An article of footwear includes an upper defining a foot-receiving cavity with a heel region, and a heel support device extending around the rear of a heel region from a lateral side to a medial side. The heel support device may include a plurality of slats and a base, the plurality of slats providing a progressive gradient of lengths and/or widths, and/or one or more pegs extending from the device for attachment to a footwear upper, and/or an elongated tip that may be disposed in a cavity of an extension of a heel collar of the upper.

An article of footwear has an upper and a heel system. The heel system may include a heel cage secured to a heel portion of the upper, and a heel counter. The heel counter may extend along the rear of the heel portion to an upper extent above the upper bar.

A method of manufacturing a shoe upper according to the present invention includes: three-dimensionally forming an upper member; pre-heating the upper member such that a portion-to-be-reinforced of the three-dimensionally formed upper member is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a melting point of thermoplastic resin powder; adhering the thermoplastic resin powder to the upper member so as to at least cover the portion-to-be-reinforced of the pre-heated upper member; further heating the upper member to which the thermoplastic resin powder is adhered and melting the thermoplastic resin powder adhered to the upper member; and hardening the melted thermoplastic resin powder to firmly adhere the reinforcing portion to the upper member.

A shoe includes a sole provided with a ground contact surface, an upper provided with an opening into which a foot of a wearer is inserted, the upper being attached to the sole and covering the foot of the wearer, and a correction member including an inner arm fixed to a medial foot side of the opening of the upper, an outer arm fixed to a lateral foot side of the opening of the upper, and a connection portion connecting the inner arm and the outer arm, the correction member being attached to the upper away from the sole in such a manner that the connection portion is disposed on a rear side of the opening.

A shoe, in particular an athletic shoe, comprising a heel portion that includes an adaptive heel element arranged in the heel portion of the shoe, wherein the adaptive heel element comprises a stretch material. A heel counter is arranged in the heel portion, wherein the heel counter comprises a lateral portion and a medial portion for supporting the heel of a wearer's foot and a posterior gap therebetween wherein the posterior gap forms an essentially vertical split portion, wherein the split portion is adapted such that the adaptive heel element can move and deform within the split portion, and wherein the adaptive heel element within the split portion is adapted to contour to the anatomical shape of the heel of the wearer.

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 includes a lever arm. The lever arm may be deformable and biased towards the raised state. The lever arm may be articulated with a biasing force urging the lever arm to the raised state. The lever arm may have a variety of cross sections as well. The lever arm extends from a base, which may a sole portion of the footwear article. The lever arm and the base may be monolithic, permanently joined, removably joined, or otherwise connected.

A footwear article includes a collar elevator that is conducive to hands-free donning to secure the wearer’s foot during wear. A footwear article capable of hands-free donning comprises a sole; an upper having a heel region; and a collar elevator coupled with the upper in the heel region. The footwear also includes a base affixed to the sole. The collar elevator is attached to the base and the base is an outsole, a midsole, an insole, or a strobel.

A lace guide for an article of footwear comprises a base, a body protruding from the base, and an enlarged head at a distal end of the body. The body, the base, and the enlarged head define an external channel that extends at least partially around the body to receive and retain a lace. The base may be a heel counter, and the lace guide and the heel counter may be an integral, one-piece component. Alternatively, the base of the lace guide may be a wing extending along a side of the upper, or may be secured to a footwear upper.

The present disclosure provides a joint protection device, comprising a joint protection body that matches a shape of a joint. The joint protection body is a hollow housing having an opened bottom and comprises a front supporting portion and side supporting portions providing supports for the joint. A notch is provided in a portion of the joint protection body, which is close to a joint movement area. The notch divides the joint protection body into a plurality of joint pieces, adjacent joint pieces are connected by two local junctions respectively provided at appropriate positions on two sides of the joint protection body and can rotate with the local junctions as rotation fulcrums. Meanwhile, the present disclosure further provides other joint protection devices similar to the above, where an upper end of a joint protection body is provided with a clearance structure to ensure forward and backward movement of the joint.

A combination, comprising: a shoe having an upper and a sole, wherein the shoe is configured to cover an instep of a foot of a wearer; and a heel integration system including an insert having a front end and a back end, the insert configured to be disposed in the shoe, and configured to receive an ankle-foot orthoses brace while the shoe is worn, the insert having a heel portion and an ankle portion, the ankle portion having a curved wall with at least one bulge formed therein,
wherein the bulge is created from an indentation formed on an interior surface of the ankle portion which forms a protrusion on an exterior surface of the ankle portion.