Shoe heel scuff protector

A shoe heel scuff protector for the heel and counter portions of a women's shoe which prevents marring caused by contact with the floor of an automobile while driving. The protector is comprised of upper and lower endless elastic bands interconnected by an endless wall or sleeve. Installation of the protector on the shoe is facilitated by a pull-on loop. The upper endless band grips the shoe around the back of the counter and under the shank. The lower endless band grips the shoe about the top of the heel adjacent the bottom of the counter. The wall fits loosely over the shoe between the endless bands.

BACKGROUND 
It is well-known that the heel and counter portions of a motorist's shoe 
can be marred while driving by contact with carpeting, dirt and gravel on 
the automobile's floor. This problem is particularly objectionable with 
high-heel shoes which are usually held against the floor at the side of 
the counter of the shoe when operating the accelerator or other foot 
pedals. 
A wide variety of heel protection devices are well-known in the art. 
Problems associated with these devices are that they are difficult to 
install and remove. Prior art devices may be incompatible with a wide 
variety of shoe types. Further, prior art devices have a tendency to 
either slip out of position due to an inadequate grip or mar the shoe due 
to an excessive grip. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The heel protector of the present invention comprises a cover which fits 
over the heel and counter portions of a women's shoe. The protector is 
quickly and easily installed and removed by means of a rearward pull-on 
loop. The protector maintains the proper position on the shoe by means of 
upper and lower endless elastic bands interconnected by a generally 
frustoconical endless elastic wall or sleeve. The upper endless band grips 
the shoe around the back of the counter and under the shank. The lower 
endless band grips the shoe about the top of the heel adjacent the 
counter. The wall is gathered at its upper and lower edges where it joins 
the bands giving it an irregular or gathered surface which allows the 
device to loosely cover those portions of the shoe between the endless 
bands. The endless bands maintain an adequate grip without causing damage 
to the shoe. The loose fit of the wall allows it to be shiftable relative 
to the shoe without causing the protector to slip out of position. 
Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to prevent the 
marring o the heel and counter portions of a motorist's shoe that can 
occur while driving. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a protective device that is 
quickly and easily installed upon and removed from the shoe. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a protective device that is 
compatible with a wide variety of shoes. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a protective device that 
maintains the proper position without damaging the shoe structure due to 
excessive gripping force. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a protective device that is 
simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture and durable in construction. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a protective device that is 
small and flexible for easy storage in a wide variety of places. 
These and other objects and advantages will be apparent after consideration 
of the following detailed description and drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring now to FIG. 1, the heel protector 10 of the present invention is 
shown attached to a shoe 12 having a heel 14, a counter 16 and a shank 18. 
The heel protector is fitted over the heel 14 under the shank 18 and 
across the back of the counter 16. 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 4, the heel protector 10 includes an upper 
endless band 20 which is preferably formed of an elastomeric material. A 
lower endless band 22 is secured to the lower end of the heel protector 
10, and is likewise formed of an elastomeric material. The elastic bands 
20, 22 are preferably formed from an elastomeric material having 
sufficient elasticity to grip the shoe. The upper band 20 and lower band 
22 are interconnected by an endless elastic wall, or sleeve, 24. 
The elastic bands 20,22 preferably have sufficient elastic memory to 
maintain an open configuration when not installed on a shoe. The open 
configuration shown in FIG. 2 is representative of the shape normally 
assumed by the new protector 10 when not attached to a shoe. The endless 
elastic wall 24 is generally frustoconical in shape when not installed on 
the shoe but conforms to the shape of the shoe when installed on the shoe. 
The elastic wall 24 is preferably thinner than the upper and lower bands. 
The wall as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 is gathered to allow the wall 24 to 
be shiftable relative to the shoe without causing slippage of the upper 
and lower endless bands 20 and 22. 
Fitting the heel protector 10 to different types of shoes is facilitated by 
the fact that the alignment and spacing of the endless bands may be 
changed with the endless wall 24 either stretching or collapsing to 
accommodate the changes. 
A flexible loop 26 is affixed to the rear of the heel protector 10 as shown 
in FIGS. 2 through 4. The loop 26 is grasped by the wearer's finger and 
used to pull the heel protector 10 onto the heel 14 of the shoe 12 and up 
over the counter 16. The loop 26 is secured to the inner surface 28 of the 
upper band 20 and extends upwardly from the upper band 20 before looping 
back to be secured to the outer surface 30 of the upper band 20. Referring 
more specifically to FIG. 4, the preferred method of attaching the loop 26 
to the heel protector 10 is shown wherein one end 32 of the loop 26 is 
secured between the upper band 20 and the flexible wall 24 by known means 
such as sewing. The first end extends upwardly to a reversely bent portion 
34 and then extends across the outer surface 30 of the upper band 20 and 
down to the outer surface 38 of the lower band 22. In this preferred 
method of attaching the loop 26 to the heel protector 10, the stresses of 
stretching the heel protector over the shoe 12 are spread over the upper 
band 20, the lower band 22 and the wall 24. The double securement to the 
upper band 20 is intended to minimize any tendency of the loop to separate 
or tear away from the upper band 20. 
Referring now to FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of the heel protector 
10, features a smooth wall 24' which extends between the upper band 20' 
and lower band 22'. The flexible loop 26' is secured to both the upper 
band 20' and the lower band 22'. The flexible loop 26' may be sewn onto 
the heel protector or molded as a region of increased thickness across the 
rear of the heel protector. The embodiment of FIG. 5 may be molded as an 
integral unit with the upper and lower band 20' and 22', the wall 24' and 
the flexible loop 26' being molded as a unitary piece from an elastomeric 
material. 
It is to be understood that the embodiments of this invention as shown and 
described are preferred examples and that the invention is not to be 
limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying 
drawings or described in the specification. Various changes in the details 
of the construction and shape of the elements of the preferred embodiments 
may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope 
of the novel concepts of the invention are defined in the following 
claims.