BACKGROUND ART For quite a nuin er of years, major manufacturers of footwear have been producing sporting types of shoes having most attractive features relative to padding for comfort, as well as shapes, styles and colour arrangements for aesthetic appeal. Such shoes almost invariably incorporate a lengthy lacing area, thickish soles and suede-like leather or imitation-leather uppers, their appeal for one reason or another being such that practically all sportspersons in all fields of sport are finding the shoes preferable for use. It is also comfortable, beneficial and fashionable to wear such shoes for running and/or walking. Shoes of the aforementioned types, such as those put out under the Trade Marks "NIKE" and "REEBOK" to name two by way of example, are made to such designs, materials and quality that expensiveness cannot be avoided, but in the marketplace the concomitant attractiveness and efficiency combine with peer pressure or social competitiveness to ensure ever-increasing sales. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Our present invention has been devised to deal with the major current problem associated with such shoes wherein the purchaser encounters disappointing deterioration of his expensive shoes under all but the most ideal conditions of use. The purchaser at present has no way of preserving the quality and colours of the shoes when they are exposed to the weather or are taken, for example, through grass of more than minimum length. Likewise, if worn on other wet surfaces, or on sticky or muddy surfaces, or simply during a storm, the modern shoes of this type deteriorate quickly. Thus, the owner's very expensive running/walking shoes when worn in the manner for which they were intended will become scruffy, faded and discoloured so that they

wear out or will appear more worn out than they are in fact.

Accordingly the present invention has for its principal object to provide a pair of slip-on/off covers for such shoes to serve as protection for the purpose aforementioned. A further object is to provide such covers which will not only protect the shoes but will apply themselves to being made with a whole range of marketing features relative to designs, colours, styles and patterns. Other objects of the invention are to provide shoe- protection covers of the character described which may be made easily and inexpensively; which will possess all desirable characteristics for efficiency in use, and which will be durable, easily cleaned, and re-usable over a long period. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be clear from the subsequent descriptions herein. With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention resides broadly, according to one aspect, in a protection cover for a shoe of the type having a shoe upper above a bottom sole, said shoe upper having a top portion, inner and outer side portions, a front toe cap, a rear heel portion and a rear upper ankle opening, said protection cover including: a cover body portion shaped to fit over the shoe upper; a bottom opening in the cover body portion through which the shoe sole is substantially exposed in use; an upper rear opening in the cover body portion adapted to register with and expose the rear ankle opening of the shoe upper; a front protector cap of leather or other durable material at the front of the cover body portion and adapted to encase said front toe cap of the shoe upper and to engage under the front of the shoe sole, and elasticising means about the cover body portion adjacent the periphery of said bottom opening thereof to be disposed in use at at least the inner and outer side portions of the shoe upper, the parts being so made and arranged that the protection cover may be disposed operatively on the shoe by engaging the

front protector cap with and under the front of the shoe, engaging the cover body portion adjacent said upper rear opening about the ankle opening of the shoe upper, and drawing the cover body portion around the shoe upper and rear heel portion thereof so that the periphery of said bottom opening engages about the sole above the lowermost ground-contact face of the sole, the elasticising means then acting to hold in tension the secured front protector cap so that the periphery of the bottom opening is taut about the lower edges of the sides and rear of the shoe sole but does not extend beneath the ground-contact face of the sole in rear of the protector cap.

By making the body portion around the upper ankle opening also of an elasticised nature like a shirt neck band, the cover can be expanded at both its openings sufficiently to permit the cover to be attached like a sock over the toe of the shoe, whereafter the toe cap may be engaged, the upper opening fitting firmly about the shoe upper at the ankle opening, and the cover body being stretched down to embrace the sides and rear of the shoe. However, the invention also embraces variations which require fitting in different ways. For example, the upper opening of the body portion could be non-stretchable or not sufficiently so as to permit the shoe on the wearer to pass therethrough, in which case the wearer could follow the practice of fitting the cover firstly up past his bare ankle and then putting on the shoe and pulling down the cover. An obvious modification of this would be to provide a break at the rear for example of the cover body portion and have coacting fasteners so that the cover can be put on or taken off as required, with tensioning being automatic in the fastened attitude. However, it is thought that in almost all circumstances a one-piece, sock¬ like arrangement would be most advantageous and preferably elasticised at both openings.

Typically, the body portion may be made of a relatively elastic material, such as lycra, thus assisting by virtue of its stretching to facilitate slipping the cover on to the shoe and also making removal of the cover easier. The front protector cap at the toe preferably is attached to the body portion so that the

rear edges of the cap lie in a transverse, substantially vertical plane for best appearances, and it is also preferred that at the very rear of the shoe the body portion of the cover has a shaped heel-protector piece of leather or other suitable material. It is also preferred that the rear end of the cover body portion containing the rear heel portion of the shoe be provided with reflector means for safety purposes.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cover body portion is restrained from rising upwards relative to the sole by the provision of a Velcro or the like strip stitched just above the bottom opening midway along the inner face of the body and adapted to co-act with a mating Velcro strip affixed as by adhesive to the corresponding portion of the sole (just above its ground contact face) and thus not viewable from the outer side of the shoe. Other features of the invention will be hereinafter apparent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:-

Fig. 1 shows in perspective view and in usage disposition one form of cover according to the invention for a right-foot shoe which is also illustrated to show the fitting steps; Fig. 2 shows in similar view the cover and shoe of

Fig. 1 in assembled or fitted, ready-to-use relationship; Fig. 3 shows in perspective the same right-foot shoe and fitted as in Fig. 2 but taken from beneath and showing the outer side; Fig. 4 is the same as Fig. 3 in showing the outer side but taken from above;

Fig. 5 shows in perspective view, from the front and above, a pair of preferred covers for respective right and left shoes; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the covers of Fig. 5, but taken from rear and beneath, and

Fig. 7 shows in diagrammatic "developed" view, for

ease of understanding, the various components in each of the covers shown in Fig. 5 or Fig. 6.

