Patent Application
20240074538
This application claims benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-140691 filed Sep. 5, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present teaching relates to a footwear.
Footwears that can be easily put on and off are known. Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a footwear that facilitates relatively easy insertion and removal and secures tightening. This footwear includes a sole structure, an upper fixed to the sole structure, and a plurality of tensioning cables having proximal ends fixed to at least one of the upper or the sole structure and extending out of the upper. The footwear is configured such that a strap has a proximal end connected to distal ends of the plurality of tensioning cables and also has a distal end releasably securable to the upper to tighten the tensioning cables.
In the footwear described in Patent Literature 1, the plurality of tensioning cables extend to one of instep portions of a midfoot region of the upper, and the plurality of tensioning cables are respectively inserted in a plurality of looped cables provided in the other instep portion of the midfoot region of the upper, and the plurality of tensioning cables are connected to a strap.
In the footwear described above, the upper can be easily tightened by loosening the strap to which the plurality of tensioning cables are connected to loosen the upper, inserting a foot into the footwear, pulling the strap, and then tightening the plurality of tensioning cables to fix the tensioning cables to the upper.
Inventors of the present teaching studied a structure that eases putting on and off of a footwear and obtains effective tightening. To ease putting on and off of a footwear, it is preferable to easily loosen and tighten an upper. In particular, for a person having difficulty in putting on and off lace-up footwears, it is desired that the upper can be greatly loosened and easily tightened with one hand.
Inventors of the present teaching studied a footwear that is easily put on and off and enables effective tightening of the footwear. Through an intensive study, the inventors conceived the following structure.
A footwear according to one embodiment of the present teaching includes: a sole; an upper provided above the sole to accommodate a foot; a loop engagement portion located on at least one of a medial face or a lateral face of the footwear, fixed to one of the sole, the upper, or an interface between the sole and the upper, and including a plurality of loops extending from a lower side toward an upper side; a loop tightening part including a single loop passing through the plurality of loops of the loop engagement portion; a fixing portion disposed in the loop tightening part; and a fixed portion which is disposed on the upper or the sole and to which the fixing portion is fixed, wherein in a state where the loop engagement portion is pulled by the loop tightening part, the fixing portion is fixable to the fixed portion.
One embodiment of the present teaching eases putting on and off of the footwear by loosening the loop tightening part including the single loop. In addition, the loop engagement portion and the loop tightening part tighten a wide range of a foot inserted in an upper, and thus, the upper can be effectively tightened independently of an instep shape of a person.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present teaching. It is obvious that those skilled in the art, however, would be able to carry out the present teaching without these specific examples.
The present disclosure is to be, therefore, considered as an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or description below.
A footwear according to an embodiment of the present teaching will be specifically described hereinafter with reference to the drawings. The footwear according to the present teaching is not limited to those described in the following embodiment, and can be carried out with an appropriate change without departing from the gist of the invention.
In the embodiment and modifications of the present teaching, like reference characters denote like or corresponding constituting elements and members, and the same description will be omitted as appropriate. Also, the dimensions of a member may be appropriately enlarged or reduced in each drawing in order to facilitate understanding. Further, in each drawing, part of a member less important in describing the embodiment may be omitted.
Also, terms including ordinal numbers, such as “first” and “second”, are used to describe various constituting elements; however, such terms are used in order to distinguish one constituting element from another and do not limit the constituting elements.
In the following, a configuration of a footwear 1 according to an embodiment of the present teaching will be described with reference to the drawings.
The footwear 1 of the present embodiment can be used for walking footwears, running footwears, safety footwears, sports footwears for tennis, basketball, and other sports, and sandals, for example, and the use of the footwear 1 is not limited. The footwear 1 includes a sole 10 and an upper 20. As illustrated in
In the present teaching, as illustrated in
In the present teaching, the direction from the lateral side toward the medial side of the footwear will be referred to as the inner side, and the opposite direction will be referred to as the outer side. Further, a direction along the center line La will be referred to as a “longitudinal direction”. The direction toward the toe side along the center line La will be referred to as the “front side” or “front”, and the opposite direction will be referred to as the “rear side” or “rear”. Accordingly, the width direction is perpendicular to the center line La.
