Footwear article with asymmetric ankle collar

Abstract

A footwear article includes an asymmetric ankle collar that may expand in a manner that facilitates donning and doffing the footwear article, such as when the wearer slides his or her heel out of the footwear article. The footwear article may also include a collar elevator.

1 . A footwear article, comprising:
 a sole;   an upper coupled to the sole, the upper having a heel region, an ankle region and a forefoot region, the upper defining a foot-receiving cavity and a foot-insertion opening into the foot-receiving cavity with a topline edge defining a perimeter around the foot-insertion opening;   a collar support disposed at least partially in the heel region;   wherein the upper is tongue-less and comprises a vamp extending from the forefoot region to the topline edge;   wherein the collar support is operable to move at least partially rearward from a first position to a second position during insertion of a foot through the foot-insertion opening and to return to the first position such that the foot-insertion opening temporarily expands at the topline edge during insertion of the foot in the second position;   wherein the upper has a region of greater elasticity forward of a lowest extent of the topline edge than rearward of the lowest extent, such that the temporary expansion of the foot-insertion opening at the topline edge in the second position is more forward of the lowest extent than rearward of the lowest extent.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the collar support is configured to store potential energy as the collar support moves from the first position to the second position upon an applied force during insertion of the foot, and wherein the collar support is configured to be returned to the first position upon removal of the applied force via the stored potential energy. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein, upon the applied force during insertion of the foot, at least a portion of the heel region of the upper moves downwardly towards the sole. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the foot-insertion opening has a medial side and a lateral side, and wherein the region of greater elasticity is on the medial side. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the foot-insertion opening has a medial side and a lateral side, and wherein the region of greater elasticity is on the lateral side. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear article of  claim 5 , further comprising a second region of greater elasticity on the medial side forward of a lowest extent of the topline edge than rearward of the lowest extent. 
     
     
         7 . The footwear article of  claim 6 , wherein the first region of greater elasticity has a different elasticity than the second region of greater elasticity. 
     
     
         8 . The footwear article of  claim 6 , wherein the first region of greater elasticity has a different shape than the second region of greater elasticity. 
     
     
         9 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the collar support is coupled with the upper in the heel region between an exterior layer of the upper and an inner lining of the upper. 
     
     
         10 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the upper comprises a knit textile portion and the region of greater elasticity is a portion of the knit textile. 
     
     
         11 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , further comprising a base, and wherein the collar support is connected with the base. 
     
     
         12 . The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the collar support is disposed at least partially around a rear of the foot-receiving opening in the heel region.