US3344537A

US3344537A - Footwear

Info

Publication number: US3344537A
Application number: US442981A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederick J Diamant
Original assignee: DESCO SHOE CORP
Current assignee: DESCO SHOE Corp
Priority date: 1965-03-26
Filing date: 1965-03-26
Publication date: 1967-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 1984-10-03

Description

Oct. 3, 1967 F. J. DIAMANT 3,344,537

I FOOTWEAR Filed-March 26. 1965 Fly 4 ZZ FREDERICK J. DIAMANT 8) United States Patent 3,344,537 FOOTWEAR Frederick J. Diamant, Desco Shoe Corporation, 16 E. 34th St., New York, N.Y. 10016 Filed Mar. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 442,981 9 Claims. (Cl. 36-2.5)

- This invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to footwear having novel construction features.

Numerous forms of shoes have been proposed heretofore wherein cushioning means such'as a layer of foam rubber is provided in the sole of the shoe. The provision of such a cushioning means greatly increases the comfort of the shoe particularly to those people who stand on their feet for great lengths of time or do a considerable amount of walking. The construction of such shoes has heretofore been completely sliplasted with a platform visible about the entire periphery of the shoe including the quarter portion. The presence of a platform in the quarter portion of the shoe has several disadvantages. Among them are that it makes for grinning stitches, unclean heelseats, and an uneven heelseat width.

The present invention overcomes the foregoing disadvantages, and in addition allows a more sturdy counter to be used than is practical in the type of shoe which is sliplasted around the entire periphery of the shoe. Thus, it is possible to use a counter which has been molded to the last and is much longer than would be practical in completely sliplasted shoes. An additional advantage of the construction disclosed herein is that it provides the shoe with the slick look resulting from a platformless quarter and back. Further, the shoe used in the present construction permits the use of wedge type heels, stack heels, straight back heels, half-breasted heels and full Louis heels which if applied to a completely slip-lasted shoe would be of such disagreeable appearance as to be commerically unsuccessful.

The present invention seeks to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages and to achieve the indicated advantage by providing a shoe construction wherein the forepart of the'shoe is sliplasted and the rearward portion of the shoe is formed with a compo back.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an article of footwear having a novel construction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a shoe constructed in a novel manner wherein the forepart of the shoe is sliplasted and the rear part of the shoe is of compo construction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel cushion sole type of footwear.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the shoe constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partial transverse sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of a partly constructed shoe in accordance with the present invention. FIGURE 4 is an enlarged bottom view of the shoe shown in FIGURE 3 taken along the line 4-4 of FIG- URE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the shoe shown in FIGURE 4 taken along the line 55 of FIG- URE 4. p

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in FIG- URE 1 a shoe designated generally as 10.

3,344,537 Patented Oct. 3, 1967 The shoe 10 comprises an upper 12 which may take the form of known uppers proposed heretofore in accordance with the style being worn. For purpose of illustration, the upper 12 for the shoe 10 is shown as being of the type having a closed toe and closed back or quarter. Thus, the upper 12 includes a vamp portion 14 and a closed rear quarter portion 16.

The shoe 10 is provided with an outsole 18 and a heel 20. The forepart of the upper 12 is provided with a platform wrapper 22 which is stitched to the upper 12 and lasted over platform 24. The platform 24 may be made of fiber or paper or cork or any suitable material. The outsole 18 is glued or otherwise attached to the lasting margin 26 of the platform wrapper 22.

The inner side of the quarter 16 is provided with a counter liner 28 which is stitched along the top margin of the quarter 16 as indicated by the numeral 30 showing the stitching. The bottom portion of the counter liner 28 extends well forward along the shank portion 32 of the shoe. Thus, as shown, the counter liner 28 extends forward to a position which is over three-quarters of the length of the shank portion 32.

Counter 34 can be a non-molded counter preferably,

but not necessarily of thermo-plastic material. Such counter can optionally also be shaped with the same bottom periphery as 28, and stitched in along counter liner 28 rather than be inserted as is the molded counter 34, which is practically as long in its bottom periphery as quarter 16. The counter 34 may be made of any wellknown materials such as molded leather fiber or a thermoplastic material. The shoe 10 is also provided with an insole-sock lining structure designated generally as 36 having the same peripheral contour as the outsole 18. The insole-sock lining structure 36 includes a layer of canvas 38 that may be fused to or adhesively secured to a layer of foam synthetic resin 40 such as foam polyurethane. In the preferred embodiment no adhesive is used. A leather insole 42 is fused to or adhesively secured to the other side of the layer of foam resin 40. As shown more clearly in FIGURE 5, stitching 44 is provided around the periphery of the structure 36 with said stitching extending through the can vas layer 38, foam resin 40, and the insole 42. The lastmentioned stitching performs the function of reducing the peripheral thickness of the structure 36. An alternative way of reducing the peripheral thickness of the structure 36 is to shave the thickness of foam resin 40. Prior to the application of the stitching 44, the structure 36 has a thickness of approximately /8 of an inch with the layer of foam resin having a thickness of about /2 of an inch.

