US3482335A

US3482335A - Shoe interconnecting means

Info

Publication number: US3482335A
Application number: US702704A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alfred Ornsteen
Original assignee: KESSLEN SHOE CO
Current assignee: KESSLEN SHOE CO
Priority date: 1968-02-02
Filing date: 1968-02-02
Publication date: 1969-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 1986-12-09

Description

Dec. 9, 1969 A. ORNSTEEN 3,482,335

SHOE INTERCONNECTING MEANS Filed Feb. 2, 1968 k x 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 /6 INVENTOR. 65 ALFRED ORNSTEEN ,1 ATTORNEYS Dec. 9, 1969 A. ORNSTEEN 3,482,335

SHOE INTERCONNECTING MEANS Filed Feb, 2, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,482,335 SHOE INTERCONNECTING MEANS Alfred Ornsteen, Waban, Mass., assignor to Kesslen Shoe Company, Kennebunk, Maine, a corporation of Maine Filed Feb. 2, 1968, Ser. No. 702,704 Int. Cl. A43c 11/00 US. Cl. 36-1 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elongated tab affixed to a shoe and adapted to be connected to a like tab on another shoe of a pair to securely fasten the shoes together. The tabs may be interconnected by staples, snap fasteners or other suitable means.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to shoes and more particularly concerns a tab attached to shoes to provide means for securely connecting shoes together in pairs.

DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART In the shoe trade there is a class of shoes, known as table or rack shoes, which is generally sold in discount or self-service stores. These shoes are displayed in pairs on tables, counters or racks and are available for selfservice selection by customers. A customer can select a pair of shoes from the table or rack and try them on for size and fit. If the customer is not satisfied with the shoes for one reason or another, he merely returns the pair to the counter. This type of shoe marketing is in marked contrast to the more expensive and more personal retailing approach wherein a salesman brings individual pairs of shoes from stock for selection by a customer. In this latter arrangement, the shoes are under the control of the salesman and there is little likelihood of mixing up shoe pairs or of losing individual shoes.

In the table or rack type of shoe retaining, however, there is a great likelihood of individual shoes being lost or confused. These table or rack shoes are, therefore, usually fastened in pairs to avoid such loss or mix-up. Shoes of a pair are usually fastened together by string which is passed through a hole punched in the side of each shoe upper, the string ends then being tied or clipped together. If particular shoes have eyelets or ornamentation such as bows or buckles, the fastening string is often aflixed through such eyelets or ornaments. Such conventional fastening schemes have been found generally unsatisfactory. The shoes are handled by customers and attempts are sometimes made by a customer to separate the shoes of a pair, causing damage to the shoes fashtened by conventional means. For example, the eyelets or holes through which the string passes can be ripped or ornaments can be pulled from the shoe. In addition, the holes punched in the shoe upper for fastening purposes mar the appearance of the shoe and may even detract from its commercial appeal. A further disadvantage of known shoe fastening arrangements is the labor and 'time expenditure in tying the shoes together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance withthe present invention, an interconnection tab is aflixed to a shoe such that the shoe is not damaged by attachment or removal of this tab. The novel tab is afilxed to the shoe during the shoe fabrication process and is adapted to be easily connected to a like tab on another shoe of a pair which are to be fastened together. The tabs are generally elongated and have one end adapted to be aflixed to a shoe and a second end adapted to be connected to a like end of another tab which is attached to another shoe. The tabs can be made 3,482,335 Patented Dec. 9, 1969 ICC of many suitable materials such as plastic, leather or fabric, and typically can be cut to a desired shape from a sheet material. These tabs can be afl'lxed to the 'shoe by a suitable adhesive or by stapling and can be located, for example, between the sole and the upper, between the heel and the upper, or on the bottom of the sole.

The free ends of the tabs on a pair of shoes are adapted to connected such as by stapling or by a snap fastener. If desired, a tag containing price or advertising information can be aflixed to the two tabs as they are interconnected. The shoes thus fastened are firmly held together, yet the tab can be easily severed from the shoe by a customer after purchasing the shoes, leaving little or no visible remnant in the separated shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe constructed with a tab in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a portion of a shoe showing an alternative attaching point for the tab;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of a shoe showing another alternative attaching point for the tab;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a pair of shoes interconnected according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a tab with a snap fastener; and

FIG. 6 shows two tabs with mating snap fasteners just prior to connection with a tag therebetween.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a shoe 11 with a tab 12 attached thereto in accordance with the principles of the present invention. During the construction of the shoe and just prior to attaching outer sole 13 to the shoe, an additional process attaches end 15 of elongated stem 14 to the bottom of the shoe upper by means of a suitable adhesive. Outer sole 13 is then secured to the bottom of the shoe covering the attached end 15 of tab 12. Connecting end 16 of tab 12 is shown as an enlarged round portion of substantially the same thickness as elongated stem 14. Connecting end 16 may be solid as shown in FIG. 1, have a hole 17 therethrough as shown in FIG. 2, or have a hole fitted with one portion of a snap fastener 21 as shown in FIG. 5.

The cement used to attach end 14 to shoe 11 may be a suitable hot melt cement such as a polyester base cement sold by Ornsteen Chemicals, Inc. having the commercial designation KV. Such a cement has suitable adherent qualities so that end 15 is securely attached to the shoe. Tab 12 may be made typically of polyvinyl sheet, leather or fabric. Clear polyvinyl has been found especially suitable because of its strength and the fact that its transparency renders it less visible than other materials. This characteristic of low visibility is particularly important when the tab is severed from the shoe leaving a small remnant at the edge of the shoe.

Although desirable, it is not necessary that tab 12 be cemented to shoe 11 prior to the application of sole 13. The hot melt cement previously described has suitable adherent qualities so that stem 14 may be cemented directly to the bottom of sole 13 with cement 22 as shown in FIG. 2, after the shoe has been completely manufactured. This method of attachment may be more economical from a manufacturing point of view. Tab 12 may also be attached between heel 23 and the shoe upper as shown in FIG. 3. This method of attachment would be similar to that shown in FIG. 1, placement being the primary difference. Of course, tab 12 may be secured to the shoe at any desired location. Although it is most efficient to have stem 14 and enlarged end 16 made of the same material, they need not be. If the stem and the enlarged end are desired to be made of different materials, they may either be cemented or stapled or otherwise suitably connected together to form a unitary tab. It is also possible that tab 12 may be a string or cord.

As shown in FIG. 4, a tag 24 has been placed between two tabs 12 attached respectively to a pair of shoes. The two tabs and tag 24 are then fastened by means of a locking staple 25, thus causing the tWo shoes 11 to be semi-permanently connected together. Tag 24 may have any desired printing thereon, such as stock numbers, style numbers, sizes and prices, and may be imprinted with trademarks or tradenames as desired.

Shoes which are constructed with connecting tabs may be paired together by the manufacturer with or without tag 24. Alternatively they may be shipped singly with attached tabs unconnected for later pairing by the retailer or wholesaler.

Another method of interconnecting the tabs of a pair of shoes is to fit one tab having a hole 17, as shown in FIG. 2, with one element of a snap fastener 21, as shown in FIG. 5, and the other identical tab on the second shoe with the mating element of the snap fastener. This fastener may then be snapped together by hand for a permanent connection. FIG. 6 shows how the connec tion would be made with tag 24 secured between the two tabs. Examples of suitable fasteners are those manufactured by United-Carr Inc. under stock numbers BS 90331 and BS 90229. These particular fasteners have a plurality of tabs which pierce the material of enlarged end 16 around hole 17 of tab 12 which fastener tabs are bent over to secure the fastener element to tab 12. Mating fastener elements may then be pressed together to make a permanent connection which cannot be opened.

Either the locking staple or the snap fastener provide a secure connection and either may be used as the particular circumstances dictate. If, for example, the manufacturer connects the shoes together in pairs, the staple may be the most efiicient method of doing so. If the retailer desires to connect the shoes together himself, the snap fasteners may be the most efficient embodiment.

Another possibility is that the shoes may be made with tabs 12 having holes 17 which may then be used to interconnect shoes by tying the tabs together with a string or wire. They may also be made with a slot and barbed outer ends so that they may be interconnected without staples, snap fasteners or other external means.

Although the tabs in the drawing are shown relatively short with rectangular cross section, it is to be understood that they may be of any desired length and may have any practicable cross section. A length of several inches would be necessary to allow a prospective buyer to try on the shoes and take a few short steps While the shoes are still connected together. Thus, shoe tabs constructed in accordance with the invention may easily be adapted to the requirements of any particular customer. The tabs may have any desired shape and end configuration required for a particular application.

Having described various embodiments of the present invention, modifications and improvements will likely occur to those skilled in this art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shoe having an upper, a means for connecting said shoe to like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated tab having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being connected to said shoe and said distal end being connected to the distal end of a like second tab;

said pair of shoes being separable only by destroying said connecting means.

2. The connecting means according to claim 1, wherein:

the proximal end of said tab is secured to said shoe between its sole and upper, said distal end extending substantially beyond the side of said shoe.

3. The connecting means according to claim 1, wherein:

the proximal end of said tab is secured to said shoe between its upper and heel.

4. In a shoe having an upper, a heel and a sole, means for connecting said shoe to like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated strip of resilient material having a rectangular cross section and having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end having a like rectangular cross section and being shaped and configured for permanent attachment to said shoe between said upper and said sole, said distal end extending substantially beyond the side of said shoe and being enlarged in one cross sectional dimension to facilitate semi-permanent connection to a like distal end of a like second elongated strip.

5. The connecting means according to claim 4 and further comprising:

a two element snap fastener, the first element being secured to said distal end of said elongated strip, the second element being secured to the like distal end of said second elongated strip.

6. In a shoe having an upper and a sole, means for connecting said shoe to like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated tab having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being shaped and configured for attachment to said shoe, said distal end being adapted for connection to the distal end of a like second tab;

the proximal end of said tab being secured to said shoe between said sole and said upper by means of a hot melt cement, said distal end extending substantially beyond the side of said shoe.

7. In a shoe having a sole, means for connecting said shoe to like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated tab having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being shaped and configured for attachment to said shoe, and said distal end being adapted for connection to the distal end of a like second tab;

the proximal end of said tab being secured to the outer surface of the sole of said shoe.

8. In a shoe having an upper, a heel and a sole, means for connecting said shoe to like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated strip of resilent material having a rectangular cross section and having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end having a like rectangular cross section and being shaped and configured for attachment to said shoe between said upper and said sole, said distal end extending substantially beyond the side of said shoe and being enlarged in one cross-sectional dimension to facilitate connection to a like distal end of a like second elongated strip;

a two-element snap fastener, the first element being secured to said distal end of said elongated strip, the mating element being secured to the like distal end of said second elongated strip; and

a tag secured between the distal ends of said elongated strips.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,300,998 4/1919 Nelson 361 2,761,223 9/1956 Legeai 36-1 X 3,041,743 7/1962 Monsma 36-1 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner