Importance

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Abstract

Footwear includes a sole and an upper comprising an unlaced shaft for covering a portion of the lower leg of the wearer. The shaft includes a forward and rearward portions secured together at substantially vertically extending seams at lateral sides of the upper. An expansion joint is provided in the shaft and is adapted to expand a local circumference of the shaft at the expansion joint when the wearer's foot passes through the shaft at the expansion joint to ease putting the footwear onto the wearer's foot and removing the footwear from the wearer's foot. The illustrated expansion joint includes a substantially vertical slit located along the seam between the forward and rearward portions and an elastic material secured to an inner side of the shaft and covering the slit for preventing passage of undesirable solid materials through the slit.

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First Claim