U.S. patent number 3,916,539 [Application Number 05/569,284] was granted by the patent office on 1975-11-04 for shoe construction.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Pankin International Ltd.. Invention is credited to Beverly Ann Feldman, Jerome Pankin.
United States Patent |
3,916,539 |
Pankin , et al. |
November 4, 1975 |
Shoe construction
Abstract
A shoe construction in which an elastic gore is stitched to and
runs from one side of the vamp to the other side across the throat
of the shoe. The elastic gore is sandwiched between the tongue and
the shoe lining, thereby hiding the gore from view, and preventing
it from contacting the foot of the wearer. The gore, when
contracted, shirrs the mid-section of the tongue.
Inventors: |
Pankin; Jerome (New York,
NY), Feldman; Beverly Ann (Alicante, ES) |
Assignee: |
Pankin International Ltd. (New
York, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
24274793 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/569,284 |
Filed: |
April 18, 1975 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/51 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43C
11/002 (20130101); A43B 3/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
3/00 (20060101); A43C 11/00 (20060101); A43B
3/08 (20060101); A43B 011/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;36/51,54,50,2.5R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
689,540 |
|
May 1930 |
|
FR |
|
1,471,601 |
|
Jan 1967 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Guest; Alfred R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Gottlieb, Rackman, Reisman &
Kirsch
Claims
There is claimed is:
1. A construction for a shoe including a vamp, a sole, and a heel,
the construction comprising:
a. a tongue member,
b. a lining member, the tongue member and the lining member being
joined to one another and to the vamp, and forming a continuous
tunnel across the throat of the shoe, and
c. an elastic gore running from one side of the vamp across the
throat of the shoe to the other side of the vamp and fixed within
the tunnel,
d. the gore, when relaxed, shirring the tongue member at its
mid-section and the lining member.
2. A construction for a shoe as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
tongue member has a pair of opposed, protruding tabs, and the
lining member has a pair of opposed, protruding tabs, the tabs
being stitched in alignment with one another to opposed sides of
the vamp and to the ends of the gore.
3. A shoe construction as set forth in claim 2, wherein the tabs of
the tongue member are situated at its central portion, and the tabs
of the lining member are situated at its forward-most portion.
4. A shoe construction as set forth in claim 2, wherein the tabs
and the rearward most portion of the tongue member have a
configuration substantially identical to the tabs and the rearward
most portion of the lining member.
5. A shoe construction as set forth in claim 2, wherein the lining
member is stitched to the tongue member.
6. A shoe construction as set forth in claim 5 wherein the lining
member is in addition glued to the tongue member.
7. A shoe construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein the gore is
glued to the tongue member and the lining member.
8. A shoe construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein the tongue
member has a flaired section, a throat section and a moccasin
section, the tabs protruding from the throat section, said sections
and tabs being formed of one piece of material.
9. A shoe construction as set forth in claim 8 wherein the lining
member and the tabs of the lining member are formed of one piece of
material.
Description
The present invention relates to the construction of a shoe, and
more particularly to the construction of the vamp and tongue area
of a shoe, by utilizing an elastic gore.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide in a
shoe construction, an elastic gore bridging the throat of the shoe,
while being hidden from view and being out-of-contact with a foot
placed into the shoe.
It is another object of the present invention to provide in a shoe
construction of the type described, an elastic gore which when in a
relaxed or unstretched mode, shirrs the central portion of the
tongue member of the shoe.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shoe
construction of the type described, which, by virtue of an elastic
gore bridging the vamp of the shoe, is able to properly accommodate
feet of various widths comfortably, and which can readily expand
and conform to the natural swelling of a wearer's foot, as might
take place after several hours of wear.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shoe
construction of the type described, which by virtue of its elastic
gore construction, eliminates any need for the use of buckles or
shoelaces to properly "fit" the shoe to the foot of a wearer, and
is pleasant in appearance and to wear, even after considerable
use.
