CN212233359U - Decorative footwear product - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a decorative footwear product comprising a sole and an upper attached to the sole, wherein the upper comprises an inner liner and an outer cover covering a surface of the inner liner facing the exterior of the decorative footwear product, the outer cover comprising a UV ink coating and an outer protective layer, wherein the UV ink coating is provided on at least a portion of the surface of the inner liner facing the exterior of the decorative footwear product, wherein the UV ink coating comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped elements in close-packed arrangement, and further comprises a long flat-topped ledge with a flat top surface therein; the outer protective layer is disposed on a surface of the UV ink coating facing away from the inner liner, wherein the outer protective layer comprises an amber varnish layer.

Description

Decorative footwear product

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to decorative footwear products.

Background

As with various apparel, footwear products, such as shoes, are often decorated as a way to express personality, as well as attract attention from others. One technique for decorating an article of footwear, such as a shoe, is to decorate the article of footwear with a plurality of individual gem-shaped cells or ornaments.

As one of various techniques, a translucent film may be employed for enhancing the reflectivity of the gem-shaped unit pieces so that the gem-shaped unit pieces are not dull in appearance or so that they appear gem-like (e.g., have high brilliance). The translucent film may be fixed to the surface of the gem-shaped unit pieces with an adhesive such as epoxy or glue, or may be applied using heat pressing. However, after a period of time, the film material containing the diamond pattern cannot meet the use requirements (wear and tear) of the footwear product, and the ultraviolet rays affect the appearance of the gem shape on the translucent film, so that the color, brilliance, and image of the diamond pattern fade and deteriorate after a period of time, thereby degrading the quality of the appearance of the overlaid diamond pattern. This dysfunction does not reveal the appearance, characteristics of the diamond/gemstone that the present invention is intended to represent. Furthermore, in addition to the appearance of such diamond designs, footwear products with designs bear a higher importance as opposed to footwear products without designs. Footwear products with designs that express and convey the information intended to be expressed by the design, and in this case the design is a diamond shoe, while in most cultures, diamonds are considered high-grade. Any damaged parts of the design would weaken this information and, as mentioned, would reduce the quality of the shoe appearance and thus the overall depreciation of the shoe.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present disclosure relates to decorative footwear products, and to methods of making the same, in which a diamond pattern is printed directly onto a suitable footwear material, such as leather, polyester, or the like, the Raised effect of the diamond pattern being created using a Printing technique known as "Raised Ultraviolet (UV) coating" or "Raised Ultraviolet (UV) Printing (also known as 3D UV Printing or engraved UV Printing"). In either the two-dimensional or three-dimensional configuration, after the image is printed onto the leather material or other suitable footwear material, an improved application, i.e., an amber varnish solution, is applied over the diamond pattern. The amber varnish solution provides an improved effect in that when it is applied to the diamond pattern, it provides a protective overlay to the diamond pattern composed of UV ink which maintains the colour and appearance quality of the diamond pattern.

The UV printing technique ejects UV ink that forms a diamond pattern by layering on a material for footwear products, such as a leather material. The ink cannot withstand the rubbing action involved with footwear products, especially 3D configurations, as rubbing will cause the ink to gradually peel off, scratch off, and eventually detach the diamond pattern. However, the use of amber varnish protects and stabilizes the ink over time, preventing it from abrasion, cracking, fading and fading. Therefore, the use of amber varnish is very helpful to protect the diamond pattern.

It should be noted that the term "article of footwear" as used herein refers to an outer covering for the foot, such as various shoes, boots and sandals. For the sake of brevity, a shoe is taken as an example in the detailed description for describing the present invention, and the present invention should be construed as not limited to the shoe, but is applicable to all footwear and all kinds of shoes, boots, skates, ski boots, water boots, sandals, etc.

