Footwear closure system

Abstract

An improved closure system for athletic footwear, comprises a plurality of lace supports attached to the medial and lateral quarter panels of a boot. Each lace support has a holding unit at a first end and an attachment portion at a second end. The holding unit comprises a tube for holding a shoe lace. The attachment portion preferably comprises two legs which are fastened to a panel of the boot. The legs are fastened to the panels by at least one row of stitching extending traversely across the legs. The lace supports preferably are manufactured of a semi-rigid material, such as plastic, which creates a low-friction surface to pass the lace over. When embodiments of the lace supports are incorporated into athletic footwear, they result in boots that are easy to lace and that provide a secure fit to the user's foot.

1 . A sports shoe, comprising: 
 an inner foot panel having an upper edge and an outer foot panel having an upper edge, the inner and outer panels disposed on generally opposite sides of the shoe, and a space is defined between the upper edges; and    a lacing system comprising a plurality of lace supports, each lace support comprising: 
 a generally rigid hollow holding portion configured to accommodate a shoelace slidably fit therethrough; and  
 at least two elongate leg portions extending from the holding portion;  
   wherein the leg portions of each lace support are attached to one of the inner and outer panels by at least one row of stitching extending transversely across the leg portions.    
   
   
       2 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of lace supports are disposed on each of the inner and outer panels, and the at least one row of stitching on each panel extends transversely across at least two of the lace supports.  
   
   
       3 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the row of stitching is spaced from and generally follows a curvature of the corresponding panel edge.  
   
   
       4 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the holding portion comprises a low-friction inner surface.  
   
   
       5 . The sports shoe of  claim 4 , wherein each holding portion is generally elongate and has a longitudinal axis, and the longitudinal axis is generally parallel to a tangent line generally to the corresponding panel edge adjacent the holding portion.  
   
   
       6 . The sports shoe of  claim 5 , wherein the holding portion comprises a tube that is fully enclosed about its diameter.  
   
   
       7 . The sports shoe of  claim 4 , wherein the holding portion comprises a polymer.  
   
   
       8 . The sports shoe of  claim 8 , wherein each of the lace supports is unitarily formed.  
   
   
       9 . The sports shoe of  claim 8 , wherein each of the lace supports is injection molded.  
   
   
       10 . The sports shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the holding portion of each of the lace supports is suspended in the space between the panel edges.  
   
   
       11 . The sports shoe of  claim 10 , wherein the legs of each lace support are secured to the corresponding panel by two spaced apart rows of stitching extending transversely across the legs.  
   
   
       12 . A method of making a sports shoe, comprising: 
 providing a shell having an inner upper edge and an outer upper edge, the upper edges spaced apart from one another;    providing a plurality of lace supports, each lace support comprising: 
 a generally rigid hollow barrel portion configured to slidably accommodate a shoelace fit therethrough; and  
 an elongate attachment portion extending from the barrel portion;  
   arranging the elongate attachment portions on the shell so that the respective barrel portions are disposed in a space between the upper edges; and    stitching transversely across the attachment portions.    
   
   
       13 . The method of making a sports shoe as in  claim 12  further comprising adding a second row of stitching across each attachment portion.  
   
   
       14 . The method of making a sports shoe as in  claim 12 , wherein the stitching follows the curvature of the respective upper edge.  
   
   
       15 . The method of making a sports shoe as in  claim 12 , wherein the elongate attachment portion comprises two legs.  
   
   
       16 . A sports shoe, comprising: 
 an inner foot panel having an upper edge and an outer foot panel having an upper edge, the inner and outer panels disposed on generally opposite sides of the shoe, and a space is defined between the upper edges; and    a lacing system comprising a plurality of lace supports, each lace support comprising: 
 a generally rigid hollow holding portion having a tube portion configured to accommodate a shoelace fit therethrough, a surface of the tube portion having relatively low friction, and the tube has a longitudinal axis; and  
 at least two elongate leg portions extending from the holding portion;  
 wherein the lace support is unitarily formed;  
   wherein the leg portions of each lace support are attached to one of the inner and outer panels at at least two spaced apart locations so that the tube portion is suspended in the space between the upper edges, and wherein the longitudinal axis of each tube portion is generally parallel to a tangent of the respective edge adjacent the lace portion.    
   
   
       17 . The sports shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the legs are angled relative to one another.  
   
   
       18 . The sports shoe of  claim 17 , wherein the tube portion is enclosed about its diameter.  
   
   
       19 . The sports shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the leg portions are generally flat.  
   
   
       20 . The sports shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the lace support is arranged to suspend the lace generally above a tongue of the skate so that the lace is substantially clear of the tongue.