Footwear wrap assembly

Abstract

Embodiments of methods in accordance with the present invention provide a wrap assembly that removably attaches to footwear of a person comprising a strap that is capable of supporting various complementary removable/attachable accessories that to the footwear.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a non-provisional application of provisional application 60/538,758, entitled “Tactical Boot Sleeve”, filed on Jan. 26, 2004. The present application claims priority to said provisional application, and incorporates its specifications by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a footwear wrap assembly and, more particularly, to footwear wrap assemblies adapted to removably attach to a user's footwear and are capable of supporting various removably attachable devices.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Various holster systems exist that allow a wearer to carry an item about the lower portion of their leg or near the ankle. However, these various systems are generally limited to holsters that are fixedly integrated to the system (thereby limiting the equipment or device to a specific article of manufacture). Additionally, the systems lack the capability of supporting more than one holster at a time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCED NUMERALS

Similar reference numerals in the drawings denote similar elements throughout the several views; the figures in each of the views illustrate various embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of a footwear wrap assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B illustrates a perspective view of a clip for a footwear wrap assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a footwear having a footwear wrap assembly with accessories in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3A illustrates a perspective plan view of a footwear wrap assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B illustrates a partial plan view of a footwear wrap assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3C illustrates a partial perspective view of a footwear wrap assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3D illustrates a plan view of an attachment anchor for the footwear wrap assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a plan view of a footwear wrap assembly with an accessory in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a plan view of a footwear wrap assembly with accessories in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a plan view of a footwear wrap assembly with a flexible portion and accessories in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a plan view of a footwear wrap assembly with accessories in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate plan views of a footwear wrap assembly with camouflage in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 9-11 illustrate perspective views of footwear having a footwear wrap assembly with and without accessories in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exploded view of a boot armor accessory in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of a footwear wrap assembly with the boot armor accessory in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, an attachable and detachable footwear wrap assembly having a strap suitable for use in supporting various accessories, such as equipment, devices, and/or receptacles adapted to hold such equipment and device, that may be removably coupled to the wrap assembly at least in part by the strap.

Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials, and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.

The phrase “in one embodiment” is used repeatedly. The phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment; however, it may.

The terms “comprising”, “having” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms, “footwear”, “shoe”, and “boot” if employed are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms, “foot wrap assembly”, “tactical boot sleeve”, and “boot sleeve” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms, “boot armor” and “Kevlar Bootie” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms “strap encasement” and “sleeve loop casing” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms “strap” and “adjustable sleeve-loop” are synonymous unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms “Boot armor secondary securing member” and “cinch” are synonymous unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms “adjustable loop assembly” and “attachment anchor” are synonymous unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms “wrap” and “foundation strap” are synonymous unless the context dictates otherwise.

The terms “anchor loop” and “sleeve loop” are synonymous unless the context dictates otherwise.

FIGS. 1A, and 3-8B illustrate various perspective and plan views of the footwear assembly, in accordance with various embodiments of the methods of the present invention. As will be described in more detail below, for all embodiments, a footwear wrap assembly 100 may be adapted to allow the removable engagement/attachment of a portion of one or more accessories 34, and provide at least a portion of the support for those accessories 34, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 9-11 and 13, on a suitable footwear/boot 46. Assembly 100 may generally include a wrap 2 which has a strap 12 coupled thereto. The wrap 2 may be configured to at least partially encircles a user's leg/ankle (not shown) on the outside of the boot 46. Wrap 2 may be configured to removably secure to the boot 46. In one embodiment, wrap 2 may be secured to the boot 46 by interlacing wrap assembly eyelets 8 with the boot laces 48.