In general, the subject matter of the present disclosure may be embodied in the following decorative footwear products: the decorative footwear product comprises a sole and an upper attached to the sole, wherein the upper comprises an inner liner and an outer cover covering a surface of the inner liner facing an exterior of the decorative footwear product, the outer cover comprising a UV ink coating and an outer protective layer, wherein the UV ink coating is disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the inner liner facing the exterior of the decorative footwear product, wherein the UV ink coating comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped elements in close rows, and further comprises a long, flat-topped plateau-like projection having a flat top surface therein; the outer protective layer is disposed on a surface of the UV ink coating layer facing away from the inner liner, wherein the outer protective layer includes an amber varnish layer to protect the appearance, color and glare of the gem-shaped unit pieces.

In the present application, a "UV ink coating" refers to a structure in a layered configuration created by a printing technique such as so-called raised UV coating or raised UV printing (also referred to as 3D UV printing or engraved UV printing).

The decorative footwear product may include one or more of the following features.

For example, in some embodiments, the gem form elements are diamond form elements or diamond form elements.

In some embodiments, the plurality of gem shaped unit pieces are raised or planar gem shaped unit pieces.

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of gem shaped unit pieces includes a plurality of facets, each of the plurality of facets of each gem shaped unit piece being convex at an oblique angle relative to at least one other of the plurality of facets.

In some embodiments, each gem element has a minor axis and a plurality of borders extending in a direction normal to the minor axis that enclose one or more facets on the surface of each gem element.

In some embodiments, the plurality of boundaries of each gem form element are grooves.

In some embodiments, a transparent self-adhesive vinyl is applied to the plurality of gem shaped elements.

In some embodiments, the plurality of gem-shaped unit pieces have at least one color.

In some embodiments, the outer cover layer further comprises a fabric secured to the inner liner and attached to the UV ink coating layer to form a portion of the exterior of the decorative footwear product, wherein the fabric is selected from: real leather; artificial leather; compounding leather; cotton; a polyester; rubber; imitation or natural fur; dermis or artificial skin; and a combination of the real leather, artificial leather, composite leather, cotton, polyester, rubber, imitation fur or natural fur, and real leather or artificial leather.

In some embodiments, the decorative footwear product further comprises one or more light emitting devices, a switch, and a power source, wherein the one or more light emitting devices are coupled with the switch and the power source via one or more wires, and the one or more light emitting devices are embedded in one or more receptacles, and wherein the inner liner forms a sidewall of the one or more receptacles and the outer cover layer forms a cover for the one or more receptacles.

In some embodiments, the outer cover layer of the upper further comprises a polyurethane layer disposed on the amber varnish layer.

In some embodiments, the UV ink coating covers the entire surface of the inner liner facing the exterior of the decorative footwear product.

In some embodiments, the decorative footwear product comprises a boot, a dress shoe, a sandal, a dress shoe, a running shoe, a sports shoe, a skate blade, or a dual or single row roller skate, a ski boot, a water boot, or the like.

In some embodiments, each of the gem-shaped unit pieces in the close-packed gem-shaped unit pieces is equal in size.

In some embodiments, the inner liner comprises a leather layer and/or a polyester layer and/or a cotton layer.

In some embodiments, two or more of the embossed or flat gem-shaped unit pieces in the close-packed gem-shaped unit pieces may have different colors. At least one of the gem-shaped unit pieces presents a plurality of different colors.

In some embodiments, one or more of the gem-shaped element pieces have at least two borders of different lengths.

In some embodiments, each boundary of each gem-shaped element is greater than 1/4mm greater and less than 76mm greater.

In some embodiments, the surface area of the elongated flat-topped plateau-like projection having a substantially flat top surface is at 144mm²To 7000mm²Within the range of (1).

In some embodiments, the elongated flat-topped plateau-like protrusion may be between 1 and 12 inches in length, between 0.5 and 3 inches in width, and between 0.1 and 0.5 inches in thickness.

In some embodiments, the face of each raised gem-shaped element is smooth.

In some embodiments, the face of each planar gem-shaped element is smooth.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other aspects, features, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a decorative footwear product according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a planar gem-shaped unit piece formed on a UV ink coating.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a side view of a UV ink coating having a flat gem-shaped single element with an amber varnish layer formed thereon.

