US1071696A - Shoestring-fastener. - Google Patents

Description

F. 0. G. BROWN.

SHOESTRING FASTENBR.

APPLIOATION rum) 11.111. 14, 1911.

1,071,696. Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

Attorneys FRED O. 0. BROWN, 01? GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

SHOESTRING-FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

Application filed March 14, 1911. Serial No. 614,389.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED O. C. Brown, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Sht1estring-Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cord holders, and more especially to those devices which are adapted to embrace a knot in a lacing terminal; and the object of the same is to greatly simplify a cord holder of this character so that it may be employed on a laced shoe and in connection with the ordinary flat or round shoestring by tying a hard knot .in the latter.

An additional object is to prevent the string from becoming accidentally untied.

These objects are accomplished by the construction hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a laced shoe provided with my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the same on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the hook, and Fig. 4: is a central vertical section thereof, bot-l1 being on an enlarged scale.

In the drawings, the letter S designates a shoe open down its front as usual, and at either side thereof there are hooks IT for the reception of the lacing strings ll as shown in dotted lines.

After lacing the shoe, it is customary to tie the ends of the string in a bow knot, and it is the object of the present invert tion to do away with this labor.

It is quite possible to make use of one of the ordinary hooks ill shown in Fig. 1, although by preference my device consists of hooks made a little larger as shown in that view, and one is secured at the upper edge of each side of the opening in the shoe. Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4t, the, hook consists of a tubular body 5 provided with slits (3 in its lower end so that it may be upset or eyeletted as seen at 7 :in Fig. 2, a flat flange 8 which lies against the outer face of the leather of the shoe around the completed eyelet, and a hook consisting of a bill 9 which is formed initially as seen at 90 in Fig. 1 and which therefore curves npward and inward over the open upper end of the eyelet and is convexoconcav'o as best seen in Fig. 1 directly over the eyelet, its

cavity 10 standing by preference directly above the eyelet. The shank of the bill is rounded laterally as indicated by the dotted line 11 in Fig. 3 so that the lacing may pass through the same with as little wear thereon as possible, this being the ordinary construction given to lacing hooks on the market. 'l.hrough the bill of the hook along its transverse center 1 then form a. slot 12 best seen in l ig. ii, and this slot is continued around the bend of the hook as in dicated at l3 in Fig. -tl. Tn width the slot slightly greater than the width of the ordinary lacing I and its throat is disposed at such point within the shank of the hook that the latter may be used for passing the string around the book as usual and tying a bow knot in its ends. However, with my improved construction it: is the intention that the ends of the lacing string shall be led through the slot between the twin prongs l-lof which the hook is composed, and as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

In the use of a shoe having string fasteners of this character, the wearer puts on the shoe and laces it up and then draws the terminals of the string or lace through the slots 12 between the prongs 1lof the uppermost hooks, and then ties knots 20 in the string ends as shown in Figs. 1 and 4c. lhereal'ter having laced his shoe, he will pull the terminals a little tighter than neeessary, draw the string through the slots 12 in the upper hooks, then press the string ends toward the shoe, and then allow the tension to draw them inward so that the knots 20 pass under the tips 15 of the prongs It and come to rest as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. it partially within the eyelet to retain the knot in position.

it will be observed that I do away en tirely with any member upon the shoestring, and hence the strings in common use may be employed. Also it will be observed that l form my shoestring fastener from one of the ordinary hooks now in common use, (although by preference I may make it a little larger than usual) and hence the manufacturer need go to no great expense to provide a shoe with this device. Yet further it. is clear that if the wearer does not care to use this form 01? astener, he may use the hook in the customary way and tie the ends of the lacing to each other. But from a mechanical standpoint, the advantage of this construction lies in the fact that the cavity 10 beneath the prongs 14: stands directly over the eyelet through the body 5 so that the knot 20 drops partly into said eyelet and is thoroughly covered by the twin prongs 14, and hence this device ofl'ers no unusual obstruction upon the outer surface of the shoe.

What is claimed is:

In a device of the class described, a plate having an opening and a depending tubular eyelet surrounding the opening, one end of the plate projecting beyond the eyelet to form a flange and the other end of the plate being curved to form a hook overhanging the eyelet, the extremity of the hook being disposed above the flange, the under surface of the hook being concaved directly above the eyelet, the hook being bifurcated to form arms, the adjacent edges of Which are parallel and extend entirely across the mouth of the eyelet to a point between the inner and the outer edges of the flange, the flange constituting a means for directing a projection in a string between the parallel edges of the arms, and the parallel edges of the arms constituting means for holding the projection in the concavity and in the mouth of the eyelet.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my s1gnature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

FRED O. C. BROWN.

Witnesses:

ALDRICH BLAKE, F. B. AVERY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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