US2762068A - Method of making felt slippers - Google Patents

Description

Sept-11, 1956 G. F. JONES ETHOD OF MAKING FELT SLIPPERS Filed Sept. 13, 1955 United States Patent Q ivmrnon on MAKING FELT SLIPPE'RS George Francis Jones, Stockport, England, assignor to The Lancashire Felt Company Limited, Manchester, England, a British company Application September 13, 1955, Serial No. 534,095

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 14, 1954 4 Claims. (Cl. 12-142) This invention relates to felt Slippers, that'is to say slippers of the type wherein the upper or foot covering part consists largely or wholly of amaterial formed of felted synthetic or natural fibers, and has for its object to provide an improved construction of such uppers and a novel and convenient method of making same.

According to the invention, a slipper upper of the type described is characterised in that the toe region or the heel region or both are reinforced by provision at said regions of thickened parts which are integral with the material of the upper.

The reinforcements may be constituted by thickened parts which consist solely of felt but, if desired, the thickening may be constituted by the presence of some other material integral with the felt.

In the manufacture of felt articles it is necessary for the felt, after being formed (usually as a so-called form) to be hardened and shrunk so as to bind the fibers together, such hardening and shrinking being effected at any convenient stage during the manufacture of the article.

According to a further feature of the present invention there is provided a method of making slipper uppers of the type described, wherein the felt is provided with reinforcements for the toe regions or the heel regions or both by providing a plurality of layers of material at said regions prior to hardening the felt so as to provide appropriate thickened portions which become integrated with the felt during the hardening.

The additional layers may be provided by folding over or overlapping parts of the felt, or by placing a piece of material (which may be felt or any other suitable material) thereon, or by splitting the felt and inserting a piece of material into the split.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figs. 1 to 8 illustrate sequentially the steps involved in manufacturing a preferred form of slipper upper, in accordance with the invention. Figs. 7 and 8 are shown on a slightly enlarged scale.

Referring to Fig. l, as is usual, felt is formed upon a substantially conical block, in the shape of a large thick loosely felted cone 10 which is generally referred to as a form. Such a form 10 can be made up into two uppers without any material being wasted, the first step being to fold the form 10 along opposite generating lines 11, 12, as shown in Fig. 2 so as to result in two roughly triangular panels of equal size which lie against one another, the apex 13 of the cone forming the apices of the triangular panels. At each base corner of the triangles a three-cornered piece 17 is cut from the panels, each out being made through both thicknesses from a point about six inches along the base from the corner, to a point about five inches along the folded generating line from the corner along line 14. Both panels are now out simultaneously by a single out along the line bisecting the apex angles of the triangles and the two severed panels are now opened out. Each forms a substantially V- 2,762,068 Patented Sept. 11, 1956:

shaped blank 16 as shown in Fig. 3 and'each', with'one of the three-cornered pieces 17 goes to form a singlev upper. The three-cornered piece 17 cut from the corner is opened out as shown in Fig. 3 and placed upon the-blankv 16.-as. near to the apex of the V as possible with the fold line. thereof substantially coincident with the fold line ofthe: blank as shown in Fig. 4, and with two out sides 14.-of the. three-cornered piece 17 close to and substantially-parallel to the outer edges of the arms of the V of-the blank 16:

The arms 18, 19 of the V of the blank 16 are next folded approximately medially of their lengths and the: ends thereof are taken towards one another so that they: lie transversely of the fold line of the blank and overlap.- oneanother by about two or three inches as shown in Fig. 5. In this folded and overlapped. condition the blank is hardened under a conventional hardening; lid, which fuses the three-corneredpiece 17 to the blank 16 and. also; fuses the overlapping parts of the arms 18, 19 together; so that there results a large upper-shaped piece of hard. ened felt as shown in Fig. 6, the part Zilwhere the-threecorneredpiece 17 was placed being; the toe-regionthereof, and the heel region 21 being constituted: by-the fused. overlapping parts 18, 19, of the arms of the V. This is now shrunk in known manner to the desired upper size as shown in Fig. 7 and is finished by blocking by any convenient method and trimmed along lines 22, 23. The upper so formed, which is shown in Fig. 8, is thicker at the toe region 20 and the heel region 21 than the remainder thereof, and these regions are therefore reinforced.

