Abstract:
The present invention generally provides a woman&#39;s fashion shoe with a removable insole fitted inside a sleeve so as to appear as part of the shoe. The sleeve both conceals the insole and holds it in place. The invention allows women to wear fashion shoes comfortably with prescription or off the shelf orthotics.

Description:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       [0001]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exploded view of a shoe according to the present invention showing the sleeve; 
         [0002]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective front view of the shoe according to  FIG. 1 ; 
         [0003]      FIG. 3  illustrates a section view of the shoe of  FIG. 1  taken along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 ; 
         [0004]      FIG. 4  illustrates a bottom view of the sleeve according to the present invention; 
         [0005]      FIG. 5  illustrates a perspective view of the shoe of  FIG. 1  illustrating removal of the sleeve; and 
         [0006]      FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of the shoe of  FIG. 1  illustrating removal of the insole from the sleeve. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
         [0008]    Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention generally provides a woman&#39;s fashion shoe with a removable insole fitted inside a sleeve so as to appear as part of the shoe. 
         [0009]    Fashionable shoes for women, particularly high heels, are worn as fashion statements. In the current designs for fashion shoes for women, having either a high or low heel, with removable insoles, the insole rests on top of the outer sole with no covering. There are limitations to the use of the current insole design. For example, with shoes that have open heels or toes, such as high heel sandals, the user cannot have removable insoles because the insoles would show or fall out. 
         [0010]    The present invention may provide a covering for an insole that may maintain the look and feel of the shoe, may improve the security of the insole, may allow the user to wear the insole when using open heel sandals, and may also allow the user to use orthopedic foot beds to increase comfort. 
         [0011]    The fashion shoe may comprise a sole; an insole; an upper; and a sleeve. 
         [0012]    The sole  18  may be flat to make a normal shoe  10  or angled to provide a high heel shoe. The sole  18  may either be a single solid sole or a multiple piece sole. The sole  18  may provide a durable contact surface between the ground and shoe  10 . In addition, the sole  18  may provide cushioning to the feet of the user. The sole  18  may be made of rubber, tough leather, or any other suitable material. 
         [0013]    The insole  12  may be a separate component from the sole  18  of the shoe  10 . The insole  12  may provide support and cushioning to the foot of the user. The insole  12  may be made of one or more parts set together to form a complete insole that covers the bottom of the inside of the shoe. The insole  12  may also be made of one or more materials. In one embodiment of the present invention, the insole may be made from a material that is durable and provides cushioning for the foot. 
         [0014]    The upper  20  may be made of any suitable material that allows holding the foot in the shoe. The upper  20  may be made of a single piece or comprised of several independent pieces. 
         [0015]    The sleeve  14  may cover the insole  12 . The sleeve  14  may be made from leather, cloth, or any other suitable material that may serve to cover the insole  12 . The sleeve  14  may hold the insole in place and may provide a contact surface between the bottom of the foot and the top of the insole  12 . The sleeve may be sized to provide a covering for the entire insole and may provide extra material in some places to allow the sleeve to wrap around the insole  12 , thus temporarily completely enclosing the insoles  12  in the space created by the sleeve  14 , the sole  18 , and in some cases, the upper  20 . In this way the insole  12  may be completely covered by the material of the sleeve  14  and appear to be a permanent part of the shoe, however, because of the opening provided by the sleeve  14 , the insole  12  may actually not be a permanent part of the shoe and can be changed as needed or desired. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment the invention comprises only the sleeve and optionally the insole. 
         [0017]    In another embodiment, the invention may include a kit having a sleeve and means for securing the sleeve to the insole. 
         [0018]    In another embodiment of the present invention the sleeve  14  may include elastic or any other material that may help to hold the sleeve  14  tightly to the insole  12 . The material may be elastic straps  24  that wrap around the insole, or a lacing system (not shown) that may tighten the sleeve  14  around the insole  12  or any other fastening device that may allow securing the sleeve  14  around the insole  12  such as Velcro. 
         [0019]    In another embodiment, the sleeve material  14  may be completely and permanently attached to the material of the upper  20  around all its edges, while the upper  20  may only be attached to the sole  18  around a portion of its edges, creating an opening through which to remove and replace the insole  12 . 
