GB2378119A

GB2378119A - Fastener arrangement for shoelaces or the like

Info

Publication number: GB2378119A
Application number: GB0217597A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Greedy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-07-31
Filing date: 2002-07-30
Publication date: 2003-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 2022-07-30
Also published as: GB0217597D0; GB2378119B; GB0118686D0

Abstract

A shoe or boot (5) is laced with a lace (1) (shown with the right-hand portion in a lighter shade than the left-hand portion). The latter portion is threaded through the bore of a tubular fastener member (4) and forms a loop (L1) at the right-hand end of the fastener member with the free end threaded back through the same bore. Similarly the right-hand portion of the lace is threaded through the bore of the fastener member and forms a loop (L2) at the left-hand side with the free end of the lace threaded back to the right through the bore. The free ends of the lace are prevented from being drawn back through the bore of the fastener member by expanded portions (3C and 3A). Loop L1 is prevented from being drawn through the bore of the fastener member by an expanded portion (3D) and loop L2 is similarly constrained by an expanded portion (3B). The arrangement is tightened by pulling the loops apart as indicated by arrows A1 and A2, and releasably maintained in the tightened state by frictional engagement.

Description

FASTENER ARRANGEMENT FOR FOOTWEAR OR CLOTHING The present invention relates to a fastener arrangement for footwear or clothing.

Conventional shoelaces have a number of disadvantages, and in particular tend to come undone easily. This is particularly troublesome for young children, who may not notice and may trip over their undone laces and in any case will not be able to retie them satisfactorily, if at all. Furthermore those such as the elderly, with limited dexterity eg as a result of arthritis, also experience difficulty in tying up conventional shoelaces.

To a lesser degree, such problems also arise in items of casual clothing such as cagouls and anoraks which conventionally have drawstrings which are tied up (and become untied) in the manner of shoelaces.

Such disadvantages are largely overcome by fasteners of hook and loop material such as Velcro (RTM) but, particularly in the area of footwear, such fasteners have gained only limited acceptance, partly because they tend to lose their grip after a period of use and partly for aesthetic reasons.

An object of the present invention is to overcome or alleviate at least some of the above disadvantages.

In one aspect the invention provides a fastener arrangement for a lace or cord of footwear or clothing, the fastener arrangement comprising a fastener member having at least one length of the lace or cord passing through the fastener member, whereby said length of lace or cord can be pulled further through the fastener member to tighten the fastener arrangement and the fastener member can be pulled to release said length of lace or cord to enable the fastener arrangement to be loosened, the fastener member having means for engaging the lace or cord so as to maintain tension after tightening.

In use, tightening involves a simple pulling action which is much easier for children than tying loops.

Preferably the fastener arrangement further comprises means for forming a loop in the lace or cord at one end of the fastener member, whereby the loop can be extended from the fastener member to tighten the lace or cord and the fastener member can be pulled to shorten the loop and untighten the lace or cord.

Because the loop can be extended and shortened to tighten and untighten the lace or cord, it does not need to be undone and hence there is much less risk of tripping.

Preferably the fastener member has two lengths of lace or cord extending from respective parts of the clothing or footwear and passing through the fastener member in opposite directions and means for forming respective loops in the lengths of cord or lace at opposite ends of the fastener member, whereby the loops can be extended to tighten the lengths of lace or cord and the fastener member can be pulled to untighten the lengths of lace or cord.

This results in an arrangement which can have a similar appearance to conventional shoelaces and should be acceptable even for relatively smart footwear.

In a preferred embodiment the engaging means comprises a surface of a bore in the fastener member which frictionally engages the lace or cord.

This feature results in a simple and unobtrusive fastener member (which can for example be in the form of a small tube) which can be made very inexpensively.

In one embodiment the engaging means comprises one or more projections inclined with respect to the axis of the bore in the direction of its associated loop so as to facilitate tightening the lace or cord.

This feature reduces the risk of the fastener arrangement coming undone and/or makes it easier to tighten the arrangement.

In another embodiment the engaging means comprises a reel on which the lace or cord is wound. Preferably the reel has user-operable means for preventing or impeding rotation of the reel. Preferably the reel is spring-loaded so as to tension the lace or cord.

