U.S. patent number 3,686,777 [Application Number 05/091,703] was granted by the patent office on 1972-08-29 for shoe construction.
Invention is credited to Henri Elliott Rosen.
United States Patent |
3,686,777 |
Rosen |
August 29, 1972 |
SHOE CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
A footwear construction incorporating widthwise adjustability in
at least a part of the shoe to enable one shoe to be fitted to feet
of different widths.
Inventors: |
Rosen; Henri Elliott (Boston,
MA) |
Family
ID: |
22229225 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/091,703 |
Filed: |
November 23, 1970 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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716172 |
Mar 26, 1968 |
3541708 |
|
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612003 |
Jan 26, 1967 |
3404468 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/97 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B
3/26 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
3/00 (20060101); A43B 3/26 (20060101); A43b
000/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;36/2.5R,2.5B |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lawson; Patrick D.
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser.
No. 716,172, filed Mar. 26, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,708,
which was a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No.
612,003, filed Jan. 26, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,468. It
relates to footwear incorporating widthwise adjustability to
provide a shoe which will comfortably and accurately fit any of a
relatively wide range of widths.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a shoe having a backpart and a forepart including a toe
portion, a mid portion beneath the ball of the foot and an instep
portion rearwardly of said mid portion and forward of the heel;
a transversely extending sole element underlying at least the
entire forepart of the shoe, said sole element extending
continuously thereacross and extending longitudinally for at least
said entire forepart of the shoe
an upper element extending down toward the peripheral edge of the
sole element with its longitudinally extending marginal edges at
least in the forepart of the shoe inturned toward one another above
said sole element and free of fixed connection to said sole element
between the toe portion and said backpart of said shoe for free
transverse movement relatively thereto
adjustment means connected between said inturned marginal edges of
said upper element between said toe portion and said backpart, said
upper element being connected to said sole element at least at said
toe portion and said backpart;
a relatively rigid shank element underlying said marginal edges and
said adjustment means, said shank element extending transversely
across said sole element thereabove and extending longitudinally
throughout the major extent of said instep portion
whereby said adjustment means is adjustable to provide a variable
transverse cross-sectional area throughout the mid portion of said
shoe.
2. In a shoe as claimed in claim 1 further including
retaining element means overlying said marginal edges and said
adjustment means, said retaining element means extending
transversely coextensively with said shank element and holding said
marginal edges therebetween in close slideable contact.
3. In a shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said shank element further includes a forwardly extending flexible
extension attached to said sole element.
4. In a shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said adjustment means includes a manually rotatable cam slot
element having a pair of opposite cam slots extending radially and
circumferentially outward and cam followers mounted on said
opposite marginal edges and received within said cam slots for
moving said stiffener elements toward and away from one another
upon rotation of said cam slot element.
5. In a shoe having a backpart and a forepart including a toe
portion, a mid portion beneath the ball of the foot and an instep
portion rearwardly of said mid portion and forward of the heel;
a transversely extending sole element underlying at least the
entire forepart of the shoe, said sole element extending
continuously thereacross and extending longitudinally for at least
said entire forepart of the shoe
an upper element extending down toward the peripheral edge of the
sole element with its opposite longitudinally extending marginal
edges at least in the forepart of the shoe inturned toward one
another above said sole element and free of fixed connection to
said sole element between the toe portion and said backpart of said
shoe for free transverse movement relatively thereto, said opposite
marginal edges having attached thereto stiffener elements and
adjustment means connected between said inturned marginal edges of
said upper element between said toe portion and said backpart, said
adjustment means including a manually rotatable cam slot element
having a pair of opposite cam slots extending radially and
circumferentially outward and cam followers mounted on said
stiffener elements and received within said cam slots for moving
said stiffener elements toward and away from one another upon
rotation of said cam slot element.
6. In a shoe as claimed in claim 5, further including
a relatively rigid shank element underlying said marginal edges and
said adjustment element, said shank element extending transversely
across said sole element thereabove and extending longitudinally
throughout the major extent of said instep portion and
retaining element means overlying said marginal edges, stiffener
elements and said adjustment element, said retaining element means
extending transversely coextensively with said shank element and
holding said marginal edges therebetween in close slideable
contact.
