Shoelace decoration

Abstract

A shoelace ornament has an upper body, a lower body and a hinge that hingedly couples the upper body to the lower body at one respective end of each of said upper body and lower body. A lock across the hinge serves to lock the upper body to the lower body. The upper body and the lower body define therebetween, when the ornament is in a closed position, a shoelace opening for the passage therethrough of a shoelace threaded through a footwear article. The shoelace opening is configured to receive the shoelace therein with just enough force to hold onto it, without excessively pinching or squeezing the shoelace between the upper and lower bodies, regardless of whether the shoelace is round bodied or flat bodied.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shoelace ornament, comprising:
 an upper body, a lower body and a hinge that hingedly couples the upper body to the lower body at one respective end of each of said upper body and lower body;   a lock that effects locking of the upper body to the lower body; and   the upper body and the lower body defining therebetween, when the ornament is in a closed position, a shoelace opening for the passage therethrough of a shoelace threaded through a footwear article, wherein the shoelace opening is configured to receive the shoelace therein without excessively pinching or squeezing the shoelace between the upper and lower bodies, regardless of whether the shoelace is round bodied or flat bodied.   
     
     
         2 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the opening comprises a centrally located circular shaped opening that merges into at least one flat shaped and adjacently located opening. 
     
     
         3 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the opening comprises a centrally located circular shaped opening that merges into and is flanked on opposed sides thereof with left and right flat openings sized to accommodate together a flat bodied shoelace. 
     
     
         4 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the opening comprises the first opening and a second opening, wherein the second opening is juxtaposed to the first opening across a hollow interior between the upper body and the lower body, and wherein the shoelace is configured to extend through both the first opening and the second opening. 
     
     
         5 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the upper body has an upper surface that is textured ornamentally. 
     
     
         6 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , further comprising a selectively attachable and dis-attachable ornament that configured to be secured to an upper surface on the upper body, in a position to be visible when the shoelace opening is mounted to a shoe lace of a shoe-laced shoe. 
     
     
         7 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the shoelace ornament is configured to interchangeably receive one or more ornaments at an upper surface located on the upper body. 
     
     
         8 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 7 , wherein the upper surface is sufficiently large to accommodate several ornaments interchangeably and simultaneously. 
     
     
         9 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the lock comprises a locking pin that is spring biased to extend out of one of the upper body and the lower body and to be received inside a juxtaposed lock element receiving hole. 
     
     
         10 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the lock comprises one or more mechanical snaps. 
     
     
         11 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the lock comprises at least one magnet located on one of the upper body and the lower body for attracting and securely holding onto ferromagnetic material located in the other of said upper body and lower body. 
     
     
         12 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , further comprising a holding projection extending from the upper body, at a position to assist the separation of the upper body from the lower body when the lock is operated to an open state. 
     
     
         13 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , wherein the lock is juxtaposed to the hinge. 
     
     
         14 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 1 , further comprising a spring to bias the upper body and the lower body to move away from each other. 
     
     
         15 . The shoelace ornament of  claim 3 , wherein the opening comprising the centrally-located circular-shaped opening and the left and right flat openings define a composite opening for shoelaces with a bottom surface that is concave in a direction facing toward the upper body.