Such an embodiment would be particularly suitable for casual footwear or clothing where a particularly secure fastening is desired.

Other preferred features are defined in the dependent claims.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example only with reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of an item of footwear having a fastener arrangement in accordance with the invention, the fastener arrangement being untightened; Figure 2 is a side elevation similar to Figure 1 but showing the fastener arrangement tightened; Figure 3 is an axial cross-section, to an enlarged scale, through fastener member 4 of the fastener arrangement of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a similar axial cross-section showing a variant of the above fastener member; Figure 5 is a similar axial cross-section showing a further variant of the above fastener member; Figure 5A shows a detail of the serrations in two of the bores in the fastener member of Figure 5; Figure 6 is an elevation showing a further fastener member which can be substituted in the arrangement of Figures 1 and 2, and Figure 7 is a diagrammatic front elevation showing a variant of Figure 1.

Referring first to Figure 1, a shoe or boot 5 is laced with a lace 1 which, purely for ease of illustration is shown with the right-hand portion in a lighter shade than the left-hand portion. The latter portion is threaded to the right through the bore of a

tubular fastener member 4 and forms a loop LI at the right-hand end of the fastener member with the free end threaded back through the same bore. Similarly the righthand portion of the lace is threaded to the left through the bore of the fastener member 4 and forms a loop L2 at the left-hand side with the free end of the lace threaded back to the right through the bore.

The free ends of the lace are prevented from being drawn back through the bore of the fastener member 4 by expanded portions or beads 3C and 3A respectively. Loop L 1 is prevented from being drawn through the bore of the fastener member 4 by an expanded portion or bead 3D and loop L2 is similarly constrained by an expanded portion of bead 3B. Some or all of the above expanded portions 3A to 3D could be constituted by knots in a particularly simple embodiment.

The operation of the arrangement is as follows.

Referring to Figure 1, by pulling loops L1 and L2 apart as shown by arrows Al and A2, they are expanded and draw in the intermediate portions of the lace 1 (i. e. the portions between the uppermost eyelets and the fastener member 4) until the lace is fully tightened as shown in Figure 2. In this condition the expanded portions or beads 3A and 3C are drawn hard up against the opposite ends of the fastener member 4.

To untighten the lace 1, fastener member 4 is pulled away from the lacing as shown by arrow A3 in Figure 2, shortening the loops L1 and L2 and reverting to the configuration shown in Figure 1. Expanded portions or beads 3B and 3D prevent the loops from being entirely pulled through the bore of the fastener member 4.

To assist in tightening the arrangement, the expanded portions or beads 3B and 3D can be coloured or otherwise made to appear different from the expanded portions or beads 3A and 3C. Furthermore, expanded portions or beads 3B and 3D could be marked or coloured differently from each other to indicate that the former should be pulled to the left and the latter to the right.

The arrangement is shown, somewhat diagrammatically, in more detail in Figure 3. The bore B of fastener 4 is constructed to engage the lace with sufficient friction to prevent slippage from the fastened condition shown in Figure 1. To this end, the bore may be non-cylindrical and the fastener member is suitably made of

high friction material such as synthetic rubber or the like and is suitably a tight fit over the four lengths of lace running through it. Depending on the application, the fastener member may be constructed and arranged to maintain the portion of the lace coming from the shoe at a tension of up to IN, or up to 3N, or up to ION for example.

In a variant (not shown) the fastener 4 could be of resilient construction and could be provided with a non-circular (e. g. flattened) bore so that by squeezing the fastener radially the bore can be deformed to a more nearly circular cross-section, thereby releasing its frictional engagement with the laces to allow the fastener to be unfastened. On releasing the squeezing pressure, the fastener will revert to its original non-circular cross-section by virtue of its resilience and thereby grip the laces. In this fastened state the fastener will preferably maintain the portion of the lace coming from the shoe at a tension of up to IN, or up to 3N, or up to ION for example.

In the variant 4'shown in Figure 4, the free ends of the lace are not provided with bead or expanded portions but instead are fixed to an attachment 6 within a further bore B2, the intermediate lengths of lace running through and being frictionally engaged by a bore Bl which functions similarly to bore B of Figure 3.

