US2306306A - Leather topped rubber footwear - Google Patents

Description

a//ffez/e (Zwan/a7? Dec. 22, 1942. c FERRETTIE LEATHER TOPPED RUBBR FOOTWEAR Filed May 19, 1941 vPatented Dec. 22, 1942 2,306,306 LEATHER TOPPED RUBBER FOOTWEAR come Femme, namur, ma., signor to I Mishawaka Rubber and Woolen Manufactulng Company, Mishawaka,

of Indiana Ind., a corporation Application May 19, 1941, Serial No. 394,043

6Claims.

My invention relates to footwear of the type wherein a rubber foot portion is provided with a leather top or upper which is secured along its lower margin to the top margin of the rubber foot portion,and has reference more particular- 1y to the method of and means for securing these two parts together.

Heretofore, in making this type of footwear, it has been customary to attach the leather top or upper to the rubber foot portion after the latter is vulcanized, a substantial width along the lower margin of the leather top being applied externally over a corresponding width along the upper margin of the rubber foot portion and secured thereto by a number of rows of stitching passing through the overlapped margins.

These previous structures, however, have a number of disadvantages. The joining section is undesirably heavy with an uncomfortable ridge inside the shoe due the rubber margin that is exposed therein and as this edge is presented upwardly it interferes annoyingly in sliding the foot into the shoe and in the rubbing action thereagainst that occurs in inserting the foot is likely to be pulled away sufciently froml the shoe wall to cause even greater annoyance and discomfort. Also in these prior structures the stitching was exposed and unprotected at the outer side of the shoe and these stitches, as well as the lower edge of the leather upper were exposed to scuillng. Various expedients have been resorted to in order to protect the exposed stitches and the lower edge of the leather, such as covering these portions with an added layer of rubber but these expedients usually increased the bulkness of the joint and did not lend themselves to simplicity and economy of construction or neatness of appearance.

The principal objects of my invention are to simplify the construction and improve the serviceability and appearance of footwear of the type above referred to; to insure a strong and dependable connection of the leather upper to the rubber foot portion without bulkiness; to provide a smooth comfortable surface at the joint inside the shoe and neat finished appearance at the outside; to thoroughly protect the stitches against external exposure and scufilng; to incorporate these improvements in the structure without extra or special parts or added expense; and to facilitate the manufacture of the shoe as a whole-these and other objects being 55 to the upper edge of y accomplished as pointed out hereinafter and as shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of an article of footwear constructed in accordance with my invention, portions thereof being broken away to disclose details of the construction;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lower portion of the leather top as it is assembled with attached foot lining for making a shoe in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional `view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a similar section taken on the line l-I of Fig. 1.

l5 Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral I0 indicates the rubber foot portion of the shoe and I I the leather top or upper to which the foot portion I0 is attached. The leather upper II may be of conventional form either composed of separate quarters I2 joined together at the back under a back stay I3 as indicated in Fig. 2 or the two quarters may be portions of a single piece of leather that is continuous across the back of the shoe. A bellows tongue Il is secured to the forward edges of the quarters I2,

both of which have matching eyelets I5 at intervals down the front for lacing the quarters together over portion of this bellows tongue, which is interposed between and connects the separated lower ends of the quarters I2 at the front so that there is a continuous margin around the bottom of the leather upper, is secured, like the lower portions of the quarters I2, to the top of the rubber foot portion I0.

The rubber foot portion I0 is also for the most part of conventional construction consisting generally of insole I6, rubber outsole I1 (with or without rubberheel I8 as preferred) and rubber 4o foot enclosure or wall I9 of approximately ankle height extending upwardly from the rubber sole I1 and provided with afabric lining 20. the lower edge of which is lasted between the outsole I1 and margin of the insole I6 in the usual manner,

it being understood that the rubber foot portion I0 is appropriately stiifened and reinforced as required in accordance with usual practice alv though such stiffening and reinforcing is not fully shown nor described in detail since it forms no part of the present invention.

Instead, however, of securing the lower margin of the leather upper II to the outside of the upper margin of the rubber foot portion I0 which is the common and prevailing practice in making footwear of this character and has the disadthe bellows tongue, and the lower vantages above mentioned, I iuterpose the lower margin 2| of the leather upper Il between the upper margin of the rubber wall Il and the upper margin of thelining 20 and secure this leather margin 2| by several rows ofstitches 22 directly to thelining 20 and also directly to a reinforcingfabric strip 23 which is attached securely in any convenient manner to the lining 2l below the leather margin 2| as indicated at 24.

The rubber wall Il overlies thefabric strip 23 and is vulcanized thereto and thus covers the outer ends of thestitches 22 and seals the stitch openings so that the stitching is thoroughly protected against exterior exposure and scuiiing, and moreover this construction affords a neat and finished appearance kat the Joint which may be enhanced by forming the rubber wall Il along its upper margin with rib or bead formations 2l if desired.

