JP2006527001A - Shoelace binding device - Google Patents

Abstract

  What was disclosed in this specification is a shoelace binding device that is directly connected to a shoelace so as to reliably maintain the tension state of the shoelace binding. The shoe lace binding device includes a housing, a pair of lace passages through which both free ends of the respective laces pass, and a pair of shuttles capable of reciprocating vertically to widen or narrow the width of each lace passage. When the shoelace passing through the lace passage is pulled to tighten the shoe, the shuttle moves to widen the width of each lace passage to ensure free movement of the lace. On the other hand, when the shoelaces are released to loosen the shoes, the shuttle moves so as to narrow the respective string passage widths to narrow the respective string passage widths, thereby suppressing the shoelace movement. The shoelace tying device includes a pair of elastic members configured to apply elasticity to each shuttle to enable movement of the shuttle so as to narrow the width of each lace passage, and when pressed by hand, the lace It further comprises a release button configured to move the shuttle to widen the passage width.

Description

  The present invention relates to a shoelace binding device, and more specifically to a shoelace binding device that is directly connected to a shoelace so as to reliably maintain the tension state of the shoelace binding.

In general, the most widely used shoes, more specifically athletic shoes, are used by the user's feet by adjusting the degree of tightening of the shoelaces that are passed through the eyelet drilled in the outer shell of the shoe. It is made so that the shoe body can be tightened to fit the shape.
To secure such a lace-type shoe to the user's foot, the user first pulls the shoelace through the eyelet tightly so that the shoe tightens around the user's foot, and then the shoelace Stop both free ends with a bow.
However, for lace-type shoes, the user must always tie and unfasten the shoelaces when taking off the shoes, and the shoelaces often loosen and unravel accidentally while walking. Therefore, there is a drawback that it takes time to use.
Conventional techniques for solving such inconveniences associated with lace binding of the above-mentioned lace type shoes include Korean Patent Registration No. 171552 (March 15, 2000), Korean Patent Application No. 2001-0008137. There is a shoelace tying device disclosed in (February 2, 2001).
However, in the disclosed conventional shoelace tying device, it is not easy to pass the shoelace through the device, and the tension of the shoelace gradually loosens during walking after tightening, and the shoe loosens on the user's foot. There are several problems in terms of causing it to get stuck.

In view of the above, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to easily connect directly to a shoelace, and to easily and quickly tie a shoelace when taking off shoes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a shoelace tying device that can be undone.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoelace binding device capable of preventing the shoelace from accidentally loosening or unraveling.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a shoelace binding device that can maintain a good appearance even after both hanging ends of the shoelace are tied.

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects include: a housing; a pair of lace passages that respectively pass through the free ends of the laces; when the laces are pulled through the lace passages to tighten the shoe, the shuttles Moves to widen the passage width to ensure free movement of the shoelace, and at the same time when the shoelace is released to loosen the shoe, the shuttle moves to narrow the width of the respective passageway and suppresses the movement of the shoelace A pair of shuttles that can be reciprocated vertically to increase or decrease the width of each lace passage so that each shuttle has elasticity to allow movement of the shuttle to reduce the width of each lace passage A pair of elastic members configured to be applied; and a shoelace tying device comprising a release button configured to move the shuttle to widen the lace passage width when pressed by hand It can be achieved by Rukoto.
Preferably, the pair of inclined protrusions adjacent to the shuttle in the space defined between the upper wall and the lower wall of the housing are respectively disposed obliquely, and the space defined between the upper wall and the lower wall around the inclined protrusion is The slanted projections that define each string passage and that the string passage is directed upwards or downwards close to the shuttle's vertical movement path and narrows or widens depending on the shuttle's vertical movement. Can be arranged.
Preferably, the shuttle is a gear, and can be fitted in a shuttle slot formed on the upper and lower sides of the housing so as to be reciprocally movable.
Preferably, the elastic member can be a torsion spring incorporated in the housing.
Preferably, the shoelace binding device may further include a shoelace holder incorporated in a housing to which both hanging ends of the shoelace are fitted and tied.
Preferably, the shoelace holder includes a pair of connecting rods whose one end is connected to the housing, a plurality of connecting rods connected to the other end of the connecting rod, and a plurality of connecting rods that can be bowed through the shoelace. A holder body having a hole, a side of the holder body opened to allow the shoelace to access the hole, and a cap for covering the open surface of the holder body.

  The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

  Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. The following embodiments are merely intended to illustrate the shoelace tying device according to the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Here, a shoelace binding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in the above-mentioned drawings, the shoelace binding device represented by reference numeral 1 is a device for fastening both ends of the shoelace 2 so that the shoelace 2 is not accidentally loosened or unwound. Left and right string passages 20, a pair of left and right shuttles 30, a pair of left and right elastic members 40, and a release button 50. All these listed components are incorporated into the housing 10 of the shoelace binding device 1.
The shoelace binding device 1 is designed to bind both ends of the shoelace 2 in the same manner. As described above, the shoelace binding device 1 has a structure in which the left side and the right side thereof are symmetrical to each other. Therefore, only one side of the symmetrical structure will be described below depending on the case and case.
The housing 10 is a casing member for incorporating various components of the shoelace binding device 1. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 (d), the housing 10 has an approximately rectangular cross-sectional shape, but the shape of the housing 10 is unique as long as the other components of the device 1 are incorporated to suit its purpose. Note that the shape is not limited to this. For example, the housing 10 may be formed in an elliptical shape as shown in FIG. 5, or may be formed in various other unique shapes that are of interest to children.
The lace passage 20 is a passage for allowing the shoelace 2 to penetrate into the housing 10. In order to define such a string passage 20 inside the housing 10, a pair of inclined protrusions 13 are arranged at a fixed distance from the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 with respect to the vertical movement path of each shuttle 30. The housing 10 is symmetrically incorporated in a space defined between the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 of the housing 10 so as to be inclined. Thereby, each space between the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 around each inclined protrusion 13 defines each string passage 20.
Divide string passage 20 into three passageways: 20A, 20B, and 20C. In this case, the shoelace 2 first enters from the passage portion 20A defined between the upper wall 11 and the inclined projection portion 13, and then goes around the passage portion 20B defined between the inclined projection portion 13 and the shuttle 30 and finally the inclined projection portion. Exit from passage 20C defined between 13 and lower wall 12. That is, the shoelace 2 is rotated around the inclined protrusion 13 and the housing 10 is passed. In the present specification, the “upper wall” and “lower wall” of the housing 10 simply mean walls corresponding to an upper position and a lower position on the drawing.
The shuttle 30 is a member for tightening the shoelace 2 so that the shoelace 2 is not accidentally loosened or unwound and can be easily and easily unwound when the shoe is taken off.
More specifically, when the shoelace 2 is pulled so that the shoe 3 is tightened in the arrow direction shown in FIG. 4A, the width of the passage portion 20B is expanded in the arrow direction shown in FIG. 4A. Thus, the shuttle 30 is moved by the movement of the shoelace 2, so that the movement of the shoelace 2 is not suppressed. In this way, the shoelace 2 is kept in a freely movable state.
On the other hand, when the shoelace 2 is pulled so that the shoe 3 is loosened in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4B, the shoe 20B is narrowed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4B. The shuttle 30 moves by both the force applied to the lace 2 and the elasticity of the elastic member 40, thereby preventing the movement of the lace 2. As a result, shoelace 2 is tightened to prevent accidental loosening or unraveling.
For this reason, when the release button 50 is not pressed and is in a natural state, the shoelace 2 can freely move in the tightening direction of the shoe body 3 by the interaction between the cord passage 20, the shuttle 30, and the elastic member 40. However, the movement is limited in the direction of loosening the shoelace 3.
In this embodiment, a gear is used as the shuttle 30. The gear 30 is installed so as to reciprocate in the vertical direction of the housing 10. That is, the gear 30 can reciprocate vertically while being fitted into the shuttle slots 14 and 71 of the vertically oriented housing 10. Here, the operating direction of the shuttle 30 is defined by the shuttle slots 14 and 71. Alternatively, other members can be used as the shuttle 30 such as a roller having a high friction surface instead of a gear.
As can be seen from the drawing, the individual slanted protrusions 13 are disposed obliquely so as to be spaced upwardly adjacent or downwardly with respect to the shuttle slots 14 and 71. In this embodiment, the shuttle slot 14 is formed on the lower surface of the housing 10, and the other shuttle slot 71 is formed on the inner cover 70, which will be described below.
When the shuttle 30 moves upward due to the above-described vertical reciprocation of the shuttle 30, the lace passage portion 20B is narrowed, thereby suppressing the movement of the shoelace 2, and when the shuttle 30 is moved downward, the lace passage portion 20B is expanded, As a result, the free movement of the shoelace 2 is ensured.
The elastic member 40 is a member for providing an elastic force necessary for moving the shuttle 30 upward so as to restrict the movement of the shoelace 2 by narrowing the string passage portion 20B.
That is, when an external force is not applied, the shuttle 30 keeps such an upwardly moved position by receiving the elastic force of each elastic member 40. When the external force overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member 40, the shuttle 30 moves downward so as to expand the lace passage portion 20B and release the restraint of the shoelace 2. However, even in this case, as soon as the external force is released, the shuttle 30 immediately returns to the upper original position.
The elastic member 40 can be freely selected from various types of members as long as it can provide the elastic force necessary to move the shuttle 30 so as to narrow the respective string passage portions 20B. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 (d), in particular, the individual elastic members, specifically designated as reference numeral 40A, are elastically projecting integrally from the housing 10 under one of the associated shuttles 30. It takes the form of a plate-like member. The elasticity of the elastic plate-like member 40A is the material elasticity of the housing 10 itself, and the housing 10 is made of, for example, a plastic synthetic resin.
The release button 50 is a button for enabling the tightened shoelace 2 to be loosened. In the embodiment shown here, the release button, specifically designated as reference numeral 50A, is attached to the center around one end of the partition 15. Here, the partition portion 15 forms the left and right centers of the symmetrical structure of the housing 10.
The release button 50A has two operation parts 51 and a button part 52 for pressing the pair of left and right shuttles 30 respectively. In the state where there is no external force, the shuttle 30 is held in the position moved upward by the elastic plate-like member 40A, so that the release button 50A whose operation part 51 comes into contact with both of the shuttle 30 moves upward, As a result, the button portion 52 protrudes upward from the housing 10. In this state, when the user presses the release button 50A, the operation part 51 of the release button 50A reacts to this, pushes the shuttle 30 downward, and expands the string passage part 20B. Thus, the shoelace 2 is released from its restrained state so that it can be loosened if necessary.
As described above, when the shoelace binding device 1 according to the present invention is used, the shoelace 2 can be tightened so as not to be accidentally loosened by being pulled by the user as desired. In addition, the shoelace 2 can be kept continuously tightened unless the user presses the release button 50A.
On the other hand, both free ends of the tightened shoelace 2 may be stepped on by the user, causing inconvenience during walking. Therefore, the shoelace binding device 1 of the present invention is preferably formed together with a pair of left and right shoelace holders 60 for grasping both hanging ends 2 of the shoelace.
The individual shoelace holder, specifically designated as reference numeral 60A shown in FIGS. 1-4 (d), has a holder post 61 formed at either lower corner of the housing 10. A small gap 62 is defined between the holder post 61 and the lower wall 12 to allow the shoelace 2 to be fixedly fitted. Using a member such as the shoelace holder 60A, the shoelace 2 is surely captured in the gap 62 so that the appearance can be bound and fixed.

Preferably, the shoelace binding device 1 of the present invention includes an inner cover 70 and an outer cover 80.
In the embodiment, the inner cover 70 is formed together with the pair of shuttle slots 71. Therefore, in a state where the housing 10 is covered with the inner cover 70, both the shuttles 30 are fitted into the shuttle slots 71 in such a manner as to be vertically movable.
One end of the inner cover 70 is hinged to one end of the housing 10 and the other end is configured to be elastically locked to a locking groove 16 formed at the other end of the covered housing 10.
Further, the outer cover 80 is formed with a pair of inclined protrusion slots 81 having a shape and size suitable for attachment of the respective inclined protrusions 13. Since the housing 10 is covered with the inner cover 70 and then covered with the outer cover 80, the inclined protrusions 13 are engaged with the respective inclined protrusion slots 81, thereby realizing a firm locking of the outer cover 80.
The operation of the shoelace binding device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (d).
First, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the shoelace 2 passes through the string passage 20 and is tensioned by pulling in the direction of the arrow. Therefore, the shuttle that has been moved upward in advance by the elasticity of the elastic plate-like member 40A. 30 is forcibly moved downward by the movement of shoelace 2. Thus, as desired, the shoelace 2 remains freely movable so as to be pulled by the user.
When the traction force applied to the shoelace 2 is subsequently removed, the shoelace 2 is forced to loosen to some extent in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, the upward movement of the shuttle 30 in the direction of the arrow occurs. In this case, the upward movement of the shuttle 30 is further promoted by the elastic plate member 40A, thereby narrowing the string passage portion 20B. In this manner, the shoelace 2 is securely restrained so as not to be loosened despite the external force applied so that the shoelace 2 is loosened.
After completing the binding of the shoelace 2, as shown in FIG. 4C, both free ends of the shoelace 2 are fitted into the gap 62 so as to be stably fixed by the shoelace holder 60A.
Next, when the release button 50 is pushed by the user as shown in FIG. 4D, the shuttle 30 overcomes the elasticity of the elastic plate member 40A and moves downward.
As a result, the shoelace 2 is released from the restrained state, and can be loosened and unwound as necessary.
As described above, when the shoelace binding device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is used, the shoelace 2 is fastened as desired so that the shoelace 2 is not loosened by simply pulling the shoelace 2. It becomes possible. Further, in the shoelace 2, the user can easily release the tension state of the binding by pressing the release button 50.

Now, another shoelace tying device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Similar to the first embodiment described above, the shoelace binding device 1 basically includes a pair of left and right lace passages 20, a pair of left and right shuttles 30, a pair of left and right elastic members 40, and a release button 50. Components shall be incorporated into the housing 10. However, the first and second embodiments are slightly different from the cross-sectional shape of the housing 10, the type of the elastic member 40, the shape of the release button 50, and the structure of the shoelace holder 60. Therefore, in the following description, since some parts of the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, even if they are shown in different drawings, they are denoted by the same reference numerals and will be described in detail. Is omitted because it is considered unnecessary.
In addition, the housing 10 having an approximately elliptical cross-sectional shape incorporates the inclined protruding portion 13 so that the inclined protruding portion 13 is inclined at a certain distance from the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 through a gap. Thereby, each space between the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 around each inclined protrusion 13 defines a respective string passage 20.
Similarly, in this embodiment, the shoelace 2 enters from the passage portion 20A defined between the upper wall 11 and the inclined protrusion portion 13, and then goes around the passage portion 20B between the inclined protrusion portion 13 and the shuttle 30, and finally the inclined protrusion portion. Exit from passage 20C between section 13 and lower wall 12.
In the first embodiment, the elastic plate-like member 40A formed integrally with the housing 10 is used as the elastic member 40, but in this embodiment, the torsion spring 40B is used as the elastic member 40. A torsion spring 40B is installed between each shuttle 30 and the lower wall 12 of the housing 10, and the shuttle 30 is configured to press upward so as to narrow each string passage portion 20B. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 41 indicates a post, and a torsion spring 40B is attached to each of the posts.
Grooves 31 are preferably formed in the form of gears in the entire outer periphery of each shuttle 30 in order to prevent the torsion springs 40B from detaching from the respective positions.
Similarly to the first embodiment, a release button, which is specifically represented by the reference number 50B in the second embodiment, is attached to the center around one end of the partition portion 15 formed in the housing 10. The release button 50B of the second embodiment includes two shuttles 30, a button part 52, and two operation parts 51 for pressing the elastic blades 53 formed on both sides of the button part 52, respectively. According to such an arrangement, the pressing force applied to the release button 50B is removed, and at the same time, the release button 50B can smoothly return to its original position by the elasticity of the wings 53.
In the present embodiment, a single shoelace holder 60B is provided as the shoelace holder 60. The shoelace holder 60B includes a pair of connecting rods 63, an annular holder body 64, and a cap 66. Connect the connecting rod 63 to the housing at one end. The ring-shaped holder body 64 is connected to the other end of the connecting rod 63 and is formed with a plurality of holes 65 for allowing the shoelace 2 to be bowed. One side 64 of the holder body, more specifically its upper surface, is opened so that the shoelace 2 can access the hole 65. The cap 66 is used to cover the open surface of the holder body 64.
The connecting rod 63 may be configured to be mounted around any protrusion similar to the holder post 61 of the first embodiment, and the connecting rod 63 and the holder body 64 may be configured as a single member, or You may form as an independent member comprised so that it might combine with each other.
The hole 65 of the holder body 64 has an insertion hole 65A for inserting both free ends of the shoelace 2 together, and a pair of the shoelace 2 from both sides of the insertion hole 65A at an angle of about 90 degrees so that both ends of the shoelace 2 can be bowed. The four side holes 65B arranged through the gap and the drawing hole 65C formed at the opposite position of the insertion hole 65A from which both free ends of the shoelace 2 are drawn out are included.
By using such a shoelace holder 60B, both free ends of the shoelace 2 hanging from the device 1 can be stopped with a good appearance and a bow.
In the present embodiment, in a state where the housing 10 is still covered with the inner cover 70 and the outer cover 80, the inner cover 70 is locked to the housing 10 by using a locking portion denoted by reference numeral 72, and denoted by reference numeral 82. The outer cover 80 is locked to the housing 10 using another locking portion.
The operation of the shoelace binding device 1 according to the second embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (d).
First, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), the shoelace 2 passes through the cord passage 20 and is tensioned by being pulled in the direction of the arrow, so that the shuttle 30 is forcibly moved slightly downward by the operation of the shoelace 2. The In this way, the shoelace 2 keeps its free continuous indexing possible state. As shown in FIG. 8 (b), after the tying of the shoelace 2 is completed, the shoelace 2 is tightened using a shuttle 30 so that it does not loosen accidentally. Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, both free ends of the tightened shoelace 2 are passed through the shoelace holder 60B so as to be fastened with a bow with good appearance. Thereafter, when the release button 50 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 8 (d), the shuttle 30 moves downward, thereby releasing the shoelace 2 from its restrained state.