7. In a shoe having upper and sole elements wherein at least one of
the longitudinally extending marginal elements of the upper element
is inturned above the sole element and is at least in part free of
fixed stationary connection to the sole element to allow said
margins a limited degree of relatively free transverse motion
thereto, said marginal elements having attached thereto
transversely stiff but longitudinally flexible stiffener elements,
pivotally mounted at one end and
cam means including a manually rotatable cam slot element having a
pair of opposite cam slots extending radially and circumferentially
outward and cam followers mounted on said opposite stiffener
elements and received within said cam slots for moving said
stiffener elements toward and away from one another upon rotation
of said cam slot element.
8. In a shoe as claimed in claim 7, wherein said cam slots are
provided with a plurality of detents.
9. In a shoe having a backpart and a forepart including a toe
portion, a mid portion beneath the ball of the foot and an instep
portion rearwardly of said mid portion and forward of the heel
a transversely extending sole element underlying at least the
entire forepart of the shoe, said sole element extending
continuously thereacross and extending longitudinally for at least
said entire forepart of the shoe
an upper element extending down toward the peripheral edge of the
sole element with its longitudinally extending marginal edges at
least in the forepart of the shoe inturned toward one another above
said sole element and free of fixed connection to said sole
elements between the toe portion and said backpart of said shoe for
free transverse sliding movement relatively thereto
said marginal edges having transversely stiff but longitudinally
flexible stiffener elements attached thereto for transverse
movement of said marginal edges relatively to said sole element
with said stiffener elements being pivotally mounted at one end on
said sole element leaving the other free end transversely movable
with respect to said sole elements
adjustment means including manually operable means connected
between said inturned marginal edges of said upper element between
said toe portion and said backpart for fixing a transverse spacing
between said marginal edges
a relatively rigid shank element underlying said marginal edges,
said stiffener element and said adjustment means, said shank
element extending transversely across said sole element thereabove
and extending longitudinally throughout the major extent of said
instep portion
retaining element means overlying said marginal edges, stiffener
elements and said adjustment means, said retaining element means
extending transversely coextensively with said shank element and
holding said marginal edges therebetween in close slidable
contact,
said adjustment means being movably adjustable to a variety of said
spacings to provide an increased or decreased transverse
cross-sectional area throughout the mid portion of said shoe.
10. In a shoe as claimed in claim 9 wherein said adjustment means
includes a manually rotatable cam slot element having a pair of
opposite cam slots extending radially and circumferentially outward
and cam followers mounted on said opposite stiffener elements and
received within said cam slots for moving said stiffener elements
toward and away from one another upon rotation of said cam slot
element.
11. In a shoe having a backpart and a forepart including a toe
portion, a mid portion beneath the ball of the foot and an instep
portion rearwardly of said mid portion and forward of the heel
a transversely extending sole element underlying at least the
entire forepart of the shoe, said sole element extending
continuously thereacross and extending longitudinally for at least
said entire forepart of the shoe
an upper element extending down toward the peripheral edge of the
sole element with its longitudinally extending marginal edges at
least in the forepart of the shoe inturned toward one another above
said sole element for free transverse sliding movement relatively
thereto
said marginal edges each having a pair of transversely stiff but
longitudinally flexible stiffener elements including a forepart
stiffener element pivotally mounted at its forward end on said sole
element and a mid part stiffener element pivotally mounted at its
rear end on said sole element attached to said marginal edges for
free transverse movement with said margins relatively to said sole
element
cam adjustment means including a manually rotatable cam slot
element having a pair of opposite cam slots extending radially and
circumferentially outward and cam followers mounted on said
opposite stiffener elements and received within said cam slots for
moving said stiffener elements toward and away from one another
upon rotation of said cam slot element
a relatively rigid shank element underlying said marginal edges,
said stiffener elements and said adjustment means, said shank
element extending transversely across said sole element thereabove
and extending longitudinally throughout the major extent of said
instep portion
retaining element means overlying said marginal edges, stiffener
elements and said adjustment means, said retaining element means
extending transversely coextensively with said shank element and
holding said marginal edges therebetween in close slideable
contact
whereby said adjustment means is movably adjustable to a variety of
spacings to provide an increased or decreased transverse
cross-sectional area throughout the mid portion of said shoe.
