LACE HOLDER FOR FOOTWEAR RETAINED BY LACES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to retainers for laces of shoes or the like and, more particularly, to a cruciform, hook-and-loop bearing structure that retains the end portions of laces of shoes or other lace-bearing objects.

1. Background of the Invention

Many shoes, boots, and other forms of footwear are provided with laces or other elongated fasteners that act as closures for the footwear. Professional athletes, joggers, young children and many others who wear shoes or other footwear fastened with laces are often faced with the annoyance of bow-knots which loosen or become untied, typically at inconvenient or hazardous times and/or locations. Footwear laces tend to loosen and become undone because these laces are typically formed of relatively smooth woven yarn material. Only the inherent friction of the lace surfaces and the snugness of the knot tied by the wearer determine the period of time which the knot will remain tied.

When knots in the laces of the footwear of young children become untied, the intervention of an adult or an older child may be required to re-tie the laces of the footwear. This may put an unreasonable burden on adults responsible for supervising groups of young children. The consequences of injury sustained by a young child who trips over his or her own untied laces may be severe. Therefore, close supervision with particular attention paid to the shoe laces of the children must be maintained.

It would, therefore, be advantageous to provide a device readily attachable to footwear that would prevent or at least minimize the untying of footwear laces.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Several attempts to provide such devices may be found in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,439 for KNOT SECURING DEVICE issued Sep. 29, 1981 to Alfred A Riti discloses a knot-securing device for the laces of shoes or other laced articles comprising a strap having adjoining surfaces of hook and loop elements. The strap is positioned to surround and contact the knot when the hook surface is brought into contact with the loop surface. An anchoring element may be fixed to the device to secure it to a lace.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,293 for REUSABLE TYING DEVICE issued Nov. 19, 1985 to Ronald D. Blum shows a mechanism for securing a portion of the device to the shoe and enabling the device to be reused for securing a knot in place each and every time the laces are tied. In one disclosed embodiment, the device incorporates elastic or semi-rigid means for engaging the shoelace knot from opposed sides to impede the knot from becoming untied while simultaneously exposing the knot for view and maintaining the normal appearance of the bow.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,787 for SHOE LACE KNOT SECURING DEVICE issued Nov. 14, 1989 to Thomas J. Walls teaches a shoe lace knot securing device comprising a body, a pair of straps each having two ends wherein one end of each strap is permanently attached to one end of the said body and the other end of each strap is free and wherein the said straps extend outward from the said end of the said body, and an anchor loop provide at the other end of the said body, wherein the said body is provided with a fastener adapted to coact with a fastener on each of the said straps to detachably couple the free end of each of the said straps to the said body, and wherein each of the said straps is provided with a fastener adapted to coact with a fastener on the said body.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,437 for SHOELACE KNOT RETAINING APPARATUS issued Aug. 21, 1990 to Travis B. Anderson shows a device for retaining a knot of a shoelace. The device comprises a band with proximate and distal ends. The band is made of an elastic material, whereby the band may be stretched from a relaxed length to a stretched length. A rigid tab member comprises a proximate end portion connected to the proximate end of the elastic band, a distal end portion, and a lace slot cut entirely through the rigid tab member. A clip is affixed to the distal end of the elastic band for receiving the distal end portion in an attached state, wherein a force is applied by the elastic band attempting to retract the elastic band from its stretched length to its relaxed length, to maintain the distal end portion of the rigid tab member within the clip, and the knot is maintained in the lace slot and the shoelace clamped between the elastic band and the rigid tab member.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,888 for SHOELACE RETAINER issued Mar. 19, 1991 to Cathy S Miller teaches a shoelace retainer that includes a flexible, elongated strap member having a plurality of hook fastener elements on one surface thereof and a plurality of complementary loop fastener elements on an opposite surface thereof. A tab member having an elongated slot is disposed at a first end of the strap member for attaching the strap member to the footwear. The free ends of the shoelace are passed through the slot and the ends are tied in a conventional bowknot. The bow loops and free ends of the shoelace are placed on top of the strap member and the strap member is rolled up and onto itself, whereby the hook fastener elements become interlocked with the loop fastener elements, thereby confining the bow loops and free ends between convoluted layers.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,517 for SHOE LACE SAFETY GUARD issued Sep. 30, 1997 to Mervin Gourley discloses a shoe lace safety guard that covers and retains the shoe laces to prevent inadvertent snagging or other interference with the laces when wearing shoes. An inner fastener element is attached by a tab to the shoe lace at the furthest lace away from the point at which the laces are tied. The shoe laces are then tied by a bow over the inner fastener element. An outer fastener element attached at a fold is then folded over onto the inner fastener element and retained by a hook and loop material to cover and retain the laces. The outer fastener element may have hook and loop material to allow attachment of emblems, reflectors and other objects.