BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to "decorative

%> adapters" (as defined below) in the form of shoe and boot covers, shoe frames, heel protectors, and matching handbag 5 covers, and in particular to such for "everyday footwear" (also as defined below) .

As used herein the term "fashion set" means a set of everyday footwear and matching handbag, and the term "everyday footwear" is used to distinguish such footwear

10 from footwear that is not intended to withstand the wear and tear of everyday use, for example, shoes which are only occasionally used over limited periods, e.g. theatrical, rain, etc. Everyday footwear includes fashion footwear and the like.

15 Everyday footwear is usually provided in mainly two types, those which more or less cover only the foot of a person, and those which can cover the ankle and sometimes also part of the leg of a person. As used hereinafter the term "shoe and boot" shall refer to these types of

20 everyday footwear.

The occasion, fashion and weather usually determine whether a person will wear a shoe or boot, and especially in the case of ladies it is usual for them to own at least one pair of each. Furthermore, such shoes and boots can

25 have multiplicity of shapes which can be determined by the fashion and/or occasion. Also, it is fashionable for ladies to carry handbags that match the footwear.

As will be appreciated, such a "multitude" of everyday footwear is expensive and a person's choices are limited to

30 what's available from the manufacturers. It is likewise expensive to have a handbag that matches each pair of footwear. This invention provides a way to overcome these problems, a way that is comparatively inexpensive and easy to use.

Other advantages and attributes of this invention will be readily discemable upon a reading of the text hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provide decorative adapters to convert pre-existing everyday footwear or everyday footwear in the manufacturing process to other forms and color.

A further object of this invention is to provide decorative adapters to convert pre-existing handbags to other colors to match footwear converted according to this invention.

A further object of this invention is to provide a decorative adapter to convert a pre-existing everyday shoe into footwear having a boot appearance.

A further object of this invention is to provide a decorative adapter in the form of a soft cover that conforms to a pre-existing shoe or a shoe in the manufacturing process to temporarily or permanently change its form and/or color.

A further object of this invention is to provide a decorative adapter in the form of a molded frame that conforms to a pre-existing shoe or a shoe in the manufacturing process to temporarily or permanently change its form and/or color.

A further object of this invention is to provide a decorative adapter in the form of a heel protector conforms to the heel of a pre-existing shoe to protect the heel and/or temporarily or permanently change its form and/or color.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a way to convert a pre-existing shoe into a shoe having another form or color so that a person need only bring one or two pairs of shoe on a trip, but nevertheless can adapt the shoes to match in form and/or color much more than one or two outfits.

These, and other objects expressed or implied in this specification and claims, are accomplished by a decorative aάavpter for an item of footwear comprising a soft cover which fits over the item of footwear, the cover including a toe portion, an upper heel portion and an opening defined by the cover for insertion of the item of footwear. The soft cover can be made from material is slightly stretchable so that the cover can snugly fit over the item of footwear. The soft cover can further include an opening defined by the cover through which a sole of the item of footwear can protrude. The soft cover can further include a sole affixed to the bottom of the cover. The soft cover can further include a lower heel portion to sheath the sides of a heel of the item of footwear. The soft cover can have the lower heel portion closed, and further include a heel tip affixed to the bottom of the lower heel portion. The soft cover can further include means for at least partially closing said opening for insertion to tighten the cover about the item of footwear, such as an elastic seam around the rim of the opening. A second type of decorative adapter for an item of footwear includes a heel section including a hard cover that fits over the upper heel portion of the item of footwear. The second type of decorative adapter can also have the heel section further include a lower heel section affixed thereto that sheaths the sides of the heel of the item of footwear. The second type of decorative adapter can also have the lower heel section closed and further include a heel tip affixed to the bottom of the lower heel section. The second type of decorative adapter can also include a toe section including a hard cover that fits over the toe portion of the item of footwear. The second type of decorative adapter can also include an opening defined by the toe section through which a sole of the item of footwear can protrude. The second type of decorative adapter can also include a sole affixed to the bottom of the toe section. The second type of decorative adapter can also include means for connecting

the upper heel section and the toe section to form a unitary cover for the item of footwear. The second type of decorative adapter can also have the upper heel section and the toe section are connected as integral parts of one cover. A fashion set includes a decorative adapter for a purse and matching decorative adapters for footwear worn with the purse. The decorative adapter for the purse can be a soft cover that fits the purse without interfering with use of the purse, and the decorative adapter for the footwear can be a pair of soft covers, one for each item of footwear or a pair of hard covers, one for each item of footwear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along a longitudinal axis of a first embodiment of a loose footwear cover according to this invention, this embodiment covering the heel and including its own sole at the tip of the heel .

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of a loose footwear cover including a heel protector and an opening through which the heel of an everyday shoe can protrude.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of a third embodiment of a loose footwear cover in the form of a boot. Figure 4 is an exploded, side elevational view of a decorative adapter in the form of a molded frame/cover in two sections, a toe section and a heel protector section.

