BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to decorative wearing apparel for attachment to footwear and more particularly relates to a fabric footwear wrap with connectors mounted to it that permit the wrap to be attached to footwear independently of, and without the need for, any connectors mounted to the footwear or any other specially provided structures on the footwear for connection to the wrap. Therefore, the invention permits attachment of the wrap to footwear that has not been specially made for attachment to a wrap. The invention also allows a variety of wraps to be selectively chosen by the wearer and attached to conventional footwear, allows the wrap on particular footwear to be changed from time to time according to the current taste of the wearer and allows a particular wrap to be moved from time to time among different footwear.
Many fashionable women enjoy adding attractive decoration to their wearing apparel to dress up their appearance in a unique, stylish manner. One opportunity for doing that is to add a wrap to footwear. A wrap, in the form of a ribbon or strap of fabric, is attached to the footwear, wound around various footwear components and, in some cases also wound around the ankle and, as a further alternative, part way up the leg and then tied in a knot or bow. This addition is particularly desirable for types of shoes known as flip-flops or sandals.
However, if a simple ribbon or strap of fabric is used as a wrap, it tends to loosen, droop or become otherwise repositioned in an unattractive manner. In an attempt to alleviate that problem, the prior art has provided fasteners on the footwear that attach to fasteners on the wrap. Unfortunately, that solution requires that the footwear be manufactured with fasteners that mate with fasteners on the wrap. One result of that solution is that the footwear has fasteners that are visible and unattractive when there is no wrap and which may also be uncomfortable. Another result of that solution is that the wrap can only be used with a shoe that has been specially manufactured with the cooperating fasteners.
Consequently it is an object and feature of the invention to provide an attractive wrap that can be attached to a shoe that has no specially mounted fasteners so that the wrap can be used on any shoe that has an attachment point on its upper. This allows a wearer to interchange any of several wraps on a shoe and to use those wraps on several different conventional shoes. The wrap becomes an interchangeable stylish accessory for a variety of outfits.
Another object and feature of the invention is to provide a wrap that has fasteners that attach only to the wrap itself and additionally can be placed so they are not visible so that the wrap appears to be only a simple ribbon of attractive, colorful fabric.
Yet another object and feature of the invention is to provide a wrap that is comfortable and can improve the comfort of the shoe but will not droop, fall or loosen during use but instead will remain in position both on the shoe and on the ankle or leg of the wearer.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a footwear wrap for decorative attachment to footwear, and if desired the wearer's leg, without the need for any fasteners fixed to the footwear. The invention has a fabric strap at least 8 inches and preferably 12 inches long and preferably made of a four way stretch fabric. A central fastener is fixed to a central region of the strap intermediate the ends of the strap. The central fastener is adapted to permit a central portion of the strap to be looped around and secured to a footwear component and attached to itself at the central region of the fabric strap. The preferred central fastener is an enclosed hole and most preferred is a button hole. That allows the strap, after being looped around a shoe attachment point, to have its end threaded through the enclosed hole and its central region to be tightened around the attachment point. A preferred embodiment also has a first two part fastener having connectable male and female components. The first two part fastener is longitudinally spaced longitudinally from the central fastener on one side of the central fastener for permitting the strap to be attached to itself by the first two part fastener. The embodiment also has a second, similar, two part fastener that is spaced longitudinally from the central fastener on the opposite side of the central fastener for permitting the strap to be attached to itself at the second two part fastener.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic, sectional view of a piece of fabric in the process of being fabricated into a fabric strap embodying the invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic, sectional view of the piece of fabric shown in FIG. 3 after having been further processed into an embodiment of the invention and taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a view in section illustrating the manner of securing an end of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 to a shoe component.
FIG. 6 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a view in section illustrating the manner of securing an end of the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 to a shoe component.
FIG. 9 is a bottom view of yet another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 10 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 9.
FIG. 11 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 12 is a bottom view of yet another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 13 is a top view of yet still another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 14 is a top pictorial view of a shoe upon which an embodiment of the invention is installed.
FIG. 15 is a view in perspective of a shoe with a partially installed embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 16 is a view in perspective of the shoe of FIG. 15 and an embodiment of the invention at a further stage of installation on the shoe of FIG. 15.
FIG. 17 is a view in perspective of another embodiment of the invention installed on a shoe and leg of a wearer.
In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific term so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/519,962 filed Jun. 2, 2011, No. 61/634,572 filed Mar. 2, 2012, and No. 61/685,191 filed Mar. 13, 2012 are incorporated in this application by reference.