In the present teaching, in a state where the footwear 1 is placed on a horizontal plane (hereinafter, referred to as a “horizontal state”), the upper side will be referred to as the “upper side” or “above”, and the opposite side will be referred to as the “lower side” or “below”. Also, in the horizontal state, a direction extending vertically will be referred to as a “vertical direction”.
In the present teaching, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
(Sole)
The sole 10 is a portion to be in contact with the ground. The sole 10 includes a midsole 12, an outsole 13, and an insole 14. Above the sole 10, the upper 20 is fixed by means of bonding or the like. The sole 10 may have a unisole structure and need not necessarily include the insole 14.
(Upper)
The upper 20 is provided above the sole 10 to accommodate a foot. The upper 20 surrounds an internal space 20a for accommodating the foot. On the upper 20, a wearing opening 20b through which the foot is to be inserted is formed. At the rear of the wearing opening 20b, an upper heel portion 20g for covering the heel of the foot is provided. A central opening 20c is formed forward of the wearing opening 20b. The central opening 20c is closed with a tongue 5. The tongue 5 is sewn to the upper 20 forward of the central opening 20c. The central opening 20c is not an essential configuration, and the upper 20 may have a so-called monosock structure.
The upper 20 includes a fixed portion 60 to which a fixing portion 41 of a loop tightening part 4 described later is fixed. In the present embodiment, the fixed portion 60 is constituted by a first fixed member 61, a second fixed member 62, and a third fixed member 63 that are provided at three different positions of the upper 20.
The fixing portion 41 of the loop tightening part 4 is fixed to one of the first fixed member 61, the second fixed member 62, or the third fixed member 63. In the present embodiment, each of the first fixed member 61, the second fixed member 62, the third fixed member 63, and the fixing portion 41 is a hook-and-loop fastener. The fixed portion 60 (the first fixed member 61, the second fixed member 62, and the third fixed member 63) and the fixing portion 41 only have to be capable of fixing and releasing, and may be a key hook, a spring hook, a buckle, or the like, as well as the hook-and-loop fastener.
In the present embodiment, the first fixed member 61 is provided in the midfoot portion 20M of the upper 20, the second fixed member 62 is provided in the forefoot portion 20F of the upper 20, and the third fixed member 63 is provided in the rearfoot portion 20R of the upper 20.
In the present embodiment, as illustrated in
There are variations in human instep shapes. The fixed portion 60 that is, the first fixed member 61, the second fixed member 62, and the third fixed member 63 are provided at a plurality of positions in the upper 20 so that the fixed portion 60 constituted by the fixed members 61, 62, and 63 provided at a plurality of positions for fixing the fixing portion 41 can be selected in accordance with instep shapes of various persons. In the present embodiment, an optimum fastening force can be obtained in accordance with instep shapes of various persons.
In the present embodiment, although the first fixed member 61, the second fixed member 62, and the third fixed member 63 as the fixed portion 60 are provided at different positions of the upper 20, the fixed portion 60 may be provided only at one position. In the present embodiment, the fixed portion 60 that is, the first fixed member 61, the second fixed member 62, and the third fixed member 63 are provided at three positions of the upper 20, but positions where the fixed portion is provided are not limited to three portions, and may be two or four or more.
(Loop Engagement Portion)
A loop engagement portion 3 applies a fastening force to the upper 20 together with the loop tightening part 4. The loop engagement portion 3 is located at least one of the medial face 1a or the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1. The loop engagement portion 3 of the present embodiment is located on the medial face 1a of the footwear 1. The loop engagement portion 3 is fixed to one of the sole 10, the upper 20, or an interface between the sole 10 and the upper 20. In the present embodiment, the loop engagement portion 3 is fixed to the sole 10 near the upper 20. The loop engagement portion 3 includes a plurality of loops extending from a lower side toward an upper side. In the present embodiment, three loops are arranged in the order of a first loop 31, a second loop 32, and a third loop 33 from a front side toward a rear side of the footwear 1.
