COUPLING ELEMENT

The present invention refers, in general, to a coupling element such as an eyelet for laces, a button, a buckle or other similar element, and to a coupling system comprising said coupling element.

More particularly, the present invention refers to a coupling element such as an eyelet for laces, a button, a buckle or other similar element, adapted to be fixed to a shoe or a garment by means of a plastic rivet.

Besides, the present invention refers to a coupling system comprising a coupling element such as an eyelet for laces, a button, a buckle or other similar element, and a plastic rivet to secure said coupling element to a shoe or a garment.

As is known, buckles or shoelace eyelets or other similar elements are usually fixed to the relevant shoe or garment by means of a rivet. Usually, the rivets used, as the elements to be applied, are in a metallic material.

The use of metallic materials for making the elements to be applied and the rivets used for the fixing have encountered various problems.

Firstly, a first problem is a possible oxidation of the various pieces, which involves a deterioration of said pieces.

Moreover, in the case of use of the elements in question on a safety shoe, a possible electrical conduction does not allow a perfect insulation of the shoe itself.

Thus, there is a widespread use of coupling elements such as shoelace eyelets, buttons, buckles or other similar elements, as well as relevant fixing rivets, in a plastic material or a composite material, so as to avoid the use of metal.

Doing so, the problems related to the use of metal have been solved but other inconveniences have arisen. In particular, one inconvenience concerns the dimensions of the rivet portion riveted on such coupling elements.

Indeed, when the punch pushes the part coming out of the through-hole formed in the coupling element, a hemi-spherical portion is created which protrudes significantly from the same coupling element.

In addition to the insufficient aesthetic appearance, this protruding portion is also undesired from the functional point of view because it is so cumbersome that it risks, for example in the case of a shoelace eyelet, to hinder the use of the same coupling element.

Object and function of the present invention is to provide a coupling element such as a lace eyelet, a button, a buckle or other similar element, and also a coupling system comprising said coupling element, in order to ensure a comfortable use of the coupling element itself.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a coupling element and a coupling system comprising said coupling element, which do not have bodies or portions of obstruction to the use of the same coupling element.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coupling element and a coupling system comprising said coupling element, which are aesthetically pleasing.

These and other objects are achieved through a coupling element such as an eyelet for laces, a button, a buckle or other similar element, in which a through- hole is formed and is adapted to be traversed by a pin of a rivet in a plastic material, to be fixed to a shoe or to a garment by riveting the tip of the pin so as to form a counterhead.

In particular, the coupling element is characterized by the fact that the through-hole includes a frusto-conical portion adapted to receive the counterhead.

Through this conformation, the counterhead is better distributed on the coupling element because the frusto-conical shape improves the adherence of the counterhead itself during the change of its conformation having a plastic behavior.

Advantageously, the through-hole may include a cylindrical portion adapted to be traversed by the pin. In other words, the cylindrical portion receives the pin of the rivet also after the riveting of the tip of the pin while the frusto-conical portion receives the counterhead once the counterhead has been obtained by riveting.

Furthermore, at least one raised body may protrude in the frusto-conical portion and is adapted to be embedded by the counterhead of the rivet, once the counterhead has been riveted. In this way, the counterhead itself has means for a better grip in order to improve the tightness of the rivet.

Advantageously, a first raised ring may protrude in the frusto-conical portion and is adapted to be embedded by the counterhead of the rivet. Thus, the counterhead has a sort of continuous engagement that is distributed along the whole circumference of the frusto-conical portion.

In order to make the adhesion even more robust, a second raised ring, possibly concentric to the first ring, may protrude in the frusto-conical portion and is adapted to be embedded in the counterhead of the rivet.

The presence of one or more raised rings ensures a better distribution of the plastic material of the tip of the rivet pin in the step of riveting on the frusto- conical portion of the through-hole, so as to create a more tight counterhead.

The objects and advantages of the invention are also reached through a coupling system characterized by the fact of comprising a coupling element as defined previously and a rivet in a plastic material, riveted in correspondence of the frusto-conical hole.