The invention is a footwear wrap for decorative attachment to footwear without the need for any fasteners fixed to the footwear. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the bottom and top respectively of a wrap embodying the invention. The wrap of FIGS. 1 and 2 has a fabric ribbon or strap 1 that is least 8 inches long but can be considerably longer to enable the fabric strap 1 to be wrapped beyond the shoe and around the ankle and, if desired, around the leg. The fabric strap may be as short as 8 inches and as long as 3 feet, 4 feet or even 12 feet for wrapping an entire leg length. The term fabric includes woven as well as continuous solid sheet material. Fabric used for the invention needs to be flexible and should have a flexibility and thickness that is common for conventional cloth materials. Most preferably the fabric strap 1 is constructed of a comfortably soft, four way stretch material so it has the characteristic of elastic resiliency. The elastic resiliency allows the strap 1 to be somewhat stretched as it is wound around a shoe part, an ankle or a leg and then be retained securely in place by its elastic contraction against the shoe part and/or leg. Suitable materials include nylon and materials sold under the respective trademarks Spandex, Lycra, Poly Lycra and Poly Spandex. These provide a comfortable grip when tightened around a leg and also a comfortable interposed protective layer between a shoe part and the wearer's foot to prevent uncomfortable abrasion of the skin. These materials are also available in colorful solids, prints and in sports team colors.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, preferably the strap 1 is formed in a conventional manner by a piece of fabric that is a little more than twice the desired width of the finished strap. The fabric is folded over onto itself along a longitudinal fold line with the finished surface facing inwardly and then stitched together along a seam 2 near the edges of the fabric as illustrated in FIG. 3. That forms the fabric into a tube which is then turned inside out so that the more attractive finished side of the fabric is exposed, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The result is a more attractive and finished appearance of the strap 1. The finished strap should have a width in the range of ¼ inch to 2½ inches.
Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, a central fastener 3 is fixed to a central region of the fabric strap 1 intermediate the ends 4 and 5 of the strap 1. The central fastener 3 is adapted to permit the strap to be looped around and secured to a footwear component by being attached to itself at the central region which will be subsequently described. A suitable footwear component that forms an attachment point is a part of the shoe that the strap can be wound around. The central fastener 3 is located in the central part of the strap 1 intermediate its ends because the central part of the strap 1 will be connected to the shoe near the front of the shoe. It is desirable that, after such connection to the shoe, two approximately equal half lengths of the fabric strap 1 extend from the connection point for symmetrical wrapping along opposite sides of the shoe and, if desired, around the ankle and leg of the wearer. Intermediate the ends means that the central fastener is sufficiently near the center between the ends of the strap 1 to leave approximately equal lengths of strap on each side of the fastener so that the user has the option to wrap the opposite halves of the strap in a symmetrical manner around shoe parts and, if desired, around the leg.
There are many types of fasteners that are known in the art and there may in the future be others. Some are suitable for use with the invention and some are not. Fasteners that are suitable for use with the present invention must be able to fasten the strap to itself at two nearby locations on the strap. The reason is that the strap is attached to the shoe in at least one and often in three places by looping a portion of the strap around a shoe component and then attaching the strap to itself while looped around the shoe component. Shoe components to which the strap may be attached include the toe divider post or belt common on flip-flops and the side belts or straps that are attached to and extend at one end from the toe post and along opposite sides of the shoe into attachment to the sole on opposite sides of the center of the shoe. Other shoe components to which the strap may be connected include the belts on sandals or on more standard shoes, shoe laces, a bootstrap and some decorations that protrude from the shoe.
One type of fastener that can be used for the central fastener is a one part fastener in the form of an enclosed hole. An enclosed hole fastener is formed by some form of a material that surrounds and defines an opening. The preferred central fastener is a one part fastener in the form of a button hole 3 centrally located along and extending through the strap 1 and preferably reinforced with stitching in the conventional manner. Another enclosed hole fastener is a ring or loop that is sewn or otherwise attached to the central region of the strap. A one part enclosed hole fastener allows the strap 1 to be looped around a shoe component, such as the toe post of a flip-flop, and the end of the strap 1 then to be threaded through the hole, such as buttonhole 3, and pulled securely and tightened around the shoe component.