12. In a shoe as claimed in claim 11 wherein
said forepart stiffening elements extend inwardly beyond said
marginal edges.
13. In a shoe having a backpart and a forepart including a toe
portion, a mid portion beneath the ball of the foot and an instep
portion rearwardly of said mid portion and forward of the heel;
a transversely extending sole element underlying at least the
entire forepart of the shoe, said sole element extending
continuously thereacross and extending longitudinally for at least
said entire forepart of the shoe
an upper element extending down toward the peripheral edge of the
sole element with longitudinally extending lower marginal edges at
least in the forepart of the shoe positioned above said sole
element and free of fixed connection to one another between the toe
portion and said backpart of said shoe for free transverse movement
relatively to one another
a single manually operated adjustment element connected between
said marginal edges of said upper element between said toe portion
and said backpart, said upper element being connected to said sole
element at least at said toe portion and said backpart;
whereby said adjustment element is adjustable to provide a variable
transverse cross-sectional area throughout the mid portion of said
shoe.
14. In a shoe having upper and sole elements wherein the lower
longitudinally extending marginal elements of the upper element are
positioned above the sole element and are at least in part free of
fixed stationary connection to one another to allow said marginal
elements a limited degree of relatively free transverse motion,
said marginal elements having attached thereto transversely stiff
but longitudinally flexible stiffener elements, pivotally mounted
at one end and
adjustment means including a single manually operable element for
moving said stiffener elements toward and away from one another.
Description
As explained in said patents, it is a known fact that many foot
difficulties are directly traceable to the wearing of shoes of
improper width. However, since few buyers can afford shoes custom
made to the exact dimensions of their feet, the best approach
ideally with factory-made shoes would involve carefully measuring
the feet, and fitting them with shoes of correct width having
lace-to-toe uppers, which could easily be adjusted to compensate
for variations between the two feet, as well as those due to
different hosiery thickness, foot-swelling from fatigue or heat,
and the stretch of the shoe with wear. The above approach is not
commercially practical, however, since lace-to-toe styles have
limited customer appeal in other than athletic and functional
footwear.
In other categories including dress shoes and casuals, one finds
style dictating the amount and type of width adjustment employed,
varying from no adjustment whatsoever, as in loafers, pumps, boot
and step-in types, to various degrees of width adjustment by laces,
buckles and other means where such adjustment is normally of less
longitudinal extent than that afforded by lace-to-toe designs.
While all of the aforementioned conventional width adjustment
approaches compensate to varying degrees for modest girth
variations between foot and shoe, usually only in the instep area,
none of these compensates satisfactorily for the wider ranges
encountered in attempting to make one shoe fit a relatively wide
range of standard shoe widths. Despite the above limitations,
acceptable fit would be obtained more often, were it not for the
common practice of offering most popular priced footwear in one or
two widths only. As a result, many customers tend to accept
improper fit rather than shop for a better fit in those stores
carrying wider size ranges, which are usually at higher prices.
Additional fit problems arise from the tendency of salesmen to fit
a shoe in anticipation of future stretch which may not actually
occur, and also from mail-order sales, where poorly fitting shoes
are often accepted to avoid the bother of returning them to the
seller.
The construction of said patents provided a novel footwear
applicable to many styles, and materials whereby one can adjust the
width of a shoe particularly but not necessarily exclusively in the
areas of ball, waist and instep to enable the shoe to provide a
proper and accurate fit over a relatively broad range of widths.
This adjustment can be made at the time of purchase, with later
readjustability by the wearer as desired, such being accomplished
in a unique manner whereby the width of the sole remains relatively
fixed at pleasing and practical dimensions, while the upper itself
is varied in girth by adjusting at least one of tis lower margins
transversely, such a margin or "lasting allowance" extending
between an insole member such as a sock lining and the outsole of
the shoe. This affords a wider range of adjustment and a wider
choice of materials, than do constructions limiting their
adjustment solely to the shoe bottom.
