DE20010500U1 - Laces, in particular laces - Google Patents

Description

Spitz, Klinger & Partner

Lawyers · Auditors · Tax advisors

Spitz, Klinger & Partner GbR · Bavariaring 20 · D-80336 Munich

Dr. jur. Volker Spitz, LL.M. Dr. jur. Alfred N. Klinger Alexander Gaul
Johannes M. Krüger Attorneys at Law

Dipl.-Kfrn. Robert Thalhauser

Auditor ■ Tax advisor

Telephone: (089) 544 25 40 Fax: (089) 543 90 40 e-mail: skpmuc@aol.com

Your Reference / Your Ref.

Our Ref.

7898 G 1238 EN

Date

June 13, 2000

Applicant: Hans-Joachim Ahrens, Minslebenerstrasse 83, 38855 Wernigerode Andreas Czech, Campestrasse 7, 38102 Braunschweig Friedrich Knapp, Höxter Weg 5, 38124 Braunschweig Franz Schmitt, Wachholtzstrasse 17, 38106 Braunschweig

Lacing bodies, especially shoelaces

Office Bavariaring 20

D-80336 Munich

Bank details / Bank Account .. .. .. . VAT number.

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Lacing bodies, especially shoelaces

The invention relates to an elongated lacing body, in particular a shoelace, comprising a textile structure, as well as a laceable object, in particular a shoe, an item of clothing, a backpack or the like.

Laces are used to tie objects together. The key to this is an elongated shape and a greater or lesser degree of flexibility of the lace, which has independent significance for tying any object but is also often intended for tying certain objects, such as shoes (shoe laces), items of clothing such as trousers, jackets, anoraks, etc., backpacks, duffel bags, bags or the like. In the latter cases, the lace often forms an integral part of the object to be tied up.

A "textile structure" in the context of the invention includes all structures that are produced on the basis of fibers by manufacturing processes as are known from textile technology, e.g. fabrics, braids, fiber composites or the like.

Known lacing bodies have the disadvantage that the lacing made with them often unintentionally loosens or comes loose.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to improve the reliability of a lacing.

This object is achieved by a lacing body according to claim 1 or 12, a laceable object according to claim 16, a manufacturing method as described below or the use of a lacing body as described below for a laceable object. The subclaims relate to advantageous developments of the invention.

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The lacing body according to the invention according to claim 1 has protrusions projecting in the transverse direction. These protrusions inhibit the movement of a lacing body portion which is in contact with another lacing body portion or a portion of the object to be laced, so that the reliability of the lacing is improved.

The same effect is also achieved by a lacing body according to claim 12, in which the textile structure is coated substantially over its entire surface with a thermoplastic elastomer at least in the region of the longitudinal ends of the lacing body. This full-surface elastomer coating preferably has a thickness of 0.1 mm to 2 mm.

The raised areas or the full-surface elastomer coating can be formed by coating the textile structure with a plastic material, in particular by coating using the injection molding process. This process also allows post-processing of finished laces.

To achieve a greater inhibiting effect, a relatively soft plastic can be used as the coating material. When a relatively soft plastic material is applied using the injection molding process, it is also possible to ensure that the material at least partially penetrates the textile structure in the transverse direction, so that the coating is well anchored in the textile material.

Another advantageous way of anchoring the coating is to provide that the coating material penetrates the textile structure in the transverse direction up to a core running inside the textile structure. In particular, if the material of this core is identical to the coating material, the coating material can be welded to the core in a mechanically resistant manner during the injection molding process. To create a textile structure with a core, it is possible to cover the core material with textile material or to integrate one or more cores when producing the textile structure.

To produce a lace body according to the invention, a core made of plastic material with raised features can also be partially or completely covered with textile material to form the textile structure. Partial covering means a design in which the raised features of the plastic core protrude through the textile structure in a transverse direction from the textile structure. Alternatively or additionally, raised features can also be formed by textile material which covers corresponding raised features of the plastic core.

The raised portions can be provided individually on the surface of the lacing body and/or in a ring-shaped closed manner in the circumferential direction of the lacing body and/or in a continuous spiral shape.

The dimensions of the lacing body according to the invention, in particular its length and its extension in the transverse direction, can be selected depending on the intended use. For the application of particular interest here for lacing a shoe, an item of clothing, a backpack or the like, its extension in the transverse direction is preferably in a range from 1 mm to 15 mm and in particular for a shoelace in a range from 2 mm to 6 mm. "Extension in the transverse direction" is to be understood here as the diameter of the lacing body averaged over the surface of the lacing body (in the longitudinal direction and azimuth direction).

The length of a ready-made lace body is preferably in the range from 20 cm to 100 cm and, in particular for shoelaces, in the range from 20 cm to 70 cm (depending on the size and number of eyelets of the shoe in question). However, the length is not subject to any restrictions if it is an intermediate product in the manufacture of ready-made lace bodies. Such an intermediate product may, where appropriate, be considerably longer or endless.

The ends of the lace body according to the invention can be designed differently from the rest of the lace body. For example, these ends can, as is known from conventional shoelaces, have a threading aid in the form of a relatively stiff and

Diameter reduced end section, or, as known from conventional clothing cords, have a loss protection in the form of a greatly widened end section.

The surface area of a lace body taken up by the raised areas or the full-surface elastomer coating is preferably about 10% to 50%.

The maximum transverse dimensions resulting from the raised areas as well as the minimum transverse dimensions resulting in the sections of the lace body surface free of raised areas deviate from the average transverse dimension. The deviation in the area of the raised areas is preferably in a range of +10% to +50%, more preferably between +30% and +40%, in the area free of raised areas preferably between -2% and -20%.

In a preferred embodiment, the raised areas are provided as sprayed-on, mushroom-shaped elevations. In a shoelace, these "stoppers" or nubs can be arranged at a mutual distance of approximately 2 mm to 15 mm, for example.

The lacing body can have the raised areas or the full-surface elastomer coating over essentially its entire length or only in sections. In the latter case, the sections can be provided in such a way that they are located in the area of a knot (with different lacing body sections resting against each other) or in the area of an eyelet of the relevant object to be laced. For symmetrical lacing, such as in shoes, the inhibiting surface areas should also be selected symmetrically. In the case of shoelaces, for example, sections can be selected that are arranged equidistant from the longitudinal center of the lace, preferably extending to the longitudinal ends of the lace.

For a defined inhibition effect when the lace body moves through an eyelet, the paired arrangement of diametrically opposed elevations in the transverse direction is particularly suitable. This design has an additional advantage in

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the manufacture of the lace body using the injection molding process, since the two raised areas can be anchored to one another inside the textile structure. Instead of such pairs, a plurality (e.g. 3, 4 or 5) of raised areas can be arranged in a common axial plane and evenly distributed in the circumferential direction. Elevation pairs or multiples of elevations that are immediately adjacent to one another in the longitudinal direction are preferably offset from one another in the azimuth direction, in the case of elevation pairs preferably by an angle of approximately 90°.

The invention is particularly advantageous for use in the manufacture of shoelaces, particularly for shoes where the accidental opening of the shoelaces must be avoided with great reliability. This applies in particular to sports shoes, such as those for wrestlers, boxers, runners, cyclists and the like. The invention makes it possible to manufacture shoelaces that remain securely closed without additional knotting of the loop.
15

The invention is described in more detail below using exemplary embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 to 9 different embodiments of a shoelace,

Fig. 10 a shoelace that is only partially provided with raised features

is provided,

Fig. 11 to 13 different objects for which the lacing body

particularly suitable according to the invention, namely a shoe, a

Hoodie and a backpack, and

Fig. 14 and 15 show schematically two injection molding machines for producing a lace body according to the invention.
30

In the following description of various embodiments of lacing bodies, lacable objects and suitable for producing a lacing body

Machines use the same reference numbers for analogous components, supplemented by a small letter identifying the respective embodiment. Essentially, only the differences to the previously described embodiment(s) are discussed and otherwise reference is expressly made to the previous description. Particularly with regard to the lace body according to the invention, it is clear to the person skilled in the art that the features described in the individual examples can be combined with one another in a largely arbitrary manner.

Fig. 1 shows a part of a shoelace, designated overall by 10a, comprising a textile structure 12a (e.g. cotton, synthetic or mixed fabric) usual for shoelaces with (here) a round cross-section, around which a bead forming raised portions 20a extends continuously and spirally in the longitudinal direction of the lace 10a.

The bead was obtained by coating the textile structure 12a with a plastic material in an injection molding process. Thermoplastic elastomers such as polyurethane (PUR), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) and polyetheramides are particularly suitable as plastic materials. Such materials are available, for example, under the trade names Desmopan, Lefaflex, Pebax and Santoprene. Vulcanized rubber and silicone are also suitable.

When using a suitable injection molding compound, e.g. Evoprene with a Shore A hardness of 80 at 200 ^° C, it penetrates the relatively coarse shoelace fabric 12a. This results in good anchoring of the spiral-shaped elevation on the surface and inside the textile structure 12a.

As a threading aid, a thin plastic sleeve 16a is provided at each end of the lace 10a, which tightly encloses the textile structure 12a.

In the lace 10b shown in Fig. 2, a tubular textile structure 12b is penetrated by a plastic core 14b (shown in dashed lines), which extends over the entire

Length of the lace 10b and whose ends form the threading aids 16b. In this embodiment, the raised portions 20b are each closed in a ring shape on the surface of the lace body and are also sprayed on from plastic material. This process was set up in such a way that the coating material penetrates the textile structure 12b up to the core 14b and is anchored to it. This also indirectly anchors the textile structure 12b to the core 14b.

The lace 10c shown in Fig. 3 differs from the one previously described only in the shape and arrangement of the raised portions 20c. These are arranged as mushroom-shaped "stoppers" in pairs diametrically opposite in the transverse direction.

Fig. 4 shows a lace 10d whose textile structure 12d and whose end sections 16d are designed as in the embodiment according to Fig. 1, whereas raised portions 2Od with a shape as in the embodiment according to Fig. 3 are sprayed onto the textile structure in pairs. The coating material completely penetrates this textile structure 12d in the transverse direction, so that the pairs of opposing raised portions 2Od are well anchored to one another and to the textile structure 12d. The pairs of raised portions 2Od that are immediately adjacent to one another in the longitudinal direction are oriented offset by 90° from one another in the azimuth direction. This ensures a good inhibiting effect of the raised portions regardless of the azimuth position of the lace 10d.

Fig. 5 shows a lace 10e in which, in contrast to all other embodiments described here, the raised areas on the surface are formed by the textile structure 12e itself. In this example, a homogeneous textile structure 12e surrounds a nylon core 14e provided with thickenings arranged equidistantly in the longitudinal direction. In contrast to the example shown, the thickenings can also be provided individually or spirally on the body of the core 14e. In the area of the thickenings, the textile material expands, which thus forms the raised areas 20e at these points. Alternatively or additionally, such raised areas 20e could also be formed by appropriate variation of the textile structure.

texture, for example through corresponding thickenings or elevations of the textile structure itself.

To produce the lace 10f shown in Fig. 6, a core 14f made of plastic material and having raised features 2Of was subsequently coated with textile material to form the textile structure 12f, the raised features 2Of being exposed on the surface of the lace 1Of formed.

Fig. 7 illustrates the anchoring of mushroom-shaped elevations on the surface of the textile structure 12e, into which three plastic cores 14e were already woven during production in such a way that they extend in a radially central region of the finished textile structure 12g. The sprayed-on plastic stoppers are anchored to these cores 14e.

In the lace according to Fig. 8, a plastic fiber was woven in during the production of the textile structure 12h in such a way that it runs in places on the surface of the remaining textile structure 12h and forms the raised areas 20h at these places. Preferably, and as realized in the example shown, the diameter of the plastic fiber is at least 10 times the diameter of the thickest of the other fibers used to produce the textile structure 12h.

Fig. 9 shows a shoelace 10i in which the textile structure 12i runs over the entire length of the lace body and, apart from the end sections 16i formed in a conventional manner, is fully coated with a thermoplastic elastomer 20i.

Since the inhibiting effect achieved within the scope of the invention is generally sufficient to increase the reliability of a lacing, particularly at the ends of a lacing body 10, it is preferable in many cases for cost reasons to provide the raised portions or the elastomer coating only in the longitudinal end sections of the lacing body 10.

Fig. 10 shows, for example, a shoelace 10 with a length L, in which only end sections of length A arranged symmetrically to the longitudinal center C of the lace are covered with raised features. Alternatively or additionally, these end sections can also be coated essentially over their entire surface with a thermoplastic elastomer. In the example shown, the covered end sections extend to the outermost ends of the lace. The length A for shoelaces is preferably about 20 cm to 30 cm.

Fig. 11 to 13 show objects suitable for use with a lacing body 10 according to the invention, which are provided with eyelets 32 for the passage of the lacing body.

At least one of the eyelets 32 shown is adapted in its opening area to the lacing body in such a way that its raised areas 20 or its elastomer coating inhibit movement through the eyelet 32. Such inhibition is achieved in that the maximum transverse extension of the lacing body cannot pass through the eyelet 32 in any azimuth position without contact with it. Rather, this passage is only possible under compression of the raised areas 20 or the elastomer layer 20i. A desired inhibiting effect can be achieved by appropriately selecting the dimensions of the lacing body and eyelets and by appropriately selecting the material for the lacing body, in particular the raised areas, and/or the eyelet. Accordingly, for example, circular eyelets should be dimensioned to be somewhat smaller in diameter (e.g. 1% to 20% smaller) than the maximum transverse extension of the lacing body.

Fig. 14 shows an injection molding machine 60a for the continuous production of lace bodies according to the invention as described above by way of example. Textile material 64a is drawn step by step from a textile supply (roll 62a) through a mold 66a, with which plastic material is injected to form the lace body 10a. A thin liquid mass of plastic (PE, PP, PA) or a TPE (eg Santoprene, Evoprene) at a temperature of around 200 ^° C is pressed into the textile fabric. Alternatively, the plastic material could be vulcanized on.

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Cold application or screen printing is also conceivable. In the latter process, however, the anchoring of the plastic material to the fibers is generally not as intensive. Before the laces are made up, the continuous intermediate product 10a shown in Fig. 14 is wound up at 68a.

Fig. 15 shows a modification of the injection molding machine in which three textile structures 64b are coated with the plastic material in a common mold 66b at the same time. Such a multiple arrangement is also suitable for producing lace bodies according to the invention in which a plastic core (14) is to be integrated into the textile structure. For this purpose, the roll 62b can have the corresponding core strand and further textile material strands which are woven or braided immediately before the plastic material is injected, with a single resulting lace body strand 10 then being pulled onto the roll 68.

Claims (17)

1. Elongated lace body ( 10 ) comprising a textile structure ( 12 ), characterized in that the lace body ( 10 ) has raised portions ( 20 ) projecting in the transverse direction. 2. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to claim 1, wherein raised portions ( 20 ) are formed by coating the textile structure ( 12 ) with a plastic material, in particular coating by injection molding. 3. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to claim 2, wherein coating material penetrates the textile structure ( 12 ) in the transverse direction to a depth of at least one third of the distance between the longitudinal center line and the surface of the textile structure ( 12 ). 4. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein coating material completely penetrates the textile structure ( 12 ) in the transverse direction. 5. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein coating material penetrates the textile structure ( 12 ) in the transverse direction at least up to a core ( 14 ) formed from plastic material running longitudinally in the interior of the textile structure ( 12 ). 6. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 5, in which a core ( 14 ) made of plastic material and having raised portions ( 20 ) is covered with textile material to form the textile structure. 7. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein individual elevations ( 20 ) are provided which are not connected on the surface of the lacing body. 8. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein individual raised portions are provided which each extend in a closed ring shape on the surface of the lacing body. 9. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein raised portions ( 20 ) are provided which extend continuously and spirally on the surface of the lacing body. 10. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein pairs of elevations ( 20 ) diametrically opposed in the transverse direction are provided. 11. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein in the longitudinal direction immediately adjacent pairs of elevations are oriented offset from one another in the azimuth direction. 12. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the textile structure ( 12 ) is coated substantially over its entire surface with a thermoplastic elastomer ( 20 ) at least in the region of longitudinal ends (A) of the lacing body ( 10 ). 13. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to claim 12, wherein the thickness of the full-surface elastomer layer ( 20 ) is in the range of about 0.1 mm to 2 mm. 14. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein coating material penetrates the textile structure ( 12 ) in the transverse direction to a depth of at least one fifth of the distance between the longitudinal center line and the surface of the textile structure ( 12 ). 15. Lacing body ( 10 ) according to claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein coating material completely penetrates the textile structure ( 12 ) in the transverse direction. 16. Laceable object ( 30 ), in particular shoe ( 30a ), item of clothing ( 30b ), backpack ( 30c ) or the like, with at least one lacing body ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 15. 17. Article ( 30 ) according to claim 16 with at least one eyelet ( 32 ) for the passage of the lacing body ( 10 ), the opening area of which is dimensioned in adaptation to the lacing body ( 10 ) such that the raised portions ( 20 a-h) and/or the plastic coating ( 20 i) of the lacing body ( 10 ) inhibit its movement through the eyelet ( 32 ).