Footwear article capable of hands-free donning

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11849798-B2
Application number	US-202217950814-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2022
Priority date	Dec 28, 2018
Publication date	Dec 26, 2023
Grant date	Dec 26, 2023

Abstract

A footwear article includes a collar elevator 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; an upper having a heel region; and a collar elevator coupled with the upper in the heel region. The footwear also includes a base affixed to the sole. The collar elevator is attached to the base and the base is an outsole, a midsole, an insole, or a strobel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A footwear article capable of hands-free donning, comprising:
a sole;
an upper formed, at least in part, with a knit textile, the upper having a heel region having a rearward-most portion;
a collar elevator coupled with the upper in the heel region; and
a base affixed to the sole, wherein the collar elevator is attached to the base and the base is a strobel; and
wherein the base is spaced a distance away from the rearward-most portion of the heel region of the upper.

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 knit textile comprises a synthetic composition.

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 in the heel region.

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

11. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the collar elevator extends from the base to an ankle collar.

12. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the base is affixed to a foot-facing surface of the sole.

13. 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.

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

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

16. The footwear article of claim 1 , wherein the base extends from a medial side to a lateral side of the article of footwear proximate at least a portion of the heel region.

17. The footwear article of claim 1 further comprising a collar slide extending in an anterior direction from a heel end location of the upper at an ankle collar, wherein the collar slide is capable of providing an enhanced entry for a wearer's foot during a donning operation.

18. A footwear article capable of hands-free donning, comprising:
a sole;
an upper, the upper having a heel region having a rearward-most portion;
a collar elevator coupled with the upper in the heel region, 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;
a base affixed to the sole, wherein the base extends between a lateral side and a medial side of the sole, wherein the collar elevator is attached to the base, and wherein the base at least partially comprises a strobel; and
wherein the base is spaced a distance away from the rearward-most portion of the heel region of the upper.

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