1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to footwear, and in particular an article of footwear with a dual lacing system.
2. Description of Related Art
Articles of footwear generally include some kind of provision that allows the article to be opened to allow entry of a wearer's foot, and to be closed so that the article is secured to the wearer's foot. In the past, lacing systems have been used. In particular, lacing systems incorporating a hook and loop fastening system have been proposed.
Posner (U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,746) teaches a shoe with a securement apparatus. In the design of Posner, laces are secured through a shoe by a plurality of guides and indentations along the ankle portion of the shoe. These guides and indentations take up the slack of a shoelace that includes mating material attached to the ends and which is secured to a shoe by mating surfaces attached to the guides and indentations. In other words, the user may tighten the laces in a usual fashion, and then wrap the laces along the indentations and guides disposed along the ankle portion to secure the laces and keep portions of the laces from falling to the ground.
Veylupek (U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,044) also teaches a lacing system that allow a user to releasably attach the ends of the lace to the shoe. Each lace is connected to a tab having a section of hook or loop material designed for engagement with a mating section of material along the rear of the shoe. In other words, the user may tighten the laces by pulling back tabs that are connected to the laces and securing the tabs in place along a hook or loop fastening region along the rear of the shoe.
A drawback to the designs of Posner and Veylupek is that they rely on a single lace for securing the upper to a wearer's foot. Using a single lace in this manner may not give the wearer enough control to tighten multiple regions over which the lace is disposed. Generally, there is a need for articles of footwear including multiple laces.
Footwear including multiple laces with attachment regions for the laces along the sides of the footwear have been proposed. Mathieu (U.S. patent No. 2005/0081403) teaches a boot including a lacing device. The lacing device comprises at least two independent successive zones of lacing. This configuration of successive lacing zones allows for differential adjustment and tightening of the lacing zones. Mathieu also teaches a shoe with a single attachment region disposed along one side of the shoe for attaching the ends of the laces.
While Mathieu teaches footwear including multiple laces, there are many shortcomings. The lacing device of Mathieu lacks overlapping laces that may add strength to the lacing system. Additionally, the design of Mathieu lacks aesthetic appeal. There is a need in the art for an article of footwear including a dual lacing system that fastens to attachment regions along the sides of footwear that overcomes these problems.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds