U.S. patent application number 11/290789 was filed with the patent office on 2006-06-22 for athletic shoe assembly.
Invention is credited to David Snyder.
Application Number | 20060130373 11/290789 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36565640 |
Filed Date | 2006-06-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060130373 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Snyder; David |
June 22, 2006 |
Athletic shoe assembly
Abstract
For wearing apparel, piping in a predetermined pattern
comprising transparent hollow tubing secured to the wearing apparel
and rods of various colors removably inserted in said tubing
whereby the color effect of the wearing apparel may be changed by
selectively interchanging the color rods in the tubing.
Inventors: |
Snyder; David;
(Phoenixville, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Eugene E. Renz, Jr., P.C.
205 North Monroe Street
Post Office Box 2056
Media
PA
19063-9056
US
|
Family ID: |
36565640 |
Appl. No.: |
11/290789 |
Filed: |
November 30, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60631911 |
Nov 30, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/137 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 23/24 20130101;
A43B 3/242 20130101; A43B 1/0027 20130101; A43B 3/0078 20130101;
A43B 1/0072 20130101; A43B 3/24 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
036/137 |
International
Class: |
A43B 23/00 20060101
A43B023/00 |
Claims
1. For wearing apparel, piping in a predetermined pattern
comprising transparent hollow tubing secured to the wearing apparel
and rods of various colors removably inserted in said tubing
whereby the color effect of the wearing apparel may be changed by
selectively interchanging the color rods in the tubing.
2. An athletic shoe comprising an upper portion and a sole portion,
means defining a pattern of piping comprising hollow translucent
tubing mounted on the exterior of the shoe portion and color rods
selectively removably mounted in the tubing whereby the user may
selectively interchange the color rods for changing the color
effect of the shoe assembly.
3. A shoe assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein the translucent
tubing has at least one open end for insertion and removal of a
color rod and including a tab having a velcro face adjacent said
open end of said tubing for selectively covering the open end and
which can be detached to access the open end to facilitate removal
of the color rod when it is desired to replace it with a rod of
different color.
4. A shoe assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said housing for
the color rod comprises an elongated hollow tubular member of
circular cross section and a base for attaching it to the shoe.
5. A shoe assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein the base has two
flange portions providing means for stacking the base and tubular
member formed integrally therewith to the shoe by stitching.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 60/631,911 filed Nov. 30, 2004.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to improvements in athletic
shoes and more specifically to a piping design characterized by
novel features of construction and arrangement including means for
selectively changing the appearance or color of the piping.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In the past, athletic shoes from different sporting goods
companies tended to generally to look alike or have a basic similar
appearance. In recent times there has been a trend toward more
stylish multi-colored designs. These different and distinctive
designs are associated with the more well recognized sports
personalities and by reason of this association enhance the sales
of the athletic shoes sponsored by these well known personalities.
It is noted, even though shoes are stylish and multi-colored, the
color design is fixed and cannot be selectively changed. In other
words, these unusual colorful designs are identifiable with a
specific sports personality and the fixed color scheme does not
serve any functional feature of the athletic shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present
invention to provide a novel athletic shoe arrangement wherein the
design of the shoe and particularly the colors of the design may be
selectively varied by the user.
[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
athletic shoe characterized by novel features of construction and
arrangement including a piping configuration on the surface of the
shoe which is made of a transparent material and color rods which
may be selectively threaded into the piping which are selected from
one of a plurality of color rods of different colors.
