US2069964A - Shoe and tongue therefor - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 9, 1937. c. MILLER SHOE AND TONGUE THEREFOR Filed April 8, 192 s INVENTOR CHARLES MILLER ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE AND TONGUE THEREFOR deceased Application April 8, 1935, Serial No. 15,161

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to tongues for shoes and, more particularly, to tongues of the type which overlie the front vamp portions of low shoes.

One object of the invention is toprovide a tongue, the appearance of which may be varied as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tongue having one or more removable flaps.

A further object of the invention is to provide a multiple-flap shoe tongue with improved means for securing said flaps in assembled relation.

The above objects'of the invention and other objects ancillary thereto will best be understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side perspective view of a low shoe provided with a tongue of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan View of the tongue in partly assembled relation;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a multiple-flap shoe tongue embodying the present invention, parts being broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction, and with the outline of the complete tongue being shown partly in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

In accordance with the present invention, the shoe tongue is so constructed that one or more flaps thereof are removable whereby to permit the removal and replacement of one or more flaps by others, preferably of different colors or materials in order to vary the appearance or color combination of the shoe tongue as may be desired. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herein, the tongue comprises two flaps which may be permanently joined together at adjacent edge portions thereof and which have provision for the insertion of one or more flaps therebetween in such manner that the inserted flaps may be removed and replaced by other flaps. Said embodiment also has provision for releasably securing said interposed flaps in unitary assembled relation with the permanently attached flaps. Preferably, according to this embodiment of the invention, the means for releasably securing the interposed flaps is constituted by an ornamental cord or lace which is passed through aligned apertures or eyelets in all of said flaps and tied into a bow or ornamental knot in overlying relation on the tongue.

Referring to the drawing in detail, there is shown in Fig. 1 a low shoe l0, preferably of the pump type, having a tongue I2 of the present invention secured at the front edge of the shoe opening in any well known. manner and disposed in the position illustrated in overlying relation to the front portion of the shoe.

The tongue 12 comprises a lower flap l4 and an upper flap I6, preferably permanently secured together at their rear edge portions by a line of stitching Hi. The rear edge 20 of the lower flap M is substantially straight as shown, while the rear edge 22 of the upper flap I6 extends beyond said edge 20 and is preferably concavely curved to permit the attachment of the tongue to the edge portion of the shoe at the shoe opening without wrinkling. The front edge 24 of the flap l4 extends a substantial distance beyond the front edge 26 of the flap l6, said edges of both flaps being preferably convexly curved, primarily for the purpose of ornamentation, andalso serrated as shown for the same purpose. Further, the front edge portion of the tongue flap [4 may be slit to form in said portion a plurality of fringelike strips 28. As thus constructed, the flaps I 4 and iii are united only at their rear edge portions and are otherwise free from each other. For the purpose of releasably holding the body portions of said flaps together forwardly of their rear edge portions, and for other purposes which will presently appear, a cord or lace 30 is passed through eyelets 32 and 34 in said flaps l4 and I6, respectively, and tied into a bow as illustrated.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the provision for varying the appearance of the tongue by means of the association therewith of one or more replaceable flaps of diiferent colors, or of combinations of colors, or of materials, or of both colors and materials. For this purpose, one or more flaps 36 and 38, generally similar in configuration to the flaps l4 and I6, are removably interposed between said flaps and are held in such removable relation by the cord '39 which passes through eyelets 40 provided, in said flaps. As illustrated in the drawing, the removable flaps 3B and 38 are of difierent colors with respect to each other and with respect also to said flaps I l and I6 which, with respect to each other, may be of the same or different colors. It will be observed that the front edge of each overlying fiap of the tongue [2 terminates short of the front edge of the immediately underlying flap, whereby to expose to View a marginal edge portion of each flap, so that the several exposed flap portions combine to produce a pleasing ornamental effect which may be varied, as stated above, by varying the color and/or the materials of the interposed flaps. The ornamental effect is also improved by the provision of the cord 30, since the latter, in addition to serving as means for fastening the removable flaps in position, also contributes to the ornamental appearance of the tongue. All of the flaps are preferably made of leather but may be made of any other suitable materials or combinations of different materials.

Thus, it will be seen that the present embodiment is well adapted to accomplish the several objects of the invention. It will be understood, however, that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as here shown and that certain changes in the construction and. arrangement of parts may be made in the present embodiment without departing from the invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the precise constructions herein disclosed except as may be required by the appended claims and the prior art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An outer shoe tongue so arranged that its appearance may be changed, said tongue comprising two flaps arranged in superposed relation with the rear edge of one flap permanently secured adjacent the rear edge of the other flap, the forward edge of the upper flap terminatingshort of the forward edge of the lower flap, a third flap removably interposed in position between said two flaps and projecting beyond the forward edge of said upper flap and terminating short of the forward edge of the lower flap, at least one of said two flaps and said third flap having eyelets therein, and a cord passed through said eyelets for r eleasably securing said third flap in said inter posed position.

2. In a shoe, an outer tongue so arranged that its appearance may be changed, said tongue comprising two flaps arranged in superposed relation,

the upper flap extending beyond the rear edge of g the lower flap, and terminating short of the forward edge of said lower flap, the rearwardly extending portion of the upper flap being secured at the front of the shoe opening, and a third flap removably interposed between said two flaps and extending beyond the forward edge of said upper flap and terminating short of theforward edge of said lower flap.

3. In a shoe, an outer tongue so arranged that its appearance may be changed, said tongue com prising two fiaps arranged in superposed relation, the upper flap extending beyond the rear edge of the lower flap, and terminating short of the forward edge of said lower flap, the rearwardly extending portion of the upper flap being secured at the front of the shoe opening, and a third flap removably interposed between said two flaps and extending beyond the forward edge of said upper flap and terminating short of the forwardedge of said lower flap, said third flap and at least one I of the said other flaps having aligned eyelets and a cord passing through said eyelets to releasably secure said third flap in said interposed relation.

4. A low shoe having an outertongue so arranged that its appearance may be changed, said tongue being secured to the shoe at the front edge of the shoe opening and overlying the front vamp portion of the shoe and comprising two permanently attached flaps, and. at least one removable flap interposed between said two permanently attached flaps, said flaps being arranged in superposed relation and the forward edge of each underlying flap extending beyond the forward edge of the overlying flap whereby at least a part of each of said flaps is exposed to view.

CHARLES MILLER.

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