In a second method of manufacturing the uppers, the steps are the same as that just described with the exception that, instead of merely being placed in position on the V-shaped blank, the three-cornered piece 17 is inserted therein. To this end, the V-shaped blank 16 is split in its thickness at the corner thereof and the threecornered piece 17 is placed into the split in a position corresponding to that shown in Fig. 4. The material of the blank 16 and the three-cornered piece 17 are felted together or fused in the subsequent hardening operation.

In a third method, the blank 16 is split as in the method just described, but in this instance, instead of using the three-cornered piece of felt, a piece of another suitable material is used of similar shape. This may conveniently be of woven straw or rafiia, jute, hemp, sizal, silk or any fabric and in such latter instances it is possible during the finishing operations to expose the surface thereof by removing some of the thickness of the felt in the toe region, for example by shaving or by use of an abrasive.

It will be appreciated that it is not essential that both the toe and heel portions be reinforced. For example, the three-cornered piece 17 could be dispensed with and the upper made with only the heel portion reinforced, or vice versa.

I claim: a

1. A method of making a slipper upper consisting largely of felted fibers and having a heel portion and a toe portion, comprising the steps of providing a conical loosely-felted form of the material, flattening said form along opposite generating lines to result in two contiguous roughly triangular panels, severing a three-cornered piece from each base corner of the triangles, severing the form into two V-shaped blanks by cutting along a line bisecting the apex of the triangles, overlapping the arms of each V so that each blank has roughly the appearance of a large upper, and hardening the blanks so that the overlapped parts become integrated therewith and provide thickened reinforced heel portions in the uppers.

2. A method of making slipper uppers consisting largely of felted fibers and each having a heel portion and a toe portion, comprising the steps of providing a conical loosely-feltedform of the material, flattening said form along opposite generating lines to result in two continguous roughly triangular panels, severing a threecornered piece from eachbase corner of the triangles,

. hardening the blanks so that the overlapped parts and the three-cornered pieces become integrated with the blank and'provide thickened reinforced heel and toe I portions in the uppers; V

3. A method of making a slipper upper having heel and toe portions comprising the steps of, providing a conical loosely-felted form ofrnaterial, flattening said form along opposite generating lines to result in 'tWo contiguous iroughly triangular panels, severing a three-cornered piece from each base corner of the triangles, severing the form into two V-shaped blanks by cutting along a line bisecting fthe apex of the triangles,loverlapping the arms of each V-shaped blank, and hardening the blanks so that the overlapped parts become integrated therewith and pro-" vide thickened heel portions.

' 4. A method of making a slipper upper having heel and toe portions comprising the steps of, providing a conical looselyfelted form of the material, flattening said form along opposite generating lines into a pair of contiguous triangular panels, severing a threecornered piece from each base corner of the triangles, severing the form into V-shaped blanks by cutting along a line bisecting the apex of the triangles, applying each three-cornered piece to itsassociated blank at the apex thereof, overlapping the arms of each V so that each blank has roughly the appearance of a large upper, and hardening the blanks so that the overlapped parts and the three-cornered pieces become integrated with the blank and provide thickened reinforced heel and toe portions in the uppers.

References Cited in the file of this-patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 87,063 Palmer Feb. 16, 1869 275,250 Moulton Apr. 3, 1883 1,640,362 Mohler et a1. Aug. 30, 1927 2,457,630 Beetson Dec. 28, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS I 632,433 France May 5, 1 928 729,343 France Apr. .28, 1932 Great Britain Nov. 2, 1933.

Images