Abstract
A shoe fastening device and/or technique used to fasten a shoe is disclosed herein. A shoelace can be laced into a shoe in any number of lacing patterns. The two ends of the shoelace may be secured to the shoe. An overhand knot may be present when the shoelace is in a loosened configuration.
Claims
1. A shoe comprising: a shoelace and a vamp, wherein the shoelace includes a tip, wherein the tip of the shoelace is secured to the vamp; and wherein an overhand knot is present in the shoelace when the shoe is in a loosened configuration.
2. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the shoelace contains a shoelace end section.
3. The shoelace of claim 2, wherein the shoelace end section is colored differently than the remainder of the shoelace.
4. The shoelace of claim 2, wherein the shoelace end section is textured differently than the remainder of the shoelace.
5. The shoelace of claim 2, wherein the shoelace end section has a different cross-sectional geometry than the remainder of the shoelace.
6. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the tip of the shoelace is permanently secured to the vamp.
7. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the tip of the shoelace is reversibly secured to the vamp.
8. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the entire shoelace is elevated above the ground when in the loosened configuration.
9. A method for tying a shoe, wherein the shoe comprises a shoelace and a vamp, wherein the shoelace includes a tip and a shoelace end section, and wherein the tip of the shoelace is secured to the vamp, and wherein an overhand knot on the shoelace is always present, the method comprises: tightening the shoelace by pulling on the end section; tying the shoelace with a loop knot to form a bow.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising tying a loop knot to form a double-knot.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising pulling on the shoelace end section to untie the bow and loosen the shoelace.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the tip of the shoelace is permanently secured to the vamp.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein the tip of the shoelace is reversibly secured to the vamp.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an illustrative isometric view of a variation of the shoe in the tied configuration.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an illustrative isometric view of a variation of the shoe in a partially untied configuration and/or partially tied configuration
[0009] FIG. 3 is an illustrative isometric view of a variation of the shoe in the fully untied and/or loosened configuration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a shoe 1 with a tongue 2 and a shoelace 3. The shoelace 3 may be tied to secure the shoelace and tighten the shoe 1, for example the shoe 1 can be tightened around a foot. The shoe may also take other forms and/or shapes and be secured around other objects, such as a knee, an elbow, a wrist, a back, a shin, a shoulder, and/or a neck. The shoe may take other forms and/or shapes that can be secured around other objects, such as pipes and/or rods. The shoelace 3 may be tied into a bow with a loop knot 4. The loop knot 4 may be an overhand knot, a square knot, a bowline, a slip knot, a bow, or any other suitable knot for tying the shoelace 3. The tied shoelace 3 may have a loop 7a and/or 7b. The loop knot 4 may be centered or approximately centered on the shoe or it may be offset. For example, the loop knot 4 may be centered between the left and right sides of the shoe 1. The shoelace 3 may be laced in any number of configurations, including lattice, ladder, zipper, double back, loop back, bushwalk, sawtooth, footbag, display, hash, twisty, hidden knot, riding bow, checkerboard, and/or bi-colour. A vamp 8 may be made of synthetic and/or natural fibers. The vamp 8 may be leather, metal, cloth and/or plastic. The vamp 8 may have holes, eyelets and/or loops to lace the shoelace 3 through. A shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may secure the end and/or the tip of the shoelace 3 to the vamp 8. The shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may be secured to other sections of the shoe 1, such as the tongue 2, the sole, the heel, the quarter and/or the internal lining. For example, the shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may be secured by sewing, stitching, knotting, mechanically gripping, gluing, welding, brazing, soldering, fusing, melting, screwing and/or mechanically fastening to a section of the shoe 1, such as the vamp 8. A shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may comprise a length of approximately 3 inches adjacent to the shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b. The shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may be longer than 1 inch, yet more narrowly larger than 2 inches, yet more narrowly longer than 3 inches, yet more narrowly longer than 4 inches, yet more narrowly longer than 5 inches, yet more narrowly longer than 6 inches, yet more narrowly longer than 8 inches, yet more narrowly longer than 10 inches, yet more narrowly longer than 12 inches. The shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may be shorter than 12 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 10 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 8 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 6 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 5 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 4 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 3 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 2 inches, yet more narrowly shorter than 1 inch. The shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may differ from the remainder of the shoelace 3; for example the shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may be a different color, diameter, material, geometry, shape, texture and/or have different friction characteristics than the remainder of the shoelace 3. The shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may have a different cross-sectional area and/or geometry than the remainder of the shoelace 3. The shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may have different properties than the remainder of the shoelace 3 for aesthetics, ergonomics (e.g., the ability to easily/clearly differentiate the shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b and/or have different grip characteristics). The shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may secure the ends of the shoelace 3 permanently to the shoe 1 such that the shoelace 3 cannot be removed from the vamp 8 and/or completely unlaced. The shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may secure the ends of the shoelace 3 permanently to the shoe 1 such that the shoelace 3 cannot be removed from the shoe 1 and/or unlaced. An additional section of shoelace 3 may extend past the shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b; for example the shoelace 3 may extend into the inside of the shoe 1 and/or within a lining of the shoe 1. The shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may be reversible so that the shoelace 3 can be replaced and/or re-laced. The shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may prevent the shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b from contacting the ground and/or the base of the shoe 1. The shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may prevent the shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b from getting caught on objects that could cause the shoelace 3 to become dirty and/or untied. The shoelace termination 5a and/or 5b may prevent the loop 7a and/or 7b, the shoelace 3, and/or the loop knot 4 from being untied accidentally. The shoelace 3 may be untied by pulling on the shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b.
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates that the shoelace 3 can be in a partially tied configuration and/or a partially untied configuration where an overhand knot 9 may be present, but the loop knot 4 may not be present. The overhand knot 9 may be overhand knot, a square knot, a bowline, a slip knot, a bow, or any other suitable knot for tying the shoelace 3. The overhand knot 9 may be a crossing of the shoelace 3, for example the shoelace ends 6a and/or 6b may be crossed and/or threaded over one another to make a knot. The overhand knot 9 may be formed by crossing the shoelace ends 6a and/or 6b so that they form an “X” in the air; wrapping the bottom lace of the “X” over and through the top lace of the “X”. The shoelace termination points 5a and/or 5b may prevent the shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b from becoming detached from the vamp 8 and/or any other section of the shoe 1. To tie the shoelace 3 into a bow as shown in FIG. 1, the loops 7a and/or 7b may be tied into the loop knot 4 over the overhand knot 9 (e.g., upon completion of tying the loop knot 4, the loops 7a and/or 7b may have switched to opposite sides of the shoe 1, so that the loop 7a is where the loop 7b was previously located). The loop knot 4 may be tied in a similar procedure to an overhand knot: the loop knot 4 may be formed by crossing the loops 7a and/or 7b so that they form an “X” in the air; wrapping the bottom loop of the “X” over and through the top loop of the “X”. A second overhand knot may be tied to form a double-knot.
[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates that when the shoelace 3 is loosened, the shoelace end section 6a and/or 6b may remain secured to the vamp 8 and/or any other section of the shoe 1. The overhand knot 9 is shown in a loosened configuration. For example, pulling on the shoelace end sections 6a and/or 6b may cause the overhand knot 9 to tighten into the configuration shown in FIG. 2. The shoelace 3 may be loosened sufficiently to allow an object (e.g., a foot and/or other object) to enter and/or exit the shoe. The shoelace 3 may be of an appropriate length to ensure or mitigate the shoelace 3 from touching the ground, even when in the loosened configuration. To tie the shoelace 3 into a knot and/or bow, the shoelace 3 may be pulled taught to form the loops 7a and/or 7b and/or tighten the overhand knot 9; then, the loops 7a and/or 7b may be tied into a loop knot 4. The shoelace 3 may be elastic and/or not elastic.
[0013] The shoe 1 or any or all elements of the apparatuses described herein can be made from or coated with, for example, single or multiple stainless steel alloys, steel, spring steel, nickel titanium alloys (e.g., Nitinol), cobalt-chrome alloys (e.g., ELGILOY® from Elgin Specialty Metals, Elgin, Ill.; CONICHROME® from Carpenter Metals Corp., Wyomissing, Pa.), nickel-cobalt alloys (e.g., MP35N® from Magellan Industrial Trading Company, Inc., Westport, Conn.), molybdenum alloys (e.g., molybdenum TZM alloy), tungsten-rhenium alloys, polymers such as polyethylene teraphathalate (PET), polyester (e.g., DACRON® from E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del.), polypropylene, aromatic polyesters, such as liquid crystal polymers (e.g., Vectran, from Kuraray Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (i.e., extended chain, high-modulus or high-performance polyethylene) fiber and/or yarn (e.g., SPECTRA® Fiber and SPECTRA® Guard, from Honeywell International, Inc., Morris Township, N.J., or DYNEEMA® from Royal DSM N.V., Heerlen, the Netherlands), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Parylene poly(p-xylylene) polymers, Parylene N, Parylene C, Parylene D, expanded PTFE (ePTFE), polyether ketone (PEK), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polycarbonate (PC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), poly ether ketone ketone (PEKK) (also poly aryl ether ketone ketone), cotton, polyester, PET, PETG, leather, jute, hemp, nylon, polyether-block co-polyamide polymers (e.g., PEBAX® from ATOFINA, Paris, France), aliphatic polyether polyurethanes (e.g., TECOFLEX® from Thermedics Polymer Products, Wilmington, Mass.), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Nylon, Vinyl, polyurethane, thermoplastic, fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), absorbable or resorbable polymers such as polyglycolic acid (PGA), poly-L-glycolic acid (PLGA), polylactic acid (PLA), poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyethyl acrylate (PEA), polydioxanone (PDS), and pseudo-polyamino tyrosine-based acids, extruded collagen, silicone, zinc, echogenic, radioactive, radiopaque materials, a biomaterial (e.g., cadaver tissue, collagen, allograft, autograft, xenograft, bone cement, morselized bone, osteogenic powder, beads of bone), a material with high strength (60 ksi) and biocompatibility, any of the other materials listed herein or combinations thereof. Examples of radiopaque materials are barium sulfate, zinc oxide, titanium, stainless steel, nickel-titanium alloys, tantalum and gold. The device can be made from substantially 100% PEEK, substantially 100% titanium or titanium alloy, or combinations thereof.
[0014] It is apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to this disclosure, and equivalents employed, or combinations of any of the disclosed elements, characteristics, features, devices, tools, steps, or methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Any of the disclosed elements, characteristics, features, devices, tools, steps, or methods can be present as a singular or as a plurality regardless of whether the elements, characteristics, features, devices, steps, or methods are explicitly disclosed herein as being singular or as a plurality. Elements shown with any variation are exemplary for the specific variation and can be used on other variation within this disclosure.