Advantageously, the coupling system according to the invention provides that the counterhead of the rivet is obtained by means of a punch comprising reliefs and/or cavities in the shape of concentric circles on its riveting surface. In this way, the distribution of the plastic material is improved in the step of riveting.

Further features and details of the invention will be better understood from the following description which is given by way of a non-restricting example, as well as from the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective top view of a coupling element in the form of an eyelet for laces, made according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional side view of the coupling element in Figure 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a sectional side view of a coupling system according to the invention and comprising the coupling element in Figure 1.

With reference to the accompanying figures, number 10 denotes a shoelace eyelet according to the invention. This eyelet is adapted to be fixed to a shoe S by means of a rivet 12 including a pin 14 and a head 16.

The shoelace eyelet 10 and the rivet 12 form a coupling system, denoted by reference number 100 in Figure 3.

As shown in Figure 1 , the shoelace eyelet 10 includes a rear portion 18 and a front portion 20.

A through-opening 22 is formed in the rear portion 18 and is designed to be crossed by a shoelace to fasten the shoe S.

The front portion 20 has a through-hole, formed by a frusto-conical portion 24, and a cylindrical portion 26, traversed by the pin 14 of the rivet 12.

A first raised ring 28 and a second raised ring 30 are arranged on the surface of the shoelace eyelet 10 at the base of the frusto-conical portion 24 of the through-hole, near the cylindrical portion 26.

In order to fix the shoelace eyelet 10 to a shoe S it is necessary first to form a suitable coupling hole in the same shoe S.

Then, the same shoelace eyelet 10 is arranged in such a way that the through- hole of its front portion 20 corresponds to the coupling hole formed in the shoe S.

Then, the pin 14 of the rivet 12, made of a plastic material, is inserted into the coupling hole formed in the shoe 2, and into the through-hole formed in the shoelace eyelet 10, so that the head 16 of the same rivet is in abutment on the shoe S, as shown in Figure 3.

Then, the tip of the pin 14 is riveted by means of a suitable punch, not shown in the figures, so as to deform the same tip of the pin 14 and obtain the counterhead 32 of the rivet 12, the counterplead 32 being received in the frusto- conical portion 24 of the through-hole.

The counterhead 32 is deformed so as to include the first raised ring 28 and the second raised ring 30 which allow to obtain a better adhesion of the same counterhead 32 to the frusto-conical portion 24 of the through-hole and, consequently, of the whole rivet 12 to the shoelace eyelet 10.

The conformation of the frusto-conical 24 of the through-hole as well as the presence of the raised rings 28, 30 allow to obtain a low height counterhead 32 which does not protrude externally from the shoelace eyelet 12, as in the illustrated embodiment.

Besides, the punch used to carry out the riveting of the tip of the pin and obtain the counterhead 32 includes reliefs and cavities which are also shaped like concentric circles. This conformation, together with the presence of the raised rings 28, 30, ensures a better distribution of the plastic material forming the counterhead 32 in the riveting step, so that it is possible to obtain a greater tightness of the counterhead 32 itself.

In this way, in the design phase it is possible to reduce the height of the same shoelace eyelet 12 or, more generally, of the coupling element, with obvious improvements in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

According to a variant of the invention, instead of the aforesaid rings 28, 30, a shoelace eyelet, or more generically, a coupling element is provided with one or more raised bodies that improve the adherence and grip of the riveted counterhead of the rivet.

The embodiments of the invention can be manifold and include a coupling system formed by a rivet in a plastic material and a coupling element such as a shoelace eyelet in the previously described form, a buckle, a hook, a button or other similar element.

In particular, the coupling element according to the invention includes a through-hole with a cylindrical portion and a frusto-conical portion, at least one body in relief being arranged in the part of the frusto-conical portion adjacent to the same cylindrical portion.

Other variants are possible which are to be considered as included in the scope of protection; for example, the cross section of the through-hole formed in the coupling element may be different from the circular one. For example, the cross section of the through-hole may be polygonal, for example hexagonal or octagonal.