Patent Application
20180168287
This application relates to laces for footwear, and more particularly to slip-resistant laces and methods of making the same.
Shoelaces are designed to slide holes or eyelets provided in footwear, such as shoes and sneakers. Depending on the preference of the wearer of the shoes, the shoelaces are tied loosely or tightly in various knots to provide a desired size and fitting of the shoe on the wearer's foot. When the shoelaces are tied, it is often desirable for the laces to stay tied as untied shoelaces may be annoying to the wearer and may create an unsafe condition. However, many laces fail to stay tied due to lace material, lace shape, movement or other forces acting on the laces during use, etc., requiring re-tying of the laces repeatedly throughout the day.
The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention” and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various embodiments of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings and each claim.
In various embodiments, a method of reducing slippage of a lace of an article of dress includes providing the article of dress with the lace. In some embodiments, the lace is threaded through a plurality of openings defined by the article of dress. The method also includes extending a first end and a second end of the lace away from the article of dress such that the first end and the second end of the lace are spaced apart from the article of dress. A first engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of dress and the first end. A second engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of dress and the second end. In various embodiments, the first engagement portion is disengaged from the second engagement portion. In various embodiments, the method includes applying a silicone composition to the first engagement portion of the lace and applying the silicone composition the second engagement portion of the lace. The method further includes engaging the first engagement portion of the lace with the second engagement portion of the lace and forming a knot.
In some embodiments, applying the silicone composition includes spraying the silicone composition from an aerosol can and applying the silicone composition to the first engagement portion of the lace and the second engagement portion of the lace. In various embodiments, the article of dress includes footwear or garments.
Various implementations described in the present disclosure can include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which can not necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.
The features and components of the following figures are illustrated to emphasize the general principles of the present disclosure. Corresponding features and components throughout the figures can be designated by matching reference characters for the sake of consistency and clarity.
The present invention can be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description, examples, drawings, and claims, and their previous and following description. However, before the present devices, systems, and/or methods are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, systems, and/or methods disclosed unless otherwise specified, and, as such, can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting.
The following description of the invention is provided as an enabling teaching of the invention in its best, currently known embodiment. To this end, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate that many changes can be made to the various aspects of the invention described herein, while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present invention. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present invention can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present invention without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present invention are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are a part of the present invention. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present invention and not in limitation thereof.
As used throughout, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a band” can include two or more such bands unless the context indicates otherwise. Ranges can be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another aspect includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another aspect. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.
As used herein, the terms “optional” or “optionally” mean that the subsequently described event or circumstance can or cannot occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not. The word “or” as used herein means any one member of a particular list and includes any combination of members of that list. Further, one should note that conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “can,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain aspects include, while other aspects do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more particular aspects or that one or more particular aspects necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. Directional references such as “up,” “down,” “top,” “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” and “corners,” among others are intended to refer to the orientation as illustrated and described in the figure (or figures) to which the components and directions are referencing.
Various implementations described in the present disclosure can include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which can not necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.
Referring to
The lacing 100 includes a body 102 having a first end 104 and a second end 106. The body 102 may be constructed from various suitable materials such as various natural materials, synthetic materials, or combinations thereof. For example and without limitation, the body 102 may include cotton, textured polyester, spun polyester, nylon, polypropylene, leather, hemp, jute, or various other suitable materials. The body 102 defines a length extending from the first end 104 to the second end 106. In various embodiments, the length of the lacing 100 may depend on the type of lacing used or the number of openings 12, although it need not. In some cases, the length of the lacing 100 may be from about 45 cm. to about 200 cm., such as from about 65 cm. to about 180 cm. such as from about 75 cm. to about 150 cm., such as from about 100 cm. to about 130 cm., such as about 130 cm. In other examples, the length of the lacing 100 may be less than about 45 cm. or greater than about 200 cm. As illustrated in
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In various embodiments, the method includes drying the silicone coating 202 on the first engagement portion 112 and the second engagement portion 114. In some cases, the silicone coating is dried at ambient temperatures and for a predetermined time period. In various embodiments, the predetermined time period is from about 10 minutes to about 2 hours, such as from about 30 minutes to about 1 hour, such as about 45 minutes. In other examples, the predetermined timer period may be less than 10 minutes or greater than 2 hours.