Figure 5 is an exploded, perspective view of the molded footwear frame/cover of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the molded footwear frame/cover of Figure 4 joined, or a unitary frame/cover, both according to this invention.

Figure 7 is a plan view of a clutch purse, or clutch bag, enclosed in a cover according to this invention.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8- 8.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a tote purse, or tote bag, enclosed in a cover according to this invention.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A first form of a decorative adapter according to this invention is a means for converting an everyday shoe into a shoe with another form, or into a boot, including a.loose cover in the form of a shoe or boot which can fit in two or more ways.

Referring to Figure 1, an everyday shoe or shoe frame 10 is entirely covered in a cover 2. (A decorative adapter in the form of a molded "shoe frame" is described below in another section of this specification) . The cover defines an opening 4 for fitting the cover over the shoe or shoe frame. The cover further includes a toe portion 3, an upper heel portion 5, a lower heel portion 6, and a sole 16 at the heel tip. The lower heel portion is a removable, sleeve-like, trough-shaped sheath that forms a part of the cover from a shoe templet 15 on down. As illustrated, the heel tip 19 of the everyday shoe or shoe frame is completely enclosed in the sheath 6. The cover also includes a sole 8. As shown the sole 8 only extends to the shank of the cover (a half sole) but it can be a three- quarters sole, a full sole extending from the tip of the toe to the edge of the heel tip, or any other desired length.

The cover can be made of a relatively soft, flexible and slightly stretchable material such as artificial leather, leather, fabric and the like, for example. It is preferably made of a material which is at least slightly stretchable so that it can fit snugly over the existing shoe. The cover can even be formed by blow/injection molding/vacuum forming and the like. Preferably the

material of the cover is soft and flexible so that the covers may be compactly folded onto itself to facilitate its storage and/or transportation. The sole may be made of a material such as leather, plastic, nylon and the like so that the sole 8 is stronger and more abrasion-resistant than the rest of the cover.

Referring to Figure 2, a cover 18 can also partially enclose the everyday shoe or shoe frame. As illustrated, an opening 22 can allow the heel of the everyday shoe or shoe frame to protrude therefrom. As illustrated, the cover includes a sole 9 that extends from the tip of the toe to the edge of the heel tip, but it may also be shorter, such as a half sole, a three-quarters sole, or any other desired length. An opening 20 allows insertion and removal of the shoe or shoe frame. The shoe heel opening can also be along a shoe's templet (as indicated by the dashed line 21) in which case the sole 9 would be shorter and the entire heel of the shoe or shoe frame would be exposed. Referring to Figure 3, an everyday shoe can be converted temporarily, or permanently, into a boot by locating it entirely within a cover 26 so that the heel is enclosed, and so that the rest of the cover fits snugly about the rest of the shoe. Shoelaces 28 can be used to pull the cover tightly around the shoe and be tied to decrease the size of an opening 30 to ensure that the cover is tightly secured to the shoe. When the shoe is to be used as a conventional shoe again, the shoelaces can be loosened and the cover removed from the shoe. The dashed line 32 indicates the top of the shoe or shoe frame therein. It will be appreciated that if so required, the cover 26 can be secured permanently to shoe in any suitable manner. It will also be appreciated that instead of being in the form of a boot, cover 26 can also be a shoe of a different form.

Referring again to Figure 1, the upper heel portion 5 of a cover 2 can be kept taut around the back of the shoe

10 by an attached strip 12 that is folded over the back rim of the shoe to protrude into the shoe. The attached strip may or may not be affixed to the back inside wall of the shoe by a fastener 14, such as a hook and loop fastener. Also, the upper heel portion of the cover may be lined with heel gripping friction material.

It will be appreciated that with footwear covers according to the invention many other embodiments are possible which do not fall outside the spirit and/or scope of the appended claims. Thus, for example, the cover can be of any suitable material, for example: artificial leather, calf leather, nappa leather, pig split suede, elasticized material, lace, satin, materials for evening wear, weddings, materials to match dresses, suits, etc. Similarly the sole of the covering can be made of any suitable type material such as rubber, resin, leather, plastic and the like.

Because the heel of an everyday shoe usually performs the most work during use, and bears the most weight, it is usually the strongest part of the shoe, and accordingly also the most expensive part to manufacture. Accordingly, because the footwear cover utilizes the heel of an existing shoe for the converted shoe, the cover can be made relatively of inexpensive material. A person can therefore acquire at relatively low cost several such covers of various forms.

The cover may also include a closable opening intended for facilitating the fitting of the cover over the everyday shoe or shoe frame. The size of such an opening may be adjustable in any conventional manner such as, for example, with the aid of shoe laces, clips, Velcro-type fasteners, zippers, elastic and the like.

