Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B23/00—Uppers; Boot legs; Stiffeners; Other single parts of footwear
  • A43B23/28—Devices to put in shoes in order to prevent slipping at the heel or to prevent abrading the stockings

Definitions

• the present invention is directed to a substantially con ⁇ cealed elastic means by which the shoe is continually urged gently forward on the foot so that the backpart of the shoe re ⁇ mains in comfortable and in substantially constant contact with the heel of the. wearer's foot.
• One such means disclosed is an elastically stretchable means such as an elastically stretchable lining element disposed in the shoe cavity.
• an elastically compressible ma ⁇ terial in the form Of a foam insert located in the toe region of the shoe.
• the elastic means may either be permanently at ⁇ tached and an integral part of the shoe or it may be construct ⁇ ed so as to be removable and replaceable.
• Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a typical shoe within which principles of the present invention may be employ ⁇ ed;
• Figure 2 is a side elevational sectional view of the shoe of Fig. 1;
• Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the shoe of Fig. 1, taken along * the line 3-3 thereof;
• Figure 4 is a plan view of the insole of the shoe of Fig. 1, also showing an optional alternative shoe positioning means to that shown in Fig. 1;
• Figure 5 is a side elevational sectional view of the in ⁇ sole and shoe positioning means shown in Fig. 4.
• Figs. 1 through 3 show one of these styles, a misses' skimmer, also often referred to as a 'flat' or 'flattie' style, having this style's typical long topline opening and short vamp, and embodying principles of the present invention. It is understood that the present in ⁇ vention may be used with other styles of shoes and that it is being described with respect to a skimmer for ease of refer ⁇ ence only.
• the shoe 20 of the present in ⁇ vention comprises an upper 22 having a topline 24, topline stitching 26, vamp 28, backpart 32 and unitsole 30.
• Upper 22 is lasted over insole 33, cut from a suitable in ⁇ sole material such as Texon R T-480, a man-made cellulose fiber insole material, manufactured by the Texon Materials U.S.A., of Westfield, MA, and supported by the felt or composi ⁇ tion filler element 34.
• lin ⁇ ing element 36 is disposed within the shoe cavity defined by upper and unitsole.
• the shoe cavity includes a substantially completely enclosed cavity as in a loafer, as well as a relatively open cavity as found in strap sandals and other styling variations. Lining element 36 is shown at zero tension by the solid lines 36', and under tension against the forepart of the foot by the broken line 36".
• lining element 36 is attached to the upper by the topline stitching 26 in the midpart and forepart of the topline and to the quar ⁇ ter lining 38 by a stitched seam 44.
• Quarterlining 38 is in turn attached to upper 22 by topline stitching 26 and to heel tuck 42 by cement lasting thereunder.
• a conven ⁇ tional counter 40 is inserted between upper 22 and quarterlin ⁇ ing 38, and cement lasted over insole 33, to provide proper support for backpart 32 and regions adjacent thereto. As best shown in Fig.
• lining element 36 contacts but is not fasten ⁇ ed to upper 22 or insole 33 in the toe of the shoe, and is free to move elastically at least at a right angle to this section of the shoe, i.e. lengthwise along the interior of shoe 20. While the lining element 36 is shown in a tubular configuration as would be afforded by the tubular knit ap ⁇ proach used in hosiery manufacture, the use of flat knit or woven spandex materials, cut and seamed to provide the same enclosure and function is an appropriate alternative equiva ⁇ lent.
• the shoe becomes gently and continually urged forward on the foot by the elasticized lining element 36 thereby minimizing or eliminating the space between the heel of the foot and the backpart of the shoe to minimize slippage therebetween, with such urging operating most effectively whenever the shoe and foot therein are out of weightbearing contact with the ground.
• Lining element 36 is preferably constructed of an elastic- ally lengthwise stretchable material.
• it may be constructed of a tubular Lycra R knit spandex material simi ⁇ lar to stretch socks such as the Gold Toe SuppHose R products made by the Cluett Hosiery Corporation of New York, NY, and similar elastically stretchable hosiery products.
• Lining ele ⁇ ment 36 may also be made of or include spandex elements of flat knit fabrics similar to those used by the Isotoner Corpo ⁇ ration of New York, NY, for their stretchable house slippers, in which the same effect is achieved by suitably cutting and stitching the lining parts so they will smoothly and comforta ⁇ bly surround the foot.
• lining element 36 may also be of woven construction preferably that used in the Span- dura 1 line, produced by H.L. Warshow & Sons, Inc. of New York, NY. Transknit R fabrics and Coolmax R fabrics distri ⁇ ubbed by the Starensier Corp. of Newburyport, MA may also be used.
• the lining 36 as shown should be made of materials and possibly reinforcements thereof that will allow the lining element to last for the useful life of the shoe.
• lining 36 could be a complete sock bottom, as in the Peds R brand of low profile stretch socks made by Peds Products, of Villa Rica, GA, or the like, which could be removably attached to the shoe by concealed snaps, touch fas ⁇ tener hook/loop tape or other means.
• the fastener would be located inside the shoe just forward of the foremost portion of the topline 24 and/or near the back- part of the shoe.
• Such lining elements could be easily re ⁇ moved for cleaning, replacement or other reasons.
• Figs. 4 and 5 show another embodiment of the present in ⁇ vention wherein an elastically compressible means is used in ⁇ stead of the elastically stretchable lining element of Figs. 1-3.
• Fig. 4 shows insole 33 that could be used in a shoe such as shoe 20 of Fig. 1 in, for example, an unlined version there ⁇ of, where an elastically compressible foam toe element 46 is attached at the toe end of insole 33.
• the toe element 46 func ⁇ tions to compressively urge the shoe forward on the foot when ⁇ ever both become unweighted, to minimize thereby slippage of the backpart of the shoe on the heel of the foot as both are brought into gently pressurized contact with each other.
• Fig. 5 shows toe element 46 in its uncompressed state (solid line 48) and compressed state (broken line 48) .
• Compressible toe element 46 is preferably made of a soft open cell plastic foam having a density of about 0.5 #/cu. ft. or less, such as polyurethane foams available from United Foam Products and others. While the use of toe element 46 is a workable alternat ⁇ ive, the stretchable means shown Figs. 1 through 3 is present ⁇ ly preferred.
• the spring rate of the elastic lining element operates over much longer lengthwise dimensions than those of the compressible toe elements, and thus can be engineered to exert a gentler and more uniform pressure on the toes of the wearer's foot than can be attained with the toe element.

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• Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)

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• 1990
  • 1990-07-27 ES ES90912628T patent/ES2050451T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-07-27 JP JP2511861A patent/JP2853329B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1990-07-27 DE DE69006505T patent/DE69006505T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1990-07-27 EP EP19900912628 patent/EP0485499B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-07-27 WO PCT/US1990/004220 patent/WO1991001661A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1990-07-27 CA CA002059635A patent/CA2059635C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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