U.S. patent application number 12/858375 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-17 for object for adorning footwear.
Invention is credited to Marianne Kay.
Application Number | 20110035965 12/858375 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43587710 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110035965 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kay; Marianne |
February 17, 2011 |
OBJECT FOR ADORNING FOOTWEAR
Abstract
An object for adorning footwear including either a generally
trapezoidal and planar main piece composed of flexible, resilient
material, or a main piece preformed to have a generally
ribbon-shaped configuration with a strip of generally planar
material twisted one half turn to form a loop in a mid portion,
with the strip crossing in an interface area, with two free ends
with diagonally oriented ends extending below the loop and
interface area, and an attachment configured for selectively
attaching and detaching corresponding sections of said main piece
to each other in the interface area, in order to form said main
piece into a generally looped ribbon shape, wherein a through
passageway is formed through the loop when said attachment is
engaged.
Inventors: |
Kay; Marianne; (Rancho Santa
Fe, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHRISTIE, PARKER & HALE, LLP
PO BOX 7068
PASADENA
CA
91109-7068
US
|
Family ID: |
43587710 |
Appl. No.: |
12/858375 |
Filed: |
August 17, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61234611 |
Aug 17, 2009 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/136 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 23/25 20130101;
A43B 1/0054 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/136 |
International
Class: |
A43B 23/00 20060101
A43B023/00 |
Claims
1. An object for adorning footwear comprising: a generally
trapezoidal and planar main piece composed of flexible, resilient
material; and an attachment configured for selectively attaching
and detaching corresponding sections of said main piece to each
other, in order to form said main piece into a generally looped
ribbon shape, wherein a through passageway is formed when said
multiple attachment portions are in an attached configuration.
2. The object for adorning footwear of claim 1, wherein said object
for adorning footwear is configured to be attached to a
shoelace.
3. The object for adorning footwear of claim 1, wherein said
attachment comprises a knob-like protrusion formed to extend from
one side of the main piece and at least one of a corresponding slit
and/or hole for receiving said knob like protrusion.
4. The object for adorning footwear of claim 3, wherein said
knob-like protrusion is formed with the main piece.
5. The object for adorning footwear of claim 1, wherein said
attachment comprises a plurality of hook and loop type attachment
means located on different sides of the main piece.
6. The object for adorning footwear of claim 1, wherein said main
piece has two spaced apertures formed through a wider flat surface
of the main piece, and the attachment comprises an object separate
from the main piece, which separate object comprises two spaced
apart protrusions with a narrower joining section, which separate
object will frictionally fit into the two apertures when the main
piece is folded into a ribbon configuration with the two apertures
aligned, which separate object will retain the main piece in the
ribbon configuration.
7. An object for adorning footwear comprising: a main piece with
two arm sections that are angled apart from each other and composed
of flexible, resilient material; and an attachment configured for
selectively attaching and detaching corresponding sections of said
main piece to each other, in order to form said main piece into a
generally looped ribbon shape, wherein a through passageway is
formed when said multiple attachment portions are in an attached
configuration.
8. The object for adorning footwear of claim 7, wherein said
attachment comprises a knob-like protrusion extending from one side
of the main piece on a first arm section, and at least one of a
corresponding slit and/or hole for receiving said knob like
protrusion that is formed through a second arm section.
9. The object for adorning footwear of claim 8, wherein said
knob-like protrusion is formed with the main piece.
10. The object for adorning footwear of claim 7, wherein said with
two arm sections are diagonally angled at their free ends.
11. An object for adorning footwear comprising: a main piece
composed of flexible, resilient material preformed to have a
generally ribbon-shaped configuration with a strip of material
twisted one half turn to form a loop in a mid portion, with the
strip crossing in an interface area, and with the strip having two
free diagonally slanted ends extending below the loop and interface
area, and an attachment configured for selectively attaching and
detaching corresponding sections of said main piece to each other
in the interface area in order to retain said main piece into a
generally looped ribbon shape, wherein a through passageway is
formed through the loop when said attachment is engaged.
12. The object for adorning footwear of claim 11, wherein said
attachment comprises a knob-like protrusion formed to extend from
one side of the main piece and at least one of a corresponding slit
and/or hole for receiving said knob like protrusion that is spaced
away from said protrusion.
13. The object for adorning footwear of claim 12, wherein said
knob-like protrusion is formed with the main piece.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/234,611, filed Aug. 17, 2009.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention concerns an object for adorning footwear, more
particularly, an ornamental object configured to be releasably
attached to a footwear product on a portion of the footwear such as
a shoelace.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It has become increasingly popular for members of the
general population to display items that bring attention to a
particular charitable cause, such as cancer research. For example a
growing number of people display a magnetic ribbon shaped decal on
surfaces such as a car. In general these items are of a specific
color or color scheme in order to make the particular charitable
cause easily identifiable. In addition, individuals have been
wearing these specific items on their persons. A well known example
of this has been for people to wear a yellow rubber bracelet
supporting the "LIVESTRONG" Foundation.