Although the cover may include a further opening through which the sole of the front part of the existing everyday shoe can protrude, the cover preferably includes its own soles.

As will be appreciated, the cover may be provided in any color and may include any suitable type of decoration such as, for example, buckles, buttons, frills, "stik-ons" and the like. Also where the material of the cover is not sufficiently stretchable so that it can be used with shoes of different sizes, the cover can be provided in different sizes of use with shoes with different sizes.

When the cover fits completely over the everyday shoe, it is characterized in that the cover is made in such a way that the heel of the existing shoe is also enclosed in a complete loose sleeve or sheath like cover which forms part of the upper part of the cover, with its own sole at the tip of the heel. It therefore does not have an opening through which the heel protrudes. This cover can completely be removed from the existing shoe or frame. The cover can also fit partially over the everyday shoe with or without the use of a shoe frame (as described below) , with or without a heel protector (also described below) . It includes a cover in the form of a shoe or a boot which can fit over an everyday shoe or a shoe frame, with the cover characterized in that it includes an opening through which the heel of the everyday shoe or shoe frame can protrude. When the cover fits partially over the everyday shoe or shoe frame, it does not enclose the existing everyday shoe or shoe frame completely. The loose shoe/boot cover can also be fitted permanently over the everyday shoe with or without the shoe frame, and with or without the heel protector (as discussed below) . It includes a cover in the form of a shoe or a boot which can fit over an everyday shoe, or a shoe frame with the cover characterized in that the material of which the cover is made, be fitted permanently under the sole and/or heel tip of the existing shoe and/or shoe frame as follows: - 1. during the manufacturing of the shoe, or

2. afterwards, when converting the existing shoe into a shoe with a loose shoe/boot cover permanently fixed to the existing shoe.

When the footwear cover is to be fitted permanently to an existing shoe at a later stage, :

1. the heel sheath 6 can be sewn to the upper part of the shoe/boot cover, or

2. the templet 15 of an existing shoe can be opened so that the loose sheath-like heel portion and the upper heel portion of the cover can be glued into this opening around the templet of the existing shoe and permanently glued into the templet .

The sole of the existing shoe must be removed by way of heat activating. The heel tip must be pulled out. The loose footwear cover must then be molded over the inner sole of the existing shoe or shoe frame. The original sole and/or heel tip of the existing shoe and/or shoe frame must then be placed back into its original place.

When the loose footwear cover is to be permanently fitted over an existing shoe, the shoe must be prepared as follows :

1. the shoe's sole is removed by means of heat activating,

2. the heel tip is removed, and 3. optionally the heel can be opened around the templet.

The loose shoe or boot cover is then fitted over the existing shoe as follows:

1. the sheath-like heel section is sewn around the templet,

2. optionally, glue is applied into the opening around the templet of the existing shoe, and the lower heel section and the upper heel section are pressed into this glued opening at the templet, . 3. the sheath-like heel section is glued around the existing heel,

4. the loose footwear cover is fitted over the existing shoe,

5. the shoe/boot cover is molded over the toe section and pressed down to the inner sole, 6. the sole section of the footwear cover is glued over the inner sole of the existing shoe,

7. the outer sole of the existing shoe is fitted and glued back into position through to the edge of the heel tip, and 8. the heel tip is put back into position.

It will be appreciated that with footwear according to the invention many other embodiments are possible which do not fall outside the spirit and/or scope of the appended claims. Thus, for example, the cover can be of any suitable material, for example, artificial leather, calf leather, nappa leather, pig split suede, elasticized material, lace, satin, materials for evening wear, weddings, materials to match dresses, suits, etc. Similarly the sole of the covering can be made of any suitable type material such as rubber, resin, leather, plastic and the like.

Another form of decorative adapter according to this invention is a shoe frame/cover, to which referral was made above. In general a shoe frame/cover is a molded frame or molded cover made to: fit loosely over an existing shoe or part of an existing shoe; fit over, and be permanently attached to an existing shoe or part of a shoe; fit loosely over the frame of a shoe in the manufacturing process; and fit over and be permanently attached to the frame of a shoe to form part of the shoe in the manufacturing process.

Referring the figures 4-6, one embodiment of such a molded frame/cover is illustrated to have two sections, a toe section 40 and an upper heel section 42. It also has a lower heel section 44. It can also have a heel tip 52 to walk on, or alternatively an opening through which the heel tip of a shoe can protrude, as described about for the loose covers. Also as illustrated, the frame/cover has a

half sole 48 but it can be a three-quarters sole, a full sole extending from the tip of the toe to the edge of the heel tip, or any other desired length.

The two sections can slide over one another, or the two sections can be joined together in suitable way, e.g. a spiral spring in the artificial resin/rubber of which the frame/cover can be made, or any other fastener, like hooks, Velcro type tape, zip, eyelets, lace and the like. The different sections can overlap to accommodate different sizes or it can be fitted as required.

