EP1325689B1

EP1325689B1 - Loop for laces with rapid lace disengagement

Info

Publication number: EP1325689B1
Application number: EP20020028796
Authority: EP
Inventors: Elio Paruzzo; Gabriele Busetti
Original assignee: Fasten Italia Srl
Current assignee: Fasten Italia Srl
Priority date: 2002-01-02
Filing date: 2002-12-27
Publication date: 2006-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 2022-12-27
Also published as: EP1325689A1; ITPD20020001A1; DE60210916T2; DE60210916D1

Description

The present invention relates to a loop for laces with rapid lace disengagement.
The loop for laces according to the invention is particularly suitable for safety shoes such as boots for building site workers and/or sports footwear.
As is known, some safety shoes have loops for laces whose structure allows, in emergencies, to rapidly disengage said lace.
The user, while performing normally his duties, may in fact become caught with the shoe in a position and/or location that he must clear as rapidly as possible.
To do this, by acting on the loops it is possible to loosen the laces without having to untie them, allowing to remove the foot from the shoe.
One known type of loop comprises a shaped base, to be fixed to the upper of the shoe, above which a lever is articulated; said lever has a front portion that is shaped like an eye and a rear portion that is available to the user and is normally arranged close to said base.
The eye has a radial opening normally closed by a front portion of the base.
When the shoe is fastened, the lace is inserted in the eye of the lever, whose radial opening is closed.
When an emergency occurs, it is sufficient to turn the lever so that the radial opening allows the tensioned lace to rapidly disengage the loops.
However, this type of loop is not devoid of drawbacks.
It is in fact difficult to fasten shoes that have these loops, because it is necessary to insert the lace, which is often also dirty and encrusted in view of the places where said shoes are used, through the eye.
Moreover, loops of this type do not have a particularly tough structure.
Another type of known loop comprises, on a base to be fixed to the upper, a lever which has a front portion, which is articulated proximate to the opening of the shoe above the base, and a rear portion, which is arranged opposite with respect to the opening of the shoe relative to the articulation region and is hook-shaped for the engagement of the lace.
The rear hook-shaped portion has an elongated upper end that is available to the user.
The lever, which normally rests on the base, provides with said base a cam-like coupling that contrasts its opening on the part of the user.
Also this type of loop for laces is not free from drawbacks.
When the lace is engaged on the hook-shaped portion, in particular conditions of use the tension of the laces can generate a moment with respect to the articulation point that tends to open the lever, causing an unexpected disengagement of the lace, which can be dangerous.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a loop for laces with rapid lace disengagement that solves or substantially reduces the problems of known type of loop for laces.
Within this aim, an object is to provide a loop for laces in which a variation in the direction of the tension of the lace in no way causes the disengagement of said lace.
Another object is to provide a loop for laces that is safe and sturdy.
Another object is to provide a loop for laces that has a low cost.
The features of the preamble of claim 1 are known from EP-A-1 050 224.
This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a loop for laces with rapid lace disengagement, comprising a base to be fixed to the upper of a shoe, above which a lever is articulated, said lever having a hook-shaped head portion for the engagement of a lace and a tail portion that is available to the user for rapid disengagement, said lever being able to rotate with respect to a transverse articulation axis from a closed position, for the engagement of said lace, with said tail portion rested on said base, to an open position, for the disengagement of said lace, said articulation axis being arranged so as to generate, when the lace is pulled, a moment that always acts so as to close said lever.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 are views of a loop for laces having the structure according to the invention, in a first embodiment, respectively in the open configuration and in the closed configuration;
Figure 3 is a view of components of the loops of Figures 1 and 2;
Figures 4 and 5 are longitudinal sectional views of the loop for laces, respectively in the closed configuration and in the open configuration;
Figure 6 is a partially sectional exploded view of the loop of Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a view of a component of the loop in a different embodiment;
Figure 8 is an exploded view of a loop according to the invention, with the embodiment of Figure 7;
Figures 9 and 10 are views of a second embodiment of the loop according to the invention, respectively in the open configuration and in the closed configuration.

