US2091223A - Toe-cap - Google Patents

Description

Patented ug. 24, 1937 PATENT oFFlcE TOE-CAP George Andrew Binder, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Robert Malcom, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 8, 1935, Serial No. 44,095

1 Claim.

The invention relates to a protecting cap for footwear, and particularly to one for boots and shoes of the heavier grade such as worn by workmen whose feet are liable to strike against ma- 5 chinery, castings, rock, etc.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide such a cap that easily may be attached to footwear without extension of metal parts under the sole and that thus leaves the sole flexible and 1o with its natural non-slipping tendency, that without extending over or along the edge of the sole affords protection thereto, that entirely covers the vamp or front part of the upper and thus protects it, that is of strong and wear-resistant 15 reenforced sheet metal capable of withstanding hard usage, and that can be attached easily to footwear by fasteners driven in from the top,

The characteristics of the invention are apparent in the accompanying drawing, vforming part hereof, wherein an adaptation for use on boots and shoes is disclosed, for purposes of illustration.

Like reference-characters refer to corresponding parts in the views of the drawing, of which- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the cap on a shoe;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1.

The cap is of a single piece of sheet metal stamped or otherwise formed and shaped to proo vide a cover part 4 conforming substantially to,

and extending over the vamp or front part of the upper A of footwear.

Along its base or lower edge the cap has an inwardly-disposed flange 5 arranged to seat on the 35 top of the sole B and to extend under the bulge C of the vamp or front part of the upper to nearly the place where the upper is connected to the sole,

as at stitches D,

The wall of the cover part is struck inwardly 40 on the sides just above the flange to afford recesses or ndentations 6 to permit screws or other fasteners 'l to be driven downwardly through holes in the flanges into the sole to attach the cap thereto and to accommodate the heads of the fas- 45 teners.

The cover-all is reenforced by substantially vertical ribs 8 on the sides between the front recesses E5 and the front of the cover, and with a substantially vertical rib 9 on each side between the two 50 recesses. The ribs 8 and 9 extend upwardly in the sides of the cover-wall from places slightly above the flange and into the crown of the cover. A substantially vertical rib l in each side of the wall is positioned between the rear end 55 of the wall and the rear recess. The ribs are (Cl.l 36-72) formed by pressing the sheet-metal wall outward 1y. They are positioned adjacent to the recesses 6 to strengthen the wall near those struck-in places, as well as to afford reenforcement generally to the cover part of the cap.

The rear edge of the cover-wall across the top is rolled over as a rounded reenforcing rib Il, the ends of that rib being near the upper ends of the ribs I0, whereby a practically continuous reenforcement of the rear end of the cap from the base on one side to the base on the other is afforded. The rib l I not only functions as a reenforcement, but it also presents a rounded edge that will not cut into or wear the top of the upper during flexure thereof in walking.

The cap is put on a toe part of a boot, shoe, or like by slipping thereon rearwardly, with the flange on top of the sole and under the bulge of the upper, until movement is stopped by contact of the front of the cap with the front of the article of footwear. Screws or nails then are driven through holes in the flange at the recesses, whereby the cap is held in place. Although the fasteners are in the sides only, the disposition of the flange under the bulge of the upper keeps the cap down on the sole entirely around the base of the cap.

The flange is of substantially the same width as that of the upper surface of the sole between its edge and the line where the upper meets the sole in boots, shoes, and the like of the type for which the cap is made and to which it conforms. Therefore, when the flange is under the bulge of the upper just above the sole, the base part of the wall of the cap is usn with the edge of the sole entirely around the front part thereof. Thus, when the cap side or toe swipes an object liable to wear or injure the shoe or other footwear, the edge of the sole is protected therefrom. The cover-wall itself and its reenforcing-ribs protect the upper from the wear and injury of contact with objects the footwear may encounter.

The size and curvature of the cover wall at the sides, front, and over the upper are somewhat greater than the upper under the cap in the form the upper normally assumes when the footwear is empty, so that when the footwear is put on a foot the upper may conform to the shape of the front part of the foot and the foot is not bound uncomfortably by the cap. In other words, the cap preferably is somewhat larger than the vamp or front part of the upper.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A sheet-metal toe-cap comprising an arcuate cover-Wall having at its rear edge a rolled-over round transverse reenforcing-rib extending across the crown and terminating above the base of th'e article, a flange extending inwardly from and entirely around the base of the wall adapted to rest on top of the sole of footwear outside of the upper thereof, said wall having inwardly-struck recesses in the base portion of the sides for accommodation of heads of fasteners driven through said ange into the sole, substantially vertical reenforcing-ribs on the sides of said wall and extending into the crown thereof between and on each side of some of said recesses, and substantially vertical reenforcing-ribs in the sides 0f said wall near its rear end and between the ends of said transverse rib and the base of said wall,

GEORGE ANDREW BINDER.

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