Fig. 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams depicting various views of a UV ink coating of a convex gem-shaped unit piece with convex facets.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a side view of an outer cover with a light emitting source positioned thereunder.

Fig. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an article of footwear securing a light source to an upper.

Fig. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a footwear product after applying a UV ink coating to the footwear product.

FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an article of footwear divided into two portions, an upper and a sole, with a light source secured to the upper.

Fig. 6D to 6E are schematic views showing an athletic shoe as an example.

Fig. 7A-7B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of an article of footwear having a protrusion formed in a UV ink overlay formed on an outer surface of an inner liner.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a perspective view of a decorative shoe 100 as an example of a decorative footwear product according to the present invention. The decorative shoe 100 includes a sole and an upper attached to the sole. The upper has an inner lining 101 and an outer cover layer covering the surface of the inner lining 101 facing the outside of the decorative shoe 100. The outer cover layer comprises a UV ink cover layer 102 and an outer protective layer 300 disposed on the surface of the UV ink cover layer 102 facing away from the inner liner 101. The outer protective layer 300 includes an amber varnish layer.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UV ink coating layer 102 is a structure in a layered configuration created by using a printing technique called "raised UV coating" or "raised UV printing (also called 3D UV printing or engraved UV printing"). The UV ink overlay 102 includes an array of decorative gem-shaped elements 104. That is, each gem-shaped unit piece 104 is configured to simulate the appearance of a gem (such as diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, garnet, topaz, etc.) and the like. For example, each gem element 104 may include a plurality of grooves defining element boundaries, and each gem element 104 has a relatively high brilliance/reflectivity.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a two-dimensional view of a portion of the UV ink coating 102 containing gem-shaped unit pieces 104. The gem-shaped unit piece 104 is configured to have a polygonal shape, the minor axis of the gem-shaped unit piece 104 is equal to the thickness of the UV ink coating 102 (i.e., into the paper of the example shown in fig. 2), and the upper surface of the gem-shaped unit piece 104 is surrounded by three or more borders 106 extending in a direction normal to the minor axis. Each boundary of the gem-shaped unit piece forms an oblique angle with an adjacent boundary of the gem-shaped unit piece and follows the curvature of the UV ink coating 102 defined by the shape of the shoe. The area enclosed by the border 106 of each gem-shaped element includes one or more facets.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the gem-shaped elements 104 each include 4 borders 106. In some embodiments, the element 104 is configured to appear diamond-shaped or diamond-shaped, such as a quadrilateral with sides of approximately equal length, and wherein the diagonals are generally perpendicular to each other and equally spaced from each other. Alternatively, unlike the pattern shown in FIG. 2, the sides of the element 104 may have different lengths. Furthermore, the elements 104 are closely spaced such that there is little or no distance between adjacent elements 104. Although the diamond-shaped elements 104 in fig. 2 are presented in a repeating pattern, in some cases, the elements 104 may be arranged such that there is no identifiable repeating pattern, e.g., the elements 104 are of different sizes and arranged in a non-repeating pattern (e.g., randomly), and/or in different diamond-shaped patterns or a wide variety of diamond-shaped patterns. The length of each boundary 106 of the polygonal unit piece 104 is in the range of about 1/4mm to about 76 mm. For example, the length may be about 1mm, 5mm, 10mm, 20mm, 30mm, 40mm, 50mm, or 60 mm. Optionally, the boundaries 106 of each element 104 correspond to a thin groove or channel extending within the surface of the UV ink coat 102, such that the gem element 104 is an effectively raised feature on the UV ink coat surface. For example, the grooves may be formed in the UV ink overcoat layer 102 as a result of the UV coating/printing process. The thickness of the recess is relatively shallow with respect to the thickness of the UV ink overcoat layer 102. For example, the depth of the recess 10 may be in the range of about 0.5mm to about 0.9mm, for example 0.76mm, with the thickness of the UV ink coating being greater than the depth of the recess. The thickness of the UV ink overcoat layer 102 may range between about 1mm to about 30mm, such as 3.5 mm.

