This relates to accessories for shoes, such as straps for mules.
Accessories for footwear can include an upper or over portion and a lower or an under portion, where the over portion extends over the wearer's foot and the under portion extends under the shoe. The over portion and the under portion may be secured together at corresponding ends of each of the portions, forming a closed circuit, closed loop or endless strip. The over portion and under portion can take a number of configurations.
In one example of the footwear accessory, the accessory may include a strap, band or other continuous or endless element, hereinafter referred to as a strap. The strap includes an over portion for extending over the typically bare foot of the wearer. The over portion has ends secured to respective ends of the under portion. The under portion is preferably clear and may be a different material and/or different appearance from the over portion. In one example of the accessory, the accessory is not fixed to the shoe. The characteristics of the material of the strap help to hold the strap in place, for example a resiliently flexible material.
In another example of a footwear accessory, the accessory may include a strap having an upper or over portion and a lower or under portion where the under portion is formed from a clear flexible material. Preferably, the under portion is translucent to a casual observer so that the shoe is visible under the under portion, for example giving the appearance of no under-support.
In a further example of a footwear accessory, the accessory has a strap having a first portion formed from a resilient and flexible fabric material. The first portion is secured at respective ends to corresponding ends of a second portion that is clear. The second portion is also preferably flexible, for example to allow the second portion to conform to the underside of a shoe. In one example, the first portion has a width that is approximately the same as a width of the second portion. Additionally, the width is substantially less than the perimeter length of the accessory.
In an additional example, a footwear accessory is formed from first and second strap elements, each of which are formed from flexible materials. The second strap element is formed from a polyvinyl chloride material, and may be formed from a double polished clear PVC.
In another example, a shoe accessory can be assembled by providing a length of resilient and flexible fabric material and securing respective ends of the material to corresponding ends of a clear PVC element to form a continuous strap. The resilient and flexible fabric material and PVC element can have approximately the same width, and the length of the clear PVC element can be approximately the same as the perimeter of the underside of the shoe with which the accessory is to be worn.
In a further example, a shoe accessory can be worn by placing a clear portion of the accessory under the shoe and positioning an upper portion of the shoe accessory across a portion of the wearer's foot. The upper portion can be positioned over the foot as the foot is being placed into the shoe or after the foot is placed into the shoe. In another example, part of the upper portion can be positioned around an ankle of the wearer. In another example, the shoe accessory is secured into a figure-8 configuration, such as by tacking, and one loop with the clear portion placed in front of a heel of the shoe and behind the wearer's heel and the other loop around the wearer's ankle.
These and other examples are set forth more fully below in conjunction with drawings, a brief description of which follows.
This specification taken in conjunction with the drawings sets forth examples of apparatus and methods incorporating one or more aspects of the present inventions in such a manner that any person skilled in the art can make and use the inventions. The examples provide the best modes contemplated for carrying out the inventions, although it should be understood that various modifications can be accomplished within the parameters of the present inventions.
Examples of shoe accessories and of methods of making and using the shoe accessories are described. Depending on what feature or features are incorporated in a given structure or a given method, benefits can be achieved in the structure or the method. These and other benefits will become more apparent with consideration of the description of the examples herein. However, it should be understood that not all of the benefits or features discussed with respect to a particular example must be incorporated into a shoe accessory or method in order to achieve one or more benefits contemplated by these examples. Additionally, it should be understood that features of the examples can be incorporated into a shoe accessory or method to achieve some measure of a given benefit even though the benefit may not be optimal compared to other possible configurations. For example, one or more benefits may not be optimized for a given configuration in order to achieve cost reductions, efficiencies or for other reasons known to the person settling on a particular product configuration or method.
Examples of a number of shoe accessories and of methods of making and using the shoe accessories are described herein, and some have particular benefits in being used together. However, even though these apparatus and methods are considered together at this point, there is no requirement that they be combined, used together, or that one component or method be used with any other component or method, or combination. Additionally, it will be understood that a given component or method could be combined with other structures or methods not expressly discussed herein while still achieving desirable results.
