US2122503A - Shoe bottom unit and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

July 5, 1938. M, WHELTON 2,122,503

SHO BOTTOM UNIT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed May 2l, 1936 MN5/vm@ jx M. WM

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Patented July 5, 193i7 2,122,503

UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE BOTTOM UNIT ANDl METHOD OF MAKING T'HE SAME John M. Whelton, Peabody, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 21, 1936, Serial No. 81,055 6 Claims. (Cl. 12-146) This invention relates to improvements in shoe quired in the manufacture of so-called fiddle bottom units and to improvements in methods of shank shoes. Moreover, it enables the stitching making shoe bottom units. The present applicaof the tapes to be more easily accomplished and tion is in part a continuation of my earlier apresults in the provision of an insole unit in which plication Serial No. 600,921, filed March 24, 1932, no stitches are exposed to View upon its upper 5 upon which United States Letters Patent No. side so that the use of a sock lining may be dis- 2,065,463 was granted December 22, 1936. pensed with if desired.

The present invention provides an improved The invention will now be explained with refershoe bottom unit which is particularly adapted ence to the accompanying drawing, in which for use in the manufacture of shoes the uppers of Fig. 1 is a perspective View of one form of my 10 y which are to be'permanently secured in overimPIOVed iIlSOle unit ShOWirlg the upper Side 0f lasted position by means of cement and are also to the unit; be stapled orotherwise temporarily secured to Fig. 2 iS a DelSDeCtiVe VeW 0f the ins01e unit the shoe bottoms to hold them in place while the showing the lower side thereof;

l5 cement is setting. As herein illustrated, the im- Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View of l5 proved shoe bottom unit comprises a relatively the insole member of the unit illustrating the flexible insole having a lasting lip extending along manner in which the lasting lip iS fOlmed; the lower side of its shank and forepart to which Fig.4 is a sectional View taken along the line the overlasted margin of a shoe upper may be IVe-IV of Fig. 2;

temporarily secured, and having a portion of the Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modi- 20 insole material exposed at the outer side of the fled form of insole unit; lip to constitute a lasting surface adapted to re- Fig; 6 is a sectional View taken along the line ceive cement for permanently securing the upper VI-VI of Fig. 5; directly to the insole, a relatively stiff reinforc- Fig. '7 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 5 but ing piece which is secured by means of cement to disclosing a further modified construction; 25

theV upper side of the heel and shank portion of Fig. 8 is a bottom plan View of the insole unit the insole, and a narrow metallic shank stiffener shown in Fig. 7;

which is 'located between the insole and the re- Fig. 9 is across-sectional View of a portion of inforcing piece. The arrangement of the rein-` the insole unit shown in Fig. 7;

forcing pieceand the shank stiffener, both at the Fig- 10 iS a VieW Similll- '00 Fig 9 but ShOWiflg 30 upper side of the insole, insuresthat neither will the lasting lip in upstanding IJOSOD; and interfere with thesecuring of an effective cement Fig- 11 iS a CIOSS-SeCiSiOnal VieW taken along the bond between the overlasted upper margins and line XI--X 0f Fig- 8- the material -ofl the insole. The lasting lip may Referring rst to Figs. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawbe formed integrally with the substance ofA the ing, the IHPTOVed Shoe bottom unit 0I' reinforced 35 insole or advantageously the. lip may consist of a insole 30 therein shown comprises a relatively tape or a plurality of tapes which may be stitched flexible insole member 32, a relatively stiff rein or otherwise secured to the lower or' lasting side forcing member or heel and shank piece 34, and of the insole. Preferably the tape is stitched flat a metallic shank stiifener 36. The insole member '4o against the insole so that it will not interfere 32 may be made of leather or any suitable flexible 40 with a molding operation which is subsequently insole material and died out or rounded to the to be performedupon the insole and the reinforccontour of a full length insole. The heel and ing piece and as a result of which those parts are shank piece 34 is composed of stiff but readily to be secured togetherand arched'both longitudimoldable material, for example, ber or leathernally and transversely to adapt the insole unit to board, and is shaped to conform in edge Contour 45 conform to the contour of the bottom of a last. to the heel and shank portion of the insole. As Preferably, also, the tape is stitched to the insole shown, the heel and shank piece 34 is skived to a before the reinforcing piece and the shank stifthin edge at its forward end so that no undesirfener are assembled therewith, thispractice perable ridge will be produced where it adjoins the mitting the tape to be located nearer to the insole. The shank stiiener 36 consists of a nar- 50 longitudinal center of the insole in the shank row strip of resilient metal which is initially portion than it could be if the metallic shank curved longitudinally to correspond to the longistiffener were present when the stitching took tudinal curvature of the bottom of the last to be place and thus enabling insole units to be made used in making the shoe in which the insole unit with exceptionally narrow shank portions as re-. is to be incorporated. To assist in maintaining 55 the shank stiffener 36 in assembled relation` with the other members of the insole unit `two apertures are formed in` the insole 32 in positions to receive the opposite end portions of the shank stiffener 36.

In order that the margin of a shoe upper may be temporarily secured to the insoleso that the upper will be held in place during the setting of the cement by means of. which it is to be permanently attached to the insole, the latter is provided with a lasting lip 38 which, in the case of a leather insole as shown in Figs.A 2 and 4', may advantageously be formed integrally with the' insole at the iiesh side thereof. The lip 38 may be formed by edge slitting or channeling the insole in a well-known manner, as indicated in Fig. 3,.

to provide an edge slit 4D, a channel orl edge flap and a feather 44, and subsequently raising or turning thechannel or edge flap 42 into an appropriate position (as indicated by full lines in Fig. 2' and by dotted lines in Fig. 3) to constitute the lasting lip 3'8. Advantageously, the flap 42 will be trimmed, as indicated at 4B, the trimming being effected preferably during the channeling operation by'means of al suitabley parts of the insole unit have been assembled 3'5` and securedvr together so that there will be no upstanding iiap or lip upon the insole to interfere with the performance of the assembling and securing operation and vparticularly with the n molding operation by means of which the insole unit is ultimately toV be shaped to adapt it to t the bottom of a last. Moreover, since the flap is not upstanding when the molding takes place it will not be distortedv or mutilatedby theV molding pressure. Y

.Prior to the assembly of the parts of the insole the heel and shank portion of the upper surface of the insole and the lower side of the heel and shank piece 34 are coated with adhesive,

vsuch as rubber latex, and the parts are allowed 5,0,

to set long'enough to render the adhesive in proper condition for securing the parts together. Before the insole and the heel and shank piece are Asecured together, however, the opposite end portions of the shank stifferier 36 are inserted through the apertures 50 in the insole with the body portion of the' stiffener disposed at the upper side of the insole,- and the shank stiffener'is adjusted longiy tudinally to bring its forward end into a desired lengthwise relation to the insole. As indicated in the drawing, the assembly of the shank stiffener` with the insole imparts a longitudinal curvature to the insole which approximates that of the shank stiffener. Also, as indicated, the shank stiffener has struck -up at its rear end a single pointed spur or prong 10 which, during the molding of the insole 32 and the heel and shankjpiece 34, is forced into the material of the insole and thus functions vpositively 'to Yhold the shank stiffener against longitudinal displacement. The

heel and shank piece 34 is next laid with its coatedV surface upon the coated heel and shank portion of the insole and the edges of the parts are alinedk by the use of any suitable gaging means.

The assembled parts are then subjected to` molding pressure which secures the heel and shank piece to the insole and molds those parts so as to curve them both longitudinally and transversely to adapt them to conform to the longitudinal and transverse curvatures of the bottom of a last. Advantageously, the molding may be effected by the use of molding forms which may be incorporated in Va molding machine, such as that disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 701,814, filed December 11, 1933, upon which United States Letters Patent No. 2,065,465 was granted December 22, 1936. After' the parts have been secured together and molded the flap formed by the hereinbefore described channeling or edge slitting of the insole is raised and laid back into position to constitute the lastingA lip 38. Thereafter the opposite lateral edges along the shank portionof. the unit are preferably reduced by the use of any suitable reduci-ng means so as to provide the beveled surfaces indicated at in Figs. 1 and 3, the angle of bevel being such as toY blend with the Aprofile of the last.

Instead of securing the Shank stiffener 36in place by inserting' its opposite" end portions through apertures in the insole the shank stiffener may be secured by means of tacks |86 to the reinforcing piece 343, as indicated in Fig. 5, or to the insole 320, as indicated in Fig. '7, the shank stiffener 36:0 being provided with the usual tack holes but having no attaching prong or spur. insure that the shank stiffener shall have no tendencylv to produce an undesirable ridge or bulge in the insole 320 and consequently in the outsole of the. shoe a shallow groove H38 may beformed in the reinforcing member 340 to receive the shank stiffener, as clearly indicated in Fig. 6.

