Abstract:
An object for adorning footwear including either a generally trapezoidal and planar main piece composed of flexible, resilient material, or a main piece preformed to have a generally ribbon-shaped configuration with a strip of generally planar material twisted one half turn to form a loop in a mid portion, with the strip crossing in an interface area, with two free ends with diagonally oriented ends extending below the loop and interface area, and an attachment configured for selectively attaching and detaching corresponding sections of said main piece to each other in the interface area, in order to form said main piece into a generally looped ribbon shape, wherein a through passageway is formed through the loop when said attachment is engaged.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/234,611, filed Aug. 17, 2009. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention concerns an object for adorning footwear, more particularly, an ornamental object configured to be releasably attached to a footwear product on a portion of the footwear such as a shoelace. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    It has become increasingly popular for members of the general population to display items that bring attention to a particular charitable cause, such as cancer research. For example a growing number of people display a magnetic ribbon shaped decal on surfaces such as a car. In general these items are of a specific color or color scheme in order to make the particular charitable cause easily identifiable. In addition, individuals have been wearing these specific items on their persons. A well known example of this has been for people to wear a yellow rubber bracelet supporting the “LIVESTRONG” Foundation. 
         [0004]    In addition to the general population, those who hold a more visible position in society, such as professional athletes, have been attempting to find ways to use their public platform to promote specific charitable causes. One such way they have done this is to display items on their persons such as the bracelets discussed above. While the rubber bracelet has been acceptable to a certain number of athletes, many feel uncomfortable wearing adornment upon their wrist. Specifically, athletes, such as golfers, feel that items worn at the wrist may be a distraction or may actually interfere with their athletic performance. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, an item is needed that can be worn by a person while being both minimally noticeable to the person wearing the item while being maximally visible to other persons. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In general, one embodiment of the present invention provides an item which can be fastened to an article of clothing, such as a shoe lace or shoe, in order to form a shape generally corresponding to a ribbon. The item is formed from a generally trapezoidal planar main piece, in which the main piece is significantly longer in one direction than in the opposite direction. The main piece may be composed of a flexible yet resilient material. On the main piece, attachment portions are included. This attachment portions are configured to allow selective attaching and detaching of corresponding sections of the main piece in order to form a general ribbon shape. Furthermore, the attachment portions are generally configured to be equidistance from a center line dividing the main piece long ways. The attachment portions are also generally configured such that one portion is on a top side of the main piece while the corresponding portion is on a bottom side of the main piece. The main piece may contain lettering on a top side to possibly identify a specific cause being advanced. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a top side of a ribbon in an unassembled configuration in one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a bottom side thereof. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view thereof of the ribbon in an assembled configuration. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are a plan view and a side elevation view, respectively, thereof, of another exemplary embodiment of a ribbon of the invention in an unassembled configuration. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of another exemplary embodiment of a main piece of the ribbon of the invention in the unassembled configuration. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an exemplary attachment for use with the main piece of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the exemplary attachment of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the main piece of  FIG. 5  and attachment of  FIG. 6  in an assembled configuration showing the assembled ribbon. 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a top side view of another exemplary configuration of a ribbon having a generally boomerang shaped unassembled configuration. 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is a top side view of yet another exemplary configuration of a ribbon having a generally boomerang shaped unassembled configuration. 
           [0017]      FIG. 11  is a top side view of a further exemplary configuration of a ribbon having a generally boomerang shaped unassembled configuration. 
           [0018]      FIG. 12  is a side view of two ribbons of the invention secured to shoelaces of a shoe. 
           [0019]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of another embodiment of an exemplary ribbon of the invention in an assembled configuration 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    A general representation of the invention in an unassembled configuration is shown in  FIG. 1 . A generally elongated trapezoidal planer main piece  10  of flexible, resilient material is provided. A first exemplary attachment portion  12  can comprise, for example, a hole with slits at a top and bottom of the hole. The first exemplary attachment portion  12  and a corresponding second exemplary attachment portion  14 , which is preferably detachably engageable with the first attachment portion  12 , are configured to allow selective attachment and detachment of opposite sides  16  and  18  of the main piece  10 . The second attachment section  14  is on an opposite side of the main piece  10  and its relative location is shown in  FIG. 1 . The section  14  in its entirety can be seen in  FIG. 2 . The generally elongated trapezoidal planer main piece  10  can preferably have two diagonally slanted ends  20  and  22 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  shows the side opposite that shown in  FIG. 1 . Attachment portion  14  comprises a knob like protrusion extending from the main piece  10  wherein a base  24  of the protrusion  14  is of a narrower diameter than the top  26 . The hole of the attachment portion  12  is configured to receive and retain the protruding knob of the attachment section  14  such that about one half of the main piece may be selective placed across the remain half and secured in that position, as is shown in  FIG. 3 , to give the appearance of a ribbon. The attachment portions are generally shown as a hole and a knob like protrusion by way of example only. In an alternate embodiment, these items may be of any type suitable for the purpose. For example the attachment portions may comprise a plurality of hooks and loops, a button/snap arrangement, a magnetic configuration, hook and loop materials, etc. 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  shows the invention in the assembled ribbon configuration. In this configuration attachment portions  12  and  14  are connected, as described above, so as to form the ribbon shape. In the ribbon configuration, the main piece  10  delimits a passageway  28  at essentially a midpoint of a length of the main piece  10 , while opposing ends  20  and  22  of the main piece  10  extend away from this midpoint and a away from the intersection of the attachment portions  12  and  14 . This passageway  28  is intended to allow through passage of an item, such as a shoelace (not shown) in order to secure the invention on a footwear item. Of course, the passageway  28  can be used for securing around other objects, such as a necklace chains and strings, and could depending on the situation, be looped through eyelets, e.g., of a shoe. 
