Shoes

Abstract

A shoe upper body of a shoe has a stretchable portion made of a stretchable material. The stretchable portion forms a region of the shoe upper body including a portion corresponding to the center of each of the medial malleolus and the lateral malleolus of a foot of a wearer of the shoe and including a position of an ankle opening. The stretchable portion is configured so as to be deformed from a non-stretched state to a stretched state and elastically recover from the stretched state to the non-stretched state.

1 . A shoe comprising:
 a sole; and   a shoe upper,   the shoe upper including a shoe upper body,   the shoe upper body including:   an ankle opening through which a foot of a wearer of the shoe is inserted into the shoe; and   a stretchable portion made of a stretchable material,   in a side view, the ankle opening being positioned above a portion corresponding to a phantom line connecting an upper portion of a calcaneus of the foot of the wearer and upper portions of a medial malleolus and a lateral malleolus of a tibia and a fibula together,   the stretchable portion forming a region of the shoe upper body including a portion corresponding to a center of each of the medial malleolus and the lateral malleolus of the foot of the wearer and including a position of the ankle opening, and   the stretchable portion being configured so as to be deformed from a non-stretched state to a stretched state and elastically recover from the stretched state to the non-stretched state.   
     
     
         2 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein
 the ankle opening is positioned near an upper side of the portion corresponding to the phantom line in the side view.   
     
     
         3 . The shoe of  claim 2 , wherein
 the stretchable portion continuously extends from a portion corresponding to the medial malleolus of the foot of the wearer through a portion corresponding to a rear side of a heel of the foot to a portion corresponding to the lateral malleolus of the foot.   
     
     
         4 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein
 the shoe upper further includes a reinforcement portion provided on at least one of an outer or inner surface of the stretchable portion.   
     
     
         5 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein
 the shoe upper further includes an anchor portion arranged at a position corresponding to a portion of the foot of the wearer including an ankle portion above the medial malleolus and the lateral malleolus,   the shoe upper body is configured to cover an area from a toe portion of the foot of the wearer to the ankle portion,   the shoe upper body includes:   a first portion corresponding, in position, to the ankle portion of the foot of the wearer;   a second portion corresponding, in position, to a talocrural joint of the foot of the wearer; and   a third portion corresponding, in position, to a transverse tarsal joint of the foot of the wearer,   the anchor portion is configured to align the first portion of the shoe upper body with the ankle portion of the wearer,   the stretchable portion is arranged at a position of the shoe upper body, the position including a region corresponding to the calcaneus and a talus of the foot of the wearer and including a region corresponding to an ankle joint and extending from the first portion through the second portion to the third portion, and   in a state in which the anchor portion aligns the first portion of the shoe upper body with the ankle portion of the wearer, the stretchable portion is deformed from the non-stretched state to the stretched state and elastically recovers from the stretched state to the non-stretched state.   
     
     
         6 . The shoe of  claim 5 , wherein
 the shoe upper further includes a first reinforcement portion provided on at least one of an outer or inner surface of the stretchable portion and made of a stretchable material, and   the first reinforcement portion is arranged at a position of the shoe upper body, the position being located below the first portion and corresponding to a region behind the medial malleolus and the lateral malleolus of the foot of the wearer.   
     
     
         7 . The shoe of  claim 5 , wherein
 the shoe upper further includes a second reinforcement portion provided on at least one of an outer or inner surface of the stretchable portion and made of a stretchable material, and   the second reinforcement portion is arranged at a position on a medial side of the shoe upper body, the position being located below the first portion and corresponding to a portion including an area from the medial malleolus and the calcaneus to a transverse tarsal joint of the foot of the wearer.   
     
     
         8 . The shoe of  claim 5 , wherein
 the shoe upper further includes a third reinforcement portion provided on at least one of an outer or inner surface of the stretchable portion and made of a stretchable material, and   the third reinforcement portion is arranged at a position on a lateral side of the shoe upper body, the position being located below the first portion and corresponding to a portion including an area from the lateral malleolus and the calcaneus to a transverse tarsal joint of the foot of the wearer.   
     
     
         9 . The shoe of  claim 5 , wherein
 the stretchable portion has a substantially tubular shape and includes a portion corresponding to the first portion, the portion corresponding to the first portion having a perimeter shorter than a perimeter of the ankle portion of the wearer, and   the stretchable portion is configured to extend in a circumferential direction from the non-stretched state, in a state in which the portion of the stretchable portion corresponding to the first portion is in tight contact with the ankle portion of the wearer.   
     
     
         10 . The shoe of  claim 9 , wherein
 the shoe upper body includes:   an ankle opening configured as a portion of the first portion, the ankle opening being open upward from the second portion toward the first portion;   an opening continuous with the ankle opening, the opening being like a linear cut formed in part of the shoe upper body and extending downward from the first portion; and   an openable portion configured to close or open the opening.   
     
     
         11 . The shoe of  claim 10 , wherein
 the openable portion is configured as a zipper arranged at a position of the shoe upper body, the position corresponding to a medial side of the foot of the wearer, and   a long dimension of the zipper extends, on the shoe upper body, from a portion corresponding to a medial longitudinal arch of the foot of the wearer through a portion forward of a portion corresponding to the medial malleolus toward the first portion.   
     
     
         12 . The shoe of  claim 10 , wherein
 if a ground contact surface of a portion of the sole corresponding to the calcaneus of the wearer is used as a horizontal reference surface, the stretchable portion has a portion extending from the second portion to the first portion along a direction inclined rearward with respect to a top-to-bottom direction perpendicular to the reference surface.   
     
     
         13 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein
 the stretchable portion is configured so as to be deformed from the non-stretched state to the stretched state as the foot of the wearer shifts from a rearwardly inclined position to an erect position.   
     
     
         14 . The shoe of  claim 5 , wherein
 an inner surface of the stretchable portion is provided with a heel extension portion covering a heel of the foot of the wearer and its surrounding area from sides and behind, and   in a cross-sectional view taken along a foot length direction, the heel extension portion protrudes rearward from a portion corresponding to a rear side of the heel of the foot of the wearer.