US2521252A - Shoe structure - Google Patents

Description

Sept 5, 1950 H. L. PlERsoN l 2,521,252

' v SHOE STRUCTURE Filed nec. 22, 1949 Patented Sept. 5, 1950 PnrENlr SHOE- STRUCTURE-.

ration'of'New Yorkd This.finventionrelatesto a shore` structure, with.. morefpartcular reirencetothe general typet, shoe, including., an insole to, which an: uppen is attachedandanouter. sole attached to. the upper., and.:V inso1e,,and it has,l forA its'` chief purpose, toy aord a. sole,Y construction th'atl possesses greater f flexibility resiliency-,- uniformity and wearing; Qualitiesthan heretofore. possible .in shoeslof. this character, without, increasing the ,cost of manuefacture.

In ,shoes ofjthis type, 4where an .upper and Welt are attached'by conventional" stitching; processes to,an insole,the recess formed b'y the attached" portions-g; ofl the4 upper and4 insole isi. usually llledwithga p1astic.,mass of groundcorkor like.' material; spread over'A the recess with ,ai suitable: instrument to level ofithe plastic; llenWithth-e" surrounding, wall or,` attached; portions of" the; upper and "insole, Vafter 4whichA the. shoe islevelledd and' the vouter,'sole attachedin the,conventionalX 20 mannery and withi slicesA constructed'. ir'rthis' fashion,` ,the-p1astic' massb'etween the inner `and outeru solesl disinte'grates and' breaks# down after.- a short; time; spreading'irregularly overthe" area withinV which' it is; confined; andl resultingdn de- 25 pressions and'funevennessinfthe'A inner sole on' Whichth'e foot'rests; or bumps and-holloWs-intheffoot-engagingrsurface=of' the innersole,- leadingUV to considerable discomfort, and it'isapurposeof i theinvention toovercome thisV objection by 30 eliminating the use of aplastic llerg' which hardensafter itf'isj-inplace butsubsequently dis` integrates; and-substitutingforsuchplastie ll'er aeiller blank cutfroma* sheet ofihighlyhcomefpressed i groundcork orx other suitable@ resilient# 35 material combined" with= al` latex cement orf suit@ able'-rubber binder/united: under'heavy pressureL to produce a sheet of'funiformfthicklness thatiwill'j maintainl its'l original i surfaces and its resiliency] indefinitely#y Without"v breaking down' orf disin'v 40 tegrating,l the=f1ller= blank beingc-ut to ii't'f the recess-"bounded by-rthef.attacliedportions of the@ Various" attemptsL haves been mad'etov employ: 45 cut-"filler` blanks iny rthe described irelationship Llb'utf the results have `been unsuccessful from-aepraoti-i cai standpoint owing to `the y dili'cu-lty Y in cutting f a blank' to t accurately withirr the recess-f and` tothe 'tendencyiofthelinsolelto' drop somewhat-i111 50 relationAY to the filler blank in=certain2types=ro shoesf chara'cteriz'edby= g-utter'in =therinsolel ima-- mediatelyyabove =the1edgeeof -:the: fill-rfblanlg and# iti' is -.afurtherl purpose` oiftliel invention f to` over come the first of these obstacles by iormingiftlie:x 55

edge` of* the 'ller blankwitlr peripheral recessespreferablyrin the, form oi Vesha'ped* openings or' otl'iervvise,-v affordingl edge portions" of reduced width-orftapering which'iiex-'laterallir and adjust' themselves to' the wall formed by` the attached" portions= of` theI insole and' upper,I so thatraY cuti ller-of givensize will tsatisfactoril'v in different sized shoes in which -tlie lrecessesvmay vary slightl lyfinsize,` making it'unnecessaryfto cut theuller: blank-withan ed'geltliatfts exactly .inthe recess?V Another object4` of `'the I inventionr isftosupport` effectively' the portion Alofthee-insole.thatfoverliess the lgutter of the -insoleand the edge zof"the-fllenV byi` placing 'Within'. theal gutter area?. of? the; insole-5 af. plastici.:ll'er:- that'ioccupies thea-gutteirandxa'lso; flllsfztheisparcessbetweem reduced-or taperechedges portionseota cutuller whenfthe-'lattervis inserted; init-he: recess;andfpressedagainst the-finsole, withi theyresultethaftthezlzcut*llerandinsoleare; char4 acterizedf. by uniformly-1 smoothf. continuous;- and: uninterrruztedasuriaces.extendingfcoInpletel-ybe,` imveerrlth-e-:sr sidescof the insole atsthenball.portion7 of :thershoao`= that there-Ifisfnoroppprtunityfforr irregularities; or depressions forming.; in.,the` ins sole; af-terfvthe ,'shoe. has. .been, worn for.'A a, while., since: the cutllerlv is. supported so, as, to, giveae uniformly,A smoothn resilient; surface. completely.-c under the insole., between thel sides., thereof, andi.

