CA2112789A1 - Shoe - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract The invention relates to a shoe, particularly a sports shoe, comprising a flexible upper with two parts of the upper which can be braced relative to one another as well as a rotary tensioning closure borne by the upper with a closure housing and a tension cable which is passed through two cable holes in the closure housing, forms an outer traction loop engaging on cable-deflecting guides of the parts of the upper and can be wound on and unwound in the closure housing with the aid of a rotary actuating knob for the purpose of drawing together and releasing the parts of the upper. In order to achieve a simple and economical construction the housing is provided at the two cable holes with flexible guide flaps for the tension cable and is fixed on the upper by means of these two guide flaps.

Description

1 ~1127~9 Shoe The lnvention relates to a shoe, partlcularly a sports shoe, accordlng to the preamble to Clalm l.

Shoes of the type set out in the preamble to Claim 1 are known ln the art ln varlous constructlons. In such shoes a flexible upper bears a rotary tensionlng closure whlch is attached for example ln the instep region of the upper and contalns one single tension cable which forms an outer tractlon loop on the outslde of the closure housing so that wlthln the closure housln~ the tenslon cable can be wound on a cable pulley rotatably mounted there or can be unwound therefrom ln order thereby to be able to draw toxether or ~-~
release two partr- or flaps of the upper whlch can be braced relatlve to one snother, ~o that the appertalning ~hoe can be fastened on the foot of a person or opened. In these known shoes, partlcularly sports shoe6, the rotary ten~lon-lng closure wlth lts houslng 18 ln many cases flxed on apartlally reinforced tongue which 18 speclally cons~ructed for the purpose or also on relnforced ~lde parts of the upper. Relatlvely flat rotary tenslonln~ closures for these shoe~ are also known per ~e, for example from EP-A-412 290.
:, The obJect of the lnventlon 1~ to create a shoe of the type set out ln the preamble to Clalm l whlch has a rellable and firm hold on a foot and is distlngulshed by lts particularly slmple construction and economlc manufacture.
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Thls obJect 18 achleved according to the lnventlon by the featurès of the characterlslng portion of Clalm l, whllst - the subordlnate clalm~ contaln advantageous further embodl-ments of thls lnventlon.
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In thls shoe constructed accordlng to the lnventlon a flexlble ~uide flap for the tenslon cable extendlng aw~y :
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'' from the closure houslng is fastened on the closure houslng in the region of each of the two cable holes, and in thls case the closure houslng is fixed on the upper ln the instep re~lon by means of the two gulde flaps. These measures make lt posslble to fix the rotary tensionlng closure wlth lts houslng at any sultable locatlon of the upper of the shoe wlthout thls upper havlng to be specially constructed or reinforced. At the same tlme the two guide flap~ ensure rellable guldln~ of the corresponding longitudlnal portlons of t~nslon cable ln the reglon of the closure housln~, par-ticularly the cable holes which are usually provlded in the perlpheral housing wall.

Gulde ~roove~ or gulde channels whlch point or are directed ln a substantlally ~-traight llne away from the associated cable hole are machlned ln an advantageous manner into the two guide flape, thu~ further a~sl~ting the reliable guldlng of the tenslon cable.

The lnventlon acte partlcularly favourably when appl;led to con~tructlon ln the form of a half- hoe in whlch the ten~lon cable 1~ laced upwards from below alon~ the in~tep and between the two opposlng edges of the parts of the upper, wlth several ten~lon cable crossover polnt~ provlded. In this ca6e it 18 particularly adv~ntageous lf the 6hoe ls constructed accordln~ to the characterl~lng fe~tures of Clalm 3. In thl~ way the flrst guide flap acts predomlnant-ly on the portlon of the tractlon loop of tension cable located ln the lnctep reglon or the ten~ion cable lacing there, whilst the second guide flap wlth it~ gulde groove acts on the portion of the traction loop of tenslon cable extendlng to the heel of the shoe or around the openlng through whlch the foot enter~ the 6hoe. Thl~ leadc to a particularly centred lacing of the ten~lon cable both ln the instep region and also in the reglon of the upper where the foot entere the shoe, with the result that the choe has a :, ,,: ~
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particularly ~ood hold on the foot. ;

, The lnventlon will be explained ln greater detall below with the ald of the drawings, ln whlch:
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Flgure 1 shows a perspectlve side vlew of a shoe according to the invention ln the form of a half-shoe;

Flgure 2 shows a top view of a closure houslng wlth gulde flaps fastened thereon.