One example of a shoe accessory 50 (
The upper strap 52 in the examples described herein are formed from an internal band of elastic 60 to which is sewn or otherwise secured a Lycra fabric or other resilient and flexible fabric 62 (
A lower portion 54 is a strap, band, strip or other linear element. The lower portion will be hereinafter referred to as the strap 54. The lower strap 54 is a clear strap so that the strap appears translucent or transparent to a casual observer. As a result, the lower strap 54 appears invisible, and the features of the shoe under the strap 54 are visible through the strap. Therefore, the appearance of the shoe accessory in this example is that there is little if anything keeping the accessory in place from under the shoe. However, the characteristics of the upper portion being flexible and resilient help to hold the accessory in place relative to the shoe and wearer's foot, and the lower strap 54 holds the strap 50 in place from below the shoe. In the present example, the lower strap 54 follows the contour under the arch 66 of the shoe, immediately forward of the heel 68. The remainder of the lower loop 70 of the strap 50 extends upward from the sole 72 of the shoe and behind the wearer's ankle where the upper strap chris-crosses at the tacking point 64. The upper loop 74 encircles the wearer's ankle. In this example, the accessory follows a path around part of the shoe, part of the wearer's foot and around the wearer's ankle, approximately conforming to be adjacent surfaces. The elastic (or other resilient material) in the elastic band 60 and any resilient characteristic in the fabric 62 helps to position the accessory. Attachment to the shoe is not necessary. The length of the strap 54 is preferably substantially greater than the width, and has a width that is approximately the same as the width of the upper portion.
In the present example of the accessory 50, the accessory is secured into an endless figure-8 configuration (
In the configuration of the accessory 50 shown in
Each of the first and second ends of the upper strap 52 are secured to corresponding ends of the lower strap 54 through stitching or other means. As represented in the schematic of
During assembly, one end 56 of the upper strap 52 is secured to the corresponding end of the lower strap 54 through the stitching 78 (
In a further example of a shoe accessory, a front crossing strap 84 (
In another example of a shoe accessory, a foot strap 90 (
In each of the examples, the elastic strip is preferably half-inch flat knit elastic such as style No. 2222 from State Narrow Fabrics. The Lycra or other covering, if present, encircles the elastic, and they are assembled in the desired lengths using a 3 threaded over lock stitching, such as may be done with a Union Special Mark IV 39-500 machine. The upper straps may be configured in a manner similar to that used with bathing suit straps or the like. The length of the upper strap in the front and back crossover straps may range from 12 to 15 inches, and possibly more or less depending on the wearer, any decorative features and the configuration of any Lycra or other covering. For example, a covering with some decorations, such as rhinestones, metal or other components may suggest longer straps. A number of applications will have the upper straps 11 or 12 to 14 inches long. The strap of
Also in each of the examples, the lower strap is a ½ inch×4 inch, 16 gauge, double polished clear PVC such as that offered by PVC Tech Corp. under their part number DPCLR016-54-L-CM. Other gauges such as 18 gauge or 20 gauge can be used, but 16 gauge is preferred. The lower strap is flexible and slightly resilient, though not as resilient as elastic, and the length may range from two inches to five inches, more or less. The lower strap is attached to the upper strap through a single needle lock stitch machine, approximately 12-14 stitches per inch. The needles are preferably 36 needles but may be 40 needle equipment, but the range may be between 32 and 40, more or less. The thread used is preferably a Tek-40 poly-cotton thread.
Having thus described several exemplary implementations, it will be apparent that various alterations and modifications can be made without departing from the concepts discussed herein. Such alterations and modifications, though not expressly described above, are nonetheless intended and implied to be within the spirit and scope of the inventions. Accordingly, the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative only.
This is a continuation of Ser. No. 11/286,701, filed Nov. 22, 2005, published as US2007/0113387, incorporated herein by reference, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,126.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100050479 A1 | Mar 2010 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11286701 | Nov 2005 | US |
Child | 12614312 | US |