Abstract:
The uni-sex multi-sport footwear is an accessory is a flexible accessory. The footwear accessory may have one or a number of fasteners located on various areas of the accessory, or the fastener(s) may be omitted altogether. The footwear accessory may be configured as an ankle band or a, sock.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/289,372 filed on Nov. 30, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/845,543, filed on May 14, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to footwear accessories, and particularly to a footwear accessory that ornamentally displays indicia.  
         [0004]     2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
         [0005]     Decorative displays on shirts, shoes, and other such products that may be worn by consumers have become a prosperous facet of the clothing industry. Once plain shirts now often feature elaborate designs of famous artists, and virtually every sport-related item of clothing now displays a professional team&#39;s or sporting company&#39;s logo. There are few additional avenues left for visual displays that may be worn on items of clothing, sportswear or the like. While some clothing items that do not immediately lend themselves to displaying ornamental designs have incorporated such designs on the item of clothing, new clothing items do not abound.  
         [0006]     In addition, although there are various items of clothing such as ankle braces, shoes, etc. that may be placed on feet or around ankles, these items are used for therapeutic purposes, generally to support the feet and ankles. They are designed to restrict movement of the ankle and foot, thus to prevent injuries. However, there are no footwear accessories, the sole purpose of which is ornamental display of indicia. Accordingly, there is a need for a footwear accessory used to display indicia.  
         [0007]     Although the related art addresses socks, braces and other items of clothing on which indicia is shown, what is needed is a comfortable, flexible accessory item that provides for display of various marks and indicia. What is further needed is a footwear accessory that serves to display items and does not limit the user&#39;s ankle or foot movement. Such an accessory should fit with ease within a shoe and serve merely as a clothing item providing for ornamental display of team logos, names, etc.  
         [0008]     None of the inventions and patents, cited and identified in the accompanying IDS, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a uni-sex multi-sport accessory solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The uni-sex multi-sport footwear accessory is a flexible accessory shaped as an ankle band for use as an indicia-displaying device. In one embodiment, the multi-sport accessory includes an upper band adapted to encircle a wearer&#39;s lower leg, side straps depending from the upper band, a middle section adapted to encircle a wearer&#39;s ankle and a lower band dimensioned to extend beneath a wearer&#39;s foot. The middle section and lower band define several openings with which to situate a user&#39;s foot. The upper band may have several display strips with which to display indicia such as logos, team names and the like. When the footwear accessory is pulled onto the foot and a shoe is put on over the accessory, the upper band of the footwear accessory is visible over the shoe and provides a clear display of the indicia. The side straps, middle section and lower band may alternatively be omitted, such that only the upper band is positioned about the user&#39;s lower leg.  
         [0010]     In another embodiment, the accessory comprises a socks having provision for a removable logo to be mounted thereon. The socks can also be provided with a fastener device located in one or more areas.  
         [0011]     Advantageously, the uni-sex multi-sport footwear accessory is a lightweight, flexible accessory designed to fit comfortably within a user&#39;s shoe. It is not bulky nor does it require an elaborate, sturdy construction as it is not intended for use as a therapeutic device. The footwear accessory does not limit movement of the ankle in order to protect the ankle against injury-causing twisting movements. It is intended only as an accessory item that allows for the display of a team logo or similar indicia. The footwear accessory is a unique clothing item that may be used to compliment team uniforms or identify individual athletic players.  
         [0012]     It is an aspect of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.  
         [0013]     These and other aspects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is an environmental perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is an environmental elevational side view of the footwear accessory as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is an elevational side view of a footwear accessory according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is an elevational side view of a footwear accessory according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is an elevational side view of a footwear accessory according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is an elevational side view of a footwear accessory according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is an environmental side view of a footwear accessory according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 10 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 11 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 12 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a eleventh embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 13 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 14 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0028]      FIG. 15 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]      FIG. 16 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]      FIG. 17 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0031]      FIG. 18 . is an exploded perspective view of a footwear accessory as shown in  FIG. 17 .  