[0004] In addition to the general population, those who hold a more
visible position in society, such as professional athletes, have
been attempting to find ways to use their public platform to
promote specific charitable causes. One such way they have done
this is to display items on their persons such as the bracelets
discussed above. While the rubber bracelet has been acceptable to a
certain number of athletes, many feel uncomfortable wearing
adornment upon their wrist. Specifically, athletes, such as
golfers, feel that items worn at the wrist may be a distraction or
may actually interfere with their athletic performance.
[0005] Accordingly, an item is needed that can be worn by a person
while being both minimally noticeable to the person wearing the
item while being maximally visible to other persons.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In general, one embodiment of the present invention provides
an item which can be fastened to an article of clothing, such as a
shoe lace or shoe, in order to form a shape generally corresponding
to a ribbon. The item is formed from a generally trapezoidal planar
main piece, in which the main piece is significantly longer in one
direction than in the opposite direction. The main piece may be
composed of a flexible yet resilient material. On the main piece,
attachment portions are included. This attachment portions are
configured to allow selective attaching and detaching of
corresponding sections of the main piece in order to form a general
ribbon shape. Furthermore, the attachment portions are generally
configured to be equidistance from a center line dividing the main
piece long ways. The attachment portions are also generally
configured such that one portion is on a top side of the main piece
while the corresponding portion is on a bottom side of the main
piece. The main piece may contain lettering on a top side to
possibly identify a specific cause being advanced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a top side of a ribbon in an
unassembled configuration in one embodiment of the invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bottom side thereof.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view thereof of the ribbon in an
assembled configuration.
[0010] FIGS. 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side elevation view,
respectively, thereof, of another exemplary embodiment of a ribbon
of the invention in an unassembled configuration.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of another exemplary embodiment of
a main piece of the ribbon of the invention in the unassembled
configuration.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an exemplary attachment for
use with the main piece of FIG. 5.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a side view of the exemplary attachment of FIG.
6.
[0014] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the main piece of FIG. 5 and
attachment of FIG. 6 in an assembled configuration showing the
assembled ribbon.
[0015] FIG. 9 is a top side view of another exemplary configuration
of a ribbon having a generally boomerang shaped unassembled
configuration.
[0016] FIG. 10 is a top side view of yet another exemplary
configuration of a ribbon having a generally boomerang shaped
unassembled configuration.
[0017] FIG. 11 is a top side view of a further exemplary
configuration of a ribbon having a generally boomerang shaped
unassembled configuration.
[0018] FIG. 12 is a side view of two ribbons of the invention
secured to shoelaces of a shoe.
[0019] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exemplary ribbon of the invention in an assembled configuration
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] A general representation of the invention in an unassembled
configuration is shown in FIG. 1. A generally elongated trapezoidal
planer main piece 10 of flexible, resilient material is provided. A
first exemplary attachment portion 12 can comprise, for example, a
hole with slits at a top and bottom of the hole. The first
exemplary attachment portion 12 and a corresponding second
exemplary attachment portion 14, which is preferably detachably
engageable with the first attachment portion 12, are configured to
allow selective attachment and detachment of opposite sides 16 and
18 of the main piece 10. The second attachment section 14 is on an
opposite side of the main piece 10 and its relative location is
shown in FIG. 1. The section 14 in its entirety can be seen in FIG.
2. The generally elongated trapezoidal planer main piece 10 can
preferably have two diagonally slanted ends 20 and 22.
[0021] FIG. 2 shows the side opposite that shown in FIG. 1.
Attachment portion 14 comprises a knob like protrusion extending
from the main piece 10 wherein a base 24 of the protrusion 14 is of
a narrower diameter than the top 26. The hole of the attachment
portion 12 is configured to receive and retain the protruding knob
of the attachment section 14 such that about one half of the main
piece may be selective placed across the remain half and secured in
that position, as is shown in FIG. 3, to give the appearance of a
ribbon. The attachment portions are generally shown as a hole and a
knob like protrusion by way of example only. In an alternate
embodiment, these items may be of any type suitable for the
purpose. For example the attachment portions may comprise a
plurality of hooks and loops, a button/snap arrangement, a magnetic
configuration, hook and loop materials, etc.
[0022] FIG. 3 shows the invention in the assembled ribbon
configuration. In this configuration attachment portions 12 and 14
are connected, as described above, so as to form the ribbon shape.
In the ribbon configuration, the main piece 10 delimits a
passageway 28 at essentially a midpoint of a length of the main
piece 10, while opposing ends 20 and 22 of the main piece 10 extend
away from this midpoint and a away from the intersection of the
attachment portions 12 and 14. This passageway 28 is intended to
allow through passage of an item, such as a shoelace (not shown) in
order to secure the invention on a footwear item. Of course, the
passageway 28 can be used for securing around other objects, such
as a necklace chains and strings, and could depending on the
situation, be looped through eyelets, e.g., of a shoe.
[0023] In practice, a user may first feed one of the long ends of
the main piece 10 behind a shoelace. The main piece 10 is then
secured in front of the shoelace via mating the corresponding
attachment portions 12 and 14. To release, the user simply
disengages the attachment portions 12 and 14 and then withdraws the
main piece 10 from its threaded position through the shoelace. The
main piece is lightweight and, when worn, its presence will be
completely unrestrictive of the user. Yet, the main piece 10 allows
for an obvious display of colors and/or graphics, etc. As such, the
main piece 10 is configured to be releaseably attached to a user
while being both minimally noticeable to the user and maximally
visible to otherwise.
[0024] FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B show a top plan view and a side
elevation view, respectively, of a slight variation of the main
piece 30. The first exemplary attachment portion 32 comprises a
hole (without a slit). The hole 32 widens from the bottom side 38
to the top side 36 of the main piece 30. A protruding knob 34
widens out as it extends downwardly from the bottom side 38 and is
sized to establish a snapping fit with the hole 32, which widens
from top 36 to bottom, as is shown in FIG. 4B.
[0025] FIGS. 5-8 shows another embodiment of a ribbon assembly 50
having an elongated main piece 52 and an attachment portion 60,
with FIG. being a top plan view thereof. Here, the attachment
portion is a separate piece 60 inserted at least partially through
open holes 54 and 56 extending through two distinct portions of an
elongated main piece 52 to hold the elongated main piece in a
ribbon configuration as shown in FIG. 8 In this embodiment, as
shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the separate piece 60 is inserted through
both of the holes 54 and 56 when the elongated main piece 52 is
twisted into a ribbon configuration and the holes 54 and 56 are
aligned. The separate piece 60 can comprises two wider ends 62 and
64 and a joining section 66, with the joining section 66 being long
enough such that when the separate piece 60 is engaged with
elongated main piece 52, the joining section 66 will pass through
the holes and the two wider ends 62 and 64 will hold the elongated
main piece 52 in a ribbon configuration. The separate piece 60 is
configured to friction fit to releaseably secure the two sides of
the main piece together so as to form the assembled ribbon
configuration, as shown in FIG. 8.
[0026] FIGS. 9-11 illustrate three similar exemplary alternate
exemplary embodiments of ribbon 70A, 70B and 70C according to the
invention. Here the main pieces 72 have angled, or a generally
boomerang shape. That is, the main pieces 72 have two sections 74
and 76 that are angled at about a midpoint 78A at about 120
degrees. The main pieces 72 in these embodiments include the
attachment portions as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3
and 4A and 4G. The angled nature of the main piece facilitates
assembly and encourages the ribbon, when assembled, to maintain a
downward orientation. In the embodiment of FIG. 9. the two sections
74 and 76 join up without any change in dimension. In the
embodiment of FIG. 10. the two sections 74 and 76 join up with a
cutoff midpoint 78B, so that the main piece has a narrower neck at
the vertex of the angle. In the embodiment of FIG. 11. the two
sections 74 and 76 join up with a dipping in the midpoint 78C, so
that the main piece has a narrower neck at the vertex of the angle.
This narrower neck feature further promotes assembly of the ribbon
and maintains a flat downward orientation.
[0027] FIG. 12 shows two ribbons 10, in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention, releasably secured to a shoelace of a
shoe S.
[0028] FIG. 13 shows a ribbon arrangement 80 in still another
embodiment of the invention. Here, the main piece is curvilinear in
shape but still includes the attachment portions described above
(with a hole and protrusions, such as shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 4A and
4B) such that the main piece may be overlapped upon itself to form
a ribbon configuration as shown and secured in that position to
form the assembled ribbon with the passageway for securement about
a shoelace. The ribbon arrangement has a loop region 82, with two
free ends 84 with diagonally slanted ends 84, and an interface
region 86 where the attachment portions are located.
[0029] The object for adorning footwear described herein may be
constructed in various sizes, various thicknesses, and of any
desired material of sufficient strength and pliability
characteristics.
[0030] The object for adorning footwear as described herein is
preferably intended for use with footwear. However, it may be used
with any appropriate object. For example, the object for adorning
footwear may be displayed around a belt loop, or around a strap on
an item such as a backpack, helmet, glove, a portion of a bicycle,
etc. As noted above, in lieu of a hole and/slit plus protrusion,
other conventional attachment means can be used, such as hook and
loop material, hook and hook material, snaps, clips, magnets, etc.,
can be used with the embodiments noted hereinabove.
[0031] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, while
exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, various
modifications and variations can be made to the present apparatus
disclosed herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the
invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the various
embodiments have been described by way of illustration and not
limitation.
* * * * *