of the shoe.
12. A shoe tightening device for tightening and loosening a shoe, the shoe having a front and a plurality of lace sections extending along and adjacent to the front of the shoe, and the shoe tightening device comprising:
- a mounting member extending along the plurality of lace sections for placing between the front of the shoe and the plurality of lace sections, the mounting member having a first projection extending outwards from the front of the shoe, the first projection having a hook and an aperture, and the mounting member having a second projection spaced-apart from the first projection, the second projection extending outwards from the front of the shoe and having an aperture;
- an elongate member having a proximal end, a distal end spaced-apart from the proximal end, and a slot extending parallel with the front of the shoe for receiving the plurality of lace sections, the slot extending inwardly from the distal end and towards the proximal end, the proximal end of the elongate member extending through the aperture of the first projection of the mounting member and the distal end of the elongate member extending through the aperture of the second projection of the mounting member, the elongate member being pivotally mounted to the mounting member thereby; and
- a lever connected to and radially extending outwards from the elongate member near the proximal end for rotating the elongate member, the lever being engageable with the hook,
- whereby rotation of the lever in one direction causes the elongate member to engage the plurality of lace sections via the slot, the plurality of lace sections wrapping around the slot thereby for tightening the shoe and disposing the lever to engage with the hook.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 11, 2009
Publication Date: Aug 20, 2009
Inventor: Howard Mitchell (Vancouver)
Application Number: 12/369,474
International Classification: A43C 11/00 (20060101); A43C 7/00 (20060101);