US2770892A - Heel for shoes - Google Patents

Description

F. FAY

HEEL FOR SHOES Nov. 20, 1956 Filed Aug. 22, 1951 INVENTOR. Fred Qty HEEL FOR SHOES Fre ay, Kansas y, Mo.

Application August 22, 1951,Serial No. 243,04?

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-35) This invention relates to heels for shoes, boots and other types of footwear, and has for its primary object the provision of means forming a part of the heel for resisting wear while at the same time presenting ,a cushioning effect to absorb shock and thereby add to the comfort of the wearer.

It is recognized that various and sundry means have heretofore been suggested to meet the problem 'of providing a heel for shoes that not only has high wearing qualities but that is capable of absorbing at least some of the shock that accompanies each step by the wearer. There are of course, heels on the open market that are made from material such as leather or other compositions which, by virtue of the material from which the same are formed, have long wearing qualities. Additionally, such heels, as well as those made from rubber, are conventionally furnished with auxiliary attachment such as metal plates for the purpose of resisting wear While maintaining a certain degree of resiliency. It is common knowledge however, that such plates or other appliances soon become worn and do not last for the life of the shoe. Furthermore, metallic plates, whether embedded in the heel or attached thereto, become loose and are oftentimes lost after the same become partially worn. Metallic plates are particularly objectionable because of the accompanying noise, together with the tendency to overcome the resiliency of the heel to which they are aflixed, even though such heel may be made from a sponge-like rubber.

It is, therefore, the most important object of the present invention to provide a heel that includes a wear-resistant member joined directly to the main body of the heel, which of itself is highly resilient and made from a suitable spongy material such as rubber or rubber-like compositions.

Another object hereof is to provide a wear-resistant band for rubber heels that is disposed only at the periphery of the heel where most wear is likely to occur, the band being also made from rubber to provide a certain degree of resiliency, but of a character that is capable of withstanding abuse to a substantially higher degree than the material from which the main body of the heel is made.

Other objects include the way in which the main body of the heel hereof is formed from a highly resilient, spongy, rubber-like material to provide necessary shockabsorbing qualities; the way in which such body is provided with a peripheral groove for receiving the wearresistant band hereof; the manner in which the wearresistant portion of the heel constitutes a continuous band at the periphery at the main body of the heel and within the cavity thereof; and the way in which the aforesaid band is formed from material that not only has a degree of resiliency but more particularly is highly resistant to wear.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an inverted, plan view of a shoe or other lar in cro ss-section-as illustrated 'in'Fig's. 3 and 4 and,

2,770,892 Patented Nov. 20, 1956 footwear showing the heel of the present invention mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is an inverted, perspective view of the heel per se.

Fig.3 is a cross-sectionalview taken on line III-Ill of Fig. 2; and I Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line I V-.-IV of Fig. 2. t

The bed illustrated in the drawing is broadly'desig nated by the numeral 10 and shown in Fig. 1 operably mounted upon a shoe or other footwear 12. Obviously, the precise shape and contour of the heel 10 will vary and accordingly, heels differing in shape from that illustrated inthe drawing which embody the improvements hereof, areconternplated by this invention.

Heel 10 comprises two separate parts, namely, a main body portion 14 and a band portion 16. The normally lowermost face '18 of the body 14 is provided with a con-' tinuous peripheral groove 20 for receiving the continuous band or filling 16, the latter preferably being rectangutherefore complementary with the L-shaped .cr ss sectional contour of'the groove 20. It is to be preferred that the lowermost face 18 of the body 14 and the lowermost face 22 of the band 16, be flush, and likewise that the peripheral edge 24 of the body 14 be flush with the peripheral edge 26 of the band 16.

Any suitable means may be provided for joining the band 16 to the body 14 such as by use of adhesive or by employment of a suitable moulding process that is capable of rigidly interconnecting the two portions 14 and 16 of the heel 10.

The body portion 14 of the heel 10 is preferably made from a suitable rubber or rubber-like composition that is highly resilient or spongy, and to this end, since the band 16 is provided in the heel hereof, such material for the body portion 14 may be made more resilient and be less capable of resisting wear than is common in rubber heels now being provided for footwear. In other words, since the band 16 is fully capable of resisting wear, and so disposed as to prevent undue wear on the body portion 14, it is possible through a heel of this character to add to the comfort of the wearer by increasing the resiliency in body portion 14.

The band 16 on the other hand is preferably formed from a material that is highly capable of resisting wear and it is contemplated that the same also be made from rubber or rubber-like compositions having a certain degree of resiliency but appreciably less spongy and soft than the material from which the body 14 is made. A rubber-like composition that has been found to be highly satisfactory is that which is now being employed in the manufacture of belts and belting materials. Such rubbery material, whether of a synthetic nature or including natural rubber as its base, is highly capable of resisting wear and its successful use in producing belting establishes its value in forming a portion of the heel of the present invention. belting includes canvas or fabric laminations and it is obvious that such modifications of the material to form the band 16, may be utilized in the present invention.

It is common knowledge that normally a heel wears away at its lowermost marginal edge particularly at points 28 and 30 and even at point 32, though less rapidly, all depending upon the habits of the wearer, but that normally very little wearing takes place within the area 34 that is bounded by the band 16 of the heel of the present invention.

Accordingly, the portion 34 of body 14 willtend to wear away only as fast as hand 16 and even though the material forming the body 14 has very little ,wearing Oftentimes such rubber-like quality, it will be protected by band 16. Furthermore, by leaving a considerable portion 34 of the body 14 exposed and not covered by the material forming band 16, the resiliency of the body 14 is not overcome. Furthermore, by providing a continuous marginal portion or flange 36 in the body 14 between the sole of the shoe 12 and the band 16, shock will be absorbed to substantially the same extent as in a conventional rubber heel.

It has, been found that a heel made as above set forth will out-last the life of the shoe and thatlthe band 16 will notbecome worn away to a point necessitating replacement of the heel even after several re-solings of the shoe itself.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A heel for shoes and the like comprising a relatively thin, one-piece, highly resilient, sponge rubber body having substantially flat, parallel top and bottom walls, and a side wall disposed perpendicularly to said top and bottom walls, said side wall including a convexly arcuate, rear face portion and a concavely arcuate, forward face portion, there being a continuous, peripheral groove in the body between the side wall and the bottom wall, said groove being L-shaped in cross section, said body having a vertical face extending upwardly from the bottom wall approximately half the thickness of said body, and a horizontal face extending inwardly from the side wall a distance approximately equal to said thickness of the body, said faces forming the top and side of the groove; a one-piece, continuous, relatively non-resilient, wearresistant, synthetic rubber band initially separate from the body, said band being of rectangular cross section and of configuration complementary to the configuration of the groove, the band being positioned on the body in filling relationship to said groove with the outermost and lowermost exposed surfaces of the band flush with the side wall and bottom wall respectively, the inner surfaces of the band being in engagement with the body; and adhesive bonding means permanently securing said surfaces of the band to said faces of the body throughout the entire zone of their interengagement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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