US2359001A - Heel construction - Google Patents

Description

vSptr 26,1944, B. RYDER 2,359,001

l CONSTRUCTION Fuga oet. 15, 1940 i /NVE/vroR 43 BA wie@ FY05@ Hf%cf Fos me g HA kms Patented Sept. 26, 1944 A UNITED vSTAT Es PmralsirA oFFlcE 2 Claims.

In womens shoes it has long been conventional to employ wooden heels which are coveredor surfaced in a variety of manners. Such heels are expensive because of the material employed, the complexity of the machinery required to form them in the desired shapes, and the necessity for skilled Workmen to operate such machinery. It is an` object of my invention to provide a heel construction of inexpensive materials and a method of forming this construction which requires neither intricate machinery nor skilled workmen.

Solid wooden heels contribute much undesired weight to Womens shoes. It is an object of my invention to minimize the weight of the heel construction for womens shoes and more partcularly to materially reduce the weight below that of conventional shoes by constructing the heel in the form of a hollow body.

It is the practice of most shoe manufacturers to purchase the wooden heels for womens footwear from others specializing in their production, thus requiring the manufacturer to maintain on hand substantial stocks of wooden heels of different styles, heights, and sizes to meet'rfluctuations in the demand for shoes of his manufacture. It is an object of my invention to provide a method of constructing heels for footwear which can be quickly performed by unskilled workmen in a small area of plant space and which thus eliminates the necessity of the maintenance of large stocks of preformed heels and reduces the cost of production of womens footwear.

The heel and the method of constructing it, which are the subject of my invention and which are capable of use in the production of footwear for men and children, as well as women, are described in the followingspecication, which may be better understood with reference to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a pattern or outline bodiment of my invention adapted for use as a combined midsole and heel.

Referring to thedrawing, which is for illustrative purposes only, the numeral II indicates a sheet of fibrous material; this fibrous material may be woven or structureless, such as matted and compressed felt. The sheet II is out with downwardly diverging side boundaries I2 and I3,

of a sheet of material which may be employed plastic in the goods.

it is cut to the outline illustrated in Fig. 1, shall be impregnated with a plastic in discrete form or discontinuous phase as contrasted with a continuous phase. The plastic may be associated with the sheet Il in a Variety of ways. Thus a dope may be prepared, including, for example,

cellulose acetate and a plasticizer, such as camphor or tricresyl phosphate, and a material to provide greater rigidity, such as gypsum, or calcium tartrate, or ammonium phosphate, in a solvent, preferably miscible with water, such as acetone or a mixture ofacetone and alcohol. The sheet II may be thoroughly impregnated with such a dope and then without drying passed through a bath of a character to precipitate the Water isla suitable bath if there is used the dope previously described. In such a bath the plastic is in such condition that, when the vfibrous sheet II is withdrawn from'the bath and dried, it is soft and pliable. Pyroxylin or cellulose nitrate may be employed instead of cellulose acetate. Fire retardants and iillers `other than gypsum, calcium tartrate, and ammonium phosphate may be employed.

"-The impregnation of the sheet of material II may also-be accomplished, if desired, by emulsifying a dope,such as'described, in water and saturating the fabric sheet I I in such emulsion. kParticles of plastic, for example, a mixture of cellulose acetate and camphor in solid form, may be mixed in the fibrous sheet I I during itsweaving or the compression and matting process, so that these particles are positionedin orion the fibrous material and entangled and interlocked with the fibres thereof. Likewise the plastic in such particle form may be' sprayed upon one or both surfacesYof-thev-iibrous `sheet II so that Ait adheres thereto 'and -is impregnated therein.

flexibility of the fibrous material and which, when the fibrous material bearing it is wet with a solvent sufficient to render the material flaccid, gives to the fibrous material, upon evaporation of the Y solvent, stiffness and rigidity.

The particles of plastic may be also associated with the brous sheet I I by securing to either or both sides thereof another sheet to hold the plasticV particles in contact with the fibrous sheet as well as by precipitating or mixing, orY spraying or applying the plastic in particle or other form in and upon thefibrous sheet, and I describe all such means of vassociation of the plastic with the fibrous sheet to provide the pliability requisite to forming the sheet as impregnation.

The fibrous sheet II, thus impregnated with plastic, is placed around a mold or form I8 which may be conveniently formed of Wood with a shape in which it is desired to form the finished heel. The fibrous sheet I I has been cut so that when it is applied to theY form I8, the side boundaries I2 and I3 abut as indicated by the line. I9 upon the breast surface of the heel. The lower portion of the brous sheet II` is folded upon the bottom of the form I8/to form an inwardly directed flange 2G, the edges of each triangular notch II meeting so that the flange 20 is uninterrupted, and the portions of the sheet II forming such flange do not overlap each other. The sheet II is held,

in this position in any suitable manner as by tacking through the sheet onto the form I8 adjacent the line I9 and tacking through the flange 2in into the form I8,.and the form with the sheet II attached thereto is then immersed in a suitable solvent. The solvent may be of any suitable type Vfor imparting flaccidity to the fibrous material and causing the plastic to become rigid and stiff throughout the fibrous material upon the evaporation thereof. For example, if cellulose acetate is employed, a solvent of acetone or acetone and alcohol is suitable. Gypsum as a fire retardant and filler is advantageously employed in the dope,

since it is insoluble therein. The immersion ofV lI8 is removed therefrom. If it is desired to reenforce the heel member, narrow strips of the sameV material employed inthe sheet I I may be secured to the inner surface `of the rigid hollow shell indicated by the numeral V2I of Fig, 3 after the removal ofthe formr I 8. Such a reenforcing strip Vmay be placed uponvthe breast surface of the Y shell 2I over the line I9, as ndicatedby the dotted lines 22 of Fig. 3, Q1' Vvertically in the rearward astaooi portion of the shell 2I, as indicated by the dotted lines 23 of the same figure,ror vertically within the side portions of the shell 2I, as indicated by the dotted lines 24; If required, such reenforcing strips may :be placed on all of the surfaces indicated. In assembling such reenforcing strips, they are immersed in a solvent bath, such as previously described, and pressed against the inner surface of the hollow shell 2I in the desired position. The strips adhere to the hollow shell 2| and add to the rigidity thereof upon drying. Y

To provide means for attaching the shell 2I to a lasted upper and insole, the upper portion of the fibrous sheet I I is turned inwardly to form an upper flange 25. The sides of each of the triangular openings IB abut each other, thus providing a continuous flange of la single thickness of the sheet I I. If this upper portion of the sheet II v solvent to cause it to become flaccid and deformable to the desired shape. l

A heel lift 26 of wear-resistingmaterial, such as leather, is secured'to the lower flange 20 of the shell 2I. This attachment may be accomplished by tacks extending through the heel lift 2'6 and into the ange 20 or by the application of a suitable adhesive therebetween. The completed heel member is then ready for attachment to a lasted upper and insole either by tacks passing downwardly through the insole into the flange 25 or bythe application of a suitable cement between the flange 25 and the lasted upper and insole.

Instead of extending the reenforcing strips substantially vertically, asv indicated by the numerals 22 to 24, a single reenforcing strip, such as indicated by the numeral 2'I of Fig. 4,.may be secured to the inner wall of the Vshell 2I so that it extends spirally therein. ,The method of securing the reenforcing strip 2IV inposition is the same as that employed for securing the reenforcing strips 22 to 24 previously described.V

Likewise, if desired, a `reenforcing strip or plate 28 of the same material as the fibrous sheet II may be installed in a similar manner so that it connects the inner surface of the lower extremity of a wall portion of the shell 2I with the inner Surface of the upper extremity of an opposite wall portion of the Vshell member as illustrated n Fig. 5.

Another form of reenforcing means is illustrated in Fig. 6,4in which the numeral 29 indicates a plate formed of the same material as the fibrous sheet II secured in the manner previously described to the lower end of the shell 2I.V An upper plate 30 similarly secured to the upper end of the shell 2I may be employed either alone or with the lower plate 29. The plates 29 and 30 serve to both reenforce the shell 2I against Vdistortion and provide additional area for securing the heel lift 26 andV the lastedupper and insole respectively to the shell 2 I; The same effect may be secured by forming the fibroussheet II of greater vertical dimension so that-when the portions thereof Vbetween Vthe triangular notches IB or I1 Yare folded towards each other, they comv Yplement each other vinl entirely covering the ends of the shell V,2

I, as illustrated by .the numeral 3| 0fFg.4. Y

Referring to Fig. 7the numeral 32 indicates an upper, thejlower edges offwhich are pulled around and secured to the lower surface of an insole member 33. There is thus formed on the lower surface of the insole member 33 a depending flange 34 of a thickness equal to the thickness of the upper. To facilitate the firm attachment of a heel shell 2|, having upon its upper end an inwardly directed flange 25, such a flange may be formed with a downwardly offset or lift portion 35 to receive the depending flange 34. By such provision the flange of the shell 2| bears against and may be secured to both the inturned edge of the upper at the flange 34 and the lower surface of the insole 33 inwardly thereof.

. If it is desired to provide additional rigidity to the shell 2|, this may be accomplished by the provision of a post 36 secured to the heel lift 26 as by nails 31 and attached to the insole 33 as by a screw 38, the top of which is covered and cushioned by a slip sole or lining 38.

Resistance to horizontal as well as vertical deformation may be provided by the use of a vertical post, such as indicated by the numeral 4|) of Fig. 8, which is secured to a reenforcing member 4|, filling the lower part of the shell 2| and to a reenforcing member 42 filling the upper part of the shell 2|. The posts 36 and 40 and the reenforcing members 4| and 42 may conveniently be made of wood. The lasted upper 32 and insole 33 and the top lift 26 may be conveniently secured to the upper and lower reenforcing members 4| and 42 respectively. Further, the provision of the lower reenforcing member 4| with its lower surface flush with the lower surface of the shell 2|, protects the shell 2| as the heel lift 26 is worn away.

Referring to Fig. 9, there is illustrated a foot supporting element or member 43 which is interposed between a lasted upper 44 and an insole member 45, and a wear resistingA outsole member 46. The foot supporting member 43 may be formed of brous material impregnated with a plastic such as the fibrous sheet Il or of material which is accid or pliable with a plastic or plastic forming ingredients, such as previously described, positioned therein or thereon, either before or after it is molded upon a suitable form.

As in the embodiments previously described, the flaccid material may be positioned or tensioned upon a form with its lower portion turned inwardly upon the form to provide a lower flange 41. After the material has been stiiened by the deposition of the plastic therein, the form and the foot supporting member 43 are separated, and an upper flange 48 is formed thereon. If the upper portion of the foot supporting member 43 has become stiffened with the remainder thereof, this upper portion is again rendered flaccid, as previously described, thus permitting the formation of the substantially horizontal flange 48 and its subsequent stiiening by deposition of the plastic therein in a continuous phase.

The flanges 4'! and 48, like the similar flanges in the embodiments previously described, may be made either continuous, extending completely around the periphery 'of the Vertical walls from which they project, or in the form of tongues or arms as may be desired. Likewise the fibrous material of which the foot supporting element 43 is formed, like the heel constructions previously described, may be covered with a fabric or a coating, either before or after the material is formed into the desired shape, concealing the fibrous material and any plastic deposited upon its surface and enhancing the decorative effect of the footwear. A pleasing effect can be secured also by embodying a pigment in the fibrous material of which the heel or foot supporting element is formed or weaving, dyeing, or coloring in any suitable manner a fabric to be employed as the fibrous material or by depositing upon the exterior surface of the brous material a layer of the plastic, colored or uncolored, simultaneously with, or subsequent to, or in lieu of the deposilion of the plastic relied upon to stiffen the brous material.

The method and heel construction of my-invention has great utility in such differing fields as orthopedic footwear, womens style footwear in which the heel constructions may be provided with notches or openings covered, if desired. with a decorative or transparent material, and infants footwear, in which a device producing sound when the shoe is moved, may be installed in the hollow heel or intermediate foot supportv ing member 43 of Fig. 9.

With regard to all the heel constructions and foot supporting elements of my invention, it will be seen that, since they are shaped in hollow form and of comparatively thin light-weight material, I have by my invention provided foot supporting elements adapted for insertion between a lasted upper and outsole which are substantially lighter than prior constructions.

Further, since the method of my invention requires only the securing of a pliable sheet of material to a form and the deposition therein of a stiffening plastic which may be carried by the material, I have by my invention provided a method of forming heels and foot supporting elements for shoes which can be performed without the use of expensive or intricate machinery and which can be performed by unskilled workmen. Likewise, since the foot supporting elements of my invention may be quickly formed as needed, my invention eliminates the necessity of maintenance of large stocks of heels by manufacturers.

While those embodiments of my invention hereinbefore illustrated and described perform all the objects and provide all of the advantage primarily stated, it will be understood that there are various other embodiments likewise capable of performing these objects and providing these advantages and coming within the scope of my invention which are defined by the claims that follow.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a heel construction for a shoe, the combination of: a hollow shell of fabric impregnated with a rigid plastic; a first rigid reenforcing member within said shell and adjacent its upper end; a second rigid reenforcing member within said shell and adjacent its lower end; and a third rigid reenforcing member within said shell and connected to said first and second reenforcing members.

2. In a heel construction for a shoe, the combination of: a hollow shell of fibrous material impregnated with a rigid plastic; a first rigid reinforcing member secured within said shell and substantially closing its upper end; a second rigid reinforcing member secured within said shell and substantially closing its lower end; and a third rigid reinforcing member within said shell and connected to said first and second renforcing members.

BAYARD RYDER.

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