A loop as used herein refers to a member formed by folding back and having, for example, a semicircular shape or a U-shaped or V-shaped peak or valley. The loop does not need to be closed, and may be partially open.
In the present embodiment, the loop engagement portion 3 is fixed to the sole 10, but may be fixed to an interface between the sole 10 and the upper 20 or to the upper 20.
In the present embodiment, as illustrated in
The string-like member 30 extends upward form the first hole 10a and is folded at a predetermined position to form the first loop 31. After forming the first loop 31, the string-like member 30 extends downward toward a second hole 10b provided rearward of the first hole 10a in the sole 10, is inserted in the second hole 10b, is folded back in the second hole 10b, and is fixed with an adhesive or the like.
The string-like member 30 extends upward from the second hole 10b and is folded at a predetermined position to form the second loop 32. After forming the second loop 32, the string-like member 30 extends downward toward a third hole 10c provided rearward of the second hole 10b in the sole 10, is inserted in the third hole 10c, is folded back in the third hole 10c, and is fixed with an adhesive or the like.
The string-like member 30 then extends upward from the third hole 10c and is folded at a predetermined position to form the third loop 33. After forming the third loop 33, the string-like member 30 extends downward toward a fourth hole 10d provided rearward of the third hole 10c in the sole 10, and the other end of the string-like member 30 is inserted in the fourth hole 10d and fixed with an adhesive or the like.
In this manner, the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33 are disposed on the medial face 1a of the footwear 1. The loop engagement portion 3 is constituted by the string-like member 30 so that one end of the string-like member 30 is inserted and fixed in the first hole 10a of the sole 10 and then inserted in the second hole 10b and the third hole 10c while sequentially forming loops, and the other end of the string-like member 30 is inserted and fixed in the fourth hole 10d. In this manner, a plurality of loops can be easily arranged on the medial face 1a of the footwear 1.
In the present embodiment, the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33 of the loop engagement portion 3 are disposed in the midfoot portion 20M. In this manner, the plurality of loops of the loop engagement portion 3 are disposed in the midfoot portion 20M so that a foot can be tightened about the midfoot portion 20M of the footwear 1. In the present embodiment, the three loops are disposed in the midfoot portion 20M, but the effect of tightening a foot about the midfoot portion 20M of the footwear 1 can also be obtained by disposing two loops in the midfoot portion 20M.
As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, peak heights of the plurality of loops (the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33) gradually increase from the forefoot portion 20F toward the rearfoot portion 20R. The peak heights of the loops increase in the order of the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33. The instep becomes higher from the toe toward the heel, and thus, the peak heights of the loops are increased in accordance with the height of the instep. Accordingly, the upper 20 can be tightened such that the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33 of the loop engagement portion 3 extend along the instep. The peak heights of the plurality of loops (the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33) may be parallel to a plane on which the sole is grounded.
(Loop Tightening Part)
The loop tightening part 4 tightens the upper 20 by pulling the loop engagement portion 3 and applying a fastening force of closing the central opening 20c in the width direction. The loop tightening part 4 includes a single loop passing through the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33 that are the plurality of loops of the loop engagement portion 3. That is, the loop tightening part 4 forms a single loop while being interwoven in the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33 of the loop engagement portion 3. The loop tightening part 4 includes the fixing portion 41 to be fixed to the fixed portion 60. In a state where the loop engagement portion 3 is pulled by the loop tightening part 4, the fixing portion 41 can be fixed to the fixed portion 60.
The single loop herein refers to constituting one loop from one end to the other end of the loop. The loop does not need to be closed, and may be partially open.
The first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33 of the loop engagement portion 3 are individually pulled upward by pulling the loop tightening part 4 upward, and a tightening force is applied to the entire loop engagement portion 3. In this state, the fixing portion 41 is fixed to the fixed portion 60. Accordingly, the upper 20 can be tightened by the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 in a wide range from a sole to an instep of a foot 8 inserted in the upper 20.