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,500 for KNOT SECURING DEVICE issued Jul. 14, 1998 to Molse Illingworth shows a knot securing device of particular benefit in securing shoelace knots made from a flexible material with a region having hook elements, a region having loop elements and a pair of apertures in the flexible material for allowing the open ends of a shoelace to pass through from one surface of the material to the opposite surface of the material, wherein the shoelace is then tied in a knot and the regions with the hook and loop elements are brought into contact to form a secure, but releasable, lock around the knot.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,186 for DEVICE FOR RETAINING AND/OR BLOCKING SHOELACES IN PARTICULAR FOR SPORT SHOES issued Jan. 15, 2002 to Philippe Kleinmann teaches a device for retaining and/or blocking shoelaces, for sport shoes in particular. The device is in the shape of a tube portion with two parts articulated about a hinge that can be locked in the closed position and unlocked to allow for the insertion or removal of the shoelace in the shape of a bundle. The device is fastened by at least one fastening means to a part integral with the shoe, for instance to a shoelace passing through at least two holes formed in at least one of the two parts of the tube.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,323 for SHOELACE COVER issued Aug. 5, 2003 to Kanzo Tsujino et al. provides a shoelace cover for use with an athletic shoe for covering the shoelaces to prevent the loosening or untying of a tied shoelace bow. The device is particularly applicable to wrestling shoes wherein the physical contact between wrestlers often causes the wrestling shoes to become untied. The shoelace cover generally includes a length of material with ends that can be interconnected to form an adjustable cuff for extending about one's ankle. A front portion includes apertures for shoelaces to extend through the cover. Preferably, the shoelaces extend from the shoe to pass through the apertures of the cover and then back to the shoe to secure the cover to the shoe. The front portion includes a pocket on a back side. The shoelaces can be tied into a shoelace bow, tucked into the pocket, and the ends of the cuff can be secured about one's ankle to retain the shoelace within the pocket under the cover.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,864 for SHOELACE RETAINER issued Oct. 11, 2005 to John R. Moreno discloses a shoelace retainer including a strip of loop-type fastening material that has been folded back upon itself near its midpoint and seamed in place so as to form a small tab. The tab is perforated so as to provide the strip of loop-type fastening material with an attachment ring. Adjacent the ring at one end of the strip of loop-type fastening material is attached a patch of hook-type fastening material.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,298 for SHOELACE RETAINER issued Jan. 24, 2006 to Mitchell L. Ternasky et al. discloses a footwear lace retainer including a first fabric sheet having a pair of spaced-apart openings for passage of the lace therethrough and a second fabric sheet secured to the first fabric sheet to form a pocket sized and shaped for receiving ends of the lace therein and having an open end facing toward the openings. A portion of the first fabric sheet forms a closure selectively foldable between a closing position wherein the open end of the pocket is closed and an opening position wherein the open end of the pocket is open. The openings are located between a fold line of the first fabric sheet and the open end of the pocket. A hook and loop fastener releasably secures the closure in the closing position. An attachment on the first fabric sheet opposite the pocket secures the first fabric sheet to the lace.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,395,586 for SHOELACE RETENTION DEVICE issued Jul. 8, 2008 to Sam Gibson teaches a shoelace management and retainment device for temporarily retaining the loop and free ends of a shoelace bow formed on a shoe when tied. An open ended cylindrical sleeve of yieldable material is attached to portions of the shoelace extending through the eyelets of the shoe. An insertion opening is formed along the longitudinal length of the device into which the bow portion and shoelace ends of the shoelace is inserted translaterally so as to be positioned therewithin and extend partially out through corresponding respective distal end thereof.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,404,242 for LACE SECURING APPARATUS issued Jul. 29, 2008 to Janelle Perler shows a lace gripper comprising an upper body and a lower body that may be joined together whereby a tied lace is secured between the two bodies. Preferably the upper body is designed to receive inserts, charms, lights, recording devices, alarm and locating audible signals and locating devices, to allow the user to customize the lace gripper to their personal preference. The lace gripper can additionally be utilized to maintain a memo and would be secured to an object of daily use, such as a key ring or purse.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,640,640 for SHOELACE CONTAINMENT DEVICE issued Jan. 5, 2010 to Sean Michael Watkins provides a shoelace containment device for securing shoelaces after tying on a sports shoe. A flexible body member defines a lace retainment pocket with a closure flap thereover. Multiple shoe engagement straps adjustably secure the retainment pocket over the lace portion of a sports shoe.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,677,578 for DEVICE TO SECURE SHOELACE KNOT issued Mar. 25, 2014 to Anurag Satyapal Singh teaches a device to secure the shoelace knot having flexible upper member and flexible lower member attached preferably using eyelet kind of part at equally spaced lateral apertures of upper member and lower member in a manner where upper member's top surface attaches to lower member's top surface so that shoelace can be inserted through apertures of upper member and a lower member to tie a knot over upper member's bottom surface. After tying regular shoelace bow knot over upper member's bottom surface the upper member's body is folded at imaginary center axis to fasten the hook and loop ends while securing knot in bigger knot receiving aperture of upper member while lower member rests on shoes surface providing extra support even when shoe is being used in regress sports activities and ensuring that knot remains tied.

