Abstract:
Footwear and methods of manufacturing footwear. One embodiment provides a personalized or customized piece of footwear including a sole, an upper member, and a customer defined decoration (e.g. a message) attached to a forward portion of the upper member. The piece of footwear may be a leather athletic shoe and the shoe supplier can control the contents of the decoration. Another embodiment provides a collection of footwear including at least two individual pieces of footwear (which may be a pair) each with a different decoration thereon. Preferably, the collection includes two hundred pairs of footwear. In another embodiment, a method of manufacturing footwear is provided. The method may include accepting at least one customer-defined decoration for the footwear and arranging for the attachment of the customer-defined decoration (by, for example, embroidery where the decoration is embroidery) onto an upper member of the footwear.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This non-provisional application claims priority based on co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/806,917, filed Jun. 22, 2006, entitled HUSTLER CUSTOM SHOES and on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/805,516, filed Jun. 22, 2006, entitled HS SHOE INSOLES both of which are incorporated herein as if set forth in full. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     This invention relates to footwear in general and more particularly to athletically styled shoes.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Many large shoe companies use their products to advertise their brands. More particularly, shoe vendors place their trademarks, logos, and advertisement material on their shoes in the forward area of the upper portion of the shoe. Thus, they enjoy the benefit of having their trademark displayed by their customers throughout the day and whenever else the customer might be wearing these shoes. Typically, these vendors sew pre-formed trademarks onto the uppers to accomplish these purposes.  
         [0004]     However, consumers often wish to personalize their apparel. For instance, T-shirts represent one type of apparel that frequently receives customization after the consumer has purchased the product. Many times, the vendor of the T-shirt will offer on-the-spot silk screening to place sayings and other decorations that are pre-selected by the vendor onto the surface of the shirt. However, silk-screened decorations tend to wear quickly leaving the product with an unaesthetic appearance.  
         [0005]     In the alternative, many vendors use a technique known as “tackle twill” in which pre-formed letters or logos may be sewn onto the T-shirt or other products. Tackle twill, therefore involves several expensive steps (selection of the letters and logos, alignment of the same with the product, sewing the letters onto the product while maintaining alignment, and then aligning the next letter with the previous one, and repeating the cycle). Furthermore, as with silk screening, tackle twill vendors pre-select the logos, or require lengthy lead times for customized logos to be created. The result in both cases leaves the consumer with a limited choice in altering the product&#39;s appearance. Thus, these types of product alterations fail to allow the consumer to freely customize, or personalize, the product.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     One embodiment of the present invention provides a piece of footwear which can be personalized or customized with user-defined decorations, graphic designs, and message. More particularly, a piece of footwear of the current embodiment includes a sole, an upper member, and a user-defined decoration (e.g. a message) attached to a forward portion of the upper member. In some embodiments, the decoration can be embroidered onto the footwear. In addition, the footwear may be a leather athletic shoe and the shoe supplier can control the contents of the decoration. Other embodiments provide collections of footwear including at least two individual pieces of footwear (which may be a pair) each with a different decoration thereon. Preferably, the collection includes at least about two hundred pairs of footwear.  
         [0007]     Another embodiment of the present invention provides shoes which are custom made for individuals with information panels on each side of the shoe. The information in the information panels can include the customer&#39;s name or any other information the customer desires. Thus, these shoes can be custom designed for the individual who desires a shoe with their name or other information on the shoe. Further, the shoe can be made with leather uppers, a rubber sole, and a shock-absorbing insole. The leather uppers of the current embodiment provide support and comfort to the wearer&#39;s ankles. In addition, the rubber sole can provide both durability and shock absorption for the wearer. Additionally, an insole can be included in the footwear to provide comfort and shock absorption.  
         [0008]     Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a method of manufacturing footwear. The method includes accepting at least one user-defined decoration for the footwear and arranging for the embroidering of the user-defined decoration onto a forward portion of an upper member of the footwear. Indeed, the current method may also include actually embroidering the decoration onto the footwear, receiving the embroidered footwear, and distributing it to the user. In some embodiments, the decoration for the individual pieces of footwear differ from each other even if the footwear constitutes a “pair” (e.g., a right and a left show with the same size and style) of footwear. Additionally, the current method may include accepting an order for such personalized footwear with at least two hundred pair of footwear. These orders may be accepted over a wide area network such as the Internet, from kiosks, are even by hand written orders at a store or other retail location.  
