US1963641A - Detachable heel lift for shoes - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1934. s, AMANTEA DETAGHABLE HEEL LIFT FOR SHOES Filed Aug. 18, 1932 f/vvE/vrm? SAMUEL AMANTEA Patented June 19, 1934 i em-e PATENT. 1 x

I 1,963,641 DETACHABLE HEEL LIFT FOR snons e Samuel Amantea, Niagara Falls, N. Y. 7 Application August, 1932, Serial No. $29,302

My invention relates'in general toir'nprove ments in detachable heels for shoes and boots, and particularly toa detachable lift for suchheels.

' The principal object'of my invention has been to provide a detachable heel lift with fastening means which shall accurately register the lift with the heeland securely hold it in place.

Moreover, the fastening means of my invention are so arranged that the 'coacting parts are m brought into engagement by lateral movement whereby the lift will not become dislodged or loosenedby striking the heel at either the front or back. i

Another object hasbeen to provide a fastening means so designed that the-portion secured to the heel shall be relatively inexpensive, whereby when a worn lift is discarded, the portion of the fastening means secured to it may also be discarded without any appreciable loss.

29 Furthermore, my invention is very simple in design and may be inexpensively manufactured. Characteristic of heels of this kind, the lifts may be made interchangeable so that various kinds of heels may be attached by the wearer or by a shoemaker.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the device shown in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a slightly enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of a heel provided with my invention,

showing the top lift attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the heel of the shoe with the lift removed.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lift removed from the heel.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View of the fastening means of my device.

In the drawing, I have shown my invention as applied to a womans shoe, but obviously the invention is applicable to mens shoes as well. As

shown in the drawing, 5 represents the heel of the shoe and 6 the bottom lift thereof. The fastening means of my invention comprise a heel plate 10 and a lift plate 11 secured respectively to the heel 5 of the shoe and to the lift 6 thereof. These plates are, respectively, so arranged on the heel and lift that a line drawn centrally between their opposite surfaces will be substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the shoe.

The heel plate 10 is provided in one of its side edges with a cut-out portion, bounded by inclined edges 12 and 13. An edge 14 connects these inclined edges at the rear. Arranged over the 5-3-heel plate and in interspaced relation therewith is aheel plate yoke 15. This yoke is provided with tabs 16 which are passed through slots 17 formed preferably at two opposite points in the heel plate 10 and which lie in recesses 18 formed by the bent portions 19 of the heel plate. All parts, therefore, at the bottom surface 20 of the heel plate are flush and smooth. The heel plate yoke 15 is provided with a centrally'arranged. cylindrical sleeve 21 which carries a bullet fastener 22. This fastener is of the well known type having a flange 23 near the outside end of its body and with a springpressed ball 24. The parts are so assembled that the flange 23 of the fastener Willbflbicated on the underside of the yoke 15. The heel plate 10 is, of course, provided'with' suitable nail holes '25 whereby the plate'with the bullet fastener may be securely held to the heel 5 ofjthe shoe. The heel 5 is, of course, bored an'dcoun' terbored for the reception of the bullet fastener and the yoke 15 and projecting parts 19 of the heel plate 10.

The lift plate 11 which is secured to the lift 6 is provided with a central guiding portion 30 which is bounded by inclined surfaces 31 which contact with and engage the inclined edges 12 and 13 of the heel plate 10. When the lift plate V11 is in proper position, the coacting surfaces of the two portions of the fastening means will be snugly engaged. So as to hold the lift in place onto the heel, the lift plate is provided with an overhanging or clamping flange 32 which overhangs the edges 31 and which engages with the top surfaces'of the heel plate adjacent the edges 12, 13 and 14, the material of the heel 5 being Cllll away as shown in Fig. 2 by the dotted lines so as to accommodate the flange 32. The flange 32 is preferably rounded on the forward edge and somewhat flared away from the surfaces 31 of the central or guiding portion so that the lift plate 11 may be more conveniently engaged with the heel plate when assembling the device. The lift plate 11 is formed with a semi-spherical depression 33 at the point immediately under the ball 24 when the parts are in their finally assembled positions, for engagement with the ball when in such positions. Suitable holes 34 are provided in the lift plate 11 for the passage of tacks, screws, or rivets for fastening the plate to the bottom lift.

When it is desired to attach a top lift to a heel with my invention, it is only necessary to engage the flange 32 with-the heel plate, passing the flange along the upper surface of the heel plate a and pushing the same laterally of the heel or in 1T0 a direction substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the shoe until the springpressed ball 24 of the bullet fastener snaps into the semi-spherical recess 33 of the lift plate. The parts of the invention are, of course, accurately and carefully made so that the fit between them is more or less snug, whereby the parts will be held together by friction as well as by the ball 24 when in engagement with the recess 33. When it is desired to change a lift or to replace it by a new one, it is only necessary that the lift be pushed laterally of the heel in the direction opposite to the direction of movement when assembling, whereby the ball 24 will be forced up into the body of the fastener 22, thus becoming disengaged from the recess 33 and permitting the disengagement of the lift plate from the heel plate.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that the least expensive part of my invention is that portion which is secured to the bottom lift so that it may be discarded with the worn heel, since its cost is practically negligible.

While I have shown my invention as applied to a detachable lift, it is obvious that the same fastening means may be used to apply the entire heel to a shoe. In such a case it would be preferable to reverse the portions of thefastening means and to secure the lift plate to the bottom of the shoe and to insert the heel plate in the top of the heel.

These and other modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made Without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described, the form shown being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A detachable heel lift construction for shoes comprising a heel plate secured to a portion of the heel and a lift plate secured to the engaging portion of the lift, the plates having tapered engaging surfaces so arranged that a line drawn centrally between the opposite tapered surfaces of each plate will be substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the shoe thereby preventing accidental dislocation of the heel, and a spring-pressed ball carried by one of the plates and engaging a recess in the interengaging plate, whereby the heel can be removed in one lateral direction only without the use of tools.

2. A detachable heel lift construction for shoes comprising a heel plate secured to a portion of the heel and a lift plate secured to the engaging portion of the lift, the heel plate having a tapered opening, a yoke carried by the plate and in interspaced relation therewith, a bullet fastener carried by the yoke and having its spring-pressed ball disposed in the tapered opening, the lift plate being formed with a central guiding portion for engagement with the tapered opening of the heel plate and with a recess for engagement with the spring-pressed ball when the portions are in their fully assembled positions, the tapered opening of the heel plate and the coacting guiding portion of the lift plate being so arranged that a line drawn centrally between the opposite tapered surfaces of the said opening and said portion will be substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the shoe thereby preventing accidental dislocation of the heel, and a clamping flange formed on the lift plate and arranged above the central guiding portion thereof.

SAMUEL AMANTEA.

ESQ

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