US1112553A - Shoe construction. - Google Patents

Description

A. H. PRATT.

SHOE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED NOVA, 1912.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

fliiornaya A. H. PRATT.

SHOE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.4, 1912- I 1 1 12,553, Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

fiiiarneyi ASHTON H. PRATT, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHOE CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 6,1914.

Application filed November 4, 1912. Serial No. 729,255.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ASHTON H. PRATT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the County of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shoe Construction, of which the following is a full,-clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved shoe construction, in which the parts are secured together in a novel manner, and in this construction I employ preferably a metal counter of novel construction in order to cheapen the cost of making shoes.

its is well known in the art, in using leather counters, it is necessary to employ high grade stock to secure satisfactory results, and owing to the constantly increasing cost of this grade of leather, the expense in volved in the construction of the counters of shoes is rapidly becoming a very important item.

In carrying out my invention I employ a metal counter preferably of thin sheet metal tempered, so as to retain its proper form, which counter is covered with a protecting material, such as heavy fabric, se-

cured thereto to prevent the edges of the metal plate of the counter from chafing the parts of the shoe with which said plate would otherwise come in contact. The metal plate of the counter is preferably formed by suitable machinery so that it has an inturned flange around its base, the metal ofthe counter adjacent to the flange being quite rigid so as to retain the counter in its proper shape. The upper portion of the metal plate of the counter is preferably slotted to give greater flexibility to the upper portion of the counter, so that it may readily conform itself to the foot of the user of the shoe. The counter is preferably constructed as a separate product by securing to the protecting covering and inturned flange a portion of a leather insole, so the complete counters, constructed as referred to, may be used in the manufacture of shoes without requiring a prohibitive change in the manner of making the shoes. The sections of insoles secured to the counter flanges "are preferably slotted back from their forwardedges so that the counters may be adjusted to different size shoes, and the protecting covering of fabric of the counter may be located either between the flange-of the metal plate of the counter and the section of insole or on the opposite side of the insole, as desired.

The construction ofcounter just described as a characteristic of my invention, adapts itself to a novel form of shoe construction to be described below, which also constitutes an essential part of my present invention.

In constructing the counters the section ofinsole may be placed either inside or outside of the flange of the metal plate, as desired, and in order that the parts of the shoe mav be securely held together I find it desirable to employ an extra piece of material which, in effect, is a portion of an insole, upon the other side of said flange, said extra piece being secured to the section of insole forming a part of the counter in the manufacture of the shoe. This provides a means for securely holding the counter in place in the shoe, and atthe same time affords protection to the foot of the user and opportunity for securing the outer sole and heel to the insole without the necessity of having the heel nails pass through the metal of the counter, as would be necessary if it were attempted to use my improved counter in a manner common in shoe construction of the art.

It will appear from the following description of my construction that it is immaterial in making the counters whether the metal plate is made in a single piece or built up in sections, the only essential being that the structure shall bequite rigid immediately adjacent to'the inturned flange of the counter and flexible around its upper edge," so as to meet all of the requirements of counters as used in the art.

Having described in a general way the nature of my invention, the same will be more clearly understood in detail by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a portion of a shoe in vertical longitudinal section in which my counter construction is employed. Figs. 2 and 3 are back and side View respectively of the metal plate of my counter construction. Fig. 4c is a top view of the metal plate shown in Figs. 2 and 3, secured to a portion of an insole. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 show views f similar to Fig. 1 of modified shoe-constructions for using my lmproved counter in connection with different arrangements of Small the remaining parts of the shoe. Figs. 8 and 9 show in views similar to Figs. 3 and 4 a modified form of counter construction.

As shown in Fig. 1, the counter consists of a metal plate 1 having a piece of heavy fabric, as canvas, disposed on its inner sur face, as shown at 2, said fabric extending down to the angle between the body of the metal plate 1, and the inturned flange 3 extending from its lower edge. The fabric 2, is folded over the upper edge of the plate 1 and down the outside surface of said plate, as indicated at 4, and under the flange 3, in which position it is held, as will be described. The upper edge of the metal plate 1 is slotted, as indicated more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, so that the side sections 5 are comparatively flexible, while the rear section 6 is more rigid since it is conformed in the arc of a circle, as indicated in Fig. 4. This facilitates retaining the proper shape of the counter back of the heel, where it is particularly liable to be broken down. The flange 3 is secured by means of small tacks 7 to a portion of an insole 8, which as shown in Fig. 4, is slotted from its forward edge nearly back to the inturned flange 3 so that the counter as a whole may have considerable flexibility laterally to accommodate the number of stock sizes that must be kept on hand by any manufacturer. The flange 3, as indicated in Fig. 4, is preferably slotted to facilitate its construction, and the different portions of the flange have passing through them a suflicient number of the tacks 7 to securely hold the parts together. To facilitate driving the tacks 7, the holes formed through the flange 3 to receive them may be made by punching from the flange, triangular projecting points 30, which serve to guide the tack driving tool and tacks. to their proper places.

The protecting fabric 4 may be folded over the flange 3 between said flange and the section of insole 8, or, if preferred, it may be folded over the outside of said insole, as indicated at 4 in Fig. 6, the advantage ofthe latter construction being that a protection is afforded the upper where it bends around the edge of the insole, which prevents the upper wearing through as rapldly as it otherwise might.

In making the shoe shown in Fig. 1 the extra piece of material 9, such as leather, felt or similar material, which constitutes a heel lining, or auxiliary sectional insole, is first placed upon the last and the lining 10 of the shoe is drawn over the edge of it, after which the counter, consisting, as above described, of the metal plate 1, the protecting fabric 2 and the sectional insole 8, is put in place. The parts are temporarily held in place by the points 30, after which they are secured together by means of the tacks 11, and then the upper 12 is drawn over the V 9 above the outer sole 16*.

edge of the insole 8 and held in place by the tacks 13, which, as they are driven, clench against the underside of the flange 3 of the metal plate 1. is then put in place, a skived joint being formed at 15, which may be held together in any suitable manner as by cement or nailing, as desired, and the outer sole 16 is put in place and held by nails 31 and the heel 17 is fastened on by nails 18, which strike the underside of the flange 3 and are thus clenched to securely hold the parts together.

From the above it will be observed that only the tacks 11 project through the extra piece 9, which may be comparatively small and few in number since their only function is to hold the extra piece 9 and the lower edge of the lining 10 in place.

It is to be understood that a suitable filler of any desired description is preferably employed in the slotted portion of the section 8 of the insole to give a supporting surface for the extra piece 9.

It will be noticed that at the heel of the shoe, the lining 10 is within the insole 14, whereas in front of the counter the lining is between the insole 14 and the outer sole 16, that is upon the opposite side of the in sole. To effect this change. in position, it is desirable to slit the lining a short distance from its lower edge on each side of the shoe as indicated at 32 in Fig. 1.

The extra piece of material 9 preferably extends some distance in front of the joint 15 so as to reinforce said joint and strengthen the shoe.

.The essential difference between the construction just described and that shown in Fig. 5 is that, instead of placing the extra piece of material 9 above the insole 8, it is placed below the insole and between the insole and the outersole 16*, this construction resulting in a slight diflerence as follows: In the making of the shoe the insole 8 is first placed upon the last and the lining 10 is drawn in place around the heel, after which the counter, formed as above described, is put in position. Then the extra piece 9 is placed outside of the flange 3* of the counter and held in such position by the points 30*- and small tacks 11*. In this modified construction the lower edge of the outer portion 4 of the counter protecting fabric is folded outside of the piece 9, so as to aflord an increased protection for th upper 12 where it is folded around the piece The counter in this construction may be held in place by the tacks 7* passing into the extra piece 9, and constituting therewith an integral structure separate from the shoe, or if preferred the tacks may be driven in the reverse direction through flange 3 into the insole 8 after which the extra piece 9 may be secured in place by the tacks 11*, as indicated.