The strap 12 may be coupled to the wrap 2, and adapted to allow for the partial support, and removable attachment of, the accessories 34. The accessories 34 may be complementarily adapted for attachment to the strap 12 by the employment of an attachment means, including, but not limited to a strap encasement, belt loop, clip, complementary snaps, and/or a hook and loop fastener (such as Velcro®). Strap 12 may be sized of a sufficient width and thickness to provide support for the accessories 34 with respect to wrap 2. In various embodiments the accessories 34 can be a holster, a flashlight retainer, ammunition clip retainer, handcuff retainer, a knife sheath, a magnet, and/or a utility pocket. However, this list is not exhaustive and virtually anything that can be attached to the strap 12 can be an accessory 34.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate one embodiment of footwear wrap assembly 100. Footwear wrap assembly 100 may have a first end 4 and a second end 6, each with eyelets 8 disposed therein such that footwear lacing 48 (shown in FIG. 2) may engage the eyelets and secure the wrap around the user's leg/ankle. While two eyelets 8 are shown disposed in each end 4 and 6, one or more wrap assembly eyelets 8 per end 4 and 6 may be employed.

In addition to the eyelets 8 supporting and securing the footwear wrap assembly 100 to the footwear 46 optionally one or more clip 5 may be used to couple the wrap 2 to a cuff 50 of the foot wear 46 (shown in FIG. 2). One or more clip 5 can be attached at any position along the length of the wrap 2 and be configured to provide additional support to the wrap 2, and thus may allow for more and/or heavier accessories 34 to be used (see FIG. 2). Clip 5 can be removably coupled to the wrap 2 using a variety of suitable detachable fasteners 3, such as a hook and loop. In alternate embodiments the clip 5 may also be secured to the wrap 2 in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, buttons, snaps, stitching and the like. Further, attachment to the cuff 50 may be accomplished using other suitable attachment mechanisms as well, such as a complementary snap fastener between the cuff 50 of the boot 46 and the footwear wrap assembly 100.

Strap 12 may have a strap first end 14 that may be adapted to removably couple to the wrap 2 at or near the first end 4, and a strap second end 16 can be fixedly attached to the wrap 2. Strap first end 14 may be detachably coupled using any number of suitable fasteners 7. Examples of suitable detachable fasteners include hook and loop fastener, button and buttonhole, snap, zipper, and the like. In other embodiments, strap second end 16 may also be detachably coupled to the wrap assembly 2 near second end 6. Further, strap 12 may be adapted to allow the one or more accessories 34 to be adjusted relative to the footwear, which may facilitate comfort and/or convenience of the user (not shown) wearing the footwear 46. The accessories 34 may slide along the strap 12 thereby adjusting the position of the accessory 34 for the comfort of the user.

FIG. 2 illustrates the embodiments represented by FIGS. 1A and 3A with various removable accessories 34 attached to the strap 12 while the wrap is interlaced with boot 46. FIG. 11 shows an embodiment were the accessory 34 comprises a magnet. The magnet can be used to secure various tools (not shown) for the user.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrates a footwear wrap assembly 100 in accordance with the present invention, wherein footwear wrap 100 may include a wrap attachment anchor 9. The attachment anchor 9 may allow a user to readily adapt the length of the footwear wrap assembly 100 to accommodate footwear 46 of differing circumferences, sizes, and/or shapes. The attachment anchor 9 may comprise loop 11 and anchor loop fastener 17 with eyelets 8. The attachment anchor 9 may be coupled to the footwear 46 using complementary eyelets 8 to interlace with the footwear laces 48. The embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 3A may optionally include clip 5, as described above. As noted for FIG. 1A, the number of wrap assembly eyelets 8 may vary. In an alternate embodiment, the wrap 2 may be manufactured to complementary engage an attachment anchor 9 at the wrap first end 4 and the wrap second end 6. This could enable and facilitate quick and complete detachment of the footwear wrap assembly 100 from the footwear 46.

