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US 2011/0078924 A1Published application
Slip-on footwear with fit features
AssigneeRed Wing Shoe Company, Inc.
InventorsKyle D. Rackiewicz, Mark T. Dinndorf, David R. Swinnerton, Charles L. Caverly
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a slip-on boot with fit features that enable snug fit while still allowing for convenient foot entry and exit. Related methods of using and manufacturing a slip-on boot are also provided.
Claims29
A boot comprising:
- a sole;
- an upper connected to the sole, the upper including a flexible zone located along the back side of the upper above a heel cup;
- wherein over 50 percent of the outer surface of the upper is comprised of a vulcanized rubber;
- wherein a height of the flexible zone is greater than 1 inch and a width of the flexible zone is greater than 1 inch;
- wherein the flexible zone is constructed to stretch substantially more than the heel cup.
2 more elements
A boot comprising:
- an upper connected to a sole;
- wherein the boot includes a short heel girth that is not user adjustable, and
- wherein the boot includes a flexible zone along a back side of the upper configured to bulge outwardly during foot entry and exit from the boot.
A method of manufacturing a boot comprising:
- constructing an upper having a vulcanized rubber outer shell;
- and
- providing an exposed neoprene flexible zone along the back side of the upper above a heel cup of the upper.
A method of fitting a boot on a user's foot comprising:
- providing a boot with a flexible zone;
- engaging the flexible zone with the user's heel as the foot is inserted into the boot, wherein the flexible zone bulges outwardly due to downward movement of the user's foot in the boot, wherein the flexible zone returns to a non-bulged out state after the user's heel passes the flexible zone as the user's foot is inserted into the boot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.