The main insole 14 After the counter is secured in place by the tacks 11, and the protecting fabric and upper have been drawn around the outer edge of the extra piece 9 and held in place by the small tacks 13*, the outer sole 16 and the heel 17 are secured in position by the nails 18 in a manner much the same as that described above for the construction shown in Fig. 1. I

The constr ction shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that sfl own in Fig. 1 with the exception that the protecting fabric l is folded around the outside of the section 8 of the insole instead of between said section and the flange 3* of the counter, as in the case in the construction shown in Fig. 1. In this nodification it is preferable to make the insole 8 continuous as a stronger construction results. In this case the points 3O extend outward to guide the tacks 7,and these points therefore assist in holding the insole 8 in proper position.

In the construction shown in Fig. 7 use is made of a metal counter 1 Without extra extra piece of material 9 protecting fabric.

7 place and the parts are secured together by small tacks 20. Then the insole 8 is put in place and securely held by the tacks 21, after which the vamp doubling 22 is drawn around the outside of the counter 1 and folded over its lower edge, as indicated. The upper 12 is then drawn around the counter and secured to the insole 8 by tacks 23, after which the outer sole 16 and the heel 17 are securely held in place by the nails 31 and 18, which clench against the inturned flange formed on the counter 1. The counter, the lining, the vamp doubling and the upper are securely held together by rivets 24 which pass through all of these parts, as indicated, and thus securely hold the flexible upper ends of the metal counter in proper position relatively to the remaining parts of the shoes.

The counter shown in Figs. 8 and 9 consists of a plurality of flexible side sections 25 and aseparate back section 26 which are securely held together by a strip of metal 27 extending around them near their lower ends. Each of the pieces 25 and 26 has formed thereon an inturned flange for engaging an inturned flange formed of the strip 27 and these flanges engage a section 28 of insole in much the manner that the inturned flange engages such a section in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 4:. This construction does away with the necessity of expensive dies for forming the metal plates of the counters, and permits the use of stock pieces 25 and 26 for a Wide variety of sizes and shapes of counters. It will also appear that this built up construction of counter affords a means for employing a wide variety of combinations of material for making the same as the pieces 25v and 26 may be of metal or any other stiif material or replaced by material in one piece as cheap counter leather, the necessary strength and rigidity being secured by means of the flanged strip 27 It is to be understood that the lining of the shoe need be slit only when the insole is outside of the counter, but it may be slit in any event to facilitate folding it into .proper position around the heel.

From the above description it will appear that I have provided by my invention, a novel shoe construction in which the counter may be inside of the insole regardless of the particular construction of counter, and that the counter may have the novel construction described irrespective of the shoe construction with which it is used, or in combination with the particular construction just referred to, as the case may be.

I'Vhile I have referred above, in describing the various forms of construction shown, to the use of a lining in connection with the counter to in part hold it in place and cover the same, it will be understood that my in vention. may be employed in any form of shoe construction whether a lining is used or not as long as a pocket is provided for the upwardly extending stiffening portion of the counter either inside or outside of the quarter of the upper, to hold the counter in place and cover the same.

lVhile I have shown my invention in the particular embodiments herein described, I do not, however, limit myself to these constructions, butdesire to claim any equivalents that may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a shoe construction, the combination of an insole, and a counter comprising a plurality of thicknesses and having an inturned metal flange, one of said thicknesses being above said insole.

2. In a shoe construction, the combination I of an insole, an extra heel piece, and a metal counter having an inturned metal flange secured between the insole and extra heel piece. 3. In a shoe construction, the combination of two flat pieces of material inside the shoe and above the heel, and a metal counter hav ing an inturned m'etal flange secured between said two pieces.

4. In a shoe construction, the combination of two members comprising the insole and an extra heel piece, and a metal counter having an inturned metal flange secured between said members to form an integral counter-structure.