The strap 12 may have a strap first side 27 and a strap second side 29. Strap first end 14 may be adapted to detachably fasten strap second side 29 to wrap 2 using a suitable detachable fastener 7, such as a hook and loop fastener like Velcro ®. Similarly, the wrap 2 may have a wrap first side 13 and a wrap second side 15. Wrap assembly first end 4 may be threaded through anchor hoop 11, and adapted to detachably fasten to wrap assembly second side 15 using a variety of suitable detachable fasteners 7, such as a hook and loop fastener like Velcro®. By adapting the fastening of wrap assembly first end 4 to the wrap second side 15 in such a manner, the wrap assembly first end 4 and the strap 12 may resist de-coupling. The de-coupling can be resisted by the wrap assembly first end 4, strap first end 14 and the wrap second side 15 pressing together against (not shown) boot 46, thereby adding compressive engagement as an additional securing mechanism. In one embodiment various portions of the wrap assembly 100 may be fabricated from elastic materials to allow for expansion and contraction of the wrap assembly complementary to the footwear 46. For example, anchor loop fastener 17 can be made from an elastic material to provide some complementary movement of the wrap assembly 100 for the comfort of the user as the foot flexes.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of footwear wrap assembly 100 where the wrap 2 is configured to overlay a larger area of the footwear 46, which may provide for greater support. Five wrap assembly eyelets 8 may be employed for each of the wrap assembly ends 4 and 6, thereby providing greater stability and support to footwear wrap assembly 100. Strap first end 14 may be permanently secured to the wrap 2 and strap second end 16 may be detachably coupled to the strap 12 through the use of detachable fastener 28. This detachable fastener 28 may be either fixedly or detachably coupled to the strap end 16 and/or the wrap 2.

As discussed for an embodiment above, the number of eyelets 8 may vary depending on the footwear 46 size and configuration, as well as the amount of support needed for the accessories 34. Further, in some embodiments, there is no need for the wrap 2 to have eyelet 8 attachment means that extend much past the transition point on a boot 46 from substantially vertically positioned eyelets 8 to more horizontally positioned eyelets 8. Further, the configuration of the wrap 2 may be tailored to conform to the contours of the footwear 46 as well as the user's leg/ankle, in order to enhance comfort, stability and support.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of footwear wrap assembly 100 where strap 12 can be divided into a first portion 24 and a second portion 26. The strap first end 14 and the strap second end 16 may be permanently attached to wrap 2. Additionally, the first portion 24 and second portion 26 may have a strap third end 18 and strap fourth end 20 respectively. Strap third and fourth ends 18 and 20 may be detachably coupled together using a detachable fastener 28. By dividing the strap 12 into the two portions, 24 and 26, multiple accessories 34 on portion 26 can be removed or added without the removal of accessories 34 on portion 24.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment in accordance with the present invention, where wrap 2 can be fabricated at least in part from an elastic material 10 to enable the wrap 2 to complementarily expand or contract to accommodate differing sizes of the footwear 46, as well as allow for a certain degree of flex of the footwear. In one embodiment, strap first ends 14 can be attached to a portion the wrap 2 that does not include the elastic material 10. Strap second ends 16 may be detachably coupled to the wrap 2 through strap eyelets 32 that are complementarily aligned with corresponding wrap assembly eyelets 8. In other embodiments, other detachable fasteners previously mentioned may be used to secure the strap second ends 16 to the wrap 2. In some embodiments, two separate straps 12 can be used to facilitate additional accessory 34 carrying capacity of the footwear wrap assembly 100; however, in alternate embodiments the wrap 2 may only have one strap 12.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment where only one strap 12 is used. The strap first end 14 and second end 16 can be detachably coupled to the wrap 2 by interlacing with the laces 48 of footwear 46 as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Attachment of strap 12 to the wrap 2 can be at a point between the strap first and second ends, 14 and 16 respectively. This enables additional support for the attachment of two or more accessories 34 to the footwear wrap assembly 100.

Additionally in some embodiments, a secondary securing member 52 can be used to detachably couple the wrap 2 to one or more accessories 34 at a location away from the strap 2. Because certain accessories 34 may be larger in size (e.g. holster, flashlight holder, etc.), there may be a tendency for a portion of the accessory 34 to move relative to the footwear 46 at areas not secured by the strap 12. This secondary securing member 52 can prevent this relative movement of the accessories 34. For illustration, the secondary securing member 52 may comprise Velcro® which can be used to secure the lower portion of the wrap 2 and to a complementary portion of the accessory 34. Once the accessory 34 is threaded/attached on/to the strap 12, the Velcro® may detachably engage the lower portion of the accessory 34 to the lower portion of the wrap 2.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate various embodiments of the wrap 2 in wherein the footwear wrap assembly 100 is reversible and has a camouflage pattern. The wrap first side can have a first camouflage pattern 42 and the second side can have a second camouflage 44. The employment of camouflage patterns can be useful. For example, one of the camouflaged patterns 42 or 44 could be suitable for use in a snow-type environment while another in a sandy desert like area. Any other pattern or graphic can be easily employed as well. Both sides may also have at least first strap 12 and second strap 22. As illustrated, this embodiment allows the user to reverse the attachment of the footwear wrap assembly 100 to present the user selected pattern, 42 or 44, away from the boot 46. These illustrations further show that the strap first end 14 can be permanently attached to an approximate mid-point of the wrap 2, and the strap second ends 16 may be detachably coupled to the wrap first and second ends 4 and 6, which here for example uses complementary eyelets 32 and 8.