, will maintain its uniform thickness ,andreslency indenitely throughoutthe. life,ofthe shoe.

To. these, and other endsf, the invention con: sistss in, the construction. andv arrangement. of L' parts fthatlwill;appear, clearly fromv the.. following description whenlreadlin, conjunction with the: accompanying drawings, the novel'ieatures.. be'- ing ipointed loutin the ,claims followingthe speci; cations;

In the drawings:

Fig:,1, isa" transverse vertical sectionaLview partially broken away; showinga Weltitype of: shoe constructed in accordancevwith' a preferred?. embodiment` of the invention, the; section: being;I takenv through" the widest" portion of the` lle'r'v blank;

Fig;-v 271sLV anenlargedf detail sectional lviewfpar' tially broken away,v illustrating the upper, welt;

andV `insole'with lits attaching-portion; showing the position of-i4 the plastic fillerl before applying" the'I cutillerblankx;

Figi; 3"fis:a1view-sixnilar toFi'g; 2; showingthefller attached, the sectionbeing taken I through1 Fig. 4 is =afvew-inelevation of the -i'lllerl blank; Fig: 5:1isf1a1view inelevation of thelshoe after: thes inner sole; welt; upper' and' cutfvller lolanlrtY 3 are attached, showing the ller blank in position in the recess before attaching the outer sole, and

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the insole showing the attaching flange or lip formed integral therewith.

The invention is applicable to any shoe where it is desirable to arrange a resilient, flexible filler between an insole and outer sole, and is shown applied to a welt-type of shoe in which a welt and upper are attached to a flange or lip cut from and formed integral with an insole, the cut filler blank being positioned in the recess surrounded and formed by the wall consisting of the attached portions of the insole flange, upper and welt.

Fig. 6 shows the insole used in the structure disclosed and preferably consisting of any li-ght-v weight, flexible material such as a curried leather split, or any comparatively soft, flexible leather, as indicated at I, the insole being cut as indicated at 2 to `provide a flange or lip 3 that is bent upwardly away from the body of the insole to afford an attaching portion to which the upper and welt are stitched in the usual manner.

In the structure shown, canvas strips Il and are suitably fastened on opposite sides of the flange or lip 3, being attached by cement to the adjacent surfaces of the flange 3 and the adjacent areas of the insole at the base of the flange to impart sufficient strength to the flange to permit of attaching the upper and welt while permitting the use of an extremely soft, flexible, light-weight insole. After the insole has been prepared with the flange or lip 3 projecting away from its one surface and provided on opposite sides with the canvas strips 4 and 5, the upper 6 and welt 1 are stitched to the flan-ge 3 of the insole by the stitching 8, as usual in this type of construction, the assembled insole, upper and welt being disposed on a last during these openations, after which it is in condition to receive the ller blank and outer sole. lThe structure thus far described is conventional, and the invention forming the subject matter of this application has to do with the character and form of the filler blank and the manner in which it is attached to the insole.

With a shoe such as described, the formation of the flange or lip 3 in the insole and bending of the flange away from the insole results in a gutter or depression adjacent to and inwardly of the flange 3 at the base of the latter, see Figs. 2 and 6, and in order to prevent the insole from dropping at such point or the edge of a cut filler from moving into such gutter or depression, the gutter is first provided with a mass of plastic filler 9 of ground cork and adhesive that is applied into and above the gutter or depression at the base of the flange 3, so that when the cut filler blank is laid over and pressed against the insole, the inner surface of the filler blank will lie flat throughout its entire area and there is no tendency for the edge of the filler blank to bend into the gutter of the insole or permit an objectionable irregularity in the inner` surface of the insole that results if the latter drops away toward the ller blank. Thus the insole can not break down at points overlying the gutter, which When fllled with the plastic holds the insole in its proper position throughout and maintains a uniformly smooth and resilient surface entirely across the insole at the ball portion of the shoe.

The cut ller blank is shown in Fig, 4 and is preferably made from a sheet of sufficiently thick,

resilient, flexible material such as ground cork and latex, or other rubber or resilient composition that is fabricated under high pressure into sheet form, and cut to the desired shape to provide .a cut filler blank which when placed in the shoe will maintain its uniform thickness throughout and smooth continuous surfaces indenitely without possibility of the mass of which the filler is composed disintegrating or breaking down.