The UV ink overcoat layer 102 is formed of a material suitable for a "raised UV coating" or "raised UV printing (also referred to as 3D UV printing or engraved UV printing)" process. However, in some embodiments, the material may also be colored to exhibit a particular color. For example, the UV ink overcoat layer 102 may be colored red, blue, green, purple, etc. In one example, the UV ink coating 102 may be secured to the interior lining of the shoe.

In some embodiments, two or more raised or flat gem shaped elements 104 of the close-packed gem shaped elements 104 may have different colors. At least one gem-shaped element 104 of the gem-shaped elements 104 presents a plurality of different colors.

With such a configuration, in an embodiment, all the jewel-shaped unit pieces 104 have the same one color, for example, green, red, blue, yellow or purple, over the entire surface of the UV ink coating, so that the plurality of jewel-shaped unit pieces 104 as a whole can represent a single color, which is different from other shoes including jewel-shaped unit pieces having different single colors. In another embodiment, the plurality of diamond-shaped unit pieces 104 on the entire surface of the UV ink coating layer do not have one color that is the same, but have a plurality of different colors. That is, for example, some elements are red, some elements are blue, some elements are green, and so on. Thus, the gem-shaped unit pieces present various colors.

The inner liner may comprise any suitable liner for footwear, such as natural leather, synthetic leather, composite leather, cotton or polyester, and the like.

In some embodiments, the outer surface of the UV ink overcoat layer 102 is smooth. That is, while the UV ink coating 102 may be associated with a certain curvature to allow for conformance to the shape of the shoe, the area within the confines of each gem-shaped element 104 is flat with little variation in height (e.g., an average roughness of less than about 0.05mm, a roughness of less than about 0.01mm, a roughness of less than about 0.001mm, or a roughness as may be obtained with commercially available PMMA).

In some embodiments, the outer surface of the outer cover is flat on the diamond-shaped element, and the entire outer surface of the outer cover faces away from the interior region of the decorative footwear product. In other embodiments, a transparent self-adhesive vinyl is applied to the closely packed plurality of planar or raised gem-shaped elements.

Various techniques may be used to make the gem-shaped elements 104 not dull in appearance or to make them appear gem-shaped (e.g., with high glare). For example, the embossing effect of the diamond-type pattern is generated by a printing technique of "embossing UV coating" or "embossing UV printing (also referred to as 3D UV printing or engraving UV printing"), and an amber varnish layer is formed on the gem-shaped unit pieces 104 of the UV ink coating 102 to make the appearance of the unit pieces 104 not dull and to protect the unit pieces 104 from detachment. Compared to ordinary printing, "raised UV coating" or "raised UV printing" has many benefits, for example, simplicity of the process; the pattern can be customized and widely compatible — applicable to hundreds of materials, such as glass, tile, or acrylic plastic (acrylic), leather, etc.; the produced product has very rich light and artistic effects; the surface is convex and flexible. That is, the raised gem-shaped unit pieces produced by the technical processes of "raised UV coating" or "raised UV printing" are less time-consuming and less costly in UV ink materials than other techniques and materials used to form the gem-shaped unit pieces (e.g., compression molding techniques using plastic or transparent synthetic resin materials, injection molding, etc.); in addition, the convex gem-shaped unit pieces manufactured by the technical processes of 'convex UV coating' or 'convex UV printing' have smooth surface effect, good texture, high brightness, high smoothness, strong adhesion, safe assembly and bending resistance. In addition, the amber varnish protective layer formed on the gem-shaped unit pieces can prevent the color, brightness and image of the diamond pattern from being damaged due to abrasion, cracking, fading and fading. The combination of the UV ink coating formed by "raised UV coating" or "raised UV printing" and the amber varnish layer formed thereon achieves the object of the invention: the color, brightness and appearance of the diamond pattern on the shoe are maintained in good condition, and the color, brightness and image of the diamond pattern are prevented from being abraded, cracked, faded and degraded.

