The present application relates generally to footwear, and more particularly, to a lacing system for an article of footwear that secures the article of footwear to a user's foot in a way that follows the natural contour and shape of the user's foot to provide enhanced comfort and balance to the user's feet while walking, jogging and running.
There are different lacing systems for footwear that are aimed at securing the footwear to a user's feet. Traditional lacing systems use a fabric lace in which the ends of the lace are threaded through opposing eyelets in a criss-cross manner on an upper of a shoe and then tied together to keep the laces from loosening. This lacing system requires that the user pull on each end of the lace until a desired tightness of the shoe relative to their foot is achieved.
Another lacing system includes a lace made of a stretchable material that is threaded through the eyelets of a shoe as described above and the ends of the lace are secured together as a loop. A locking mechanism is attached to the loop and enables a user to pull the loop through the locking mechanism until a desired tightness is achieved. The locking mechanism locks in position on the lace to maintain the desired tightness. The lace is loosened by activated a release device on the locking mechanism. This lacing system provides a quick and easy way to secure a shoe to a user's foot without the chance of the lace becoming untied and loosened during movement as with the traditional lacing system.
Although these lacing systems are sufficient to secure a shoe to a user's foot, the laces in these systems are configured so that the laces are positioned along the central longitudinal axis of the upper of the shoe. The shape of a human foot, however, is not symmetrical. The laces therefore in conventional lacing systems are not positioned sufficiently along the top of a user's foot to provide enhanced comfort, stability and balance to the user's feet during walking, jogging and running.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide footwear having a lacing system with laces positioned along the top of a user's foot in which the lacing system follows the natural contour and shape of the user's foot to provide enhanced comfort, stability and balance to the user's feet when wearing the footwear.
The present article of footwear has a lacing system that follows the contour and shape of a user's feet to sufficiently secure the footwear to the user's feet while providing enhanced comfort, stability and balance during walking, jogging and running.
In an embodiment, an article of footwear is provided and includes a sole, and an upper having a lateral side and a medial side, each including a first lace opening. A lateral lace support and a medial lace support are attached to the sole and positioned adjacent to inner surfaces of the lateral and medial sides of the upper. The lateral lace support has a first length and the medial lace support has a second length, where the second length is greater than the first length, and each include a second lace opening. A lace is threaded through the first lace openings of the upper and the second lace openings of the lateral lace support and the medial lace support, where an axis extending between the lateral lace support and the medial lace support, after the lace is secured to the upper, is offset from an axis extending from a center of gravity of a user's foot.
In another embodiment, an article of footwear is provided that includes a sole and an upper attached to the sole. The upper includes a lateral side and a medial side, where the lateral side and the medial side of the upper each include a plurality of first connecting tabs having a first lace opening, and a lateral lace support and a medial lace support attached to the sole and respectively positioned adjacent to an inner surfaces of the lateral side and the medial side of the upper, where the lateral lace support has a first length and the medial support has a second length, where the second length is greater than the first length, and where the lateral and medial lace supports each include a plurality of second connecting tabs having a second lace opening. In this embodiment, the first connecting tabs of the upper and the second connecting tabs of the lateral and medial lace supports are alternatingly arranged along the lateral and medial sides of the upper. A lace is threaded through the first lace openings of the first connecting tabs and the second lace openings of the second connecting tabs to secure the lace to the upper, where an axis extending between the lateral lace support and the medial lace support, after the lace is secured to the upper, and the lateral and medial lace supports, is offset from an axis extending from a center of gravity of a user's foot.
The present article of footwear includes a lacing system attached to an upper that positions a lace on the foot such that the lace mirrors the asymmetrical shape of the foot thereby providing enhanced comfort and stability to the foot. More specifically, the present lacing system includes a lace threaded through side lace supports that are asymmetrical along the longitudinal axis of the article of footwear or shoe. In other words, the lace is positioned on the shoe so that the central axis of the lacing system, i.e., the axis extending through the points where the lace crosses over itself, is located closer to the lateral side than the medial side of the shoe.
Referring now to
Referring to
In
Referring to
In the embodiments of the medial and lateral lace supports 40, 42 discussed above, the medial and lateral lace supports each include a top edge or top surface 94 and a bottom edge or bottom surface 96, where the top edge and the bottom edge are not parallel to each other. This configuration enables the bottom edges 96 of the medial and lateral lace supports 40, 42 to align with and be secured to the footbed 64 and sole 22 of the shoe 20, and the top edges 94 to align with the longitudinal opening 98 in the shoe 20 extending from the foot opening 86. It should be appreciated that the top edges 94 of the medial and lateral lace supports may be parallel to the bottom edges 96 or at any suitable angle relative to the bottom edges 96 of the medial and lateral lace supports.
To closely follow the contour and shape of a user's foot, the medial lace support 40 is positioned closer to the foot opening 86 of the shoe 20 than the lateral lace support 42. In this way, the medial lace support 40 and the lateral lace support 42 are asymmetrical relative to each other along the axis 38 of the shoe 20. Furthermore, the length LM of the medial lace support 40 is greater than the length LL of the lateral lace support 42. The asymmetrical positioning and the longer length of the medial lace support 40 positions the medial lace support over at least a portion of the top of a user's foot such that the axis 32 of the lacing system 30 is closer to the lateral side 34 than the medial side 36 of the shoe 20 as shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, opposing sides 34 and 36 of the upper 28 include lace connecting tabs 88 that are spaced apart along the length of the upper. Each of the lace connecting tabs 88 includes a lace opening 90 for receiving the lace 62. The end lace connecting tab that is closest to the foot opening 86 includes three lace openings 90 for adjusting the position of the lace 62 relative to a user's ankle. In this way, the fit of the shoe 20 on the user's foot may be adjusted to enhance comfort and stability. It should be appreciated that the lace connecting tabs 88 may each have one or more lace openings 90. For example, as shown in
As shown in
In the above embodiments, the shoe 20 has one medial lace support 40 and one lateral lace support 42. It is contemplated that the shoe 20 may include one or a plurality of medial and lateral lace supports 40, 42 along the length of the upper. Further, each medial and lateral lace support may include one or a plurality of the connecting tabs 58, 82 for securing the lace 62 to the upper 28 of the shoe 20.
While particular embodiments of the present lacing system are shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.