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US 12,714,188 B2Granted
Rapid-entry footwear having an expandable opening
AssigneeFast IP, LLC
InventorsMichael Pratt, Steven Hermann, Joseph Eddington, Craig Cheney
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Footwear is disclosed herein that comprises a base with a cut-out and/or a fold pattern, either of which, when actuated, is useful to transform the footwear from a closed/relaxed configuration to an open/actuated configuration in which the rapid-entry shoe has an expanded shoe opening to facilitate reception of a foot of an individual wearing the rapid-entry shoe.
Claims12
A rapid-entry shoe comprising:
- a base having a forward portion, a rearward portion, a medial side, and a lateral side;
- and
- a waist extending between the medial side and the lateral side of the base, the waist located between the forward portion and the rearward portion, the waist comprising a fold pattern in the base, and the fold pattern having a plurality of folds, wherein the plurality of folds comprises a first fold that is angled relative to a second fold;
- wherein the rapid-entry shoe has a relaxed configuration in which the forward portion and the rearward portion are substantially coplanar around the waist;
- wherein the rapid-entry shoe has an actuated configuration in which the rearward portion and the forward portion are folded around, or angled relative to, the waist about a plane;
- wherein the waist is configured such that moving two points closer to each other within the plane results in the rapid-entry shoe assuming the actuated configuration;
- and
- wherein an opening of the rapid-entry shoe is larger in the actuated configuration than in the relaxed configuration.
5 more elements
A rapid-entry shoe comprising:
- a rigidly-foldable base having a forward portion and a rearward portion, the rigidly-foldable base comprising a fold pattern;
- wherein the shoe has a relaxed configuration in which the forward portion and the rearward portion are substantially coplanar;
- wherein the shoe has an actuated configuration in which the rearward portion and the forward portion are angled or curved relative to one another about an axis;
- wherein an opening of the shoe is larger in the actuated configuration than in the relaxed configuration;
- wherein the rigidly-foldable base is configured such that application of opposing inward forces substantially parallel with the axis results in the rapid-entry shoe assuming the actuated configuration;
- and
- wherein the shoe is biased toward the relaxed configuration.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.