FOOTWEAR ACCESSORY

Abstract

Devices and system are provided that include an accessory hole, or grommet, or an attachment feature, or any suitable combinations thereof configured on footwear with respect to the lace of the footwear, and an attachment mechanism in communication with the accessory hole securing the tongue of the footwear with respect to a side of the footwear.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/451,031, filed Mar. 9, 2023, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Disclosure

Generally, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methodologies and devices applicable to footwear, and in particular shoes that include a tongue as part of the upper configuration.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventional shoes 10, such as those illustrated in FIG. 1, which include a tongue 12 with lace 14 and holes 16 configuration, suffer from a drawback of the tongue 12 displacement (as illustrated by the arrows 18 and 20) during use. Some shoe designs attempt to address such drawback by providing a tongue with centrally located loop, or the like. The lace 14 can be passed through such a loop. However, such conventional approach does not work well for keeping the tongue centered on the instep, and at best may keep the tongue from sliding forward down over the toes. A typical outcome when using such conventional feature is that the tongue always seems to slide down the instep to the outer side of the shoe.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure address at least the above noted drawback by providing a system comprising an accessory hole, or grommet, or an attachment feature, or any suitable combinations thereof configured on the medial side of a tongue of a footwear and with respect to at least one of an uppermost holes for lace of the footwear, and an attachment mechanism in communication with the accessory hole and a corresponding at least one of the uppermost holes.

According to exemplary implementations of the disclosed embodiments the attachment mechanism can comprise a secondary lace introduced into the accessory hole and the at least one of the uppermost holes to secure the tongue with respect a side of the footwear by passing the secondary lace through the accessory hole of the tongue and a corresponding of the at least one of the uppermost holes of the footwear.

According to another exemplary implementation, the secondary lace can be tied off and/or tightened to secure the tongue.

According to yet another exemplary implementation of any of the foregoing combinations, the attachment mechanism comprises a cinching mechanism to secure and/or tighten the secondary lace.

According to still another exemplary implementation of any of the foregoing combinations, the system can also comprise a charm configured for example with the attachment mechanism.

According to other exemplary implementations of any of the foregoing combinations, the charm can be configure as a slider on the secondary lace, or as an integrated component of the attachment mechanism.

According to other exemplary implementations of any of the foregoing combinations, both ends of the secondary lace can be secured by a locking mechanism such that the secondary lace can be tightened for desired effect by movement of the locking mechanism and/or the secondary lace with respect to one another.

According to other exemplary implementations of any of the foregoing combinations, the locking mechanism can comprise a cam-lock, both ends of the secondary lace can be configured to pass through a bottom portion of the cam-lock, and any one or a combination of release, locking, and/or retention of the secondary lace can be actuated by manipulating a top portion of the cam-lock.

According to other exemplary implementations of any of the foregoing combinations, an exterior shape of at least a portion of the locking mechanism can comprises a recognizable feature.

According to other exemplary implementations of any of the foregoing combinations, an exterior of at least a portion of the locking mechanism can comprises one or more visible spectrum colors, other than a native color of locking mechanism material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional lace-up footwear.

FIG. 2 is a generalized illustration of a device and system according to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is another generalized illustration of a device and system according to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a device and system according to exemplary implementations of one or more exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a device and system according to further exemplary implementations of one or more exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of exemplary implementations of certain components for devices and systems according to exemplary implementations of one or more exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of another exemplary implementations of certain components for devices and systems according to exemplary implementations of one or more exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF DISCLOSURE

The matters defined in the description such as a detailed construction and elements are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the disclosure and are merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

As would be readily appreciated by skilled artisans in the relevant art, while descriptive terms such as “configuration”, “shoe”, “footwear”, “lace”, “tongue”, “instep”, “front”, “back”, “side”, “up”, “down”, “slide”, “upper”, “lower”, “grommet”, “hole”, “spring”, “clip”, “charm”, “grommet”, and other, are used in the specification to facilitate understanding, it is not intended to limit any components that can be used in combinations or individually to implement various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary implementations thereof described in the disclosure may be referenced as “STRAIGHT-LACED™” to facilitate understanding of the disclosure, but not as a limitation of the disclosed structural and/or functional features.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and devices, as illustrated in the examples of FIGS. 2-5, for facilitating maintenance of a tongue of a footwear in a centered, extended position with respect to the footwear, such as a shoe, during wear. Exemplary implementations of the disclosed embodiments, may address inadequacy of a footwear primary lacing system in dealing with the asymmetric anatomy of a foot where the instep (the part of the foot between the ball and the ankle) is not flat, nor centered on the foot, but is typically higher on the medial side of the foot and slopes downward toward the outer side of the foot, causing the tongue to slide down and/or off-center.

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a footwear 200 with a primary lacing system including lace 214 and lace holes, or grommets, 206 in the footwear configured with respect to the opposite sides 211 and 213 of the tongue 212 and extending away from front, or toe, end 201 of the footwear toward the upper portion 205 and along sides 201 and 204 of the footwear; tongue 212 secured to the footwear and extending away from front, or toe, end 201 of the footwear toward the upper portion 203 of the footwear; and an accessory shoelace system comprising at least one accessory hole, or grommet, or an attachment feature, 220 configured on the medial side 211 of the tongue 212 (see FIG. 3 and enlarged view in FIG. 4) of the shoe and with respect to at least one of the uppermost holes 207, 209 of the primary lacing system, and an attachment mechanism 230 in communication with the accessory hole 220 and a corresponding uppermost hole 207 of the holes 206 of the primary lacing system.

