US673450A - Heel. - Google Patents

Description

Patented May 7,1901. J. n. REED.

HEEL.

(Application filed Sept. 1 0, 1900.)

(In Model.)

INVENTDFK WITNESEE;

0.. WASHINGYON o c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. REED, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS.

HEEL.

SIEGIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 673,450, dated May 7, 1901.

7 Application filed September 10, 1900. Serial No. 29,526. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. REED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in heels for boots and shoes and more particularly to an improved metallic heel casing or shell.

The object of my invention is to provide a heel casing or shell drawn up out of a single piece of sheet metal, which shall be light,

strong, and durable, 'which can be readily attached to the heel portion of a shoe-sole, and which shall be adapted to receive and hold a suitable tread portion, preferably of rubber or other flexible material.

With this object in view my invention consists in the heel-shell hereinafter described and claimed.

The present invention is particularly dirooted to forming a heel casing or shell suitable for use in connection with the heel described in the patent to Blackadar, No. 634,743. I have found that the shell of the heel of the said patent being exposed to the action of water and dampness is liable to expand and to permit the rubber tread portion to escape. In order to obviate this objectionable feature, I have produced a shell to hold a removable tread portion of rubber in the manner described in said patent which is strong, capable of being easily and firmly attached directly to the sole of the shoe, and which is as resilient and elastic as is necessary in this class of heels.

A heel-shell embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the same. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line a: 00, and gig. 3 is a sectional view on the line y 'y of Referring to the drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate like parts, 1 and 2 designate the walls of the shell, the side walls 1 forming the rounded back of the heel and the wall 2 the breast portion of the heel. The sides 1 of the shell extend upward to the edge 3 and are then bent downward, as at 4, in close proximity to the sides 1 for a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the sole of the shoe to which the heel-casing is to be applied and then inward, as at 5, in a plane substantially perpendicular to the surfaces of the outer part of the shell to form a shelf, upon which the heel portion of the sole of the shoe rests and to which it is seen red by means of screws or nails passing through the holes 6. The .wall 2, forming the breast of the heel, extends upward to the horizontal shelf 5, its upper edge being on a plane with the shelf, so that the sole of the shoe passes onto the shelf without passing over a projecting edge.

The heel-casing above described is drawn from a single piece of sheet metal, whereby all the parts are integral and all soldered or riveted joints are dispensed with. A light, strong, and durable casing or shell is thus produced. The return-bend of the material at the upper edge of the shell makes this edge, which receives the strains to which the shell is subjected in walking, very strong. Furthermore, the return-bend forms a rounded edge which will not cut or mar the upper. The shelf 5, upon which the heel portion of the sole of the shoe rests, is supported from the upper edges. of the sides 1 by means of the downwardly-extending portion 4t,whereby it can move slightly with relation to the sides of the shell. The heel portion of the sole of the shoe is thus yieldingly supported by the heel-shell, and objectionable rigidity is avoided. The sides 1 of the shell are slightly concaved, as shown, to give it the appearance of a heel as ordinarily constructed and also to cause the sides to grasp and hold. a tread portion consisting, preferably, of a block of rubber or other yielding material.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to form a heel-shell of metal comprising side walls and an inwardly-extending horizontal shelf forming a support for the heel portion of a shoe-sole, such a heel-shell being disclosed in the patent to Richardson, No. 219,526, dated September 9, 1879; but my invention is clearly differentiated therefrom in a number of respects, of which the following are important: It will be observed that the cut through the upper around the heel-seat,

whereas in my heel-shell the upper edge of the heel which embraces the heel portion of y the sole is round, so that it can under no circumstances cut or lllJllIG the upper. Again,

by making the shelf 5 integral with the downi wardly-extending portion 4 of the side of the heel the shelf is more resiliently attached to the outside of the heel-shell, so that under the pressure of the foot in'walking it may come and go and the jar incident to the more rigid construction of the said patent is avoided, besides which it will be observed that my construction is materially stronger than the construction illustrated in said patent.

I am also aware that it has heretofore been proposed to form a heel-shell of two pieces of sheet metal bent into suitable shape to fit overthe heel of a boot or shoe and to receive a rubber tread portion, such a heel-shell being disclosed in the patent to Moffett, No. 76,794, dated April 14, 1.868; but the fact that the heel-casing of the said patent is adapted to fit over the heel and not over the heel portion of a sole requires that the shelf should be much lower relatively than the position of the shelf in my heel-shell, with a consequent weakening of the construction. Again, the heel-casing of the said patent is difiicult to construct by reason of the fact that it is made up of a number of peculiarly and irregularly shaped pieces of metal, which have to be accurately stamped out in order to produce the heel. It will be obserued,'=furthermore, that the shelf'of the heel-casing described in the said patent is made up of a number of overlapping inwardly-projecting pieces of metal instead of being made of a single flat piece, whereby the heel is prevented from forming a close union with the shelf. The most essential feature, however, by which my invention is difierentiated from the constructions disclosed in the patents above referred to and from all other constructions with which I am familiar is that my heel-casing is drawn from a single piece of sheet metal, whereby a light and strong casing free from soldered or riveted joints is produced.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire ,to secure by Letters Patent of the United States-- As an article of manufacture, a shell for heels of boots and shoes drawn from a single piece of sheet metal and consisting of walls forming the breast and sides of the heel, the sides of the shell being extended upward to embrace the heel portion of the sole of a shoe and downward with a return -bend inside thereof for a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the sole of the shoe and inward in a plane substantially perpendicular to the surfaces of the outer part of the shell to form a shell upon which the sole rests.

Intestimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. REED.

WVitnesses: I

HoRAoE VAN 'EVEREN, A. W. RICE.

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