WO2009008020A1

WO2009008020A1 - Hook for footwear

Info

Publication number: WO2009008020A1
Application number: PCT/IT2008/000310
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrea Spinelli
Original assignee: 10 Ottobre S.R.L.
Priority date: 2007-07-11
Filing date: 2008-05-08
Publication date: 2009-01-15
Also published as: ITFI20070154A1

Abstract

Hook for footwear, comprising a fixed body (1) destined to be fixed to a predetermined point of the vamp of a shoe and another body (2) which can move with respect to the fixed one (1), wherein the said bodies (1, 2) delimit, in cooperation with each other, an eyelet or channel for the passage of a lace, the said eyelet or channel being open, or closed depending on the position of the mobile body (2) with respect to the fixed one (1). The mobile body (2) features a part (21) with a cam-shaped end with which an elastic element (3) supported by the fixed body (1) is in contact, the said elastic element pushing the said cam to maintain the mobile body (2) in a stable position in which the said eyelet channel is open or closed.

Description

TITLE

Hook for footwear. DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a hook for footwear.

It is known that a hook for footwear features a rear portion destined to be fixed in a predetermined point of the vamp of a shoe and a forward hook- shaped portion where a lace, passing through it, tighten or loosen the edges of the vamp on which the hooks are placed. The hook-shaped forward portion can be fixed or movable. In the second case, the forward portion of the footwear hook can be put in a closed position so that the lace remains bound to the eyelet or channel resulting from the opposed surfaces of the forward and the rear part of the hook. If the forward portion of the hook is put in an open position, the said surfaces are spaced and, consequently, the lace will be free. A hook for footwear of this type is disclosed in EP 1050224.

The present invention relates to a hook for footwear of the type in which the forward portion is movable with respect to the rear one and it aims at providing a high stability of both the open and the closed position in every use condition.

This result has been achieved, according to the present invention, by realizing a hook for footwear having the characteristics indicated in the claim 1. Further characteristics of the present invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

One of the advantages of the present invention is that the hook provides a great stability both in its open and closed position, avoiding any unintentional change in its state, so that the hook results extremely safe in every use condition. Furthermore, a hook for footwear according to the present invention is simple to realize, cheap and reliable. Moreover, the parts of the hook that define the eyelet or channel, inside which the lace passes, can be shaped in such a manner that, when the hook is in the closed position, it does not show protrusions or steps. Then, the present hook can also be mounted on footwear of the type used by parachutists, without taking the risk that the wires of the parachute would get entangled in the hooks.

These and further advantages and characteristics of the present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art thanks to the following description and the accompanying drawing, concerning non-limiting practical embodiments of the invention, wherein: fig.l shows a bottom perspective view of a hook for footwear according to the present invention; fig.2 is a perspective view form the above of the hook shown in fig.l; figs.3A-3C show a side view, a top plan view and, respectively, a bottom plan view of the hook for footwear shown in fig.l; fig.4 is a bottom perspective view of a hook for footwear according to the present invention, in the open condition; fig.5 is a top perspective view of the hook for footwear shown in fig.4; fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a hook for footwear according to the present invention; fig.7 shows a cross section of the front body (2) of the hook.

Reduced to its essential structure and with reference to the enclosed drawings, a hook for footwear according to the present invention comprises a rear body (1) , destined to be fixed to predetermined point of a the vamp of a shoe, and a front or forward body (2) which is movable with respect to the rear body.

The front body (2) features a first hook-shaped portion (20) and a second portion (21) whose end is cam-shaped." In the example shown in the drawings, said cam is defined by two plane surfaces (22, 23) which converge towards a third plane surface (24) that separates the first two. With reference to Fig.7, the first surface (22) is inclined downwardly going from the left to the right, whereas the second surface (23) is inclined upwardly, so that the geometric planes of these surfaces intercept each other in front of the third surface (24) . According to this example, there are, therefore, an upper cam surface (22) and a lower cam surface (23) provided at one end of the second portion (21) . Furthermore, the said body (2) features two tubular appendixes (25) that emerge bilaterally from the said second portion (21) . The said appendixes (25) constitute a pin whose ends are inserted into two corresponding seats (not visible in the drawings) provided in the internal side of the flanks (12) .

The front body (2) is made of a single metallic piece (such as zamak, for example), like the other body (1) . The rear body (1) presents a tubular appendix (10) emerging from its lower side (the side destined to face the vamp of a shoe when the hook is applied to the vamp) . Moreover, the said rear body (1) features, on its lower side, a seat for a metallic plate (3) which, in turn, exhibits a hole (30) whose diameter is identical or slightly longer than the external diameter of said tubular appendix. This tubular appendix is prolonged downwardly, beyond the lower edge (11) of the same rear body (1) . The hook for footwear described above is assembled as follows .

The two appendixes (25) of the front body (2) are positioned in the corresponding seats provided in the internal sides of the flanks (12) of the rear body (1); the concavity of the hook-shaped portion (20) of the front body (2) faces the rear body (1) ; and the portion (21) of the said front body is aligned with the lower side of the rear body (1) . Then, the plate (3) is positioned in such a way that the tubular appendix (10) of the rear body (1) passes through the respective hole (30) and that the cam (22, 23, 24) of the front body (2) is covered by the plate (3), i.e. below the latter. Afterwards, the appendix (10) is clinched with a tool, so as to fix the plate (3) to the body (1) . Thus, the front body (2) is rotatably connected to the rear body

(1), and can rotate about the axis (x-x) of the pin constituted by the appendixes (25) mentioned above.

The rotation of the front body (2) allows the hook to assume the open position (as shown in figs. 4 and 5) or, vice versa, the closed position (as shown in figs. 1-3C). Therefore, a lace (for sake of simplicity not shown in the drawings) can be free or not within the space delimited by the concave part of the hook-shaped portion (20) in cooperation with the upper edge (13) of the rear body (1) and the front edges (120) of the flanks (12) . In other words, the hook for footwear can assume an open configuration, in which the lace is free, or a closed configuration, in which the hook-shaped portion (20) of the body (2) and the edges (13, 120) of the body (1) define an eyelet or a closed channel within which the lace is bound.

The aforementioned axis (x-x) is near the surface (22) of the body, and it is closer to the surface (22) than to the surface (23) of the same body.

When the hook for footwear is in the open configuration, the plate (3) is in contact with the upper cam surface (22) of the body (2) . When the hook for footwear is in the closed configuration, the plate (3) is in contact with the lower cam surface (23) of the body (2) . In both cases, the action exerted by the plate (3) on the body (2) is such that any unintentional rotation of the body (2) - from the open position towards the closed position and vice versa - is avoided, since it is necessary to apply a torque sufficient to overcome the elastic resistance offered by the plate (3) to obtain the rotation of the front body about the aforementioned axis. In practice, both the open and the closed positions or configurations are stable. In order to open the hook, one can, for example, act on the lace by pulling it upwardly so as to overcome the elastic resistance of the plate, thus obtaining the corresponding rotation of the body (2). This manoeuvre, even if requires such an effort to overcome the resistance of the plate (3), can be performed in such an easy, quick and instinctive way that the present hook for footwear is particularly suitable also for safety shoes. The reverse manoeuvre, through which the hook assumes a closed configuration, can be performed by pushing the body (2) downwardly.

The aforementioned edge (13) of the body (1) and the corresponding edge (200) of the body (2) are constituted by two respective surfaces which are parallel to each other, so that, when the hook is closed, these edges are superimposed. Therefore, the hook does not present steps or protrusions (with which the wires of a parachute would get entangled when the hook is mounted on parachutists shoes) .

For example, the present hook can riveted to the vamp of a shoe by means of a rivet (not shown in the drawings) which is made to pass through the clinched tubular appendix that connects the plate (3) with the body (1) .

The body (1) is provided, on its lower side, two conical feet which, when the hook is fixed to the vamp of a shoe, penetrate into it and, being provided on diametrically opposite points, they avoid the rotation of the hook about the point in which the hook is fixed to the vamp.

The present invention is of course not limited to the described and illustrated embodiment but comprises all embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1) Hook for footwear, comprising a fixed body (1) destined to be fixed to a predetermined point of the vamp of a shoe and another body (2) which can move with respect to the fixed one (1), wherein the said bodies (1, 2) delimit, in cooperation with each other, an eyelet or channel for the "passage of a lace, the said eyelet or channel being open or closed depending on the position of the mobile body (2) with respect to the fixed one (1), characterized in that said mobile body (2) features a part (21) with a cam- shaped end with which an elastic element (3) supported by the fixed body (1) is in contact, the said elastic element pushing the said cam to maintain the mobile body (2) in a stable position in which the said eyelet channel is open or closed.

2) Hook for footwear according to claim 1 characterized in that the said mobile body (2) can rotate about the fixed body (1) .

3) Hook for footwear according to claim 2 characterized in that the said mobile body (2) is provided with two cylindrical appendixes (25) which constitute a pin about whose axis the same mobile body (2) can rotate, said appendixes being intended to be positioned within corresponding seats provided by the fixed body (1) .

4) Hook for footwear according to claim 1 characterized in that the said cam is formed by two plane surfaces (22, 23) converging towards a third plane surface (24) which separate the first two plane surfaces.

5) Hook for footwear according to claim 1 characterized in that the said elastic element (3) is made by a plate mounted on the lower side of the fixed body (1) .