In putting the footwear 1 off, the fixing portion 41 is detached from the fixed portion 60 so that portions of the loop tightening part 4 interwoven in the loops 31, 32, and 33 of the loop engagement portion 3 can be easily loosened, tightening of the upper 20 is released, and the foot 8 can be easily put off from the upper 20. Accordingly, the footwear 1 of the present embodiment can be easily put off. In the manner described above, tightening of the upper 20 can be loosened by one action of detaching the fixing portion 41 from the fixed portion 60.
As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the loop tightening part 4 is fixed to the sole 10, but may be fixed to an interface between the sole 10 and the upper 20 or to the upper 20.
The loop tightening part 4 extends from the sole 10 toward the upper 20, and extends into the medial portion 22 of the upper 20. The loop tightening part 4 is interwoven in the first loop 31, the second loop 32, and the third loop 33 of the loop engagement portion 3 located in the medial portion 22 of the upper 20. Then, the loop tightening part 4 that has passed through the third loop 33 returns to the lateral portion 24 of the upper 20, and the other end of the loop tightening part 4 is fixed to the sole 10 near the upper 20 on the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1.
The loop tightening part 4 includes the fixing portion 41 to be fixed to the fixed portion 60 provided on the upper 20. In the present embodiment, the fixing portion 41 is provided in the loop tightening part 4 interwoven in the second loop 32. The fixing portion 41 includes an attachment portion 41b to be attached to a rectangular body portion 41a and the loop tightening part 4. In the present embodiment, the fixing portion 41 is attached to the loop tightening part 4 through the attachment portion 41b so that the fixing portion 41 can freely move on the loop tightening part 4. Since the fixing portion 41 is movably attached to the loop tightening part 4, even when the tensile direction of the loop tightening part 4 including a single loop is changed in accordance with, for example, the height of the instep, the fixing portion 41 moves to an appropriate position on the loop tightening part 4 and a tensile force of the loop tightening part 4 in multiple directions is not impaired.
In the present embodiment, a second hook-and-loop fastener 41m is disposed on the body portion 41a of the fixing portion 41. The second hook-and-loop fastener 41m of the fixing portion 41 is configured to be fixed or open with respect to the first hook-and-loop fasteners 61m, 62m, and 63m of the fixed portion 60.
One of the first hook-and-loop fasteners 61m, 62m, and 63m of the fixed portion 60 or the second hook-and-loop fastener 41m of the fixing portion 41 has a hook surface, and the other has a loop surface. Accordingly, the second hook-and-loop fastener 41m is detachable from the first hook-and-loop fasteners 61m, 62m, and 63m. The upper 20 is tightened by fixing the second hook-and-loop fastener 41m to the first hook-and-loop fasteners 61m, 62m, and 63m. The tightening of the upper 20 is canceled by detaching the second hook-and-loop fastener 41m from the first hook-and-loop fasteners 61m, 62m, and 63m.
In the present embodiment, as illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the string-like member 40 of the loop tightening part 4 is guided to the medial face 1a on which the loop engagement portion 3 is located, from the lateral face 1b opposite to the medial face 1a on which the loop engagement portion 3 is disposed. Then, the string-like member 40 passes through the first loop 31 and the third loop 33 located at the front and the rear, respectively, in the longitudinal direction among the three loops, and is folded back toward the lateral face 1b opposite to the medial face 1a on which the loop engagement portion 3 is located. The string-like member 40 passes through the second loop 32 at the middle in the longitudinal direction among the three loops, and the fixing portion 41 is provided at a portion of the loop tightening part 4 that has passed through the middle second loop 32.
In the present embodiment, the attachment portion 41b of the fixing portion 41 is configured to allow the string-like member 40 to pass therethrough, and the fixing portion 41 is movably attached to the loop tightening part 4.
The string-like member 30 of the loop engagement portion 3 and the string-like member 40 of the loop tightening part 4 may be made of the same material or different materials, and materials that cause less friction between these string-like members are preferable. Each of the string-like members 30 and 40 may be made of a material having a circular, oval, or substantially rectangular cross section or a band-shaped material, and materials for the string-like members 30 and 40 are not limited to materials used for shoelaces, and a flexible resin material, a metal material such as a wire, or other materials may be used.
