Enhanced aglet with specialized attachment means
An enhanced aglet that can be attached to original aglets, or used as a replacement aglet. The enhanced aglet can be in the shape of an animal, cartoon character, symbol or logo. Attractive characters and rounded shapes make seeing and grasping the ends of a shoelace with the present invention easier, especially for older and younger hands. An attachment means within the enhanced aglet is designed to latch onto the original aglet of the shoelace, and allow for pulling and tugging of the shoelace. The attachment means also allows the enhanced aglet to be attached to shoelaces that no longer have their original aglets.
The present invention relates generally to the field of footwear and more specifically to an enhanced aglet ornament to be attached to ends of shoelaces or similar types of laces.
Shoelaces are well known in the field of footwear. Also referred to as shoe strings, shoelaces were an indispensable part of early footwear and remain an extremely popular means for securing shoes on feet today. A shoelace comprises a long, narrow length of material that is traditionally threaded through eyelets in a shoe and the ends of the lace are tied together to secure the shoe to the wearer's foot. Shoelaces can be made of many different materials including leather, cotton, and synthetic materials. In order to make threading the shoelace through the eyelets easier, the ends of a shoelace are typically crimped with an aglet. An aglet is traditionally a short, tubular piece of plastic that is heat sealed around the ends of a shoelace. The aglet keeps shoelaces made of fabric from fraying, and greatly assists in the threading process.
Traditional aglets are small in size and hard to see. After assisting in threading a shoelace through eyelets, their main purpose has been served and they actually become a hindrance. Since aglets compress the ends of a shoelace, the ends of the shoelace become hard to see, hard to find, and are hard to grasp. This difficulty in distinguishing the ends of a shoelace causes problems when teaching a child to tie their shoes. The child is challenged in just finding the ends of the lace and seeing where the ends of the lace go, during the tying process. Small aglets also cause problems for the visually impaired and the elderly. Thin laces and even smaller aglets are hard to see, and hard to grasp and maneuver.
What is needed in the field is an enhanced aglet which could be in the form of an ornament that allows the ends of a shoelace to easily be seen and grasped. The ideal device would easily attach to a traditional aglet after the aglet has been threaded through the eyelets of the shoe.
What is further needed in the field is an enhanced aglet that can be provided in different shapes and forms to be attached as an ornament to laces and to serve as a form of expression, promotion or pride.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn enhanced aglet that is adapted for attachment to the end of a shoelace, wherein the aglet provides both utilitarian and decorative enhancement to the shoelace. The enhanced aglet comprises a body and a means for attaching to the shoelace. The aglet body has an exterior, an interior, a top and a bottom. The attachment means is located in the interior of the aglet body, and has an opening at the top of the aglet body. The opening of the attachment means is adapted for insertion there-through of the end of the shoelace, and the attachment means resists removal of the end of the shoelace, after insertion. The attachment means further includes a capture area wherein the capture area has a diameter that is substantially equal to a diameter of the end of the shoelace. The capture area may further include a holding means that is adapted to hold the end of the shoelace within the capture area. The holding means is preferably a lower portion of the opening of the attachment means, wherein the lower portion of the opening has a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of an original aglet of the shoelace.
The present aglet enhancement may also be used as a replacement aglet. When the shoelace no longer has the original aglet, the holding means of the present aglet includes at least one barb that is adapted to hook into the material at the end of the shoelace, which preferably is knotted prior to insertion.
The exterior of the aglet body can be provided in any number of shapes, colors and styles, including ornaments, charms, figures, silhouettes, characters, names, numbers, animals, and models. The exterior of the aglet body can also be provided in the shape of sports balls, including basketball, baseball, soccer and footballs. The exterior of the aglet body may also advertise the logo for a school, sports team or business. Other embodiments of the present enhanced aglet include electronic circuitry that allow for portions of the ornament to light up, and to make sounds or play music.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an aglet that makes learning to tie your shoes or other types of laces or belts easy and fun.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an aglet that is easy to grasp and pull.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an aglet that provides self expression and/or selected promotion for the wearer.
The invention of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing(s), given only by way of example, in which:
The present enhanced aglet can also be an aglet itself, or used as a replacement aglet. Sometimes, due to wear and tear, the original aglet can become frayed and eventually just disappear, leaving shoelace ends that are almost impossible to grasp and pull. In such a case, the present attachment means can be provided with one or more barbs 310 located within the capture area and placed so as to allow for the insertion of an amount of shoelace material, but then resist the removal of the material.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology of terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
Claims
1. An enhanced aglet that is adapted for attachment to an end of a shoelace, providing both utilitarian and decorative enhancement to the shoelace, the enhanced aglet comprising:
- an aglet body, the body having an exterior, an interior, a top and a bottom; and,
- an attachment means, the attachment means being located in the interior of the aglet body, and having an opening at the top of the aglet body, wherein the opening of the attachment means is adapted for insertion there-through of the end of the shoelace, and wherein the attachment means resists removal of the end of the shoelace after insertion.
2. The enhanced aglet of claim 1, wherein the attachment means further includes a capture area wherein the capture area has a diameter that is substantially equal to a diameter of the end of the shoelace.
3. The enhanced aglet of claim 2, wherein the capture area includes a holding means that is adapted to hold the end of the shoelace within the capture area.
4. The enhanced aglet of claim 3, wherein the holding means is a lower portion of the opening of the attachment means, the lower portion of the opening having a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of an original aglet of the shoelace.
5. The enhanced aglet of claim 3, wherein the holding means is at least one barb that is adapted to hook into the end of the shoelace after insertion.
6. The enhanced aglet of claim 1, wherein the exterior of the aglet body is in a shape of an animal or character.
7. The enhanced aglet of claim 1, wherein the exterior of the aglet body is in a shape of a sports ball.
8. The enhanced aglet of claim 1, wherein the exterior of the aglet body includes a logo for a school, sports team or business.
9. The enhanced aglet of claim 1, wherein the exterior of the aglet body is in a form of a symbol, including a flag.
10. The enhanced aglet of claim 2, wherein the capture area extends through the bottom of the aglet body.
11. A method for attaching an enhanced aglet to an end of a shoelace, wherein the enhanced aglet includes an attachment means with a capture area, the method comprising the steps of:
- grasping the end of the shoelace;
- inserting the end of the shoelace into an opening of the attachment means; and,
- pushing the end of the shoelace through the opening and into the capture area of the attachment means.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the end of the shoelace includes an original aglet, and the opening of the attachment means has a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of the original aglet.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the end of the shoelace does not include an original aglet, and the end of the shoelace comprises a knot of shoelace material.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the capture area has a cylindrical shape that extends from a bottom of the opening to a bottom of the enhanced aglet.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the capture area extends through the bottom of the aglet.
16. The enhanced aglet of claim 1, further comprising electronic circuitry that allows at least a portion to the aglet to light up.
17. The enhanced aglet of claim 1, further comprising electronic circuitry that allows the aglet to make sounds.
18. The method of claim 11, wherein the enhanced aglet further comprises electronic circuitry that allows the aglet to light up and make noises.
19. The method of claim 11, wherein the enhanced aglet is in the shape of a sports ball, flag, ornament, charm, figure, silhouette, character, name, number, animal, or model.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 26, 2009
Publication Date: Jul 29, 2010
Inventor: James J. Stehman, JR. (Honolulu, HI)
Application Number: 12/321,844
International Classification: A43C 9/04 (20060101);