With reference to Figures 1 to 8, a loop for laces according to the invention, in a first embodiment, is generally designated by the reference numeral 10.
The loop 10 comprises a base 11 to be fixed to an upper 12 of a shoe, for example by means of a rivet 30, above which a lever 13 is articulated; said lever has a hook-shaped head portion 14 for the engagement of a lace 15 and a tail portion 16, which normally rests on the base 11 and has a free end 26 available to the user for rapid disengagement.
The lever 13 is articulated, by means of a transverse pivot 20, with an end 17 of its hook-shaped head portion 14, on an upper portion 18 of the base 11, which is also hook-shaped.
The head portion 14 of the lever 13 is a fork, which is articulated on an end 19 of the upper portion 18.
The pivot 20 is applied to corresponding transverse through holes 28 and 29, which are formed respectively in the head portion 14 and in the upper portion 18.
When the tail portion 16 of the lever 13 rests on the base 11, the head portion 14 of the lever 13 and the shaped portion 18 of the base 11 form a continuous hook-like shape for the engagement of the lace 15.
The head portion 14 and the shaped portion 18 in fact have the same transverse profile.
As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the lever 13 can rotate with respect to its articulation axis from a closed position, for the engagement of the lace 15, with the tail portion 16 rested on the base 11, to an open position, for the disengagement of the lace 15, in which the tail portion 16 can rotate through more than 180 sexagesimal degrees.
As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the head portion 14 of the lever 13 can have a monolithic transverse pivot 120, which engages by snap action within a corresponding seat 21 formed in the shaped portion 18 of the base 11 through an upper opening 27.
The lateral portions 22 of the base 11, arranged laterally adjacent to the upper portion 18, have upper surfaces that are determined by the portion of space swept by the fork-shaped head portion 14 of the lever 13.
In practice, during the articulation of the lever 13 on the base 11, the head portion 14 moves so as to skim over the lateral portions 22 of the base 11.
In this manner, when the user disengages the lace by acting on the lever 13, the intense stresses to which the lever 13 is subjected are discharged also onto the base 11, not only onto its shaped portion 18, by way of the contact between the head portion 14 and the lateral portions 22.
The rear portion 23 of the base 11, on which the tail portion 16 of the lever 13 rests, has a profile that is shaped complementarily to said tail portion 16.
The lever 13 has a free end 26, which forms a step 25 with the base 11 and is available to the user in order to turn the lever 13 with respect to the base 11 and rapidly disengage the lace 15.
As regards operation, the loop for laces 10 is normally arranged so that the lever 13 rests on the base 11.
When the lace 15 engages on the hook-shaped portion of the lever 13 and the base 11, its traction, regardless of its direction, always keeps the lever 13 rested on the base 11.
If, in an emergency, it is necessary to disengage the lace 15 from the loop 10, it is sufficient to act on the free end 26 of the lever 13 in order to turn it and, after a certain rotation, disengage the lace 15.
Figures 9 and 10 illustrate a second embodiment of the loop according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 110.
The loop 110 is substantially similar, as regards its operating principle, to the loop 10, but differs geometrically from it in that the upper portion 118 of the base 111 is a fork on which the head portion 114 of the lever 113 is articulated by means of a transverse pivot 220.
Also in this case, when the tail portion 116 of the lever 113 rests on the base 111, the head portion 114 of the lever 113 and the shaped portion 118 of the base 111 provide a continuous hook-like shape.
The head portion 114 and the shaped portion 118 in fact have the same transverse profile.
The transverse pivot 220 can be applied or monolithic with respect to the upper portion 118 of the base 111 or to the head portion 114 of the lever 113.
In practice it has been found that the present invention has achieved the intended aim and objects.
Any variation in the traction of the lace, even in extreme operating conditions of the shoe, if the shoe is for example of the safety or sports type, always generates a moment, with respect to the articulation axis, that tends to keep the lever rested on the base and thus always keep the lace engaged on the loop.
The loop is therefore safe, reliable and tough and has a simple structure.
The present invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the appended claims.
The materials, so long as they are compatible with the contingent use, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

A loop for laces with rapid lace disengagement, comprising a base (11) to be fixed to an upper (12) of a shoe, and a lever (13), said lever having a hook-shaped head portion (14) for the engagement of a lace (15) and a tail portion (16) that is available to the user for rapid disengagement, said lever (13) being able to rotate with respect to a transverse articulation axis from a closed position, for the engagement of said lace (15), with said tail portion (16) rested on said base (11), to an open position, for the disengagement of said lace (15), said articulation axis being arranged so as to generate, when the lace (15) is pulled, a moment that always acts so as to close said lever (13), characterized in that the lever (13) is articulated above the base (11).
The loop for laces according to claim 1, characterized in that an upper hook-shaped portion (18) protrudes from said base (11), said lever (13) being articulated on the end (19) of said portion at the end (17) of said hook-shaped head portion (14), said upper portion (18) and said head portion (14) of the lever (13) providing a continuous hook-like shape for the engagement of the lace (15) when said lever (13) is in the closed position, said head portion (14) and said shaped portion (18) having the same transverse profile.
The loop for laces according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said head portion (14) of the lever (13) is a fork that is articulated by means of a transverse pivot (20, 120) on said upper portion (18) of the base (11).
The loop for laces according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lateral portions (22) of said base (11) which are laterally adjacent to said upper portion (18) have upper surfaces determined by the space swept by said fork-shaped head portion (14) of the lever (13), said head portion (14) skimming over said lateral portions (22).
The loop for laces according to at least one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said upper portion (118) of the base (111) is a fork on which the head portion (114) of the lever (113) is articulated by means of a transverse pivot (220).
The loop for laces according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said pivot (20) is applied to corresponding transverse through holes (28, 29) formed in said head portion (14) and said upper portion (18).
The loop for laces according to one or more of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said pivot (120) is monolithic with said head portion (14) and engages by snap action within a corresponding seat (21) that is formed in said upper portion (18) of the base (11), through a corresponding opening (27).
The loop for laces according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tail portion (16) of the lever (13) has a free end (26), which forms a step (25) with said base (11) and is available to the user in order to turn said lever (13) and disengage said lace (15).
The loop for laces according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rear portion of said base (11) on which said tail portion (16) of the lever (13) rests has a profile that is shaped complementarily to said tail portion (16).