JP2020180398A - Lace - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a lace which has no big difference in appearance from conventional shoelaces, has durability, is easily tied, and is less likely to untie.SOLUTION: There is provided a flat lace comprising a core material 2 having a mountain path shape and an outer material 3 which is a cylindrical body covering the core material, wherein the core material is made of a non-stretchable material and has a thickness of 2.5 mm or less. Preferably, the flat lace has substantially the same width and has wavy edges parallel to each other, and has a length from the top to the bottom of the wavy edges of 2.5 mm or less. Further, the core material has preferably a pitch of the mountain path shape of 5 to 25 mm.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a lace that can be used as a shoelace for sneakers, business shoes, etc., as an accessory for clothing such as sportswear, and for other purposes.

It is desired that the laces used for shoelaces and sportswear, especially shoelaces, have durability and are difficult to unravel. For this reason, shoelaces that are difficult to unravel and shoelaces that can be used without tying have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cord composed of an elastic core and a flexible sheath, in which the core and the sheath are intermittently adhered to each other. The cord of Patent Document 1 has an appearance in which the non-adhesive portion of the sheath bulges like a hump and a plurality of hump-like portions are arranged in a state where tension is not applied. Further, when the cord is stretched, the hump-shaped portion is stretched and thinned in the length direction of the cord, and the cord can be inserted and removed from the eyelet.

Patent Document 2 describes a shoelace based on a double Russell structure manufactured by using a knitting machine, in which a tubular string is formed by connecting the front and back fabrics to each other at the ear portion. The bulge portion in which the front fabric and the back fabric are connected by a connecting thread at a predetermined length inside the tubular shape, and the diameter is smaller than the bulge portion, and the front fabric and the back fabric inside the tubular shape are not connected. The one in which the constricted portion is formed alternately is disclosed. Since the shoelace of Patent Document 2 can extend the bulging portion with a slight force, it is easy to attach the shoelace, and the bulging portion is caught by the eyelet when no force is applied. It is stated that it can be held without tying a string.

Patent Document 3 also discloses a string-like body having a double Russell structure in which large diameter portions and small diameter portions are alternately arranged in the length direction. The string-like body of Patent Document 3 can be manufactured by a double Russell knitting machine without using a core, and has a large diameter portion that can provide sufficient resistance to the eyelet, and has a large diameter portion and a thin portion. It is disclosed that the effect of preventing loosening of the knot can also be obtained by the shape of repeating the diameter portion.

Patent Document 4 discloses a shoelace which is a bag string manufactured by a string making machine and has a meandering shape by alternately having a constricted portion and a skirt steak portion. Patent Document 4 states that a serpentine-shaped bag string can be obtained by forming a string while applying a relatively high tension to a part of a plurality of threads constituting the string and a relatively low tension to a part of the thread. It is disclosed that such shoelaces are difficult to untie and have excellent design.

Special Table 2002-541352 Gazette Utility Model Registration No. 3180225 Utility Model Registration No. 3202137 Utility Model Registration No. 3173173

As mentioned above, various proposals have been made for shoelaces that are difficult to untie and shoelaces that can be used without tying. However, shoelaces with a large number of humps have a distinctive appearance and are subject to design restrictions and are not necessarily general purpose. On the other hand, shoelaces with a large diameter part and a small diameter part and serpentine shoelaces are closer in appearance to conventional shoelaces, and the knots are less likely to be unraveled than conventional shoelaces. Then, some improvement may be seen. However, since the force of the string whose thickness changes tends to be concentrated on a part of the string, it may be easily cut and the durability may be inferior, and further improvement in the difficulty of unraveling is desired.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lace that does not have a large difference in appearance from a conventional general shoelace, has durability, is easy to tie, and is difficult to untie.

The inventor has proceeded with studies to solve the above problems, and although the meandering shape of the bag string is difficult to unravel, the string itself tends to be thicker, which tends to impair the ease of tying. On the other hand, it was found that if a thin thread is used to reduce the thickness of the string, the entire string becomes thin and the durability may decrease. The inventor went further and came up with the idea of combining a mountain road-shaped core material and a bag-shaped outer material. As a result of further examination, a non-stretchable, mountain road-shaped core material was used, and in particular, according to a flat string whose mountain road shape was slightly reflected in the appearance of the string, a string that was extremely difficult to untie the knot was found. Found to be obtained. In addition, the string with such a configuration is easy to handle and tie due to its low elasticity, and is also convenient for children who are not dexterous, for example. We found that it is also excellent in sex, and came up with the present invention.

That is, the present invention has the following configuration.
[1] A flat string including a mountain road-shaped core material and an outer material which is a tubular body covering the core material.
The core material is a flat string, which is non-stretchable and has a thickness of 2.5 mm or less.
[2] The flat cord according to [1], wherein the flat cord has substantially the same width, has wavy edges parallel to each other, and has a length from the wavy top to the bottom of 2.5 mm or less.
[3] The flat string according to [1] or [2], wherein the pitch of the mountain road shape is 5 to 25 mm in the core material.
[4] The flat cord according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the core material is a mountain road tape.
[5] The flat cord according to any one of [1] to [4], which is an accessory of shoelaces or clothing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a lace that has high durability and is extremely difficult to unravel as compared with a conventional shoelace. According to the present invention, since a flat string that does not have a large difference in appearance from the conventional flat string can be obtained, it can be used for general purposes with few design restrictions, and can be replaced with the conventional flat string without significantly affecting the design. Is. In addition, the flat cord of the present invention has low elasticity and has a double structure, so that it has flexibility and a feeling of tension, which makes it easy to handle and even a clumsy child or the like can easily tie it.

It is a shoelace which is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a core material included in the shoelace of FIG. It is an enlarged view of a part of the shoelace of FIG. It is a shoelace which is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flat string which is an embodiment of this invention. It is a string that is not the present invention. This is an example of the manufacturing process of the flat string of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the test method of the unraveling difficulty of a string.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the examples shown in the drawings. In each drawing, the same reference numerals indicate the same configurations, and the description of the same configurations may be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a part of shoelace 1 which is an example of the lace of the present invention. In an actual product, both ends of the shoelace 1 are fixed by cell chips 4, but FIG. 1 schematically shows the internal structure for easy understanding. The shoelace 1 is a flat cord including a core material 2 which is a so-called mountain road tape and an outer material 3 which is a tubular body covering the core material 2. The outer material 3 of the shoelace 1 is a braid produced by a string making machine, but the outer material 3 may be a braid produced by a double Russell knitting machine, a torsion machine, or the like, and a jacquard loom or the like. It may be a woven string produced by. In either case, the shoelace 1 is a double-structured lace in which the core material 2 is inserted inside the outer material 3.

The material of the outer material 3 may be selected depending on the intended use, purpose and the like, and is not particularly limited. For example, polyester, acrylic, nylon, cotton, hemp, polypropylene and the like can be preferably used. When used as a shoelace, polyester, acrylic, cotton or the like is preferable. Further, the outer material 3 may include a part or all of the threads to which the functionality is imparted, such as a reflective thread, a phosphorescent thread, and a water-repellent thread.

The core material 2 is a long core material having a mountain road shape. Here, the mountain road shape means a shape having regular wavy edges parallel to each other and extending with a substantially constant thickness. The core material 2 used in the present invention preferably has a mountain path shape rather than a thick and thin shape in which bulging portions and constricted portions are alternately formed.

Further, the core material 2 preferably has a flat cross section. The string of the present invention is a flat string having a flat cross section, and therefore, the thickness of the core material 2 is set to, for example, about 0.5 to 2.5 mm. In the string of the present invention, the thickness of the core material 2 is about 0.5 to 2.5 mm, and the core material is covered with a tubular outer material, so that a flat string of a thin bag string can be obtained. .. When a mountain road shape is constructed with a single-layered bag string, the string becomes thicker and becomes a string with a shape similar to a round string (see FIG. 6), and such a string is of the present invention in terms of ease of tying and difficulty in unraveling. It does not reach the double-structured flat string.

As the core material 2, specifically, a mountain road tape composed of a fiber structure can be preferably used, and the material is not particularly limited to polyester, acrylic, nylon, cotton, hemp, polypropylene and the like. Further, the core material 2 may be a thin plate-shaped plastic film, a sheet, a thick paper, a thin plate-shaped metal, or the like as long as it has the same mountain path shape and thickness and the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

Further, the core material 2 used in the present invention is characterized in that it is non-stretchable. Here, non-stretchable means that it does not essentially have elasticity derived from the material (for example, rubber elasticity) or elasticity derived from the structure (for example, elastic knitting structure). Inevitably caused by the material, shape, structure, etc. of the core material, for example, those having a slight elasticity of less than 5% are considered to be non-stretchable.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the core material 2. The core material 2 shown in FIG. 2 is a mountain road tape having a width W ₁ of 4.5 mm and a thickness W ₂ of 3 mm, and the pitch of the mountain road shape (distance between the vertices of the mountain road shape) W ₃ is 7.5 mm. Is. The width W ₁ of the core material 2 can be appropriately changed depending on the application and purpose, and can be, for example, about 3 to 20 mm, more preferably 4 to 8 mm. Thickness _{W 2} of the core member 2 is also not limited as long as the strength and flexibility of the object can be obtained, for example, it is a 2 to 15 mm, and more preferably to 2.5 to 4.5. The mountain road-shaped pitch W ₃ can also be appropriately changed depending on the application and purpose, and can be, for example, about 5 to 25 mm, more preferably 6 to 15 mm. When the pitch W ₃ is about 7 to 8 mm, it is particularly preferable because the difficulty of unraveling when used as a shoelace is particularly improved.

FIG. 3 shows the end of the shoelace 1. A cell tip 4 is attached to the end of the shoelace 1 to prevent the end from fraying or falling apart, making it easier to insert the shoelace 1 into the eyelet. Known materials such as plastic, metal, and rubber can be used for the cell chip 4, and the cell chip 4 is not particularly limited. The length of the cell chip can also be, for example, 10 to 30 mm, but is not particularly limited.

The appearance of the shoelace 1 slightly reflects the shape of the core material, and some wavy irregularities are formed on the edges. Like the core material 2, the thickness of the outer material 3 is substantially constant, and the edges thereof are formed in a wavy shape parallel to each other. The width Q _{1 of the} shoelace 1 is about 5 mm, which is slightly wider than the width W ₁ (4.5 mm) of the core material 2. In the example of FIG. 3, the width Q _{1 of the} shoelace 1 is about 5 mm, but in addition to this, for example, the width of the lace can be 3 to 20 mm, especially when the lace is a shoelace. The width of the string is preferably 4 to 8 mm. Further, the length (depth of the wavy dent) P ₁ formed on the edge from the wavy top to the bottom is about 1 mm in the example of FIG. The length from the wavy top to the bottom is not particularly limited as long as the effect of the present invention can be obtained, but can be, for example, about 0.01 to 2.5 mm. The ratio of the wavy top-to-bottom length P ₁ to the shoelace width Q ₁ can be, for example, 1/4 to 1/100 of P ₁ / Q ₁ and 1/5 to 1/. It is more preferably 20.

Since the flat string of the present invention includes a non-stretchable core material, the string as a whole has low elasticity or substantially no elasticity. When the flat cord of the present invention is a braid, some elasticity is inevitably generated due to the structure of the braid, but it is preferable that the flat cord does not have elasticity exceeding the range. Conventionally, elastic materials are often used for laces that are difficult to untie or shoelaces that do not need to be tied, and it has been proposed to use the elastic of the laces to insert or lock the eyelets and to hold the knot tightly. However, the string of the present invention has a feature that it does not have substantially elasticity. Since the string of the present invention does not have substantial elasticity, it is easy to handle the string, and it is possible to easily tie the string to a user who is not dexterous, such as a child or an elderly person. Since the stability is high, there is little fluctuation in quality and stable production is possible.

FIG. 4 shows a shoelace which is an example of a lace which is an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, for easy understanding, one end is cut to expose the core material, but in reality, cell chip processing is applied to both ends. As shown in FIG. 4, since the shoelace of the present invention is not significantly different from the conventional flat shoelace in its appearance, it is not subject to design restrictions, and not only casual shoes such as sneakers but also business shoes and formal shoes etc. It is also suitable for use and has high versatility. In addition, since it has a double structure of a core material and an outer material, it has a feeling of tension as well as flexibility, which makes it easier to handle and tie.

FIG. 5 shows another example of the string which is an embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the other examples, the string of FIG. 5 is also a flat string including a mountain path-shaped core material and an outer material which is a tubular body covering the core material. In the example of FIG. 5, the core material is exposed from the end of the string for easy understanding, but in an actual product, the end of the string is subjected to a known treatment method such as cell chip processing, heat cutting, or resin treatment. It is preferable to process. In the example of FIG. 5, the width (W ₁ ) of the polyester mountain road tape as the core material is 7.5 mm, the thickness (W ₂ ) is 4 mm, the pitch of the mountain road shape (W ₃ ) is 9 mm, and the thickness is about 0. It is 8 mm. The width of the outer material (Q ₁ ) is 8 mm. In the string shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the core material is hardly reflected on the surface of the outer material, and the edge is substantially linear.

FIG. 6 shows a string of a comparative example that is not the present invention. The string of FIG. 6 is a bag string that does not contain a core material, and its outer shape is formed in a gentle mountain path shape and has wavy edges parallel to each other. The width of the string (Q ₁ ) in FIG. 6 is 5 mm, and the length from the wavy top to the bottom (P ₁ ) is 1 mm. The string in FIG. 6 is a flat string, but the thickness is about 3 mm, which is larger than the string shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and has a shape similar to a round string. The string shown in FIG. 6 is partially similar in appearance to the string of the present invention, but is not as easy to tie and unravel as the string of the present invention.

(Production method)
FIG. 7 shows an example of the manufacturing process of the string of the present invention. The string of the present invention can be manufactured by a general-purpose string making machine, and the string is manufactured while incorporating a mountain road tape separately prepared in advance as a core material. The width of the outer material covering the core material is adjusted by adjusting the tension of the thread during string making. The string making machine shown in FIG. 7 is a 32-stroke string making machine equipped with 32 bobbin carriers, but in addition to this, 16 strokes, 24 strokes, 48 strokes, and 64 strokes are used depending on the desired string thickness. A string making machine such as a hammer can be used, and there is no particular limitation.

(Test example)
<Test sample>
Example 1: As a core material, a mountain road tape having a thickness of 4 mm, a width of 3 mm, a mountain road shape pitch of 7.5 mm, and a thickness of 0.8 mm, into which a 100% polyester mountain road tape is inserted, has a width of 4 mm and a wavy edge. A 100% polyester flat cord having a length from the top to the bottom of 1 mm was used.
Comparative Example 1: A round flat string having a width of 6.5 mm, a thickness of 3 mm, and 100% polyester was used. A string commonly used for sneakers.

<Test method>
The difficulty of unraveling was measured for the strings of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1. The test procedure was as follows (see FIG. 8). The test was conducted at the Kaken Test Center.
(A) Create a loop by unraveling the test sample.
(B) A paper tube having a diameter of 39 mm is inserted into the loop and tightened to fix the loop diameter.
(C) Remove the paper tube.
(D) Chuck the loop portion of the test sample and one end of the sample and pull at a speed of 100 mm / min to tighten the nodule. The distance between the chucks is 80 mm.
(E) Chuck both ends of the test sample with a distance between the chucks of 150 mm, pull at a speed of 200 mm / min, and measure the load when the nodule is unraveled.

<Result>
The load at the time of disengagement of Example 1 was 174N, and the load at the time of disengagement of Comparative Example 1 was 37N.
That is, the string of Example 1 had a load at the time of unwinding about 4.7 times that of the string used for general purposes, and was considered to be extremely difficult to unravel.

In addition to shoelaces, the laces of the present invention can be suitably used for cords (waist cords, hood cords of hoodies, etc.) that are accessories of clothing such as sportswear and casual wear. In addition, the string of the present invention has excellent durability, is easy to tie, is difficult to unravel, and can be widely used for industrial strings, for example, horticultural use, agricultural use, civil engineering use, medical use, etc. Can be done.

1 shoelace 2 core material 3 outer material 4 cell tip

Claims (5)

A flat string including a mountain road-shaped core material and an outer material which is a tubular body covering the core material.
The core material is a flat string, which is non-stretchable and has a thickness of 2.5 mm or less. The flat cord according to claim 1, wherein the flat cords have substantially the same width, have wavy edges parallel to each other, and have a length from the wavy top to the bottom of 2.5 mm or less. The flat string according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the core material has a mountain road-shaped pitch of 5 to 25 mm. The flat cord according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the core material is a mountain road tape. The flat lace according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is an accessory of shoelaces or clothing.