In this way, shoelace 2 is kept loose if necessary.
As is apparent from the above description, the present invention is designed so that the shoe body can be tightened so that it closely fits the shape of the foot of the user. Provided is a shoelace tying device that can be tied and unfastened quickly. Furthermore, according to the present invention, as long as the release button is not pressed, it is possible to continuously maintain the tension state of the shoelace tie, thereby preventing the shoelace from being loosened or unraveled accidentally. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to bind both hanging ends of a shoelace fastened as a bow with good appearance.
While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for purposes of illustration, those skilled in the art will recognize various modifications, additions and alternatives from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims. You will recognize what you can do without doing.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a shoelace binding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the shoelace binding device shown in FIG. 1 with a cover omitted. It is an illustration figure which illustrates the state with which the shoelace binding apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is mounted | worn with shoes. (A)-(d) is a top view which illustrates the sequential operation procedure of the shoelace binding device shown in FIG. It is a perspective view illustrating a shoelace binding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the shoelace binding device shown in FIG. 5 with a cover omitted. It is an illustration figure which illustrates the state with which the shoelace binding apparatus shown in FIG. 5 was mounted | worn with shoes. (A)-(d) is a top view which illustrates the sequential operation procedure of the shoelace binding device shown in FIG.

Claims (6)

Shoelace tying device comprising:
Housing 10;
A pair of lace passages 20 through which the free ends of shoelace 2 pass respectively;
The shuttle 30 can be reciprocated to widen or narrow each lace passage width 20 and when the shoelace 2 passing through the lace passage 20 is pulled to tighten the shoe body 3, the width of the lace passage 20 is widened. Moves, thereby ensuring the free movement of the shoelace 2 and at the same time when the shoelace 2 is released to loosen the shoe body 3, the shuttle 30 moves so as to narrow the width of the strap passage 20 and thereby the shoelace. A pair of shuttles 30 in which the movement of 2 is suppressed;
A pair of elastic members 40 configured to apply elasticity to each shuttle 30 to allow the shuttle 30 to move so as to reduce the width of each string passage 20; This can be accomplished by providing a shoelace tying device with a release button 50 configured to move the shuttle 30 to increase the width of the shuttle 30.   A pair of respective inclined projections 13 are disposed obliquely adjacent to the shuttle 30 inside the space defined between the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 of the housing 10; the upper wall 11 around each inclined projection 13 Each space between the lower wall 12 and the lower wall 12 defines a respective string passage 20; and the inclined projection 13 is positioned so as to face upwards or away downwards close to the vertical movement path of the shuttle 30, thereby The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the string passage (20) narrows or widens according to the vertical movement of the shuttle (30).   2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the shuttle is a gear and is reciprocally fitted in shuttle slots, 71 formed on the upper and lower sides of the housing.   The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the elastic member (40) is a torsion spring (40B) incorporated in the housing (10).   The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a shoelace holder (60) incorporated in a housing (10) into which both hanging ends of the shoelace (2) are fitted and tied. A pair of connecting rods 63 connected at one end of the housing 10 to the shoelace holder 60; a plurality of holes 65 for connecting to the other end of the connecting rod 63 and allowing the shoelace 2 to be bowed. A holder body 64 having: a surface of the holder body 64 opened to allow the shoelace 2 to access the hole; and a cap 66 for covering the open surface of the holder body 64. Equipment specified in 5.

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