US544263A

US544263A - Boot or shoe

Info

Publication number: US544263A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1895-08-06
Anticipated expiration: 1912-08-06

Description

(No Model.) 7

I W. NORTON.

BOOT 0R $1105.

No. 544,263. Patepted Aug. 6, 1895-.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM NORTON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT OR SHOE.

QPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,263, dated August 6, 1895.

Application filed January 21, 1893. Serial No. 459,290. (No model) To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM NORTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boots or Shoes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows in side elevation a shoe embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view showing the said shoe in section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows in side elevation my improved fastening device before itis set. Fig. 4 isa partly-sectional view showing the said fastening device set in a piece of leather or other material. Fig. 5 is a view showing a portion of the upper and gore of my shoe. Fig. 6 is a perspective of the fastening device detached.

A is the upper of the shoe, which may be in one piece, and is provided at one side with a gore b of elastic material. The said gore is secured along one side and thelower end thereof to the rear quarter of the upper A, and at the opposite side has secured thereto a strip 1) of leather or similar material. To the said strip and the corresponding edge of the upper are applied the fastening devices, which presently are to be described.

When a person is standing or walking, the pressure of his weight occasions a lateral spreading of his foot, which occurs chiefly and to a comparatively considerable extent at the instep portion-that is to say, adjacent to and at the sides of the shank portion of the shoe which he is wearing.

With the object in view of accommodating the lateral spread occurring in the places just referred to, and affording to the foot ease and freedom, as well as relief from compression when ones weight is imposed thereupon, I extend the opening, which I form in the side of the upper and in which the gore is inserted, down to a point which is close tothe edge of the sole. While the shoe is being worn the said opening and gore extend beneath the hollow of the arch orinstep of the wearer. I also curve the lower portions of the opening and gore forwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, in order to locate thelower ends thereof as nearly as may be beneath the arch or instep. In this manner I provide fully for accommodating the lateral spread which occurs in walking and standing below the instep or arch and at the sides of the foot, and also for fitting comfortably the rounded swell of the arch or instep. The opening and gore are located at some distance back from the front line of the upper in Fig. 1, thereby giving a smooth and unbroken front to the shoe and relieving the gore from the wear which it 0therwise would receive from the skirts of the wearer of the shoe. Heretofore it has been proposed to locate a gore at the front, and it has been found necessary to add a shield or guard to protect'the same from the excessive wear to which it is exposed and which has operated to ruin speedily its appearance. The gore, arranged and located as described and shown, acts to contract the upper aroundthe foot and ankle of-the wearer so as to fit nicely and smoothly when the weight of the wearer is removed. Preferably the opening and gore are at the inner side of the shoe, which onables the fastening devices to be reached by the wearer more easily than fastenings which are on the front or outer side of the shoe.

For the purpose of closing the opening I use, by preference, a row of fastenings or hooks and a corresponding row of eyes at. I have shown the former applied to the strip b and the latter to the edge of the front quarter of the upper, although the positions may be reversed relatively to each other. The fastenings or hooks consist of flat metal plates 0, which may be ornamented and may be of any desired shape in plan view. Each is provided at one end with prongs g, by means of which they are secured in the material. At

the other end each fastening has a recurved or hook-shaped portion adapted to enter and engage one of the eyelets d. Tlhe said portion is slightly less in width than the adjacent portion of the plate 0' in order that it may readily enter the eyelet. bill 0 thereof is substantially parallel with the plate 0. The neck 0 of the said portion is curved in transverse cross-section to fit the curve of the eyelet, the said neck being con- .vex on that side which comes in contact with the eyelet. This construction notonly permits the neck and bill of the hook-shaped portion to get back into its proper position when in the eyelet, but also prevents the side edges The point or IOC versely soon results in the rubbing off of the finish of the eyelet, as well as in the cutting or wearing of the latter, and the appearance of the shoe thereby is impaired. The bills 0' are made quite short, being only a little longer than is required to enable them to engage with the inner edge of the eyelet and hold. The gore b is of such dimensions that it has to be stretched slightly in engaging the fastenings with the eyelets after the shoe has been drawn onto the foot of the wearer, it remaining somewhat under strain after the fastenings have been engaged. This guards against accidental unfastening of the shoe. The form of the fastenings or hooks is such that the engagement of the series of the same upon a shoe with the opposing series of eyelets is elfected almost instantaneously and'simultaneously, and without any difiioulty or efiort. All that is required is that the gore should be stretched slightly, whereupon the hooks may be forced by a slight lateral pressure into the eyelets. In unfastening the shoe, all that is required is to pull the strip I) outwardly with slight force at the top, at the same time drawing upon it in a manner to stretch slightly the gore.

A tonguefol" leather or other suitable material is secured at its lower end inside the shoe, and lies between the foot of the wearer and the gore, thus serving to protect the elastic material from the moisture of the foot and renderi-ng'it more durable, and in addition protecting the foot from the heating and sweating etfect ot the material. The said tongue is wide enough to cover fully the fastenings and eyelets at the inside.

The securing-prongs g and recurved portions or hooks project from the same side of the plates 0. In consequence the fastenings have but little thickness and have no projections which can be felt beyond the thickness of the material forming the side of the shoe.

What I claim is- The improved shoe having an opening in the upper thereof at the side of the shoe and some distance from the front of the latter, an elastic gore secured to the rear quarter of the upper, the said opening and gore extending down to a point which is close to the edge of the sole and also down to the hollow of the foot ot'the wearer, and a series of eyelets and corresponding series of hooked fastenings applied to the respective meeting edges, the hooks of such fastenings being reduced in width, curved in transverse section to conform to the interior of the eyelets having short bills to enable them to be engaged and disengaged by slight lateral pressure, and provided with securing prongs projecting to the same side as the bills, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM NORTON.

Witnesses:

WM. A. MAoLEoD, ROBERT WALLACE.