SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A DIAL COVER FOR A ROTARY CLOSURE FOR A SHOE
Various embodiments of a system for an improved rotary closure including a dial cover for ease of gripping and customizability are described herein.
This is a non-provisional application that claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/175,353 filed 15 Apr. 2021, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELDThe present disclosure generally relates to lacing systems for sporting shoes, and in particular, to a system and associated method for a dial cover for a rotary closure lacing system.
BACKGROUNDAmong athletic shoe lacing systems, especially rotary closures, many users report having trouble gripping and turning the dial of the rotary closure to tighten the lacing or unlock the tightened lacing. Previous examples have introduced grippable materials onto the surface of the dial; however, many users still find the small size of the dial and stickiness of permanent gripping structures to be cumbersome and difficult to keep clean. Further, some level of customizability and interchangeability is often demanded from users due to sports and other organizational affiliations.
It is with these observations in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding elements among the view of the drawings. The headings used in the figures do not limit the scope of the claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONVarious embodiments of a dial cover for improved gripping of a rotary closure during winding and release are included herein. In particular, the dial cover is configured to enable improved gripping of a dial of the rotary closure during operation. In some embodiments, the dial cover is configured to be stretched over or otherwise engaged with the dial to conform to a shape of the dial. In some embodiments, the dial cover defines an outer convex surface and an inner concave surface with an aperture defined through a center of the outer convex surface. In one aspect, the outer convex surface of the dial cover is configured for gripping by a hand of the user, and the inner concave surface is configured to capture an outer surface of the dial. In one embodiment, the dial cover includes one or more protrusions to further aid the user in gripping the rotary closure. In a further embodiment, the dial cover is configured to capture a token against a top surface of the dial, the token may include a logo or other personalized indicia visible through the aperture of the dial cover. Referring to the drawings, embodiments of a dial cover configured for engagement with the dial of a rotary closure are illustrated and generally indicated as 100, 200, 300 and 400 in
In one method of assembly of the dial cover 100 (or 200, 300 or 400), the dial cover 100 is stretched over or otherwise snapped onto the dial 11 (or 21) such that the inner concave surface 107 of the dial cover 100 encapsulates the peripheral edge 13 and at least part of the top surface 12 of the dial 11. In some embodiments, the inner lip 106 of the dial cover 100 couples underneath the peripheral edge 13 of the dial 11. In another aspect, the sidewall portion 130 of the dial cover 100 engages the peripheral edge 13 of the dial 11 through friction. In another embodiment shown in
Once assembled, the inner concave surface 107 of the dial cover 100 conforms to the peripheral edge 13 of the dial 11 and provides a gripping surface not only for the inner concave surface 107 of the dial cover 100 to grip the dial 11 for rotation, but to allow a user to better grip the outer convex surface 103 of the dial cover 100 and rotate the dial 11 in a clockwise or counterclockwise rotational direction. In the embodiments of the dial cover 100 (and 200 and 300) of
In some embodiments, the body 101 of the dial cover 100 can be made of any suitable flexible material such as latex, nitrile, rubber, silicon, a thermoplastic elastomer material (TPE), a thermoplastic polyurethane material (TPU) or another suitable material with a suitable friction coefficient for gripping that is able to be stretched over the dial 11 or 21 and assume a shape of its corresponding peripheral edge 13 or 23. In some embodiments, the dial cover 100 can be manufactured by thermoforming, injection molding, or another suitable method, depending on the selected material. In some embodiments, the dial cover 100 can be outfitted with raised designs or grooves along the outer convex surface 103 or inner concave surface 107 to improve gripping of the dial 11. In another embodiment, the dial cover 100 can include at least one of a variety of different colors of varying opacity, and in some embodiments can include decorative elements suspended within the material such as glitter. In some embodiments, the dial cover 100 is washable. As such, the dial cover 100 provides additional accessibility, customizability and interchangeability to the rotary closure 10.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the protrusions 209 can each include a solid core (denoted herein as 290A, 290B and 290C for respective embodiments of
Referring to
Similar to that of dial cover 100 discussed above, body 201 of the dial cover 200 can be made of a flexible material that is able to be stretched across the dial 11 (or 21) and assume its shape such as latex, nitrile, rubber, silicon, a thermoplastic elastomer material (TPE), a thermoplastic polyurethane material (TPU) or another suitable material with a suitable friction coefficient for gripping. In addition, the dial cover 200 can be manufactured by thermoforming, injection molding, or another suitable method, depending on the selected material. In some embodiments, the dial cover 200 can be outfitted with raised designs or grooves along the outer convex surface 203 or inner concave surface 207 of the body 201 to improve gripping of the dial 11. In another embodiment, the dial cover 200 can include at least one of a variety of different colors of varying opacity, and in some embodiments can include decorative elements suspended within the material such as glitter. In some embodiments, dial cover 200 is washable.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the token 318 is visible through the aperture 304 of the dial cover 300 when the token 318 is positioned against the top surface 12 of the dial 11 and secured in place by the dial cover 300. In addition, in some embodiments the token 318 can be small and generally disc-shaped and can include an ornamental design or logo such as team or event logos, player numbers, and can in some embodiments include novelty, licensed logos or personalized names or phrases. In some embodiments, the token 318 can be manufactured from plastic or another suitable material and can include a variety of colors. The dial cover 300 can be made of any flexible material that is able to be stretched across the dial 11 and assume its shape such as latex, nitrile, rubber, silicon, a thermoplastic elastomer material (TPE), a thermoplastic polyurethane material (TPU) or another suitable material with a suitable friction coefficient for gripping. In some embodiments, the dial cover 300 can be manufactured by thermoforming, injection molding, or another suitable method, depending on the selected material. In some embodiments, the dial cover 300 can be outfitted with raised designs or grooves defined along the outer convex surface 303 or inner concave surface 307 to improve grip. In another embodiment, the dial cover 300 can include at least one of a variety of different colors of varying opacity, and in some embodiments can include decorative elements suspended within the material such as glitter. In some embodiments, dial cover 300 is washable.