US 12,290,148 B2
Footwear with double lacing system
Jean-Luc Diard, Santa Barbara (FR); Vincent Bouillard, Ventura (FR); Christophe Aubonnet, Tresserve (FR); and Thibaut Poupard, Annecy (FR)
Assigned to DECKERS OUTDOOR CORPORATION, Goleta, CA (US)
Filed by DECKERS OUTDOOR CORPORATION, Goleta, CA (US)
Filed on Aug. 24, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/410,865.
Prior Publication US 2023/0061765 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. A43C 1/00 (2006.01); A43B 23/02 (2006.01); A43C 11/00 (2006.01)
CPC A43C 1/00 (2013.01) [A43B 23/0245 (2013.01); A43C 11/004 (2013.01); A43B 23/0235 (2013.01); A43B 23/026 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An article of footwear comprising:
a sole;
an upper attached to said sole, said upper including a lateral side and a medial side, said lateral side and said medial side of said upper each including a plurality of lace connecting tabs, wherein each of said lace connecting tabs include at least one first lace opening, said lace connecting tabs being spaced from each other and defining open-ended spaces between said lace connecting tabs;
a lateral lace support and a medial lace support attached to said sole and respectively positioned adjacent to an inner surface of said lateral side and said medial side of said upper, said lateral lace support and said medial lace support being positioned in said open-ended spaces of said lateral side and said medial side of said upper, said lateral lace support having a first length and said medial support having a second length, wherein said second length is greater than said first length, and
said lateral and medial lace supports each including two support connecting tabs that are spaced apart, and said two support connecting tabs each have at least one second lace opening, a top edge of each of said two support connecting tabs being substantially straight and a bottom edge of said lateral lace support and said medial lace support being a continuous, substantially straight edge, wherein said top edges of said two supporting connecting tabs and said bottom edges of said lateral lace support and said medial lace support are not parallel to each other and wherein a width of a bottommost end of said lateral lace support and said medial lace support is greater than a width of any other portion of said lateral lace support and said medial lace support, said lateral lace support and said medial lace support each including a single, opening between said top edges and said bottom edges; and
a lace threaded through said at least one first lace opening of said lateral side and said medial side of said upper and through said at least one second lace opening of said lateral lace support and said medial lace support, wherein after said lace is secured to said upper and said lateral and medial lace supports, a first longitudinal axis extending between said lateral lace support and said medial lace support and through all points where said lace crosses over itself, is offset from a second longitudinal axis extending between a medial side and a lateral side of said sole and along a center of gravity of a user's foot.