Article of footwear

An article of footwear, comprising:

• a sole;
• a tongueless upper attached to said sole, said upper having a medial side, a lateral side, and an instep portion, the upper including
• a sleeve, said sleeve includes woven elastic fibers and is disposed above said sole and extending from the medial side of said upper to the lateral side of said upper, said sleeve exhibiting elastic behavior and having a foot opening for insertion of a foot of a wearer therethrough, said sleeve including a plurality of lacing holes therein;
• and
• a support cage permeation bonded to the woven sleeve, the support cage including foot restraining portions less elastic than said sleeve, and lace engaging portions, each lace engaging portion superimposed with a respective lacing hole in said sleeve;
• and
• a lace routed through said lace engaging portions and their respective lacing holes, whereby manipulation of the lace causes tightening or loosening of the cage around a foot of a wearer;
• wherein said sleeve is an outer sleeve, said article of footwear further comprising an inner sleeve extending beneath said outer sleeve and extending from the sole on medial side of the article of footwear to the sole on the lateral side of the article of footwear.

An article of footwear comprising:

• a sole;
• a tongueless upper attached to said sole, said upper having a medial side, a lateral side, and an instep portion, the upper including
• a sleeve, said sleeve includes woven elastic fibers and is disposed above said sole and extending from the medial side of said upper to the lateral side of said upper said sleeve exhibiting elastic behavior and having a foot opening for insertion of a foot of a wearer therethrough, said sleeve including a plurality of lacing holes therein;
• and
• a support cage permeation bonded to the woven sleeve, the support cage including foot restraining portions less elastic than said sleeve and lace engaging portions, each lace engaging portion superimposed with a respective lacing hole in said sleeve;
• and
• a lace routed through said lace engaging portions and their respective lacing holes, whereby manipulation of the lace causes tightening or loosening of the cage around a foot of a wearer;
• wherein said support cage includes a plurality of medial and lateral supports, said medial and lateral supports are attached to an inside surface of said sleeve.

An article of footwear, comprising:

• a sole;
• a tongueless upper attached to said sole, said upper having a medial side, a lateral side, and an instep portion, the upper including
• a sleeve, said sleeve includes a woven elastic fibers and is disposed above said sole and extending from the medial side of said upper to the lateral side of said upper, said sleeve exhibiting elastic behavior and having a foot opening for insertion of a foot of a wearer therethrough, said sleeve including a plurality of lacing holes therein;
• and
• a support cage permeation bonded to the woven sleeve, the support cage including foot restraining portions less elastic than said sleeve, and lace engaging portions, each lace engaging portion superimposed with a respective lacing hole in said sleeve;
• and
• a lace routed through said lace engaging portions and their respective lacing holes, whereby manipulation of the lace causes tightening or loosening of the cage around a foot of a wearer;
• and
• a heel strap located inside said sleeve.

An article of footwear, comprising:

• a sole, said sole including a medial side and a lateral side;
• an upper attached to said sole and having a foot opening for insertion of a foot of a wearer therethrough, said upper further including an inner sleeve extending from the lateral side of the sole to the medial side of the sole and a woven outer sleeve disposed outside of said inner sleeve and extending from the lateral side of the sole to the medial side of the sole, said outer sleeve including a plurality of lacing holes therein;
• a plurality of tensioning elements attached to said outer sleeve, each of said tensioning elements having a hole therein, each hole in each said tensioning element disposed above a respective lacing hole in said outer sleeve;
• and
• a lace, said lace routed in between said inner and outer sleeves and through said holes in said tensioning elements and said lacing holes in said outer sleeve enabling the adjustable tightening of the upper around a foot of a wearer.

An article of footwear, comprising:

• a sole;
• an upper attached to said sole, said upper including a medial side, a lateral side, and a tongueless sleeve, said sleeve disposed above said sole and extending from the medial side of said upper to the lateral side of said upper, said sleeve having a foot opening disposed therethrough for insertion of a foot of a wearer, said sleeve including a hole therethrough;
• a counter disposed above said sole, and inside said sleeve;
• said counter extending upwardly from said sole;
• a heel strap including a first end and a second end, said first end connected to said counter, said second end having a lace engaging portion, and said strap extending through said hole in the sleeve.