Footwear article capable of hands-free donning

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11744320-B2
Application number	US-202217950798-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2022
Priority date	Dec 28, 2018
Publication date	Sep 5, 2023
Grant date	Sep 5, 2023

Abstract

A footwear article includes a collar slide that is conducive to hands-free donning to secure the wearer's foot during wear. A footwear article capable of hands-free donning comprises a sole including a ground-contacting surface and a foot-facing surface and an upper having a heel region. The footwear article also includes a strobel, the strobel affixed to the foot-facing surface of the sole and a collar elevator comprising a heel structure, the collar elevator connected with the strobel and coupled with the upper in the heel region. The collar elevator includes a collar slide forming a ramp interface during a donning operation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A footwear article capable of hands-free donning, comprising:
a sole including a ground-contacting surface;
an upper formed, at least in part, with a knit textile, the upper having a heel region; and
a collar elevator coupled with the upper in the heel region, and a separate collar slide that is spaced apart from the collar elevator by a distance, the collar slide forming a ramp interface during a donning operation, wherein:
(1) a ground plane reference line is tangential to the ground-contacting surface of the sole;
(2) a first reference line extending tangential to the collar slide at an anterior location of the upper such that the first reference line intersects the ground plane reference line forming a first angle;
(3) a second reference line extending tangential to the collar elevator at a proximal end of the collar elevator such that the second reference line intersects the ground plane reference line forming a second angle; and
(4) the first angle is less than the second angle.

2. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the sole comprises a polymer foam composition.

3. The footwear article of claim 2 , wherein the polymer foam composition comprises at least a polyurethane composition or an ethylene vinyl acetate composition.

4. The footwear article of claim 1 , further comprising a midsole integrated with an outsole.

5. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the upper continuously extends from a medial side to a lateral side across a forefoot portion of the upper.

6. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the upper does not comprise a forefoot opening.

7. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the collar slide is integral with the ankle collar.

8. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the knit textile comprises a stretch portion.

9. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the collar elevator is affixed to an exterior layer and an inner lining of the footwear article.

10. The footwear article of claim 9 , wherein the collar elevator is entirely between the exterior layer and the inner lining of the footwear article.

11. The footwear article of claim 1 further comprising a base, wherein the collar elevator is connected with the base.

12. The footwear article of claim 11 , wherein the base is at least one selected from a portion of an outsole of the sole, a portion of a midsole of the sole, a portion of an insole, or a portion of a strobel.

13. The footwear article of claim 11 , wherein the collar elevator extends from the base to an ankle collar.

14. The footwear article of claim 11 , wherein the collar slide is positioned proximate a heel portion of the footwear article.

15. The footwear article of claim 1 further comprising a strobel, wherein the collar elevator is attached to the strobel.

16. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the collar elevator has a variable cross section between two locations along a superior-extending direction of the collar elevator.

17. The footwear article of claim 1 further comprising an ankle collar, wherein the collar elevator is coupled with the ankle collar.

18. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the collar elevator comprises a heel structure having a curved profile in a medial to lateral direction of the footwear article in the heel region.

19. A footwear article capable of hands-free donning, comprising:
a sole including a ground-contacting surface and a foot-facing surface;
an upper having a heel region and a throat;
a strobel, the strobel affixed to the foot-facing surface of the sole; and
a collar elevator comprising a heel structure, the collar elevator connected with the strobel and coupled with the upper in the heel region, the collar elevator including a separate collar slide that is spaced apart from the collar elevator by a distance, the collar slide forming a ramp interface during a donning operation, wherein:
(1) a ground plane reference line is tangential to the ground-contacting surface of the sole;
(2) a first reference line extending tangential to the collar slide at an anterior location of the upper such that the first reference line intersects the ground plane reference line forming a first angle;
(3) a second reference line extending tangential to the collar elevator at a proximal end of the collar elevator such that the second reference line intersects the ground plane reference line forming a second angle; and

the first angle is less than the second angle.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Hopkins Timothy P
• Orand Austin J
• Flanagan Wade
• Weast Aaron B
• Williams Ii Peter P

Classifications

• A43B23/088

  Heel stiffeners (A43B23/10, A43B23/14, A43B23/16, A43B23/17 take precedence) · CPC title

• A43B11/00 Primary

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

• A43B23/028 Primary

  Resilient uppers, e.g. shock absorbing · CPC title

• A43B11/02 Primary

  with built-in shoe-horns · CPC title

• A43B23/10

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