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Footwear adornment, footwear accessory holder, and methods therefor

Footwear adornment, footwear accessory holder, and methods therefor description/claims

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/937,694 filed on Jun. 29, 2007, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present invention broadly concerns items of footwear. More particularly, the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein concern devices for removable attachment to footwear which can hold decorative and utility items to be worn on shoes, boots, sandals and the like. These embodiments illustrate that the footwear attachment can be mounted on footwear in various ways and configured to interchangeably hold tiles and items of various shapes and sizes, all with various utilitarian functions, designs and logos. The footwear attachment can also provide an attachment point for wings or flaps and other decorative and/or useful additions.

Footwear has evolved far beyond simply being a means for protecting the feet and facilitating locomotion. Footwear is available for a wide variety of purposes, e.g. walking, playing golf, lounging, or driving. Footwear has also become a significant dress item for making a fashion statement and uniqueness and individuality in footwear are sought after by many customers. Children especially like to have footwear that sport their own flair and that stand apart from their peers. In other cases, companies use promotional items, such as footwear (e.g. shoes) with their logo attached, as advertisement for their business.

The custom footwear business is small compared to automated manufacturing, where each pair of footwear (e.g. shoes) is identical to the next, and custom footwear is expensive to make due to their implicit low volume. A means for an individual to customize their footwear would address the need for adding uniqueness to their fashion. In addition, the ability to transfer the chosen customization among footwear would also be desirable.

Previous art that attempts to address somewhat similar needs to those mentioned here are U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,499 issued Oct. 7, 1997 to Attilieni which teaches a removable portion of a shoe tongue that may include a light source and U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,612 issued Mar. 5, 1996 to Ransbottom which teaches a strap to fit around the front portion of a shoe and which can hold decorative items mounted on to it.

Accordingly, there is a need for a simple means of personalizing and adorning footwear by attaching decorative tiles, placards, logos, and the like. In addition, there is a need for a means to removably attach other items such as wings, flaps, tabs and the like. There is a still further need to have the ability to transfer such additions from one pair of footwear to the next.

In accordance with these objectives, devices and methods are contemplated for decorating footwear. To this end, the footwear can have a variety of styles and configurations even though the preferred embodiments described herein relate to footwear having laces. In addition, while many of the exemplary embodiments relate to the decoration of laced footwear, the teachings herein more broadly contemplate accessorizing any of a variety of footwear configurations with decorative items, promotional items, or the like so that the terms “decorating” or “accessorizing” are not intended to be construed as in any way limiting various ways in which the footwear can be adorned.

Various exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a footwear accessory holder which broadly comprises a mount attachable to the footwear for receiving at least one display item, and a display item retainer. The retainer is movably disposed on the mount between open and closed positions. When in the open position, the retainer serves to allow the display item to be received in the mount. When in the closed position, the retainer inhibits removal of the display item. One or more display items may be provided which can, themselves, constitute part of the footwear accessory holder. The display items, themselves, may be decorative and comprise decorative elements. Alternatively, each display item may be constructed to allow a decorative element to be attached to it.

In preferred embodiments, the mount is adapted to threadedly engage the footwear and is pivotally disposed on the mount. Also in the preferred embodiments, the display item is slidably received in the mount. To this end, the mount may be rectangular in configuration and comprise a frame which includes an upper deck surface and a slotted channel projecting below the deck surface. The slotted channel threadedly receives laces associated with the footwear so the mount can be situated thereon. The mount's frame may also include a pair of laterally spaced apart rails projecting above the deck to form an elongate slideway for receiving the display item. Also in the preferred embodiments, the retainer is pivotally disposed on the mount and constructed so that it may be locked into the closed position to capture the display item and hinder removal of it from the mount. To this end, the retainer may be formed to include a pair of laterally projecting wings, each having a tab which is adapted to mate with an associated aperture formed through the frame so that the retainer may lockingly engage the mount. Together, the mount, the display item and the retainer comprise an adornment for laced footwear.

Also described is a method for adorning laced footwear with a display item. According to this method, a mount is provided and laces of the footwear threadedly engage the mount to situate it on the footwear. The retainer is movably disposed on the mount as described above. The retainer is placed in the open position so that the display item may be disposed on the mount such as through slidably inserting it into the mount. The retainer is then placed in the closed position, and preferably locked in the closed position, to hinder removal of the display item from the mount.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the footwear adornment according to a first exemplary embodiment illustrating its attachment to a shoe;

FIG. 1B is an exploded plan view illustrating how the footwear adornment is mounted on footwear employing laces, the footwear attachment being viewed from the bottom and the footwear being viewed from the top;

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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