Instead of forming a lasting lip integrally with the substance of the insole it may be desirable to secure Aa strip of tape or a plurality of strips of tape to the lower side of the insole to constitute a lasting lip. As shown, for examplain Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, strips of tape 52 may be secured by suitable fastening means, .such as stitches 54, to the insole 320, the tapes being preferably stitched to the insole before the reinforcing piece and the shank stiffener are assembled therewith. As indicated, the tapes may be stitched along their central kmedian lines and later the portions of the tapes at'opposite sides of the Stitches raised by any suitable means, to the positions indicated in Fig. 11, to provide an upstanding lasting lip. It is tol be noted that inasmuch as the lips are initially stitched to the insole in a substantially fiat condition they will not interfere with the operations of attaching the reinforcing piece and molding the shank portions of the reinforcing piece and the insole. Moreover, by stitching the tapes to the insole before the reinforcing piece and the shank stiffener are assembled with the insole, those portions of the tapes which are to constitute the lasting lips along the opposite lateral margins of the shank portion of the insole unit may be positioned much closer together inasmuch as it will not be necessary to confine the stitching to locations such as toV avoidV the shank stiifener. there will be no shank stiifener present to interfere with the passage of the needle through the insole. This is ofV particular importance in the case of insole units having unusually narrow shank portions where, as indicated in Fig. 10,V

the lines of tape-attaching stitches may necessarily have to be located so close together that the presence of a shankstifener would interfere with the stitching operation. Furthermore. it

In other words, p

is of course much easier to pass the stitches only through the insole than to pass them through both the insole and the reinforcing piece because of the thickness and toughness of the material (ber, leatherboard or the like) of which the stiff reinforcingV piece is composed.

The lasting lip 38 provides means to which a shoe upper may be stapled to hold it in place during the setting of the cement between the upper and the feather or margin of the insole, in accordance with the method of making cementlasted shoes disclosed and claimed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,932,545, granted October 31, 1933, upon application of George Goddu. The particular lip formation herein shown,

however, differs somewhat from that disclosed in the Letters Patent referred to.

It will be appreciated that it is practicable to form a lasting lip upon the insolev in accordance with the methods herein described by reason of the fact that the reinforcing piece is to be secured to the upper or unlipped side of the insole. Being ultimately disposed atV theupper side of the insole the reinforcing piece cannot interfere with the securing of a satisfactory cement bond between the shoe upper and the insole unit. This will be readily appreciated in cases where the insole is composed of leather and the reinforcing piece of fiber, leatherboard or the like, inasmuch as it is well known that cement will adhere better to leather than to fiber or leatherboard. Moreover, if the insole is channeled so as to form a channel flap which is raised to provide a lasting lip as herein described, the portion of the feather or margin of the insole which is cut by the channeling knife is well adapted to receive cement in such a way as to insure the formation of a good bond between the upper and the insole. Furthermore, the shank stiifener, being also disposed at the upper side of the insole, does not reduce the area of the cementing surface in the shank portion of the shoe bottom as frequently happens when the shank stiffener is located at the lower or lasting side of the insole, particularly in the case of a narrow shank shoe.

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

1. A shoe bottom unit comprising a lipped insole, a stiff reinforcing member for the heel and shank portions of the insole secured Yto the unlipped Side of the insole, and a narrow shank stiifener of substantially uniform width located throughout a portion of its length between the reinforcing member and the upper side of the insole and being exposed throughout another portion of its length at the lower side of the insole, the shank stiffener and the shank portions of the insole and the reinforcing member being arched longitudinally to correspond to the longitudinal curvature of the shank portion of a last bottom and the shank portions of the insole and the reinforcing piece being also arched transversely.

2. A shoe bottom unit comprising a lipped insole having an aperture therein, a stiff heel and shank reinforcing piece secured by means of adhesive to the insole at the unlipped side thereof, and a narrow shank stiffener strip located throughout the greater part of its length between the insole and said reinforcing piece but having a portion extending through said aperture and secured to the lipped side of the insole.

3. That improvement in methods of making shoe bottom units which consists in forming an insole having at one side a marginal flap lying substantially flat with respect to that side of the insole, securing to said insole at the opposite side thereof a shank stiifener and a shank reinforcing piece thereby providing a shoe bottom unit and molding said unit to curve said insole and said reinforcing piece longitudinally and transversely before placing the unit upon a last, and thereafter raising said flap into an upstanding position to constitute a lasting lip.

4. That improvement in methods of making shoe bottom units which consists in channeling an insole to provide a channel flap extending around the forepart and along both lateral marginal portions of the shank at one side of the insole, thereafter securing to the insole at the opposite side thereof a shank stiffener and a shank reinforcing piece to make a shoe bottom unit and molding said insole and said reinforcing piece to curve them both longitudinally and transversely in their shank portions before placing said unit upon a last, and nally raising said flap into an upstanding position to constitute a lasting lip.

5. That improvement in methods of making shoe bottom units which consists in securing a tape to one side of an insole thereby providing a lipped insole, and thereafter securing to the other side of the insole a shank stiffener and a shank reinforcing piece and molding the insole and the reinforcing piece.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoe bottom units which consists in stitching a tape in a substantially at condition to one side of an insole, thereafter securing to the other side of the insole a shank stiffener and a heel and shank reinforcing piece and molding the shank portions of the insole and the reinforcing piece, and nally raising said tape into an upstanding position to serve as a lasting lip.

JOHN M. WHELTON.

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