SHOELACE LOCKING APPARATUS

Abstract

A shoelace locking apparatus comprises a body attachable to both ends of a shoelace, a locking lever, and a pin. The body defines a retaining passage therein for receiving the first end of the shoelace and a locking passage therein for receiving a second end of the shoelace. A knot tied in the first end of the shoelace prevents it from passing back through the retaining passage. Within a recess in communication with the locking passage a rotating locking lever is mounted on the pin. By pulling the second end of the shoelace through the locking passage past the locking lever and rotating the locking lever into the locking position, the second end of the shoelace may be immobilized relative to the body. Tension in the shoelace serves to keep the lever in the locked position.

Description

BACKGROUND

It is well known that shoelaces require tying and untying the two ends thereof at every use, and many times the shoelaces come undone prematurely which, of course, is not desired. Also, tying of shoelaces is difficult or impossible for some wearers. For example, young children may not yet have learned how to tie shoelaces or do so less than perfectly such that the shoelaces come undone frequently. Untied shoelaces also make it easier for children to remove their shoes when their parents do not want them to do so. Also, persons with problems with manual dexterity, such as multiple sclerosis sufferers, may find tying shoelaces to be difficult if not impossible. The present invention solves this problem by providing a quickly locked and released shoelace fastening device which young children can operate with less knowledge than is necessary for tying shoelaces and which other persons who would have difficulty tying shoelaces can easily operate.

In addition to providing assistance to persons who have trouble tying shoelaces, the present invention also provides fully capable persons with a quicker means of connection with a minimal likelihood of accidental uncoupling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a device for fastening and maintaining a fastened condition of a shoelace on a shoe. In one aspect, the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed to a shoelace locking apparatus comprising a body and a locking lever. The body has a first passage for receiving one portion of a shoelace, a second passage for receiving another portion of a shoelace, and a recess in communication with the second passage. The locking has at least one bearing surface and is positioned in the recess of the body and attached to the body in a way that the locking lever is movable between an open position wherein the bearing surface of the locking lever is retracted from the second passage and a locked position wherein the bearing surface is disposed in the second passage so as to compress the portion of the shoelace disposed through the second passage between the bearing surface of the locking lever and the body and thereby immobilize the portion of the shoelace disposed through the second passage.

The invention may be described as an apparatus for connecting ends of a shoelace comprising a body adapted for attachment to a first end of the shoelace and a locking lever that captures the second end of the shoelace. The body defines a locking passage therein incorporating a recess for a locking lever and adapted for receiving a second end of the shoelace. The body further preferably defines a retaining passage therein adapted for receiving the first end of the shoelace therethrough. A knot tied in the first end of the shoelace is prevented from passing through the retaining opening because of the size thereof.

In one embodiment, the locking lever rotates about a pivot pin mounted to the body and is in communication with the locking passage via a recess. The location of the pivot hole in the locking lever is offset so that when the lever is in the open position the locking lever presents a minimal obstruction to the locking passage, allowing the second end of the shoelace to move within the locking passage. When the locking lever is rotated to the locking position the bearing surface of the locking lever moves into the locking passage and compresses the second end of the shoelace against the lower surface of the locking passage. The bearing surface of the locking lever incorporates a texture or protrusion that presses against or into the shoelace material so as to better resist motion of the shoelace relative to the bearing surface. The tension associated with a tightened shoelace causes a moment on the lever which helps maintain it in the locked position.

In another embodiment, a locking lever is incorporated into both passages so that no knot is necessary in either end of the shoelace.

In yet another embodiment, the locking lever is slotted and slides on the pivot pin within the recess. When the lever is in the open position it presents a minimal obstruction to the locking passage allowing the second end of the shoelace to move within the locking passage. When the locking lever is slid into the locking position the bearing surface of the locking lever moves into the locking passage and compresses the second end of the shoelace against the lower surface of the locking passage. The bearing surface of the locking lever may include a texture or protrusion that presses against or into the shoelace material so as to better resist motion of the shoelace relative to the bearing surface. The tension associated with a tightened shoelace causes a force on the sliding lever which helps maintain it in the locked position. Mating protrusions and depressions in the lever and body may act as a detent to further assist in maintaining the wedge in the locked position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a shoe locking apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the shoe locking apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2 showing the shoe locking apparatus in an open position.

FIG. 4 is a cross section taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2 showing the shoe locking apparatus in a locked position.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a second embodiment of a shoe locking apparatus shown in a locked position.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a third embodiment of a shoe locking apparatus shown in an open position.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a third embodiment of a shoe locking apparatus shown in a locked position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of embodiments of the inventive concepts, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the inventive concepts. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the inventive concepts disclosed and claimed herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the instant disclosure.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements or steps is not necessarily limited to only those elements or steps and may include other elements, steps, or features not expressly listed or inherently present therein.

Unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by anyone of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the inventive concepts. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.

Throughout this disclosure and the claims, the terms “about,” “approximately,” and “substantially” are intended to signify that the item being qualified is not limited to the exact value specified, but includes some slight variations or deviations therefrom, caused by measuring error, manufacturing tolerances, stress exerted on various parts, wear and tear, or combinations thereof, for example.

The use of the term “at least one” will be understood to include one as well as any quantity more than one, including but not limited to each of, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, and all integers therebetween. The term “at least one” may extend up to 100 or 1000 or more, depending on the term to which it is attached; in addition, the quantities of 100/1000 are not to be considered limiting, as higher limits may also produce satisfactory results. Singular terms shall include pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular unless indicated otherwise.

The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and/or combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AAB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.

Finally, as used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment, although the inventive concepts disclosed herein are intended to encompass all combinations and permutations including one or more of the features of the embodiments described herein.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1-4, a first embodiment of the shoelace fastening or locking apparatus of the present invention is shown and generally designated by the numeral 10. Apparatus 10 comprises a body 26 and a locking lever 28. Locking lever 28 rotates between an open position (FIG. 3) and a locked position (FIG. 4). Shoelace ends may be drawn through passages 30 and 32 between body ends 36 and 42. Passage 32 includes a recess 38 in which the locking cam 28 resides. In one embodiment, the passages 30 and 32 are parallel to one another.

The body 26 may be of a one-piece construction. In particular, but not by way of limitation, it is contemplated that body 26 could be easily molded of a plastic material. However, other materials would work just as well. Also, body 26 could be formed of multiple pieces. The body 26 is illustrated as having a generally parallelepiped configuration. However, the body 26 does not have to be any particular shape, and it is contemplated that it can be molded into a variety of shapes to provide ornamentation as a fashion statement or to provide a medium for placing advertising thereon.

First passage 30 is an opening adapted for receiving first end 22 of shoelace 12 therethrough. As illustrated in FIGS. 3-4, the body 26 is retained on the first end of the shoelace by tying a knot 34 in first end 22 of shoelace 12 after passing the shoelace through first passage 30 and knot 34 prevents the shoelace 12 from being pulled back through due to the engagement of the knot with a second end 42 of body 26. Thus, first passage 30 may be referred to as a retaining passage. The second passage 32 has a recess 38 and a lower surface 46. The lower surface 46 defines at least a portion of the second passage 32 and is positioned in an opposing relationship to the recess 38.

Locking lever 28 is shown in a roughly flat ‘horse head’ shape defining an off-center hole 20 therethrough and forming a lever end 58 and a bearing surface 60. The bearing surface 60 may be knurled or barbed. Locking lever 28 may be any shape that allows the bearing surface 60 to compress or release portion 16 of the second end 24 of shoelace 12 by way of rotation of locking lever 28 about pin 22 through hole 20.

In the operation of apparatus 10, first end 22 of shoelace 12 is extended into passage 30 from an inlet end 36 through to an outlet end 42 in body 26, and knot 34 is tied in the shoelace to attach and retain body 26 to the shoelace. Second end 24 of shoelace 12 is passed into passage 32 from an inlet end 42 through to an outlet end 36 of body 26. Locking lever 28 is movable about the pin 22 between the open position (FIG. 3) wherein the bearing surface 60 of the locking lever 28 is retracted away from the lower surface 46 of the body to permit passage of the shoelace 12 through the passage 32 and a locked position (FIG. 4) wherein the bearing surface 60 is disposed in the second passage 32 so as to compress the portion of the shoelace 12 disposed through the second passage 32 between the bearing surface 60 of the locking lever 28 and the lower surface 46 of the body 26 to immobilize the portion of the shoelace 12 disposed through the second passage 32.

The force resulting from this compression, combined with the knurled or barbed bearing surface 60, provides a high resistance to movement due to the tension applied by the tightened shoelace 12. The force on the lever 28 due to the tension in shoelace 12 serves to maintain the locked position of locking lever 28. To release second end 24 of shoelace 12, the lever end 58 of locking lever 28 is used to rotate the bearing surface 60 away from the second end 24 of shoelace 12.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the shoelace locking apparatus of the present invention is shown and generally designated by the numeral 210. As with the first embodiment apparatus 10, the second embodiment apparatus 210 is adapted for use in releasably connecting first and second ends 22 and 24 of a shoelace 12. The apparatus 210 is similar in construction to the apparatus 10 except that the apparatus 210 includes a first locking lever 228 pivotally attached to a body 226 with a pin 222 and a second locking lever 230 pivotally attached to the body 226 with a pin 224. The first locking lever 228 is movable between an open position wherein the bearing surface of the locking lever 228 is retracted from passage 232 and a locked position wherein the bearing surface is disposed in the passage 232 so as to compress the portion of the shoelace disposed through the passage 232 between the bearing surface of the first locking lever 228 and the body and thereby immobilize the portion of the shoelace disposed through the passage 232. Similarly, the second locking lever 230 is movable between an open position wherein the bearing surface of the second locking lever 230 is retracted from passage 234 and a locked position wherein the bearing surface is disposed in the passage 234 so as to compress the portion of the shoelace disposed through the passage 234 between the bearing surface of the second locking lever 230 and the body 226 and thereby immobilize the portion of the shoelace disposed through the passage 234.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-7, a third embodiment of a shoelace locking apparatus of the present invention is shown and generally designated by the numeral 110. As with the first embodiment apparatus 10, the third embodiment apparatus 110 is adapted for use in releasably connecting first and second ends 22 and 24 of a shoelace 12.

Apparatus 110 comprises a body 126, a pin 122, and a locking lever 128. Locking lever 128 is slidably attached to the body 126 such that the locking lever 128 may be moved between the open and locked positions by sliding it on pin 122. Shoelace ends 22 and 24 may be drawn through passages 130 and 132 between body ends 136 and 142. Passage 132 includes recess 138 in which the locking lever 128 resides.

Body 126 may be of a one-piece construction. In particular, but not by way of limitation, it is contemplated that body 126 could be easily molded of a plastic material. However, other materials would work just as well. Also, body 26 could be formed of multiple pieces.

Body 126 is illustrated as having a generally parallelepiped configuration. However, body 126 does not have to be any particular shape, and it is contemplated that it can be molded into a variety of shapes to provide ornamentation as a fashion statement or to provide a medium for placing advertising thereon. Regardless of the shape or configuration of body 126, the body 126 has a first passage or opening 130 extending therethrough and a second passage or opening 132 extending therethrough.

First passage 130 is an opening adapted for receiving first end 22 of shoelace 12 therethrough. By tying a knot 34 in first end 22 of shoelace 12 after passing the shoelace through first passage 130, body 126 is retained on the first end of the shoelace, and knot 34 prevents the shoelace from being pulled back through because of the engagement of the knot with a second end 142 of body 126. Thus, first passage 130 may be referred to as retaining passage 130.

Second passage 132 comprises a recess 138, and a lower surface 146. The recess may also incorporate a detent bump 166. Second passage 32 is generally cylindrical. Locking lever 128 defines a slot 120 therethrough, a handle end 158, a bearing surface 160, and a sliding surface 164. Bearing surface 160 may be knurled or barbed. The locking lever 128 may also incorporate a detent depression 162. The locking lever 128 is moved into and out of engagement with second end 24 of shoelace 12 by using handle end 158 to slide the locking lever 128 on pin 122. The slot 120 is at an acute angle with respect to bearing surface 160 and sliding surface 164 so that sliding the locking lever 128 in one direction causes bearing surface 160 to compress second end 24 of shoelace 12, and sliding the locking lever 128 in the opposite direction moves the bearing surface 160 out of contact with second end 24 of shoelace 12. When in the locked position the tension in shoelace 12 serves to maintain the sliding lever 128 in the locked position after handle 158 is released. Any detent bumps 166 incorporated into the body engage detent depressions 162 in the locking lever when in the locked position so as to maintain the sliding lever in the locked position in the absence of tension in the shoelace.

