U.S. patent application number 11/690108 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-25 for decorative shoe cover.
Invention is credited to Jessie Yu.
Application Number | 20080229615 11/690108 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39773286 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080229615 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yu; Jessie |
September 25, 2008 |
Decorative Shoe Cover
Abstract
A decorative women's shoe cover made of an elastic fabric and
using elastic hem strips is used to cover a shoe to change its
fashion content. Elastic hem strips form an elastic foot opening to
match the foot opening of the shoe. Elastic hem strips also form an
elastic shank and heel opening extending from the back of the sole
member to the heel of the shoe cover. Because of the elastic shank
and heel opening, when the shoe is bent by normal walking use, the
elastic foot opening will not separate from the shoe foot opening.
Also, the shoe cover can be adhered to the shoe in selected places.
A boot form is also disclosed
Inventors: |
Yu; Jessie; (Fountain
Valley, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAWRENCE S. COHEN, ESQ.;LAW OFFICE OF LAWRENCE S. COHEN
10960 WILSHIRE BLVD, SUITE 1220
LOS ANGELES
CA
90024
US
|
Family ID: |
39773286 |
Appl. No.: |
11/690108 |
Filed: |
March 22, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/100 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 3/20 20130101; A43B
3/24 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/100 |
International
Class: |
A43B 3/24 20060101
A43B003/24 |
Claims
1. A decorative cover for a woman's shoe of the type having a
projecting heel, a front outsole an upper defining a foot opening
and including a shoe toe area, and a back area, and a shoe shank
extending from the projecting heel forwardly to a outsole, the
cover comprising; a flexible stretchable upper member having a
selected fashion design and shaped to conform in snug-fitting,
face-to-face interengagement to the outer surface of a woman's shoe
when fitted thereon and having a toe end, a heel end, an elastic
foot opening, a flexible sole member attached to said upper member
extending rearwardly to a terminal rear end to leave an elastic
shank and heel opening; whereby upon being fitted over a woman's
shoe the upper member and attached sole member of the decorative
cover will substantially cover the shoe except for the shoe foot
opening and the shank and heel areas of the shoe and the sole
member will be in a position substantially in contact with the shoe
sole.
2. The decorative cover of claim 1 further wherein the upper also
has a shaft to render it to the form of a boot.
3. The decorative cover of claim 1 wherein the sole member is
removably adhered to the shoe sole.
4. The decorative cover of claim 1 wherein the sole member has a
surface substantially in contact with the shoe sole and said
surface has a high coefficient of friction with respect to the shoe
sole so as to reduce relative movement between the sole member and
the shoe sole.
5. The decorative cover of claim 1 wherein the heel end of the
cover is removably adhered to the back area of the shoe.
6. The decorative cover of claim 1 wherein a pair of said
decorative covers have a selected design portion on each of them
such that they are a left and right.
7. The decorative cover of claim 1 wherein the sole member is
attached to the upper by sewing to define a sewing line interiorly
of an outer perimeter of the sole member and by gluing in an area
formed between the sewing line and the outer perimeter
8. The decorative cover of claim 2 wherein a pair of said
decorative covers have a selected design portion on at least the
shafts of each of them such that they are a left and right.
9. The decorative cover of claim 3 wherein the sole member is
removably adhered to the shoe sole by a piece of double sided tape
between them.
10. The decorative cover of claim 5 wherein heel end is removably
adhered to the back area of the shoe by a piece of double sided
tape between them.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to shoe covers that can be applied to
a shoe.
BACKGROUND
[0002] While women's shoes are generally of similar configurations,
each pair is limited to a particular fashion content. While women
can buy as many different shoe pairs as they wish and/or can
afford; there are circumstances for which varying the fashion
content of a given pair is desirable. Such circumstances include of
course, the general idea of rendering a given pair to have a
different fashion content, and the particular convenience for
traveling in which only a limited number of shoe pairs can
practically be carried.
[0003] Decorative shoe covers are known in the art having various
constructions and attributes. Such prior shoe covers typically
extend from the upper member around the shank of the shoe that is
to be covered and covering the heel as well. This causes a problem
when the shoe is bent in normal walking resulting in the foot
opening of the cover being pulled away from its matching
configuration with the shoe foot opening.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is an exemplary woman's shoe with which the invention
can be used.
[0005] FIG. 2 is a shoe cover in accordance with the invention.
[0006] FIG. 3 shows the shoe of FIG. 1 with a shoe cover in
accordance with the invention in place.
[0007] FIG. 4 shows a view of the bottom of a shoe with the
invention in place
[0008] FIG. 5 shows the invention in the form of a boot.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] Following is an exemplary description of the invention given
to describe it so that it could be made based on the description,
and to show the preferred mode of practicing the invention. However
reference to "the invention" in the following description should
not be taken to mean that the invention is limited to the form so
described.
[0010] Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows generally, a woman's
dress shoe 10 of a conventional style. It is understood, that,
while this description shows the invention as applied to a dress
shoe (that is a shoe with high heels), it is not limited to that
embodiment since the elements of the invention can be applied to
many different forms and styles. The parts of the illustrative shoe
10 include generally the shoe upper 12, the outsole 14, the toe
area 16 (including the vamp), the projecting heel 18, the shoe back
also called the counter 20 and the shank 22 (shown in FIG. 4). The
periphery 24 in the shoe upper 12 defines a foot opening.