As shown most clearly in FIGURE 5, the entire forepart of the structure 36 is attached to the vamp 14 by stitching 46. The stitching 46 may be the same stitching which attaches the platform wrapper 22 to the vamp 14 and the counter liner 28 to quarter 16.

The structure 36 is attached to the upper 12 only along the periphery of the fore portion of the shoe. Thus, the platform wrapper 22 and structure 36 are attached around the periphery of the fore portion of the shoe from a point extending from the position where the foremost portion of the counter liner is stitched to the quarter portion. This position is indicated generally by the numeral 48, and it corresponds with the above-mentioned extension of the counter liner to a position at least three-quarters of the forward extension of the shank portion 32. The edges of the structure 36 and forepart of the upper 12 are concealed by the platform wrapper 22. As indicated above, the upper edge of the platform wrapper 22 is secured to the upper and to the structure 36 by a line of stitching 46. As best shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, the stitching 46 is concealed from view by wrapping the platform wrapper over itself and lasting it to a position between the outsole 18 and platform 24.

The rear portion of the structure 36 is stitched to the bottom edge of the counter liner 28. This is illustrated in FIGURE 5 by the stitching 48 which is done in one continuous operation from the forepart 18. As thus constructed, the laminated structure 36 is fully attached about its entire periphery. However, the fore portion of the laminated structure 36 is stitched to the upper 12 and the rear portion is stitched to the lower edge of the counter pocket 28.

As best shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the back or quarter portion of the upper is provided with an integral lasting allowance or margin 50. The provision of a lasting margin 50 is sometimes referred to as a compo type of construction. As shown, the lasting margin extends along the quarter portion from a position immediately juxtaposed to the rearmost portion of the sliplasted forepart of the shoe. When the shoe is constructed, the lasting allowance or margin 50 is heelseatlasted over the platform 24.

A line of stitching 52 in the form of a closed loop is spaced from the periphery of the structure 36. The stitching 52 extends through the insole 42, layer of resin 40, and layer of canvas 38 at the position of the insole which is adapted to support the ball of the foot. Thus, the provision of the stitching 52 substantially eliminates the possibility of slippage between the insole and the layer of foam resin 26. The stitching 52 is provided even though the insole 42 is adhesively secured to the layer of foam resin 40.

As indicated above, the quarter portion of the shoe includes a heel 20. The heel is shown as a stack type heel. However, it is to be understood that the heel 20 may take other forms such as wedge type, straight back, halfbreasted, and full Louis.

It will be noted that the stitching 52 materially reduces the thickness of the laminated structure 36 thereby substantially increasing the height of the structure 36 adjacent to the stitching. This is believed to be the result of the squeezing out of the foam resin. Accordingly, the portion of the structure 36 within the closed loop formed by the stitching 52 is substantially greater than the height of the remainder of the structure 36. This prevents the stitching from becoming a source of irritation to the ball of the foot of the wearer and provides a quilting effect. In actual shoes, it has been found that the most desirable results are attained when the stitching 52 extends from a portion immediately in front of the arch support to a point approximately /1 of an inch from the tip of the shoe, with the stitching 52 being spaced inwardly approximately of an inch from the stitching 44. In this manner, substantially the entire portion of the ball of the foot is supported by that portion of the laminated structure 36 enclosed within the loop for-med by the stitching 52.

The shoe is constructed in the following manner. The upper 12 is cut and stitched into the correct form such as that which is shown in the drawing. The counter liner 28 is stitched into the inside of the quarter portion by the stitching 30. Next, the laminated structure 36 is stitched to the forepart of the upper and to the counter liner 28. Simultaneously or separately the platform wrapper 22 is stitched onto the forepart or vamp portion of the upper as shown in FIGURE 5. As shown, the back of the upper has previously been cut with the lasting margin 50 extending from the quarter portion. A platform 24, preferably having a fiber shank part with a steel shank (not shown) attached, is spotted onto the canvas layer 38 either on top of the seams or between the seams of the structure 36. Next, the platform wrapper 22 is lasted over a portion of the bottom surface of the platform 24 in the manner known in the art. Then a counter 34, which is preferably a fiat thermo-plastic counter which may be shaped as shown or which could have been previously secured to upper or counter liner 28 with the same shape as said liner 28, is inserted in the pocket created at the back part of the upper between the liner and the quarter portion 16 of the upper. Finally, the lasting allowance or margin 50 is heelseatlasted in a conventional manner. It should be noted that the steel shank may be attached to the platform after spotting if desired.