A molded frame/cover can be molded as a single unit in which the toe section contains an inner and outer sole; and the heel section contains an upper heel section and a lower heel section with the lower end of the heel sheath 44 including an aperture through which the tip of a heel can protrude.

A molded frame/cover can be molded into two separate units as described above, or it can be molded into one or two separate units with the toe section containing an inner and outer sole and a heel section containing an upper heel section and a lower heel section with the lower end of the heel sheath 44 having an opening through which a tip of a heel can protrude or being closed with its own heel tip. A molded frame/cover can also be molded into three separate three parts, namely: a toe section (only the upper) ; a sole section or part thereof; and a heel section or part thereof.

As previously described, a molded frame/cover can have a sole section in various ways : the sole may be a half sole, fitted only to the front part of the frame cover, a three-quarters length sole, a full sole from the tip of the toe to the tip of the heel, or any desired length. The sole of a frame/cover may be with or without a sole under the tip of the lower heel section. Alternatively the molded frame/cover, when covered, may receive its own sole by gluing, injection molding, or the like, a synthetic resin/rubber and the like to the

bottom part of the frame/cover. In this embodiment the molded cover will be fitted with its own permanently fixed outer sole. The frame/cover may even be without a sole.

The purpose of the molded frame/cover is to serve as a basis/frame for the final loose and/or permanent covering of a shoe with a suitable, fashionable fabric/leather, and the like, equally suitable for male and female fashionable shoes.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a basis, to fit over the existing shoe, or the shoe in the manufacturing process, which can be used together with the arrangement as disclosed in Nr 1 shoe and boot covers. It can also be used to replace the conventional way of shoe repair. According to the invention a molded frame/cover comprises a sheet of flexible or firm material adapted in shape, preferably by process of injection molding/vacuum forming, and the like, to fit around the existing shoe or frame of a shoe or apart of it, and may be covered with fabric to complement the outfit of the client. The main aim is actually to make mass production less labor insensitive.

Preferably the molded frame/cover is shaped to overlay at least the toe and heel sections of a shoe, but can also overlay the toe and heel as well as the sole sections of the shoe.

In this embodiment of the invention the molded frame/cover preferably comprises: an upper surface that is intended to be covered with a fashionable loose or permanent footwear cover (as described above with reference to Figures 1-3) or permanently covered with a suitable material, for example, a fabric, artificial leather, leather, or the like, or a treated by a process known as "flocking"; and a bottom surface intended to form the inner sole of the footwear cover.

Another form of decorative adapter is a heel protector. An embodiment of a heel protector is

illustrated in figures 4 and 5 as the heel section 42. It should be noted that the heel section can be used independently as a heel protector. It can be injection molded in a synthetic resin, rubber or any other suitable material and the like.

In this form of the invention, the heel cover/protector preferably comprises a substantially trough-shaped element which is open at one end and closed at the opposite end, with its own heel tip, so that the heel of shoe can be received in it. The aforesaid component can be used independently for trimming, covering and/or protecting the heel of an existing shoe, for example when driving a car. It can also be used to repair footwear. When using the heel section 42 as an independent unit to protect the heel area of an everyday shoe against damaging, e.g. when driving a car, it is preferred, but not essential, that a catch be fitted to the upper edge of the heel protector to catch over the upper edge of the back of the shoe. It can also be without the catch.

A molded cover according to the invention may also be used in a restorative manner by applying the cover over a scratched or otherwise damaged shoe.

A cover according to the invention may also be applied over an undamaged shoe to protect the later against damage. A cover according to the invention may also be applied in the manufacturing process in the shoe repair industry.

Referring to Figures 7 and 8, an embodiment of a decorative adapter as part of a fashion set is illustrated to be in the form of a soft cover 60 for a clutch bag, i.e., purse 62. The cover is made to completely enclose and conform to the clutch bag without interfering with use of the bag. A pocket part of the bag 64 is seated within a pocket part of the cover 66. The cover includes a latching mechanism, 68A and 68B, since any latching mechanism on the bag is covered. As a part of a fashion set, the exposed surfaces of the cover match the decorative adapters that

cover the footwear to be worn with the clutch bag. The match can be in color, texture, pattern, material, or in any other aesthetically pleasing way. any other

Referring to Figures 9 and 10, another embodiment of a decorative adapter as part of a fashion set is illustrated to be in the form of a soft cover 70 for a tote bag, i.e. purse 72. Again, the cover is made to completely enclose and conform to the tote bag without interfering with use of the bag. This cover includes a plurality of fasteners 74, of conventional design, to keep the cover on the bag.

The foregoing description and drawings were given for illustrative purposes only, it being understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is intended to embrace any and all alternatives, equivalents, modifications and rearrangements of elements falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.