A display apparatus for lighted footwear, having a spring switch, a battery-powered integrated circuit sealingly encapsulated, a plurality of illuminators, and a wiring harness connecting the illuminators to points of the integrated circuit, the integrated circuit being configured for activating the illuminators in a sequential pattern that can include repeated activation cycles when the spring switch is subjected to an effective acceleration. The display apparatus preferably includes the battery being sealingly encapsulated together with the spring switch and the integrated circuit; an ON/OFF switch can be included for selectively producing a deep sleep state of the integrated circuit that is unresponsive to the spring switch. Also disclosed is footwear incorporating the display apparatus, wherein the encapsulated enclosure is located within a sole heel portion of the shoe, and the illuminators are distributed on the footwear for external view. A switch circuit structured and arranged for use in a lighted footwear display apparatus, the switch circuit comprising: an IC chip, a manual switch, and a pull-up resistor; wherein the IC chip has an IO port, a power source positive electrode and a ground terminal, one end of the pull-up resistor is connected to the power source positive electrode of the IC chip, another end of the pull-up resistor is connected to the IO port of the IC chip and one end of the manual switch, and another end of the manual switch is connected to the ground end terminal of the IC chip. The switch circuit can work normally when the manual switch is located in the water.

A shoe includes a shoe body, an elongated tightening member, at least one hook and an intermediate attaching member. The shoe body includes a sole and an upper mounted on the sole. The elongated tightening member has a first end, a second end and an intermediate part between the first end and the second end. The first end is attached to a first attaching position located on a front side of the upper. The second end is detachably attached to a second attaching position located rearward of the first end in the longitudinal direction of the upper. The hook is located rearward of the first attaching position and forward of the second attaching position, and enables the tightening member to be wound and hooked to the hook. The intermediate attaching member is configured to enable the intermediate part to be attached to the upper.

An outsole for an athletic shoe that includes a heel section and a forefoot section. The heel and forefoot sections are on the outer surface of the outsole. The forefoot section includes a tread pattern that provides first and second ground friction forces. The first ground friction force promotes rotation in a first rotational direction about a rotation point of the forefoot section. The second ground friction force restricts rotation in a second rotational direction about the rotation point. The second rotational direction is opposite of the first rotational direction and the second ground friction force is greater than the first ground friction force.

A tension-retaining system for retaining tension in a tensioning cord of a wearable article may include a retainer including an anchor and a wedge. The anchor may define a notch, and the wedge may have a tensioning cord coupling feature. The wedge may have an engagement portion that fits within the notch with the engagement portion disposed further in the notch than the tensioning cord coupling feature.

An article of footwear includes an upper defining a throat configured to receive a foot. The article of footwear also includes a sole structure coupled to the upper. The article of footwear further includes a panel having a first side coupled to the upper for movement between an open position and a closed position. The panel exposes a portion of the throat in the open position and covers the portion of the throat in the closed position. The article of footwear also includes a strap having a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The first end and the second end are disposed on a first side of the upper with a body portion of the strap disposed between the first end and the second end surrounding the upper.

This invention describes a functional change in shoe vamp design and use from a traditional lace, tongue vamp to a conjoined two-piece lateral and medial vamp and is comprised of a sole, upper textile materials fitted around the entire length, width of the; an expanded ankle collar, a vamp medial piece and vamp lateral piece wherein the vamp medial piece is opened and overlaps the vamp lateral pierce to rearwardly close the shoe. The separate lateral and medial vamp pieces are fitted and stitched together around the sole first at the sole rear and then intersecting at a pivoting stitch point on the front of the vamp. A pivoting stitch point on the front of the vamp is configured to allow the medial vamp piece to open upward and close rearward along a line linearly drawn from the stitch point thru the externally mounted lateral clip A medial vamp piece, when open expands both the shoe opening to accept a variety of devices, plates, specific volume, and the ankle collar allowing for a non-obstructed, direct step pathway into the shoe providing optimal structural support without need of additional supporting straps, tongues, or cross-braces. The linear alignment of a sewn-in externally mounted medial piece clip fastener and ladder latch and an externally mounted sewn-in lateral piece clip accept the ladder latch in several provided ladder holes serving as a tensioner in pulling the medial vamp piece over the lateral vamp piece rearwardly in shoe closure. The conjoined medial piece clip fastener and lateral piece clip mechanically fasten together in a rearward facing direction toward the sole to minimize the shoe opening and close the ankle collar, utilizing the ladder latch holes in fixed positions for shoe structural stability during dynamic movements.

An article of footwear comprises a sole, and an upper that has a medial side portion extending from the medial side of the sole with a first distal end remote from the medial side. The upper has a lateral side portion extending from the lateral side of the sole with a second distal end remote from the lateral side. The upper may include a support member extending at least partially across the foot-receiving surface with a first end remote from the medial side. The medial and lateral side portions wrap at least partially around a foot with the first distal end securable proximal to the lateral side, and the second distal end separately securable proximal to the medial side. An article of footwear has cables with proximal ends fixed to one side of the upper and that extend through looped cables on an opposite side of the upper.

A heel protector (100) includes a leg engaging section (101) and a foot engaging section (102) intersecting at a heel receiver (103). The leg engaging section (101) and the foot engaging section (102) define a leg insertion aperture (104). The leg engaging section (101) defines at least one aperture (203) disposed in an ankle region (205) to permit a connection tube (1002) extending from an inflatable bladder (901) of a compression device (800) to pass therethrough. The heel protector (100) and compression device (800) work together as a rehabilitation system (1300).

A reel based closure device includes a housing, a tension member, a spool that is rotatably positioned within the housing, and a tightening component that is positioned axially above the spool and that is operably coupled therewith so that an operation of the tightening component causes the spool to rotate within the housing to wind the tension member about the spool. The reel based closure device also includes a coupling component that is separate from the tension member and that frictionally engages with a distal end of the tension member so that the coupling component is removably fixed to the tension member. The spool component includes a coupling feature within which the coupling component is positioned to attach the tension member to the spool.

A pair of shoes may be asymmetric between one another in various respects. For example, the left shoe may include a left-shoe wrapping panel non-releasably coupled to a left-shoe medial side and extending towards a left-shoe lateral side while the right shoe may include a wrapping panel non-releasably coupled to a right-shoe lateral side and extending towards a right-shoe medial side. The left-shoe wrapping panel may releasably couple to the left-shoe lateral side and the right-shoe wrapping panel may releasably couple to the right-shoe medial side. The left shoe and the right shoe may respectively include a left-shoe heel strap and a right-shoe heel strap. The left-shoe heel strap and a right-shoe heel strap each respectively wrap around, at least in part, a heel region of the left shoe and the right shoe.