US2386786A

US2386786A - Shoe

Info

Publication number: US2386786A
Application number: US498060A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph P Famolare
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1943-08-10
Filing date: 1943-08-10
Publication date: 1945-10-16
Anticipated expiration: 1962-10-16

Description

Oct. 16, 1945. L P FAMOLARE 2,386,786

SHOE

Filed Aug. 10, 1945 Patented Oct. 16, 1945 UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE SHOE Joseph P. Famolare, Chesnut Hill, Mass.

ApplcationAugust 10, 1943, Serial No. 498,060

4 Claims.

This invention consists in an improved shoe of the wedge heel type and includes within its scope a novel process of producing the same. Shoes of this type are now in demand and as heretofore constructed have required a great deal of special and highly skilled work which has necessarily been reected in the cost of the iinished shoes.

The object of the present invention is to produce a shoe of the wedge heel type having a particularly neat and attractive appearance, sturdy and reliable structure with good wearing characteristics, and to bring about these desirable results with minimum expense from the shoemaking standpoint.

The process of my invention is characterized by separately constructing or preforming two principal elements of the shoe and then uniting them through the medium of a midsole member.

These elements comprise a forepart unit or member and a heel and counter member. The forepart unit is constructed to include a midsole of any desired construction, an upper and a binding strip which conceals the edge of the midsole and has its margin inturned beneath the midsole. I prefer to construct this member by stitching the edge of the upper and one edge of the binding strip by a straight needle machine to the margin of the sock lining and then uniting the sock lining to the midsole. The midsole preferably and as herein shown includes a cushion ply in its forepart and when this is used the inturned margin of the binding strip includes and overlaps it.

The heel and counter member comprises a complete and preferably lined counter pocket with its inturned flange secured in the flrst instance to a tuck and then tacked to a covered Wedger heel blank. Such a heel blank extends forwardly beyond the breast line of the counter and tapers in both directions into conformity with the shank portion of the shoe.

Having prepared the two elements of the shoe as above outlined these may be brought together and united by cementing the heel seat of the midsole to the tuck of the counter portion and cementing the shank portion of the midsole to the tapered shank portion of the wedge heel blank. Subsequently permanent connection may be insured by the usual heel nailing operation. The shoe is completed and the inturned margins of the binding strip and wedge heel cover concealed by cementing or otherwise attaching an outsole to the assembled elements arranged as above described. The completed shoe presents an extremely neat and Well iinished appearance; The binding strip covers and ornaments the edge of the midsole and conceals its cushion ply* and is itself finished by the outsole which conceals all raw edges that might otherwise beexposed. The covered midsole extends rearwardly and disappears into the counter pocket.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the forepart unitv or member, a portion of the binding strip being shown as turned up to expose the midsole,

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the wedge heel and counter member, and

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the ylinished shoe.

In preparing the forepart unit I prefer to employ a. midsole having a heel-seat and shank portion I0 of fibre board and to splice to this a forepart of flexible fabric I2 such as rubberized duck or canvas. To the under side this fabric ply is cemented a thick felt cushion layer II coextensive with the forepart of the midsole. A sock lining I3 of faille or other firm fabric is then cut out coextensive in size and shape with the outline of the completed midsole and to the margin of this sock lining is stitched a binding strip I4 and the edge of the upper I5 previously cut to size. This operation may be conveniently carried out with the assistance of a straight needle machine, the binding strip originally being disposed wrong-side-out, overlapping the upper and superposed upon it. The sock lining I3 with its attached upper and binding strip is now cemented to the face of the midsole except in the heel-seat area Where it, is left loose. The binding strip I4 is turned downwardly and wrapped tightly about the edge of the midsole including the cushion ply I I and the thinner shank portion I0, and the inturned margin of the binding strip is cemented in flat condition to the lower face of the midsole. In the iorepart of the shoe the margin of the binding strip is cemented to the felt ply I I and in the shank it is cemented directly to the fibre portion I 0 of the insole. The bound edge of the midsole consequently presents a rearwardly tapering platform eiect in the shoe.

' It Will be apparent that the iorepart unit may be prepared without the use of any special machinery and without the exercise of any particular shoemaking skill and also without the necessity of tying up the last except for the step of uniting the midsole to the sock lining and its at tached parts.

The heel and counter member illustrated in Fig. 2 may meanwhile be completed as a separate unit entirely independently of the rest of the shoe. The counter pocket comprises an outer ply I8 of faille or the like, a lining ply I9, and a marginal binding strip nishing the exposed edges of the side walls. These component parts may be assembled and molded with the usual stiffening ply in the manner Well known in the shoemaking industry. The inturned ange of the counter portion is now fastened by staples 2| to a stii fibre tuck 20 which is thus caused to serve as the heel seat portion of the counter. Meanwhile a wooden wedge heel blank 23 has been covered with faille or the like and the margins of this cover inturned over the upper and lower converging faces of the heel blank. The assembled counter and tuck comprising the iin- Iished heel pocket are preliminarily attached to the covered wood heel blank by tacks 22 driven through the tuck into the heel blank in vthe vicinity of the breast line. The tapering shank portion of the blank extends forwardly beyond the breast line of the counter pocket and the two overlapping margins of the cover 23 are cemented together in advance of the forward edge of this shank portion as shown in Fig. 2.

In assembling the two members thus described the heel-seat of the midsole is introduced above the tuck of the counter and is cemented thereto, while the upper face of the shank portion of the wedge heel in advance of the tuck is cemented to the shank portion of the midsole. In the shoe herein shown the tapered forward edge of the wedge heel extends beyond the rear edge of the cushion layer I I, thus making a particularly smooth join. The rear end of the sock lining I3, which has been left loose upto this point, is now temporarily turned back and headed heel attaching nails 25 driven through the'heel seat portion of the midsole and the tuck into the wedge heel blank, thus permanently securing these portionsof the shoe together,

Theshoe is completed by fastening to the bottom constituted by the forepart of the midsole member and the heel-seat and shank portions of the counter member, an outsole 26 of leather or composiiton. This is preferably molded to the contour of the shank curvature and is permanentlysecured in place by cement or other attaching means.

In the illustrated shoe the upper is shown as comprising in the forepart only an open toe vamp, but it will be understood that thev upper rear portion of the midsole is carried inside the counter I8-I9 and consequently the line oi.' the counter comes directly down to the heel imparting a particularly trim and neat appearance to the rear end of the shoe. This is in distinction to shoes of this general type wherein the platform eiect has been carried about the rear end of the shoe with a cumbersome and bulky eect,

Having thus disclosed my invention and described for illustrative purposes the best embodiment thereof now known to me, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A wedge heel shoe comprising a midsole having a forepart of substantial thickness, a sock lining and a binding strip covering the edge of the midsole back to its heel seat portion, and a counter'portion enclosing the heel seat of the midsole and includinga covered wedge heel secured directly to the counter, whereby the forepart of the shoe presents a platform effect which terminates at the breast line of the counter, the covered` midsole disappearing within the said counter portion.

2. A platform shoe comprising a midsole of substantial thickness having a vamp connected to its upper face and a textile binding strip enclosing its edges, a counter-pocket having side walls with their .exposed edges iinished, and a tuck secured in the heel seat of the said counterpocket, the said midsole extending inside the counter-pocket and being secured to the tuck whereby the platform eiect of the shoe is terminated by the disappearance of the bound edges of the midsole within'the walls of the counterpocket. l

3. A platform shoe comprising a midsole having a cushion forepart of substantial thickness and a thin ilexible shank portion, a binding strip wrapped about the marginal edge of the shank and forepart of said midsole and presenting a rearwardly tapering platform effect in the shoe, a vamp connected to the forepart of said midsole, and a counter portion connected to the midsole and having side walls between which the ,bound edges of the insole disappear.

4. A platform shoe comprising a midsole having a thick cushion'forepart merging rearwardly into thin fibre shank and heel-seat portions, a sock lining coextensive in shape with the outline of the complete midsole, a binding strip wrapped about the marginal edge'of the shank and forepart of said midsole and presenting a rearwardly tapering platform eiect in the shoe, a vamp connected to the cushion forepart of the midsole, and `a counter portion connected to the thin nbre shank portion of the midsole and enclosing the bound marginal edges of the shank portion of the midsole.

kJOSEPH P. FAMOLARE.