Accessory shoe uppers

Abstract

 An accessory shoe upper for installation over an existing upper of a conventional laced shoe using the same shoelace as used for lacing the shoe. The accessory shoe upper (20) having an upper body extending continuously from a forward point of the shoe rearward along the side of the shoe and around the heel portion of the shoe and forward again along the other side of the shoe. The accessory shoe upper body features a number of shoelace holes (14) for accommodating the shoelace used for lacing the shoe.

Description

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to shoes and related footwear and, more particularly, to footwear having uppers which can readily be installed and detached.

[0002] Shoes have been used for thousands of years to guard and protect the feet. Much effort has been devoted to making these inherently functional items aesthetically pleasing so that the shoe industry is now, to a very large extent, driven by fashions and styles.

[0003] Shoes are typically made of a sole which may feature a tread and an upper portion, or shoe upper, which is connected to the sole and which surrounds the foot of the user on the sides and top. It is the shoe uppers which are visible during normal use. In selecting a pair of shoes the user is faced with a large choice of designs, materials, textures and colors for the shoe uppers. Typically, once a choice of a pair of shoes is made the user is 'stuck' with a pair of shoes of a particular design, material, texture and color for up to several years.

[0004] Thus, a user who tires of a particular design, material, texture and color, because of changing personal taste and/or because of changes in fashion, is forced to discontinue the use of an otherwise perfectly functional pair of shoes and purchase a new pair of shoes, often at great expense. In addition, it is from time to time desirable to protect shoes from damage from water, mud, and the like.

[0005] To obviate the need to replace an otherwise functional pair of shoes with a new pair for the purpose of changing the design, material, texture, level and type of protection and/or color of the shoe uppers, it has been proposed to offer a sole which is capable of accommodating a variety of detachable shoe uppers so that shoe uppers could be switched at will.

[0006] Two examples of such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,065,531 and 4,103,440. In each case, a sole is provided along with a number of uppers. The sole and the uppers are provided with a suitable fastener to allow for easy connection and disconnection.

[0007] A disadvantage of such systems is that they require that the sole portion of the shoe be provided with a mechanism for fastening the sole and upper together. Thus, the sole used in these systems is a non-conventional sole, which adds to its cost and availability.

[0008] There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a way of readily and easily attaching uppers to a conventional shoe for the purpose of altering the design, material, texture, level of protection and/or color of the shoe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] According to the present invention there is provided an accessory shoe upper for installation over an existing upper of a conventional laced shoe having substantially flat sole by means of the same shoelace as used for lacing the shoe, the conventional laced shoe having a first side, a second side, and a heel portion, the accessory shoe upper comprising an accessory shoe upper body extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along the first side of the shoe and around the heel portion of the shoe and forward along the second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, the accessory shoe upper body featuring a plurality of shoelace holes for accommodating the shoelace used for lacing the shoe, the accessory shoe upper body wrapping the heel portion of the shoe and being secured to the shoe by means of the shoelace, thereby being fastened to the conventional shoe.

[0010] Also according to the present invention, there is provided an accessory shoe upper for installation over an existing upper of a conventional laced shoe by means of the same shoelace as used for lacing the shoe, the conventional laced shoe having a first side, a second side, and a heel portion, the accessory shoe upper comprising an accessory shoe upper body extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along the first side of the shoe and around the heel portion of the shoe and forward along the second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, the accessory shoe upper body featuring a plurality of shoelace holes for accommodating the shoelace used for lacing the shoe, the accessory shoe upper body wrapping the heel portion of the shoe and being secured to the shoe by means of the shoelace, thereby being fastened to the conventional shoe.

[0011] Further according to the present invention, there is provided an accessory shoe upper for installation over an existing upper of a laced shoe by means of the same shoelace as used for lacing the shoe, the laced shoe having a first side, a second side, and a heel portion, the laced shoe featuring a zipper extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along the first side of the shoe and around the heel portion of the shoe and forward along the second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, the accessory shoe upper comprising an accessory shoe upper body extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along the first side of the shoe and around the heel portion of the shoe and forward along the second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, the accessory shoe upper body featuring a plurality of shoelace holes for accommodating the shoelace used for lacing the shoe, the accessory shoe upper body wrapping the heel portion of the shoe and being secured to the shoe by means of the shoelace and the zipper.

[0012] According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the accessory shoe upper is flexible or semi-rigid.

[0013] According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the accessory shoe upper includes one or more cutouts or notches.

[0014] The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing an accessory shoe upper which can readily be fitted over the upper of a shoe by providing the accessory shoe upper with shoelace holes through which a shoelace can be passed to simultaneously lace the shoe and connect the accessory shoe upper to the existing shoe upper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a typical conventional shoe;

FIG. 2 shows one example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention prior to deployment on the shoe;

FIG. 3 shows the shoe of Figure 1 with the accessory upper of Figure 2 in place;

FIG. 4 shows a second example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a third example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a fourth example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a fifth example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a sixth example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a seventh example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 shows an eighth example of an accessory shoe upper according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows the shoe of Figure 1 with the accessory upper of Figure 10 in place;

FIG. 12 shows an accessory upper as in Figure but with an additional zipper for attachment to the sole of a shoe;

FIG. 13 shows how an accessory upper of Figure 12 would be attached to the shoe using the zipper.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The present invention is of accessory shoe uppers which can be used to readily and easily change the appearance of conventional laced shoes.

[0017] The principles and operation of accessory shoe uppers according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description.