Referring to
A collection of exemplary embodiments, including at least some explicitly enumerated as “ECs” (Example Combinations), providing additional description of a variety of embodiment types in accordance with the concepts described herein are provided below. These examples are not meant to be mutually exclusive, exhaustive, or restrictive; and the invention is not limited to these example embodiments but rather encompasses all possible modifications and variations within the scope of the issued claims and their equivalents.
EC 1. A method of reducing slippage of a lace of an article of footwear including: providing the article of footwear with the lace, wherein the lace is threaded through a plurality of openings defined by the article of footwear; extending a first end and a second end of the lace away from the article of footwear such that the first end and the second end of the lace are spaced apart from the article of footwear, wherein a first engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of footwear and the first end, wherein a second engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of footwear and the second end, and wherein the first engagement portion is disengaged from the second engagement portion; applying a silicone composition to the first engagement portion of the lace and applying the silicone composition the second engagement portion of the lace; and engaging the first engagement portion of the lace with the second engagement portion of the lace and forming a knot.
EC 2. A method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein applying the silicone composition to the first engagement portion and applying the silicone composition to the second engagement portion includes spraying the silicone composition from an aerosol can onto the first engagement portion and onto the second engagement portion.
EC 3. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, further including drying the silicone composition on the first engagement portion and drying the silicone composition on the second engagement portion for a predetermined drying time.
EC 4. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the predetermined drying time is from about 10 minutes to about 2 hours.
EC 5. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the predetermined drying time is from about 30 minutes to about 1 hour.
EC 6. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein forming the knot includes forming a bow knot.
EC 7. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the article of footwear includes at least one of a sneaker, a boot, a dress shoe, a running shoe, a derby shoe, a boat shoe, a moccasin, a cleat, or a climbing shoe.
EC 8. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the plurality of openings include a plurality of eyelets, and wherein the lace is threaded through the plurality of eyelets.
EC 9. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the silicone composition on the first engagement portion of the lace is transparent and wherein the silicone composition on the second engagement portion of the lace is transparent.
EC 10. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the lace includes a natural material, and wherein the natural material includes at least one of leather, hemp, cotton, or jute.
EC 11. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the lace includes a synthetic material, and wherein the synthetic material includes at least one of nylon, textured polyester, spun polyester, or polypropylene.
EC 12. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the first end of the lace includes an aglet and wherein the second end of the lace includes an aglet.
EC 13. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the lace includes a length of from about 45 cm. to about 200 cm.
EC 14. A method of reducing slippage of a lace of an article of footwear including: providing the article of footwear with the lace, wherein the lace is threaded through a plurality of openings defined by the article of footwear; extending a first end and a second end of the lace away from the article of footwear such that the first end and the second end of the lace are spaced apart from the article of footwear, wherein a first engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of footwear and the first end, wherein a second engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of footwear and the second end, and wherein the first engagement portion is disengaged from the second engagement portion; spraying a silicone composition from an aerosol can and applying the silicone composition to the first engagement portion of the lace and the second engagement portion of the lace; and engaging the first engagement portion of the lace with the second engagement portion of the lace and forming a knot.
EC 15. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, further including drying the silicone composition on the first engagement portion and drying the silicone composition on the second engagement portion for a predetermined drying time.
EC 16. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the predetermined drying time is from about 10 minutes to about 2 hours.
EC 17. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the predetermined drying time is from about 30 minutes to about 1 hour.
EC 18. A method of reducing slippage of a lace of an article of dress including: providing the article of dress with the lace, wherein the lace is threaded through a plurality of openings defined by the article of dress; extending a first end and a second end of the lace away from the article of dress such that the first end and the second end of the lace are spaced apart from the article of dress, wherein a first engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of dress and the first end, wherein a second engagement portion of the lace is defined along the lace between the article of dress and the second end, and wherein the first engagement portion is disengaged from the second engagement portion; spraying a silicone composition from an aerosol can and applying the silicone composition to the first engagement portion of the lace and the second engagement portion of the lace; and engaging the first engagement portion of the lace with the second engagement portion of the lace and forming a knot.
EC 19. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the article of dress includes footwear.
EC 20. The method of any preceding or subsequent example combination, wherein the article of dress includes clothing.
It should be emphasized that the above-described aspects are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects or combinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by the present disclosure. Moreover, although specific terms are employed herein, as well as in the claims which follow, they are used only in a generic and descriptive sense, and not for the purposes of limiting the described invention, nor the claims which follow.