In Flgure 1 the shoe accordlng to the invention ls lllus-trated as a sports shoe <runnln~ shoe, tennis shoe or the llke>, and in fact in the form of a half-~hoe.

This shoe comprises a sole 1, an upper 2 made from a sult-able flexlble materlal as well as a rotary tenslonlng closure 3 borne on the upper 2. The upper 2 has in lts lnstep reglon 4 two flap-shaped parts 2a, 2b whlch are con-structed in the usual way ~nd can be braced relatlv~e to one another and whlch ln the present case lie on the lnstep wlth thelr edges approxlmately symmetrlcally opposlte one another. ~ -,'~" ~
The rotary tenslonlng clo~ure 3 borne by the upper can be constructed ln the usual way <for lnstance accordlng to the ex~mple6 of Flgures 4 to 7 of EP-A-412 290> and accordlngly - as Flgure 2 also shows - comprl~es ~nter ~1 l a a clo~ure hou~lng 5, a rotary ~ctu~tlng knob 6 and one ~lngle tenslon cable 7 whlch can be wound and unwound ~n the u6ual way on a cable pulley whlch ls not shown ln greater detall. Thls tenslon cable 7 ls passed through two cable holes 8, 9 ln the closure houslng 5 or ln the perlpheral wall thereof, and these two cable hole6 ô, 9 can lle approxlmately opposlte one another ln the manner shown ln Figure 2. Outslde the closure housing 5 the tenslon cable 7 forms an outer trac-.
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-_ 4 _ 2112789 tlon loop 7a whlch is in engagement with cable-deflectin~ -guides 10 on the two parts 2a, 2b of the upper or on the opposlng ed~es thereof. In thls ca~e - as is known per se -for the purpose of drawing together or releasing the parts :
2a, 2b of the upper, wlthin the closure houslng 5 the tension cable 7 can be wound on and unwound <onto or from the drivable cable pulley which i~ rotatably mounted therein> with the ald of the rotary actuatin~ knob 6. In thls case the shoe also has a tenslon cable laclng 11 whlch runs upwards from below along the instep or lnstep reglon 4 and between the two opposing edges of the parts of the upper and i~ provided with several tension cable crossover points 12, 12a.

Accordlng to the lnventlon a flexible gulde flap 13, 14, whlch points away from the closure houslng 5, for the ten~-lon cable 7 is fixed on the closure housing 5 in the re~lon of each of the two cable holss 8, 9, preferably ln the reglon below each of these two cable holes. The closure housing 5 and with it the actual rotary tenslonlng closure 3 ls flxed ln the ln~tep region 4 on the upper 2 wlth the aid of these two ~uide flap~ 13, 14. Due to their flexiblllty the gulde flaps 13, 14 can be adapted or applled ln an extremely favourable manner to the shape of the assoclated portlons of the shoe or of the upper 2. The two gulde flaps 13, 14 can be flxed ln any sult~ble manner on the closure houslng 5, for example by lntegral constructlon from corres- :
pondln~ synthetic material or by weldlng of the gulde flaps onto ths clo~ure houslng 5, so that ln e~ch case the two ~uide flaps 13, 14 with the closure houslng 5 to a certaln extent form a structural unlt or fitting which can be very reliably attached to the corresponding flxin~ polnt on the upper 2 without the necesslty for the upper 2 to be specl-ally relnforced or stabllised at thls flxing point for the purpose.
,.,.. l _ 5 _ 2112789 As can be seen from Flgure 2, gulde grooves 15, 16 or al~o correspondin~ guide channels whlch polnt or are dlrected away from the assoclated cable hole 8 ln a substantially straight llne are machlned lnto the two ~ulde flaps 13, 14, thus provlding particularly reliable guldin~ of the corre~-pondlng longltudinal portlons of tension cable ln the reglon of the closure houslng 5 and ln particular ln the reglon of the cable holes 8, 9.