None of the patents, taken singly, or in any combination are seen to teach or suggest the novel Lace Holder for Footwear Retained by Laces of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a shoe lace holder for retaining the laces of footwear. A pair of orthogonal, thin, elongated, flaccid members is connected one to the other at their central regions. Hook portions and loop portions of a hook-and-loop fastening system are selectively disposed proximate the ends of each of the pair of orthogonal, thin, elongated, flaccid members. One of the thin, elongated, flaccid members is placed around a group of the laces of the footwear and its ends secured to each other by compatible hook and loop portions of the hook-and-loop fastening system. Once the shoe or other lace-bearing footwear is tied, the ends of the shoe laces are then retained by encircling them with the second of the thin, elongated, flaccid members. Excess lengths of shoe laces are then secured to prevent tripping by the shoe wearer over an unsecured lace end. Indicia may be placed on one or more of the pair of orthogonal, thin, elongated, flaccid members in such a manner so as to be visible once the lace ends are secured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a top plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 1B is a top plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder of FIG. 1A showing stitching;

FIG. 1C is a top plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder of FIG. 1A showing mechanical fasteners;

FIG. 1D is a top plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder of FIG. 1A showing adhesive;

FIG. 2 is a rear plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 3-6 are progressive top plan, schematic views of the shoe lace holder of FIG. 1A in successively folded orientations;

FIG. 7 is a top, perspective, schematic view of a shoe having the shoe lace holder of FIG. 1A installed thereupon;

FIG. 8 is a top, perspective, schematic view of the shoe of FIG. 7 having the with shoe lace holder as seen in FIG. 4 installed thereupon;

FIG. 9 is a top, perspective, schematic view of the shoe of FIG. 7 having the with shoe lace holder as seen in FIG. 6 installed thereupon and the laces of the shoe retained thereby; and

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder as seen in FIG. 9 and having indicia disposed on the shoelace holder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a removable, reusable shoe lace retainer for use with footwear. The novel device is cruciform in shape and assembled from two mutually orthogonal elongated, thin, flaccid members.

Referring first to FIG. 1A, there is shown a top plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder in accordance with the invention, generally at reference number 100. A first elongated, thin, flaccid member 102 is shown positioned under a second thin, flaccid member 104 with elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 being disposed mutually orthogonally to one another.

A region of a hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastening system 106 is disposed proximate a first end of each of elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104.

Elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 are attached to each other at an overlapping central region 110. Referring now also to FIG. 1B, there is shown a top plan, schematic view of the shoe lace fastener of FIG. 1A by showing elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 may be stitched together. Stitching 112, typically within integral region 110 is shown schematically. It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that numerous patterns of stitching 112 may be used. Consequently, the invention is not considered limited to any particular stitching pattern. Rather, the invention is intended to include any and all stitching patterns.

Refer now also to FIG. 1C. In alternate embodiments, elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 may be attached to one another with mechanical fasteners 114, for example, one or more rivets or other similar fasteners. It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that numerous different types of mechanical fasteners are known to those of skill in the art. Some mechanical fasteners 114 permanently attach to elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104. Other types of mechanical, for example, snap fasteners, not shown, allow elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 to be selectively separated from one another. Other types and styles including D-ring fasteners are believed to be well known to those of skill in the art. Consequently, the invention is not considered limited to the types of fasteners specified. Rather, the invention is intended to include any and all suitable substitute fastening devices, fastening techniques, and fastening materials.

