US1270586A - Boot or shoe heel. - Google Patents

Description

R. S. AYRES.

BOOT 0R SHOE HEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3,1915.

l ,.@?U ,586.1. Patentei J 11116 25, 1918.

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hour on anon Janet.

To all whom it may coace 1 r I Be it known that l, Rrcnann S. Areas, a citizen of the United States, and resident of lBrookline, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Boot or Shoe Heels, of which the following description, 1n connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawmgs representing like parts.

y present invention is an improved heel for boots and shoes, made of moldable material and by a novel process,

. In the manufacture of boots and shoes, the standard type of heel employed is made of a plurality of layers, glued or nailed together, or both, and the trimmm, burnishmg, polishing, and finishing of such heels involves many erations and a high de ee of skill. Heels or leather shoes of the st grades utilize a plurality of leather lifts or layers, secured together roughly, and are applied to the shoe in the rough state, and are then trimmed down by high speed cutting machlnes, After such trimming the heel must be finished by furtheroperations, such as addltional cutting, bufing, inking, blacking, and burnishing. Usually the final fin sh 18 secured by means of hot wax. The building up of heels with a large number of successive layers is objectionable because of the waste involved, labor required, as well as in many other ways, especially in the exorbitantly high cost when leather 18 used. And yet it has beennecessary to use leather to a considerable extent to secure a proper finish and a satisfactory artlcle. Heretofore, it has been attempted to use composition heels of leather and cork, fiber heels.

and shellac, as well as wooden and rubber None of these prior efi'orts have re sulted. in a suitable eel for high adl shoes, nor one which could be polishe and lid finished or wear as well as the standard leather heel. Even in the standard type of heels, the lifts were constantly apt to separate wear unevenly, and were easily damaged by water.

have discovered that by utilizing leather scraps of all kinds and beating up and mix- -ing the same with a suitable binder and preferably also with a proportion of some theap pulp capable of being united with the same binder, that a very strong, light heel can be made which will contain sufificient leather material to give a hard exterior surlllpechtlcatlon of JLetterr Patent.

' a lication anal June a, rear. semi it. are.

operations to a great degree.

face to' receive the blacking, burnishing which is so necessary and de sirable in finishing shoe heels, and at the same time will wearing heel to be produced. Furthermore,

.such a composition heel may be molded to ency equal a standard leather heel, with the further advantages of lightness, even-wearmg economy in cost as well as economy in the operations of trimming, attaching, and

burnishin v In carryin out my present invention, ll

Patented dune Twill,

inking, and

enable an economical goodtron, and will thus largely e iminate waste capabilities, moisture-proofness, and,

prefer to uti ize a considerable percentage of leather scraps,including all sorts and kinds of leather,sole leather, upper leather, edge trimmings, cutting-room. waste leather, leather-board or other leather substitutes, and the like. These scraps ofleather or leather and leather substitutes, are ut into a beater,such as an ordinary tu -beater used in paper-making,and mixed with a small proportion of rosin or other suitable binding agent, or I may add to these leather scraps a proportion of ulp, such as wood ul for example, and thoroughly mix both eat er scra s and the pulp and binder therewith. he proportions may be varied for each particular type of work on hand. For example, in making heels for mens heavy shoes a'larger proportion of leather scraps may be employed, while for lighter women and childrens shoes a larger proport1on of pulp may be'utilized in making the heels. ll find that approximately 25% of leather is suitable for ordinary work, although ll may use as high as of leather scraps, to which a proportion of approximately 1% to 5% of rosin or other binder may be added. With the moldable material in its plastic state and thoroughly mixed to be homogeneous, the mixture is then dumped out of the beater into molds, and compressed therein. This pressing action not only shapes the pulp, but also squeezes out the Surplus water, (of which a considera' 1e amount may be employed) and forms the material into individual heels. Preferablyi T then subject each heel to a further an sired density, shape, and contour, although I also contemplate doing all this in the first vided with a leather or rubber lift during this action, which can be compressed thereon, if desired, the moldable material beingin its plastic state and with the rosin or binder as an active agent, serving to unite a leather or rubber lift firmly with the rest of the heel. .Any suitable molds or apparatus may be employed in carrying out this process for the manufacture of my i improved heel, such apparatus not being herein illustrated.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspectlve view of my improvedheel;

Fig. 2 being a view of the heel and leather or rubber lift added;

Fig. 3 being a cross sectional view of the complete heel shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a side view, illustrating in fragmentary view a shoe with my improved heel attached, showing the solidity, freedom from the lift lines, etc.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, my composition heel of leather scraps and any pulp is molded with its top surface 1 preferably concaved somewhat to fit more accurately the convexed heel seat of the shoe, and preferably thus eliminate the use of the ordinary rand. Such a rand must often be added to the usual leather heelbuilt up of separate lifts and involves considerable expense,

so that the elimination of this feature is of importance in the practicability of my heel. The heel breast 2 may be formed concave, fiat, orthopedic, or other form, and the exterior 3 rounded and beveled substantially in the style and contour desired, so as to largely eliminate trimming. A leather or rubber lift 4; isfalso shown, which may be added for the final molding, as above explained, or may be attached thereon after the heel is otherwise afiixed, if desired. The completed heel 5 is illustrated attached to the upper 6 with its curved contour 7 trimmed to final form desired, and inked, burnished, and finished in uniformity with the sole edge 8.

My improved heel thus made can be at tached with the usual heel nailing machine, which will readily penetrate the composition, and the top lift may be spanked thereon as usual, either in addition to the leather lift 4 or directly on to the composition itself, if desired. My heel contains a suificient amount of leather to impart a uniform leather finish to the outer contour of the heel in every way equal to the finish secured by an all leather heel of successive lifts and at a mere fraction of the expense. Furthermore a much lighter and equally resilient heel is secured by my process and one which will retail its finish indefinitely. Such a molded heel can be more easily trimmed, burnished, and inked by the ordinary cutting, burnishing, and heel finishing machines now in use, than a heel made of a plurality of lifts and will show no openings around its periphery, and be light, strong and serviceable, as Well as resilient, in use.

While I have described my improved heel as consisting, preferably, in a mixture of leather scraps, leather-board, or the like, together with a small quantity of binder or with other pulp and a binder capable of solidifying both leather and pulp material, it will be readily understood that the roportions of leather and other pulp wil necessarily vary, the important characteristic of my heel consisting in the substantial inclusion of a sufiicient amount of leather to enable a leather-like finish, resiliency, and wear-ability to be given the completed heel, including as high a percentage of leather pulp as 95% or 98% together with the binder.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As an article of manufacture, an integral boot or shoe heel comprising a substantially solid mass of pulp material molded and compressed into a non-laminated heel approximately in its final finish form, being made of wear-resisting pulp material, including a suificient leather ingredient in finely divided particles to enable the outer surface of the molded heel to receive a leather-like polish and finish, and constituting a shoe heel capable of treatment with heel edge trimming and finishing machines.

2. As an article of manufacture, a boot or shoe heel, consisting in a substantially solid non-laminated mass of pulp material, made from'a pre-determined mass of plastic pulp, and compressed into the form of a completed boot or shoe heel, said pulp material including wood pulp, leather pulp, a suitable binder and a waterproofing substance.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

, RICHARD s. AYRES. Wlitnesses:

O. D. Hocnnn, JAMES R. HODDER.

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