Footwear Incorporating Looped Tensile Strand Elements

摘要

A tensile strand element for an article of footwear is disclosed. The tensile strand element includes one or more tensile strands secured at their endpoints between the sole and upper of an article of footwear, creating one or more looped portions. The unsecured looped portions may extend into the fastening region of the footwear and engage with a fastening system to tighten the footwear upper snugly against a wearer's foot to provide added support.

主权项

1. An article of footwear comprising:
an upper having a fastening region that includes a fastening system; a cover layer over the upper that forms a portion of an exterior surface of the footwear, the upper and the cover layer forming an unattached region where the upper and the cover layer are unsecured to each other, the cover layer defining an aperture in the unattached region; a sole attached to the upper and spaced from the fastening region; and a tensile strand element having a tensile strand with a first attachment point, a second attachment point, and an unsecured portion located between the first attachment point and the second attachment point, the first attachment point and the second attachment point being adjacent to the sole, a first section of the unsecured portion being located between the upper and the cover layer in the unattached region, and a second section of the unsecured portion including a looped portion that extends through the aperture in the cover layer and is located adjacent to the exterior surface of the footwear, the looped portion being configured to receive an element of the fastening system.