US-20260123712-A1 - RAPID-ENTRY FOOTWEAR HAVING A SPLIT BACK

US20260123712A1US 20260123712 A1US20260123712 A1US 20260123712A1US-20260123712-A1

Abstract

A rapid-entry shoe having a heel counter to prevent inward deflection of a rear portion of the upper, but the heel counter having a vertical slit to permit downward deflection of the rear portion of the upper, so as to expand a perimeter of an opening of the shoe to receive a foot and thereby facilitate donning and doffing of the rapid-entry shoe.

Inventors

Craig Cheney
Bradley Johnson

Assignees

FAST IP, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250929

Claims (17)

1 . A rapid-entry shoe comprising: a sole portion; and an upper, the upper comprising a heel counter at a rear portion of the upper; wherein the heel counter comprises a vertical slit configured to permit downward deflection of the rear portion of the upper; wherein the rapid-entry shoe has an uncollapsed configuration; wherein the rapid-entry shoe has a collapsed configuration to facilitate donning and doffing of the rapid-entry shoe; wherein, in the uncollapsed configuration, the vertical slit is substantially closed; wherein, in the collapsed configuration, the vertical slit is open to create an aperture and expand a perimeter of an opening of the upper; wherein the rapid-entry shoe is biased by the heel counter toward the uncollapsed configuration; wherein, in the collapsed configuration, a bowed portion of the heel counter is folded over a lower portion of the heel counter toward the sole portion; wherein in the collapsed configuration opposing ends of the vertical slit are moved toward one another and lateral edges of the vertical slit are moved away from one another; and wherein opposing ends of the vertical slit remain closed in both the uncollapsed configuration and the collapsed configuration.
2 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 1 , wherein the heel counter is not coupled to the upper at a middle or other medial portion of the heel counter.
3 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 1 , wherein the heel counter is coupled to an outer surface of the upper.
4 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 1 comprising a plurality of vertical slits, each of the plurality of vertical slits being parallel with each other.
5 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 1 , wherein the slit comprises a y-shape or a t-shape.
6 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 1 , wherein the aperture exposes or reveals an ornamental feature on the upper.
7 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 1 , further comprising a rear stabilizer coupled to the rear portion, the rear stabilizer configured to prevent inward deflection of the rear portion when the rapid-entry shoe is in the collapsed configuration.
8 . A rapid-entry shoe, comprising: a sole portion; an upper having a rear portion extending around a heel of the rapid-entry shoe; and a heel counter extending around the heel and coupled to the upper, the heel counter having an upper central portion, a mid-central portion, a lower central portion, a medial side, and a lateral side, wherein the upper portion of the heel counter has a first configuration and is configured to be distorted into a second configuration under a load of a foot in response to a foot being inserted into the rapid-entry shoe, at least part of the upper portion is configured to lower relative to the first configuration and the at least part of the upper portion is configured to return to the first configuration after the load of the user's foot is removed, wherein distortion of the heel counter into the second configuration includes the heel counter widening with medial and lateral sides of the heel cup moving outward thereby widening an opening of the rapid-entry shoe, and wherein at least one of the upper central portion, the mid-central portion, and the lower central portion folds under the load in the second configuration and unfolds in the first configuration.
9 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 8 , wherein the upper portion of the heel counter is configured to be lowered and extended backward away from the foot when donning the rapid-entry shoe.
10 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 9 , wherein the heel counter defines an aperture, wherein portions of the heel counter surrounding the aperture are configured to distort when the foot is being inserted into the rapid-entry shoe.
11 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 10 , wherein the upper includes a component positioned on at least one of an inner surface and an outer surface of the heel counter to cover the aperture.
12 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 10 , wherein the aperture includes a slit and an open position of the slit causes a perimeter of the heel counter to expand.
13 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 10 , wherein the aperture includes a slit and the slit is vertical.
14 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 10 , wherein the aperture includes a slit, wherein the slit is a first slit, and wherein the rapid-entry shoe comprises a second slit.
15 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 14 , wherein the second slit is perpendicular to the first slit.
16 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 14 , wherein the second slit is parallel to the first slit.
17 . The rapid-entry shoe of claim 8 , wherein the heel counter includes a material or portion thereof that is weaker or thinner than an adjacent material or portion thereof.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of, claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 17/827,952 filed May 30, 2022 and entitled “RAPID-ENTRY FOOTWEAR HAVING A SPLIT BACK” which is a continuation of, claims priority to and the benefit of PCT Serial No. PCT/US 21/59496 filed Nov. 16, 2021 and entitled “RAPID-ENTRY FOOTWEAR HAVING A SPLIT BACK.” PCT Serial No. PCT/US 21/59496 claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/116,395, filed Nov. 20, 2020 and entitled “RAPID-ENTRY FOOTWEAR HAVING A SPLIT BACK.” All of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. FIELD The present disclosure relates to footwear, and more particularly to rapid-entry footwear having a split back. BACKGROUND Whether due to inconvenience or inability, donning and doffing of shoes, including tying or otherwise securing the same, may be undesirable and/or present difficulties to some individuals. The present disclosure addresses this need. SUMMARY A rapid-entry shoe in accordance with the present disclosure comprises a sole portion, an upper, and a heel counter coupled to the upper. The heel counter can be configured to prevent inward deflection of a rear portion of the upper. In example embodiments, the heel counter comprises a vertical slit configured to permit downward deflection of the rear portion of the upper. In example embodiments, the rapid-entry shoe has an uncollapsed configuration. In example embodiments, in the uncollapsed configuration, the vertical slit is substantially closed. In example embodiments, the rapid-entry shoe has a collapsed configuration to facilitate donning and doffing of the rapid-entry shoe. In example embodiments, in the collapsed configuration, the vertical slit is open to create an aperture and expand a perimeter of the heel counter. In example embodiments, the rapid-entry shoe is biased by the heel counter toward the uncollapsed configuration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings may provide a further understanding of example embodiments of the present disclosure and are incorporated in, and constitute a part of, this specification. In the accompanying drawings, only one rapid-entry shoe (either a left shoe or a right shoe) may be illustrated, however, it should be understood that in such instances, the illustrated shoe may be mirror-imaged so as to be the other shoe. The use of like reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings is for convenience only, and should not be construed as implying that any of the illustrated embodiments are equivalent. The accompanying drawings are for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. FIGS. 1A-1C progressively illustrate an example embodiment of a rapid-entry shoe moving from an uncollapsed configuration to a collapsed configuration; FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an example embodiment of another rapid-entry shoe having a slit in closed and open configurations, respectively; and FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an example embodiment of a rapid-entry shoe having a plurality of slits in closed and open configurations, respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example embodiments of the present disclosure are described in sufficient detail in this detailed description to enable persons having ordinary skill in the relevant art to practice the present disclosure, however, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that mechanical and chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Thus, this detailed description is for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. For example, unless the context dictates otherwise, example embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments described herein. Similarly, references to “example embodiment,” “example embodiments” and the like indicate that the embodiment(s) described may comprise a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily comprise the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such references may not necessarily refer to the same embodiment(s). Any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to plural includes singular embodiments. Any reference to coupled, connected, attached or the like may be temporary or permanent, removeable or not, non-integral or integral, partial or full, and may be facilitated by one or more of adhesives, stitches, hook and loop fasteners, buttons, clips, grommets, zippers and other means known in the art or hereinafter developed. As used herein, the transitional term “comprising”, which is synonymous with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by,” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. The transitional phrase “consisting of” excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim. The transitional phrase “consis