US2501508A - Footwear and heel therefor - Google Patents

Description

March 21, 1950 A. L. GRAVES 2,501,508

FOOTWEAR AND HEEL THEREFOR Filed April 19, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Attorney March 21, 1950 A. L. GRAVES I 2,501,508

FOOTWEAR AND HEEL THEREFOR Filed April 19, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Attorney Patented Mar. 21, 1950 assists FOOTWEAR AND HEEL THEREFOR Alfred Leslie Graves, Somerset, England, assignor to C. & J. Clark, Limited, Somerset, England,

a British company- Application April 19, 1948, Serial No. 21,995 In Great Britain April 25, 194? 6 Claims. I:

This invention relates to boots and shoes, hereinafter generally referred to under the term footwear and to attachable heels therefor. The invention has reference to footwear in which at least the inner side of the heel is extended forwardly to afford support for the underside of the arch of the foot.

One object of this invention is to increase the usefulness of footwear fitted with an extended heel by incorporating in the heel means for counter-acting the, tendency for a weak arch to bulge inwards.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heel for footwear which extends forwardly to afford supportlfor the underside of the arch of the foot and also to afiord side support for the inner metatarsal, internal cuneiform and scaphoid bones forming the part of the arch which lies on the inside of the foot.

The improved heel according to the invention is primarily intended to be supplied to retailers and repairers of footwear as separate units in a range of sizes so that where the wearer of the footwear is subject to or develops a tendency to a weak arch or similar ailments the whole or a part of the heel normally fitted to the footwear by the manufacturer may be removed and one of separate heel units according to the present invention attached in place of the removed part. The improved heel according to the invention could also be fitted by a manufacturer in lieu of a heel of normal form, particularly by makers of surgical footwear.

An embodiment of the invention in the form of an attachable heel unit will now be described, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the heel,

Figure 2 is a side view looking in the direction of arrow II, Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a side View looking in the direction of arrow III, Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a front view looking in the direction of arrow IV, Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a rear view looking in the direction of arrow V, Figure 1,

Figure 6 is an inverted plan view looking in the direction of arrow VI, Figure 2, I

Figure 7 is a view of the inside of a shoe intended for the left foot showing the heel unit attached in place of a heel of normal form,

Figure 8 is an inverted plan of the shoe with the heel unit attached,

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view of the underside part I.

of .a shoe beforethe heel unit has been attached, and.

Figure 10 is a cross, section On, line X-X of Figure 7 The heel illustrated in the accompanying drawing may be considered broadly as comprising threeparts, a rear, part I approximating in shape to a heel of. normal form, a forwardly extending wedge part. 2 and an upwardly extending protruberance 3. Theupper face of the wedge part 2 constitutes a continuation of the upper face of the rear. part i and the whole of the upper face itapers in thickness in a longitudinal direction, the highest point being at the rear extremity of In any plane parallel to the longitudinal centre of the heel the face 4 is substantially straight whilst in any transverse plane the face l is concaved, as indicated in Figures 4 and 10. The wedge part 2 is confined approximately to the half of the heel which when fitted to the footwear would lie on the inside thereof and the side face 5 of the wedge part i extends abruptly from the front face 6 of the rear part I. The forward nose end I of the wedge part 2 is radiused and the front extremity 8 of said nose end I is continued up to form the front of the protruberance 3. This protuberance 3 takes the form of an upstanding wall, the outer side face 9 of which is vertical and constitutes a continuation of the side face iii of the rear part I, the curve of face 9 blending smoothly into the curve of face it. The wall 3 is of wedge form in transverse cross section and tapers up from a thick root to a comparatively sharp ridge II. The ridge H of the wall 3 has an outline approximating to half-pear shape, the curved front portion of the ridge ll falling away from the crest more rapidly than does the curved rear portion thereof. The inner face l2 of the wedge-sectioned Wall 3 is of convex form. In plan the wall 3 narrows gradually toward itsrear end until the convexed face l2 meets the outer vertical face 9 at the dropping ridge I l, and the wall 3 may be made slightly thicker at or near the centre of its length than it is at the front face 8 and a cushioned effect may be obtained by forming in the upper face l of the heel a recess I3 having an outline approximating in shape to that of the heel. To facilitate attachment of the heel a number of blind holes l4 extend in from the flat underface E5 of the heel (see Figure 6). The sizes and relative proportions of the various parts of the heel unit may be varied according to requirements. The heel unit is conveniently made of moulded rubber within which a metal insert of any suitable form may be embedded to act as a strengthening means.

In Figures 7 and 8 the heel unit shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive is shown applied to a shoe intended for th left foot, the heel unit being attached to the undersole a of the shoe by means of the rear part I with the wedge part 2 extending forwards to provide support for the arch of the foot, especially to the scaphoid and the internal cuneiform bone and with the upstanding wall 3 lying alongside of the shoe upper b and in contact therewith to provide a side support for the inner metatarsal, internal cuneiform and scaphoid bones formin part of the arch of the foot. When the attachable heel unit according to the invention is to be fitted to an existing shoe of normal form the heel built on to the sho by the shoe manufacturer may be removed entirely as shown in Figure 9 and a widening bevel d cut on the sole edge to allow the heel unit to be at- M tached with the wall 3 fitting snugly against the upper b as indicated in Figure 10. The heel unit is attached by means of screws or of nails e hammered into the holes I4.

I claim:

1. An attachable heel for footwear, said heel comprising a rear part approximating in shape to a heel of normal form, a wedge-shaped part constituting a longitudinal forward extension of said rear part and on the inner side of the heel so as to extend beneath the arch of the foot wearing the footwear and an upwardly extending side wall adjacent the outer longitudinal side of said forward extension to constitute a side support for the foot wearing the footwear.

2. A heel according to claim 2, wherein said side wall extends rearwardly on to the rear part of the heel.

3. A heel accordinng to claim 2, wherein the side wall is of wedge shape in transverse section and tapers up from a thick root to a comparatively sharp ridge.

4. A heel according to claim 2, wherein the side wall tapers in thickness in a longitudinal direction, with the thicker end thereof disposed at the front thereof.

5. A heel according to claim 2, wherein the contour of the ridge of the side wall is shaped to follow the curvature of the bulging upper of the footwear to which the heel is attached.

6. A heel according to claim 2, wherein the inner face of the side wall is of convex shape in order to fit snugly against the upper of the footwear to which the heel is attached.

ALFRED LESLIE GRAVES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 872,413 Grossman Dec. 3, 1907 1,809,405 Ehrenfried June 9, 1931 2,095,488 Cobb Oct. 12, 1937 2,297,552 Hansen Sept. 29, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 148,020 Great Britain July 29, 1920

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