US2840928A - Heel lift and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

y 1958 E. H. BASTABLE 2,840,928

HEEL LIFT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed June 13, 1956 Fig. I

Fig. 3

IN VEN TOR. EDWARD H. BASTABLE ATTORNEYS United S ates Patent 1 2,840,928 HEEL LIFT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Edward H. Bast-able, Boston, Mass. Application June 13, 1956, Serial No. 591,163 1 Claim. (Cl. 3634) This invention relates to the manufacture of womens shoes and more particularly to an improved method of making a ready-to-apply heel lift and the resulting product suitable for use on French, spike and the like type heels.

Heretofore it has been the practice to insert in the shank portion of a womans heel of the above type a specially prepared sleeve member having parts which interlock with a peg fixed to the heel lift when the peg is inserted into the sleeve. Although such constructions are gen erally satisfactory if great care is exercised in properly applying the sleeve member, they are not only relatively expensive, but the time involved and properly applying the sleeve increases production costs and hence their use is generally limited to the more expensive type shoes. Moreover, if the sleeve member has not been properly applied, there is a danger of a gap being produced between the heel lift and base of the heel, and if the sleeve member and/or peg do not interlock properly the lift is apt to fall off or become loosened. In order to avoid the use of the aforementioned sleeve the heel lift has either been attached to one or more pegs, or molded integral with such pegs, but here again the heel must be predrilled to receive the pegs in order to avoid splitting. Hence, the cost of the heel and time involved in predrilling results in an objectionably high production cost.

I The principal objects of the present invention are to overcome the aforementioned difficulties and to provide a simple, efficient and reliable method of making the heel lift which can be directly applied to the base of the heel composed of wood, butyrate, or other suitable material.

Further objects will be apparent from the consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged section through a cavity mold showing the manner in which the attaching staples are applied;

Fig. 2 is a perspective showing the finished heel lift and integral attaching means; and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In accordance with the present invention I prepare a ready-to-apply heel lift by molding the lift about the ends of two or more attaching prongs such as a staple or the like metallic elements which may be driven into the body of a wood heel, a heel composed of cellulose acetate butyrate, or other strong and durable thermoplastic material. The attaching prongs are preferably of tempered steel wire, the gauge of which may vary from approximately No. 12 (B & S) to 18, depending upon the size and composition of the heel to which the lifts are to be applied, and the lift may be molded from any suit able tough, wear-resisting thermoplastic, such as nylon, polyethylene, halogenated polyethylenes, and various other suitable types of thermoplastic material, all of which are commercially available and lend themselves to standard molding procedures such as are set forth in the Modern Plastics Encyclopedia. The Handbook of Plastics by Simonds and Ellis, and other standard texts to which reference may be had for a more detailed disclosure.

It is desirable, if not necessary, that the ends of the attaching prongs be completely embedded in the body of the heel below the inner face, preferably a distance between /5 and /2 of the thickness of the lift, thus not only insuring a firm anchorage, but allowing at least /2 the heel lift to wear away before exposing the embedded 2,840,928 Patented July 1, 1958 2 ends. If desired, the inner face of the heel lift may be molded with a slight concavity so as to insure a close fit between its peripheral margin and that of the heel base.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate a preferred procedure, the numeral 1 designates a compression mold formed with a cavity 2, the usual knockout pins 4 and plate 5, and an adjustable insert-supporting screw 6. The inner wall of the cavity 2 is formed with spaced openings 6 through which the legs of a staple 10 or other prongs extend so that their pointed ends contact the head of the screw 6 which supports the staple so that its closed end is held inwardly from the inner surface of the cavity the proper distance. Where, as here shown, staples are used which are formed from a number 16 gauge (0.051 inch) tempered steel wire, the openings 8 are formed at approximately the geometric center of the cavity, although it is to be understood that if desired such openings may be formed in spaced relation about the marginal portion of the cavity 2, depending upon the size and type of-heel.

The male mold section 11 is carried by the press platen which is operated by a conventional ram and any suitable mold feeding or charging means may be employed. With either a semi or fully automatic operation of a press equipped with a battery of molds, several thousand readyto-apply heel lifts may be produced per hour.

In the resulting product, illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the closed end of the attaching staple 10 is embedded below the inner face of the heel a distance of approximately one third the thickness of the heel lift 12, and when the lift is composed of nylon or the like thermoplastic material, the staple is not only adequately anchored, but allowance is made for the heel to wear at least one half its thickness before exposing the embedded end of the staple, thus assuring a long period of wear before requiring replacement.

In using the lifts they are applied directly to the base of the heel which is not predrilled and they may be either positioned by hand or by the use of a suitable jig, but in either case'the staples may be driven into the body of the heel by a few blows from a hammer, or by the pressure of the ram. From that point on the heels and lifts are finished in accordance with conventional procedures.

While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment of the invention it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A ready-to-apply heel lift for a womans shoe having a. non-metallic high heel, which consists essentially of a lift portion conforming to the shape of the lower face of the heel with flat parallel upper and lower faces, and a nonresilient, tempered, U-shaped attaching member having closely spaced legs with pointed free ends, said lift portion being a tough, wear-resisting thermoplastic composition and said U-shaped member having its closed end embedded in the central area of said lift portion with its legs spaced inwardly of the periphery of said lift portion and projecting at right angles from the upper face of said lift portion.

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References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,495,820 Peretti Jan. 31, 1950 2,600,819 Walsh June 17, 1952 2,656,621 Hoffman Oct. 27, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 613,193 Germany May 13, 1935 617,004 Germany Aug. 10, 1935

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