US3027057A - Shoe lacing hook - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1962 s. K.YJOHNS 3,027,057

SHOE LACING HOOK Filed May 24, 1960 INVENTOR STANLEY/6 JUl/A/S BY/0W w ATTORNEY 3,027,057 SHOE LACING HOOK Stanley K. Johns, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, asslgnor to St. Lawrence Manufacturing Company, Inc., Gifford, Quebec, Canada, a corporation of Quebec, Canada Filed May 24, 196i), Ser. No. 31,390 3 Claims. (Cl. 223-113) This invention relates to a hook for lacing boots and shoes, for example, ice skating shoes.

It is necessary in donning boots and high shoes, such as ice skate shoes, to secure just the right amount of tension in the laces to properly support the ankle but without having portions thereof so tight as to interfere with circulation. A tool for tightening and adjusting the laces as the shoes are applied is a necessity.

ft times ice shoes are put on, Or the laces are adjusted, out of doors while the user wears heavy clothing including gloves or mittens. It is accordingly necessary to provide a tool for this purpose which can be used even with heavy gloves or mittens and which can be carried in the pocket for use when required.

It is accordingly a principal object of this invention to provide a lacing hook of light weight and great strength which is compact and can be readily carried in the pocket.

It is a further important feature of the invention that the lacing hook can be under adverse conditions, as, where the skater, for example, is encumbered with heavy clothing, including gloves or mittens, and where the hands may be to some extent numbed by cold so that control of the lacing tool is difficult.

The above and other objects of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when considered in connection with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the shoe lacing hook.

FIG. 2 is a bottom face view thereof.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are transverse sectional views thereof, on the lines 3-3 and 44 of FIG. 1, respectively.

PEG. 5 is a perspective view thereof, taken from above.

Referring now to the details of the drawings, there is shown a lacing hook indicated generally at 10. The hook comprises a shank portion 12, a hooked end 14, a handle 16 and a reinforcing and guide plate or disk 18. The entire unit is preferably formed in one piece by being molded from resinous material, with or without reinforcing fibers such as glass. Each portion of the unit is specially shaped for ease of molding and to achieve maximum strength and usefullness with minimum weight.

Thus the shank portion 12 is gently curved in its extension from the disk 18 to the hooked end 14. In cross section it is of inverted T-shape (FIG. 4-) with the cross bar of the T extending transversely of the shank as at 20 for reinforcing the same against side stresses. The upright of the T constitutes the main body 21 of the shank, being relatively deep adjacent the disk 18 and of gradually reduced depth as it extends to the hooked end 14. The hook 22 extends downwardly from the shank, as viewed in FIG. 5, and is reversely bent, as at 23, to afford a firm grip on the shoe laces. The biting end is preferably formed as a blunt curved longitudinal knife edge, as indicated at 24.

The handle 16 is formed as a transverse pin or bar connected by a sturdy neck 26 to the guide plate 18. For lightness and economy the handle, when made of plastic, is preferably hollow since this provides sufficient strength in the hook disclosed.

The plate or disk 18 serves an important function in that it is used in conjunction with the handle to support and manipulate the hook. Thus it is placed in close proximity to the handle bar. Its transverse dimension,

nitc States atent ice herein sometimes referred to as thickness, is preferably approximately the same as that of the shank and much less than the length of the handle 16. Its dimension in a vertical plane perpendicular to the axis of the handle, that is, its depth is considerably enlarged over that of the shank, portion 12 and handle 16 so that it projects above and below the shank. As shown the disk has a depth substantially twice that of the adjacent shank portion. The disk 18 is preferably round or disk-shaped to avoid projecting corners although a square or other form with rounded corners would be satisfactory.

The disk 18 is so placed that its maximum vertical dimension (depth) will come between the fingers of the user who grasps the handle in his hand. This distance is approximately three-fourths of an inch for the average person. Its maximum vertical dimension depth is preferably between five-eighths of an inch and one inch (1"), or approximately three-fourths of an inch GA), to afford the necessary leverage for manipulating the hook but without becoming difficult if the user is wearing mittens.

The form of disk shown has been found to be particularly satisfactory. Thus the outwardly flanged exterior ring 28 provides a rugged connection from the handle to the shank and provides satisfactory leverage for positioning the hook. The interior web or disk 30 strengthens the hook against both tension and torsion.

It Will be understood the lacing hook herein described may be made of various materials. For economy and usefullness it is preferred to form it of a high strength plastic or resinous material such as polystyrene, polyethylene, epoxy, etc. It has been found to be entirely satisfactory to form the unit by injection molding it form high impact polystyrene resin. The unit may obviously be fabricated by the assembly of its various parts or formed of metal or wood, as will be understood.

In the use of the device the user will normally grasp the handle 16 within the first two fingers of the hand. The disk 18 will thus be positioned between these first two fingers, permitting the user to turn and direct the hooked end exactly as required to contact and move the desired strand of the shoe lace. This is easily possible with gloves, or with mittens having a separate sheath for the first finger. It is also possible with many types of soft mittens since the disk 18 projects beyond the shank sufiiciently to be grasped between the first two fingers.

The combined hold of the fingers on the handle and the side pressure applied on the disk serves three separate functions, that is, (a) there is better control of the hook for turning the point to the exact angle required, (12) the spaced support at the handle and at the disk facilitates moving the hooked end about the axis of the handle to the angle desired with the side pressure on the disk releasably holding the hook in the position to which it is moved and (c) the twisting and pulling force applied during use is divided between the handle and the disk, an important factor in this light-weight article subjected to substantial forces at times.

A further functional advantage of the disk 18 is that the central portion provides a tablet or surface on which may be applied the name of the supplier or of the skating resort or the like.

The particular construction here shown, while presently believed to be the best form of device now known for the intended purpose, is set forth for the purposes of illustration only, and not with any intention of limiting the invention, whose scope is set forth in the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A unitary molded plastic lacing hook comprising a. shank terminating at one end in a downwardly extending, reversely bent hook and at the other end in a transverse bar, constituting a handle, the shank including a reinforcing and guiding element adjacent said handle, of substantially the thickness of said shank, formed as a smooth surfaced disk of substantially the thickness of said shank and constituting an enlargement of said shank, the axis of said disk being substantially parallel to the axis of said handle bar.

2. A unitary plastic lacing hook comprising a shank, a downwardly extending, reversely bent hook at one end thereof, a transverse bar, constituting a handle, at the other end thereof and a guide plate formed on said shank adjacent said handle, said shank being of inverted T- formation from the hook to the guide plate with a base, constituting the cross bar of the T, extending transversely of the shank, said guide plate including an exterior flange corresponding to the width of the base of said shank.

3. The plastic lacing hook recited in claim 2, the interior portion of said guide plate being a disk of substantially less thickness than said exterior flange and suppoited by said flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 254,289 Dirkes Feb. 28, 1882 364,967 Sibley et al. June 14, 1887 687,137 Druen Nov. 19, 1901 1,089,019 Swasey Mar. 3, 1914 1,540,810 Simon June 9, 1925 1,615,125 Lespinasse Jan. 18, 1927 2,702,941 Hale Mar. 1, 1955 2,912,149 Stuard Nov. 10, 1959

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