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US 2014/0173941 A1Published application
Footwear with expandable entry and exit feature
AssigneeAriat International, Inc.
InventorsRussell L. Davis, Danielle S. Cojuangoo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Footwear includes a shaft and a shell connected to the shaft. The shaft includes an expandable portion adapted to expand to facilitate ease of entry and exit of a heel of a foot into and out of the shell. The expandable portion is surrounded by a material forming the shaft.
Claims20
A boot, comprising:
- a boot shell configured to receive and extend around a wearer's foot when the boot is worn by the wearer, the shell including a toe region that receives a toe portion of the wearer's foot when the boot is worn by the wearer, a heel region that receives a heel portion of the wearer's foot when the boot is worn by the wearer, and an outsole having a projecting heel portion that extends away from the heel region of the boot shell;
- and
- a boot shaft connected to and extending above the boot shell to define a passage through which the wearer's foot is passed when the wearer's foot is inserted into and removed from the boot shell and within which at least an Achilles and lower calf region of the wearer's leg is positioned when the boot is worn by the wearer, wherein the boot shaft is formed from a material and includes at least a front shaft section, a rear shaft section wherein the rear shaft section includes an Achilles region, an upper shaft above the front and rear shaft sections, and an expandable portion that is secured to the rear shaft section and extends above the boot shell and below the upper shaft, wherein the expandable portion includes a stretchable material positioned along a region proximate to the Achilles region of the rear shaft section, wherein the stretchable material has a higher resilience than the material of the boot shaft, and wherein the expandable portion is adapted to expand resiliently to facilitate ease of entry of a heel of the wearer's foot through the passage and into the boot shell.
A boot, comprising:
- a boot shell configured to receive and extend around a wearer's foot when the boot is worn by the wearer, the shell including a toe region that receives a toe portion of the wearer's foot when the boot is worn by the wearer, a heel region that receives a heel portion of the wearer's foot when the boot is worn by the wearer, and an outsole having a projecting heel portion that extends away from the heel region of the boot shell;
- and
- a boot shaft connected to and extending above the boot shell to define a passage through which the wearer's foot is passed when the wearer's foot is inserted into and removed from the boot shell and within which at least an Achilles and lower calf region of the wearer's leg is positioned when the boot is worn by the wearer, the boot shaft including at least a front shaft section, a rear shaft section wherein the rear shaft section includes an Achilles region, an upper shaft above the front and rear shaft sections, and an expandable portion with a stretchable material that is sewn to at least a portion of the rear shaft section, extends above the boot shell, and does not extend into the upper shaft;
- wherein the expandable portion extends along a region proximate to the Achilles region of the rear shaft section and is surrounded on at least three sides by the rear shaft section, wherein the stretchable material has a higher resilience than the rear shaft section, and wherein the expandable portion is adapted to expand resiliently to facilitate ease of entry of a heel of the wearer's foot through the passage and into the boot shell;
- and further wherein the boot shaft is free of laces, buckles, and zippers for selectively reducing a diameter of the boot shaft.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.