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the token 318 is integral to the dial cover 300 and can be chemically bonded to one another. In one method of manufacture, the token 318 is formed from a mold, and then the dial cover 300 is molded around the token 318. In one example, such a process is performed using injection molding.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the dial cover 400 can be manufactured from a rigid material such as plastic by thermoforming, injection molding, additive manufacturing, reductive manufacturing, or another suitable method, depending on the selected material. In a preferred embodiment, the rigid material can have a suitable friction coefficient for gripping, or can be coated with latex, nitrile, rubber, silicon, a thermoplastic elastomer material (TPE), a thermoplastic polyurethane material (TPU) or another suitable material with a suitable friction coefficient for gripping. In some embodiments, the dial cover 400 can be outfitted with raised designs or grooves defined along the outer convex surface 403 or inner concave surface 407 to improve gripping of the dial 21. For instance, as shown in the cross-sectional top view
It should be understood from the foregoing that, while particular embodiments have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are within the scope and teachings of this invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. A dial cover for a rotary closure, the dial cover comprising:
- a body defining an outer convex surface and an inner concave surface defined interior to the outer convex surface, a sidewall portion and a topside portion;
- wherein the dial cover is configured to encapsulate a peripheral edge of a dial of a rotary closure.
2. The dial cover of claim 1, further comprising an aperture defined through a center of the topside portion of the outer convex surface.
3. The dial cover of claim 2, wherein the sidewall portion of the dial cover assumes a shape of a peripheral edge of the dial such that the sidewall portion of the dial cover conforms to a plurality of recesses and ridges of the peripheral edge of the dial.
4. The dial cover of claim 1, further comprising:
- an inner lip extending inward towards a center of the dial cover that extends underneath the peripheral edge of the dial when the dial cover is coupled with the dial.
5. The dial cover of claim 1, wherein the body of the dial cover further comprises:
- at least one protrusion extending away from a center of the dial cover.
6. The dial cover of claim 5, wherein the at least one protrusion includes a concave edge and an opposite convex edge.
7. The dial cover of claim 1, further comprising:
- a token configured for engagement by the dial cover.
8. The dial cover of claim 7, further comprising:
- a recessed portion circumferentially defined at a top of the inner concave surface, the recessed portion configured to engage the token and secure the token against a top surface of the dial.
9. The dial cover of claim 7, wherein the token is chemically bonded to the dial cover.
10. The dial cover of claim 7, wherein the token is coupled to the dial cover by a plurality of cover engagement points defined on a surface of the token.
11. The dial cover of claim 1, wherein the dial cover comprises a flexible material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping.
12. The dial cover of claim 1, further comprising an inner lip defined along a bottom of the sidewall portion that extends inward towards a center of the dial cover.
13. The dial cover of claim 1, wherein the dial cover comprises a rigid material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping or otherwise being coated with a material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping.
14. The dial cover of claim 1, wherein the dial cover includes a plurality of tangs that couple with the dial in a snap fit engagement.
15. The dial cover of claim 1, wherein the sidewall portion of the body is frictionally engaged to the peripheral edge of the dial.
16. The dial cover of claim 15, wherein the sidewall portion includes a plurality of friction-fit ribs that engage the peripheral edge of the dial.
17. A method, comprising:
- forming a dial cover, the dial cover including: a body defining an outer convex surface, an inner concave surface defined interior to the outer convex surface, and a sidewall portion.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
- coupling the dial cover to a dial of a rotary closure such that the inner concave surface contacts the dial and the sidewall portion encapsulates a peripheral edge of the dial.
19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
- forming one or more protrusions along the outer convex surface.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:
- forming a solid core comprising a rigid material for each protrusion of the one or more protrusions; and
- coating the solid core with a material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping.
21. The method of claim 17, wherein the dial cover comprises at least one of:
- a flexible material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping; and/or
- a rigid material, the rigid material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping or otherwise being coated with a material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping.
22. A rotary closure, comprising:
- a dial defining a peripheral edge and configured for rotation in a clockwise or counterclockwise rotational direction; and
- a dial cover that defines an outer convex surface, an inner concave surface defined interior to the outer convex surface, and a sidewall portion that encapsulates the dial against the inner concave surface, wherein the dial cover includes at least one of: a flexible material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping; and/or a rigid material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping or otherwise being coated with a material having a suitable friction coefficient for gripping.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 12, 2022
Publication Date: Oct 20, 2022
Inventors: John Robert Burt (Brentwood, TN), Lee Paul Shuttleworth (Brentwood, TN)
Application Number: 17/719,137