When the shoe has reached the condition of construction thus far described it is ready to be roughed, cemented, sole spotted, heeled, etc., as known in the art. It is also ready for last-pulling and completion in the usual manner.

The construction of the fore portion of the shoe is often referred to as California or sliplasted construction. The construction of the back portion of the shoe is often referred to as compo construction.

A shoe constructed as heretofore described, that is with a sliplasted construction in the forepart and a compo back or quarter portion has several distinct advantages. First of all, it permits the insole to be completely sliplasted with the inherent advantages of flexibility, softness, lightweight and high cushioning. Furthermore, the compo construction of the quarter portion presents a neat and slick appearance which is important in permitting the shoe to have a greater commercial appeal. This is particularly true when heel construction other than the wedge type heel is used. Heretofore, shoes constructed with stack or full Louis type heels on a full California or sliplasted construction, that is with a platform wrapper around the entire periphery of the shoe, have not been sufiiciently neat in appearance to attract purchasers in the highly competi tive shoe industry. Moreover, the absence of a visable platform in the rear portion of the shoe eliminates grinning stitches, unclean heelseats, and uneven heelseat width. Another advantage of the shoe constructed in accordance with the present invention is that the counter extends much farther forward than had heretofore been practical for the economical manufacture of shoes with the result that a much more sturdy quarter portion is provided.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A shoe comprising an upper, an outsole, an insole, said upper including a vamp portion and a quarter portion, said insole being secured to said upper only at the vamp portion of said upper, a wrapper strip extending from and secured only to said vamp portion of said upper, said outsole being secured to said wrapper strip and the quarter portion of said upper, a counter liner in said quarter portion, and said insole being secured to said counter liner adjacent a lower edge of said counter iner.

2. A shoe comprising an upper forming a vamp portion and a quarter portion, a counter liner, an insole secured to said upper only at the vamp portion of said upper and to said counter liner, a platform wrapper depending from and secured to said vamp portion, said quarter portion including a lasting extension lasted over said insole, a counter disposed between said counter liner and said quarter portion, and an outsole secured to said extension and said platform Wrapper.

3. A shoe in accordance with claim 2 wherein said counter and said counter liner extends around said quarter portion from a position adjacent the rearmost extension of said vamp portion.

4. A shoe in accordance with claim 2 wherein said counter is made of a molded leather fiber.

5. A shoe in accordance with claim 2 wherein said counter is made of a thermoplastic.

6. A shoe in accordance with claim 2 wherein said insole includes a layer of foam resin secured to said insole.

7. A shoe comprising an upper forming a vamp por tion and a quarter portion, an insole secured to the vamp portion of said upper, a platform wrapper extending from and secured to said vamp portion, a platform below said insole, said quarter portion including a lasting extension lasted over a portion of the bottom surface of said platform, said platform wrapper being lasted over a portion of the bottom surface of said platform, a counter liner secured to said heel portion, said insole being secured to said counter liner, a counter disposed between said counter liner and said quarter portion, and an outsole secured to said extension and said platform wrapper.

8. A shoe in accordance with claim 7 wherein said counter liner and said lasting extension extend around the periphery of said quarter portion from points on either side of said shoe which are adjacent the rearmost extension of said platform wrapper, said points being located at substantially the foremost extension of the shank portion of said shoe.

9. A shoe comprising an upper forming a vamp portion and a quarter portion, an insole secured to the vamp portion of said upper, a platform wrapper extending from and secured to said vamp portion, said quarter portion including a lasting extension over said insole, a counter liner secured to said quarter portion, a counter disposed between said counter liner and said quarter portion, an outsole secured to said extension and said platform wrapper, said insole comprising an insole layer, a layer of foam resin juxtaposed said insole layer, and an outer layer juxtaposed the side of said foam resin opposite the insole layer, and stitching in the form of a close loop extending through said insole, said layer of foam resin, and said outer layer, said loop being wholly disposed at the position of said insole adapted to support the ball of the foot, thereby providing a slippage control between said insole layer and said layer of foam resin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,795,305 3/1931 Jacob 369 2,723,468 11/1955 Marcy 3668 2,73 6,109 2/1956 Scholl 3644 2,755,568 7/1956 Menge 3644 X 3,049,815 8/1962 Davis 3668 3,165,841 1/ 1965 Rollrnan 362.5

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A SHOE COMPRISING AN UPPER, AN OUTSOLE, AN INSOLE, SAID UPPER INCLUDING A VAMP PORTION AND A QUARTER PORTION, SAID INSOLE BEING SECURED TO SAID UPPER ONLY AT THE VAMP PORTION OF SAID UPPER, A WRAPPER STRIP EXTENDING FROM AND SECURED ONLY TO SAID VAMP PORTION OF SAID UPPER, SAID OUTSOLE BEING SECURED TO SAID WRAPPER STRIP