Refer now also to FIG. 1D. In FIG. 1D, elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 are affixed to one another by adhesive shown schematically at reference number 118 visible through a cutaway region 116 in elongated, thin, flaccid member 104. Sobo® craft and fabric glue provided by Delta Creative, Inc. of City of Industry, Calif. is one product found suitable for the application. It will be recognized that other alternate products known to those of skill in the art may be substitute for the Sobo® product.

Referring now also to FIG. 2, there is shown a rear plan, schematic view of the shoe lace holder of FIG. 1A. Loop portions 108 of a hook-and-loop fastening system are disposed on opposite ends of elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 relative to the hook portions 106 visible in FIG. 1A.

The arrangement of hook portions 106 and loop portions 108 of a hook-and-loop fastening system allow each of elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 to be joined end-to-end by their respective hook portion 106 and loop portion 108 regions at their opposing ends.

Referring now also to FIGS. 3-6 there are shown progressive views of the shoe lace holder of FIGS. 1A and 2 being formed into an operational configuration. All references to direction are based on the configuration seen in FIG. 1A.

In FIG. 3, the lower portion of elongated, thin, flaccid member 102 is folded upward to cover central region 110, thereby exposing loop portion 108 of the hook-and loop fastening system.

As seen in FIG. 4, the upper portion of elongated, thin, flaccid member 102 is folded downward to also cover central region 110. This allows the hook portion 106 on the upper surface to engage the now exposed loop portion 108, thereby attaching the ends of elongated, thin, flaccid member 102 one to the other.

As seen in FIG. 5, the left end of elongated, thin, flaccid member 104 is next folded inward to also cover central region 110 thereby exposing loop portion 108 on the underside thereof.

Finally, as seen in FIG. 6, the right end of elongated, thin, flaccid member 104 is also folded inward thereby allowing hook portion 106 to engage the now exposed loop portion 108 on the underside of elongated, thin, flaccid member 104.

Each of elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104 when connected end-to-end as described above defines a hollow pocket, not specifically identified, at a central region 110. As is discussed in detail hereinbelow, this allows attaching shoe lace holder 100 to a shoe or other piece of footwear and retaining the laces thereof.

A first of these hollow pockets, typically a lower pocket formed by elongated, thin, flaccid member 102, facilitates attaching shoe lace holder 100 to the shoe.

A second of these hollow pockets, typically an upper pocket formed by elongated, thin, flaccid member 104, facilitates retaining the laces of the shoe once the laces are tied.

Referring now also to FIG. 7, there is shown a top perspective, pictorial, schematic view of a typical shoe, generally at reference number 200. Shoe 200 is equipped with a shoe lace 202 that is threaded through a plurality of eyelets 204 in a manner well known to all wearers of laced shoes. Shoe lace 202 typically has two ends 206a, 206b that extend beyond respective top eyelets 208a, 208b. Neither shoe 200 nor shoelace 202 form any part of the present invention. They are shown merely to illustrate the typical use of shoe lace retainer 100

Shoe lace retainer 100 of the invention is shown partially installed on shoe 200 under a region of laces 202. Elongated, thin, flaccid member 102 is placed on the tongue, not specifically identified, and aligned substantially parallel to a major axis, not specifically identified, of the tongue. Once elongated, thin, flaccid member 102 is in place, lace 202 is threaded through eyelets 204 in a normal manner.

Once shoe 200 is laced, the ends of elongated, thin, flaccid member 102 are connected one to another as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, thereby trapping the laces in the first of the hollow pockets discussed hereinabove and securing shoe lace retainer 100 to shoe 200. Elongated, thin, flaccid member 104 is now ready to retain ends 206a, 206b and excess length of lace 202 once the shoe lace 202 is tied.

Referring now also to FIG. 8, there is shown a top perspective, pictorial, schematic view of a typical shoe 200 having the shoe lace retainer 100 of the invention installed thereupon.

Referring now also to FIG. 9, there is shown a top perspective, pictorial, schematic view of a typical shoe 200 having the shoe lace retainer 100 of the invention installed thereupon and with ends 206a, 206b of shoe lace 202 retained thereby. Indicia 120 may be applied to elongated, thin, flaccid member 104.

Referring now also to FIG. 10, indicia 120 may be placed on a surface of one or both elongated, thin, flaccid members 102, 104, Indicia 120 may be any combination of text, symbols, logotypes, etc. and may be applied in one or more colors. Indicia 120 may be printed, silk screened, or applied using any other process known to those of skill in the art.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.

LACE HOLDER FOR FOOTWEAR RETAINED BY LACES

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