With reference to
The loop tightening part 4 located on the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1 is inserted in the holes 10e and 10f disposed in the sole 10 near the upper 20, and is fixed with an adhesive or the like to be fixed at two positions of the sole 10.
The string-like member 40 of the loop tightening part 4 passes through the first loop 31 in the forefoot portion 20F and the third loop 33 in the rearfoot portion 20R from the tongue 5 of the upper 20 by way of the medial portion 22, from the medial face 1a of the footwear 1 to the outside of the footwear 1. Then, the string-like member 40 passes through the second loop 32 at the middle of the loop engagement portion 3 to return from the medial face 1a of the footwear 1 and from the outside of the footwear 1 toward the tongue 5 with the loop tightening part 4 interwoven in the loops of the loop engagement portion 3. In this state, the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 are disposed. The outside of the footwear herein refers to a position separated from the footwear.
The fixing portion 41 is movably provided in the string-like member 40 of the loop tightening part 4 interwoven in the second loop 32 located at the middle of the loop engagement portion 3, through the attachment portion 41b. Fixing and release of the fixing portion 41 is performed with respect to the fixed portion 60 provided on the upper 20.
For tightening, tightening can be easily achieved only by pinching and pulling up the fixing portion 41.
In putting off the footwear 1, the fixing portion 41 of the loop tightening part 4 is released from the fixed portion 60 so that a force can be easily applied in a direction in which the loop tightening part 4 interwoven in the loops of the loop engagement portion 3 is untied. Accordingly, it is possible to easily perform an action of loosening tightening of the upper 20, which takes time for shoelace-type footwears and belt-tightening footwears.
As described above, since the loop engagement portion 3 is located on the medial face 1a of the footwear 1 in the present embodiment, holding property at the medial face 1a of the footwear 1 can be enhanced, and lowering of the arch of a foot can be reduced.
Then, with reference to
As illustrated in
Thereafter, as illustrated in
Although the fixed portion 60 is disposed in the upper 20 in the present embodiment, the fixed portion 60 may be provided in the sole 10.
Next, an example of selecting the fixed portion 60 constituted by the fixed members 61, 62, and 63 provided at three positions in accordance with the height of the instep will be described.
In general, as illustrated in
In the case of a low instep, as illustrated in
In the case of a high instep, as illustrated in
In this manner, the fixed portion 60 that is, the first fixed member 61, the second fixed member 62, and the third fixed member 63 are provided at a plurality of positions of the upper 20 so that the fixed members 61, 62, and 63 to which the fixing portion 41 is fixed can be selected in accordance with instep shapes of various persons, and an optimum fastening force can be obtained.
Features of the thus-configured footwear 1 of the present embodiment will be described. The footwear 1 includes a sole 10 and an upper 20 located above the sole 10 to accommodate a foot. The footwear 1 includes: a loop engagement portion 3 located on at least one of a medial face 1a or a lateral face 1b of the footwear 1, fixed to one of the sole 10, the upper 20, or an interface between the sole 10 and the upper 20, and including a plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33 extending from a lower side toward an upper side; a loop tightening part 4 including a single loop passing through the plurality of loops of the loop engagement portion 3; a fixing portion 41 disposed in a loop tightening part 4; and a fixed portion 60 which is disposed on the upper 20 or the sole 10 and to which the fixing portion 41 is fixed. In a state where the loop engagement portion 3 is pulled by the loop tightening part 4, the fixing portion 41 is fixable to the fixed portion 60. With this configuration, the footwear 1 can be easily put off and on by loosening the loop tightening part 4 including the single loop. In addition, the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 can tighten the foot inserted in the upper 20 with the upper 20 in a wide range so that the footwear 1 can be effectively tightened independently of an instep shape of a person.
The loop engagement portion 3 is located on one of the medial face 1a or the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1. The loop tightening part 4 is located on the other face opposite to the face on which the loop engagement portion 3 is located, and is fixed to one of the sole 10, the upper 20, or an interface between the sole 10 and the upper 20. In this case, the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 apply a fastening force to the upper 20 such that the upper 20 is wrapped from both sides, and the foot inserted in the upper can be tightened by the entire upper.
The loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 are constituted by string-like members 30 and 40. In a case where the loop engagement portion 3 is the string-like member 30, at least one endpoint of the string-like member 30 is fixed to easily configure the plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33. In a case where the loop tightening part 4 is the string-like member 40, the loop tightening part 4 is passed through the plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33 to thereby constitute an interwoven string structure. Accordingly, the upper 20 can be tightened along the instep by pulling up and tightening the loop tightening part 4.
A fixing portion 41 is movable on the loop tightening part 4. In this case, even when the tensile direction of the loop tightening part 4 including the single loop is changed in accordance with, for example, the height of the instep, the fixing portion 41 moves to an appropriate position on the loop tightening part 4, and a tensile force of the loop tightening part 4 in multiple directions is not impaired.
The footwear 1 includes a forefoot portion 20F, a midfoot portion 20M, and a rearfoot portion 20R, and the plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33 of the loop engagement portion 3 are located in the midfoot portion 20M. In this case, the foot can be tightened about the midfoot portion 20M of the footwear 1.
The fixed portion 60 is constituted by a plurality of fixed members 61, 62, and 63, and the fixed members 61, 62, and 63 are located at least in the forefoot portion 20F of the upper 20, in the midfoot portion 20M of the upper 20, and near a wearing opening 20b of the upper 20 for inserting the foot. In this case, the fixed members 61, 62, and 63 to which the fixing portion 41 is fixed can be selected in accordance with instep shapes of various persons.
Among the plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33 of the loop engagement portion 3, a front endpoint of the loop 31 at a forefront in a longitudinal direction is located forward of a portion of the footwear 1 corresponding to an MP joint in the longitudinal direction, and a rear endpoint of the loop 33 at a rearmost in the longitudinal direction is located in the rearfoot portion 20R. In this case, the loop engagement portion 3 is disposed on a portion including the midfoot portion 20M so that the upper 20 can be tightened in a wide range.
The loop engagement portion 3 is located on the medial face 1a of the footwear 1, and the loop tightening part 4 is located on the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1. In this case, holding property at the medial face 1a of the footwear 1 can be enhanced, and lowering of an arch of the foot can be reduced.
The loop engagement portion 3 includes three loops 31, 32, and 33 arranged in a longitudinal direction, the loop tightening part 4 is extended from the face opposite to the face on which the loop engagement portion 3 is located to the face on which the loop engagement portion 3 is located, passes through the front loop 31 and the rear loop 33 in the longitudinal direction among the three loops, is folded back toward the face opposite to the face on which the loop engagement portion 3 is located, and passes through the middle loop 32 in the longitudinal direction among the three loops, and the fixing portion 41 is located on a portion of the loop tightening part 4 that has passed through the middle loop 32. In this case, the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 apply a fastening force to the upper 20 such that the upper 20 is wrapped from both sides, and the foot inserted in the upper can be tightened by the entire upper.
Peak heights of the plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33 gradually increase toward the rearfoot portion. Since the instep becomes higher from the toe toward the heel, the peak heights of the loops are increased in accordance with the height of the instep. Accordingly, the upper 20 can be tightened such that the plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33 of the loop engagement portion 3 extend along the instep.
The peak heights of the plurality of loops 31, 32, and 33 may be parallel to a plane on which the sole 10 is grounded.
The loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 may be constituted by different string-like members.
An exemplary embodiment of the present teaching has been described in detail. The abovementioned embodiment merely describes a specific example for carrying out the present teaching. The embodiment is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present teaching, and various design modifications, including changes, addition, and deletion of constituting elements, may be made to the embodiment without departing from the scope of ideas of the invention defined in the claims. In the aforementioned embodiment, matters to which design modifications may be made are described with the expression of “of the embodiment”, “in the embodiment”, or the like. However, it is not unallowable to make a design modification to a matter without such expression.
