US921452A

US921452A - Shoe for athletes.

Info

Publication number: US921452A
Application number: US32424506A
Authority: US
Inventors: George L Pierce
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1906-06-30
Filing date: 1906-06-30
Publication date: 1909-05-11
Anticipated expiration: 1926-05-11

Description

Patented May 11. 1909.

nunoRRls PETERS 00., wnsmmz-rau. n, c.

UNITED STATES GEORGE L. PIERCE,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SHOE FOR ATHLETES.

Application filed. June 30,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. Pmnon, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, in the-county of Kings, in the city and State of New York, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoes for Athletes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve ments in shoes, and more particularly in that class of shoes which are designed. for use by athletes and others, and the object of the invention is to provide a shoe having a novel and improved formation of sole whereby increased security of footing is assured to the wearer without in any way detracting from the desirable flexibility of the shank of the shoe.

The invention consists in certain novel features of the construction, and combinations and arrangements of the several parts of the improved shoe, whereby certain important advantages are attained and the device is rendered simpler, cheaper and otherwise better adapted and more convenient for use, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of the invention will be carefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which serve to illustrate my invention-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoe embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is an underside view of the sole and heel portions of the shoe; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken transversely through the lower portion of the shoe and Fig. 4 is a view showing in elevation and detached, a textile reinforce for the sole of'the shoe.

In these views A represents the upper and B the sole of the improved shoe, while C represents the shank and D the heel thereof. In the drawings I have shown the sole, shank and heel as integrally connected, and the heel as of the kind commonly known as a spring heel.. The sole portion B is shown as formed from vulcanized rubber and as secured by stitching as seen at s to a welt a carried by the upper. As herein shown, the sole portion B of the improved shoe is provided with sockets 1 open at the under surface thereof and adapted to operate by suction in a well known way to afford increased security of footing to the wearer, and the heel portion D, which is also formed from vulcanized rubber and integrally connected with Specification of Letters Patent.

1.906. Serial No. 324,245.

Patented May 11, 1909.

the shank portion 0, is also provided with similar sockets 1' for a similar purpose.

There is embedded in the vulcanized rubber sole portion of the improved shoe a reinforce E formed from woven or textile material or fabric which is inserted and held within the mass of rubber constituting the sole portion by vulcanization and as herein shown said woven or textile reinforce is provided with apertures suitably located to correspond with the sockets r in the completed sole, whereby it will be seen that said sole is stiffened and reinforced between the sockets r, so as to prevent it from being too flexible and to insure against the sockets being closed by pressure during use of the shoe.

The rubber of the sole portion is imperforate at its upper part so that the sockets 1* are closed by a thin elastic wall a of rubber, and in the manufacture of the sole portion the apertures of the reinforce E are made of diameters greater than the diameters of the sockets 1' and said reinforce is located within the sole portion at a level below the tops of said sockets 1" so that in the completed sole ortion the sides of each of said sockets r are ined with a continuous wall or ply b of rubher which is integrally connected at its upper part to the top wall of the socket and is e tended down inside of the corresponding aperture of the reinforce, the woven reinforce being arranged to encircle said side walls of the sockets and being extended in the rubber sole portion between said sockets in such a manner as to efiectively strengthen those parts of said sole portion which intervene between said sockets without in any way detracting from the resilience or elasticity of the walls of said sockets.

In this way each socket r is provided with continuous and imperforate side and top walls a and Z) and is only open at its bottom at the underside of the sole, the liability of leakage of air through the walls of the socket being thereby eliminated and the danger of separation of the reinforce E from the overlying and underlying thickness of rubber of the sole such as would be present were the edges of the textile reinforce exposed at the sides of the sockets, being entirely avoided.

As herein shown, the heel portion D of the improved shoe is likewise provided with an embedded textile reinforce E as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and this embedded reinforce may have its'a'pertures arranged similarly to those of the sole reinforce E above described. I have not, therefore, illustrated the arrangement of said heel reinforce E in detail herein.

As shown on the drawings, the sole reinforce E is terminated at the forward end of the shank portion 0 of the sole, and the heel reinforce E ;is likewise terminated at the forward end of the heel portion D of the shoe, whereby it will be seen that the forward sole ortion B wherein the sole reinforce E is embedded, and said heel portion D are given increased thickness and stiffness, while the shankportion C is made of reduced thickness,

- and is not reinforced, whereby it Will be seen that said shanl'r portion C is possessed of the greatest-possible flexibility so as not to interfe're with "the movements of the wearer while the fso le 'ai1d heel portions, being reinforced, as above described, are stiffened in such a mannera's to adapt 'theinto best resist wear and preterit the root.

The she'e provided with-the improved sole constructed according to my invention is of an extremely simple, durable and comparati'vely inexpensive nature and is particularly well adapted for use by reason of the flexibilitfv bfits shank portion, which permits the greatest possible freedom of movement and ofthe increased security of footing afforded to the wearer resulting from the novel arrangement of the reinforcing means.

said reinforce being terminated at the forward end of the shank portion, and said shank portion being unreinforced to afford the maximum flexibility.

2. A shoe having sole and shank portions integrally formed from rubber, theso le por tion having a textile reinforceembedded in it, and being provided with sockets open at its under surface and extended up through said reinforce and closed at their upperends, said reinforce being terminated at the forward end of the shank portion, and said shank portion being unreinforcedand of less thickness than the sole ;portion to afford the maximum flexibility.

In Witness whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name this 29th day of June '1906,in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GECRGE L. PIERCE.

Witnesses:

HENRY GONNETT, H. G. Hose.