US2188512A - Method of making shoes - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 30, 1940. F, MAIELLANO METHOD 0F MAKING SHOES l Filed Aug. 14, 1935 l l N VEN TQ R Patented Jan. 30, 1940 METHOD or MAKING SHOES Frank Maiellano, Winthrop, Mass., assignor to Compo Shoe Machinery Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 14, 1935, Serial No. 36,056

13 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of foot wear, and particularly to the making of shoes having an insole that is centrally perforate at its forepart and an outsole having a raised landed portion that complements the apertured insole in the completed shoe.

An object of the invention is to provide a construction in which shoes having the general characteristics described above may be more readily manufactured on flat bottom lasts, while avoiding certain difliculties that previously have been encountered when this has been attempted.

Complementary insoles and outsoles of the kind herein contemplated and preferred are disclosed l5 in the Sbicca Patent 1,902,725. Stated more specically, objects of the present invention are to make possible the manufacture of shoes having substantially the advantages provided by the Sbicca construction in factories now equipped with flat bottom lasts, without necessitating the replacement of such lasts by those having a round or convex bottom structure or other treatment to afford room for the lasting allowance.

The particular problems involved, and the means provided by this invention for overcoming them, will be more apparent upon reading the following detailed description, and therefore other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the article possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements, which are exemplified in the 35, following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in con- 40. nection with the accompanying drawing, in

which: v

Fig. l is a perspective view of a complementary insole and outsole unit, the separate parts beingacross the forepart of a lasted shoe illustrating the conventional and heretofore practiced manner of assembling a shoe of the Sbicca and related types on a round bottom last;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional View Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating the effect of assembling such a shoe on a flat bottom last; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through the forepart of a shoe constructed on a flat bottom last in accordance with the lar, and there are now many manufacturers who 15" wish to make them. As will become more apparent from the following description, this shoe is adapted more readily `to be made on round bottom lasts than on those having at bottoms.

However, many manufacturers have iiat bottom 2U" lasts in stock, and while they prefer to make shoes having the Sbicca type construction, they natuv rally wish to avoid, if possible, discarding their existing at bottom equipment and may wish to avoid operations on the leather to afford room for the lasting allowance. The present invention provides a shoe construction which renders this possible.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. l a complementary insole and outsole unit constructed substantially in accordance with the teaching of the mentioned Sbicca patent. It comprises a rounded outsole Ill having a raised land i l at its central forepart portion, together with an insole l2 which is apertured at I3 so as exactly to fit and complement the land on the outsole. The insole shown in Fig. l has been trimmed marginally at I4 so as to be somewhat smaller than the outsole.` This trimming may be accomplished in any well known or suitable manner. The complementary insole and outsole may be made by the three-cut process described in the Sbicca patent, or it may be performed in a single operation on a splitting machine of the kind disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,088,051, issued to William C. Card, Jr., or in any other suitable manner capable of giv" ing the required mated insole and outsole construction.

Referring for the moment to Fig. 3, there is shown a shoe utilizing a Sbicca type insole and outsole which is lasted on a round bottom last l5. An insole l2 such as that described above has a sheet i6. of tough paper or other thin, flexible, but strongv material pasted across its forepart for reinforcing purposes, and is located on the bottom of the last with the reinforcement I6 preferably located directly thereagainst. An upper I'I is pulled over and its lasting allowance Il is lasted to the bottom of the insole, being trimmed and feathered, by means of suitable cutting and roughing operations so as not to encroach on the aperture I3 of the insole, as illustrated. Any suitable form of lasting may be .employed but preferably a cement-lasting operation is used. A mating outsole, such as the outsole I0, is now located on the bottom of the lasted upper with its landed portion l l extending into and mating with the aperture I3, so that the upper surface of the land is flush with the upper surface of the insole and nts closely therewith all around the boundary of the aperture I3. It will be noted that the lasting allowance I'I interposes a thickness of material between the insole and outsole, but despite this, the latter is adapted to be cemented and pressed to the bottom of the shoe while retaining a flat or slightly convex contour if a round bottom last is used. The means for pressing the outsole to the upper comprises a sole-aiiixing press of any suitable known construction involving the use of a flexible pressureapplying pad or diaphragm.

