Footwear with interchangeable electronic faces

Abstract

A footwear covering system includes a piece of footwear having a sole with a perimeter boundary material and a footwear cover attached to the piece of footwear. The footwear cover includes an attachment device, a sheath attached to the resilient clamp and forming an elongate arcuate cover and indicia on the sheath portraying the face of a character. The attachment device may include a snap-fit connector and/or a resilient clamp with an inner surface with grippers, the resilient clamp being shaped to conform with the perimeter boundary material of the sole of the piece of footwear. The footwear cover may include a battery compartment housing a battery, and in some embodiments the snap-fit connector comprises conductors that establish an electrical connection when the snap-fit connector is mated with a complementary connector on the piece of footwear.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A foot covering, comprising:
 a foot receiving enclosure having a sole, side panels and a front panel;   at least two lights attached to the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure;   a battery mounted to the foot receiving enclosure;   an activatable switch connected to the battery and to the at least two lights for making and breaking an electrical connection between the battery and the at least two lights; and   a face formed on the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure, the face having two eyes formed by the at least two lights attached to the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure.   
     
     
         2 . The foot covering of  claim 1 , wherein the activatable switch comprises an accelerometer, and wherein the activatable switch is activated when the accelerometer detects an acceleration of the foot covering greater than a threshold acceleration. 
     
     
         3 . The foot covering of  claim 2 , wherein the activatable switch is activated by a wearer of the foot covering colliding the foot covering with an object in order to exceed the threshold acceleration. 
     
     
         4 . The foot covering of  claim 1 , wherein the at least two lights are light emitting diodes. 
     
     
         5 . A foot covering with interchangeable faces, the foot covering comprising:
 a foot receiving enclosure having a sole, side panels and a front panel with a face mounting device;   at least two light mounts attached to the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure;   a battery mounted to the foot receiving enclosure and electrically connected to the at least two light mounts; and   an interchangeable face removably attached to the face mounting device of the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure, the interchangeable face comprising two eyes.   
     
     
         6 . The foot covering of  claim 5 , wherein a light is mounted to each of the at least two light mounts on the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure. 
     
     
         7 . The foot covering of  claim 6 , wherein the two eyes of the interchangeable face comprise two apertures, and wherein when the interchangeable face is attached to the face mounting device of the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure, the lights mounted to the light mounts on the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure are visible through the apertures of the interchangeable face. 
     
     
         8 . The foot covering of  claim 6 , wherein the lights mounted to the at least two light mounts on the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure are integral with the interchangeable face, and wherein when the interchangeable face is removed from the face mounting device of the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure, the lights are disconnected from the at least two light mounts. 
     
     
         9 . The foot covering of  claim 6 , wherein the lights are light emitting diodes. 
     
     
         10 . The foot covering of  claim 5 , wherein the face mounting device comprises a hook and loop fastener. 
     
     
         11 . The foot covering of  claim 5 , wherein the face mounting device comprises a snap-fit connector. 
     
     
         12 . A foot covering system with interchangeable faces, the foot covering system comprising:
 a foot receiving enclosure having a sole, side panels and a front panel with a face mounting device; and   an interchangeable face removably attached to the face mounting device of the front panel of the foot receiving enclosure, the interchangeable face comprising:
 two eyes formed from two lights attached to the interchangeable face; 
 a battery attached to the interchangeable face and connected to the two lights; 
 a switch connected to the two lights and the battery for making and breaking an electrical connection between the two lights and the battery. 
   
     
     
         13 . The foot covering system of  claim 12 , wherein the two lights are light emitting diodes. 
     
     
         14 . The foot covering system of  claim 12 , wherein the face mounting device comprises a hook and loop fastener. 
     
     
         15 . The foot covering system of  claim 12 , wherein the face mounting device comprises a snap-fit connector. 
     
     
         16 . A footwear covering system, comprising:
 a piece of footwear having a sole with a perimeter boundary material; and   a footwear cover comprising:
 an attachment device; 
 a sheath attached to the resilient clamp and forming an elongate arcuate cover; and 
 indicia on the sheath portraying a face of a character. 
   
     
     
         17 . The footwear covering system of  claim 16 , wherein the attachment device comprises a snap-fit connector. 
     
     
         18 . The footwear covering system of  claim 16 , wherein the attachment device comprises a resilient clamp with an inner surface with grippers, the resilient clamp being shaped to conform with the perimeter boundary material of the sole of the piece of footwear. 
     
     
         19 . The foot covering of  claim 16 , further comprising a battery compartment inside the footwear cover. 
     
     
         20 . The foot covering system of  claim 17 , wherein the snap-fit connector comprises conductors that establish an electrical connection when the snap-fit connector is mated with a complementary connector on the piece of footwear. 
     
     
         21 . The foot covering system of  claim 21 , wherein the piece of footwear further comprises a battery compartment housing a battery.