FOOTWEAR WITH INTERCHANGEABLE DESIGN STRIP
The invention included footwear such as a shoe with at least one interior interface surface on the shoe interior, at least one exterior interface surface on the shoe exterior and a removable design strip attached to the interior interface surface and the exterior surface to provide a looped design strip. The invention also includes a kit with a shoe and a removable design strip attachable to the shoe.
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The present invention relates generally to footwear. More particularly, the present invention relates to footwear adapted to receive interchangeable design elements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFootwear protects feet from rough and jagged surfaces and may also serve an ornamental purpose. Footwear may be made out of a variety of substance, including, for example, leather, canvas, rubber, alligator skin, plastics and other polymers, etc. Similar footwear can be offered with a variety of different designs. Currently, if similar footwear with differing designs are desired, multiple pieces of similar footwear are needed.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to facilitate the inclusion of multiple footwear designs in one piece of footwear.
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Removable design strips 106 and 110 may come in any number of configurations. For example, removable design strips 106 and 110 may be the same color or a different color than boot 100. In addition, removable design strips 106 and 110 may be provided in a number of designs including, but not limited to, fringe design 106A, weave design 106B, bead design 106C and rhinestone design 106D, as illustrated in
Removable linear design strip 310 is attached with fasteners 308 and 312 to the exterior interface surface of shoe 300. In this embodiment, removable linear design strip 310 forms a discontinuous line with removable looped design strip 304. Also, in this embodiment, the designs of looped design strip 304 and linear design strip 310 are different. As will be apparent to those of skill in the art, temporary bonding agents may also be used to attach removable design strips 304 and 310 to shoe 300.
The apparatus of the invention may be sold as a footwear (e.g., a shoe, boot, sandal, clog) with interface(s) to receive removable design strip(s). Removable design strips may then be sold separately. Alternately, the apparatus of the invention may be sold as a shoe kit including at least one shoe and at least one removable design strip attachable to the shoe.
While the present invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation, material, composition of matter, method, process step or steps, to the objective, spirit and scope of the present invention. All such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a footwear;
- at least one interior interface surface on the footwear interior;
- at least one exterior interface surface on the footwear exterior; and
- a removable design element attached to the interior interface surface and the exterior surface to provide a looped design element.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a removable design element attached solely to the exterior interface surface.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the looped design element and the design element are attached to a side of the footwear.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the design element and looped design element form a discontinuous line.
5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the looped design element is attached to the rear of the footwear.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the design element is attached to the side of the footwear.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the design element is substantially perpendicular to the looped design.
8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the design of the looped design element is different than the design element.
9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the design of the looped design element and linear design element are complimentary.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the design element is attached with at least one fastener.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the design element is attached with a temporary bonding agent.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temporary bonding agent is Velcro.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the design element is selected from a rhinestone design, a bead design, a weave design, a fringe design, a lace design and a blank design.
14. A kit, comprising:
- a footwear; and
- a removable design element attachable to the footwear.
15. The kit of claim 14, comprising at least two removable design elements.
16. A kit, comprising:
- a set of removable design elements adapted for temporary attachment to footwear.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 31, 2007
Publication Date: Mar 5, 2009
Applicant: ARIAT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (Union City, CA)
Inventor: Cheri Genenvieve SANGUINETTI (San Francisco, CA)
Application Number: 11/849,195
International Classification: A43B 3/24 (20060101); B65D 69/00 (20060101);