It is a major object of the present invention to provide
improvements in details of the constructIon of said patents,
whereby highly useful adjustable shoe constructions are uniquely
provided.
In the present invention, this is accomplished, in footwear having
upper elements with lower marginal edges inturned transversely
between the foot and sole element, by providing mean whereby at
least a portion of such marginal edges have a limited degree of
free transverse movement between said foot and sole elements. More
specifically, the improved construction may provide, in a shoe
having a backpart and a forepart including a toe portion, a mid
portion beneath the ball of the foot and a shank area forward of
the heel underlying the instep (hereinafter called the instep
portion), a transversely extending outsole element underlying at
least the forepart of the shoe, said outsole element extending
continuously thereacross and extending longitudinally for at least
said forepart of the shoe. In one aspect of the invention, the
upper element has its longitudinally extending marginal edges, at
least in the forepart of the shoe, inturned toward one another
above the outsole element and below the insole element for free
transverse movement between the insole and outsole elements and
there is provided a relatively rigid shank element underlying said
marginal edges, said shank element extending transversely across
said sole element thereabove and extending longitudinally
throughout the major extent of said instep portion and, preferably
retaining element means overlying said marginal edges, said
retaining element means extending transversely coextensively with
said shank element and holding said marginal edges therebetween in
close slidable contact. The margins may have transversely stiff but
longitudinally flexible stiffener elements attached thereto, also
clamped between said shank and retaining elements.
In another aspect of the present invention, adjustment means,
including manually operable means, are connected to the margins and
their stiffener elements between the toe portion and the backpart
for adjustment, preferably by fixing a predetermined transverse
spacing between the stiffener elements, preferably relatively
proportional or even equal as to each stiffener element with
respect to a central longitudinal axis of said sole element, so
that the adjustment means is movably adjustable to a variety of
said predetermined spacings to provide an increased or decreased
transverse cross-sectional area throughout the mid portion of the
shoe. The adjustment means comprises cam means including a manually
rotatable cam slot element having a pair of opposite cam slots
extending radially and circumferentially spirally outward and cam
followers mounted on said opposite stiffener elements and received
within said cam slots for moving said stiffener elements toward and
away from one another upon rotation of said cam slot e1ement.
For the purpose of more fully explaining further objects and
features of the invention, reference is now made to the following
detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention,
together with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side view, partly broken away and in section, of a shoe
incorporating the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view of the shoe of FIG. 1, taken on the
line 2--2 thereof;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of elements of the shoe of FIGS. 1 and
2; and
FIG. 4 is a transverse section of the shoe of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken
on the line 4--4 thereof.
Referring to the drawings, the widthwise adjustable footwear
construction of the present invention will be described as embodied
in a leather slip-on shoe, having a separate sock lining and an
outer sole and a heel. The shoe upper element 12 has inturned
margined edges 15,17, commonly called the lasting allowance, around
its lower periphery. The insole element 14, commonly called the
sock lining, overlies the inturned marginal edges 15,17 and the
outsole 16 underlies said edges. A heel 18 is attached to the rear
or heel portion of the outsole 16. The present invention, similar
to that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,708, provides a shoe which in its
external appearance can be made similar to many types of footwear
styles and constructions, has constructional features which enable
it to have predetermined widthwise adjustability for superior fit
and comfort, but adds further features which enhance it
utility.
As in said patent, the bottom of the usual shoe upper element 12,
which conventionally extends transversely at least partly across
the bottom of the forepart of the shoe and overlies the
transversely relatively non-stretchable outsole 16, is provided
around its lower periphery with inturned longitudinally extending
marginal edges 15,17, which edges are free to be moved
transversely, preferably by manually operable means, to a
predetermined adjusted fixed position to vary the girth and hence
the widthwise cross-sectional size of the shoe. One or more of the
transversely relatively non-stretchable shoe insole elements, which
in the art are variously called sock linings, tucks and midsoles,
for example, overlies margins 15,17 and outsole 16 underlies them
for their control as is hereinafter more fully described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the bottom of the upper element 12
has inwardly turned, longitudinally extending side marginal edges
15,17, in the nature of "lasting allowances" which are confined
between, but free of fixed connection, for at least part of their
total length, to the insole and outsole elements for free
transverse sliding movement of edges 15,17 therebetween, such
insole elements include an overlying insole element 14 of the type
usually referred to as a sock lining, cooperating with an
underlying insole element 25, of the type usually referred to as a
tuck, positioned above the shank element 35 to which it is
attached. The shank element 35 is in turn attached to the sole
element.
