Lacing system for shoes

• US 5,271,130 A
• Filed: 02/08/1993
• Issued: 12/21/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: K-Swiss Incorporated (E-Land Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: K-Swiss Incorporated (E-Land Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Batra, Vijay K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sakran, Victor N.
• Application Number:
  US08/014,846
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: 24/714.6, 24/714.8, 24/714.9, 24/306, 24/713-713.5, 24/442, 36/50.1, 36/51
• US Class Current: 24/714.6
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/0235 Different layers of different material
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 1/04 with rings or loops
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/3768 having loop or sleeve shaped directing means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/3774 Mounted by structure allowing bodily movement thereof

Abstract

The invention is a lacing system for shoes employing a plurality of strips, wherein the lower ends of the strips are rigidly attached to the lower portion of the shoe and the upper portion of the strips have a lacing ring fixed thereto. The upper ends of the strips are slideably retained by loops on the upper of the shoe, and the middle portion of the strips are unattached to the quarter of the shoe. The strips transfer the lacing force evenly along the quarter to mold the quarter of shoe evenly to the wearer'"'"'s feet.

Claims

1. A lacing system for a shoe having an upper with a vamp, a quarter on each side of the shoe, a counter, and a sole, comprising:

a plurality of elongate strips, each strip having a lower portion, an upper portion, and a middle portion, said lower strip portions being rigidly attached to the quarter of the shoe near the sole of the medial and lateral sides of the shoe;

a plurality of lacing eye members at least equal in number to said number of said plurality of strips, one of said lacing eye members being fixed at said upper portion of each of said strips; and

a plurality of loop means equal in number to said number of said strips, said plurality of loop means comprising a plurality of pairs of spaced apart parallel slits made either through a loop member piece positioned along the medial longitudinal axis of the shoe, or directly through the quarter of the shoe lying along the medial longitudinal axis of the shoe, said pairs of slits running in a direction approximately parallel to said elongate strips, and a pair of lanyards, said lanyards being positioned on said shoe such that portions of the lanyards, not lying between said pair of slits, lie under the loop member piece or under the quarter of the shoe, and portions of the lanyard lying between said pairs of slits form said loops, wherein each said strip is movably retained at its upper portion by one loop means and at least a portion of sad middle portion of said strips lies unattached on the quarter of the shoe.

2. The lacing system for shoes of claim 1, wherein each of said strips are fixedly attached near the lower portion of the shoe by a means used to attach the soles of the shoes to the upper of the shoe.

3. The lacing system for shoes of claim 1, wherein at least one of said number of strips is permanently fixed at its lower portion to a lower portion of the quarter of the shoe by stitches.

4. The lacing system for shoes of claim 1, wherein said lacing rings are attached to each said upper portion of said strips by virtue of the upper portion of the strips being looped through and folded over a portion of the lacing ring, and the overlapped layers of the strips being sewn together.

5. A lacing system for a shoe having an upper with a vamp, a quarter, and a counter, a loop member attached to the upper in the vicinity of a tongue of the shoe, and a sole, comprising:

a plurality of elongate strips, each strip having a lower portion, an upper portion, and a middle portion, said lower portion being rigidly attached to the quarter of the shoe near the sole of the shoe;

a plurality of lacing eye members, at least one of said lacing eye members being fixed at said upper portion of each said strip; and

a plurality of loop means equal in number to said number of said strips, each of said loops comprising a pair of spaced apart parallel slits formed through said loop member, said slits being approximately perpendicular to said elongate strips, wherein said upper portion of each said strip is slideably retained by one of said plurality of loops and at least a portion of said middle portion of said strips ride unattached on said quarter of the shoe.

6. The lacing system for shoes of claim 5, wherein at least one of each said strips is permanently fixed at its lower portion to a lower portion of the quarter of the shoe by stitches.

7. The lacing system for shoes of claim 5, wherein said lacing eye members are attached to each said upper portion of said strips by virtue of the upper portion of the strips being looped through and folded over a portion of the lacing eye member, and the overlapped layers of the strips being sewn together.

8. In a shoe having a sole, an upper, a plurality of elongate strips having an upper end and a lower end with lacing eye members affixed at said upper end, and shoe laces, the improvement comprising:

said plurality of elongate strips being retained on the shoe at said upper and lower ends thereof by an upper loop means and a lower retention means respectively, said upper loop means and lower retention means being spaced apart from each other by a substantial distance, said lower end of said elongate strips being attached to the upper of the shoe, wherein said upper loop means comprises a plurality of pairs of slits made either directly through the upper of the shoe or through an eyestay member affixed to the upper of the shoe, each of said pairs of slits being adjacent to and oriented generally parallel to the upper ends of said strips, and a strip retention lanyard looped between said plurality of said pairs of slits to thereby slideably retain the upper ends of said strips.

9. The shoe of claim 8, wherein said lower retention means comprises stitch means.

10. The shoe of claim 8, wherein said lower retention means comprises adhesive means.

11. The shoe of claim 8, wherein said lower retention means comprises a combination of stitch and adhesive means.

12. A lacing system for a shoe having an upper with a vamp, a quarter on each side of the shoe, a counter, and a sole, comprising;

a plurality of elongate strips, each strip having a lower portion, an upper portion, and a middle portion, said lower strip portion being rigidly attached to the quarter of the shoe in the vicinity of the sole of the shoe;

a plurality of lacing eye members, at least one of said lacing eye members being fixed at said upper portion of each of said strips; and

a plurality of loop means, said plurality of loop means positioned near a top portion of the upper of the shoe, wherein each loop means comprises a pair of spaced apart parallel slits made through a loop member piece positioned along the central longitudinal axis of the hose, or directly through the quarter of the shoe, said pairs of slits being approximately perpendicular to said strips, whereby in use, each said strip is looped through and movably retained at its upper portion through said pair of slits of each loop means and wherein at least said middle portion of said strips lies unattached on the quarter of the shoe.

13. A lacing system for a shoe having an upper with a vamp, a quarter, and a counter, and a sole, comprising:

a plurality of elongate strips, each strip having a lower portion, an upper portion, and a middle portion, at least a portion of said middle portion of said plurality of elongate strips remaining unattached to the upper, the lower strip portion being attached to the quarter of the shoe above the sole of the shoe;

a lacing eye member affixed at said upper portion of each of said strips; and

strip retention means positioned along the medial longitudinal axis of the shoe in order to retain said upper portions of said strips thereon in a predetermined alignment, independent of positioning thereon by a shoe lace.