In the variant 4"shown in Figure 5, the bore B 1 is replaced by separate bores B3 and B4 for the separate portions of the lace. As shown in Figure 5, these bores are provided with rightwardly inclined and leftwardly inclined sets of serrations Sl and S2 of resilient gripping material respectively, tending to prevent untightening of the lace 1.

In the further variant shown in Figure 6, the fastener member 4 is replaced by a fastener member 4'"in the form of a casing housing a reel R which is springloaded by a spiral spring S so as to tend to rotate clockwise as shown by arrow A5 and draw in the lengths of lace 1 from the shoe, thereby tightening the arrangement. It will be appreciated that the lengths of lace are coiled in opposite directions around the reel, only one coil being shown for the sake of clarity. This tightening action is normally prevented by a brake 8 which engages the periphery of reel R. Brake 8 can be lifted by the user depressing a button 7 in the direction indicated by arrow A3. Button 7 is coupled to brake 8 by a lever pivoted at pivot P provided within the casing of member 4'. Fastener member 4'"ils suitably constructed from two rectangular cheeks of plastics material with reel R and brake 8 mounted between them.

In the variant shown in Figure 7, the laces L1 and L2 each pass once through a frictionally engaging bore (whose diameter is exaggerated for the sake of clarity) in fastener member 4 and have expanded portions or beads 3'near their free ends which prevent the free ends from being drawn through the bore. The arrangement can be tightened by pulling the free ends of the laces and then held tight by frictional engagement between the laces and the bore. The arrangement can then be loosened by pulling fastener member 4 upwardly away from shoe 5.

The above fastening arrangements could also be used for fastening the free ends of draw cords in outdoor clothing, for example.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A fastener arrangement for a lace or cord of footwear or clothing, the fastener arrangement comprising a fastener member having at least one length of the lace or cord passing through the fastener member, whereby said length of lace or cord can be pulled further through the fastener member to tighten the fastener arrangement and the fastener member can be pulled to release said length of lace or cord to enable the fastener arrangement to be loosened, the fastener member having means for engaging the lace or cord so as to maintain tension after tightening.
2. A fastener arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising means for forming a loop in the lace or cord at one end of the fastener member, whereby the loop can be extended from the fastener member to tighten the lace or cord and the fastener member can be pulled to shorten the loop and untighten the lace or cord.
3. A fastener arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the loop-forming means comprises an expanded portion of the lace or cord near a free end thereof which is too large to pass through the interior of the fastener member.
4. A fastener arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the loop-forming means comprises means for securing a free end of the lace or cord to the fastener member.
5. A fastener arrangement according to any of claims 2 to 4 wherein the fastener member has two lengths of lace or cord extending from respective parts of the clothing or footwear and passing through the fastener member in opposite directions and means for forming respective loops in the lengths of cord or lace at opposite ends of the fastener member, whereby the loops can be extended to tighten the lengths of lace or cord and the fastener member can be pulled to untighten the lengths of lace or cord.
6. A fastener arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the engaging means comprises a surface of a bore in the fastener member which frictionally engages the lace or cord.

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7. A fastener arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the engaging means comprises one or more projections inclined with respect to the axis of the bore in the direction of its associated loop so as to facilitate tightening the lace or cord.
8. A fastener arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the engaging means comprises a reel on which the lace or cord is wound.
9. A fastener arrangement according to claim 8 wherein the reel has useroperable means for preventing or impeding rotation of the reel.
10. A fastener arrangement according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the reel is spring-loaded so as tension the lace or cord.
11. A fastener arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the engaging means is arranged to maintain a tension of up to ION in the lace or cord.
12. A fastener arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the engaging means is arranged to maintain a tension of up to 3N in the lace or cord.
13. A fastener arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the engaging means is arranged to maintain a tension of up to IN in the lace or cord.
14. A fastener arrangement substantially as described hereinabove with reference to Figures 1 and 2 in conjunction with any of Figures 3 to 5A of the accompanying drawings or with reference to Figures 1 and 2 as modified in accordance with Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings or with reference to Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.
15. An item of clothing incorporating a fastener arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim.
16. Footwear having laces provided with a fastener arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14.