US1825625A - Stiffening member for boots and shoes - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 29, 1931. w. c. BENNETT STIFFENING MEMBER FOR BOOTS AND $110135 Filed June 15 into the stiiiening composition,

@Nl'l'ED S'EATES rarrnr orrrca WALLACE O. BENNETT, OF HINGHAH, HASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO BENNETT BOX 60., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS STIFFER'ING MEMBER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES Application filed June 15,

This invention relates to a stifiening member for a boot or shoe, and particularly to a box toe, counter and shank therefor.

The object of the, invention is, in general to provide a novel, durable and superior stiffening member for a boot or shoe which may be economically manufactured and incorporated into the boot or shoe with a minimum efiort and at minimum expense.

To this end, the improved stiflening member comprises a composite material made up of a supporting fabric, reierably of canvas, cloth, screening or ot er foraminous material; an absorbent mass of loosely-matted fibres derived from wood, as by a pulping process; and a dense, continuous body of dried and/or hardened saturant. The latter, which serves, and is hereinafter referred to, as the stifiening composition, may and preferably will include a material such as rubber latex which is capable of imparting sufiicient flexibility to the composition when dried to prevent cracking of the finished stifl'ening,

member and to render the latter resiliently flexible when the boot or shoe is worn.

in practice, the stiiiening composition may and preferably will be applied to both the wood pulp and the reenforcing fabric and then permitted to dry with such layers superposed one upon the other to form a composite sheet from which blanks of the requisite shape may be cut or dried out. in the use of such blanks, the operator at the lasting machine may and preferably will dip the blanks and then incorporate them while in a fiexlble condition into the boots or shoes during the lasting operation, in which the top or central portion of the box toe is rendered relatively resiliently flexible and the side walls thereof relatively stifi and non-flexible.

These and other features of the invention will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out inthe claims at the end of this specification.

111 the drawings, Fig. l'represents a shoe in side elevation embodying the present stifiening member;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section portion of the shoe;

through the use 1923. Serial No. 645,520.

Fig. 5 is a plan with portions broken away of a counter blank embodying the present invention.

I Referring to the drawings, 10 represents a blank of fibrous material preferably composed of two layers 11, 12, one of wood pulp and the other of cloth, canvas or the like,

and the wood pulp layer has incorporated with it a stifiening composition 13, preferably a fluid containing concentrated sodium silicate and rubber latex.

In producing the blank 10 of fibrous mate rial- 1 preferably form the blank 11 iroin'a' layer or sheet of loosely-matted wood pulp, and the cloth blank 12 from a sheet or canvas or other fabric. After the blanks ll, 12 have thus been formed, both are preferably immersed in the fluid stifiening composition'to be saturated therewith, then withdrawn and the wood pulp blank 11 superimposed upon 7 the cloth blank 12 and the i'inid stifi'ening composition permitted to dry and form the composite blank 10.

l'l'ie basic material which l. preferably en ploy in the stiffening composition is a soluble silicate such as sodium silicate, and in order to impart flexibility to the stifiening composition after the stifi'ening member has been incorporated into the shoe and dried, so as to prevent cracking thereof when the shoe is worn,lutilize a material capable of imparting flexibility to the silicate, and preferably rubber latex in the fluid condition in which it may be purchased in the market; Excellent results have been obtained with a stifiening composition consisting of 75% by volume of concentrated sodium silicate solution, and 25% by volume of rubber latex.

lhe dried composite blanks 10 produced. as above stated may be softened by immersion in some of the fluid stiffening material itself by the operator at the lasting machine, and when the blanks have become sufiiciently.

ilexible, they may be withdrawn from such solution, and immediately applied to the last and the lasting operation performed in the usual manner.

The loosely-matted wood pulpof which the blank 11 is composed, is not only inexpensive, but also has remarkable aflinity for fluids and is capable of absorbing a maximum amount of the stiffening material. In this manner maximum strength and body is imparted to the finished stiffening member. The use of concentrated or heavy silicate adds to the water resistant properties of the finished or dried stiffening member, and for this reason it is preferred to employ it instead of dilute silicate solutions. For the reason that absorbent wood pulp was invented by Willis A. Boughton and is disclosed in his applications Serial No. 641,767, filed May 26, 1923, and Serial No. 283,946, filed June 8, 1928, I make no claim thereto, but rather to the novel combination of a fibrous material supported by means of a fabric which, together with said fibrous material, is thoroughly impregnated with a saturant.

In the wiping operation of lasting the toe portion of the shoe some of the silicate is caused to flow from the center to the sides of the blank with the result that the central or top portion of the box is rendered relatively flexible, while the sides of the box are rendered relatively stiff and effectively serve to retain the shape of the box toe as the shoe is worn.

When the stiffening member comprises a counter, the blanks 11, 12 are cut into the shape illustrated in Fig. 5, and the composite blank 10 formed as above stated is incorporated into the shoe in theusual manner.

It will be observed that in'the preferred form of the invention all of the ingredients of the stiffening material are of a colorless or milky white nature, a feature which particularly enables the stiffening member to be employed in connection with white canvas or fabric shoes without liability of soiling the latter. The present stiffening member may be made relatively light in weight, thus rendering its use particularly advantageous in connection with ladies shoes. The wood pulp layer is especially adapted for use in a box toe or like stiffener for boots and shoes, as it is of light weight and inexpensive, and while it is preferred to incorporate this with the stiffening material above described, it is not desired to limit the invention in this respect, as good results may be obtained when the wood pulp has incorporated with it other stiffening materials, such as tar, asphalt, gums and the like.

Claims:

1. A stiffening member for a boot or shoe comprisin a wood pulp layer, a fabric layer and a sti ening composition comprising a soluble silicate and rubber later: applied to both layers and adhesively aifixing said layers together.

2. A member for incorporation in a boot or shoe comprising a layer of wood pulp having applied thereto a composition of soluble silicate and latex.

3. A composite material adapted for use as a stiffener comprising a supporting fabric, a mass of fibres derived from wood associated in a looselyanatted form with said supporting fabric, and, distributed throughout the interstices of said supporting fabric and said mass of fibres, a continuous body of hardened saturant.

4. A composite material adapted for use as a stiffener comprising a foraminous supporting fabric, a mass of loosely-matted pulped wood fibres supported by said foraminous fabric, and, distributed throughout the interstices of said foraminous fabric and said mass ofloosely-matted pulped wood fibres, the residue of a dried saturant.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

WALLACE C. BENNETT.

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