         [0032]      FIG. 19 . is a perspective view of a footwear accessory according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
       [0033]     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0034]     The present invention is an indicia displaying footwear accessory, designated generally as  10  in the drawings. The footwear accessory  10  is made up of a flexible body  12  of unitary construction. One type of material for the body  12  may be an elastomeric fabric, for example, neoprene. The footwear accessory  10  is designed to fit around a user&#39;s ankle and foot. An upper band  14  is adapted to encircle a user&#39;s lower leg above the ankle, and display indicia thereon as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  5 .  
         [0035]     Referring first to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the flexible body  12  of the footwear accessory  10  includes an upper band  14 , side straps  16 , a middle section  18 , and a lower band  20 . The upper band  14  contains multiple display strips  30  for use in displaying indicia, such as logos, team names, etc. The upper band  14  includes a buckle fastener  40  consisting of a buckle  42  and strips of hook and loop fastening material  44  used in combination for attaching two ends of the upper band  14  to each other. The side straps  16  depend from the upper band  14 . The middle section  18  of the flexible body  12  is integrally connected to the side straps  16 . The middle section  18  encircles a user&#39;s ankle. The lower band  20  is integrally connected to the middle section  18  of the flexible body  12 . The lower band  20  is dimensioned to extend beneath a user&#39;s foot, between a user&#39;s heel, and a front portion of the user&#39;s foot. The upper band  14 , side straps  16  and middle section  18  of the flexible body  12  define a plurality of middle openings  32 . The middle section  18  of the flexible body  12  and the lower band  20  define a lower front opening  34  to allow for placement of the front portion of the user&#39;s foot and a lower back opening  36  to allow for placement of the user&#39;s heel. A stiffener  50  provides support along the side straps  16  for the flexible body  12 . The flexible body  12  of the footwear accessory  10  may be made from a synthetic material.  
         [0036]     Turning now to  FIG. 2 , the footwear accessory  10  is shown, partially within a user&#39;s shoe and partially outside of a user&#39;s shoe. The middle section  18  of the flexible body  12  and the lower band  20  are situated within the user&#39;s shoe. The side straps  16  and the upper band  14  with display strips  30  generally lie above the shoe on a lower portion of the user&#39;s leg such that the display strips  30  are not obstructed by the user&#39;s shoe.  
         [0037]      FIG. 3  shows an alternative embodiment of footwear accessory  10 . Upper band  14 , side straps  16 , middle section  18  of the flexible body  12 , and lower band  20  are shown. In addition, the upper band  14  contains a plurality of upper openings  60  used for aesthetic appeal, situated between the display strips  30 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of the footwear accessory  10 . The upper band  14  includes multiple display strips  30  to show indicia. The upper band  14  does not include a fastener. The middle section  18  includes a front hook and loop fastener  46  for fastening two sides of the middle section  18  to each other. The front hook and loop fastener  46  has strips of hook and loop fastening material that provide for attachment between two ends of the middle section  18  of the flexible body.  
         [0039]      FIG. 5  illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. The upper band  14  contains a buckle fastener  40  to attach two ends of the upper band  14  to each other and the middle section  18  contains a rear hook and loop fastener  48  to attach two ends of the middle band  18  to each other.  
         [0040]      FIG. 6  illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. At least one zipper  70  is situated on the footwear accessory  10  from the middle section  18 , up at least one side strap  16  and ending at the upper band  14 .  
         [0041]     Additionally, the flexible body  12  may be reversible, with indicia displayed on display strips  30  situated on either side of the flexible body  12  (not shown). The display strips  30  may be detachable from the flexible body  12 , using hook and loop fastening material to attach it onto the flexible body.  
         [0042]      FIG. 7  shows an environmental side view of a sixth embodiment of the invention  80 . The flexible body  12  of unitary construction includes a band  72  that is adapted to receive the ankle and foot of a user. The band  72  fits about the user&#39;s ankle. The flexible body  12  of unitary construction is elasticized in order to accommodate ankles of varying sizes. The band  72  has a first end  74  and a second end  76 . The first  74  and second  76  ends may be attached to one another with any of a number of fastening devices, for example, a zipper  78  that is integrated into both the first  74  and second  76  ends. The user may place the footwear accessory  80  around the user&#39;s ankle and attach the accessory  80  onto the lower leg by fastening the zipper  78 .  