To release the second end 24 of shoelace 12, the handle end 158 of locking lever 128 is used to slide the bearing surface 160 away from the second end 24 of shoelace 12.

It will be seen, therefore, that the shoelace locking apparatus of the present invention is well adapted to carry out the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein. While exemplary embodiments of the apparatus have been shown for the purposes of this disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement and construction of parts may be made by those skilled in the art. All such changes are encompassed within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A shoelace locking apparatus, comprising:

a body having a first passage for receiving one portion of a shoelace, a second passage for receiving another portion of a shoelace, a recess in communication with the second passage, and a lower surface defining at least a portion of the second passage and positioned in an opposing relationship to the recess, each of the first passage and the second passage having an inlet end and an outlet end; and

a locking lever having at least one bearing surface, the locking lever positioned in the recess of the body and attached to the body in a way that the locking lever is movable between an open position wherein the bearing surface of the locking lever is retracted away from the lower surface of the body to permit movement of the shoelace through the second passage and a locked position wherein the bearing surface is disposed in the second passage so as to compress the portion of the shoelace disposed through the second passage between the bearing surface of the locking lever and the lower surface of the body to immobilize the portion of the shoelace disposed through the second passage.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein locking lever is pivotally attached to the body, and wherein the locking lever and the body are configured such that when the locking lever is in the locked position with the portion of the shoelace compressed, the net moment on the locking lever due to the compression of the shoelace is zero.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the locking lever is configured such that the locking lever is caused to be maintained in the locked position in response to tension applied to the portion of the shoelace disposed through the second passage in a direction from the outlet end toward the inlet end.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the locking lever is configured such that the locking lever is caused to move from the locked position to the open position in response to application of a force on the locking lever to cause the bearing surface to rotate in a direction toward the outlet end.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the recess of the body is formed adjacent the outlet end of the second passage, and wherein the locking lever is configured such that the locking lever is caused to move from the locked position to the open position in response to application of a force on the locking lever to cause the bearing surface to rotate in a direction toward the outlet end.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the recess communicating with the second passage is a first recess and the locking lever positioned in the first recess is a first locking lever, wherein the body has a second recess in communication with the first passage, and wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a second locking lever having at least one bearing surface, the second locking lever positioned in the second recess of the body and attached to the body in a way that the second locking lever is movable between an open position wherein the bearing surface of the locking lever is retracted from the first passage and a locked position wherein the bearing surface is disposed in the first passage so as to compress the portion of the shoelace disposed through the first passage between the bearing surface of the second locking lever and the body and thereby immobilize the portion of the shoelace disposed through the first passage.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first passage and the second passage are in a parallel relationship to one another, wherein the first recess of the body is formed adjacent the outlet end of the second passage and the second recess is formed adjacent the outlet end of the first passage, and wherein the inlet end of the first passage is adjacent the outlet end of the second passage.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the body has a pair of parallel sides.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locking lever is slidably attached to the body.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the recess of the body is formed adjacent the outlet end of the second passage, and wherein the locking lever is configured such that the locking lever is caused to be maintained in the locked position in response to tension applied to the portion of the shoelace disposed through the second passage in a direction from the outlet end toward the inlet end.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the locking lever is configured such that the locking lever is caused to move from the locked position to the open position in response to application of a force on the locking lever to cause the bearing surface to rotate in a direction toward the outlet end.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the recess of the body is formed adjacent the outlet end of the second passage, and wherein the locking lever is configured such that the locking lever is caused to move from the locked position to the open position in response to application of a force on the locking lever to cause the bearing surface to rotate in a direction toward the outlet end.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the locking lever engages the body in the locked position.