In some embodiments, polyurethane is used as the brightening agent. The polyurethane has three gloss properties: high gloss, semi-gloss and satin. In some embodiments, a high gloss polyurethane layer is provided on the amber varnish layer. The polyurethane layer dries to a very shiny surface. The gloss of the polyurethane layer enhances the existing brightness of the color of the gem-shaped element due to the application of the amber varnish. The polyurethane layer provides the gemstone-shaped element with an additional sparkle effect that resembles a real extraordinary sparkle diamond. This is attractive and appeals to the perception of the wearer wearing the shoe with the diamond design and to the attention of the surrounding observer.

Fig. 3 is a side view of an example of the UV ink coating layer 102 having the outer protective layer 300 formed thereon, wherein the UV ink coating layer 102 has a flat gem-shaped unit piece. In some embodiments, the outer protective layer 300 includes an amber varnish layer. The UV ink coating 102 is fixed to the inner lining 101 of the shoe. The method of fixing the outer protective layer and the UV ink coating layer 102 to said inner lining 101 of the shoe is as follows: such as diamond patterns, are printed directly onto materials such as leather, polyester, etc., of suitable footwear products.

In particular, printing of diamond patterns is applied to leather material in a two-dimensional configuration. The two-dimensional configuration is created using the aforementioned computer to execute suitable graphic design software, such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), to create a flat surface of the diamond pattern. Computer Aided Design (CAD) generates a diamond pattern for printing.

In the three-dimensional configuration, the raised effect of the diamond pattern is created by using a printing technique known as raised UV coating or raised UV printing. Raised UV printing is a dot UV technique that laminates UV overlays to create a three-dimensional image that is both visible and perceptible, and thereby forms a UV ink overlay. Raised UV coatings or raised UV printing are quite different from other forms of tactile finishing such as embossing processes that press designs into materials such as paper, and thermal relief printing with raised inks. Raised UV coating or raised UV printing allows a transparent UV overlay to be completely free of the need to use ink or to emboss the design pattern through both sides of one piece. Some of the most surprising uses of raised UV coating or raised UV printing are to enhance the graphic or photographic effect of an article. The particles hidden by the football can be felt, lizards of various scales can be felt, and a 'water' drop on a beer bottle or the feeling of orange peel can be felt. Or using raised UV coating/printing to actually protrude the banner from the paper.

In one example, raised UV printing includes the following specific steps: 1. applying an ultraviolet-curable inkjet ink onto a leather material, the ink being configurable into a plurality of colors, e.g., white, black and colored, and optionally, the ink may be applied in various patterns, e.g., diamond patterns; 2. and (4) carrying out ultraviolet curing.

After printing a planar diamond pattern onto a leather material or other suitable footwear material in a two-dimensional configuration, or printing a raised diamond pattern onto a leather material or other suitable footwear material in a three-dimensional configuration, an amber varnish solution is applied over the diamond pattern (e.g., raised or planar gem-shaped elements).

The improved benefit of the amber varnish solution is to protect the printed ink from abrasion, cracking, fading and fading for many years. Also, when the amber varnish solution penetrates and becomes a part of the UV ink coating layer forming the diamond pattern and penetrates and becomes a part of the leather structure to which the diamond pattern is applied as the amber varnish solution is absorbed into the leather material, the amber varnish becomes bright and gives a depth thereto.

