US376378A

US376378A - Overshoe

Info

Publication number: US376378A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1888-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 1905-01-10

Description

(No Model.)

W. HANLEY ovERsHoB.- N0. 376,378. Patented Jan. 10, 1888.

EEICE,

PATENT WILLIAM HANLEY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

OVERSHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,378, dated January 10, 1888.

Application tiled October 24, i887 `Serial No. 253,177. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM HANLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Overshoes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to an attachment for overshoes for holding them securely upon the feet. Heretofore, in overshoes which do not entirely cover the upper portion Vof the foot, it has beenl necessary to provide a very close t over the shoe which itis designed to cover to prevent the overshoe from slipping or being unintentionally pulled off at the heel, especially when walking in mud or snow, or after the rubber, by wear, has lostaportion of its elasticity and become loose on the foot. As an additional precaution, usually the inside of theheel portion of the overshoehasbeen roughened to produce a greater friction against the heel portion of the shoe over which it is worn. The object of my improvement is to provide an attachment for overshoes which shall serve to securely hold them` at the heel portions thereof upon the heels of the shoes or boots over which they are worn,` and thus do away with the necessity of wearingatight overshoe, which is a discomfort to the wearer and a detriment to the article, and of roughening the inside of the heel portion,which ,is objectionable, because the friction of this portion upon the heel of the under shoe,occasi`oned in walking and in putting on the overshoe and taking it off, injures the former by cutting and scrap- Ing.

`1n the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of an overshoeY provided with my improvement; and Fig. 2, an enlarged sectional view showing the heel portion provided with interiorlateral clamps, the clamp on one side being shown in its normal state and that on the other side in the position to which it is forced by the insertion of the foot into theovershoe to illustrate the clamping operation.

A is an ordinary rubber overshoe, though my improvement is equally applicable t0 overshoes formed of other material.

B B areV clamps comprising stripsof stiff spring-steel or other suitable material, preferably elastic, curved, as shown at q, toward one extremity,where it is bent, as shown at p, in abackward direction. Theclamps are fastened near their upper ends to opposite inner sides of theA heel portion of the overshoe, preferably midway between the extremities thereof,whereby the lower curved portions eX- tend toward each other, as shown of the clamp at the left of Fig. 2.

rllhe clamps may be secured in position, as shown, by bending their upper ends ovenedges of the overshoe and riveting them to the latter, or in any other suitable manner. If it shall be desired to conceal the clamps, they may be covered in the manufacture ofthe overshoeby the lining or applied between thelayers of material.

Whatever the manner of fastening the clamps, their operation is as follows: When the overshoe is off the foot, the sides of the heel portion are parallel and vertical., When t-he foot is inserted, the heel portion of the boot or shoe spreads the inwardly-curved parts p of the clamps apart, thereby forcing them at or about thelower extremities of their straight portions,which thus form fulcrums against the inner sides of the heel portion, and thus causing the sides to be forced inward toward their upper edges. When, therefore, the overshoe v is off the foot,the opening is in its normal condition; but on inserting the foot the effect ofthe heel upon the clamps is to reduce the opening transversely by causing the edges of the heel portion of the overshoe to converge, as shown at the right side of Fig. 2, and grasp between them the opposite sides of the boot or shoe heel.

`the edges of the opening snuglyV against the sides of the foot againstthe adjacent sides .of the boot or shoe, and thus prevent their separation therefrom,with the bending of the foot in walking, and consequent wear upon` the sides, and access of dirt, snow, or wet into the overshoe.

For overshoes made of lightmaterial-such as those worn byladies-in which the heel portions frequently extend high up upon the foot, the 'clamps are made correspondingly light and long, and, if desired, the back part of the heel with wire or other suitable material.

Incidentally the effect of the clamps is to hold IOO portion may be stiffened around its upper edge Thile the form of elamp shown and described is the best known to me, I do notlimit myself to the exaet form thereof.

The overshoe is readily removed from the foot in the usual nianner-namely, by pressure exerted at therearof the heel portion-though direct pulling, sneh as would be exerted if the overshoe were stuck in mnd or snow, will not effect its withdrawal, and the bent ends p of the elalnps, by presenting fiat or baekward curved extremities, prevent them from eatehing into the shoe or boot while the overshoe is being;r removed.

XVllat I elaim as new, and desire to seeureby Letters Patent, is

The combination, with an overshoe, of two clamps, B, eaeh Comprising a strip of stiff material having a curved portion, q, and secured near their upper ends to the opposite inner sides of the heel portion, whereby they normally converge toward their lower free ex tremities, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

\VILLIAM HANLEY.

In presence of- J. W. DYRENFORTH, Crus. E. GoR'roN.