US2105263A - Industrial shoe - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 11, 1938. M, Q REECE ET AL v 2,105,263

INDUSTRIAL SHOE Filed Jne 8, 193e jas 14 1^ l I J7 I l j 1 1' Patented Jan. l1, 179-38 UNITED u Y Y l' 2,105,263? PAfifa-N'r OFFICE!" amazes- 1 Y i:

INDUSTRIALv sHoE Mae Genevieve Reece, AlfalDorthea Reece, and Gus E. Bergman, Columbus, Nebr., assignors to Becce Wooden Sole ShoeCompany, In'c.,1C'oc," lumbus, Nebr., a corporationof 'Nebraska Y .applicati-ibn June s, 1936, seriaiNo. 84,200

'c iciaims. (ci. 3ft-2.5)

. This; invention l.relatesto ,a shoe, and more particularly., to, an' industrial shoe having, a

. wooden sole andmetaltoe. An object ofthe invention isfto provide a shoe L5 .Which Willlaiordpmaximum protection to the .wearer and' which is .particularly Aadapted for .use in industrialplants wherethere is danger of in- .J'lll'yto t lien feet` of workmen. A more specic object is to. provide` a .shoe which will 1vgive ade- '10 ,quateprotection top the jto'esfo'ffthe wearer and which will prevent injury through falling objects .and ,the like. A further object is,to provide a shoe which. is safely and comfortablyworn even under adverseheat conditions orl wherethere Vis i contact, with water, oil or acid.` Other objects and advantages.willjappear asthe specification proceeds. Shoes having wooden soles have longV been used in industrial plants. -Advantages of the wooden soles are that they are non-conductorsof heat or electricity, that they are non-,porous and 'especially serviceable in` preventing liquids or chemicals from access to the feet ofthe wearer, and thatthey are'rigid .and non-yielding and 2 tend to prevent injury to the ,footby sharp objjects walkediupon or through ablo'w; lfrombeneaththe foot,` Theseadvantages havecaused the wooden soled shoe, long known 4in theart,

to be widely used in industrialplants..l A

. However, the protection afforded by the wooden sole has not been ,adequate to properly protectl the Afeet ofthe'workmen.. It has' been the shankjIZ, and the rocker portion I5. The vunder portionof heel I0 is of shape similar to common fora heavy objecten fanupon the root of-the workman, embed itself inthe upperl of the 3f shoe, and pin the foot fast before he hasa chance to extricate it. A rigid wooden sole: in itself is ineffective; to prevent-,this type oiinjury, but

rather ,tendsto aggravate it,.for the rigid inner suriacewill allow theV toesno escape.T

;` 4 We. have discovered a type of 'industrial shoe which meets the demand foradequate toe protection.` Inour construction weemploya metal toe piece.- V'I'houglfrin the past. metal, has been used in the vtoesof someA conventional type shoes,

"4 5 to our knowledgeametal piece has never before been` usedinan industrialshoe having a wooden `or rigid sole. The peculiaradvantages of such construction appear morelclearlyafter mydetailed description. l

.50'Inthedrawing- Figure 1` isa side view infelevation ,of the wooden shoe soleand the steeltOe; Figure 2, a

planview of1 the .woodenshoe sole with thesteel toe :Figure 3, `a side'view in elevation of a completed shoe; Figure 4, ra fragmentary sectional view ofthekfront portion of the completed shoe, the sectionbeingtaken .along line 4 4 of 4Figure 2; `and:,Fi'gur-ej..5a fragmentary View partly inV shoe sole; alrigid metal toe; and C, the leather upper.A Y

The sole- A is herein described as being made yof., wood; thisbeing the preferred materiaL'but it v mayalsobe madeof other rigid non-flexible ma- .,5'

terials. 'A' light weight wood of strong tough bre"" Vmakes a good material. The thickness of the sole vmay be as desired, but we have found a thickness of Vapproximately 2 inches at the heel and; ap-

' higher, and theinside portion of shank` I2 appears slightly raised"to. form a partialv supportml for the arch ofthe foot.

Around the topedges ofgthe sole isV a rabbet I for groove lf3. As a result of this groove, all the top edges of the sole, are lowered and theY inner portion 'I 4 ,which supports the foot appears raised. 2 0 As illustrated, `'groove I3 is about 1/ 4 inch wideand 1A inch deep, though` these dimensions may Vbe varied if desired. At the toe portion groove I3 is,incrcased in width to allow room `for the lower-edgeof the steel. toe. The wall I3a of,U groove I3, as shown in the illustration, isvertical" and ,perpendicular with the top of the sole, but

ifpreferred the wall I3a may be inclinedinwardly at the bottom causing rabbet or groove I3to` extend; slightly under the inner sole por-30 tion I4.

The bottomlof the sole consists of the' heel I0,

approxirriately midway between the heel I0 and the tip I1 of thetoe. vThe upward curvature cfa-40 the rocker portion I5 is such that'when the shoe is tippedforwardly the sole will rock on the walking surface to allow .the foot to raise and turnjasin the natural movement of walking.

