Article of footwear having a closure system

Abstract

An article of footwear including an upper that is attached to a sole, a longitudinal axis that extends between a rear end and a front end of the article of footwear, a midfoot region that is disposed between a forefoot region and a heel region, a heel component disposed adjacent the rear end within the heel region, a fastening system including a fastening mechanism that is operably engaged with a cord, and a panel. The heel component has a midsection that includes padding. The panel includes an edge that is curved, and the cord is laced through a plurality of eyelets arranged on the panel. The cord extends on a lateral side of the upper so that a first segment extends diagonally downward from a top section toward the sole before extending diagonally upwardly toward the top section, and the first segment crosses over a second segment of the cord.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 an upper that is attached to a sole;   a longitudinal axis that extends between a rear end and a front end of the article of footwear;   a midfoot region that is disposed between a forefoot region and a heel region;   a heel component disposed adjacent the rear end within the heel region, the heel component having a midsection that includes padding;   a fastening system including a fastening mechanism that is operably engaged with a cord; and   a panel,   wherein the panel includes an edge, wherein the edge is curved,   wherein the cord is laced through a plurality of eyelets arranged on the panel,   wherein the cord extends on a lateral side of the upper so that a first segment extends diagonally downward from a top section toward the sole before extending diagonally upwardly toward the top section, and   wherein the first segment crosses over a second segment of the cord.   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening mechanism is configured to be twisted or rotated by a user. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the cord extends in a V-shaped pattern on the lateral side of the upper and a lowermost point of the V-shaped pattern of the cord is positioned on the upper in the midfoot region. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening mechanism is configured to be iteratively actuated to reach successive tightness levels. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening mechanism is arranged on the lateral side of the upper. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening mechanism is configured to be pushed inwardly to release the fastening mechanism from a tightened configuration. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the panel is superimposed on the lateral side and a medial side of the upper within the forefoot region and the midfoot region. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the cord extends in a V-shaped pattern. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein upper is formed of a hydrophobic material. 
     
     
         10 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 an upper that is attached to a sole;   a longitudinal axis that extends between a rear end and a front end of the article of footwear;   a midfoot region that is disposed between a forefoot region and a heel region;   a heel component disposed adjacent the rear end within the heel region, the heel component having a midsection that includes padding;   a fastening system including a closure mechanism that is operably engaged with a cord; and   a panel,   wherein a distance is defined between the midsection of the heel component and the upper, wherein the distance is configured to be adjusted by a force applied by a user between a first configuration and a second configuration,   wherein, in the first configuration, the midsection of the heel component is configured to be translated rearward relative to the longitudinal axis, and wherein, in the second configuration, the midsection of the heel component is configured to be translated forward relative to the longitudinal axis,   wherein the panel includes a first edge, wherein the first edge is curved, and   wherein the cord is routed through the panel.   
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the midsection of the heel component curves concavely between a lateral side and a medial side relative to a toe end. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the cord defines a winding region that extends across the upper. 
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the panel includes a second edge that is opposite the first edge, wherein the second edge includes convex curvatures therealong. 
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the upper is formed of a hydrophobic material. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the heel component is configured to retain its shape in a rest configuration. 
     
     
         16 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 an upper that is attached to a sole and includes a panel defined between a pair of edges;   a longitudinal axis that extends between a heel end and a toe end of the article of footwear;   a midfoot region that is disposed between a forefoot region and a heel region;   a fastening system arranged on the upper and including a cord; and   a heel component disposed adjacent the heel end of the upper within the heel region and extending from the heel end of the upper in a rearward direction relative to the longitudinal axis,   wherein the heel component includes a midsection that is relatively thicker than surrounding portions of the heel component, and wherein the midsection curves concavely between a lateral side and a medial side of the heel component relative to the toe end of the article of footwear, and   wherein the pair of edges of the panel are curved.   
     
     
         17 . The article of footwear of  claim 16 , wherein the cord extends in a V-shaped pattern on a lateral side of the upper, such that the cord extends diagonally downwardly from a top section toward the sole before extending diagonally upwardly toward the top section. 
     
     
         18 . The article of footwear of  claim 16 , wherein a plurality of retention members are arranged on the upper for retaining the cord. 
     
     
         19 . The article of footwear of  claim 16 , wherein the fastening system includes a closure mechanism and a release mechanism. 
     
     
         20 . The article of footwear of  claim 19 , wherein the closure mechanism is configured to be twisted by a user and wherein the release mechanism is configured to be pressed by a user.