In thls constructlon the rotary ten~ionlng closure 3 wlth lt~ closure housln~ 5 ls advantageously dlsposed at the upper end of the tenslon cable laclng 11, l.e. partlcularly ln the re~lon of the uppermost tenslon cable crossover polnt 12 and offset towards the outslde of the foot 17 wlth respect to the lnstep reglon 4, as Figure 1 shows. In thls case the first gulde flap has two ~ulde branche~ 13a, 13b whlch cross one another, each wlth a ~ulde groove 15, 15a machlned ln it, and - as the drawlngs, partlcularly Flgure 2, show - these gulde grooves run in the ~ame dlrection a8 the assoclated gulde branches 13, 13a and thus alsoicross over one another. The gulde groove~ 15, 15a whlch cross over one another of thls flrst gulde flap 13 or of the correspondlng gulde branches 13a, 13b are advantageously machined into the gulde branches 13, 13a at dlfferent helghts ln such a way that the longltudlnal portlonfi o~ the tenslon cable 7 which run along and are gulded thereln can cross over one another unhlndered but wlthout rubbing a~alnst one another.

The flrst gulde flap 13 with lt~ gulde branche~ 13, 13b whlch cross over one another advantageously extends 88 far a~ the lnstep reglon 4 and to below the uppermost tenslon cable cro~60ver polnt 12 (an thus to a certaln e~tent forms ~ crosslng gulde for the portlons of tens10n cable runnln~
there> in ~uch a way that the tension cable 7 fro~ the uppermost cable-deflectlng gulde lOa on the part 2a of the .
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- `` 2112789 upper on the lnside of the foot 19 runs upwards and in a straight line to the assoclated cable hole 9 in th2 closure housin~ 5 by way of the flrst ~uide branch 13a, whilst the tension cable 7 from the opposlte uppermost cable-deflectlng ~uide lOb on the second part 2b of the upper on the outside of the foot 17 ls directed obliquely upwards and backwards in the direction of the inslde of the foot 19 and the heel of the shoe 20. By contra6t the second guide flap 14 ~star-tlng from the closure housing 5 or the associated cable hole ô> extends on the outside of the foot 17 ln the dlrection of the heel of the shoe 20. Thus outside the tension cable laclng 11 running in the instep region 4 a correspondlng longitudinal portlon 7b of the traction loop 7a of tenslon cable can b~ gulded in the region below an upper edge 2c of the upper around the opening 21 through which the foot enters the shoe, approximately in the manner ~hown in Flgure 1. For this purpose indlvidual sliding guide ele~ent~ 22, 22a made fro~ flexible material, preferably from synthetic materlal wlth particularly favourable friction character-lstlcs, for the tenslon cable 7 are fixed on the upper 2 in the reglon below the upper ed~e 2c of the upper. Further-more, in thl case one of the ~llding guide elementg, e.g.
the sllding guide element 22, 18 disposed in a f~vourable manner for deflection of the traction cable in the reglon of the heel of the shoe 20.
;.' Accordingly, if the guiding of the traction loop 7a of tenslon cable is studled ln Flgure 1 then it will be seen that the flrst gulde flap 13 predomlnantly ensure6 reliable guiding of one longitudlnal portion of the tructlon loop 7a of tenslon cable extendlng over tha instep region 4 or the tension cable lacing 11 there, and the second guide flap 14 ensures particularly reliable guidlng of the longltudlnal portion 7b of the outer tractlon loop 7~ extending below the upper edge 2c of the upper or around the openlng 21 through which the foot enter6 the shoe - in each case ln the region 2:112789 of the rotary tensionlng closure 6. Therefore the upper 2 can be produced without a dlstinct or specially provided heel cap (such as are ~enerally used for shoes of this type), which also leads to simpllfication and to particu- :~
larly economic manufacture of this shoe.

