US2476806A - Heel brace - Google Patents

Description

July 19, 1949.

F. L. BRANDTQIR HEEL BRACE Filed Due.

i aten ted july 19, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEEL BRACE Francis L. Brandt, Jr., Saugus, Mass.

Application December 29, 1945, Serial No. 638,251

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-76) The present invention relates to an improvement in heel braces.

High heels of shoes, and particularly the French style heel of womens shoes, are liable to become loosened and even detached due to some sudden strain as when the heel catches on the edge of a stair or curbing. Attempts have been made to prevent such loosening or detaching by providing a metal reinforcement shaped to fit against the shank of the sole and the breast of the heel and to be secured thereto by nails or screws.

Difficulty is experienced, however, particularly with the French heel, in properly driving the nails or screws into the breast of the heel and the' bottom surface of the sole, the forward inclined heel and the downwardly inclined sole interfering with the proper use of the hammer or screw driver in the hand of the cobbler in applying the fastening devices of such reinforcements.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a heel brace which may be easily and quickly applied to the shank of the sole and the breast of the heel by the operator, without interference from any part of the shoe, and which will provide a strong support and reinforcement for the heel and prevent its loosening or being detached when subjected to sudden and unusual strain.

With these objects in view, the present invention consists in a heel brace comprising a rigid, elongated member having a pair of substantially parallel prongs extending one from each end of such member, and adapted to be driven or forced in an inclined direction, one into the breast of the heel and the other into the shank of the sole, to provide a rigid brace or strut extending diagonally from a point on the breast of the heel spaced from the shank of the sole, to a point on the shank of the sole spaced from the breast of the heel.

In the accompanying drawing, which shows the various features of the present invention, Fig. 1 is a top plan and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the support for the sole and heel with the inverted rear portion of a shoe positioned for the application of the reinforcing member; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of brace detached; Fig, 4 is a perspective view of the driving tool in position to be applied to the brace; Fig. 5 shows the heel portion of a shoe with the brace in position to be applied thereto and in dotted outline the driving tool in engagement with the brace; Fig. 6 shows the brace after it has been applied to the heel and sole; Fig. '7 shows a modification in which the brace has been bent downwardly 2 to fit closely the contour of the heel and sole, the driving tool during this bending operation being applied transversely of the brace; and Figs. 8 and 9 show perspective views of modified forms of brace.

As shown in Fig. 3, the heel brace consists of an elongated, thin metal member or bar H, having prongs I3 and I5 integrally formed therewith and extending in parallel relation from the opposite ends of the bar. The ends of the prongs are beveled to facilitate their insertion in the heel and sole. These braces may be formed at small expense by stamping them from sheet metal.

While a brace can be applied to a heel and sole by positioning the brace, as shown in Fig. 5, with one prong against the shank ll of the sole of the shoe and the other against the breast [9 of the heel, and then driving the brace by means of hammer blows applied first over one prong and then over the other, the shoe being held upon the ordinary shoemakers last by the cobbler, the attaching operation can be: performed more accurately and expeditiously if the shoe be held upon a support such as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

This shoe support comprises acircular base 2| having the rearward extension 23. From the front of the brace rises thepost 25, carrying at its top the fiatelliptical anvil 27 to support the rear portion of the invertedshoe 29. Fixedly mounted in theboss 3| in the rearward extension 23 is therod 33 with the externally threadedupper end 35.

Slidingly mounted upon the upper end of the rod is the clamping member comprising thecrosshead 31 with thelateral extensions 39, eachhaving a horizontal bore therethrough. Loosely fitting within these bores are thearms 4| connected at their rear by thesemi-circular portion 43 to form a U-shaped device, and having outwardly flaringfront ends 45 carrying rubber heel engaging abutments 41 of frustro-conical shape, to engage the sloping side and rear walls of the heel.

A coiled compression spring 5! normally urges the cross-head and parts carried thereby in an upward direction against the adjustinghand nut 53. Limited rotary movement of the cross-head -31'on therod 33 is provided by means of apin 55 fixed in the rear face of the stud and engaging the slightly widervertical slot 51 on the crosshead.

