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Untied shoelaces cause accidents, but Jordan and Sasha Meschkow have the
answer in the shape of a “pillbox” that sits on the tongue of your shoe (WO
01/71690). When laces are threaded through the eyelets, they pass over a
pressure switch and optical sensor in the pillbox. The sensor checks that the
laces are tied, and the switch senses how tight the lace is. If the lace comes
loose, a light flashes or a buzzer sounds. This gives adults an early warning in
case a child’s laces are becoming untied—or if they have not been tied at
all. The sensor silences the alarm when the laces are completely unthreaded or
the shoes are taken off.