The upper C is preferably made of leather ando comprises the vamp I9, heel counter 20, and'leg portion 2l. The vamp I 9 isl preferably in one piece and is adapted, when attached to the sole,

' to completelyA cover the metal toe B. The counter and leg portions are sewed andriveted to-v getherV as in ordinary shoe construction. But in attaching the upper to the sole we prefer to turn the., lower edges outwardly and vdrive nails 22 fromthe exterior of the shoe through the outwarclly .turned edges, through the bottom ofigroove I3, into the woodof the sole. The points fof nails 22 should be inclined inwardly so as to draw the upper well into the corner of' groove I3. At the toe portion the upper is attache'djust as at the sides except that here the upper is not in contact with wall I3a of the groove, the steel toe being interposed therebetween.

The metal toe B is in general the shape of the toe of an ordinary shoe, except that it is deeper to allow ample room for toe comfort,as,V-

being non-resilient, it can not yield inrany way. Preferably the toe B is made of steel, but other metals or non-resilient materials may be used, if desired. As shown more clearly in Figure' 4, its under edge 23 is turned inwardly so as to form a slight hook for engaging wall I3a of the groove on the wooden sole. Y

In the assembly of the various parts, the steel i toe is rst placed on the toe portion of the wooden sole with the edge 23 engaging wall I3e of the groove. The upper, its several parts being previously sewed and riveted together, is then placed in position, the front portion of the vamp extending all about the steel toe. By nailing the upper to the sole as previously described, the parts are made secure. The edges of the leather -are then preferably trimmed olf flush with the edges of the sole. An insole 24 may be inserted inside the shoe to provide greater comfort to the wearer.

When the shoe is being worn and the wearer is in standing position, the shoe is in contact with the walking surface at the heel and at point I6. When the wearer takes a step and in so doing lifts his heel to tilt his foot, the point of contact moves from point I6 along the rocker surface I5, and at the completion of this movement the tip I1 of the sole is in contact with the walking surface. During this rocking movement the toe of the shoe has moved a distance downwardly towards the walking surface.

If, while wearing our improved shoe, a workman receives a blow on the toe as from the fall of a heavy object, the steel toe, being rigid, will not allow the object to puncture or crush his foot. Instead, the force of the blow will be transmitted by the edges of the steel toe to the wooden sole. The wooden sole, being rigid, will not be flexed by the impact and will transmit the force over all of the surfaces with which it is in contact. An ordinary flexible sole used in combination with such a toe would be likely to flex under the blow and allow injury to the foot by bruise or puncture from the underside.

Also, if the ordinary sole were used with the steel -toe the whole force of the blow must be borne by the toe portion of the sole, causing the toes of the wearer to be pinned down to an under surface, while in our construction the force is transmitted backwardly by the rigid sole and borne at points rearward of the toe portion.

Another very important result is achieved here by such a combination. A blow falling on the steel toe is not here met by immediate resistance as would be the case where the ordinary sole is used. But here the force starts the toe portion downwardly causing the shoe to rock. and during this movement much of the force of the impact is wasted so that when the tip I1 does contact the solid surface no damage will be done. Furthermore, when the toe is being thus depressed, the -heel of the shoe is being lifted and the shoe turned toward an inclined position where it will slip from under the heavy object, or at least can be easily withdrawn. The upward thrust of the heel operates as a signal to the workman to continue this movement and withdraw the foot.

or for any other reason it is desired to remove the steel toe separately. The leather vamp extending over the steel toe need only be slit near its lower Yfront edge to allow the steel toe to move forwardly and be removed from the shoe. Though held very securely when the vamp is in place, this method of attachment allows the steel toe to be quickly and easily removed in an emergency.

In providing the groove I3 about the edge of the sole we not only provide a means for anchoring the steel toe, but also make possible a better attachment of the upper to the sole. When properly nailed, the upper will be depressed into the corner of groove I3 and will always bear tightly against the edge of the inner surface I4; this tends to make the joint waterproof and keep foreign matter from the feet of the wearer.

Figure 5 shows a modification of my invention in which the steel toe 25 is held between the vamp 26 and the toe cap 21, and is secured to the sole by nailing the edges of the vamp and toe cap to the sole. The rear edge of the toe cap is sewed to the vamp at seams 28 which are rearward of the metal toe 25. In this embodiment, the steel toe is prevented from contact with the foot of the wearer. Also the rear edge of the steel toe is enclosed and can not cause irritation or discomfort.

YThroughout the foregoing description and in the appended claims we have used the term shoe in its broad sense as an article of footwear and as including boots or sandals, and wherever the term shoe is used, it should be understood as embracing a boot as well. While we have shown specific forms of construction by way of illustration, it will be understood that many changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of our invention.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

We claim: Y l

V1. A shoe comprising a wooden sole, an upper, a non-flexible metal toe beneath said upper, said sole having a rabbet extending around its upper edge, said upper being attached to the lower face of said rabbet, the front wall of said metal toe being substantially perpendicular to the top toe surface of said sole, said front wall having its lower edge inclined inwardly and formed to a relatively sharp lower edge, said lower edge engaging the Vertical wall of said rabbet.

2. A shoe comprising a wooden sole, an upper, a non-flexible metal toe beneath said upper, said sole having a rabbet extending around its upper edge, said upper being attached to the lower face of said rabbet, the front wall of said metal toe being substantially perpendicular to the top toe surface of said sole and abutting the vertical wall of said rabbet, said front wall of the metal toe being formed to a relatively sharp lower edge engaging the vertical wall of said rabbet.

M. GENEVIEVE REECE. ALFA DORTHEA REECE. GUS E. BERGMAN.

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