Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
This invention relates to sports shoes, in
; particular a running shoe having improved structure to
support the heel of the runner.
Runners who are interested in running distances
- 5 which might be classed as intermediate to longer distances
have becorne aware of the desirability to run in a shoe
which provides maximum shock absorbing capabilities which
; is at the same time quite light.
Heretofore,efforts have been made to design
shoes which provide superior shock absorbing capabilities
and which are significantly lighter. However, as the shoe
is made lighter it becomes more difficult to provide
appropriate stability in the shoe. Additionally, as more
shock absorbing material is added to the sole of the shoe
there is a greater flexibility in the shoe which further
reduces stability.
- Studies have shown that during the running stride
the normal foot will tend to roll inwardly as the weight
is placed upon the foot. This is referred to as prona-
tion of the foot. Excessive pronation of the foot is ob-
jectionable and will lead to injuries to the foot, ankle
and leg of the runner. By using a softer component for
: ..... .
:: : ~ . .
~. :
;, .
- the midsole and in the wedge area of the shoe for shock
absorption the shoe can sink or rotate with respect to the
sole as the runner's weight comes to bear on the sole of
the shoe. For the sprinter, the weight of the runner is
5 placed almost entirely upon the forward portion of the
shoe. However, in the case of the runner involved in
intermediate to long distance running, rear foot control
becomes of the utmost importance to reduce injury. Here-
tofore, rear foot control for shoes intended for middle to
` 10 long distance runners has been provided by the counter of
the shoe. The counter is that portion of the shoe which
A surrounds the lower heel portion of the upper and usually
comprises a layer of material which serves to reinforce
the basic material of the shoe upper. The counter may be
15 either an internal or external counter. The term external
counter is used to describe the form of counter in which
the counter is visible from outside the shoe and comprises
an additional piece of material stitched or otherwise
affixed to the upper of the shoe.
According to this invention a shoe having improv-
ed stability and rear foot control is provided. A shoe
made according to the invention comprises an external
counter surrounding the heel portion of the upper. Extend-
' ing upwardly and forwardly from the counter are a pair of
straps, one located on either side of the shoe. The straps
are fixed to the counter and have an aperture for receiving
a lace located adjacent the end of the strap which is re-
mote from the counter~ The length of each strap is such
that the aperture of the strap is sulstantially aligned
.~ .
with the apertures of the usual eye stay.
The invention will be better understood ln assoc-
iation with the following drawings which illustrate pre-
~ ferred embodiments of shoes made according to the invention
; 5 and in which like numerals are used throughout the draw-
ings to identify like parts and in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a shoe made according to the
invention, and
Figure 2 illustrates a second embodiment in which
the straps are attached to the eye stay of the shoe by a
gore.
The shoe 20 comprises a sole 22 and an upper 24.
In the heel portion of the upper 24, there is located an
external counter 26 which serves to give additional stabil-
ity and bracing to the rear foot area of the shoe. Theupper of the shoe additionally comprises a conventional
eye stay 28 adapted to receive a lace to firmly tighten the
shoe to the wearer's foot. The upper of the shoe also
comprises a pair of straps 30 and 32 which extend upwardly
and forwardly from the counter 26 to the eyè stay 28. Lo-
cated inwardly from the eye stay and adapted to bear again-
st the instep of the runner's foot is a conventional tongue
34.
Eye stay 28 comprises a plurality of apertures 36
~5 and 37 adapted to receive a lace 38. The apertures 36 and 37
are in substantially aligned rows extending along the eye
stay on either side of the mid line of the shoe in
conventional fashion. Strap 30 also comprises an aperture
!' 40 located adjacent the end 31 thereof.
- ~, . .
. - ~.
.. ~
: ;
, ~
~%~
:
, Strap 32 comprises a similar aperture 42 located adja-
cent the end 33 thereof. It will be observed that the lace
38 may be threaded in conventional fashion through each of
the apertures 35 and 37 of the eye stay 28 and through the
apertures 40 and 42 in straps 30 and 32 respectively. Each
r~' of the straps 30 and 32 is long enough to extend from the
counter 26 such that the apertures 40 and 42, respectively,
are located substantially aligned with the corresponding
apertures of the eye stay. By locating the apertures 40
and 42 in this manner, the single lace 38 may be conveni-
ently threaded through all of the apertures. Thus, when
the shoe is laced up the two straps 30 and 32 are adjacent
the uppermost portion of the eye stay but independant
therefrom.
It will be observed that the topline 4~ of the
shoe extends about the uppermost and rearmost portion of
-- the upper to define the portion of the shoe which bears
against the ankle of the wearer. The forwardly portion of
- the collar is comprised by the upper edge 46 of the strap
30 and the upper edge 48 of strap 32.
In order to use the shoe the lace is loosened
sufficiently to allow insertion of the runner's foot in the
conventional manner. The lace is then tightened by pulling
each of the various reaches of the lace in the eye stay in
a direction which is upwardly and toward the shin of the
wearer against the apertures 36 and 37 all in conventional
fashion. Sufficient apertures 36 and 37 are provided to
securely fit the eye stay and vamp portion of the upper to
th~ instep of the runner. The final pass of the lace is
,;
.
through the apertures 40 and 42 and by virtue of their loc-
ation adjacent the eye stay, the lace passes through each
of the apertures in the same fashion as through the aper-
;~ tures 36 and 37. The final step before tying the lace how-
ever, is achieved by an upwardly and outwardly pull on the
` lace 38. The direction of this pull is in a direction par-
allel to the length of the strap awa~ from the counter.
That is, the lace is tightened by pulling outwardly and
upwardly with reference to the heel. It is suggested that
lO a 45" angle pull will be the best. The lace may then be
tied in a conventional bow located at the space between the
straps 30 and 32 as though the straps were a conventional
- upper edge of the eye stay. By pulling upwardly and out-
wardly as described on the straps 30 and 32, the straps and
15 lace are used to further increase the stability and bracing
of the counter 26.
In order to fully appreciate the function of the
straps 30 and 32, reference should be had to the lines of
stitching as shown in the figures. The function of the two
20 straps is identical and the stitching on strap 30 will be
discussed in detail.
The strap 30 is first firmly affixed to the co~m-
ter along the lines of stitching identified by the numeral
50. The lines of stitches 50 will be the conventional line
25 of stitching affixing the counter to the upper of the shoe
in the heel portion. These stitches in the shoe of this
invention are also used to attach the strap 30 directly to
the counter and the upper. Stitches 52 affix the strap 30
to the upper. It will be observed that the stitches 52 ex-
,
;~ 6
i tend only to approximately the midportion 54 of the strap
30. The stitches 56 are used to affix the strap to the
upper rear portion of the quarter of the shoe to constitute
the t~pline ~4. It will be observed that the strap 30 is
separated from the e~e stay so as to be independent there-
from in the direction along the instep of the shoe.
A conventional shoe having an eye stay cannot
pull forwardly on the heel of the shoe as the eye stay is
attached firmly to the vamp or top portion of the upper.
Thus, any attempt to pull upwardly and outwardly as des-
cribed above, with a conventional shoe only results in
loosening the fit of the shoe. A force in this direction
exerted on the eye sta~ is anchored by the toe and instep of
the shoe rather than the heel. The purpose of the strap 30
15 which is not affixed to the eye stay in the direction along
the instep of the foot is to ensure that the force placed
on the strap by the upward and outward pull on the lace is
resisted only by the heel portion of the shoe. This pull
on the strap is resisted by the stitches 52, the stitching
50 and counter 26. Thus the stitches 52 and 50 together
with the counter 26 present the anchor against which the
pull on the strap reacts. ~hen tied, the counter, heel and
; collar are all braced by the reaction against the instep of
the foot. This reaction tends to substantially stiffen the
~5 heel portion of the shoe and provides increased stability
to resist over pronation of the foot. In the conventional
shoe regardless of how tightly the lace is pulled no force
is directed-backward towards the heel with all forces rath-
er being directed toward either the ball of the foot or at
`' `` 7
most the arch support of the foot. It will be observed
that the shoe comprises an unusual lower tooline a5 which
separates the forwardly portion of the vamp of the upper
from the strap 30. The lower topline 45 meets the strap in
5 the vicinlty of the midpoint of the strap 54.