To aid in confining and controlling the position of said marginal
edges, as well as to provide an improved shoe construction, the
present construction includes a relatively rigid shank element 35
underlying said marginal edges, said shank element extending
transversely across sole element 16 thereabove and extending
longitudinally throughout the major extent of said instep portion.
Also provided is a retaining element 37 overlying said marginal
edges and said insole element 25, said retaining element extending
transversely coextensively with shank element 35 and attached
thereto by rivets 36, clamping said marginal edges therebetween.
Shank element 35 may include a flexible extension 34 at its forward
end which may be cemented or otherwise attached to outsole 16.
In the forepart of the shoe, adjacent the toe portion and extending
rearwardly therefrom to adjacent the shank portion thereof, edges
15,17 are each provided with a pair of longitudinal stiffener
members, forepart stiffener member 21 and midpart stiffener member
22 on edge 15 and forepart stiffener member 23 and midpart
stiffener member 24 on edge 17, although only forepart stiffener
members may be used if desired. Stiffener members 21, 22, 23 and 24
may be of thin spring steel and have the property of being flexible
to forces which tend to bend them along their length, (as
experienced in normal walking) while remaining relatively
inflexible to transverse forces exerted in their own plane.
Stiffeners 21 and 22 and stiffeners 23 and 24 are attached by
suitable rivets 19 and 20 respectively to edges 15,17 and in turn
are pivotally attached to the fixed shoe elements for transverse
swinging movement at their fixed ends. Their transversely movable
free ends are connected by rivets 28 loosely connecting the free
ends of forepart and midpart stiffener members 21 and 22, and 23
and 24 for transverse sliding movement. The pivotal connection of
the forward ends of forepart stiffener members 21 and 23 are by
means of pivot rivets 31 which extend through shank extension 34
and that of the rearward end of mid-part stiffener members 22 and
24 are by means of pivot rivets 33 which also serve to hold said
stiffener members and upper edges down against outsole 16.
Additional hold-down rivets 38, extending through slots 39 in said
stiffener members may be used if desired, and a filler element 51
may be used to fill the area between marginal edges 15,17 and also
to support from beneath the overlying portions of forepart
stiffeners 21,23.
The desired predetermined fixed position within the available
variation is established by manually operable means comprising a
cam mechanism including a manually rotatable cam slot element 40
having a pair of opposite cam slots 42,45 extending radially and
circumferentially spirally outward and provided with detents if
desired. Cooperating with said slots are cam followers 43,46
mounted on opposite midpart stiffener members 22,24 and received
within said cam slots for moving the stiffener elements toward and
away from one another upon rotation of cam slot element 40. For
rotating said cam slot element, a slotted knob 48 is mounted
thereon and extends downwardly through shank element 35 and outsole
16 for ready access from the bottom of the shoe. If desired, access
from above may also be provided.
In order to adjust the shoe width, shown in its intermediate width
in FIGS. 1 through 4, it is only necessary to rotate knob 48 with a
conventional screwdriver through an angle of up to about 120
degrees to fix the adjusted position of margins 15,17 as desired.
In this regard, with the center of the cam slot element 40 fixed on
the longitudinal central axis of the shoe as shown, it should be
noted that the angular movement of each of margins 15,17 is
relatively proportional and preferably equal, so that the widthwise
adjustment of margins 15,17 is such that the shoe upper element 12
remains generally centered on its outsole 16, throughout the full
range of the adjustment, as is desirable for both appearance and
function.
VArious other modifications, not herein specifically described,
will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, although
the shoe construction of the invention has been described with
reference to a slip-on type of shoe, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that it may be used in many other type and
styles of shoes capable of incorporating the needed elements. Such
modifications are deemed to be within the spirit of the present
invention and the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *