The invention relates to a connection component that enables coupling of the tips of shoelaces to each other. The Prior Art

The drawbacks of the prior art shoelaces can be listed as follows:

- When a shoelace is desired to be replaced, the new shoelace to be inserted has to be passed through the holes manually by the user, which causes a loss of time,

- During placement of the new shoelace, if the tips are passed through wrong holes and it is found out later on, they need to be pulled back off and then re-inserted into the correct holes, which also causes a loss of time, - Following insertion of the shoelace and lacing its tips with a form such as a bow tie, the tips of the shoelace that are left idle touch the ground and get dirty and deformed, and even carry the risk for the user to step on said shoelace tips by mistake, and then fall down and hurt himself or herself. As a result, the above said drawbacks and the inadequacy of the prior art solutions about the subject have necessitated an improvement in the related technical field.

Purpose of the Invention

The invention is formed with the inspiration from the prior art situations and aims to solve the above said problems. The purpose of the invention is to enable easy replacement of a shoelace already inserted on a shoe with another shoelace by means of a connection component coupling shoelaces to each other, and thus minimize the time required for replacing/changing shoelaces.

Another purpose of the invention is to eliminate the possibility of inserting the new shoelace into wrong holes by means of the connection component that allows the new shoelace follow the old shoelace while the old shoelace is taken out from the holes. Another purpose of the invention is to prevent the shoelace tips from touching dirty surfaces and getting deformed by means of coupling the idle tips of shoelaces to each other via said connection component following lacing of the shoelaces.

Another purpose of the invention is to eliminate the risk for the users to fall down by stepping on the shoelace tips and prevent possible accidents that may occur after falling down, by means of coupling the idle tips of shoelaces to each other via said connection component following lacing of the shoelaces.

In order to achieve the above said purposes, a connection component is developed, which enables coupling of shoelace tips of shoelaces to each other, and which is fixed onto at least one of these shoelace tips.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connection component comprises:

- a female piece that is connected to said shoelace tip,

- a female piece shoelace housing, which is formed on said female piece, and in which a shoelace tip is positioned,

- a male piece connected to the other shoelace tip and connected to said female piece in order to provide coupling of said shoelace tips,

- a female piece shoelace housing, which is formed on said male piece, and in which said other shoelace tip is positioned.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connection component comprises:

- a connection housing formed on said female piece, a connection protrusion, which is formed on the male piece, and which fixes the female piece to the male piece, when it is positioned in said connection housing in order to ensure coupling of said shoelace tips. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connection component comprises:

- a female piece mounting housing, which is formed on said female piece, and at the outer part of which said connection housing is positioned,

- a male piece mounting housing, which is formed on said male piece, and on which said connection protrusion is positioned.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connection component comprises:

- an inlet space positioned on said female piece and formed in a vertical position and adjacent structure to said connection housing. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connection component comprises:

- two magnets fixing the female piece to the male piece when interacted, in order to ensure coupling of said shoelace tips, and

o a female piece magnet housing formed on said female piece, o and a male piece magnet housing formed on said male piece, wherein each one of said magnets are positioned such that the magnets can interact with each other.

The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all of its advantages shall be understood better with the figures and the detailed description given below in reference to the figures, and therefore, the assessment should be made by taking into account the said figures and detailed explanations.

Figures for Better Understanding of the Invention Figure 1 is a perspective view demounted drawing of a preferred embodiment of the connection component according to the present invention.

Figure 2a, is a perspective view drawing of the connection component shown in Figure 1 together with a shoelace fixed to the connection component. Figure 2b, is a perspective view drawing of the connection components shown in Figure 1 together with two different shoelaces to be connected to each other via the connection components.

Figure 3a, is a drawing of a two-dimensional top view of the female piece according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 3b, is a drawing of a top perspective view of the female piece according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 4a, is a drawing of a perspective view of the male piece according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 4b, is a drawing of a two-dimensional view of the male piece according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , from the side where the protrusion is found.

Figure 4c, is a drawing of a two-dimensional side view of the male piece according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 .

The dashed lines shown in Figures 1 , 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, and 4c are used for the purpose of illustrating the components found at the inner structure of the connection component.

Description of Parts References

A. Connection component

B. Shoelace

C. Shoelace tip

10. Female piece

1 1 . Connection housing

12. Female piece magnet housing

13. Female piece shoelace housing

14. Female piece mounting housing

15. Inlet space

Male piece

21 . Connection protrusion

22. Male piece magnet housing

23. Male piece shoelace housing

24. Male piece mounting part

Magnet Drawings do not have to be scaled and details not necessary for understanding the present invention may be neglected. Moreover, components which are at least widely equal or which have at least widely equal functions are shown with the same number. Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the connection component (A) according to the present invention will only be disclosed for better understanding of the subject.