BEST MODE OF CARRY OUT THE INVENTION The drawings show in Fig. 1 a right shoe 10 of the kind described, and the several covers illustrated for fitting to the right shoe 10 are indicated by the numeral 11, while those for fitting to left shoes are indicated by the numeral 11a. All components correspond for left or right shoes and are not differentiated in the numerals apart from the right cover having a right-side attachment 12 and the left shoe cover having a similar but opposed left-side attachment 12a in the preferred embodiments shown only in Figs. 5,6, and 7. The attachments 12 and 12a each include hinged Velcro-fitted strap 14 to engage a fixed mating Velcro pad 15 constituting "mock buckles" to identify the covers as either left or right to the user. The other differentiating feature is that each cover has stitched on its inner surface a Velcro strip 16 to engage a mating Velcro pad 17 suitably secured by adhesive to the inner face of the respective shoe. Each cover 11, 11a includes a body portion 18 shaped to fit over the shoe upper 13 as shown in the drawings and having a bottom opening 19 through which the shoe sole 20 is exposed, as well as an upper rear opening 21 to register with and expose the rear ankle opening 22 of the shoe upper 13. The body portion 18 also has a front protector cap 23 of leather, rubber or the like adapted to encase the toe 24 and under the sole 20 at that location. Elasticising means 25 in the form of a continuous piece of elastic material is provided along the lowermost edge of the body portion 18 so as to encircle the bottom opening at at least the sides of the sole 20 when the shoe is fitted. In this way, the body portion 18 when suitably made of Lycra or another somewhat elastic material can be drawn down so that the periphery of the bottom opening 19 engages about the sole 20 above the ground-contact face of the latter, with the parts tensioned as apparent from the drawings.

With reference to Fig. 1, the shoe 10 can be put on the foot and then have its lace 26 secured tightly, whereafter the cover

11 is brought to the toe 24 of the shoe so that the top opening 21 is fitted over and past the toe 24, sole 20 and upper 13, with simultaneous drawing-on of the front protective cap 23 to take up the position indicated by the arrow 1 in Fig. 1. Thereafter the rear part 27 of the body portion 18 is drawn down along the line of the arrow 2. The final positions of all components will be as shown in Fig. 2, and the Velcro strips 16 and 17 will be pressed together to prevent rising up of the body portion 18 of the cover. Around the top opening 21 of the body portion 18 the stitched trim 28 can be similar to stretchable neck band material, while protection and rigidifying at the rear end are provided also by a rear plate 29 of leather, rubber or the like. The plate 29 could have a reflective surface if so desired, for safety reasons, or other separate reflector means could be provided adjacent the plate 29. The shaping of the blank for the body portion 18 will be apparent from the "developed" view of Fig. 7. The components of the front protector cap 23 are suitably shaped as illustrated and can be folded and stitched to form a toe pocket having rear edges 30 as shown in the drawings and suitably lying in a transverse vertical plane.

In use, the toe parts of the cover at 23 act to anchor the cover and prevent it from "riding up", and this is achieved further by the use of the Velcro attachment 16 on the cover co- acting with a mating Velcro attachment 17 on the shoe. The use of elastic in the base of the cover ensures that it can be stretched easily for fitting the cover to the shoe, and it provides tension for holding the bottom of the cover against the periphery of the shoe sole at sides and rear. Thus, the only ground contact will be with the underneath part of the toe cap which is of leather or the like to be wear-resistant, and in any event, the toe cap is at the part of the sole which normally makes the least contact.

The consumer can be provided with a wide range of styles, patterns and colours so that he can present any selected "show" over the top of the same shoes, and this leads to interesting marketing services for the shoe manufacturer, particularly since

the cheapness of the covers allows them to be provided with the shoes or purchased as cheap extras from a wide selection at any time. If desired, the covers may be made using the same patterns and colours as the original shoe, thus operating as a protective cover only so that the shoes will not become scruffy or discoloured and can be kept and used for a longer period of time. While no difficulty would be encountered in adhering the Velcro 17 to the shoes, it could be standard practice for the shoe manufacturers to sell the shoes with the Velcro strips incorporated. While we have referred herein to walking or running shoes, the range of use will be obvious since the invention is clearly applicable to shoes for basketball, tennis, squash, golf, football, hockey, cricket and so forth.

While covers in accordance with the disclosures herein will therefore be found very effective in achieving the objects for which the invention has been devised, it will be understood that the examples given are illustrative only and may be subject to many modifications of constructional detail and design as will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art, and without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.