         [0043]     Alternatively, the zipper  78  or other fastener system may be omitted, and the first  74  and second  76  ends may be integrated into one another, so that the flexible body  12  is shaped as a one-piece annular band. The user then slides the accessory  80  onto the user&#39;s leg by placing the user&#39;s foot through the foot aperture  86  and pulling the band  72  over the ankle.  
         [0044]     Indicia display strips  30  are strips of detachable material that are releasably attached to the band  72 . The band  72  has a plurality of first strips of hook and loop fastening material  82  to which the display strips  30  are attached. Each display strip  30  has an exterior surface  84  and an interior surface  86  (shown more clearly in  FIG. 8 ). The interior surface  86  of each of the display strips  30  is designed to attach to the first strips of hook and loop fastening material  82 . The display strips  30  may be interchanged with any number of other indicia display strips  30  in order to display different types of indicia on the band  72 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 8  is a seventh embodiment of the invention  80 . The display strips are attached to the first strips of hook and loop fastening material  82  that are affixed to the band  72 . The exterior surface  84  of each of the display strips  30  has decorative indicia  90  disposed thereon. The interior surface  86  of each of the strips has a mating second strip of hook and loop fastening material  88  attached thereto. The interior surface  86  of the display strips may then be releasably attached to the first strips of hook and loop fastening material  82 . A plurality of female snaps  92  is affixed to the first end  74  of the band  72 . A plurality of mating male snaps  94  is attached to the second end  76  of the band  72 . The female snaps  92  are releasably connected to the male snaps  94  to maintain the band  72  about the user&#39;s lower leg.  
         [0046]      FIG. 9  is an eighth embodiment of footwear accessory  100 . The fabric body  12  of the accessory  100  includes the upper band  72  having a lower band  102  integrally attached to the upper band  72 . The end of the lower band  102  is lined with a strip of hook and loop fastening material  110 . When the user puts the band  72  about the user&#39;s lower leg, the lower band  102  is situated under the user&#39;s foot and attaches to the ends  74  and  76  of the upper band  72 .  
         [0047]     Display strips  30  are affixed to the upper band  72 . The first end  74  of the upper band  72  has an interior-facing strip of hook and loop fastening material  104  and the second end  76  of the upper band  72  has an exterior-facing strip of hook and loop fastening material  106 . When the invention  100  is placed about a user&#39;s lower leg, the interior-facing strip of hook and loop fastening material  104  of the first end  74  releasably attaches to the exterior-facing strip of hook and loop fastening material  106  of the second end  76 .  
         [0048]     The first end  74  of the upper band  72  also has a second exterior-facing strip of hook and loop fastening material  108  that faces outward when the first  74  and second  76  ends of the upper band  72  are affixed to one another. The lower band strip of hook and loop fastening material  110  is adapted to fasten to the second exterior-facing strip of hook and loop fastening material  108  on the first end  74 . Thus, when the upper band  72  is placed about a user&#39;s lower leg, the lower band  102  is placed under the user&#39;s foot and attaches to the second exterior-facing strip of hook and loop fastening material  108 .  
         [0049]      FIG. 10  is a ninth embodiment of the footwear  200  showing a unitary body  12  of elastomeric fabric, for example, neoprene. Attached at a front and rear top portion of the footwear  200  are removable or non-removable multiple display strips  30  for displaying indicia as previously disclosed in this application. Removable display strips may utilize a hook and loop fastening system as previously disclosed. In each of the following  FIGS. 10 through 16 , a lower band  20  extends from a lower central portion of the footwear  200  under the sole of the user and the cut out portions for receiving a user&#39;s heel H and instep I extend in an upward direction from the lower portion of lower band  20 . The cut out portions for receiving the user&#39;s heel H and instep I are configured such that lower band  20  is the only portion of footwear  200  received within a shoe when said the footwear  200  is worn by a user.  
