Heat moldable sport shoes

Abstract

A sport shoe comprises a sole and an upper portion attached to the sole and defining an inner space with the sole, and having an entrance opening for receiving a user's foot therethrough, into the inner space, and an attachment system to secure the user's foot therein, the sport shoe having, in longitudinal succession, a heel cage, a middle section, and a toe box, the middle section having at least four generally transversally-oriented strips in the upper portion, including tightening strips receiving the attachment system externally and having a heat-moldable layer internally, and flexibility strips, the tightening strips and flexibility strips being in longitudinally alternating succession, at least a section of the flexibility strips being heat moldable layer free.

1 . A sport shoe comprising:
 a sole;   an upper portion having a heat moldable layer, a bottom outer edge on an outer side of the shoe and a bottom arch edge on an arch side of the shoe, opposed to the bottom outer edge, and defining an entrance aperture, the bottom outer and arch edges being attached to the sole;   at least two shoe tighteners mounted to the upper portion, frontwardly of the entrance aperture, the shoe tighteners defining tightening segments extending from the bottom outer edge to the bottom arch edge, the heat moldable layer extending on the outer side and the arch side of the tightening segments, at least two of the shoe tighteners being spaced apart and defining therebetween a flexibility segment extending from the bottom outer edge to the bottom arch edge, at least a section of the flexibility segment being heat moldable layer free.   
   
   
       2 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least a section of the tightening segments overlapped externally by one of the shoe tighteners comprises a section of the heat moldable layer. 
   
   
       3 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the heat moldable free section has a closed shape figure surrounded by the heat moldable layer. 
   
   
       4 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein heat moldable layer extends upwardly from the bottom arch edge and from the bottom outer edge in the tightening segments. 
   
   
       5 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each of the tightening segments have an area and more than 50% of the tightening segment area comprises a section of the heat moldable layer. 
   
   
       6 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the upper portion has a fastening section, extending between the arch side and the outer side, and the fastening section comprises a heat moldable layer free section extending along a longitudinal axis of the sport shoe. 
   
   
       7 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the upper portion has a fastening section, extending between the arch and the outer sides, the flexibility segment comprises a heat moldable layer free section located having a first portion extending in the outer side and a second portion extending in the fastening section. 
   
   
       8 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the heat moldable layer free section is a tetragon narrower than the shoe tighteners. 
   
   
       9 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the heat moldable layer free section has an area ranging between 300 and 15000 square millimeters. 
   
   
       10 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising at least one of the heat moldable layer free sections located on the arch side and at least one heat moldable layer free sections located on the outer side. 
   
   
       11 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising at least one heat moldable layer free section between each of the shoe tighteners. 
   
   
       12 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the shoe tighteners have two opposed edges spaced-apart from the bottom outer edge and the bottom arch edge. 
   
   
       13 . A cycling shoe comprising:
 an upper portion defining an inner space sized and shaped to receive a foot of a rider therein, the upper portion having a toe box, a heel cage and a middle section extending between the toe box and the heel cage, the middle section having an inner layer, an outer layer, and a discontinuous heat moldable layer extending between the inner and the outer layers, the cycling shoe having a longitudinal axis extending from the heel cage to the toe box; and   tightening straps mounted to the upper portion, in the middle section, and defining tightening strips extending from an arch end of the upper portion to an outer end of the upper portion, the heat moldable layer extending upwardly from the arch end and from the outer end in the tightening strips, the tightening straps being spaced apart from one another along the longitudinal axis and defining tightening discontinuity strips in between the tightening strips, the tightening discontinuity strips extending from the arch end of the upper portion to the outer end of the upper portion, the heat moldable layer being discontinuous over a flexibility area located in at least one of the tightening discontinuity strips.   
   
   
       14 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein at least a section of the tightening strips overlapped externally by one of the tightening straps comprises a section of the heat moldable layer. 
   
   
       15 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the flexibility area has a closed shape figure surrounded by the heat moldable layer. 
   
   
       16 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein each of the tightening strips have an area and more than 50% of the tightening strip area comprises a section of the heat moldable layer. 
   
   
       17 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the upper portion has a fastening section, extending between an arch side and an outer side, and the fastening section comprises a flexibility area extending along the longitudinal axis, the flexibility area being heat moldable layer free. 
   
   
       18 . A cycling shoe as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the upper portion has an arch side, extending upwardly from the arch end, an outer side, extending upwardly from the outer end and opposed to the arch side, and a fastening section, extending between the arch and the outer sides, at least one flexibility area having a first portion extending in the outer side and a second portion extending in the fastening section. 
   
   
       19 . A cycling shoe as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the flexibility area has an area ranging between 300 and 1500 square millimeters. 
   
   
       20 . A cycling shoe as claimed in  claim 13 , comprising at least one flexibility area between each of the tightening straps. 
   
   
       21 . A method for manufacturing a cycling shoe, comprising:
 assembling an inner layer, an outer layer, and a discontinuous heat moldable layer extending between the inner and the outer layers to define a middle section of a cycling shoe upper portion having an arch side and an opposed outer side;   mounting at least two shoe tighteners to the upper portion of the cycling shoe in the middle section, spaced-apart from one another for defining tightening strips and tightening discontinuity strips in between the tightening strips, the tightening strips and the tightening discontinuity strips extending from a lower arch edge of the upper portion to a lower outer edge of the upper portion; and   aligning at least one discontinuity of the heat moldable layer in at least one of the tightening discontinuity strips to provide flexibility to the middle section;   aligning a section of the heat moldable layer with the arch side of the tightening strips; and   aligning a section of the heat moldable layer with the outer side of the tightening strips.   
   
   
       22 . A method as claimed in  claim 21 , comprising aligning at least one heat moldable layer discontinuity in the arch side. 
   
   
       23 . A method as claimed in  claim 21 , comprising aligning at least one heat moldable layer discontinuity between each of the shoe tighteners. 
   
   
       24 . A sport shoe comprising a sole and an upper portion attached to the sole and defining an inner space with the sole, and having an entrance opening for receiving a user's foot therethrough, into the inner space, and an attachment system to secure the user's foot therein, the sport shoe having, in longitudinal succession, a heel cage, a middle section, and a toe box, the middle section having at least four generally transversally-oriented strips in the upper portion, including tightening strips receiving the attachment system externally and having a heat-moldable layer internally, and flexibility strips, the tightening strips and flexibility strips being in longitudinally alternating succession, at least a section of the flexibility strips being heat moldable layer free. 
   
   
       25 . A cycling shoe as claimed in  claim 24 , comprising at least one heat moldable layer free section located between the toe box and a first one of the tightening strips in the longitudinal succession. 
   
   
       26 . A sport shoe comprising a sole and an upper portion attached to the sole and defining an inner space with the sole, and having an entrance opening for receiving a user's foot therethrough, into the inner space, and, in longitudinal succession, a heel cage, a middle section, and a toe box, the middle section having an arch side extending upwardly from a lower arch edge, an opposed outer side extending upwardly from a lower outer edge, and a fastening section extending between the arch side and the outer side, the middle section including internally a heat-moldable layer extending upwardly from the lower arch edge and from the lower outer edge towards the fastening section, the middle section having at least four generally transversally-oriented strips including tightening strips receiving an attachment system externally to secure the user's foot therein and flexibility strips, the tightening strips and flexibility strips being in longitudinally alternating succession, at least a longitudinally extending area of the fastening section extending along the four transversally-oriented strips being heat moldable layer free. 
   
   
       27 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 26 , wherein the attachment system overlaps externally the heat moldable free longitudinally extending area of the fastening section. 
   
   
       28 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 26 , wherein at least a section of each of the flexible strips located on one of the arch side and the outer side being heat moldable layer free. 
   
   
       29 . A sport shoe comprising a sole and an upper portion attached to the sole and defining an inner space with the sole, and having an entrance opening for receiving a user's foot therethrough, into the inner space, and, in longitudinal succession, a heel cage, a middle section, and a toe box, the middle section having an arch side extending upwardly from a lower arch edge and an opposed outer side extending upwardly from a lower outer edge, the middle section including a first flap extending upwardly from one of the lower arch edge and the lower outer edge towards the opposite one of the lower arch edge and the lower outer edge and secured to the opposite one through a resilient band, the resilient band extending from a front end of the middle section, proximate to the toe box, to approximately an opposite end of the first flap, the resilient band preventing formation of improper folds of the first flap when the user's foot is inserted in the inner space. 
   
   
       30 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein the resilient band is made of a relatively thin elastic material. 
   
   
       31 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 30 , wherein the relatively thin elastic material comprises Lycra®. 
   
   
       32 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein the first flap is an outer flap extending from the lower outer edge. 
   
   
       33 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 29 , comprising a second flap extending upwardly from the opposite one of the lower edges, overlapping a section of the first flap, and secured to the first flap. 
   
   
       34 . A sport shoe as claimed in  claim 33 , comprising a fastening section extending between the arch side and the outer side and wherein the second flap is secured to the first flap in the fastening section via shoe tighteners.