Footwear article with collar elevator

Abstract

A footwear article includes a collar elevator that returns an ankle collar from a lowered state that is conducive to donning up to a raised state that secures the wearer's foot during wear. The collar elevator may be arranged at various positions among the footwear article, such as above or below a strobel. The collar elevator may be coupled to the footwear article using various connectors. The footwear article may have other features, such as an ankle collar, that are configured in a manner to work together with the collar elevator.

Claimed is: 
     
         1 . A footwear article comprising:
 a sole;   an upper coupled to the sole and comprising an ankle collar that is movable between a lowered state positioned closer to the sole and a raised state positioned farther from the sole, wherein the upper comprises a material layer that at least partially overlaps with the sole and that includes an outward facing surface facing towards the sole and an inward facing surface facing away from the sole and towards a foot-receiving cavity, and wherein the material layer comprises an aperture extending through the material layer from the outward facing surface to the inward facing surface; and   a collar elevator operable to return the ankle collar from the lowered state to the raised state, the collar elevator having a base positioned between the outward facing surface and the sole and a lever arm connected to the base at a junction and extending from the junction through the aperture.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear article of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the material layer that at least partially overlaps with the sole is a portion of an outer material layer of the upper;   wherein the upper further comprises an inner material layer that is closer to the foot-receiving cavity than the outer material layer;   and wherein the lever arm is positioned between the outer material layer and the inner material layer after the lever arm extends from the junction and through the aperture.   
     
     
         3 . The footwear article of  claim 2 , wherein the inner material layer is an inner liner. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear article of  claim 2 , wherein the inner material layer and the outer material layer are opposing sides of a lever-arm tubular encasement that houses the lever arm. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear article of  claim 4 , wherein the inner material layer and the outer material layer are knit layers, and wherein the lever-arm tubular encasement is integrally knit. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the material layer comprises one or more apertures, including the aperture; wherein each aperture of the one or more apertures includes a respective lever arm extending therethrough; and wherein each aperture is on either a medial side of the upper or a lateral side of the upper. 
     
     
         7 . The footwear article of  claim 6 , wherein at least a portion of each aperture is below a biteline, which includes an interface between a topline edge of the sole and the upper. 
     
     
         8 . The footwear article of  claim 6 , wherein at least a portion of each aperture is above a biteline, which includes an interface between a topline edge of the sole and the upper. 
     
     
         9 . The footwear article of  claim 6 , wherein the respective lever arm extends upwards from the base, through the aperture, and towards a rear of an ankle region of the upper. 
     
     
         10 . The footwear article of  claim 9 , wherein the respective lever arm terminates at a terminal end on a same side of the upper as the aperture through which the respective lever arm extends. 
     
     
         11 . The footwear article of  claim 6 , wherein the material layer includes a medial-side aperture and a medial-side lever arm extending from the base, through the medial-side aperture, and towards a rear of an ankle region of the upper; and wherein the material layer includes a lateral-side aperture and a lateral-side lever arm extending from the base, through the lateral-side aperture, and towards the rear of the ankle region of the upper. 
     
     
         12 . The footwear article of  claim 11 , wherein the medial-side lever arm and the lateral-side lever arm overlap with one another in the rear of the ankle region. 
     
     
         13 . The footwear article of  claim 11 , wherein the rear of the ankle region of the upper includes a first aperture and the collar elevator includes a second aperture; and wherein the footwear article further comprises a connector extending through the first aperture and the second aperture. 
     
     
         14 . The footwear article of  claim 13 , wherein the connector includes a segment of yarn forming a stitch, and wherein the segment is positioned in the first aperture and the second aperture. 
     
     
         15 . The footwear article of  claim 13 , wherein the connector is a two-part connector having one or more posts that extend through the first aperture and the second aperture. 
     
     
         16 . The footwear article of  claim 1  further comprising, a base-docking recess included in a top surface of the sole facing towards the base of the collar elevator, wherein the base is positioned in the base-docking recess; and wherein the sole includes a tab that at least partially covers the top surface of the base positioned in the base-docking recess. 
     
     
         17 . The footwear article of  claim 16 , wherein the tab includes a tab width in the medial-to-lateral direction and the recess includes a recess width in the medial-to-lateral direction; wherein the tab width is less than the recess width, such that a medial edge and lateral edge of the tab are spaced inward of a medial edge and lateral edge of the recess; and wherein the at least one lever arm is positioned between the medial edge of the tab and the medial edge of the recess or between the lateral edge of the tab and the lateral edge of the recess. 
     
     
         18 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the ankle collar includes a topline edge having an inferior-most portion along a medial side or a lateral side; wherein the inferior-most portion is spaced a first distance apart from a horizontal reference plane; wherein the lever arm is on a same side as the inferior most portion and has a deflection point positioned between a superior segment of the lever arm and an inferior segment of the lever arm; and wherein the deflection point is spaced a second distance apart from the horizontal reference plane and the second distance is larger than the first distance. 
     
     
         19 . The footwear article of  claim 18 , wherein the collar elevator includes a medial-side lever arm without a corresponding lever arm on a lateral side. 
     
     
         20 . The footwear article of  claim 18 , wherein the collar elevator includes a lateral-side lever arm without a corresponding lever arm on a medial side.