Another type of fastener that can be used, but is not as convenient and easy to use for the central fastener, is a two part fastener. A two part fastener has two separate parts sometimes referred to as a male part and a female part. Examples of two part fasteners include snaps, hook and loop fasteners sold under the ™Velcro and made up of a patch of hooks and a patch of loops, a buckle and holes in the strap, and a cooperating button and buttonhole. Because the fasteners used with the invention attach the strap to itself after having been looped around a structural component of a shoe, the male and female components of a two part fastener used with the invention need to be relatively closely spaced so that they can maintain the loop that surrounds a shoe component in a tightly closed loop. A two part fastener used with embodiments of the present invention should preferably have its two parts both attached to the strap and spaced from each other by a distance in the range of ¾ inch to 2 inches.
Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of the invention also has two additional fasteners that are both two part fasteners. A first two part fastener 6 has a male component 7 and a connectable female component 8 on opposite major faces of the strap 1. The two parts of the two part fastener are fixed to the strap 1 and longitudinally spaced from the central fastener 3 on one side of the central fastener 3 and in that embodiment located at an end 5 of the strap 1. This first two part fastener 6 permits the strap 1 to be looped around a shoe component and attached to itself, for example at the rear end of one side strap of a flip-flop. A second two part fastener 9 has a male component 10 and a connectable female component 11 on opposite major faces of the strap 1. The parts of the two part fastener are fixed to the strap 1 and longitudinally spaced from the central fastener 3 on the opposite side of the central fastener 3 from the first two part fastener 6 and in that embodiment located at an end 4 of the strap 1. This second two part fastener 9 permits the strap 1 to be looped around a shoe component and attached to itself, for example at the rear end of the other side strap of a flip-flop.
The reason that the two parts of each two part fastener have their connectable male and female components on opposite major faces of the strap is so that each end of the strap may be wrapped in a spiral configuration around a shoe component and secured to the shoe component. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of the strap 1 wound in a spiral around a shoe component 12 and secured to itself by connecting two part fastener component 7 to its associated fastener component 8. That connection holds the strap 1 around the shoe component 12 thereby securing the strap 1 to the shoe component 12. The drawing of FIG. 5 is intended to illustrate the principles and is not necessarily pictorially accurate. Rather the drawing is somewhat disproportional in order to provide clear visibility of the cooperating parts.
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention which is similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 but illustrates that the two parts of each two part fastener can alternatively have their connectable male and female components located on the same major face of the strap. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a strap 13 has a first two part fastener 14 at one end 16 and a second two part fastener 15 at its opposite end 17. The first two part fastener 14 has connectable male and female components 18 and 19. The second two part fastener 15 has connectable male and female components 20 and 21. Embodiments of the invention that have the connectable male and female components of their two part fasteners on the same major face of the strap are connected to a shoe component as illustrated in FIG. 8. The strap 13 is looped in a J or hook configuration around a shoe component 22 and the connectable male and female components 18 and 19 are connected together in order to hold the end of the strap 13 in position on the shoe component 22. For either embodiment, the two parts of each two part fastener must be longitudinally spaced apart at least a sufficient distance to allow the strap to loop around the shoe component far enough that the male and female components of the two part fastener are able to engage. However, the two parts of each two part fastener should be close enough near each other to allow the strap to be secured sufficiently tightly that it is safe and not unsightly.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show a bottom and top view respectively of another embodiment of the invention having a strap 29, a central buttonhole fastener 30 and a different type of two part fasteners. The strap 29 has a two part fastener 32 at one end 34 that is formed of a male and a female snap fastener components. Similarly, the male and female parts of a second two part fastener 36 of the same type are attached at the opposite end of the strap 30.
FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 illustrate some alternative structural features of a wrap embodying the invention. The embodiment of FIG. 11 shows a strap 40 with a central one part fastener 42. It also has two part fasteners 44 and 46 spaced on opposite sides of the central fastener 42 but not at the ends. Instead, the two part fasteners 44 and 46 are spaced from the central fastener 42 by a distance that allows the opposite halves of the strap 40 to be wrapped around the side straps of a flip-flop and then looped around the back end of each side strap and fastened together to secure the respective loops to the side straps. However, the remaining part of the strap 40 that extends outwardly beyond the fasteners 44 and 46 may be wrapped around the ankle or leg of the wearer.
FIG. 12 illustrates a fabric strap 50 with a central one part fastener 52. The strap 50 has a two part fastener for connecting its ends. The preferred two part fastener is a hook and loop fastener with a patch of hooks 54 at one end of the strap 50 and a patch of loops 56 at the opposite end of the strap 50. This allows an option to wrap the strap around the shoe, ankle and leg and attach the ends together by the fasteners instead of a bulky or protruding bow or knot.