[Modifications]
In the following, modifications will be described. In the drawings and description of the modifications, like reference characters denote like or corresponding constituting elements and members in the embodiment. Repetitive description already provided in the embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and configurations different from those in the embodiment will be described in detail.
[First Modification]
Although the embodiment describes an example in which the string-like member 30 of the loop engagement portion 3 and the string-like member 30 of the loop tightening part 4 are constituted by different members independent of each other, the present teaching is not limited thereto.
In this manner, the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 are continuous under the insole 14 so that the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 can be thereby constituted by the single continuous string-like member 300.
[Second Modification]
Although the embodiment describes an example in which the loop engagement portion 3 is located on one of the medial face 1a or the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1 and the loop tightening part 4 is located on the other face opposite to the face on which the loop engagement portion 3 is located, the present teaching is not limited thereto.
A loop tightening part 4a including a single loop is provided to be interwoven in the plurality of loops of the first loop engagement portion 3a and in the plurality of loops of the second loop engagement portion 3b. The loop tightening part 4a is not fixed to any of the sole 10, the upper 20, or the interface between the sole 10 and the upper 20.
The loop engagement portions 3a and 3b are pulled up and tightened by the loop tightening part 4a, and the fixing portion 41 disposed on the loop tightening part 4a is fixed to the fixed portion 60 of the upper 20.
[Third Modification]
Although the embodiment describes an example in which the plurality of loops of the loop engagement portion 3 are constituted by a single level, the present teaching is not limited thereto. A loop engagement portion 3c of a third modification can be configured such that a plurality of loops are interwoven in multiple levels, the number of loops in an upper level is smaller than in a lower level, and the uppermost level is formed of three loops.
In the modification illustrated in
In this manner, in the case of increasing the number of loops of the loop engagement portion, the configuration can be easily obtained by constituting the loop engagement portion in multiple levels.
[Other Modifications]
Although the embodiment describes an example in which the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 are exposed to the outside of the upper 20, the present teaching is not limited thereto. At least a portion of the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 may be disposed inside the upper 20. In the present teaching, the folding structure can be reduced as compared to a footwear with a belt-tightening structure, and thus, the overlapping amount between the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 decreases. Accordingly, at least a portion of the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 can be easily disposed inside the upper 20. Such a footwear 1 is preferable as a footwear for use in sports including contact play and so forth.
In the description of the embodiment, the loop engagement portion 3 is located on the medial face 1a of the footwear 1, and the loop tightening part 4 is located on the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1, but the present teaching is not limited thereto. The loop tightening part 4 may be located on the medial face 1a of the footwear 1 with the loop engagement portion 3 located on the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1. Since the loop engagement portion 3 is located on the lateral face 1b of the footwear 1, in performing an action such as outward sliding, the effect of preventing a foot from falling down from the sole 10, so-called lateral bulging, is expected.
In the example described in the embodiment, the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 are located on different side faces of the footwear 1, but the present teaching is not limited thereto. The loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 may be located on the same side face of the footwear 1. In this case, the fixed portion 60 is located on the upper 20 or the sole 10 at a side face opposite to the side face on which the loop engagement portion 3 and the loop tightening part 4 are located.
In the example described in the embodiment, the upper heel portion 20g for covering the heel of the foot is provided rearward of the wearing opening 20b in the upper 20, but the present teaching is not limited thereto. The present teaching is also applicable to a footwear 1 in which the upper 20 does not include the upper heel portion 20g, that is, a sandal.
Each of the abovementioned modifications provides functions and effects similar to those of the aforementioned embodiment.
Optional combinations of the aforementioned embodiment and modifications may also be practiced as additional embodiments of the present teaching. Such an additional embodiment made by combination has the effect of each of the combined embodiment and modifications.
The present teaching is applicable to a footwear in which an upper is tightened.
Features disclosed herein include the following:
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-140691 | Sep 2022 | JP | national |