As discussed, in all of the various embodiments, some or all of wrap 2 and/or strap 12 may optionally be fabricated from an elastic material to allow for freedom of motion of a foot in the footwear 46 and flexing in a complementary fashion. Alternately, to provide additional protection to a user, the wrap 2 may be formed from a para-armid material, an armid material, or a blend of materials having similar characteristics to provide ballistics protection. In some of the embodiments, the wrap 2 may cover a smaller portion of the footwear, as shown in the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2 and 11, while in other embodiments, the wrap 2 may cover a much larger portion of the footwear 45 as represented in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the various embodiments of FIGS. 4-7B coupled to boot 46 through interlacing. FIG. 10 shows the present invention without an accessory, and FIG. 9 shows the present invention with an accessory 34 comprising a holster with a gun.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate an embodiment of the present invention with an accessory 34 that comprises a partial or full boot armor 36 protective boot covering. The boot armor can provide the boot 46 (and the user) with further protection in hostile environments by being manufactured and fabricated from a high strength and/or bullet resistant material. The boot armor 36 can be secured to the strap 12 of the present invention by use of a strap encasement 38. Additionally, a boot armor secondary securing member 52 can be used to provide additional security of the attachment of the boot armor 36 to the boot 46. Alternate ways of securing the boot armor 36 may be employed. For example, a complementary snap or hook and loop fasteners can be utilized to fasten the boot armor 36 to the boot 46. Additionally, the armor could be fabricated and attached in multiple pieces or portions. Attachment of different portions of the boot armor 36 through interlacing with the boot 46 may be accomplished in alternate embodiments (not shown). The high strength fabric described above would exhibit puncture resistant characteristics. The high strength fabric can be made from an aramid or para-armid materials. In addition to these materials and fabric blends of these materials, use of polybenzoxazoles, and/or polybenzothiazoles may be employed.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described, without departing from the scope of the present invention. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A footwear wrap assembly comprising:

a wrap adapted to removably attach to footwear; and

at least one strap coupled to the wrap, the strap having a first end and a second end, the strap capable of supporting and removably attaching at least a portion of one or more accessories to the wrap.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wrap has a wrap first end and a wrap second end, the wrap first and second ends having a plurality of eyelets for complementary interlacing with the footwear.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the wrap is adapted to cover at least a portion of an upper portion of the footwear.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of eyelets comprises not more than five eyelets.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the wrap is fabricated from an elastic material.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the wrap is fabricated from a high strength material, further wherein the high strength material comprises at least in part, a material selected from the group consisting of aramid, para-aramid, meta-aramid, itspara-aramid, polybenzoxazoles, polybenzothiazoles, and combinations thereof.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wrap is further adapted to further removably attach to a cuff of the footwear.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the wrap adapted to removably attach to a cuff of the footwear comprises detachably coupling the wrap to the cuff of the footwear with at least one complementary detachable fastener selected from the group consisting of a clip, a snap, a hook and loop fastener, a button and hole, and combinations thereof.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second ends of the at least one strap first end is permanently secured to the wrap.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second ends of the at least one strap first end is detachably secured to the wrap.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the strap comprises a first portion and a second portion, each portion having the first end and the second end respectively, further wherein the first portion and the second portion comprises a third end and a fourth end, the third and fourth end are detachably coupled together.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein and the first end and the second end are permanently coupled to the wrap.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first end and the second end are detachably coupled to the wrap.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the strap is detachably coupled to the wrap using a detachable fastener selected from the group consisting of a buckle, a snap, a hook and loop fastener, a button and hole, and combinations thereof.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the strap first end and/or the strap second end is/are detachably coupled to the wrap using eyelets for complementary interlacing with the wrap and the footwear.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the strap is permanently secured to the wrap at a point between the first and second ends thereby creating a first strap portion and a second strap portion where each portion is adapted to engage a portion of the one of the one or more accessories such that the one or more accessories are removably attached to the footwear, and wherein the first and second ends are detachably coupled to the wrap.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the strap is adapted to allow the one or more accessories to be adjusted relative to the footwear suitable for the comfort of a user wearing the footwear.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more accessories comprises a selected one of a holster, a flashlight retainer, ammunition clip retainer, handcuff retainer, a knife sheath, a magnet, and a utility pocket.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a secondary securing member coupled to the wrap and adapted to at least partially secure the one or more accessories to the wrap at a location away from the strap.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the secondary securing member is a hook and loop fastener adapted for engagement with a complementary hook and loop fastener portion disposed on the accessory.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one wrap attachment anchor adapted to removably attach to the footwear, the wrap attachment anchor further comprises an anchor hoop, wherein the wrap has a wrap first end and a wrap second end and the first end is detachably coupled to the anchor hoop.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wrap further comprises a first side and a second side, the first side having a first camouflage pattern and the second side having a second camouflage pattern, further wherein the at least one strap comprises at least a first and a second strap, and the first strap is coupled to the first side of the wrap and the second strap is coupled to the second side of the strap.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a selected one of the one or more accessories comprises boot armor.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the boot armor comprises a cover for at least a portion of the footwear, the cover being, at least in part, fabricated from a high strength fabric.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the high strength fabric comprises, at least in part, a material selected from the group consisting of aramid, polybenzoxazoles, polybenzothiazoles, and combinations thereof.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the high strength fabric comprises at least in part a material selected from the group consisting of a para-aramid and a para-aramid fabric blend.

27. A boot wrap assembly comprising:

a wrap, having a first end and a second end, adapted to removably attach to an upper portion of a boot, said first and second ends of the wrap having a plurality of eyelets for complementary interlacing with the boot;

at least one strap coupled to the wrap, the strap having a first end and a second end, wherein at least the first is adapted to detachably couple to the wrap; and

wherein the strap comprises a width and a thickness sufficient to support one or more accessories.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the strap second end is permanently secured to the wrap.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the strap second end is adapted to detachably couple to the wrap, further wherein the wrap and the first end of the strap comprises at least one complementary releasable coupling mechanism.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the releasable coupling mechanism is selected from the group consisting of a buckle, a snap, hook and loop fasteners, and a button and a buttonhole.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the strap is secured to the wrap at a point between the first and second ends, thereby creating a first strap portion and a second strap portion where each is adapted to engage a portion of the one or more accessories such that the one or more accessories are removably attached to the boot, and wherein the first and second ends are detachably coupled to the wrap

32. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising a secondary securing member coupled to the wrap to at least partially secure the one or more attachments to the wrap at a location away from the strap.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the one or more accessories comprises a selected one of a holster, a flashlight retainer, ammunition clip retainer, handcuff retainer, a knife retainer, a magnet, and a utility pocket.

34. A footwear wrap assembly comprising:

a wrap adapted to removably attach to footwear; and

a strap coupled to the wrap, said strap capable of supporting the removable attachment of one or more accessories on the wrap, wherein at least a selected one of the one or more accessories comprises boot armor.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the boot armor further comprises a secondary boot armor securing member to secure at least a portion of the boot armor to the footwear.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the boot armor comprises a cover for at least a portion of the footwear, the cover being, at least in part, fabricated from a high strength fabric.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the high strength fabric comprises, at least in part, a material selected from the group consisting of aramid, para-aramid, meta-aramid, itspara-aramid, polybenzoxazoles, polybenzothiazoles, and combinations thereof.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the high strength fabric comprises, in part, a material selected from the group consisting of a para-aramid and a para-aramid fabric blend.