Patent ID: 7281342

Claim:
An article of footwear comprising: an upper including at least a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions of the upper being spaced apart and adapted to be brought towards one another during tightening of the article of footwear, said upper being a high upper covering an area of an ankle of a user; a first plurality of return elements affixed to said first portion of said upper and a second plurality of return elements affixed to said second portion of said upper, said first and second pluralities of return elements describing a tightening zone; a linkage guided in a predeterminate path via at least said first and second pluralities of return elements of said upper, said path including a transverse extent across a vertical median plane of the article of footwear; said linkage having two ends and forming at least two strands, said two strands adapted to be spaced apart beyond said tightening zone while the article of footwear is tightened; a locking arrangement for locking said linkage at least while the article of footwear is tightened; at least one upper-tightening gripping device secured to said linkage, said gripping device enabling a user to apply a tightening tension force to said linkage with at least one hand, thereby bringing the first and second portions of the upper towards one another to tighten the article of footwear, said gripping device comprising a rigid force-distributing frame for the user's hand as the tightening tension force is applied to said linkage.