US1297434A - Heel-protector. - Google Patents

Description

G. BECHERER.

HEEL PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED rIIM'zo, w18.

1,297,484. Patented Mar. 18,3919.

HEEL-encantaron.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'iPatentcd Mar., 18, 191%.

Application led May 20, 1918. Serial No. 235,649.

To all wwm t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE BnCHnnnn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of St. Louis and State of Missouri. have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Heel-Protectors, of which the following is a specification,` containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

, My invention relates to improvements in heel protectors, and has for its object, the construction of a heel protector by stamping the same out of a piece of metal and removing from the metal, prongs or fasteners provided on their front edges with shoulders or'barbs to prevent the protector from pulling loose from use.

Another special object of my improvement is forming on the rear edge of the protector a sharpened flange,v which when the protector is applied to the heel, will become embedded in the heel material, which will prevent dirt, etc., from working under the protector, and which sharpened flange gives increased wearing surface to the protector and also relieves the strain on the fasteningprongs and nails, by means of which the protector is secured to the heel.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a view of my protector illustrating the same stamped from a sheet of metal and with the fastening prongs eut but not formed.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of my improved protector illustrating the fastening prongs bent into proper position.

Fig.' 3 is a bottom plan view tector.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a shoe heel,v showing my protector applied to the same, and also being a transverse section of the protector.

Referring to the drawings, '7 indicates the body of the protector, which is stamped out of a single piece of metal, being` in plan semi-elliptical as ilustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. In the rear of the protector I form by stamping, a series of projections or studs 8, which tend to prevent slipping when my protector is in use, and also gives the protector body increased wearing service, as

of the protaken on 'well as to give rigidity to the body portion 7 along its exterior niargin. lornxcd along the exterior margin and on the underneath surface of the protector is a sharpened flange 9. rlhis flange is rormed by means of punching dies, and possesses several. functions. lt acts as a strengthening rib or flange to the body 7 of the protector, and when driven into the heel. it prevents dirt or other foreign substances from working under the protector from the rear, and it also prevents the 'protector from slippingr alongthe heel, and consequently relieves the strain on the fastening prongs and nails. It also gives increased wearing' thickness to the body of the protector.

Centrally of the body 7 of the protector I also form or strike from the metal out of which the protector is formed, a fastcning/prong 10, and in front of said fastening .p3/'ong 10 l form nail holes 11.

Along the front margin of the protector I stamp or cut from the body 7 of the protector, prongs 12. These prongs l2 are located adjacent the ends of protector and near the front margin thereof. These prongs. it `will be observed, are of peculiar formation. being` provided with a sharpened sheared point 1?. and a straight rear edge 14, and provided on their front edges with horizontal inclined shoulders 15` and above the shoulders 15 with inclined faces 1G. These prongs 1Q are not parallel, but are arranged at a slight angle to each other and u to the transverse axis of the protector, so as to throw the shoulders 15 outwardly and more nearly underneath the forward portions 17 of the protector than if they were arranged parallel.

The protector is applied to a shoe heel by driving` on the body portion of the protector 7 until the prongs l() and 1Q and liange (.l are fully seated in the material of the heel. Vhen thc protector is in use, the rear curved margin of thc protector will be subjected to the greatest use. ln walking, this portion of the heel protector generally comes in contact. with the surface walked upon first, and this portion of the protector will receive the. greatest jarring action, which tends to tilt the forward portion of the protector, and loosen it, from the heel. ln order to ovecome and prevent this, l have formed. as previously mentioned. on the prongs 12, the horizontal shoulders 15, which constitute barbs and act in opposition to the force incidentI to walking applied to the rear curved portion of the protector.

It will be seen that the prongs 12 are disposed in advance of the forward edge of the protector plate and that the shoulders 15 eX- tendfrom the forward edges of the prongs.

The advantage of this arrangement is that the barbed prongs resist the tendency to tilt the plate incident to the rear edge being first to contact with the ground in the act of walking and this location gives the longest possible leverage to resist this tilting tendency.

I have found out by experiment that these horizontal shoulders 15 on the prongs, under all the conditions of walking, will rmlyjhold thc protector in place on the heel. By driving these prongs into the heel, owing to their peculiar formation, the heel material in front of the shoulders 15 and nclined faces 16 is displaced until the prongs are fully seated, and the displaced material 'will tend to resume its original position, and

spring back 'above the shoulders 15.

During the operation of driving, the straight edges 14 of the prongs are firmly backed up by the material in the rear of said faces. To make the action of these prongs clear, the material in the rear of straight edges 1% is not displaced, that is, forced rearwardly of said faces; Whereas the inclined faces of the front edges of the prongs will displace the material until the prongs are fully driven, and then the displaced material will spring backwardly as it were, thus firmly holding the prongs by the agency of the horizontal shoulders 15.

I found these shapes of prongs, providedv with the horizontal shoulders 15, very serviceable in holding the protector to a heel of soft material, such as rubber etc.

Having fully what I claim is A heel protector comprising `a drivingbody portion and Wearing plate semi-elliptical in form, va pair of prongs formed integrally with the plate and, locatedat the forward margin thereof, each of the prongs being provided with a driving point, a straight rear edge, a shoulder on its front edge above the driving point, and an upwardly and forwardly inclined edge above the shoulder, the said shoulder serving to oppose the force applied to the rear edge ofthe protector plate, and a thirdprong integrally formed with the plate and within the margin thereof, and in rear o'f and between the aforesaid pair of prongs. .y

In testimony whereof I have signedmy name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.. y

described my invention,`

GEORGE BECHERER.

Witnesses:

ELIZABETH SCHLITT, VALTER C. STEIN.

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