In positioning a shoe on the shoe support the clamping member is first raised by screwing up- 'wardly thehand nut 53. The U-shaped device is then withdrawn rearwardly, thearms 4| sliding freely through the bores in the cross-head. The shoe is now placed upon the anvil, as shown, and the U-shaped device moved forwardly to bring the rubber abutments above the sloping sides and rear wall of the heel. The hand nut is then screwed down to apply clamping pressure to the heel portion of the shoe, holding the sole and heel' securely against driving pres-. sure when the brace is applied.

The application of the brace, sole and heel is greatly facilitated and liability of lateral distortion or bending of the brace and prongs, avoided by the use of the driving tool illustrated in Fig. 4, which consists of a length of metal bar SI of a width substantiallyv equal to the length of the brace 50 that the driving face of the tool will overlie both prongs, and of a thickness su.f-..

ficient to permit the formation of the groove 63 in the end thereof to receive the edge or the brace and support the same laterally whilev ham: mer blows are being applied to the opposite end to. force the prongs; into the sole and heel, re spectively.

After the brace has been driven to the position shown in Fig. 6, it may, if desired, be bent downwardly to fit more closely the contour of the sole and heel in the manner shown in Fig. 7. This is accomplished by applying the tool transversely of the brace, the transverse notch 65 being- PEG: vided for this DUITPQSE and, the tool being moved progressively along the length of the brace While the hammer blows are applied to the opposite end of the tool. In Fi s. 8 a d 9 a e s own m fied o ms. at the braces. Fig. 8 illustrates a stronger and more rigid construction provided with tour at-i taching prongs which permit, the use or thin; ner and less expensive stock. The brace oi Fig. 9 curves downwardly betw n t e pr n s, o t closely into the angle between, the breat of the heel and the shank of the sole.

The four prong construction of 8 cons sts of two side members H, each with a prong 12 at each end, the side members being arranged in spaced parallel relation and connected by the flat top I5. This form of brace could alse be stamped out from sheet metal and brought by a simple bending operation to the shape shown use of the tool of Fig. 1 to avoid twisting or dis.-

tortion of the brace.

It will .be noted that since the pron s Q the brace of the present invention are imbedded diagonally on the breast of heel and shank of the sole, they may be driven home by blows of the cobblers hammer either applied directly to the brace or through the medium of the driving tool,

and since these blows are delivered obliquely of the sole and heel, there is no possibility of interference with the hammer by any part of the shoe, as is the case with the reinforcements of the prior art.

Where the shoe is provided with a steel shank stiffener, as indicated. at IT in Figs. 5, 6 and '7 of the drawings, the pointed end of the forward prong will be turned rearwardly when it cont acts the stifiener as shown, in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings.

While the present invention has been shown in what is now considered its preferred form or embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not limited thereto except where so specifically recited in the claims, but may be embodied in eth r e msand arr n I-I avi ng thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A shoe comprising an outsole with a shank portion, a heel, and. a reinforcing brace extending diagonally from the breast of the heel above the sole to the shank portion forward of the heel breast, the brace consisting of an elongated rigid member having a pair of substantially parallel prongs one at each end of the member, the prongs being embedded one in the breast of the heel and. the other in the shank portion of the sole.

2. A shoe comprising an outsole with a shank portion, a metallic shank stifiener, a heel, and a reenforcing brace extending diagonally from the breast of the heel above the sole to the shank portion forward of the heel breast, the brace consisting of an elongated rigid member having at least one laterally extending prong at each end of the member, a prong at one end of the member being embedded in the breast of the heel and a prong at the other end of the member being embedded in the shankportion of the shoe with the point of the latter prong curled over as a result of engagement with the metallic shank stifiener.

FRANCIS L. BRANDT, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 2 4,425 Young Feb. 28. 1882 1,206,425 Feasey Nov. 28, 1915 ,213,334 Chapman Jan. 23, 191'? 1,325,845 Harris Dec. 23, 1919 1,4 ,89 Wes un 1322 8.208 Ac a pt- 924, 1,619,648 Bartels s Mar. 1, 1927 1,724,355 Kutscher Aug. 13, 1927 1,725,456 Jafie Aug. 20, 1929 1,743,010 De Rusha et al Feb. 13, 1930 1,914,257 Holmes June 13, 1933 2,995,196 Paquette Oct. 5; 193'; 2,167,526 Sabo et al July 25',loss 2, 35,961 Russell Decl .4; 19 3 2.3 1%! Ar na ne 4, 6

OTHER REFERENCES Master Shoe Rebuilder, page 22, Nov. 1945.

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