         [0050]      FIG. 11  is a tenth embodiment of the invention, similar to footwear  200  of  FIG. 10 , but including a vertically oriented zipper  302  positioned between the front and rear portions to fasten the footwear  300  onto a user&#39;s ankle.  
         [0051]      FIG. 12  is an eleventh embodiment of the invention, similar to footwear  300  of  FIG. 11  but replacing the zipper  302  with a resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing  402 . Webbing  402  allows a user to expand the top opening of footwear  400  by stretching the elastomeric webbing  402  upon insertion of a user&#39;s foot. Additionally, the resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing, as described here and below, only allows stretching in one planar direction of the webbing. In this configuration, the webbing is oriented to allow expansion only in a direction between the forward and rearward portion of the elastomeric fabric, that is, in a circumferential direction of the elastomeric material of body  12 , but not in a vertical direction.  
         [0052]      FIG. 13  is a twelfth embodiment of the invention showing footwear  500  having resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing  502  on two side of the body  12 . A first portion  502  of resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing is located on the front of footwear  500  above and including a portion of the instep I opening. A second portion  504  of resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing is located on the rear of footwear  500  above and including a portion of the heel H opening. In this embodiment, the elastomeric webbing is allowed to stretch in a direction from side to side, that is, in a circumferential direction of the elastomeric material of body  12 , but not in a vertical direction.  
         [0053]      FIG. 14  is a thirteenth embodiment of the footwear  600  as shown in  FIG. 13  now including a zipper  602  located on the body  12  between the first portion  502  and second portion  504  of the resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing material. Again, in this embodiment, the elastomeric webbing is allowed to stretch in a direction from side to side, that is, in a circumferential direction of the elastomeric material of body  12 , but not in a vertical direction.  
         [0054]      FIG. 15  is a fourteenth embodiment of the footwear  700  including a resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing  702  located on an upper rear portion of body  12 . In this embodiment, a rear facing display strip  30  is a attached via a hook and loop fastening system to the resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing  702 . In this embodiment, the elastomeric webbing is allowed to stretch in a direction from side to side, that is, in a circumferential direction of the elastomeric material of body  12 , but not in a vertical direction.  
         [0055]      FIG. 16  is a fifteenth embodiment of the footwear  800  including a resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing  802  on the front portion of said body  12 . In this embodiment, a forward facing display strip  30  is attached via a hook and loop fastening system to the resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing  802 . Additionally, a portion  804  of resilient stretchable elastomeric webbing is located on the rear of footwear  500  above and including a portion of the heel H opening similar to  FIGS. 13 &amp; 14 . Again, in this embodiment, the elastomeric webbing is allowed to stretch in a direction from side to side, that is, in a circumferential direction of the elastomeric material of body  12 , but not in a vertical direction.  
         [0056]      FIGS. 17 through 19  are illustrative of embodiments that employ a sock(s) as the footwear accessory. The sock comprises conventional foot portion  900  and ankle enclosing portion having an outer surface  902 . The circumferential top of ankle enclosing portion  902  is provided with display indicia  904 ,  906 . The indicia may be attached directly to the sock by sewing or the like as shown at  904 , or the indicia may be removably attached to the sock as indicated at  906 . Hook and loop fasteners  908   a  are attached to the sock whereas mating hook and loop fasteners  908   b  are disposed on the rear surface of the indicia to accomplish the removability of the indicia. The socks can be fabricated from any soft and supple material (cotton, wool, synthetic, etc.). In  FIG. 19 a  fastener in the form of a zipper  909  is shown as a fashionable adjunct for the accessory sock for closing the circumferential top portion of the sock.  
         [0057]     While various fastening methods are used to illustrate the manner in which the user is to affix the footwear accessory to the user&#39;s leg, it is to be understood that any of a number of fasteners may be used to maintain the footwear accessory about the user&#39;s leg.  
         [0058]     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.