[0018] Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a conventional shoe. The shoe depicted in Figure 1 is an athletic but any shoe can be used with the present invention provided that the shoe is of the type which can be laced using a shoelace. The conventional shoe is made up of two connected portions - a sole 10 and an upper 12. Upper 12 of a laced shoe is typically formed with, or otherwise features, a plurality of shoelace holes 14 through which a shoelace 16 is inserted. Shoelace 16 is used to tighten upper 12 around the foot of the wearer so as to provide a comfortable fit. Typically, upper 12 also features a tongue 18 which underlies shoelace 16 and serves to close the gap between the right and left portions of upper 12.

[0019] The present invention is of accessory shoe uppers which can be attached to the existing uppers as described below. Figure 2 shows one such accessory shoe upper 20 as it appears when laid substantially flat. Accessory shoe upper 20 includes an accessory shoe upper body 22 which is dimensioned to fit over at least a portion of the existing upper 12 (Figure 1) of the laced shoe. Accessory shoe upper body 20 features a plurality of shoelace holes 14 for accommodating shoelace 16 used for lacing the shoe.

[0020] Figure 3 shows how the shoe might appear when accessory shoe upper 20 is installed over the existing shoe upper 12 with the aid of shoelace 16 which serves the double function of creating a tight fit around the foot of the wearer while simultaneously serving to firmly connect accessory shoe upper 20 to shoe upper 12.

[0021] Accessory shoe upper may be made of a variety of materials, textures, colors, designs, and the like. The accessory upper may be flexible or semi-rigid.

[0022] Accessory upper 20 may feature one or more cutouts 40 (e.g., Figures 4, 7, 8 and 10) and/or notches 42 (e.g., Figures 5 and 6). Cutouts 40 and notches 42 allow at least a portion of existing upper 12 to be seen through accessory upper 20 and may enhance the overall aesthetic value of the shoe.

[0023] Accessory upper 20 may cover substantially the entire rear portion of existing upper 12 (as in Figure 3) or may cover a smaller portion of existing upper 12 (as in Figure 11). As in the case of cutouts and notches, when accessory upper 20 is smaller than the corresponding portion of existing upper 12 the aesthetic appearance of the shoe may be enhanced by providing two textures and/or colors. In certain cases it may be advantageous to provide an accessory upper which is both smaller and features one or more notches and/or cutouts (as in Figures 10 and 11).

[0024] In operation, a user would purchase one or more pairs of accessory uppers from a large variety of styles, sizes, materials, textures, colors, and the like. Whenever the user desires to change the appearance of a pair of his or her shoes, all that is required is to remove the shoelaces from the pair of shoes and to relace the shoe with the chosen accessory upper placed directly over the existing shoe upper so that the shoelace is inserted through the shoelace holes of both the shoe and of the accessory upper. Thus, with an effort of but a few minutes, the entire appearance of the shoe is dramatically and inexpensively changed. Furthermore, the change may be reversed at any time by simply removing the accessory upper or the appearance may be changed yet again at any time by replacing the accessory upper with a different accessory upper.

[0025] In other embodiments according to the present invention, accessory shoe upper 120 features a second mechanism for connecting the accessory upper to the shoe. The second mechanism may involve the use of Velcro or similar materials. Preferably, the second mechanism involves the use of a suitable fastener, such as a zipper 50 to further connect accessory upper 120 to the shoe. A possible advantage of such embodiments over the basic embodiments is that the connection between the shoe and the accessory upper is more secure. A disadvantage is that the use of a second mechanism for connecting the accessory upper to the shoe requires a more expensive accessory upper and requires the use of a modified or non-conventional shoe.

[0026] While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications and other applications of the invention may be made.

[0027] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. An accessory shoe upper for installation over an existing upper of a conventional laced shoe having substantially flat sole by means of the same shoelace as used for lacing the shoe, the conventional laced shoe having a first side, a second side, and a heel portion, the accessory shoe upper comprising an accessory shoe upper body extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along said first side of the shoe and around said heel portion of the shoe and forward along said second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, said accessory shoe upper body featuring a plurality of shoelace holes for accommodating the shoelace used for lacing the shoe, said accessory shoe upper body wrapping said heel portion of the shoe and being secured to the shoe by means of said shoelace, thereby being fastened to the conventional shoe.

2. The accessory shoe upper of claim 1, wherein said body is flexible.

3. The accessory shoe upper of claim 1, wherein said body include at least one cutout.

4. The accessory shoe upper of claim 1, wherein said body include at least one notch.

5. An accessory shoe upper for installation over an existing upper of a conventional laced shoe by means of the same shoelace as used for lacing the shoe, the conventional laced shoe having a first side, a second side, and a heel portion, the accessory shoe upper comprising an accessory shoe upper body extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along said first side of the shoe and around said heel portion of the shoe and forward along said second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, said accessory shoe upper body featuring a plurality of shoelace holes for accommodating the shoelace used for lacing the shoe, said accessory shoe upper body wrapping said heel portion of the shoe and being secured to the shoe by means of said shoelace, thereby being fastened to the conventional shoe.

6. An accessory shoe upper for installation over an existing upper of a laced shoe by means of the same shoelace as used for lacing the shoe, the laced shoe having a first side, a second side, and a heel portion, the laced shoe featuring a zipper extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along said first side of the shoe and around said heel portion of the shoe and forward along said second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, said accessory shoe upper comprising an accessory shoe upper body extending continuously from an anterior point of the shoe rearward along said first side of the shoe and around said heel portion of the shoe and forward along said second side of the shoe to an anterior point of the shoe, said accessory shoe upper body featuring a plurality of shoelace holes for accommodating the shoelace used for lacing the shoe, said accessory shoe upper body wrapping said heel portion of the shoe and being secured to the shoe by means of said shoelace and said zipper.

Drawing