Adjustable heel support member for article of footwear
First Claim
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1. A heel closure apparatus for an article of footwear, comprising:
- a heel cup comprising three upwardly extending lobes, including a medial lobe, a lateral lobe, and a central lobe;
a fastener receiving portion disposed at a distal end of the central lobe, the fastener receiving portion comprising a fastener receiving body and defining at least one guide channel extending through the fastener receiving body from a medial side of the fastener receiving portion to a lateral side of the fastener receiving portion;
a medial hook disposed at a distal end of the medial lobe;
a lateral hook disposed at a distal end of the lateral lobe; and
a continuous loop of an elastic cord extending through the at least one guide channel, wherein;
a medial portion of the continuous loop extends outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward the medial lobe,a lateral portion of the continuous loop extends outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward the lateral lobe, andat least one of the medial portion or the lateral portion of the continuous loop is designed to elastically stretch outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward a corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook to enable the medial portion or the lateral portion to be captured and retained by the corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook; and
a hook guard disposed proximate and spaced apart from a corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook, wherein the hook guard is t-shaped with a first ramp portion and a cross-bar.
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Abstract
An adjustable heel support member includes a base portion and an extended portion. The extended portion comprises a lateral portion, a medial portion and a rearward portion. The heel support member further includes a fastening member that can be used to adjust the lateral portion, the medial portion and the rearward portion to resize the heel support member. In some cases, the fastening member may be an elastic ring.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A heel closure apparatus for an article of footwear, comprising:
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a heel cup comprising three upwardly extending lobes, including a medial lobe, a lateral lobe, and a central lobe; a fastener receiving portion disposed at a distal end of the central lobe, the fastener receiving portion comprising a fastener receiving body and defining at least one guide channel extending through the fastener receiving body from a medial side of the fastener receiving portion to a lateral side of the fastener receiving portion; a medial hook disposed at a distal end of the medial lobe; a lateral hook disposed at a distal end of the lateral lobe; and a continuous loop of an elastic cord extending through the at least one guide channel, wherein; a medial portion of the continuous loop extends outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward the medial lobe, a lateral portion of the continuous loop extends outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward the lateral lobe, and at least one of the medial portion or the lateral portion of the continuous loop is designed to elastically stretch outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward a corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook to enable the medial portion or the lateral portion to be captured and retained by the corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook; and a hook guard disposed proximate and spaced apart from a corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook, wherein the hook guard is t-shaped with a first ramp portion and a cross-bar. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14)
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12. A heel closure apparatus for an article of footwear, comprising:
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a heel cup comprising three upwardly extending lobes, including a medial lobe, a lateral lobe, and a central lobe; a fastener disposed at a distal end of the central lobe, the fastener comprising at least one guide channel extending therethrough from a medial side of the fastener to a lateral side of the fastener; a medial hook disposed at a distal end of the medial lobe; a lateral hook disposed at a distal end of the lateral lobe; and a continuous loop of an elastic cord extending through the at least one guide channel, wherein; a medial portion of the continuous loop extends outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward the medial lobe, a lateral portion of the continuous loop extends outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward the lateral lobe, and at least one of the medial portion or the lateral portion of the continuous loop is configured to elastically stretch outwardly from the at least one guide channel and toward a corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook to enable the medial portion or the lateral portion to be captured and retained by the corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook; a hook guard disposed proximate and spaced apart from an engaging surface of the corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook, wherein the hook guard is a raised portion configured to facilitate aligning the elastic cord with the engaging surface of the medial hook; and wherein the hook guard is t-shaped with a ramp and a cross-bar, and wherein the cross-bar is disposed proximate the corresponding one of the medial hook or the lateral hook and the ramp slopes away from the cross-bar. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification