IP Library › Granted Patent US 8,272,148
Granted Patent B2
US 8,272,148 · App. 12/311,844 · Granted Sep 25, 2012

Sports shoes having upper part with improved fitting property

Assignee: ASICS Corporation
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,272,148
App. No.
12/311,844
Granted
Sep 25, 2012
Kind
B2
Abstract

A sports shoe has a sole S absorbing a shock of landing, an upper U covering an instep of a foot, and a fastening member 3 fitting the upper U to the instep of the foot. The upper U has a first opening 1 from which a leg extends upwardly during wearing and a second opening 2 which is closed with a tongue, and the first and second openings 1, 2 are continuous with each other in a front-rear direction, the upper comprises a medial side portion 7 covering a medial side surface of the foot, a lateral side portion 8 covering a lateral side surface of the foot, and stretchable portions 71, 81 forming a part of the medial side portion 7 and/or the lateral side portion 8 , and the second opening 2 inclines toward the medial side of the foot along a ridge line of the foot as the second opening extends toward a front of the foot.

Claims (36)

1. A sports shoe suitable for exercise, comprising:

a sole absorbing a shock of landing, an upper covering an instep of a foot, and a fastening member fitting the upper to the instep of the foot,

wherein the upper has a first opening from which a leg extends upwardly during wearing and a second opening which is closed with a tongue covering the instep of the foot, and the first and second openings are continuous with each other in a front-rear direction,

wherein the upper comprises:

a first shape-retaining region covering at least a medial side surface of a ball of a big toe;

a second shape-retaining region covering at least a part of a proximal phalanx of a third toe; and

a deformation region being located anterior to the second opening between the first and second shape-retaining regions and being easier to deform than the first and second shape-retaining regions,

wherein the first and second shape-retaining regions come closer to each other by a fastening force applied by the fastening member and a main member forming the upper in the deformation region shrinks in a width direction of the foot by the fastening force,

a center line of the second opening inclines toward a medial side of the foot along a ridge line of the instep of the foot as it extends toward a front of the foot,

the deformation region is continuous with the second opening, and a center line of the deformation region inclines toward the medial side of the foot as it extends toward the front of the foot from a front end of the second opening, and the deformation region extends to at least one of an interphalangeal joint of the big toe and an interphalangeal joint of a second toe,

the upper further has a plurality of first through-holes and a plurality of second through-holes, and the fastening member consisting of a shoe lace is inserted into the first and second through-holes,

the first through-holes line up, along an edge of the second opening, more medially than the edge of the second opening,

the second through-holes line up, along the edge of the second opening, more laterally than the edge of the second opening, and

a first distance, along the width direction of the foot, between a forefront first through-hole of the first through-holes and a medial end of the shoe is smaller than a second distance, along the width direction of the foot, between a forefront second through-hole of the second through-holes and a lateral end of the shoe.

2. A sports shoe according to claim 1 , wherein an inclination of the center line of the deformation region with respect to a longitudinal axis of the foot extending in a front-rear direction of the foot is larger than an inclination of the center line of the second opening with respect to the longitudinal axis of the foot.

3. A sports shoe according to claim 1 , wherein the main member forming the deformation region is formed by a fabric, and the fabric extends in a longitudinal direction of the foot and shrinks in the width direction of the foot by pulling the tongue toward the first opening.

4. A sports shoe according to claim 2 , wherein a surficial member of the tongue and a surficial member of the deformation region are formed by a same member and are continuously formed in the front-rear direction.

5. A sports shoe according to claim 2 , wherein the upper further comprises:

a medial side portion covering a medial side surface of the foot;

a lateral side portion covering a lateral side surface of the foot; and

a stretchable portion forming a part of the medial side portion and/or a part of the lateral side portion and being easy to be stretched.

6. A sports shoe according to claim 2 , wherein the upper further comprises:

a first reinforcement portion provided at an edge portion of the first shape-retaining region; and

a second reinforcement portion provided at an edge portion of the second shape-retaining region,

wherein the first reinforcement portion is provided with at least one first through-hole of the first through-holes, and the second reinforcement portion is provided with at least one second through-hole of the second through-holes.

7. A sports shoe according to claim 2 , wherein

the upper comprises:

the main member being continuous over the first shape-retaining region, the deformation region, and the second shape-retaining region in the width direction of the foot;

a reinforcement member being harder to deform than the main member, and being provided for retaining shapes of the first and second shape-retaining regions;

a first reinforcement portion in which one part of the reinforcement member is fixed on the main member in an edge portion of the first shape-retaining region; and

a second reinforcement portion in which another part of the reinforcement member is fixed on the main member in an edge portion of the second shape-retaining region,

wherein the main member forming the deformation region shrinks in the width direction of the foot between the first and second reinforcement portions.

8. A sports shoe according to claim 1 , wherein the first through-holes are more medially positioned than a longitudinal axis of the foot extending in a front-rear direction of the foot.

9. A sports shoe according to claim 1 , wherein a number of the second through-holes is larger than a number of the first through-holes.

10. A sports shoe according to claim 1 , wherein the shoe lace is continuously inserted into the second through-holes from the forefront through hole of the second through-holes provided in the second shape-retaining region to a secondary front through-hole of the second through-holes provided in the second shape-retaining region without being inserted into the first through-holes.

11. A sports shoe according to claim 1 , wherein a part forming the forefront through-hole of the first through-holes in the first shape-retaining region is free from being sewn on the tongue.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 22, 2010
From: NISHIWAKI, TSUYOSHI; NISHIKAWA, NORIHIRO; OOTSUKA, YOSUKE
To: ASICS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 025029/0463 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2006-284588 · Oct 19, 2006 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20100269369A1 · Oct 28, 2010