         [0020]    Optionally, the shoe  10  according to the present invention may include a heel piece  22 . In one embodiment, the heel piece  22  may be separate from the sole  18  of the shoe  10  and the sole may be attached to the heel  22 . The heel  22  may be made from any material and may be of any size. In one embodiment, the heel  22  may be optionally accompanied by a platform located under the front of the foot to which the front part of the sole may be attached. 
         [0021]    Any design or modification that may be applied to a normal woman&#39;s fashion shoe and that does not materially affect the way the insole  12  and sleeve  14  interact may be added to the shoe of the present invention without changing the invention. In one embodiment, the shoe may include designer&#39;s materials to make the shoe more fashionable. 
         [0022]    In addition, the shoe according to the present invention may have sticky or rough surfacing  16  on the upper side of the sole  18  to help hold the insole in place. Furthermore, the insole  12  may also be held in place by any other non-permanent way that allows the attachment or holding the insole  12  in place. In one embodiment, the insole  12  may also not be held in place and simply allowed to rest on top of the top surface of the sole  18 . 
         [0023]    The sole  18 , the upper  20 , and the heel piece  22  (if included) may all be attached to each other. The attachment may be permanent or temporary and the nature of the attachment between these components does not materially affect the invention. The sleeve  14  may be attached to the upper  20 , the sole  18 , or any other part of the shoe  10  that may not be the insole  12 . In addition, the sleeve  14  may be attached in one or more places along the edges of the sleeve but may not be attached around its entire edge. The sleeve  14  may be attached in such a way that it and the top of the sole  18 , or other surface on which the insole  12  rests. 
         [0024]    In some cases, the upper  20  may create a semi-enclosed space inside which the insole  12  fits. The space created may be only semi-enclosed because the sleeve  14  may not be attached along its entire edge. The opening provided the ability to reseal the sleeve  14  around any insole, creating a shoe in which a custom orthopedic insole or other insole may be worn that maintains the look and feel of the original shoe while providing the comfort and other benefits that a new insole may provide. 
         [0025]    The sole  18 , upper  20 , and optionally the heel piece  22 , may function in a typical fashion to provide a space for the wearer&#39;s foot and a contact surface between the foot and the ground that cushions and protects the foot. The insole  12  rests on top of the sole  18  and may provide further cushioning and support for the user&#39;s foot without being an attached part of the shoe. The sleeve  14 , together with the top of the sole  18  and potentially parts of the upper  20 , may create a partially enclosed space inside which the insole  12  fits. This space may be roughly the shape of the insole and serve to both cover the insole and help hold it in place. The parts of the edge of the sleeve  14  that are not attached to any other part of the shoe serve to form an opening through which the insole  12  may be removed and may be replaced with a different insole if necessary or desired. 
         [0026]    The invention may be manufactured like a typical woman&#39;s dress shoe with the exception of the sleeve and the modifications to accommodate it. A part of the edge of the sleeve may be sewn, glued, or otherwise attached to the part of the sole or upper. The top of the sole may be covered with a rough or sticky coating to help hold the insole in place but this is not necessary. Some modification may be made to the top of the sole of the shoe to provide hooks, lips, or other types of fastenings to help hold the unattached edges of the sleeve around the shoe, but these too are not necessary. 
         [0027]    The shoe of the present invention may be worn like any other shoe. The only difference may be the ability to remove the insole  12 . To remove the insole  12  the user may first have to unwrap the unattached portion of the sleeve  14  from around the insole  12 . This may include freeing the material of hooks, or other catches that are used to hold it in place. Once the unattached portion of the sleeve  14  may be unwrapped from the insole  12 , the insole  12  may be pulled out through the opening where the sleeve  14  is unattached. Once the insole  12  is removed, a new insole will be pushed through the opening where the sleeve  14  is unattached. Once the new insole is properly positioned inside the sleeve  14 , the unattached portions of the sleeve  14  may be rewrapped around the new insole. 
         [0028]    The present invention may be applied to a shoe for men or children as well, although the problems that it solves are more specific to shoes for women. 
         [0029]    It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.