Footwear article with hinged heel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11523654-B2
Application number	US-202117194513-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 8, 2021
Priority date	Mar 13, 2020
Publication date	Dec 13, 2022
Grant date	Dec 13, 2022

Abstract

A footwear article includes a hinged portion in a heel region that may be biased in various positions to increase or decrease a size of a foot-insertion opening. The hinged portion may be arranged in a first position, in which the hinged portion is more upright and is in position to cup a wearer's heel or Achilles region when the footwear article is worn. In addition, the hinged portion may be hingedly rotated downward or rearwardly (e.g., away from the foot-insertion opening) to a second position, which may increase a size of the foot-insertion opening and/or may change an angle along which a foot can pass through the foot-insertion opening when the footwear article is being donned or doffed. One or more elastic members may be attached to the hinged portion and to some other portion of the footwear article to bias the hinged portion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A footwear article comprising:
a sole;
an upper coupled to the sole and including a collar;
a heel flap connected to the collar by a hinge;
an elastic member having a first portion coupled to the sole, the upper, or any combination thereof, and a second portion coupled to the heel flap; and
a fixed-state connector connecting the second portion of the elastic member to the heel flap,
wherein the heel flap rotates on the hinge between a more forwardly rotated closed state and a more rearwardly rotated open state;
wherein in the closed position, the heel flap includes an interior surface facing towards a foot-receiving cavity of the footwear article, the interior surface being concave in the closed position; and wherein in the open position, the interior surface faces away from the footwear article and is convex;
wherein in the closed state, the elastic member applies a first force to the heel flap, the first force including a first force vector pointing towards the first portion of the elastic member; and
wherein in the open state, the elastic member applies a second force to the heel flap, the second force including a second force vector pointing towards the first portion of the elastic member.

2. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the fixed-state connector comprises a connected state without repeated convertibility back and forth between the connected state and a disconnected state.

3. The footwear article of claim 2 , wherein the fixed-state connector comprises a portion of the heel flap free to retrogradely orbit the elastic member as the heel flap transitions between the closed state and the open state.

4. The footwear article of claim 3 , wherein the fixed-state connector comprises an encasement sleeve having a channel through which the elastic member extends, the channel being at least partially bounded by an interior surface of the encasement sleeve facing towards the elastic member, wherein the interior surface is free to retrogradely orbit around the elastic member when the heel flap rotates on the hinge.

5. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the elastic member includes an elongate portion extending both superiorly and posteriorly from the first portion to a pull portion of the elastic member, the pull portion being movable between a first position that is superior to the hinge and a second position that is inferior to the hinge; and wherein the second portion of the elastic member coupled to the heel flap is between the pull portion and the hinge along a reference line tracing the elastic member.

6. The footwear article of claim 5 , wherein the fixed-state connector extends at least partially through a thickness of the elastic member and at least partially through a thickness of the heel flap.

7. A footwear article comprising:
a sole;
an upper coupled to the sole and including a collar;
a heel flap connected to the collar by a hinge, the heel flap having a collar portion;
an elastic member having a first portion coupled to the sole, the upper, or any combination thereof, and a second portion connected to the heel flap by a fixed-state connector comprising a connected state without repeated convertibility back and forth between the connected state and a disconnected state; and
the fixed-state connector comprising an encasement sleeve secured in the collar portion of the heel flap, the encasement sleeve coupling the second portion of the elastic member to the heel flap, the encasement sleeve having a channel through which the elastic member extends, the channel being at least partially bounded by an interior surface of the encasement sleeve facing towards the elastic member, wherein the interior surface is free to retrogradely orbit around the elastic member when the heel flap rotates on the hinge.

8. The footwear article of claim 7 , wherein the heel flap includes one or more material layers, and wherein the channel is between an interior material layer formed by the one or more material layers and an exterior layer formed by the one or more material layers.

9. The footwear article of claim 7 , wherein the heel flap rotates on the hinge between a more forwardly rotated closed state and a more rearwardly rotated open state; and wherein in the open position, the heel flap is rotated rearwardly on the hinge by more than 90 degrees as compared with the closed position.

10. The footwear article of claim 9 , wherein in the open state the heel flap is rotated rearwardly on the hinge by more than 135 degrees as compared with the closed position.

11. The footwear article of claim 9 , wherein the elastic member applies a compressive force on the heel flap in both the open state and the closed state.

12. The footwear article of claim 7 , wherein the elastic member includes a third portion coupled to the sole, the upper, or any combination thereof; wherein the second portion is a center segment of the elastic member between the first portion and the second portion; and wherein the first portion is coupled to a medial side of the footwear article and the third portion is coupled to a lateral side of the footwear article.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Davis Ami M
• Ramsay Richard S

Classifications

• A43C11/008

  Combined fastenings, e.g. to accelerate undoing or fastening · CPC title

• A43B11/00

  Footwear with arrangements to facilitate putting-on or removing, e.g. with straps · CPC title

• A43B3/06 Primary

  Shoes with flaps; Footwear with divided uppers · CPC title

• A43B3/0036 Primary

  characterised by a special shape or design · CPC title

• A43B21/433

  rotatably mounted · CPC title