It is diicult and impractical to cut such a filler blank to fit accurately within the recesses of differently sized shoes, and in order to use a cut filler blank that can be properly and effectively fitted within shoes of different sizes within certain limits, the filler blank is cut to provide a series of peripherally arranged openings I0 which are preferably V-shaped, resulting in a multiplicity of reduced edge portions Il at the edge of the blank, the projections Il being preferably tapered and defined by converging sides, thus affording reduced edge portion on the filler blank which will readily flex or bend and adjust themselves laterally to the surrounding adjacent wall defining the recess in which the filler blank is positioned and formed by the attached portions of the upper and insole. By providing a sulficient body of plastic material 9 in the gutter at the base of the attaching flange on the insole,

when the ller blank is positioned against the insole and pressed into contact therewith, the plastic material is squeezed into the recesses or V- shaped openings IG between the tapered portions at the edge of the filler blank, thus substantially lling the recesses and enabling the filler blank to support the insole as completely and effectively as if the filler blank were cut to flt exactly within the recess in which it is tted, with its edge conforming to the adjacent surrounding wall or attached portions of the u-pper and insole.

The cut ller blank may be temporarily attached to the insole during the subsequent operations on the shoe by spotting it with a cementing medium on the side toward the insole after which the shoe is levelled in the usual manner and the outer sole attached either by stitching to the welt or by cementin-g to the adjacent portions of the insole and upper.

It will be understood that any suitable material may be used for the cut filler blank as sponge rubber, rubber and cork combinations, or other compositions that lend themselves readily to being cut, or molded to a given shape under high pressure, and will maintain their original flexibility and resiliency throughout the life of a shoe, and the structure enables using such materials to produce a ller blank without requiring the blank to be cut to the exact size of the Vrecess or cavity Within which it is fitted, so that one size of blank can be employed for various sizes of shoes, while at the same time insuring complete support for the insole by the resilient filler blank throughout the width of the insole, and uniformly smooth and uninterrupted inner surfaces of the filler blank and insole entirely across the ball portion of the shoe. This construction entirely eliminates the possibility of bumps, depressions, or irregularities of any kind in the inner or foot-engaging surface of the shoe insole and insures a continuous and uniformly smooth, flexible and resilient surface supporting the insole throughout its width and consequent absence of possible discomfort to a foot resting on the insole.

While the invention has been described with reference to a particular construction, it is not confined to the exact details herein disclosed, and this application is intended to cover such modiiications or changes as may come within the purposes of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe structure including a soft, flexible insole, an upper attached to the insole, an outer sole, a single-ply cut ller blank of resilient nexible material having uniform thickness throughout arranged between and contacting the insole and outer sole respectively and extending entirely across the recess bounded by the attached portions of the upper and insole, said filler blank having transverse peripheral openings affording spaced narrow laterally flexible edge portions arranged in juxtarelation to the wall formed by said attached portions of the upper and insole, said filler also having a uniformly smooth continuous and uninterrupted cushioning surface under the insole extending entirely across said recess at the ball portion of the shoe, and a plastic lling' material occupying the spaces between said edge portions of the filler blank.

2. A shoe structureincluding a soft, flexible insole having an integral attaching flange cut therefrom providing a gutter in the insole adjacent to and inwardly of the attaching flange, an upper attached to said attaching flange of the insole, an outer sole, a single-ply cut filler blank of resilient flexible material having uniform thickness throughout arranged between and contacting the insole and outer sole respectively and extending entirely across the recess bounded by said attaching ange and the attached edge of the upper, said filler blank having transverse peripheral openings affording spaced narrow laterally flexible edge portions arranged in juxtarelation to the wall formed by said attached portions of the upper and insole, and a plastic ller arranged in said gutter between said narrow edge portions and the insole and in the transverse peripheral openings between said edge portions, the cut ller also having a uniformly smooth continuous and uninterrupted cushioning surface under the insole extending entirely across the ball portion of the shoe.

3. A shoe structure including a soft, flexible insole having an integral attaching flange cut therefrom providing a gutter in the insole adjacent to and inwardly of the attaching flange, an upper attached to said attaching flange of the insole, an outer sole, a single-ply cut filler blank of resilient flexible material arranged between and contacting the insole and outer sole respectively and extending entirely across the recess bounded by said attaching flange and the attached edge of the upper, said filler blank having transverse peripheral openings affording spaced narrow laterally flexible edge portions arranged in juxtarelation to the wall formed by said attached portions of the insole and upper, and a filler arranged in said gutter between said narrow edge portions and the insole, said cut filler also having a uniformly smooth continuous and uninterrupted cushioning surface under the insole extending entirely across the ball portion of the shoe.

HAROLD L. PIERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,348,706 Frechette Aug. 3, 1920 1,850,309 Thoma Mar. 22, 1932 2,035,561 McCulloch Mar. 31, 1936 2,124,819 Halloran July 26, 1938 2,242,941 Daniels et al. May 20, 1941 2,318,014 Rovick May 4, 1943 2,401,088 Lumbard May 28, 1946 2,439,172 LaChapelle Apr. 6, 1948

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