US990242A - Means for tying shoe-uppers. - Google Patents

Description

w. E. ELLIS. MEANS FOR TYING SHOE UPPERS. APPLICATION PIL-ED SEPT. 21, 1906.' RENEWED JULY 28, 1910.

990 242 Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

THE NaRRIs Firs/u co WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN E. ELLIS, 0F HAVERI-IILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 ELLIS LACER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MEANS FOR TYING SHOE-UPPERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

Application filed September 21, 1906, Serial No. 335,560. Renewed July 28, 1910. Serial No. 574,354.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VARREN E. ELLIS, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Tying Shoe-Uppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the securing of the eyeleted edges of the uppers of lace shoes during the processes of lasting, re-lasting and the like, which result was formerly accomplished by means of pieces of twine passed through one or more pairs of opposite eyelets and tied in such manner as to hold the eyeleted edges at the proper distance apart. This mode of procedure is open to the objection, however, that the pieces of twine stretch more or less under the strain of the lasting process, while the knots tied in the pieces of twine are likely to slip to some extent, thus causing variations in the distance between the eyeleted edges of the various uppers and in the fit and appearance of the shoes when lasted. More recently this temporary securing of said eyeleted edges has been accomplished by means of mechanical devices of one construction or another, but in some instances these devices have been open to the objection that they do not conform perfectly to the shape of the last or permit the uppers to hug the last as closely as is desirable, and it is also a disadvantage attendant upon the use of these devices that each manufacturer has to keep on hand a large number of different sizes and patterns of such devices, to correspond to the different spacing of the eyelets and to different distances between the eyeleted edges.

My present invention is intended to provide for the securing of said eyeleted edges in such manner as to obviate the objections above referred to and at the same time to combine the advantages possessed by the string-tying system and the detachable-fastener system, and to this end I pass through each pair of opposite eyelets which it is desired to secure a strip of flexible, inextensible and relatively inelastic material, as many of these strips being employed as there are pairs of eyelets to be connected, and I bend or otherwise shape the projecting end portions of each of these strips in such manner that they will not pass through the eyelets unless they are purposely unbent or straightened out to a sufficient extent, said end portions being also so formed as to provide suitable shoulders or hooks for engaging the eyelets. These fastening strips are so applied that when the sides of the upper are drawn over a last or the like the eyeleted edges thereof will be held at the proper distance apart by means of said strips and their eyelet-engaging means, and in case it is desired to have the edges of the upper form a V-shaped opening, as is often the case, the lengths of the connecting strips between their respective eyelet-engaging shoulders are varied accordingly. After these connecting strips have served their purpose they may be removed either by severing them between their eyelet-engaging shoulders or by straightening out to a sufiicient extent one of the bent-up ends, whereupon the strips may be readily withdrawn through the corresponding eyelets, and inasmuch as each connecting strip is independent of all the others, it is possible to remove some of said strips and leave one or more of them remaining in the upper. This is an important feature of my invention, because it is often desirable to keep one pair of eyelets secured together during the processes subsequent to lasting, and my invention accomplishes this result in the most effective manner, because all the strips which are not retained in the upper are removed entirely therefrom and leave the sides of the latter perfectly free and flexible, whereas in the use of other forms of metallic fastenings which are capable of connecting more than one pair of eyelets it is necessary for the entire fastener to be applied to the upper in case it is employed for the purpose of connecting even a single pair of eyelets.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 of the upper and having its projecting ends bent or curled over to form loops or heads 5, which loops or heads are of such size as to be incapable of passing through the eyelets, and also form shoulders adapted to engage the edges of the eyelets when the latter are drawn against them by the strain of the lasting or other process. This strain also causes the flexible strips 4 to conform to the contour of the last, whatever it may be. These shoulders are formed at the proper distance apart to give the desired spacing to the eyeleted edges of the upper, and the extreme ends of each strip 4, being located in contact with or closely adjacent to the intermediate portions of the strip, are covered thereby and prevented from coming in contact with and scratching or otherwise defacing the upper. In the example represented in the drawings, four of these fastening strips are employed, which strips vary progressively in length between their looped ends so as to provide a V-shaped opening between the edges of the upper 2, but any desired number of these connecting strips may be employed for a given upper, and the length of the strips between their eyelet-engaging shoulders may be otherwise varied, or made uniform if preferred. When it is desired to remove the connecting strips 4 they may be severed between the loops 5, or a pin or small rod may be inserted into the loop at one end of the strip .and employed to pry the same open and straighten out the strip sufliciently to permit its withdrawal through the eyelets, and any one or more of these strips may be withdrawn without removing the remaining strip or strips, so as to leave the latter in the upper during subsequent processes, as above explained.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a fastener consisting of a strip 4 having loops 5 formed at its ends as above described, but in this instance one of the end portions of the fastener is bent over toward the intermediate portion thereof to form an eyelet-engaging hook or bend 6 by which the corresponding eyelet is normally held in the desired position during the process of lasting. After such process has been completed the adjacent end portion of the fastener may be bent outward, or away from the intermediate portion thereof, whereupon the sides 2 of the upper may be separated to an increased distance determined by the length of the strip, thus permitting the removal of the last without completely detaching the fastener from the upper, and the subsequent insertion of a relasting last or the like. After such insertion the sides of the uppermay be drawn back into their normal position of separation by grasping either end of the fastener with a suitable tool, drawing it through the corresponding eyelet and bending it down into substan-' tially the same position as is shown in Fig.

The results obtained by the use of the fastener shown in Fig. 3 may also be secured by the modified form of fastener shown in Fig. 4,-which consists of a strip 4 having looped ends 5 and formed at a suitable distance from one of said ends to provide ,anoeyeletengaging bend or shoulder 7 which extends upward from the intermediate portion of the fastener and makes substantially a right angle therewith. In this case the eyelet which normally engages and is retained in position by the shoulder 7 may be released therefrom, after the lasting process has been completed and while the upper is still under tension, by slipping said eyelet upward and off said shoulder 7 and thence onto the adjacent end portion of the fastener, where it will be retained by the corresponding loop 5". The sides of the upper may then be separated sufliciently to permit the with drawal of the last and the subsequent insertion of a relasting last, and then drawn together in the same manner as has already been described in connection with the fastener shown in Fig. 8.

Inasmuch as the normal location of the eyelets, when secured by any of the fasteners above described, is closely adjacent to the intermediate or connecting portions by which the strain is resisted, said fasteners may readily be made of material which is stiff enough to resist the straightening out of the eyelet-engaging portions under the strain of the lasting or other process, but is flexible enough to be bent as described by hand manipulation with a suitable tool.

It will be seen that my invention provides for securing the eyeleted edges of shoe uppers at any desired distance apart and in a very simple and inexpensive manner, that the connecting strips are capable of passing through the eyelets to a suflicient extent to permit the upper to be folded flat, and that said strips cannot be stretched or become displaced, when in use, so that my invention overcomes the disadvantages attendant upon the use of twine for connecting said eyeleted edges, while it preserves the advantages gained by securing each pair of eyelets independently of all others.

It will be obvious that instead of forming both of the loops 5 or other terminal portions on a strip 4; after the latter has been passed through the eyelets one of said terminal portions may be formed previously to the insertion of the strip, if preferred, with substantially the same result. 7

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a strip of flexible material passed through a pair of opposite eyelets and having its end portions located on the outer side of the upper and formed to provide enlarged heads which are of such transverse dimensions as to be incapable of passing through the eyelets, said strip being movable freely through the eyelets between said heads.

2. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a strip of flexible material passed through a pair of opposite eyelets and having its ends bent over into substantial contact with its intermediate portion to form loops of such transverse dimensions as to be incapable of passing through the eyelets, said loops being located on the outer side of the upper and providing eyelet-engaging shoulders.

3. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a strip of flexible material passed through a pair of opposite eyelets and having its end portions located on the outer side of the upper and formed to provide enlarged heads of such transverse dimensions as to prevent the withdrawal of the same through the eyelets, said strip bein bent between its end portions to provide an eyelet-engaging portion located at a suflicient distance from one end of the fastening device to permit the relaxing of the upper when disengaged from said eyelet-engaging portion.

4. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a plurality oi independent strips of flexible material each passing through a pair of opposite eyelets and having its end portions located on the outer side of the upper and formed to provide enlarged heads of such transverse dimensions as to be incapable of passing through the eyelets, said strips being severally movable freely through the corresponding eyelets between said heads.

5. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a flat strip of flexible material passing through a pair of opposite eyelets and having its end portions located on the outer side of the upper and bent into loops of greater diameter than said eyelets, said strip being movable freely through the eyelets between said loops.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this eighteenth day of September, 1906.

WARREN E. ELLIS. Witnesses:

E. D. CHADWIOK, JOSEPH T. BRENNAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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