Moreover the lower edge of the leather upper is enclosed between thefabrics 20 and 23 and tightly stitched between thefabrics 20 and 23 which are also preferably adhesively bonded to the leather, and thus the leather upper is not only iirmly secured to the rubber foot portion I but a smooth surfaced joint is provided at the inside of the shoe which avoids the discomfort and annoyance experienced with previous leather topped rubber footwear of this character.

In manufacturing footwear in accordance with this invention the foot lining 2|! and fabric reinforcing 23 are attached to the lower margin 2| of the leather upper as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 before the foot portion I0 is assembled and vulcanized.

In preparing this combined leather upper and foot lining. the lining blank, which is frictioned or gum coated over the entire outer surface is shaped in approximately the foot covering form as shown in Fig. 2 with the ends taped together at the back as shown at 28 and notched and taped at the toe as indicated at 21 and this lining blank is cemented along its upper margin to the inside of the lowex` margin 2| of the leather upper. Thereinforcing strip 23 which extends entirely around the shoe is frictioned or gum coated on both sides and cemented to the outer side ofthe leather margin and a substantial width of thisstrip 23 extends below the leather margin 2| and is firmly cemented to the'lining 20. A numberof rows ofstitches 22 are applied entirely through thefabrics 20 and 23 vand the intermediatef leather margin 2| either before or after [the c'ementing of the lower portion of the strip Mito thelining 20.

'I'he thus assembled leather upper and lining is then applied on a last, and the rubber foot portion built up thereon in the usual manner of assembling rubber footwear with the lower margin ofthelining 20 lasted between the insole i6 and outsole Il and the rubber side wall I9 adhesively secured to thelining 20 and extended upwardly over the fabric strip to which it is also adhesively secured, and after being thus assembled the entire structure is placed in a vulcanizer and the rubber portions thereof vulcanizedl care being taken that th'e vulcanizing temperature is not sufficient to dry up any moisture in the leather and cause the latter to burn.

A- vulcanizable rubber cement is employed in adhesively securing the various parts together land when thus vulcanized all of the cemented partsare securely bonded together and the leather 'upper inseparably secured to the rubber foot portion. 4

Instead of having the lining 20st the inner side of the leather margin 2| and thefabric strip 22 at the outer side thereof', these parts may be reversed with the lining 2l continued up between the rubber wall I3 and the leather margin 2| in which case thefabric strip 23 would be located at the inside of the shoe and cemented to the inner face of thelining 20 and be secured to the inner 'surface of the leather margin 2|. The lining 2l. or thefabric 23 if these parts are reversed, may

l0 oi' course be continued up to the top of the leather upper if desired.

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form I am aware that various modincations can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention;

l. An article of the class described having a waterproof foot portion and an upper of nonwaterproof material, said foot portion having a lining comprising inner and outer; layers between which the lower margin ofi, the upper is secured by mechanical fastenings, and said foot portion having a layer of waterproof ma- 25 terial thereon secured to the outer face of the aforesaid outer lining layer and covering said mechanical fastenings.

2. An article of footwear of the class described having a leather upper and a fabric lined vulcanized rubber foot portion, the fabric lining having inner and outer laminations which extend around the tcp of the foot portion and have the lower margin of the leather upper secured therebetween, and the-vulcanized rubber of the foot portion being extended over and vulcanized to the outer face of the outer fabric lamination. 3. An article of footwear of the class described having a leather upper and a fabric lined vulcanized rubber foot portion, a reinforcing strip of fabric extending around the foot portion at the top and spaced from the corresponding portion of the lining to accommodate the lower margin of the leather upper therebetween, rows of stitches extending around the top of the rubber foot portion and engaged through the lining and reinforcing strip and the interposed margin of the leather upper to secure the latter to the rubber foot portion, and said foot portion having side wall of rubber therearound extending over nd vulcanized to the outer surface of the out- An article of footwear of the class described lalving a leather upper and a vulcanized rubber foot portion, said foot portion having a fabric lining with inner and outer laminations bev tweenwhich the lower margin of the leather upper is adhesively secured, a plurality of rows of stitches around the top of the rubber foot portion extending through both fabric laminations and the interposed leather margin, and said rubber foot portion having an outer surrounding wall of vulcanized rubber extended over and vulcanized to the outer face of the outer lamina- 05 tion so as to cover the outer ends of the stitches and seal the stitch openings.

5. An article of footwear of the class described comprising, a leather upper, a rubber foot portion of substantially ankle height, a fabric 1ining within said foot portion and extending approximately to the top thereof, said leather upper extending below the upper edge of said lining in overlapping relation therewith, a reinforcing strip of fabric on the side o f the overlapping portion of said upper opposite the lining,

edge of said lining on the outer side thereof, a reinforcing strip of fabric extending around the lower margin of said upper on the side thereof opposite the lining, rows of stitches engaged through said lining and reinforcing strip and the interposed margin of said upper to secure the latter to the foot portion, the rubber of said fo'ot portion extending over the reinforcing strip and covering the outer ends of said stitches.

CONRAD FERRET'IIE.

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