Thus, ln spite of the relatively simple constructlon and economical attachment in particular of the rotary tensioning closure with the associated guide flaps, thls shoe according to the lnventlon can ensure extremely good overall lacln~ :
and thu~ 9 partlcularly reliablo ~nd flrm hold on the foot.

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Claims (7)

1. Shoe, particularly a sports shoe, comprising a) a flexible upper (2) which has in the instep region (4) two parts (2a, 2b) of the upper which can be braced relative to one another, b) a rotary tensioning closure (3), which is borne by the upper, with a closure housing (5), a rotary actuating knob (6) and one single tension cable (7) which is passed through two cable holes (8, 9) in the closure housing and forms outside this closure housing an outer traction loop (7a) which is in engagement with cable-deflecting guides (10) on the parts of the upper, wherein the tension cable (7) can be wound on and unwound inside the closure housing with the aid of the rotary actuating knob for the purpose of drawing together and releasing the parts of the upper, characterised in that c> a flexible guide flap (13, 14), which points away from the closure housing, for the tension cable (7) is fixed on the closure housing (5) in the region of each of the two cable holes (8, 9) and the closure housing (5) is fixed in the instep region (4) on the upper (2) with the aid of these two guide flaps.

2. Shoe as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that guide grooves (15, 16) or guide channels which point in a substantially straight line away from the associated cable hole <8, 9> are machined into the two guide flaps (13, 14).

3. Shoe as claimed in Claim 2, in a construction in the form of a half-shoe, on which a tension cable lacing running along the instep upwards from below and between the two opposing edges of the parts of the upper is provided with several tension cable crossover points (12, 12a), characterised by the following further features:

a) the rotary tensioning closure (3) is disposed with its closure housing (5) at the upper end of the tension cable lacing (11) and offset towards the outside of the foot (17) with respect to the instep region (4);

b) the first guide flap (13) has two guide branches (13a, 13b) which cross over one another and each have a guide groove (15, 15a) machined therein and extends as far as the instep region (4) and to below the upper-most tension cable crossover point (12) in such a way that the tension cable (7) from the uppermost cable-deflecting guide (10a) on the part (2a) of the upper on the inside of the foot (19) runs obliquely upwards and in a straight line to the associated cable hole (9) in the closure housing (5) by way of the first guide branch (13a), whilst the tension cable from the opposite uppermost cable-deflecting guide (10b) on the second part (2b) of the upper on the outside of the foot (17) is directed obliquely upwards and backwards towards the inside of the foot (19) and the heel of the shoe (20);

c) the second guide flap (14) extends on the outside of the foot (17) in the direction of the heel of the shoe (20).

4. Shoe as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that the guide grooves (15, 15a) which cross over one another of the first guide flap (13) are advantageously machined into the guide branches (13, 13a) at different heights.

5. Shoe as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that outside the tension cable lacing (11) running in the instep region (4) a longitudinal portion (7b) of the traction loop (7a) of tension cable is guided in the region below an upper edge (2c) of the upper around the opening (21) through which the foot enters the shoe.

6. Shoe as claimed in Claim 5, characterised in that individual sliding guide elements (22, 22a) made from flexible material, preferably from synthetic material, for the tension cable (7) are fixed on the upper (2) in the region below the upper edge (2c) of the upper.

7. Shoe as claimed in Claim 6, characterised in that one (22) of the sliding guide elements is disposed for deflec-tion of the traction cable in the region of the heel of the shoe (20) and the upper (2) is produced without a heel cap.