[0011] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary shoe cover 30, having a flexible
stretchable upper member 32 shaped to conform when installed in
snug-fitting, face-to-face interengagement to the outer surface of
the shoe (except the shank as will be seen below). The shoe cover
30 has a flexible stretchable upper member 32 which has a toe end
34, a heel end or back 36, and an elastic foot opening defined by
the periphery 38. A sole member 40 is attached on the bottom of the
upper member 32. From the rear terminal end 44 of the sole ember 40
a bottom periphery 42 in the upper member 32 extends rearward to
the back 36 of the upper member 32 defining an elastic bottom
opening also called a shank and heel opening. A foot opening
elastic hem strip 46 is sewn around the periphery 38 that defines
the elastic foot opening, and a bottom opening elastic hem strip 48
is sewn around the bottom periphery 42 that defines the elastic
bottom opening. While this description focuses on one shoe cover it
is apparent that they would be typically sold and used in pairs, to
be applied to a pair of shoes.
[0012] FIGS. 3 and 4 show the shoe cover 30 in place on a shoe 10.
The show cover will take on the shape of the shoe. The upper member
32 is made of a flexible stretchable material which when in its
relaxed form is smaller and readily transported, even in a purse or
pocket, but when stretched and applied will form the subject shoe
cover. The material will usually be some type of woven elastic
fabric with a stylish design. It could be a waterproofed or water
resistant material. When so in place on a shoe, the shoe cover 30
covers substantially the entire upper of the shoe 10, with the
elastic foot opening elastic hem strip 46 being substantially
coextensive with the periphery 24 so as to match the foot opening
shape. As best seen in FIG. 4, the shoe cover 30 has its sole
member 40 generally covering the outsole 14 (not shown in FIG.
4--shown in FIG. 1) of the shoe. The sole member 40 can be attached
to the upper member 32 in ways known to those skilled in the art.
An exemplary way of doing this is to sew the sole member 40 to the
upper 32 as indicated by the dash line 41 and by gluing the area
indicated as 43 which extends from the sewing line 41 to the outer
perimeter 45 of the sole member 40. The elastic bottom opening
elastic hem strip 48 extends from each side of the shoe cover 24
proximate the terminal end 44 of the sole member 40 and around the
back of the projecting shoe heel 18. Consequently, the shank 22 of
the shoe 10 is not covered but rather the elastic bottom opening
extends from the terminal end 44 of the sole member 40 completely
around the projecting heel 18 which is also not covered.
[0013] In order to enhance stable emplacement of the shoe cover on
the shoe during wearing, it is preferred to adhere the shoe cover
to the shoe at one or more selected places that is/are subject to
relative movement. One such place is between the sole member of the
shoe cover and the outsole of the shoe. There are many ways to do
this as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. One exemplary
way to do this is by placing a piece of double sided adhesive tape
50 between the shoe outsole and the cover sole member or by
otherwise putting adhesive in that area. Other ways to accomplish
this include making the sole member to have a high friction surface
or to have an affinity surface or to have a physically interlocking
structure with the shoe outsole. Another place to enhance stability
of the shoe cover on the shoe is at the back of the shoe. One way
to do this is to adhere the show cover it at the back of the shoe
as shown by the double sided adhesive tape 52.
[0014] It is apparent that a single shoe cover pair can fit a
fairly wide variety of shoe shapes, although, for example, a shoe
cover made for generally rounded toe shoes may not fit the extreme
pointed toe shoes.
[0015] Another form of the shoe cover is a boot form 60 as shown in
FIG. 5. In this form the shoe upper extends to form the boot shaft
62. In one form the boot shaft would be made of the same elastic
material as the rest of the boot upper as described above. But, in
another form the boot shaft or an upper portion of it such as above
the line 64 could be made of a less flexible material since it does
not have to have the snug fitting character as does the portion of
the upper that is in contact with the shoe that it covers. The boot
form is more given to designs that would make a pair handed, as in
left and right handed by having a design such as design 66 which
could be on the outside of each of the left and right boot.
[0016] In the use of the subject decorative shoe cover 30, it will
be applied simply by slipping it over the toe of the shoe and
pulling it back into the form fitting position around the back of
the shoe substantially covering the shoe upper and leaving the
bottom opening from the rear of the sole member of the shoe cover
to the back or counter of the shoe; the shoe shank not being
covered as explained above.
[0017] Not covering the shoe shank has the advantage that when
walking and bending the shoe, the shoe cover's foot opening
periphery will not pull away from the foot opening. This solves a
problem with the prior shoe covers that extend continuously from
the upper member over the shank of the shoe which causes the cover
foot opening to pull away from its matching configuration with the
shoe foot opening.
[0018] By use of a decorative shoe covering, the design appearance
of a given shoe can be changed at will.
[0019] To conclude, with respect to the above description, it is to
be understood that the optimal dimensional specifications for the
parts of the invention, including variations in number, size,
shape, form, placement, material and the method of fabrication and
assembly, are deemed readily apparent to persons skilled in the art
upon a reading of the foregoing description, and all equivalent
specifications to those illustrated in the drawings and detailed in
the description are intended to be encompassed by the present
invention.
[0020] Further, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that
various modifications and revisions can be made to the embodiment
shown herein without departing from the spirit and essential
characteristics of the invention. It is therefore intended by the
appended claims to cover any and all such modifications and
revisions within the scope of the present invention.
* * * * *