In other embodiments, each gem unit piece 104 in the UV ink coating 102 having the raised gem unit pieces 104 includes one or more facets that are raised at different angles of inclination relative to each other to give the surface of the UV ink coating 102 a raised appearance. Each facet is part of the plane of the exposed surface of the UV ink coating and is oriented at a different angle to the adjacent facets in a particular element 104. By orienting the facets at different angles, the light reflected from the facets will be redirected in different directions, thereby enhancing the reflectivity of the gemstone-shaped unit piece 104. Fig. 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams illustrating a top view (fig. 4A) and two side views (fig. 4B, 4C) of a unit piece 104 including a plurality of facets 400. In the example shown in fig. 4A to 4C, the unit piece 104 includes 4 facets 400 forming a square-like gold shape. The facets 400 are arranged at different angles θ with respect to a plane parallel to the x-axis and the y-axis such that each facet is at an oblique angle with respect to at least one other facet. It should be noted that the facets are shown with respect to the x-y plane for ease of viewing. In one embodiment, the UV ink coating 102 will be curved to conform to the curvature of the portion of the shoe corresponding to the upper. Although the unit piece 104 shown in fig. 4A to 4C is divided into four separate facets, the unit piece 104 may be composed of a different number of facets, for example, the unit piece 104 may include one facet, two facets, six facets, or eight facets. The facets may be formed using "raised UV coating" or "raised UV printing (also referred to as 3D UV printing or engraved UV printing"). The fabrication of facets on the surface of the UV ink cladding may result in the formation of grooves that separate the elements 104 from one another, as described above.

The UV ink coating 102 having the gem form elements 104 may be applied to any type of footwear including, for example, boots, dress shoes, loafers, skates, running shoes, athletic shoes, skates (e.g., skate blades, or double or single row roller skates), sandals, and the like. Typically, shoes are made up of separate parts called an "upper" and a "sole". An upper refers to one or more portions of the shoe that cover the toes, instep, sides of the foot, rear of the heel, and/or leg. With respect to skates, or double or single row roller skates, water skates, ski boots, the upper may also be referred to as a "boot". The upper is attached to a sole that forms the bottom of the shoe. The upper of the shoe may be cut from a single piece or may be composed of several pieces sewn together, depending on the style of the shoe (e.g., athletic shoe, boot, dress shoe, skate, etc.). A portion of the upper of the shoe may include, for example, a vamp front end, a heel portion, a tongue, a quarter, and a liner. In some embodiments, UV ink coating 102 forms the entire exterior surface of the upper, i.e., the surface facing away from the interior portion of the shoe where the foot is located. In other embodiments, the UV ink coating 102 forms only a portion of the upper, such as a tongue, a quarter, a front end of the upper, a heel portion, or a combination thereof. The material of the remaining outer portion of the upper not formed by the UV ink coating 102 may include standard textile materials used to form footwear, such as natural leather, synthetic leather, composite leather, woven fabrics (e.g., cotton), polyester, rubber, fur-like, and other materials. Typically, both the UV ink coating 102 and the optional additional textile material are secured to the inner lining of the shoe.

In some embodiments, a light source is incorporated into the shoe to enhance the glare of the UV ink coated gem unit pieces. For example, the shoe may include one or more light sources, such as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), located at various locations on the shoe and beneath the UV ink coating 102. When the light source is activated, light is emitted out through the transparent or translucent UV ink coating 102. The light source may be configured to emit a single color/wavelength (e.g., red, blue, or green) or a range of wavelengths (e.g., white light). Combinations of white light and/or different colored light sources may also be used. In some embodiments, for example, when the gem-shaped unit piece 104 includes convex facets, light emitted from a single light source is refracted by different facets in different directions, thereby creating the impression that multiple light sources are embedded at specific locations in the shoe.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the UV ink overcoat layer 102 with a light emitting source 500 (e.g., an LED) positioned below the UV ink overcoat layer 102. The light source 500 is disposed on or embedded in a base 502, for example a backing layer such as an inner liner, or the like. When the light source 500 is embedded in the base 502 (e.g., embedded in a cavity or recess in the base 502), the UV ink coating 102 forms a cover over the light source 500 such that the UV ink coating 102 and the base 502 form a receptacle for the light source. The top surface of the light source facing the UV ink coating 102 emits light 504 such that the light 504 travels through the transparent or translucent UV ink coating 102. The UV ink overcoat layer 102 may also include an outer protective layer 300 on the UV ink overcoat layer 102.

The light source may be positioned in a variety of different locations on the shoe. For example, fig. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a shoe 600 as an example of a decorative footwear product of the present invention, the shoe 600 including a heel 602, a waterproof platform 604, and an upper 606 without a UV ink coating. Fig. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating a shoe 600 having a UV ink overcoat layer 608 disposed thereon. As shown in fig. 6A, two light sources 610 are arranged on upper 606 such that when UV ink coating 608 is formed on the upper, UV ink coating 608 hides light sources 610 from direct view. The light source 610 is coupled to a switch 612 and a power source 614 (e.g., a battery) via one or more wires 616. Both the electrical cord 616 and the power source 614 are hidden from view within the shoe 600. For example, the power cord 616 may be threaded through the area between the waterproof station 604 and the upper 606. The power source 614 may be disposed inside an opening in the heel 602. When the switch 612 is enabled, the switch 612 enables the light source 610 to be enabled with power from the power source 614. The switch 612 may comprise a switch configured to be manually activated. For example, the switch 612 may comprise a toggle switch that may be depressed or moved to different positions to change between a closed state and an open state of the circuit formed by the power source 614 and the light source 610. Switch 612 may also be positioned on heel 602. The switch may be configured to blend into the surface of heel 602 (e.g., by having the same color as the heel itself and into the surface of heel 602) so as not to draw attention to switch 612.

Other configurations of the power supply 614 and switch 612 are possible. For example, in some embodiments, the power supply 614 may be embedded within the waterproof station 604. Fig. 6C is a schematic diagram illustrating a shoe 650 as an example of the present invention decorative footwear product, wherein the upper and sole are shown separated and the power source 614 is embedded in the midsole 620. The midsole 620 includes one or more openings 622 that are configured and dimensioned to receive the power source 614. The portion of the midsole 620 surrounding the opening for the power source may be formed with hard plastic walls to provide protection for the power source 614 as well as to provide stability. In the embodiment shown in fig. 6C, the switch 612 may be disposed at the bottom of the sole, and the switch 612 is not visible when the user walks with the shoe 650.

Other types of footwear may also incorporate an outer cover layer (e.g., UV ink coating 102) and one or more light sources located below the outer cover layer, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6D and 6E. Fig. 6D and 6E are schematic views showing an athletic shoe 660 as an example of the decorative footwear product of the present invention. The athletic footwear product, namely athletic shoe 660, has a UV ink coating 102 formed thereon. Fig. 6D shows the athletic shoe 660 with the upper 662 separated from the sole 664, in which the power source (e.g., battery) 666 is embedded in the sole 664. The power source is electrically coupled to one or more light sources 668 located below the UV ink coating 102 using wires 661. A switch (e.g., a button labeled "612") may be positioned on the UV ink coating 102, allowing a user to turn the one or more light sources 668 on and off by pressing the switch. Fig. 6E shows a schematic view of the upper 662 engaged with the sole 664.

In some embodiments, the UV ink coating having the gem-shaped element may further include a protrusion on which a user may customize the shoe. For example, the protrusion provides a region: the user may apply their own signature (e.g., using any suitable writing instrument such as a permanent marker) or any desired pattern on the area.

