Shoe assembly, shoe and related footwear method

Abstract

A shoe includes a sole and an upper that is made of a non-woven fleece material adapted for forming a releasable hook-and-loop-type coupling to a hooked or barbed material. The invention enables a releasable attachment to the shoe, at virtually any desired location along the upper, of an ornamental element that is backed with the hooked or barbed material. More specifically, the ornamental element may be releasably secured to the upper at any of a plurality of locations and, at each location, in any of a multiplicity of orientations.

1 . A shoe assembly comprising: 
 a sole;    an upper made substantially of a non-woven fleece material; and    at least one ornamental element provided with a hooked or barbed backing material for releasably fastening, via a hook and loop coupling, said ornamental element to said upper at any of a multiplicity of positions thereon.    
     
     
         2 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 1  wherein said non-woven fleece material forms at least an outer layer of said upper.  
     
     
         3 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 2  wherein said upper is formed in major part of a single layer of material, said outer layer being said single layer, said non-woven fleece material constituting said single layer.  
     
     
         4 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 3  wherein said upper has a heel section, a metatarsal region, a first side panel, and a second side panel all formed in substantial part by said non-woven fleece material.  
     
     
         5 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 1  wherein said ornamental element is made in part of a flexible material, said backing material being connected to said flexible material along one side thereof.  
     
     
         6 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 5  wherein said flexible material is a fabric material.  
     
     
         7 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 1  wherein said upper has a heel section, a metatarsal region, a first side panel and a second side panel each formed in substantial part at least along an outer surface by said non-woven fleece material.  
     
     
         8 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 1  wherein said ornamental element includes a design taken from the group consisting of a logo, a brand name, a person's name, a sports franchise symbol, and a comic-book character.  
     
     
         9 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 1  wherein said sole and said upper form an athletic shoe.  
     
     
         10 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 1  wherein said upper is provided with a plurality of markings defining attachment locations for said ornamental element.  
     
     
         11 . The shoe assembly defined in  claim 1  wherein said ornamental element is one of a plurality of ornamental elements each provided with a hooked or barbed backing material for releasably fastening, via a hook and loop coupling, the respective ornamental element to said upper at any of a multiplicity of positions thereon.  
     
     
         12 . A shoe comprising: 
 a sole; and    an upper having an outer surface made in substantial part of a non-woven fleece material adapted for forming a releasable hook-and-loop-type coupling to a hooked or barbed material, whereby an ornamental element provided on said hooked or barbed material may be releasably secured at any of a plurality of locations and, at each location, in any of a multiplicity of orientations, to said upper.    
     
     
         13 . The shoe defined in  claim 12  wherein said ornamental element includes a design taken from the group consisting of a logo, a brand name, a person's name, a sports franchise symbol, and a comic-book character.  
     
     
         14 . The shoe defined in  claim 12  wherein said sole and said upper form an athletic shoe.  
     
     
         15 . The shoe defined in  claim 12  wherein said upper is provided with a plurality of markings defining attachment locations for said ornamental element.  
     
     
         16 . A footwear method comprising: 
 providing a shoe having a sole and an upper having an outer surface made in substantial part of a non-woven fleece material;    placing said shoe on a foot;    providing an ornamental element having a hooked or barbed backing material; and    releasably fastening said ornamental element to said upper at any of a multiplicity of positions thereon via a hook and loop coupling between said fleece material and said backing element.    
     
     
         17 . The method defined in  claim 16 , further comprising providing an additional ornamental element having a respective hooked or barbed backing material; releasably fastening said additional ornamental element to said upper at any of a multiplicity of positions thereon via a hook and loop coupling between said fleece material and said respective hooked or barbed backing element.  
     
     
         18 . The method defined in  claim 16  wherein said ornamental element is made in part of a flexible material, said backing material being connected to said flexible material along one side thereof, the fastening of said ornamental element to said upper including bending said flexible material.  
     
     
         19 . The method defined in  claim 18  wherein said flexible material is a fabric material.  
     
     
         20 . The method defined in  claim 16  wherein said ornamental element includes a design taken from the group consisting of a logo, a brand name, a person's name, a sports franchise symbol, and a comic-book character.  
     
     
         21 . The method defined in  claim 16  wherein said shoe is an athletic shoe.  
     
     
         22 . The method defined in  claim 16  wherein said upper is provided with a plurality of markings defining attachment locations for said ornamental element, further comprising attaching said ornamental element to said upper at one of said markings.