US20090172929A1

US20090172929A1 - Device for tying shoelaces

Info

Publication number: US20090172929A1
Application number: US12/296,911
Authority: US
Inventors: Jong O. Hwang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-04-27
Filing date: 2007-04-25
Publication date: 2009-07-09
Also published as: EP2010016B1; ATE530082T1; KR100833682B1; JP2009535087A; BRPI0710391A2; WO2007126241A1; KR20070105849A; CN101495006A; CN101495006B; EP2010016A4; MX2008013729A; RU2391884C1; EP2010016A1

Abstract

Disclosed therein is a lace fastening device is easy to use and simple in structure since a fastening member is fastened to the inside of a receiving member the moment a control member is rotated and restored to its original location and the fastened state of the fastening member is released when a user rotates the control member to separate the fastening member from a magnetic body. An end portion of a lace is inserted into a fixing member and stackingly fastened inside the fixing member. The lace fastening device can stably fasten the lace to a footwear since a tightly fastened state of the lace can be kept while the upper end portion of the laminated lace pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace, thereby improving productivity.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a footwear, and more particularly, to such a lace fastening device, which is easy to mount and detach and simple in structure since a control member rotated while a fastening member is fastened to the inside of a receiving member is restored by a magnetic body, and which can keep a stable fastened state since the upper end portion of a lace fastened to a second fastening part pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a footwear is one of life goods used in daily life, and recently, their use has been greatly increased due to an increase of people's social activities or leisure time period owing to five working days per week. Such footwears have various kinds according to their use purposes, but people can wear most of footwears using laces without regard to their use purposes.
The footwear 10 includes a body 11 having a receiving space 12 for receiving and protecting a user's foot, a protective cover 13 located on an opened instep portion of the body 11 for protecting the top of the user's foot, and connection links 14 oppositely arranged on both sides of the instep portion of the body 11 at regular intervals and fixed to the footwear 10 via fixing members 15, whereby a lace (L) is cross-fastened to the footwear.
However, the conventional footwear as constructed above has several problems in that it is complicated and takes much time to wear and unwear the footwear since the user has to tightly pull the laces after untying and slackening the laces to wear the footwear, and in that the laces may be loosened while the user walks, and in that the outward appearance is not good since knots of the laces are complex when the laces are tied.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a lace fastening device, which is easy to use and simple in structure since a fastening member is released from a fastened state while a control member is separated from a magnetic body since the magnetic body is mounted inside a receiving member, and which can keep a stable fastened state of a lace since the upper end portion of the lace fastened to a second fastening part pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace.

Technical Solution

To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a lace fastening device for a footwear worn on a user in such a manner that a lace is cross-fastened to connection links oppositely formed on an instep portion of the footwear at regular intervals, comprising: a first fastening part fastened between the connection links to which the lace is connected and having a fastening member fastened to the inside of a receiving member while rotating and restoring a control member, the first fastening part releasing the fastened state of the fastening member while rotating the control member to separate it from a magnetic body; and a second fastening part to which an end portion of the lace passing the final connection link of the footwear is fit to and stackingly connected to the inside of a fixing member, so that the second fastening part can keep a tightly fastened state of the lace while the upper end portion of the stackingly connected lace pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

The lace fastening device according to the present invention is easy to mount and detach and simple in structure since a control member rotated while a fastening member is fastened to the inside of a receiving member is restored by a magnetic body, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. Moreover, the lace fastening device can rapidly fasten the lace to the shoe and keep a stable fastened state since the upper end portion of the lace fastened to the second fastening part pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace, thereby improving productivity.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional footwear.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a footwear to which a lace fastening device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a first fastening part according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the first fastening part.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a fastened state of the first fastening part, wherein

FIG. 5 a illustrates a state where a fastening member is fit and fastened to a receiving member,

FIG. 5 b illustrates a state where the fastening member is fastened to the receiving member,

FIG. 5 c illustrates a state where a control lever is rotated to release the fastened state of the fastening member, and

FIG. 5 d illustrates a state where the fastening member is separated from the receiving member in the rotated state of the control lever.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of a second fastening part according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the second fastening part.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a coupled state of the second fastening part, wherein

FIG. 8 a illustrates a state where a lace is tightly tied on a fixing member, and

FIG. 8 b illustrates a state where the tightly tied state of the lace is released by lifting up the lace.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a footwear to which the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a footwear to which a lace fastening device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a first fastening part according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the first fastening part, FIG. 5 is a view showing a fastened state of the first fastening part, FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of a second fastening part according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the second fastening part.
According to the present invention, there is provided a lace fastening device for a footwear worn on a user in such a manner that a lace (L) is cross-fastened to connection links 14 oppositely formed on an instep portion of the footwear at regular intervals, which includes: a first fastening part 100 fastened between the connection links 14 to which the lace (L) is connected and having a fastening member 130 fastened to the inside of a receiving member 110 while rotating and restoring a control member 120, the first fastening part 100 releasing the fastened state of the fastening member 130 while rotating the control member 120 to separate it from a magnetic body 140; and a second fastening part 200 to which an end portion of the lace (L) passing the final connection link 14 of the footwear 10 is fit to and stackingly connected to the inside of a fixing member 210, so that the second fastening part 200 can keep a tightly fastened state of the lace while the upper end portion of the stackingly connected lace (L) pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace (L).
The first fastening part 100 includes: the receiving member 110 having a body 111 inwardly dented at both side surfaces of the center thereof, the body 111 having a support piece 111 a, which protrudes from a side thereof and has a through-hole 111 a′ to connect the lace (L) thereto, a receiving space 111 b formed on the other side of the body 111 to fasten the fastening member 130, a mounting space 111 c opened at the bottom of the body 111 to mount the control member thereon, and rotation holes 111 d formed on both sides of the mounting space 111 c; the control member 120 made of a metal material, the control member 120 having a control board 121 mounted in the mounting space 111 c, the control board 121 having rotary shafts 121 a formed at both sides thereof and inserted into the rotation holes 111 d, control levers 121 b formed on both ends of the rotary shafts 121 a to rotate the control board 121, and a control protrusion 121 c protruding from the rear portion of the control board 121 to detachably mount the fastening member 130; the fastening member 130 fastened to the receiving space 111 b and having a fastening plate 131, the fastening plate 131 having a plurality of fastening slots 131 a to release the fastened state between the control member 120 and the fastening member 130 by an adjustment of the control protrusion 121 c, support pieces 131 b protruding from both sides of the rear portion of the fastening plate 131 and respectively having through-holes 131 b′ for fastening the lace (L) thereto; and the magnetic body 140 mounted on the upper surface of the lower end body 111 of the receiving space 111 b to restore the control member 120, which repeatedly performs a rotation, while the fastening member 130 is fastened to the control member 120.
The second fastening part 200 includes: a fixing member 210 having a hollow formed therein and a fixing hole 211 to be fixed on the top of the instep of the footwear 10; a guide space 212 formed on a side of the fixing member 210 and having a movement preventing jaw 213 for preventing movement of the lace (L) fit to a side of the fixing member 210; and a guide rod 214 disposed on the lower end portion of the guide space 212 to guide the lace (L) to the guide space 212 while wrapping the lace (L).
Moreover, the lace fastening device according to the present invention further includes a third fastening part 300. The third fastening part 300 includes: a receiving member 310 having a body 311, which has a curved inner surface to be in close contact with the instep portion of the footwear 10 and has a coupling space 311 a formed by an opened inside thereof, a fixing frame 312 fixed on the upper portion of the body 311 via a fixing screw 312 a and having a spring 313 therein, a pressurizing piece 314 fit into the fixing frame 312 and having a semicircular section, a press piece 315 joined to an end of the pressurizing piece 314 through the body 311 for pressing the pressurizing piece 314, a release piece 316 rotatably mounted between the pressurizing piece 314 and the fixing frame 312, a plate spring 317 coupled to an end portion of the release piece 316 and operating elastically, and at least one connection link 318 formed at a side of the body to be connected with the lace (L); and a fastening member 320 inserted into the coupling space 311 a and having a plurality of retaining protrusions 321 protruding in one direction to be fastened to the release piece 316 and at least one coupling link 322 formed at a side thereof to which the lace (L) is connected.
Next, a process that the lace (L) is fastened to the footwear 10 to which the present invention is applied will be described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the lace (L) is cross-connected at least once between the connection links 14 oppositely arranged at both sides of the footwear 10, and ends of the lace (L) direct the top of the footwear 10.
The direction of the lace (L), the through-holes 111 a′ of the receiving member 110 and the through-holes 131 b′ of the fastening member 130 are located on the same line, and then, the lace (L) is connected to the through-holes 111 a′ and 131 b′ in a straight line.
In this instance, the receiving member 110 and the fastening member 130 of the first fastening part 100 keep a separated state.
In addition, after the lace (L) is directed toward the second fastening part 200 formed on the uppermost portion of the footwear 10, the front end of the lace (L) is inserted to the guide space 212, and more concretely, above the movement preventing jaw 213, and then, the inserted lace (L) is pushed to the lower end portion of the guide space 212 to be drawn outwardly from the fixing member 210.
The front end of the drawn lace (L) is turned on the guide rod 214, and then, fit into the guide space 212 below the movement preventing jaw 213 in such a way as to be closely positioned beneath the lace (L) fit into the guide space 212.
As described above, in a state where the lace (L) is inserted into the second fastening part 200, when the front end of the lace (L) located at the lower portion is pulled to the center of the footwear 10, the lace (L) is moved through the guide space 212. When the front end of the lace (L) is pulled down, since the upper end portion of the lace (L) downwardly pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace (L), the lace (L) can keep a tightly fastened state without being loosened from the second fastening part 200.
As described above, in a state where the lace (L) is fastened and fixed to the second fastening part 200, a user grasps the receiving member 110 and the fastening member 130, and then, inserts the fastening member 130 into the receiving space 111 b.
When the fastening member 130 is fastened to the receiving space 111 b while passing the control protrusion 121 c of the control member 120 made of the metal material, the control protrusion 121 c of the control member 120 is rotated on the rotary shafts 121 a by the fastening slots 131 a of the fastening member 130, and at the same time, restored by a magnetic force of the magnetic body 140. The fastening member 130 is fastened to the receiving space 111 b while repeating the above steps.
Here, the control member 120 may have the control board 121 entirely made of the metal material or partially made of the metal material, namely, only a portion closely contacting with the magnetic body 140 is made of the metal material.
Furthermore, to release the fastened state of the first fastening part 100, when the control levers 121 b formed at both sides of the control member 120 are rotated on the rotary shafts 121 a, the control board 121 is rotated on the rotary shafts 121 a, so that the control protrusion 121 c is released from the fastening slots 131 a of the fastening member 130 and the control board 121 is separated from the magnetic body 140 simultaneously.
As described above, when the control member 120 is rotated, the fastening member 130 is outwardly separated from the receiving member 110. After the separation of the fastening member 130, when the rotation of the control levers 121 b is removed, the control member 120 is restored to the original state by the magnetic force of the magnetic body 140.
Additionally, to release the fastened state of the lace (L) from the second fastening part 200, when the user grasps the upper end portion of the lace (L) and pulls up it to the upper portion of the guide space 212, the pressurizing force pressurizing the lower end portion of the lace (L) is removed, so that the lace (L) can be relaxed since the lower end portion of the lace (L) can be freely moved.
Moreover, another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.
First, as shown in FIG. 9 or 10, in a state where the receiving member 310 and the fastening member 320 are fastened with each other oppositely to the lace (L), the user grasps the receiving member 310 and the fastening member 320 with a hand, and then, inserts the fastening member 320 to the coupling space 311 a of the receiving member 310.
In this instance, the retaining protrusion 321 of the fastening member 320 is in contact with the release piece 316 and fastened to the receiving member 310 while moving forward, and the release piece 316 supports the retaining protrusion 321 inclinedly protruding in one direction while contacting with the retaining protrusion 321 by elasticity of the plate spring 317, so that the fastened state between the receiving member 310 and the fastening member 320 can be kept without release.
As described above, to take off the footwear 10 in a state where the third fastening part 300 is fastened to the footwear and the footwear is tightened, when the user grasps the receiving member 310 and presses the pressing piece 315 of the receiving member 310 downwardly, the pressurizing piece 314 having the semicircular section pressurizes a portion of the release piece 316, so that the release piece 316 is rotated toward the upper portion of the body 311 by the pressurizing piece 314 and separated from the retaining protrusion 321, whereby the fastened state can be released.
After that, the user rotates the receiving member 310 and the fastening member 320 toward both sides of the footwear 10 to laterally relax the footwear 10, so that the user can rapidly and easily take off the footwear.
Since the third fastening part 300 can be reduced and increased in its size according to the number of the connection links 318 and 322 formed at both sides of the receiving member 310 and the fastening member 320, the lace fastening device according to the present invention can be applied to small footwears, which children wear, and to footwears having long ankle portions, such as mountain-climbing boots, military shoes, work shoes, and so on, and fasten the lace to the shoe while selectively controlling tightening and release.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the lace fastening device according to the present invention is easy to mount and detach and simple in structure since a control member rotated while a fastening member is fastened to the inside of a receiving member is restored by a magnetic body, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. Moreover, the lace fastening device can rapidly fasten the lace to the shoe and keep a stable fastened state since the upper end portion of the lace fastened to the second fastening part pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace, thereby improving productivity.

Claims

1. A lace fastening device for a footwear worn on a user in such a manner that a lace (L) is cross-fastened to connection links 14 oppositely formed on an instep portion of the footwear at regular intervals, comprising:

a first fastening part 100 fastened between the connection links 14 to which the lace (L) is connected and having a fastening member 130 fastened to the inside of a receiving member 110 while rotating and restoring a control member 120, the first fastening part 100 releasing the fastened state of the fastening member 130 while rotating the control member 120 to separate it from a magnetic body 140; and

a second fastening part 200 to which an end portion of the lace (L) passing the final connection link 14 of the footwear 10 is fit and stackingly connected to the inside of a fixing member 210, so that the second fastening part 200 can keep a tightly fastened state of the lace while the upper end portion of the stackingly connected lace (L) pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace (L).

2. The lace fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the first fastening part 100 includes: the receiving member 110 having a body 111 inwardly dented at both side surfaces of the center thereof, the body 111 having a support piece 111 a, which protrudes from a side thereof and has a through-hole 111 a′ to connect the lace (L) thereto, a receiving space 111 b formed on the other side of the body to fasten the fastening member 130, a mounting space 111 c opened at the bottom of the body 111 to mount the control member thereon, and rotation holes 111 d formed on both sides of the mounting space 111 c; the control member 120 made of a metal material, the control member 120 having a control board 121 mounted in the mounting space 111 c, the control board 121 having rotary shafts 121 a formed at both sides thereof and inserted into the rotation holes 111 d, control levers 121 b formed on both ends of the rotary shafts 121 a to rotate the control board 121, and a control protrusion 121 c protruding from the rear portion of the control board 121 to detachably mount the fastening member 130; the fastening member 130 fastened to the receiving space 111 b and having a fastening plate 131, the fastening plate 131 having a plurality of fastening slots 131 a to release the fastened state between the control member 120 and the fastening member 130 by an adjustment of the control protrusion 121 c, support pieces 131 b protruding from both sides of the rear portion of the fastening plate 131 and respectively having through-holes 131 b′ for fastening the lace (L) thereto; and the magnetic body 140 mounted on the upper surface of the lower end body 111 of the receiving space 111 b to restore the control member 120, which repeatedly performs a rotation, while the fastening member 130 is fastened to the control member 120.

3. The lace fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the second fastening part 200 includes: a fixing member 210 having a hollow formed therein and a fixing hole 211 to be fixed on the top of the instep of the footwear 10; a guide space 212 formed on a side of the fixing member 210 and having a movement preventing jaw 213 for preventing movement of the lace (L) fit to a side of the fixing member 210; and a guide rod 214 disposed on the lower end portion of the guide space 212 to guide the lace (L) to the guide space 212 while surrounding the lace (L).