         [0009]     In still other embodiments of the present invention, the decoration(s) may include a message, word, or phrase. If the decoration includes a message the supplier of the footwear may control, or edit, the decoration to maintain an esthetically appealing product line. In other words, the footwear provider may prevent the users from designating harmful, obscene, or obnoxious decorations for the footwear. Moreover, the footwear supplier may confirm (via e-mail for instance) the order including sending the customer the finalized version of the decoration designation(s). Yet another embodiment provides a machine readable medium which includes executable instructions stored thereon for accepting at least one user-defined decoration for a piece of footwear and for transmitting the designation of the user-defined decoration to a manufacturer for the attachment of the decoration onto an upper member of the footwear. The instructions can also allow for accepting a decoration for a left piece of footwear and accepting a decoration designation for a right piece of footwear. In addition, the instructions can provide for controlling (or editing) the decoration and for embroidering it onto the upper member of the footwear as well as for confirming the order. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a piece of footwear constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of another piece of footwear constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart of a method practiced in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0015]     Referring to  FIG. 1  of the drawings, the reference numeral  10  generally designates a piece of footwear embodying features of the present invention. The piece of footwear  10 , or shoe, includes a sole  12 , an opening  14  for the user&#39;s foot, an upper  16 , a decoration  18 , and trademark  20 . Here, the trademark shown is that of Show Honor, Inc. of Killeen, Tex. which offers footwear as disclosed herein. The shoe  10  may also include a tongue  22 , a second trademark  24 , and laces  26 . Generally, the shoe  10  also includes a heel  28 , a toe  30 , and a mid-foot area  32  which extends forward from near the heel  28  to near the toe  30 .  
         [0016]     When the user wears the shoe  10 , the sole  12  of course lies underneath the wearer&#39;s foot and serves to protect the sole of the wearer&#39;s foot from contact with the ground and objects thereon. Thus, the sole  12  may be made from rubber or any material suitable for such purposes. The upper  16  provides further protection for the users foot and at least partially encircles or encloses the foot and is attached to the sole  12  at points along the sole&#39;s periphery. In some embodiments, the upper  16  may also extend up along the wearer&#39;s ankle to brace and stabilize the same. Additionally, some shoes  10  include the tongue  22  which facilitates the entry and removal of the wearer&#39;s foot into the opening  14 . In such embodiments, the laces  26  repeatedly cross over the tongue  22  and can be tied together at their free ends to draw the upper  16  closed over the tongue  22  thereby securing the shoe  10  to the user&#39;s foot. While the shoe  10  shown by  FIG. 1  is an athletic shoe, the present invention is not limited thereby. Rather, the scope of the present invention extends to all types of footwear including athletic shoes, dress shoes, sandals, high heels, and cowboy boots for example.  
         [0017]     Furthermore, the upper  16  defines the opening  14  for the user&#39;s foot which is located near and above the heel  28 . Thus, if the user wears long pants (as opposed to shorts, a skirt, swim attire, or the like) the heel area  28  may be hidden by the hem of the user&#39;s pants. However, even if the user wears long pants, the mid-foot area  32  and other sections forward of the opening  14  generally remain visible. Thus, the forward portions of the upper  16  represent one place to locate the decoration  18 . Additionally, the inventor has noted that the toe area  30  tends to accumulate dirt and stains faster than the rest of the upper  16 . Thus, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the mid-foot area  32  is well suited for displaying personalized decorations  18  where they will remain both visible and clean for long periods. Additionally, decorations  18  placed on the upper  16  in the forward region will usually be visible regardless of the user&#39;s choice of clothing. More particularly, the inventor has found that the area of the upper  16  generally adjacent to the tongue  22 , or laces  26 , serves satisfactorily to display the decoration  18 . In accordance with the principles of the present invention this area can be designated as an “information panel”  34  on which the decorations  18  can be displayed.  
         [0018]     With regard to the decoration  18 , it can be a group of letters, a short message, a name, a graphic design, or any combination thereof which can fit in the information panel  34 . Some embodiments include messages  18  with up to  12 - 14  appropriately sized characters therein, For example, in  FIG. 1 , the decoration  18  includes the name “Melvin” although the user could create any textual message (or graphic symbol) for the decoration  18 . In one embodiment, the decoration  18  is embroidered onto the upper  16 . Other forms of attachment and types of decorations, however, are within the scope of the present invention. Embroidering the decoration  18  onto the upper provides many advantages. First, because the embroidered decoration  18  typically includes many layers of thread, it holds up well to the scuffs, kicks, and other mechanical abuse likely to occur to parts of a shoe  10 . Additionally, the embroidered decoration  18  stands out from the surface of the upper  16  lending the shoe  10  an aesthetic pleasing appearance. This latter advantage can be enhanced with the selection of another fashionable material such as leather for the upper  16 . Moreover, embroidery provides a relatively inexpensive, flexible, and reliable method of adding the decoration  18  to the shoe  10 . More particularly, by controlling the embroidering needle with a computer, any message or graphic design can be added to the shoe  10  by providing the manufacturing computer a file defining the decoration  18 . Also, because (unlike tackle twill) no parts other than the shoe  10  and the thread which forms the decoration  18  need be handled, the manufacture of the decoration  18  is relatively simple and requires no complicated jigs or alignment devices.  