The connection component (A) according to the invention is used for the purpose of coupling the shoelace tip (C) of a shoelace (B) already fitted on the shoe with a shoelace tip (C) of another shoelace (B) that is desired to be fitted on the shoe (Figure 2b) for replacing the shoelace (B), or for the purpose of coupling of the shoelace tips (C) of a shoelace (B) already fitted on the shoe to each other in order to prevent the shoelace tips (C) from staying idle (after making a bow tie etc. form) (Figure 2a).

Said connection component (A) according to the invention may have a structure in cliplike form (the first preferred embodiment) or a structure having two pieces connected to each other (the second preferred embodiment) or a magnet structure that are connected to each other via attraction force (third embodiment).

In said clip-like embodiment that is also called as the first embodiment, one end or both ends of the connection component (A) may have a clip form. In the case where only one end of the connection component (A) has a clip form, the other end of the connection component (A) is fixed onto the shoelace tip (C). No other structure is required to be found on the other shoelace tip (C) to be coupled. When the shoelace tips (C) are desired to be coupled to each other, the clip-form tip of said connection component (A) is attached to the shoelace tip (C) of the shoelace (B) desired to be coupled. In this way, the two idle tips of the same shoelace (B) or the tips of different shoelaces (B) are coupled to each other.

In another preferred embodiment of the connection component (A) according to the invention, or in other words, in the second embodiment (Figure 1 ), the connection component (A) comprises two pieces as a female piece (10) and a male piece (20). The female piece (10) and the male piece (20) preferably have a cylindrical structure (Figure 3a, Figure 3b). A connection housing (1 1 ), a female piece magnet housing (12), a female piece shoelace housing (13), a female piece mounting housing (14), and an inlet space (15) formed on the female piece (10) (Figure 1 ). The male piece (20) comprises a connection protrusion (21 ), a male piece magnet housing (22), a male piece shoelace housing (23), and a male piece mounting part (24) (Figure 1 , Figure 4a, Figure 4c).

In said second embodiment, on the connection component (A), the female piece (10) is fixed on one end of the shoelace tip (B) (shoelace tip (C)) and the male piece (20) is fixed on the other end of the shoelace (B) (shoelace tip (C)). The female piece shoelace housing (13) is formed on the female piece (10), at the opposite side part of the tip (coupling tip) where the connection housing (1 1 ) is formed. Similarly, the male piece shoelace housing (23) is formed on the male piece (20), at the opposite side part of the tip (coupling tip) where the connection protrusion (21 ) is formed. The female piece shoelace housing (13) and the male piece shoelace housing (23) preferably have cylindrical form. The shoelace tips (C) are positioned within said female piece shoelace housing (13) and the male piece shoelace housing (23). Said positioning can be made by means of known prior art methods such as squeezing the shoelace tips (C) into the female piece shoelace housing (13) and the male piece shoelace housing (23).

In said second embodiment, the connection housing (1 1 ) and the connection protrusion (21 ) are formed at the tips where the female piece (10) and the male piece (20) are fixed onto each other. The connection housing (1 1 ) and the connection protrusion (21 ) preferably have similar forms (preferably circular form), and the dimensions of the connection housing (1 1 ) are suitable for accommodating the connection protrusion (21 ). Besides, an inlet space (15) is formed between the connection housing (1 1 ) and the connection-side tip of the female piece (10). The inlet space (15) is formed at said coupling tip in parallel to the axis of the female piece (10) in shoelace (B) attachment direction. The connection housing (1 1 ) is positioned perpendicularly with the inlet space (15). Preferably, female piece mounting housing (14) is formed at said coupling tip. The connection protrusion (21 ) of the male piece (20) found at the coupling tip where the coupling is made is preferably formed on the male piece mounting part (24). The male piece mounting part (24) preferably has a cylindrical form like the male piece (20) and its diameter is smaller than the male piece (20) diameter. In said second embodiment, preferably, a female piece magnet housing (12) is formed at the coupling tip of the female piece (10), and a male piece magnet housing (22) is formed at the coupling tip of the male piece (20). The female piece magnet housing (12) is preferably found at a more inner position than the female piece mounting housing (1 14). The male piece magnet housing (22) is also preferably found at a more inner position than the male piece mounting part (24). In order to provide a stronger coupling between the female piece (10) and the male piece (20), a magnet (30) is positioned in each of said female piece magnet housing (12) and the male piece magnet housing (22). Said magnets (30) can be seen at the coupling tips of the female piece (10) and the male piece (20) where the coupling would take place and no other structure enters between them during coupling, and therefore they can interact via magnetic field. Said second embodiment is used as follows: First of all, the connection protrusion (21 ) found on the male piece (20) is passed through the inlet space (15) found on the female piece (10). At the same time, the male piece mounting part (24) also enters into the female piece mounting housing (14). Afterwards, the male piece (20) is rotated towards the direction of the connection housing (1 1 ) or the female piece (10) is rotated towards the direction of the connection protrusion (21 ). In this way, the male piece (20) and the female piece (10) are fixed onto to each other. If magnets (30) are present at the coupling tips as disclosed above, during this coupling, the magnet (30) found on the female piece (10) and the magnet (30) found on the male piece (20) attract each other via the impact of the magnetic field and the coupling is made in a stronger manner. Following said coupling, female piece (10) and the male piece (20) do not separate from each other even if the shoelace tips (C) are pulled.

In the third preferred embodiment of the connection component (A) according to the invention, a female piece magnet housing (12) is formed on the female piece (10) and a male piece magnet housing (22) is formed on the male piece (20). Magnets (30) are positioned in said female piece magnet housing (12) and male piece magnet housing (22), similar to the second embodiment. However, the connection housing (1 1 ), the connection protrusion (21 ), the inlet space (15), the female piece mounting housing (14), and the male piece mounting part (24) disclosed in the second embodiment are preferably not found in the third embodiment. If the female piece (10) and the male piece (20) are desired to be coupled, the female piece (10) and the male piece (20) are brought closer to each other and the magnets (30) attract each other via the impact of the magnetic field. In this way, the female piece (10) and the male piece (20) are coupled to each other.

In said third embodiment also, on the connection component (A), the female piece (10) is fixed on one end of the shoelace tip (B) (shoelace tip (C)) and the male piece (20) is fixed on the other end of the shoelace (B) (shoelace tip (C)). The above said third embodiment is mostly used for the purpose of coupling the shoelace tips (C) of a shoelace (B) already fitted on a shoe with each other in order to prevent the shoelace tips (C) from staying idle (Figure 2a).

While the first and the second embodiments can be used for the purpose of preventing the shoelace tips (C) of a shoelace (B) already fitted on a shoe from staying idle, they can also be used for cases where the shoelaces (B) are desired to be replaced. When the shoelaces (B) are desired to be replaced, for instance, in the second embodiment, the female piece (10) connected to the shoelace (B) already fitted on the shoe is coupled to the male piece (20) connected to the new shoelace (B) to be fitted on the shoe, or the male piece (20) connected to the shoelace (B) already fitted on the shoe is coupled to the female piece (10) connected to the new shoelace (B) to be fitted on the shoe as disclosed above and thus the shoelaces (B) are fixed onto each other. Afterwards, in the first case, the shoelace (B) fitted on the shoe is pulled from the end to which the male piece (20) is connected. Since the shoelaces (B) are coupled to each other, during said pulling movement, the new shoelace (B) follows the shoelace (B) that is already fitted on the shoe (the shoelace (B) fitted on the shoe guides the new shoelace (B)) and it sequentially enters into the holes, from which the already fitted shoelace (B) comes out. When the shoelace (B) already fitted on the shoe comes off from all the holes found on the shoe, the new shoelace (B) would be fitted completely. Afterwards, the female piece (10) and the male piece (20) are separated from each other by conducting the operations made during coupling in reverse order. That is to say, the connection protrusion (21 ) is taken out of the connection housing (1 1 ) and pulled outwards from the inlet space (15) in a direction opposite to the attachment direction. Afterwards, the female piece (10) and the male piece (20) are removed from each other. In this way, it would also be possible to overcome the attraction force formed as a result of the magnetic field of the magnets (30). Following said removing step, the shoelace (B) replacement operation would be completed.

The operations for use of the first embodiment in shoelace (B) replacement operation are quite similar. The differences are: in the first embodiment, the shoelace (B) already fitted on the shoe is coupled to the new shoelace (B) via a clip-like connection component (A) and after fitting of the new shoelace (B) on the shoe, the tip(s) comprising the clips are removed from the shoelace (B) or shoelaces (B). The female piece (10) and the male piece (20) are preferably made of steel or brass.