[0006] The present invention therefore, provides an athletic shoe
which is of attractive design and where the user can selectively
vary the color scheme to match and/or contrast with other colors
worn by the user. By the interchangeability of the color rods, the
user can choose for example to adopt the school colors when using
the athletic footwear as a participant on a team or as a
cheerleader for a particular school. The user can then change the
colors when the user wants to wear the shoes for another function
where the choice of the color rods will be dictated by the ensemble
or other wearing apparel of the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] These and other objects of the present invention and the
various features and details of the operation and construction
thereof are hereinafter more fully set forth with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1. is a perspective view of an athletic shoe
incorporating the selectively changeable piping feature of the
present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a right side elevational view of the shoe
assembly;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the shoe incorporating piping
in accordance with the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the shoe;
[0012] FIG. 5 is left side elevational view of the athletic piping
shoe in accordance with the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a view from the rear of the shoe;
[0014] FIG. 7 is front elevational view of the piping shoe in
accordance with the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shoe as viewed from the
rear of the shoe;
[0016] FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the portion of the
shoe circled in FIG. 8;
[0017] FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 9 showing the
latch overlying one end of the front piping;
[0018] FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 10 showing the
color rod being withdrawn;
[0019] FIG. 12 is a fragmentary view of the back portion of the
shoe circled in FIG. 8;
[0020] FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12 with the rear latch in
an open position;
[0021] FIG. 14 is a view showing the piping rod being withdrawn;
and
[0022] FIG. 15 is a transverse sectional view taken on lines 15-15
of FIG. 14 showing the base of the tubing underlying the upper
material of the shoe to secure the tubing in place by
stitching.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a shoe
incorporating a novel ornamental piping arrangement in accordance
with the present invention generally designated by the numeral 10.
The shoe is of a generally conventional construction comprising a
sole 12, an upper portion 14 and a tongue 16. The upper portion
u-shaped cut out portion 15 and a series of openings 18 for a
conventional shoe lace 20;
[0024] In accordance with the present invention, the shoe is
provided with a novel ornamental feature including flexible tubing
generally designated by numeral 30 secured to the upper of the shoe
in a preselected pattern and color rods 32 are mounted in the
tubing which can be selectively changed thereby presenting
different color arrangements. As illustrated in FIGS. 2-7
inclusive, the flexible tube-color rod assembly is mounted on the
upper 14 in two (2) generally parallel lines L1 and L2 on either
side of the u-shaped opening 15 from a point near the foot opening
34 in the shoe downwardly to the toe at the point 36. The flexible
tube-color rod assembly is also mounted on the heel area in a
gently curved pattern running from the mid-sole on one side
upwardly around the heel adjacent the foot opening and extending to
the mid sole on the opposite side of the shoe. This arrangement is
generally designated as L3.
[0025] The tubular member as best illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 is
preferably made of a transparent plastic material and comprises a
base 40 and a hollow tubular member 42 of circular cross section
extending upwardly from the base 40 and of a size to accommodate
the color rod 32. The base 40 may be secured to the shoe, for
example, by stitching the extended flange portions 44 of the base
40 to the shoe. Note that the shoe material M overlies the flanges
44 and the stitching S secures the tubular member to the shoe
exterior. In the present instance, the heel assembly comprises two
sections 43 and 45 and separate rods 44 for each section and a tab
50 which overlies the juncture 47 of the two heel sections 43 and
45 and locks with a velcro pad 52 on the shoe so it can be released
when desired to replace the color rods in the heel. A similar flap
or tab 52 is provided on the upper ends of the Sections L1 and L2
for the same purpose. If desired, the tab 52 may simply overlie the
end of the color rod and not be secured.
[0026] Assume that the user wants to change color rods to from
those now in the athletic shoe, the user simply releases the velcro
tabs 52 at the inner ends of the piping L1 and L2 and simply takes
the color rod and pulls it out of the tubing and replace it with a
different color. The same procedure is followed for changing the
color rod in the heel of the shoe. It is noted that even though the
heel color rods are shown as separate elements, they may be one
continuous element which is threaded from opposite ends into the
tubing which is split to create a gap G adjacent the center of the
heel portion as shown in FIG. 8. Of course, separate color rods for
the heel portion offer more variety to the extent that the color
rod on one side can be one color and the color on the other side
may be of a contrasting different color. The typical school colors
are a combination of two colors and where the user desires to match
the shoe piping colors with those of the school the separate left
and right heel and toe piping facilitates two color designs.
[0027] Even though a particular embodiment of the present invention
have been illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to
limit the invention and changes and modifications may be made
therein wither the scope of the attached claims.
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