         [0019]     As mentioned previously,  FIG. 1  also shows that the shoe  10  may include the trademarks  20  and  24  or other vendor imposed advertising materials. The trademark  20  is shown being attached to the heel  28  portion of the upper  16  as indicated by the dashed lines between the trademark  20  and the upper  16 . Meanwhile, trademark  24  is shown toward the upper end of the tongue  22 . In addition, although not shown, such trademarks  20  and  24  may be included on the upper  16  directly below the opening  14 . However, conventional shoes display such trademarks in the mid-foot area  32  of the shoe. Moreover, these conventional trademarks are typically sewn onto the shoe rather than being embroidered thereon. Thus, it is impossible to add a user defined decoration  18  in the mid-foot region  32  of a conventional shoe without disfiguring the shoe.  
         [0020]     With reference now to  FIG. 2 , a piece of footwear  40  of another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The footwear  40  is a sandal with a sole  42  and an upper  44  which is largely composed of interlacing straps of leather or other fabric. More particularly, two of the straps of leather  46  and  48  each have an area where decorations  50  and  52  respectively can be embroidered onto the shoe  40 . Furthermore,  FIG. 2  shows that the straps  46  and  48  each help to partially encircle or enclose the user&#39;s foot besides holding the decorations  50  and  52 . More particularly, strap  48  can include a buckle or other device (not shown) for securing the sandal  40  to the user&#39;s foot. Strap  50  was added to this particular sandal  40  to provide an additional upper portion on which to place a decoration  50 . Since sandals  40  have relatively small upper members (e.g. straps  48  and  50 ),  FIG. 2  illustrates that many types of footwear can be decorated in accordance with the principles of the present invention.  
         [0021]     With reference now to  FIG. 3 , an exemplary shoe ordering and manufacturing system  100  is shown. The system  100  includes a server  102 , several mechanisms  104 ,  106 , and  108  for accepting customer orders, a display  110  of footwear  112 , a manufacturing facility  114  and a network  116  to allow communication between the various other components of the system  100 . Mechanism  104  is typically a personal computer located in a home or office which allows the user to place orders with, and receive order confirmations from, the server  102 . Likewise, mechanism  106  may be a computerized kiosk which accomplishes similar functions as personal computer  104 . The kiosk  106  of course may be located in a public location such as a store, mall, sporting venue (e.g. a stadium), or other retail location. Furthermore, display table  108  also allows orders to be placed via hard copy order forms  118  which may then be entered via order entry mechanisms  106  or  108 .  
         [0022]     In addition to taking such conventional information about the order as the identity and address of the customer, method of payment, shoe size, and shoe style (including color information), the system  100  also allows the user to specify the message and graphic design of the decoration for the order. Moreover, the system  100  also allows the user to specify different messages or graphic elements for the right shoe  112  and the left shoe  112  of any given pair of footwear. Even though the size of the order is essentially unlimited, each pair of shoes can be personalized, or tailored, according to the message and graphic design selections of the user. More particularly, the order entry mechanisms  104 ,  106 , and  108  allow the user to enter the message (selecting fonts and text colors) and to either create a graphical design or attach a file containing the definition of the graphical design for each right and left shoe in the order if so desired. Moreover, the system  100  allows the user to designate the location on each shoe where the decoration will be placed. Of course, the system  100  may allow for a default location for the different decorations such as on the outside of the shoe (i.e., on the right side of the shoe for a right shoe and on the left side of the shoe for a left shoe). In one embodiment, the size of the order typically includes two hundred or more pairs of shoes although smaller and larger orders can be accepted. In any case, the system  100  can create a file with the order information (including the definition of the decoration) for subsequent use or storage.  