FIG. 13 illustrates that an embodiment of the invention can even be constructed of only a strap 60 with a central fastener, such as the one part, buttonhole fastener 62. This leaves the remaining halves of the strap 60 to be tied around the shoe, ankle and leg to the extent desired but then tied together, for example with a bow or knot.
The use of an embodiment of the invention for the adornment of a wearer's shoes and/or lower limbs is illustrated in FIGS. 14-17. FIG. 14 shows a shoe in the form of a flip-flop sole 70 with a toe post 72 to which are attached side straps 74 and 76 extending along opposite sides of the shoe. The side straps 74 and 76 are attached to the toe post 72 at one end and at their opposite ends to the sole 70. A fabric strap 78, of the type illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, is intended to be wrapped around the toe post 72 and the side straps 74 and 76. The central part of the fabric strap 78 has been looped around the toe post 72 to form a central loop 80 in the central part of the fabric strap 78. The end of the fabric strap 78 has been threaded through a central buttonhole fastener (below the conjunction of the side straps 74 and 76 and therefore not visible) to close the loop 80. Then the lower (in FIG. 10) one of the halves of the strap 78 is wound around the side strap 74. After that, the other half of the strap 78 is wound around the side strap 76. The portion of the strap 78 that lies between the two parts of the two part fastener (corresponding to the two part fastener 32 of FIGS. 5 and 6) is looped around the end 82 of the side strap 74. Then the two parts of the two part fastener are fastened together to secure the end of the strap 78 to the side strap 74. The other and upper half of the fabric strap 78 is wound around and fixed to the other side strap 76 in the same manner.
FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate the attachment of the strap shown in FIG. 13 to another shoe. Referring to FIG. 15, the fabric strap 60 is looped around a toe strap 90 that is attached to a sole 92. The fabric strap 60 is then threaded through the buttonhole fastener 62 so that equal halves of the fabric strap 60 extend loosely from the toe strap 90. Referring to FIG. 16, the central loop is then tightened around the toe strap 90 by pulling gently on the two halves of the fabric strap 60. Each of the halves of the fabric strap 60 are then wound in consecutive, side by side loops around a different one of the side straps leaving the excess of each strap half extending from the back end of each side strap. The two halves of the excess fabric strap can then be crossed around each other in the manner of half of a square knot. The wearer then places her foot into the shoe and lifts the crossed parts of the fabric strap 60 so that they cross behind her Achilles tendon. Thereafter she may pull the ends of the fabric strap 60 to the front of her ankle and tie those ends in a bow or knot.
FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of the invention which has been mounted to the shoe in the manner of the attachment of the embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16. However, the fabric strap 100 of FIG. 17 is longer and wider than the fabric strap of FIGS. 15 and 16. Consequently, it is wrapped multiple times around the leg, above the ankle and is tied in a large, decorative bow. The fabric strap 100 should be pulled comfortably tight before tying the knot or bow so that the resilient elasticity of the four way stretch fabric can tightly grip the leg and remain in position.
Embodiments of the invention turn a plain flip-flop or other shoe into a stylish accessory that can be adapted to the unique and variable fashion taste of the wearer. Because the fabric strap of the invention covers the upper parts of the shoe that contact the wearer's skin, it can also enhance the comfort of the shoe. If a particular part of the shoe causes discomfort, additional wraps of the fabric strap may be wound around the sensitive locations. The fabric straps can be wound in a variety of patterns around parts of the shoe and around the leg. A second strap or more may be wound around each shoe and/or leg to provide even more fashion variety. Additionally, when wrapped around the ankle or higher, they assist in retaining the shoe in place on the wearer's foot.
The drawings and description illustrate a variety of sets of fasteners on the fabric strap. Each set of fasteners is appropriate for different manners of applying the fabric strap to the shoe and/or leg. It is desirable and preferred that an embodiment of the invention have no additional fasteners that would be unused because any unused fasteners would serve no advantageous purpose while at the same time detracting from the appearance of the wrap. Of course additional decorative objects can be attached to the wrap in a conventional manner.
This detailed description in connection with the drawings is intended principally as a description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the designs, functions, means, and methods of implementing the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and features may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention and that various modifications may be adopted without departing from the invention or scope of the following claims.
Patent Application
20120304499
