US2153968A - Shoe construction - Google Patents

Description

April 11, 1939. J. LOUFBAHN SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 1, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 def/MAMA 3nventor Bg v I April 11, 1939. LOUFBAHN 2,153,968

SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 1, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Enventor /K4/\/ (Ittorneg April 11, 1939. LQUFBAHN 2,153,968

SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 1, 195's 5 Shets-Sheei s Snvcntor flaw M Gttomeg Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNI'I'BDVSTATES SHOE CONSTRUCTION Jennie Loufbahn, New York, N. Y., assignor of ten one-hundredths to Jacob T. Basseches, New

York, N. Y.

Application July 1, 1938, Serial N0. 216,933

5" Claims.

' This invention relates to shoes and, more particularly, to shoes, sandals, slippers, mules, etc., of the strap type, that is, of the type in which the shoe uppers are constituted by one or more straps assembled with the shoe bottom, i. e., the sole and heel of the shoe.

One object of the present invention is the provision of a shoe of the class described having an upper constructed and arranged and assembled with the sole of the shoe in such manner as to obviate the necessity for lasting the upper.

Another object of the invention is to provide an upper which may be attached to a shoe bottom, such as a sole, in different positions in relation to the sole for the purpose of adjusting the width of the shoe upper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe having a shoe bottom to which there may be readily releasably secured in interchangeable relation a selected one of a plurality of uppers whereby the appearance of the shoe may be varied to suit the desires of the wearer either as to the shape and configuration of the upper, or parts thereof, or as to color or color combinations, or both as to configuration or shape and color or color combinations. In this connection, the shoe may also be provided with a detachable heel for the purpose of providing for the attachment' of heels of various shapes and colors,

The above objects of the invention and other objects which might hereinafter appear will be fully understood from the following description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a shoe embodying the present invention, showing one form of shoe upper attached to the shoe bottom Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the shoe bottom with the insole removed;

Fig. 3' is a plan view of the upper illustrated in Fig. 1, showing said upper detached from the shoe bottom and in fiat form;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the shoe on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing another form of the shoe upper attached to the shoe bottom;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a shoe, here shown as a mule, illustrating in dotted lines and in full lines, respectively, two different positions in which the upper may be attached to the shoe bottom for varying the width of the upper, part of the insole being removed for the sake of clearness of illustration;

. are provided with companion separable fasteners,

Fig. Tis a plan view of the counter portion of the shoe upper illustrated in Fig. 5, showing said counter portion detached from the shoe bottom;

Figs. 8 and 9 are plan views of the front portion of the shoe upper illustrated in Fig. 5, said shoe upper portions being detached from the shoe bottom.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the shoe made in accordance with one form of the present invention comprises, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, a shoe bottom I0 and an upper l2. Said shoe bottom comprises an outsole H of leather or other suitable material, and a heel l6, which conventionally, but not necessarily. is made of wood. Said heel is secured to the heel seat portion of the outsole by any suitable means here shownas screws I8 which project through said portion of the outsole and are threaded into the body of the heel. As clearly shown in Fig. 4, said outsole l4 comprises coextensive upper and lower layers 20 and 22, respectively, adhesively or otherwise secured together throughout their contiguous surfaces. If desired, a metal shank stiffener 24 is positioned between layers 20 and 22 of the outsole for stiffening the shank portion thereof, said shank stiffener 24 extending as usual from the heel seat to substantially the ball line of the shoe.

In accordance with the present invention, provision is made for detachably and adjustably securing upper l2 and, alternatively, one of a plurality of other uppers, to the bottom ID of the shoe. For this purpose said bottom and upper here shown as male and female snap fasteners 26 and 28 secured to the shoe bottom and to the upper, respectively. The female snap fasteners with which the shoe bottom I0 is provided are arranged in spaced relation on the upper 40 marginal edge portion of the outsole, preferably adjacent the periphery of outsole l4 and extend completely therearound, as illustrated in Fig. 2. More specifically, said female snap fasteners 26 are secured to upper layer 20 of outsole 5 I4 and as thus arranged have open top sockets for the reception of the studs 30 of the female snap fasteners 28, the bottoms of said sockets being covered by the lower outsole layer 22. It will be understood that outsole l4 instead of being 50 formed of separate layers may be formed from a single thickness of sole leather or other suitable material split edgewise inwardly to provide an upper marginal edge portion, in which the female snap fastener elements are secured, and a lower in unitary relation. Thus, as here shown, said upper comprises a counter portion 32 having a rear or central strap part 34 and side strap parts 38, the lower edges of which are provided with the male snap fasteners 28 forreleasable engagement with the companion snap fasteners 28 on layer 28 of the outsole. The forward part of the upper includes the front straps 38 and 48.