On the other hand, when such an assembly is made on a flat bottom last I8, such as that illustrated in Fig. 4, the thickness of material of the lasting allowance Il, which is located between the marginal portions of the insole I2 and the outsole Ill supports such margins of the latter at a relatively higher elevation than the landed portion I l at the center of the outsole unless by roughing or otherwise sufficient material is removed from the margin of the outsole. That is, the outsole, having been split from the insole, would, assuming the latter to be supported on a fiat surface, be atly supported thereby if no uper material were `interposed between such parts. However, due to the presence of the added thickness of lasting allowance material, the pad diaphragm. of the sole-aixing press tends, during the cement-ailixing operation, to press the center part of the outsole inwardly until its landed portion s supported by the bottom of the last, so that a central depression having a depthd (Fig. 4) about equivalent to the thickness of the lasting allowance material is formed at the ball of the shoe. This, of course, is objectionable both from the standpoint of appearance and wear. It will be understood that this objection does not arise with the above described round bottom last assembly, since the center of the ball portion of the outsole is properly supported with reference to the marginal portions by virtue of the convexity of the last bottom, despite the presence of the lasting allowance material I1.

In order to overcome the problem thus encountered when using a flat bottom last, the insole in accordance with this invention is provided with a preformed filler piece I9 which generally corresponds in shape with and is somewhat larger than the aperture I3 which it is adapted to overlie. This filler piece is as thick or slightly thicker than the materials comprising the lasting allowance such as Il and is marginally tapered to a thin feathered edge as is indicated in Fig. 5. Preferably, the filler I9 is cemented to the insole and forms a part of the completed shoe. However, the benefits of the invention can be obtained simply by locating such a filler on the bottom of a flat last in position to register With the landed and apertured portions of an insole and outsole when the latter are located on the last bottom, and both uses of the ller are contemplated as being within the purview of the invention. The ller may be of any suitable material, preferably a exible manufactured composition of plant fibres, or the like, although leather or other materials may also be used.

Assuming the insole to have a ller piece I9 attached thereto, as shown in Fig. 2, a shoe may advantageously be assembled in the manner shown in Fig. 5. Here, the insole I2 and its associated ller I9 are located on a iiat bottom last IS with the filler facing thereagainst and with the insole aperture i3 facing outwardly. An upper II is pulled over and its lasting allowance I'I is lasted to the insole I 2, preferably by means of cement. Care is taken to trim and rough away the excess lasting allowance so that the edges of aperture I3 are not overlapped by the upper material, but are left exposed for mating with an outsole.

A complementary outsole Ill is provided and is located against the bottom of the lasted upper with its landed portion I I itting into and exactly mating with the apertured part of the insole, cement being placed or activated between the insole and outsole. The outsole is then pressed against the upper in a suitable sole-aixing press and its bottom portion is supported so as to assume a flat or slightly convex shape, just as is the case with round bottom lasts. This is because the filler piece II supports the landed portion of the outsole and compensates for the added thickness of material I'I' introduced between the two soles.

While desirable forms of the invention have been described in some detail, such description is illustrative and various changes may be made without departing from the purview of the invention. Thus while the lasting and sole-aiixing operations are preferably carried out .by means of cement, such as pyroxylin cement, other adhesives, or other forms of attachment, such as stitching, or the like, may be employed. Also, as has been pointed out above, the filler piece need not necessarily form a part of the completed shoe, but may simply be provided in suitable position to support the central forepart portion of the outsole thereof during operations wherein pressure is applied thereto.

Shoes constructed in accordance with the present invention possess the compactness, appearance, and much of the flexibility of ordinary Sbicca type shoes.

lt will be seen that there have been provided a method and construction which are well suited to fulfill the intended functions.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted vas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

`It is also 'to `be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and'specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: 1. A method of making shoes which comprises providing an outsole having a raised land at its central forepart portion and an insole having a corresponding aperture at its central forepart portion, attaching a ller piece of greater extent than said aperture and having substantially the thickness of an upper across said aperture, locating said insole and filler piece on a fiat bottom last with said iiller piece thereagainst, lasting an upper to said insole with the inner edge of its lasting allowance located outwardly from the edges of said aperture, and axing an outsole to said lasted upper with its landed portion iitting in and closely mating said aperture edges.

2. A method of making shoes which comprises providing an outsole having a raised land Aat its central forepart portion and an insole having a corresponding aperture at its central forepart portion, locating said insole on a flat bottom last, providing a filler piece having substantially the thickness of an upper between said insole and last in substantial registry with said aperture, lasting an upper to said insole, and cement aflixing an outsole to said lasted upper under pressure with its land fitting in and closely mating said aperture.

3. 'I'hat improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises mounting an insole on a at bottomed last with a relatively thick layer of material located between the last bottom and the intramarginal portion of the insole, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to the insole, and applying an outso-le the inner surface of which is complemental to the outer surfaces of the insole and overlasted portions of theupper, thereby producing a iiat bottomed shoe.

4. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises mounting an insole on a at bottomed last with a relatively thick layer of material between the last bottom and the intramarginal portion of the insole, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to the marginal portion of the insole, attaching an outsole the inner surface of which is complemental to the exposed surfaces of the insole and overlasted portions of the upper, and delasting the shoe and removing the thick layer of material.

5. That improvement in methods o f making shoes which comprises temporarily securing an insole on a at bottomed last with a relatively thick layer of material between the last bottom and the intramarginal portion of the insole, thereby causing the marginal portion of the insole to decline outwardly toward the last bottom, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to said marginal portion, the overlasted portion of said upper lling the space above the marginal portion of the insole so that the outer surface of said overlasted portion is substantially parallel to the last bottom,` and attaching to the shoe bottom an outsole the inner surface of which is complemental to the outer surface of the insole with the upper secured thereto, said thick layer supporting the outer surface of the central portion of the outsole in the same plane as the outer surface of its marginal portion is supported by the insole and overlasted portion of the upper, thereby producing a flat bottom surface on said outsole.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises providing an insole having an opening in its forepart surrounded by a rand, mounting the insole on a flat bottomed last with a relatively thick layer of material between the insole and the last bottom, said material spanning said opening, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to the insole, and attaching an outsole having a projection thereon complemental to the opening in the insole, said projection engaging the thick layerof material through said opening and thereby causing the outer surface of the outsole to lie substantially flat.

7. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises providing an insole having a central opening in its forepart surrounded by a rand, covering said opening with a relatively thick layer of material which overlaps the innerl margin of the rand, mounting the insole on a flat bottomed last with the thick layer engaging the last bottom, securing an upper to said rand, and applying an outsole having a projection on its forepart complemental to the opening in the insole, said thick layer-supporting the central portion of the outsole and thereby causing the outsole to remain substantially at transversely.

8. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises providing an insole having an opening in its forepart surrounded by a rand, mounting the insole on a flat bottomed lastwith a relatively thick layer of material spanning said opening between the insole and the last bottom, securing an upper in lasted relation to said rand, attaching an outsole to the shoe bottom, said outsole having a projection thereon complemental to the opening in the insole and said projection engaging said thick layer and thereby maintaining the outsole substantially flat, and delasting the shoe and removingr said thick layer.

9. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises securing a relatively thick layer of material to the intramarginal portion of the inner surface of an insole, mounting the insole on a flat bottomed last with the thick layer engaging the last bottom, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to the marginal portion of the insole, and attaching an outsole the inner surface of which is complemental to the outer surface of the insole with the upper lasted thereto, said thick layer supporting the outer surface of the central portion of the outsole in the same plane as the outer surface of the marginal portion thereof is supported by the insole and upper and thereby producing a flat bottom on the shoe.

10. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises mounting an insole on a hat bottomed last with a relatively thick layer of material having a tapered margin located between the insole and the last bottom, thereby causing the outer surface of the insole to become transversely convex, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to the insole, the. overlasted portions of said upper substantially eliminating the convexity of the outer surface of the insole, and attaching an outsole the inner surface of which is complemental to the outer surfaces of the insole and overlasted portions of the upper, thereby producing a flat bottomed shoe.

l1. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises mounting an insole on a dat bottomed last with a relatively thick layer of material having a beveled margin located between the last bottom and the intramarginal portion of the insole, thereby causing the outer surface of the insole to become transversely convex, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to said insole, the overlasted portions of said upper eliminating the convexity of the shoe bottom at its marginal portion and the outer surfaces rof said overlasted portions lying substantially at, attaching an outsole the inner surface of which is complemental to the outer surface of the insole vvith the upper lasted thereto, thereby producing a shoe having a iiat bottomed outsole; and delasting the shoe and removing the relatively thick layer.

12. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises securing a relatively thick layer of material having a tapered margin to the inner surface of an insole, mounting the insole on a iiat bottomed last with the thick layer engaging the last bottom, thereby rendering the 13. That improvement in methods of making shoes'which' comprises providing an insole having a central opening in its forepart surrounded by a rand, securing a relatively thick layer of material to the inner margin of said rand and thereby covering said opening, mounting the insole on a at bottomed last with the thick layer engaging the last bottom, securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to the outer surface of the rand, attaching an outsole having a projection on its forepart complemental to the opening in the insole, said projection engaging the thick layer through the opening in the insole and causing the outsole to remain substantially at, and delasting the shoe and removing said thick layer from the insole.

FRANK MAIELLANO.

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