In an exemplary implementation, an accessory hole, grommet, or attachment feature, 220 on the tongue 212 can be positioned such that it is proximate to, for example at a distance of about 1 mm from, the upper medial hole, or grommet, 207 of the primary lacing system when the tongue 212 is centered, for example between sides 203 and 204 of the footwear, and lace 214 is secured, or tied, as shown in FIG. 2, where the accessory hole (not seen) and the uppermost hole 207 of the primary lacing system are illustrated as essentially overlapping.

According to exemplary implementation, an attachment mechanism comprises a secondary lace 240, which can be called a STRAIGHT-LACED™, introduced into the accessory hole, or grommet, 220 in the tongue 212 and the upper medial hole, or grommet, 207 of the primary lacing system.

According to further exemplary implementations, the secondary lace 240 can be of smaller diameter than the primary lace 214, for example on the order of about 75% smaller, so as not to interfere with the holes 206 and/or lace 214 of the primary lacing system. An exemplary implementation can include holes 206 of approximately 1 mm, and an accessory lace of an approximately 0.25 mm.

In exemplary implementations, an attachment mechanism 230 including a secondary lace 240 can secure tongue 212 with respect to side 204 of footwear 200 by passing the secondary lace 240 through the accessory hole 220 of tongue 212 and a corresponding hole 207 of footwear 200 where the secondary lace 240 can then be tied off 260 and can be tightened for desired effect.

According to yet another exemplary implementation, a cinching mechanism 270, which can be configure comprising for example a spring clip, cam-lock, and/or a sliding binder, can be provided to secure and or tighten a secondary lace or string 280 of STRAIGHT-LACED™ system, as conceptually illustrated in the enlarged view of FIG. 5.

In yet another exemplary implementation, a charm can 230 be added to the STRAIGHT-LACED™, either as a slider on secondary lace or string 280 with a simple hole 250 in the charm or as an integrated component 230 incorporating a spring clip mechanism in the charm itself to bind or tighten the secondary lace 240 of STRAIGHT-LACED™ system.

In still further exemplary implementations, as illustrated in FIG. 6, another attachment mechanism including a secondary lace 240 can secure tongue 212 with respect to side 204 of footwear 200 by passing the secondary lace 240 through the accessory hole 220 of tongue 212 and a corresponding hole 207 of footwear 200. Both ends of the secondary lace 240 can be secured by a locking mechanism 600, for example by a friction-fit pass-through attachment, such that the lace 240 can be tightened for desired effect by moving locking mechanism 600 or pulling the secondary lace 240 with respect to one another, as diagrammatically shown by arrow 610.

According to yet further exemplary implementation, locking mechanism 600 can be configured as a squeeze style cam-lock where both ends of the secondary lace 240 pass through a bottom portion 604 and the release/locking/retention of the secondary lace 240 by locking mechanism 600 can be actuated by pressing on a top portion 602 of the locking mechanism 600.

In the example of FIG. 6, locking mechanism 600 is illustrated as having a circular configuration with an essentially featureless top portion 602. In alternative, non-limiting, exemplary configurations according to the present disclosure, locking mechanism 600 or any portion thereof, can have any color, or any combination of colors, and can be made of any combination of materials, such as plastic and/or various metals. The colors can be any of visible spectrum colors, for example other than a native color of the locking mechanism material, which can be applied to any exterior surface of the locking mechanism.

In addition, or alternatively, top portion 602 can include various 2D and/or 3D design features, for example imprinted and/or embossed, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 7. In still other exemplary implementations, as diagrammatically illustrated in the example of FIG. 8, the entire top portion 602 and/or bottom portion 604 can be configure to have any shape, while maintaining the functionality described above with reference to FIG. 6. Such designs or shapes can include, for example and without limitations, one or more, or any combination of, recognizable features such as a star, or a heart, or a frog, or a smiley face, or any type of “an emoji,” animal, saying, and/or others.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to a certain exemplary embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended representative claims and the full scope of equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one of an accessory hole, or grommet, or an attachment feature, configured on the medial side of a tongue of a footwear and with respect to at least one of an uppermost holes for lace of the footwear; and

an attachment mechanism in communication with the accessory hole and a corresponding at least one of the uppermost holes.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a secondary lace introduced into the accessory hole and the at least one of the uppermost holes to secure the tongue with respect to a side of the footwear by passing the secondary lace through the accessory hole of the tongue and a corresponding of the at least one of the uppermost holes of the footwear.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the secondary lace is tied off and/or tightened to secure the tongue.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a cinching mechanism to secure and/or tighten the secondary lace.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a charm configured with the attachment mechanism.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the charm is configure as a slider on the secondary lace or as an integrated component of the attachment mechanism.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein both ends of the secondary lace are secured by a locking mechanism such that the secondary lace can be tightened for desired effect by movement of the locking mechanism and/or the secondary lace with respect to one another.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein

the locking mechanism comprises a cam-lock,

both ends of the secondary lace pass through a bottom portion of the cam-lock, and

at least one of release, locking, and retention of the secondary lace is actuated by manipulating a top portion of the cam-lock.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein an exterior shape of at least a portion of the locking mechanism comprises a recognizable feature.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein an exterior of at least a portion of the locking mechanism comprises a one or more visible spectrum colors, other than a native color of locking mechanism material.

11. The system of claim 2 further comprising a charm configured with the attachment mechanism.

12. The system of claim 3 further comprising a charm configured with the attachment mechanism.

13. The system of claim 4 further comprising a charm configured with the attachment mechanism.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein an exterior shape of at least a portion of the locking mechanism comprises a recognizable feature.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein an exterior of at least a portion of the locking mechanism comprises a one or more visible spectrum colors, other than a native color of locking mechanism material.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein an exterior of at least a portion of the locking mechanism comprises a one or more visible spectrum colors, other than a native color of locking mechanism material.