         [0023]     No matter which mechanism  104 ,  106 , or  108  is used to place the order, the order file or record can be communicated from the server  102  to the manufacturing facility  114  via the network  116 . The network  116  may then deliver the file which defines the decoration(s) to an automated embroidering machine  120  in the manufacturing facility  114 . In turn, the embroidering machine may position itself with respect to the shoe which has been selected for a given order and embroider the decoration onto the designated location of that particular shoe. A conveyor or other material handling machine  122  may then advance the completed shoe on to the shipping and distribution subsystem  124  while advancing the shoe selected for the next order (or the next part of the same order) to the embroidering machine  120 . The embroidering machine  120  may then align itself with that next shoe and repeat the cycle until the system  100  completes the order(s). Of course, other manufacturing arrangements  114  can be employed to automatically select the shoes for an order and attach the decoration(s) to the appropriate shoe(s). From the manufacturing facility  114 , the system  100  allows the shoes to be shipped and distributed to the users who placed the orders via conventional delivery modes such as trucks, trains, ships, and aircraft.  
         [0024]     Now turning to  FIG. 4 , a method  200  of ordering and manufacturing footwear is illustrated. In the method shown in  FIG. 4  the customer may enter an order as discussed above with reference to the system  100 . See operation  202 . More particularly, the customer can select from a broad range of shoes colors which include Blue, Black, Red, Yellow, and Orange among others. Similarly, the customer may chose from a broad range of thread colors from which the decoration will be created. These colors include, but are not limited to, Black, White, Silver, Yellow, and Red.  
         [0025]     Each portion of the order can then be accepted as indicated at references  204 ,  206 , and  208 . More particularly, the order size and the designated locations can be checked to see if they are within acceptable ranges as shown by decision operations  210  and  212 . One interesting feature of the current embodiment is shown by reference  214  where the system allows the footwear vendor, or some other third party, to examine the customer defined decoration and edit or reject the order if the decoration fails to meet certain standards (e.g. it&#39;s vulgar, gang related, or otherwise offensive). Thus, operation  214  allows the footwear vendor to maintain the quality of the footwear produced via method  200 . If the order fails any of the checks  210 ,  212 , and  214 , the method  200  allows the user to re-enter or correct the order at operation  202 .  
         [0026]     Once the vendor decides to accept the order, the resulting file that defines the order can be transmitted to the manufacturing facility. See operation  216 . At the manufacturing facility, the order can be parsed and the appropriate shoe(s) can be selected for decorating as shown at operation  218 . Either the shoe or the embroidery machine or both can be aligned with each other. See reference  220 . Operation  222  shows that the decoration may then be attached to the footwear at the user designated location (e.g., on the mid-foot or a forward area of the shoe upper). If the order is not finished, the method may continue with the next shoe in the order as shown at decision  224 . However, if the order is finished, the footwear can be packaged and shipped. See operation  226 . Of course, the footwear may be shipped directly to the customers. However, method  200  also allows the footwear to be received by, for instance, a vendor or distributor as shown at reference  228 . The vendor may then distribute the footwear to the customers or perhaps retail locations for sale or pick-up. See reference  230 .  
         [0027]     In addition to the foregoing embodiments, the present invention provides programs stored on machine-readable medium to operate computers and devices according to the principles of the present invention. Machine readable media include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, optical disks, etc.), and volatile and non-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs, SRAMs, firmware, programmable logic, etc.). Furthermore, machine-readable media include transmission media (network transmission line, wireless transmission media, signals propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc.) and server memories. Moreover, machine readable media include many other types of memory too numerous for practical listing herein, existing and future types of media incorporating similar functionality as incorporated in the foregoing exemplary types of machine readable media, and any combinations thereof. The programs and applications stored on the machine-readable media in turn include one or more machine executable instructions which are read by the various devices and executed. Each of these instructions causes the executing device to perform the functions coded or otherwise documented in it. Of course, the programs can take many different forms such as applications, operating systems, Perl scripts, JAVA applets, C programs, compilable (or compiled) programs, interpretable (or interpreted) programs, natural language programs, assembly language programs, higher order programs, embedded programs, and many other existing and future forms which provide similar functionality as the foregoing examples, and any combinations thereof.  
         [0028]     The use of the present invention provides many advantages over the prior art including the ability to personalize pieces of footwear. Additionally, the footwear provided by the present invention allows personalized decorations to be placed in highly visible locations on the footwear so that the user may maximize the enjoyment of having such a product. Moreover, the placement (for example, on the mid-foot region of the upper of the footwear) of the decorations may be such that the decoration may stay clean longer than it would at other locations. Footwear have also been provided which give the user improved comfort than heretofore possible.  
         [0029]     Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.