US2413071A

US2413071A - Shoe preserver

Info

Publication number: US2413071A
Application number: US609137A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mildred H Rice
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1945-08-06
Filing date: 1945-08-06
Publication date: 1946-12-24
Anticipated expiration: 1963-12-24

Description

SHOE PRESERVER Filed Aug. 6, 1945 INVENTOR. 1771/:[1 5' cf :H Pic 5' WM/h w Patented Dec. 24, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 12.41am l SHOE'PBESEBVER if v 'MildnedH. Rice, mammalian. i

ApplicationAugust .6, 1945, 'SerialjNo. 609,137

1 Claim. 1

This is .a continuation in part of my application 'Seria-l'No. 563,667, filed November 16, 1944, for Shoe preserver, now abandoned.

My invention relates to shoe preservers or shoe trees and is particularly designed so that it may he used either'with shoes of usual construction of those which are made with open toe caps or without any back except a'strapelement.

The invention will hereinafter be described with particular reference to such backless shoes, although as previously indicated, it is not necessarily restricted to use with this type of shoe. Backless shoes are usually made with an open toe cap, and, in lieu of aheel-enclosing portion, are provided with a strap extending from approximately the instep around the heel of the wearer. Sometimes an additional strap is provided to pass over the instep.

As illustrative of knownconstructions a brief outline of representative shoe trees designed for shoes of the type having a back and closed toe will be given. Such trees are characterized by features which render them effective for their purpose but whichhave drawbacks if considered for use with the type of shoe for which the shoe treeof my invention ,is particularly designed.

In one known construction a flexible front portion is provided shaped to engage in the front portion of a shoe, this front portion being resiliently or rigidly connected to a rearwardly extending part ending in a short downwardly turned or curved part intended to engage against the back of the shoe. In order to securely engage with the back strap of a heelless shoe a construction must be provided in which the rear end of f the shoe tree is supported against the heel end of the sole and will engage the heel strap with adequate force and without any tendency of the heel strap to slip off the shoe tree; this necessary requirement could not be met by the known construction.

In another known construction the shoe tree is formed from a continuous resilient strip upwardly bowed intermediate its length and projecting forwardly to enter and engage against the underside of the top of the toe cap and at its rear end bowed to engage against the entire height of the back of a shoe. The ends of the flexible strip end in relatively small rounded tips. If used in a backless shoe the lower portion of the rear end of the known construction would spring outwardly of the heel of the shoe while the forward end would pass through the open toe usually provided in such shoes with the result that even if the tree could be maintained in po- 2 sition in a backless shoe, no appreciableforce could be exerted tending to keep the shoe in proper-shape.

An objectof the inventionis to provide-a'shoe tree which can be used to preserve the shape of the normal form "of shoe, that is, one having aback-and closed toe, or which can be'used with any of the varied styles of shoe now p pular and which may have no back and an open toe cap. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a shoe tree which may be used for backless shoes provided with a strap passing over the "instep of the wearer as well as with a heel strap, the construction being such as to securely support the back strap in its proper position by engagement of the back -of the shoe tree both with the back stra-pand with the heel of the shoe. 7

I A still further object of the invention is to provide a shoe tree or shoe preserv'er which is inexpensive to make and yet is long wearing and sat-isfactoryinuse.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shoe tree which may be used with a wide-variety of forms ofshoe and yet comprises no separate parts or adjustments, the adjustment of the tree to various types of shoe being due to the form of the shoe tree.

Still further features and objects of the invention will hereinafter appear in the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

While the invention is herein described and illustrated in a preferred form, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not in any way limited by this illustrative showing but only as indicated by the scope of the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the blank from which the tree is formed;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the shoe tree formed from the blank shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the shoe tree showing the form assumed when the tree is inserted in a backless shoe, indicated in dot-dash lines.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the numeral Ill indicates an elongated strip of resilient material from which the blank may be formed or stamped. I prefer to use a plastic material of appreciable thickness as a blank from which the tree is to be formed, since such material will provide a desirable combination of resiliency, freedom from rust, and is sufiiciently strong to withstand hard usage as well as providing an attractive appear- 3 ance. A satisfactory plastic for the purpose of forming the tree is the material known by the trade names of Plexiglas, or Lucite.

It will be noted that the blank is provided at one end with a widened head l2 from which the toe portion of the shoe tree is formed. The blank is formed by heating it sufficiently to enable the material to yield readily and is then bent to the proper form between the members of a mold ap plying the proper configuration thereto.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the configuration of the shoe tree comprises the toe member l2, which is formed by bending the widened portion of the toe member upwardly and backwardly on the strap-like bodyportion. The material of the toe portion is also bent trans versely to its length, as indicated in Fig. 2, the corners of the toe portion being rounded off in a gradual curve l3 in order to engage against the inside of the toe piece of the shoe, whether of the ordinary or open-ended type, without bulging out the material of the toe caps. It is to be noted that the end 12 of the shoe tree is too wide to permit it to project through a toe cap or front portion open at the end.

In the form of the shoe tree shown in the drawing, the body portion I is given an upwardly curving contour from the toe piece toward the back of the tree, the upwardly curving portion merging into an oppositely curved portion l4 and terminating in a curved portion I 5 of smaller radius.

The action of the tree will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 3. The ends of the tree are brought toward each other and the toe inserted in the toe portion l6 of the shoe, the toe piece [2 of the tree will be flexed downwardly toward the body by the toe cap of the shoe and due to the resilience of the material from which the .shoe tree is made will exert a firm pressure against the sides and under surface of the toe The downwardly curved portion M of the back of the tree engaged against the inside of the heel strap I1 while the action of the body or central portion of the tree acts to push the rounded end l5 of the shoe tree inwardly of the heel of the shoe, thus urging the end of the shoe tree against the surface of the heel and affording a secure engagement with the back strap to hold it in proper position and spacing from the heel. If the shoe tree is to be used with a backless shoe of the type having a strap passing over the instep of the wearer, it will be noted that the strap may be buckled over the body portion [0 without interfering with the described action of the shoe the underside and sides of the toe piece of the shoe, the action of the shoe tree is independent of whether the toe of the shoe is of the open or closed type,

While I have described a preferred form of my invention it will be evident that various modifications, such as changes in the configuration of the toe piece, may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as indicated by the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A tree for a shoe having a toe and heel strap, comprising a one-piece strip of resilient material curving downwardly from its heel end to engage the heel, thence outwardly and upwardly to engage the strap, thence downwardly and forwardly to the toe and thence backwardly and upwardly to engage the upper inner portion of the toe of the shoe, said backwardly curved portion of the strip being arched in cross-section and relatively wider than the adjacent strip portion whereby to provide resilient lateral portions (engageable against the inner surface of the sides MILDRED H. RICE.