which are in crossed relation and stitched together by lines of stitching 42. Said straps 88 and 48 have forward portions 44 and 48 and rear portions 48 and 88, respectively, disposed at opposite sides of the shoe and each provided at its outer free edge with a male snap fastener which engages a companion female snap fastener on the outsole. Portion 48 of strap 38 is secured by a line of stitching 52 to a strap 54 intermediate the ends of the latter. One end of strap 54' is secured to portion 32 of the upper by a line of stitching 58. The other end portion 58 of strap 54 is provided with a snap fastener 28 for engagement with a snap fastener 28 at the shank of the shoe. The rear portion 58 of front strap 40 is secured by a line of stitching 88 to a strap 82. One end portion 64 of strap 82 is provided with a snap fastener 28 which engages a snap fastener 28 of the outsole at the inner side of the shank portion thereof, and the other end portion 88 of strap 82 is provided with a plurality of openings 88 for the attachment of said strap portion with a buckle 10 secured to the top part of side strap 38.

It will be understood that outsole I4 is provided with a sufficient number of female snap fastener elements 28 to permit of the adjustment of the attached strap portions of the upper, and it will be understood further that the studs of the male snap fastener parts can pivot axially in the sockets of the female snap fastener parts 28 to provide for adjustment and to allow the upper to conform to the wearer's foot. It will be understood also that by attaching the ends of the strap of the upper to properly located female snap fastener parts longitudinally of the outsole, that the width of the upper may be varied within suitable limits. Upper i2 is thus seen to comprise a plurality of strapflportions which may be formed by cutting the same from suitable stock such as shoe upper leather conventionally utilized in the manufacture of shoes. Said upper may be lined, as is customary, and in that case the ends of the straps are stitched with the edge portion of one strap positioned between the lining and the outer material of the other strap. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the edge portion 12 of strap 54 is secured between the lining 74 and the outer material 18 of counter portion 32, a portion of the outer material of said counter portion being cut away to show the lining 14. Similarly the rear edge portions 18 and 19 of straps 38 and 40, respectively, are stitched between the lining and outer material of straps 54 and 82, respectively, and strap 38 extends between the lining and outer material of strap 40. All of the straps of upper i2 may thus be cut from flat stock to the proper shape and when stitched together form the upper of the desired configuration. If desired, however, the rear portion 34 of the counter portion 22 of the upper may be provided with a counter stiffener 88 which is secured between the lining and the outer material of said part of the upper and which may be molded to the contour of the rear of the wearer's foot.

y The bottom III of the shoe also comprises an insole 82 which is preferably substantially coextensive in width and length with the outsole of the shoe. Said insole comprises an upper layer 84 and a filling layer 88 of a proper thickness to compensate for the fastener elements and the end portions of the strap of the upper which are secured to the outsole. Said insole is permanently secured to the outsole and more specifically to .the upper surface of outsole layer 20 in any suitable way as by cementing, stitching or tacking thereto, and the arrangement is such as to provide a marginal edge portion 88 on said insole integral with upper layer 84 thereof for overlying the fastener elements 28 of the upper when the latter is secured to the outsole. Filling layer 88 is provided with edge recesses 88 which receive the fastener elements, permitting the top surface of the insole to lie flat and to present a smooth and comfortable'surface to the wearer's foot. It will be understood that marginal edge portion 88 extends completely around the shoe on the inside thereof over the end portions of the straps of the upper, and that said marginal edge portion 88 is free from direct attachment whereby to permit the upper to be unfastened and removed from the shoe bottom and to permit the attachment of another shoe upper as may be desired.

Referring now to the form. of the upper illustrated in Fig. 5, said upper constituted by separate straps, as will presently be described, is attached to the shoe bottom Hi, the latter comprising the outsole H, the heel l8 and the insole 82 as in the construction shown in Fig. 1 hereinabove described. Said upper comprises a counter portion 88 which is similar to counter portion 32 of upper I2, with the exception that it is free from direct attachment to the forward upper portion 92 and instead has a fastening instep strap 94 secured to one side strap portion 38 of said upper portion and engageable with a buckle 98 secured to the other side strap portion 38. It will be understood that counter portion 80 of the upper in the form of the invention herein shown is attachable and detachable from the shoe bottom Ill substantially in the same way as counter portion 32 of upper l2. Said forward portion 92 of the upper is constituted by straps 98 and Hill which are disposed in crossed relation at the front of the shoe, being secured to the shoe bottorn by engagement of the snap fastener parts 28 thereof with the snap fastener parts 26 on the shoe bottom. It will be understood that the effective width of the front part of the shoe upper 92, constituted by said straps 98 and I00 may be varied by attaching the ends of said straps to the properly located female snap fastener elements 28 on the shoe bottom at opposite sides thereof. Likewise, it will be noticed that the studs of the male fastener parts 28 may swivel axially in the sockets of the female fastener parts 28 whereby to provide for the proper adjustment of the front portion of the upper in relation to the wearers foot. As here shown, straps 98 and Hill are not secured to each other, but if desired they may be stitched or otherwise secured together at their cross portions.