Figure 2 illustrates a shoe which is similar to
the shoe shown in Figure 1 with the exception that the
straps 30 and 32 are joined to the eye stay by means of an
elastic gore 60 and 62 respectively. The purpose of the
10 gores 60 and 62 respectively is to ensure that the straps
do not hang freely of the shoe as shown with the embodiment
illustrated in Figure 1. It is conceivable that the straps
which have free ends 31 and 33 in Figure 1 may become sub-
ject to tearing. If so, the embodiment with the gore
15 should substantially reduce any chances of the straps tear-
ing. If there is to be any tearing of the straps it will
occur by tearing across the mid portion of the strap 54.
The gore 60 will limit movement of the straps in the direc-
tion parallel to the instep 60 as to eliminate any chances
20 of tearing but does not otherwise affect the independent
r action of the strap. The strap thus transmits forces to
the counter independantly of the eye stay. The gore is an
expandable elastic material which is well familiar to those
skilled in this art. The gore may be of the same material
" 25 as is conventionally used in the instep area of moccasin
type shoes wherein no form of lacing is embodied. In all
other respects the embodiment shown in Figure 2 is the same
.. ~' ' .
; ' ' .
,. . .
d
~ .
o
as that shown in Figure 1.
In Figure 2 the lacing has been deleted from
the figure and the tonaue 34 has been depressed down
into the shoe so that the inner portion of the eye stay
and the strap 32 is visible.
As the shoe manufactured in accordance with this
invention is independent of the specific construction of
the sole 22, a simplified form of sole has been
illustrated. It will be obvious to those skilled in the
art that the shoe of this invention may comprise any form
of suitable sole comprising a suitable lower traction
surface, various forms of midsole involving wedges or
other cushioning construction together with a suitable
upper sole to which the shoe upper may be attached. It
will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that the counter 26 illustrated in the drawings is a
particular simple form of counter which extends about the
heel of the shoe to provide stiffness in this area.
If desired the counter may extend up to the topline 44 in
the vicinity of the ~chilles tendon. It will also be
~ appreciated by those skilled in the art that the toe
- of the shoe may contain additional reinforcing or
strengthening fabrics. As the exact construction of the
frontal portion of the upper plays no part of this
Z5 invention such optional features have not been included.
In the shoe as illustrated in each of Figures
1 and 2 the eye stay is shown to comprise a plurallty of
apercures extendin~ through the eye stay and the lower
. , ,, ~ ,
~2~
.: g
.
vamp portion of the shoe. Those skilled in this art
will appreciate that the exact configuration of the
eye lets of the eye stay can be altered so long as the
laces perform the function of tightening the shoe over
the wearer's instep. In many cases familiar to those
skilled in this art shoes are now manufactured with a
form of speed lace eye which comprises a loop of plastic
or like material affi~ed to the inner edge of the eye
stay. These so-called speed lace eyes then form the
- 10 function of the apertures shown in the drawings.
While the preferred embodiment illustrated in
the drawings are intended for use with runners of
middle to longer distances~ it will be obvious to those
skilled in the field that the shoe construction may be
used with any type of shoe wherein it is desirable to have
an increased stability of the rear foot. Thus, while the
shoe has been shown with reference to a running shoe
the construction may also be used with shoes intended
for use in sprint running or indeed for use in any other
support where it is desirable to prevent over pronation
of the wearer's foot.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that
many modifications may be made to the shoe without depart-
ing from the scope of the invention as described in the
appended claims.
- ~ ,