Fig. 7A is a schematic view showing a shoe 700 as an example of the decorative footwear product of the present invention, the shoe 700 having a protrusion 704 formed in the UV ink coating layer 102. The UV ink coating 102 also contains a region having gem-shaped unit pieces as described above. The protrusion 704 is an elongated plateau-like shape having a generally flat top surface. Although substantially flat, the protrusion 704 may have some curvature that conforms to the shape of the shoe. As a protrusion, the height at which the region protrudes extends beyond the average height of other regions of the UV ink coating (e.g., regions containing jewelry-shaped unit pieces). The protrusion 704 is formed contiguously with the material comprising the UV ink overcoat layer 102, rather than being attached to a separate piece of UV ink overcoat layer 102. But in some casesFor certain types of footwear (e.g., athletic shoes, boots, dress shoes, skates, etc.), an adhesive may also be used to apply the individual tab components to the UV ink coating 102. In some embodiments, the protrusions 704 may be distinguished from other portions of the UV ink overcoat layer 102 by coloring the protrusions 704 to a different color. For example, the protrusion 704 may be colored red, while the remaining area of the UV ink overcoat layer 102 may be colored blue. The protrusion 704 may be formed using the same process as a different jewel-shaped unit piece for forming the UV ink coating layer 102. The height of the protrusion 704, as measured from the top surface of the UV ink overcoat layer 102, may range from about 0.5mm to about 13 mm. The area of the protrusion surface may be, for example, about 144mm²To about 7000mm²Within the range of (1). In some embodiments, the length of the protrusion 704 extends from the toe portion of the shoe to the heel portion of the shoe.

In some embodiments, the design to be formed on the tab can be made on a transfer sheet (e.g., printed on an adhesive transfer sheet or a thermal transfer sheet) having approximately the same area as the flat surface of the tab. The design may be secured to the projection using, for example, heat pressing. Fig. 7B is a schematic view showing a shoe, which is another example of the present invention, comprising a UV ink coating layer 102 having a gem-shaped unit piece and a protrusion 704 on which a design in the form of a name (i.e., "Stacy") is attached by a user. Other parts of the shoe contain other textiles, such as leather or fur-like.

A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (12)

1. A decorative article of footwear comprising:

a sole; and

an upper attached to the sole, wherein the upper includes an inner liner and an outer cover covering a surface of the inner liner facing an exterior of the decorative footwear product,

said decorative footwear being characterized in that said outer covering comprises:

a UV ink coating disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the inner liner facing the exterior of the decorative footwear product, wherein the UV ink coating includes a plurality of diamond-shaped elements in close-packed arrangement and further includes an elongated plateau-like projection therein having a flat top surface; and

an outer protective layer disposed on a surface of the UV ink overcoat facing away from the inner liner, wherein the outer protective layer comprises an amber varnish layer.

2. The decorative footwear product of claim 1, wherein the plurality of gem form elements are raised or flat gem form elements.

3. The decorative footwear product of claim 1, wherein each gem element of the plurality of gem elements includes a plurality of facets, each facet of the plurality of facets of each gem element being convex at an oblique angle to at least one other facet of the plurality of facets.

4. The decorative footwear product of claim 1, wherein each gem-shaped element has a minor axis and a plurality of borders extending in a direction normal to the minor axis, the plurality of borders enclosing one or more facets on a surface of each gem-shaped element.

5. The decorative footwear product of claim 4, wherein the plurality of boundaries of each gem-shaped element are grooves.

6. The decorative footwear product of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a clear, self-adhesive vinyl is applied over the plurality of gem-shaped elements.

7. The decorative footwear product of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plurality of gem-shaped elements have at least one color.

8. The decorative footwear product of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the outer cover layer further comprises a fabric secured to the inner liner and attached to the UV ink coating layer forming a portion of an exterior of the decorative footwear product,

wherein the fabric is selected from: any one or combination of natural dermis, artificial leather, composite leather, cotton, polyester, rubber, imitation fur or natural fur.

9. The decorative footwear product of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising one or more light emitting devices, a switch and a power source, wherein the one or more light emitting devices are coupled with the switch and the power source via one or more wires and the one or more light emitting devices are embedded in one or more receptacles, and wherein the inner liner forms a sidewall of the one or more receptacles and the outer cover forms a cover of the one or more receptacles.

10. The decorative footwear product of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the outer cover layer of the upper further comprises a polyurethane layer disposed on the amber varnish layer.

11. The decorative footwear product of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the UV ink coating covers the entire surface of the inner liner facing the exterior of the decorative footwear product.

12. The decorative footwear product as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said decorative footwear product comprises a boot, a dress shoe, a sports shoe, a skate, or a double or single row roller skate.

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