5. In a shoe construction, the combination of an insole, an extra heel-piece, a metal counter secured between the insole and heelpiece, an upper, an outer sole and heel, and nails extending through the outer sole, the heel and the upper to secure them in place, said counter serving to clench said nails at their inner ends.

6. In a shoe construction the combination of a metal counter having an inturned metal flange, two pieces of material, comprising an insole and extra heel piece disposed upon opposite sides of the flange of said counter, and an upper secured to the outer one of said pieces. v

7. In a shoe construction, the combination of a metal counter having an inturned metal flange, two pieces of material comprising an insole and extra heel piece disposed upon oppositesides of the flange of said counter,-

an upper secured'to the outer one of said pieces and nails holding said upper in place, said flange serving to clench the inner ends of said nails.

8. In a shoe construction, the combination of a counter comprising a plurality of thicknesses, two pieces of material comprising an insole and an extra heel piece upon opposite sides of one of the thicknesses of the counter, and an outer sole, another one of said thicknesses of the counter being between the outer one of said pieces and said outer sole.

9. In a shoe construction, a counter comprising a metal plate having an inturned flange and slotted around its upper edge, a protecting medium surrounding the metal plate and secured thereto, and a section of insole secured to said flange to constitute therewith a unitary structure separate from the shoe in which the counter may be used.

10. In a shoe construction, a counter comprising a metal plate having an inturned flange and slotted around its upper edge, a protecting medium surrounding the metal plate and secured thereto, and a section of insole secured to said plate, said section of insole having its forward portion centrally cut away to permit adjustipg the counter to different widths.

11. A counterv for shoes comprising an upwardly extending stiffening portion and a metal flange-extending inwardly therefrom to hold nails for securing it toa shoe, said flange having projecting spurs located between its edges to penetrate into the shoe structure to hold the counter in place.

12. A counter for shoes comprising a formed metal plate having an upwardly extending portion and an integral flange at its lower edge to hold nails for securing it to a shoe, said upwardly extending portion being slotted to constitute flexible side members and an upwardly extending rigid back portion.

13. A counter for shoes comprising a formed plate of tempered steel having an upwardly extending portion and an inturned flange at its lower edge to hold nails for securing it to a shoe, said upwardly extending portion being slotted to constitute flexible side members and an upwardly extending rigid back portion.

14. A counter for shoes comprising a formed tempered steel plate having an upwardly extending portion slotted at its upper edge to make its sides flexible and provided with a practically continuous inturned flange around its lower edge.

I 15. A counter for shoes comprising a formed tempered steelplate having an upper portion consisting of a plurality of flexible resilient vertical stays inwardly inclined to fit the heel of the foot, and having a continuous portion to support said stays, said continuous portion having a practically continuous reinforcement around its lower edge.

16. A counter for shoes comprising an outwardly distended body portion of tempered steel, and a plurality of flexible resilient vertical stays extending upward from said body portion.

17. A counter for shoes comprising a continuous support of tempered steel, and a plurality of flexible resilient vertical stays extending upward from saidsupport.

18. A counter for shoes comprising a body portion of tempered steel and a plurality of flexible resilient vertical stays extending upward from said body portion, said counter having outwardly distended sides to conform with the heel of the foot.

19. A counter for shoes consisting of an integral tempered steel plate having a continuous body portion, and a plurality of upwardly extending flexible resilient stays, said plate having outwardly distended sides to conform to the heel of the foot.

20. A tempered steel counter for shoes having a relatively rigid back portion and relatively flexible side portions.

2-1. A counter for shoes comprising a tempered steel plate having an inturned flange at its lower edge.

22. A counter for shoes formed from a tempered steel plate and having an upwardly extending portion provided with inwardly inclined sides to fit the heel of the foot, said upwardly extending portion being slotted to make its sides flexible.

In witness whereof, ll hereunto subscribe my name this 30th day of October A. D. 1912.

a A$HTON H. PRATT.

Witnesses:

ALBERT C. BELL, LEsLm V97. Fmoxn.

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