Abstract:
This invention relates to an accessory for enhancing the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg.

Description:
[0001]    This Application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 13/134,905, filed Jun. 21, 2011, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional 61/399,402 filed Jul. 12, 2010. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to shoe fashion accessories. More specifically, it relates to a lower leg strapped, shoe fashion accessory designed to be worn over the heel of a shoe and the back of a shoe, or in the case of slip ons and sling backs shoes, over the heel of the shoe and the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle. 
         [0003]    Shoes come in an extremely wide variety of designs, including high and low heels, strapped and unstrapped, sling backs and covered shoes etc. The shapes and designs of shoes are as ingenious as the designer&#39;s creativity. This invention is a shoe fashion accessory designed to accentuate or enhance the fashion appeal of any footwear, particularly ladies footwear, by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory designed to cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heels of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    It is a principal object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg. 
         [0005]    It is also an object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band and designed to removably cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heels of the shoe and attractively and removably strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg. 
         [0006]    It is another object of the invention to provide a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band and designed to removably cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heel of a sling back shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg in order to prevent the wearer&#39;s garments from getting stuck between the heels of the wearer&#39;s foot and the heels of the sling back shoe. 
         [0007]    It is also an object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band and designed to removably and reversibly cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg. 
         [0008]    It is also an object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably and reversibly cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively and removably strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, the accessory is made of fabric, leather or spandex, polyspandex or any suitably elastic material or combinations thereof known in the art. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment, the user is provided with different colored ankle straps to mix and match with different colored foot heel and shoe heel covering portions. It is understood that the ankle straps the foot heel and shoe heel covering portions can be made of different materials. 
         [0011]    In another embodiment, the foot heel and shoe heel covering portions can be reversed by turning said portions in and out through the elastic shoe heel retaining band to provide a two in one color combination. 
         [0012]    In yet another embodiment, the shoe accessory is sequined to further enhance the fashion appeal of the wearer&#39;s shoes. 
         [0013]    In yet another embodiment, the shoe accessory is decorated with tails and appendages hanging from its side in order to further enhance the fashion appeal of the wearer&#39;s shoe. 
         [0014]    In yet another embodiment, the shoe accessory is made of a bilayer of one or two different materials each layer having same or different colors. 
         [0015]    It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method for enhancing the fashion appeal of foot wears comprising adorning the fashion accessory of this invention over a wearer&#39;s heel and shoes. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a right side perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a left side perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is another top perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a bottom perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory with the ankle strap undone in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory with the ankle strap undone and the foot heel covering portion removed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory with the ankle strap undone and the foot heel and shoe heel covering portion removed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    As used in this description, footwear and shoes are used interchangeably and it is understood that this invention can be adapted to any high heeled men&#39;s or ladies&#39; shoes or crossover shoes. 
         [0027]    All references to heels refer either to the heel of a shoe or the heel of the feet as the context indicates. It is understood that the invention is not limited by the size and length of the shoe heel and can be adapted to accommodate shoe heels of different sizes and lengths. 
         [0028]    It is also understood that the invention can come in various sizes and colors to accommodate different leg, heel, and shoe sizes or designs. 
         [0029]    It is also understood that the term “foot heel covering portion,” covers foot heels in the case of sling back shoes and can be worn over the back covering of nonsling back shoes as well and this invention can be used for sling back or non sling back shoes. 
         [0030]    It is also understood that the “shoe heel covering portion,” covers is intended to be worn over shoe heels of different sizes and lengths and is not restricted to any particular design of shoe heels. 
         [0031]    It is also understood that the ankle strap need not necessarily be strapped to the ankle but may be strapped to any position of the lower leg as the particular design of the accessory warrants. It is also understood that this invention is not limited by the length and width of the ankle strap or the manner in which the strapping is done. It is understood that strapping of the ankle strap can also be done by means of Velcro ties or buckles. 
         [0032]    Referring now to the drawings which are presented for illustrative purposes only and not drawn to scale,  FIG. 1   FIG. 1  is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory  10  in accordance with one embodiment of the invention designed to be worn over the heel  18  of the shoe  12 . The accessory  10  comprises an ankle strap  20 , a foot heel covering portion  24  seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion  34  having an elastic shoe heel retaining band  28  designed to removably cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle  16  and to be worn over the heel  18  of the shoe  12 . 
         [0033]    The accessory  10  can be made with a single or bilayer material. 
         [0034]    A means  26  is sown or attached to the top end  40  of the foot heel covering portion  24  for attaching the strap  20 . In one embodiment, the strap  20  is undetachably sewn unto the top end  40  of the foot heel covering portion  24 . Preferably, the strap  20  is removable from the rest of the accessory  10 . In another embodiment, the means  26  comprises a pass through hole sewn on the inner portion of the top end for passing a removable strap  20  through said hole. In a most preferred embodiment, the means  26  at the top end  40  comprises a pass through hole as shown in  FIG. 1  made by folding over and stitching the top end  40  to form the means  26 . In a unilayer construct, the means  26  is a hole made by folding and stitching the top end to create the pass through hole. In a bilayer construct, the means  26  is a hole made by not stitching the bilayer all the way up in order to create a pass through hole for the strap  20 . 
         [0035]    Any means of retaining the shoe heel covering portion  34  over the heel  18  is contemplated by this invention. Preferably, an elastic shoe heel retaining band  28  made of strands of rubber and latex materials sewn together is sewn unto the portion  34  for securely and snugly fitting the heel  18  through the shoe heel covering portion  34 . 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the profile of the accessory  10  depends on the design of the shoe. For a narrow high heeled shoe, the profile is substantially triangular.  FIGS. 3 and 4  are side perspective views of the accessory  10  and attempt to illustrate the accessory  10  when there is no foot in the shoe  12  unlike in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0037]      FIGS. 5 to 7  illustrate top and bottom perspective views of the accessory  10 . 
         [0038]    As shown in  FIG. 8 , in order to remove the device, the ankle strap  20  is first undone. Then the shoe heel covering portion  34  is peeled back. See  FIG. 9 . Finally, the heel  18 , and its upper portion  35  is separated from the shoe heel retaining portion  34 . See  FIG. 10 . 
         [0039]    The shoe heel covering portion  34  is designed for a pass-through of the shoe heel  18  in either the unilayer or the bilayer construct. In the unilayer construct, the accessory  10  is made of one layer of material and has a defined outer side and a defined inner side. In a preferred embodiment, the accessory  10  uses a bilayer construct wherein two different layers of material are used to construct the shoe heel covering portion  34  and the foot heel covering portion  24 . Preferably, the bilayers are made of different colors if not different materials and a user can simply turn the rest accessory into and through the shoe heel retaining band  28  to reverse the bilayers. Most preferably, the accessory  10  is made with elastic or stretchable fabric so that it wears snugly around the wearer&#39;s shoes and legs. 
         [0040]    It is contemplated that the removability of the strap  20  and the reversibility of the bilayer construct gives a user a wide array of color combinations in order to enhance the fashion appeal of their foot wear. 
         [0041]    It is also understood that the method of this invention allows a user, if they so choose, to wear different color combinations of straps and foot and shoe heel covering portions on either leg. 
         [0042]    While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular shoe design or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Documents including patents and non patent references cited herein are expressly incorporated by reference.