As illustrated in Fig. 6, the shoe may be readily converted into a shoe of the -mule type, by substituting for the uppers of the types shown in Figs. 1 and 5 an upper I02 which may be constituted by a single strap, such as a strap 88 or I00 shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The adjustability of thewidth of the upper is well illustrated in this form of the invention. Thus, when the strap is connected as illustrated in full lines, the upper has a narrower effective width than when the strap is connected to the shoe bottom, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. In other words, by changing the angularity of the strap I02 in relation to the longitudinal line of the shoe the effective width of the upper may be varied within a sufficient range of adjustment to provide a substantial variation in the effective width of the shoe. It will be understood that the studs 30 of the male fastener elements 28 attached to the strap of upper I02 swivel within the sockets of the female snap fastener parts 26 and thus permit the change in the angularity of the upper without forming creases or wrinkles therein.

Thus, it is seen that there is provided a shoe having a shoe bottom which may be of standard construction and which may have associated therewith a plurality of shoe uppers of various types, any one of which may be attached to the shoe bottom and subsequently removed therefrom to bereplaced by another of said shoe uppers whereby to vary the appearance of the shoe as the wearer may desire. While only one fastener element is shown on certain of the strap portions, the latter may each be provided with more than one fastener element as for example shown on portion 34 of upper I2 (Fig. 3). It will be understood that a pair of shoe bottoms may be sold with a set of interchangeable shoe uppers and, optionally, together with a set or plurality of heels for each pairof shoe bottoms, whereby the appearance of the shoe may be readily changed in accordance with the user's requirements and desires as to style or utility. It will be understood, however, that while I have shown and described several forms of shoe uppers which may be associated with the shoe bottom, in accordance with the present invention, other types of shoe uppers may be provided and certain changes in the'construction and arrangement of parts of said uppers as well as of the shoe bottom may be made. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited precisely to the forms of the invention herein shown or described, or to any of them, except as may be required by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A shoe of the class described comprising a shoe bottom having an outsole and a heel, said outsole having a plurality of separable fastener elements secured thereto in spaced relation to each other in the upper marginal edge portion of the outsole at both sides of the shoe longitudinally thereof, and an upper comprising a relatively narrow strap extending transversely of the shoe bottom and having its opposite ends provided with separable fastener elements releasably engageable with said first mentioned fastener elements fordetachably securing the strap to said outsole, said plurality of first mentioned fastener elements being arranged at each side of the shoe to permit the selective engagement with one of said elements of the fastener element of the adjacent end of said strap for adjusting the positions of the ends of strap longitudinally of the shoe bottom.

2. A shoe of the class described comprising a shoe bottom having an outsole and a heel, said outsole having a plurality of separable fastener elements secured thereto in spaced relation to each other in the upper marginal edge portion of the outsole at both sides of the shoe longitudinally thereof, and an upper comprising a plurality of relatively narrow crossed straps extending transversely of the shoe bottom and having their opposite ends provided with separable fastener elements releasably engageable with said first mentioned fastener elements for detachably securing said straps to said outsole, said first mentioned fastener elements being arranged at each side of the shoe to permit the selective engagement with certain of said elements of the fastener elements of the adjacent ends of said straps for adjusting the positions of the ends of each of said straps longitudinally of the shoe bottom.

3. In a shoe of the class described comprising a shoe bottom having an outsole and a heel, said outsole having a plurality of separable fastener elements secured thereto in spaced relation to each other in the upper marginal edge portion of the outsole over an extended portion of the outsole, and an upper comprising a relatively narrow strap provided with end portions having separable fastener elements releasably engageable with selected ones of said first mentioned separable fastener elements for detachably securing the upper to said outsole in selected positions.

4. In a shoe of the class described, the combination of a complete shoe bottom and an upper freely detachable from said bottom, said upper comprising relatively narrow straps with end portions having separable fastener elements, said bottom having an outsole comprising a pair of co-extensive super-imposed layers of sole material secured to each other, the upper layer having secured to its marginal portion a series of separable fastener elements, an insole and a filler layer disposed between said insole and said outsole, said filling layer being secured to the interior zones of the outsole and insole and leavi the facing marginal portions of the outsole and insole free of each other, the ends of said straps entering the space between the outsole and insole for attachment of the upper to the bottom by means of the separable fastener.

5. In a shoe of the class described, the combination of a complete shoe bottom and an upper freely detachable from said bottom, said upper comprising relatively narrow straps with end portions having separable fastener elements, said bottom comprising a pair of co-extensive superimposed layers of sole material secured to each other, the upper layer having secured to its marginal portion a series of separable fastener elements, an insole having its interior zone secured to the interior zone of the outsole, the facing marginal portions of the outsole and insole being free of each other, the ends of said straps entering the space between the outsole and insole for attachment of the upper to the bottom by means of the separable fastener.

JENNIE LOUFBAHIN.

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