4. The lace fastening device according to claim 1, further comprising a third fastening part 300 which includes: a receiving member 310 having a body 311, which has a curved inner surface to be in close contact with the instep portion of the footwear 10 and has a coupling space 311 a formed by an opened inside thereof, a fixing frame 312 fixed on the upper portion of the body 311 via a fixing screw 312 a and having a spring 313 therein, a pressurizing piece 314 fit into the fixing frame 312 and having a semicircular section, a press piece 315 joined to an end of the pressurizing piece 314 through the body 311 for pressing the pressurizing piece 314, a release piece 316 rotatably mounted between the pressurizing piece 314 and the fixing frame 312, a plate spring 317 coupled to an end portion of the release piece 316 and operating elastically, and at least one connection link 318 formed at a side of the body to be connected with the lace (L); and a fastening member 320 inserted into the coupling space 311 a and having a plurality of retaining protrusions 321 protruding in one direction to be fastened to the release piece 316 and at least one coupling link 322 formed at a side thereof to which the lace (L) is connected.

5. A lace fastening device for a footwear worn on a user in such a manner that a lace (L) is cross-fastened to connection links 14 oppositely formed on an instep portion of the footwear at regular intervals, comprising:

a fastening part 100 fastened between the connection links 14 to which the lace (L) is connected and having a fastening member 130 fastened to the inside of a receiving member 110 while rotating and restoring a control member 120, the first fastening part 100 releasing the fastened state of the fastening member 130 while rotating the control member 120 to separate it from a magnetic body 140.

6. The lace fastening device according to claim 5, wherein the fastening part 100 includes: the receiving member 110 having a body 111 inwardly dented at both side surfaces of the center thereof, the body 111 having a support piece 111 a, which protrudes from a side thereof and has a through-hole 111 a′ to connect the lace (L) thereto, a receiving space 111 b formed on the other side of the body to fasten the fastening member 130, a mounting space 111 c opened at the bottom of the body 111 to mount the control member thereon, and rotation holes 111 d formed on both sides of the mounting space 111 c; the control member 120 made of a metal material, the control member 120 having a control board 121 mounted in the mounting space 111 c, the control board 121 having rotary shafts 121 a formed at both sides thereof and inserted into the rotation holes 111 d, control levers 121 b formed on both ends of the rotary shafts 121 a to rotate the control board 121, and a control protrusion 121 c protruding from the rear portion of the control board 121 to detachably mount the fastening member 130; the fastening member 130 fastened to the receiving space 111 b and having a fastening plate 131, the fastening plate 131 having a plurality of fastening slots 131 a to release the fastened state between the control member 120 and the fastening member 130 by an adjustment of the control protrusion 121 c, support pieces 131 b protruding from both sides of the rear portion of the fastening plate 131 and respectively having through-holes 131 b′ for fastening the lace (L) thereto; and the magnetic body 140 mounted on the upper surface of the lower end body 111 of the receiving space 111 b to restore the control member 120, which repeatedly performs a rotation, while the fastening member 130 is fastened to the control member 120.

7. A lace fastening device for a footwear worn on a user in such a manner that a lace (L) is cross-fastened to connection links 14 oppositely formed on an instep portion of the footwear at regular intervals, comprising:

a fastening part 200 to which an end portion of the lace (L) passing the final connection link 14 of the footwear 10 is fit and stackingly connected to the inside of a fixing member 210, so that the fastening part 200 can keep a tightly fastened state of the lace while the upper end portion of the stackingly connected lace (L) pressurizes the lower end portion of the lace (L).

8. The lace fastening device according to claim 7, wherein the fastening part 200 includes: a fixing member 210 having a hollow formed therein and a fixing hole 211 to be fixed on the top of the instep of the footwear 10; a guide space 212 formed on a side of the fixing member 210 and having a movement preventing jaw 213 for preventing movement of the lace (L) fit to a side of the fixing member 210; and a guide rod 214 disposed on the lower end portion of the guide space 212 to guide the lace (L) to the guide space 212 while surrounding the lace (L).