         [0023]    In practice, a user may first feed one of the long ends of the main piece  10  behind a shoelace. The main piece  10  is then secured in front of the shoelace via mating the corresponding attachment portions  12  and  14 . To release, the user simply disengages the attachment portions  12  and  14  and then withdraws the main piece  10  from its threaded position through the shoelace. The main piece is lightweight and, when worn, its presence will be completely unrestrictive of the user. Yet, the main piece  10  allows for an obvious display of colors and/or graphics, etc. As such, the main piece  10  is configured to be releaseably attached to a user while being both minimally noticeable to the user and maximally visible to otherwise. 
         [0024]      FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  show a top plan view and a side elevation view, respectively, of a slight variation of the main piece  30 . The first exemplary attachment portion  32  comprises a hole (without a slit). The hole  32  widens from the bottom side  38  to the top side  36  of the main piece  30 . A protruding knob  34  widens out as it extends downwardly from the bottom side  38  and is sized to establish a snapping fit with the hole  32 , which widens from top  36  to bottom, as is shown in  FIG. 4B . 
         [0025]      FIGS. 5-8  shows another embodiment of a ribbon assembly  50  having an elongated main piece  52  and an attachment portion  60 , with FIG. being a top plan view thereof. Here, the attachment portion is a separate piece  60  inserted at least partially through open holes  54  and  56  extending through two distinct portions of an elongated main piece  52  to hold the elongated main piece in a ribbon configuration as shown in  FIG. 8  In this embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the separate piece  60  is inserted through both of the holes  54  and  56  when the elongated main piece  52  is twisted into a ribbon configuration and the holes  54  and  56  are aligned. The separate piece  60  can comprises two wider ends  62  and  64  and a joining section  66 , with the joining section  66  being long enough such that when the separate piece  60  is engaged with elongated main piece  52 , the joining section  66  will pass through the holes and the two wider ends  62  and  64  will hold the elongated main piece  52  in a ribbon configuration. The separate piece  60  is configured to friction fit to releaseably secure the two sides of the main piece together so as to form the assembled ribbon configuration, as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0026]      FIGS. 9-11  illustrate three similar exemplary alternate exemplary embodiments of ribbon  70 A,  70 B and  70 C according to the invention. Here the main pieces  72  have angled, or a generally boomerang shape. That is, the main pieces  72  have two sections  74  and  76  that are angled at about a midpoint  78 A at about 120 degrees. The main pieces  72  in these embodiments include the attachment portions as described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-3  and  4 A and  4 G. The angled nature of the main piece facilitates assembly and encourages the ribbon, when assembled, to maintain a downward orientation. In the embodiment of  FIG. 9 . the two sections  74  and  76  join up without any change in dimension. In the embodiment of  FIG. 10 . the two sections  74  and  76  join up with a cutoff midpoint  78 B, so that the main piece has a narrower neck at the vertex of the angle. In the embodiment of  FIG. 11 . the two sections  74  and  76  join up with a dipping in the midpoint  78 C, so that the main piece has a narrower neck at the vertex of the angle. This narrower neck feature further promotes assembly of the ribbon and maintains a flat downward orientation. 
         [0027]      FIG. 12  shows two ribbons  10 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, releasably secured to a shoelace of a shoe S. 
         [0028]      FIG. 13  shows a ribbon arrangement  80  in still another embodiment of the invention. Here, the main piece is curvilinear in shape but still includes the attachment portions described above (with a hole and protrusions, such as shown in  FIGS. 1-3  and  4 A and  4 B) such that the main piece may be overlapped upon itself to form a ribbon configuration as shown and secured in that position to form the assembled ribbon with the passageway for securement about a shoelace. The ribbon arrangement has a loop region  82 , with two free ends  84  with diagonally slanted ends  84 , and an interface region  86  where the attachment portions are located. 
         [0029]    The object for adorning footwear described herein may be constructed in various sizes, various thicknesses, and of any desired material of sufficient strength and pliability characteristics. 
         [0030]    The object for adorning footwear as described herein is preferably intended for use with footwear. However, it may be used with any appropriate object. For example, the object for adorning footwear may be displayed around a belt loop, or around a strap on an item such as a backpack, helmet, glove, a portion of a bicycle, etc. As noted above, in lieu of a hole and/slit plus protrusion, other conventional attachment means can be used, such as hook and loop material, hook and hook material, snaps, clips, magnets, etc., can be used with the embodiments noted hereinabove. 
         [0031]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, while exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and variations can be made to the present apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the various embodiments have been described by way of illustration and not limitation.