In general, the new shoe construction of the present invention
relates to an elastic gore which traverses the throat area of the
shoe, being stitched to and running from one side of the vamp to
the other. The gore is contained in a tunnel formed on the exterior
side by a tongue member and on the interior side by a lining
member, which is stitched and sewn to the tongue member. Both the
tongue member and the lining member have pairs of opposed tabs,
which cover the ends of the gore, and which are stitched to the
gore and the vamp to retain the gore in place. Further, the gore is
glued to the tongue member and the lining member. Thereby, the gore
when "relaxed," shirrs the tongue member, and when stretched, the
tongue member is essentially smooth.
Referring now in detail to the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a shoe, including the new shoe
construction;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the shoe including the new
shoe construction, taken substantially along the line 2--2 of FIG.
1.;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the new shoe construction,
taken substantially along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view of the new
shoe construction, taken substantially along the line 4--4 of FIG.
2; and
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the three components of the new shoe
construction.
A shoe, incorporating the new shoe construction of the present
invention, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The shoe 10 which is
illustrated is styled to be worn by a woman, but a shoe including
the new construction, could as well be styled for men or for
children. Desirably, the shoe is constructed of a glove-quality
leather, but other leathers or other synthetic materials may be
employed. Glove-quality leather is very soft, making the shoe very
comfortable to wear. Further, desirably, the shoe has no lining,
except to the extent hereafter mentioned, again making it very
comfortable to wear.
The shoe 10 includes a sole 12 and a heel 14, which are
conventional. The shoe further includes a vamp 16, a fox 18, and an
encircling collar 20. The vamp 16, which includes a right side vamp
section 17 and a left side vamp section 19, the fox 18 and the
collar 20 are joined to one another and to the sole 12 and heel 14,
by stitching and gluing, as is also conventional in the
construction of shoes.
The new shoe construction of the present invention is shown in
detail in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. The shoe construction includes a
tongue member 22, with a moccasin or front section 24, a throat or
middle section 26 and a rear or flaired section 28. Desirably, the
sections 24, 26 and 28 are formed integrally of one piece of
continuous material, which has no openings or interruptions in it.
As seen in FIG. 5, the sections 24, 26 and 28 are bounded by dotted
lines X, Y, which are shown for the purpose of explanation
only.
The throat section 26 has a pair of opposed, protruding somewhat
rectangular tabs on its ends, and specifically, as seen in FIG. 5,
a right-side tab 30 and a left-side tab 32, the tabs being mirror
images of one another and projecting co-equally beyond the side
edges of the moccasin section 24 and the flaired section 28.
The forward edge 33 of the moccasin section 24 is somewhat rounded,
and the tongue member as a whole becomes wider, progressing from
the forward edge 33 to the rearward edge 35 of the flaired section
28. The rearward edge 35 is also rounded. However, the specific
configuration of the tongue member 22 will necessarily vary in
accordance with the particular styling of the shoe in which it is
used.
Another component of the new shoe construction comprises an elastic
strip or gore 34. The gore is desirably formed of conventional
elastic tape, but may be made of any other stretchable material,
such as rubber. The gore has a configuration substantially similar
to the configuration of the throat section 26, but its length when
unstretched, is less than the length of the throat section, running
from the outside edge of the tab 30 to the outside edge of the tab
32. Desirably, the gore has a right-side portion 34a having an
outside edge generally parallel to the edge of the tab 30, and has
a left-side portion 34b, with an outside edge generally parallel to
the edge of the tab 32.
The final component of the new shoe construction is the lining
member 36 which includes a tongue lining section 38 and a throat
lining section 40. The tongue lining section 38 has a
configuration, after the usual trimming, which is substantially
identical to the configuration of the flaired section 28, and the
throat lining section 40 has a configuration, after trimming, which
is substantially identical to the configuration of the throat
section 26. The throat lining section 40 has a small extension 41.
The throat lining section 40 includes a pair of somewhat
rectangular tabs, and specifically a right-side tab 42 and a
left-side tab 44, which, after trimming, match the tabs 30, 32 of
the tongue member 22.
Having described the components of the new shoe construction, their
assembly into a shoe will now be discussed.
The tongue member 22, the elastic gore 34 and the lining member 36
form a sandwich, with the tongue member 22 being the topmost or
outermost member, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, with elastic gore 34
being the intermediate member, and the lining member 36 being the
bottom or inward-most component. The periphery of the tongue member
22 at the moccasin section 24 is joined to the inner edge of the
vamp 16 by conventional means as by stitching, running along a line
of stitching 46, from point A in FIG. 2 through point B in FIG. 2
to point C in FIG. 2. Other joining means, such as gluing, may be
utilized in appropriate circumstances.
The gore 34 is stretched and when so stretched, is glued to the
reverse or innerside of the tongue member at the throat section 26.
The reverse face of lining member 36 is then glued to the inner
face of tongue member 22 and gore 34.
The throat section 26 of the tongue member 22 is then stitched so
that it is joined through the elastic gore 34 to the vamp 16 and to
the throat lining section 40 of the lining member 36. More
specifically, as best seen in FIG. 2, two parallel, rectangular
lines of stitching 48 generally follow the configuration of the
edges of the tab 30, and in so doing, pass first through the
aligned end portion of the elastic gore 34a, then catch the vamp 16
immediately below the tab 30, and then pass through the tab 42 of
the lining member 36. The lines of stitching 48 form a box-like
shape, outlining the tab 30. The ends of the collar 20 are
desirably also caught by the stitching 48.
The lines of stitching 48 serves to stitch both the tab 30 of the
tongue member 22 and the tab 42 of the lining member 36 to one
another, and to join both of these tabs to the aligned portion of
the vamp 16 and to the end portion 34a of the gore 34. As seen most
clearly in FIG. 4 the outward line of stitching 48a does not pass
through the end portion 34a of the gore 34, while the inward line
of stitching 48b does pass through this end portion.
In a substantially identical manner, the tab 32 of the throat
section 26 is joined by a line of stitching 50 to the other end
portion 34b of the elastic gore 34, to the vamp 16, and to the tab
44 of the lining member 36. The upper edge 35 of the flaired
section 28 of the tongue member 22 is then joined by two lines of
stitching 52 to the upper edge 53 of the tongue section 38 of the
lining member 36. The extension 41 is only glued to the tongue
member 22, see FIG. 3.
By virtue of the foregoing construction, the tongue member 22 at
its throat section 26 and the lining member 36 at its throat lining
section 40 form a tunnel for the elastic gore 34, located
transversely of the instep of the wearer's foot and running across
the vamp from section 17 to section 19, so that the elastic gore is
hidden from external view, and is also kept from contact with the
foot of the wearer, when the foot is inserted into the shoe.
The function of the gore 34 is to elastically pull the opposed
aligned sections 17, 19 of the vamp toward one another, thereby
insuring a snug, yet comfortable fit for the foot of the wearer.
When the elastic gore 34 is contracted, that is, in a "relaxed"
mode, it wrinkles or shirrs the throat section 26, as seen in FIG.
2, giving the throat section a pleasing appearance. When the gore
34 is stretched or expanded, which is the situation when a foot is
placed into the shoe, the shirring or wrinkling becomes less
pronounced, as is shown in dot and dash lines in FIG. 4. When the
gore 34 is fully expanded, as when a wide foot is placed into the
shoe, it substantially disappears from view.
By virture of the foregoing construction, a shoe is provided which
by virtue of the elastic gore, always snugly and comfortably fits
the foot of the wearer. This comfort remains, even after the foot
of the wearer swells, after several hours of shoe wear. Due to the
aforesaid tunnel construction provided for the elastic gore, the
gore cannot be seen from the exterior of the shoe, nor is it felt
when the foot of the wearer is placed into the shoe. Due to its
specific location, the gore yields a pleasant-appearing shirred
effect when it is relaxed, and gives a substantially smooth
appearance to the throat section 26, when it is fully expanded,
resulting in a pleasant-fitting, soft, comfortable shoe.
* * * * *