Footwear article with tongue reinforcer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11633016-B2
Application number	US-202117482809-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 23, 2021
Priority date	Dec 21, 2018
Publication date	Apr 25, 2023
Grant date	Apr 25, 2023

Abstract

A footwear article includes a tongue and a tongue reinforcer, which helps the tongue maintain a shape and position when the tongue is subjected to forces or adjustments, such as from other footwear-article elements or from a wearer. For example, the tongue reinforcer may help the tongue maintain a shape and position when a wearer is inserting his or her foot into the footwear article or when medial and/or lateral quarters press inward on the tongue.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A footwear article comprising:
an upper coupled to a sole, the upper comprising a medial side, a lateral side, a heel region, and an ankle collar movable between a lowered state positioned closer to the sole and a raised state positioned farther from the sole;
a tongue;
a medial-side connector having a width and a midpoint, the medial side connector attaching the tongue to the medial side;
a lateral-side connector having a width and a midpoint, the lateral side connector attaching the tongue to the lateral side and spaced apart from the medial-side connector by a first length; and
a tongue reinforcer coupled to the tongue and having a tongue-reinforcer medial edge and a tongue-reinforcer lateral edge that are spaced apart from one another by a second length, wherein the second length is equal to or greater than the first length.

2. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having a first stiffness; and wherein the tongue reinforcer includes a second material layer having a second stiffness equal to or greater than the first stiffness.

3. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having an outward-facing surface and an inward-facing surface, and wherein the inward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the outward-facing surface.

4. The footwear article of claim 3 , wherein the tongue reinforcer is coupled to the inward-facing surface of the first material layer of the tongue.

5. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having an outward-facing surface and an inward-facing surface, and wherein the outward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the inward-facing surface.

6. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the medial-side connector includes a first part of a first hook-and-loop connector, wherein a second part of the first hook-and-loop connector is attached to the medial side, wherein the lateral-side connector includes a first part of a second hook-and-loop connector, and wherein a second part of the second hook-and-loop connector is attached to the lateral side.

7. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a tongue reference point that intersects a latitudinal midline reference plane of the footwear article, and wherein a portion of the tongue reinforcer is positioned between the tongue reference point and a topline edge of the tongue.

8. The footwear article of claim 7 , wherein the entirety of the tongue reinforcer is positioned between the tongue reference point and a topline of the tongue.

9. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a tongue interior layer and a tongue exterior layer, and wherein the tongue reinforcer is located between the tongue interior layer and the tongue exterior layer.

10. A footwear article comprising:
an upper coupled to a sole, the upper comprising a forefoot region, a medial side, a lateral side, a heel region, and an ankle collar;
a tongue having a topline edge nearer to the heel region than the forefoot region, and a tongue reference point intersecting a latitudinal midline reference plane of the footwear article;
at least one connector attaching the tongue to either the medial side or the lateral side; and
a tongue reinforcer coupled to the tongue and having at least a portion that overlaps with the at least one connector, wherein the portion is positioned between the tongue reference point and the topline edge.

11. The footwear article of claim 10 , wherein a first distance between the tongue reference point and the portion is equal to or larger than half of a second distance extending from the tongue reference point to the topline edge.

12. The footwear article of claim 10 , wherein the connector includes a first part of a hook-and-loop connector, and wherein a second part of the hook-and-loop connector is attached to the medial side or the lateral side.

13. The footwear article of claim 10 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having an outward-facing surface and an inward-facing surface, and wherein the inward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the outward-facing surface.

14. The footwear article of claim 10 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having an outward-facing surface and an inward-facing surface, and wherein the outward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the inward-facing surface.

15. A footwear article comprising:
an upper coupled to a sole, the upper comprising a medial side, a lateral side, a heel region, and an ankle collar movable between a lowered state positioned closer to the sole and a raised state positioned farther from the sole;
a tongue having a topline edge and a tongue reference point intersecting a latitudinal midline reference plane of the footwear article;
at least one connector attaching the tongue to either the medial side or the lateral side; and
a tongue reinforcer coupled to the tongue and having a tongue-reinforcer width extending from a tongue-reinforcer medial edge to a tongue-reinforcer lateral edge and having a tongue-reinforcer length extending from a tongue-reinforcer top edge to a tongue-reinforcer bottom edge, wherein the tongue-reinforcer width is larger than the tongue-reinforcer length, and wherein the tongue-reinforcer top edge is between the tongue reference point and the topline edge.

16. The footwear article of claim 15 , wherein the tongue-reinforcer bottom edge is positioned between the tongue reference point and the topline edge.

17. The footwear article of claim 15 , wherein the tongue reinforcer includes a portion that overlaps with the at least one connector and wherein the portion is between the tongue reference point and the topline edge.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Orand Austin J
• Weast Aaron B
• Williams Ii Peter P

Classifications

• A43B23/26 Primary

  Tongues for shoes · CPC title

• A43B7/1415

  characterised by the location under the foot · CPC title

• A43C11/1493

  Strap fastenings having hook and loop-type fastening elements · CPC title

• A43B23/10

  made of metal {(A43B23/082 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• A43C11/004

  Fastenings fixed along the upper edges of the uppers · CPC title