US3097438A - Accessory for a shoe - Google Patents

Description

July 16, 1963 EVANS 3,097,438

ACCESSORY FDR A SHOE Filed April 9, 1962 54 INVENTOR ANTHONY J. EVANS ATTORNEY 3,897,438 ACCESSQRY FOR A SHQE Anthony .F. Evans, Box 14, Wendell Depot, Mass. Filed Apr. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 186,033 7 Claims. (Cl. 36-11) This invention relates to an accessory for a shoe, and the principal object of the invention resides in the provision of an attachment to a shoe or similar footwear, said attachment facilitating the placement of the foot into the shoe or other footwear and acting in the nature of a shoehorn, said attachment preferably being attached to the shoe as to the sock liner.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of the shoe attachment acting as a shoehorn as above described which includes a gauging or positioning memher conforming in general to a certain portion of the area of the insole of the shoe, particularly in the heel portion thereof, said gauging member being adapted to be flatly secured to the sock liner or to the insole by adhesive, and having a flexible shoehorn member secured thereto at the shank of the shoe and adapted to be pulled up to be engaged by the heel of a persons foot as it is about to be placed in the shoe, and moving downwardly with the foot and acting as a shoehorn in placing the foot in the shoe.

This invention represents an improvement over United States Patent #3,0 14,288 issued December 26, 1961 and refers in general to means for positioning the attachment in the shoe in a correct location particularly with respect to the heel of the shoe, including gauging or positioning means to be placed in the shoe particularly in the heel and shank area thereof, so as to locate the accessory in the correct relation with respect to the counter to facilitate the addition of the attachment to the shoe and to improve the action thereof.

The invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through a shoe with a form of the novel attachment applied thereto and showing the foot being inserted in the shoe;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a modification;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the form of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the form of the invention shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an edge view of another modification, and

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the modification of FIG. 5, looking in the direction of arrow 6.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown what is a completely conventional shoe which has an upper at 10, an outsole 12, a heel 14, and a counter 16, and it is to be emphasized that the shoe is completely conventional and may be of any well known construction such as Goodyear welt, vulcanized, stitched-down, moccasin, etc.

The accessory in the present case as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is shown as a member generally indicated at 18 which is in the general form of the insole of the shoe to which the accessory is to be attached. This member is preferably made of suitable thin material which may be conveniently adhesively secured to the insole or the sock liner already present in the shoe, and it has the shape in general thereof having a forward toe portion and a rearward heel portion 22, these being joined by an intermediate shank portion 24.

It is very convenient to make the member 13 of a plastic fabric or paper material which is provided at its under side with a pressure-adhesive and also a protective cover 3,097,438 Patented July 16, 1963 ice member for the adhesive so that this protective cover member merely has to be stripped off, the member 18 inserted into the shoe, and then pressed in position so that it becomes substantially permanently adherent to the sock liner or the insole. In this connection it is to be noted that the member 18 should substantially fit the shoe and is preferably made in rights and lefts for this purpose. In any event, it is to be particularly noted that the heel portion at 22 should be placed to conform to the rear of the shoe at the counter as it is only in this Way that the attachment to be described can be properly positioned to act in its intended manner as is illustrated in FIG. 1.

The attachment itself is indicated by the reference numeral 26 and is made of a suitable material such as leather, plastic, etc. It includes an elongated portion 28 and a tab at 30. The tab at 30 is made integrally and it has a reduced waist area at 32 so that it is more easily bent in this area and it also may be provided with apertures 33 if desired to make it conform to the counter more easily.

The part 18 which is generally shaped to fit the shoe so that it will fit into the shoe in a pre-assembled location therein may be cemented at the under side thereof at the factory, or as stated above. The pressure-sensitive adhesive coating with the cover would be generally sold for use in the after market, i.e., shoes already manufactured and sold. In addition to the use of the holes 33 shown in the tab 36 for conforming to the counter it is preferred that short slits as at 34 also be used to make the fold line at 36 a little easier to manipulate especially when the device is new.

At the forward end of the elongated portion 28, the same is skived at the under side thereof and adhesive is applied in the area indicated by the reference numeral 38. The part 28 is permanently secured to member 18 which acts as a gauge to exactly locate the tab 30 in the correct position as for instance as shown in FIG. 1 for proper and easy application of the device, and for use as a permanent, built-in shoehorn.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 4, the construction in this case is substantially the same but without the toe piece at 20. In this case there is a heel portion generally indicated at 40 having a rounded rear edge 42 and at its forward edge it is cut off sharp at 44 with a square edge to receive in secured relationship thereto the skived forward edge at 46 of the elongated portion 48 having the terminal tab at 50, the tab 50 and the elongated portion 48 being the same or substantially so as the respective parts at 28 and 30 in FIG. 3. Also, holes or perforations 51 can be utilized as at 33.

Although the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3 will snugly fit the shoe for which it is made, the same is true as to the form of the invention shown in FIG. 4 because the heel edge 42 can be applied to the counter of the shoe. Therefore the user merely has to abut the edge 42 against the inside of the shoe at the heel against the counter area and the device is correctly positioned, so that if there is pressure-sensitive adhesive on the bottom surface of the member 40, then all the user has to do is to press this member down onto the sock liner or the heel portion of the insole, and the same is in the correct position. Hence, the member 40 is the gauge by which the member 48 and tab 50 are correctly positioned within the shoe, the same as in the FIG. 3 construction except that the forward toe portion 30 now has been dispensed with. Here again adhesive can be preapplied to the bottom of the member 40 but it is not needed in the event that the device is to be applied to the shoe at the factory, but only where it is to be applied by the consumer himself.

, as leather, imitation leather, plastic, etc.

,3 There is provided a still furthermodification of the invention wherein the gauge member is indicated at 52 in FIG. 5. This gauge member has permanently attached thereto 'in the area 54 the accessory member 56 which itself has an integral toe member 58 and tab 60. The

mem-ber- 52 also has the rounded rear edge at 62 for positioning against the counter, and the toe member at 58 fits the shoe also.

The tab 60 is the same as above described with relation toFIG. 3 at 30, preferably including holes or perforations 61, and in this case it will be seen that the adhesive can be used as well as other kinds of cement at the factory as above described.

It is pointed out that the materials used in the present case can be of any convenient or suitable description such In most cases the under-lyingportion at 18 in FIG. 3; 40 in FIG. 4, ,and; 52 in FIG. 5 will be of relatively thin nature, but nevertheless it necessary the parts can be skived Where ,desired in order to form connections as at 38, 46 and 54 which will not cause any [discomfort to the foot.

In all cases there is provided by this invention a positive gauge by which the tab at 30, and is positive1y. positioned so that it will operate correctly, pivot- ,ing from the shank of the shoe adjacent the ball of the footso that when the foot is pushed down (see FIGS.

1 and 2), the tabs will lie in correct position.

It is important that these gauges be utilized in order to correctly position the accessory, both as to its point of pivot in the shank of the shoeand as to its tab positionat the rear or counter portion of the shoe, so that it, will operate smoothly and easily for the intended purpose of assisting the wearer to assume the footwear.

Having thus described my invention and the advanvtages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is: V

1. An attachment for a shoe, said attachment comprising a flat gauging part, said gauging part having a portion thereof conforming to the shape of the sole of the shoe including the heel and the shank, said gauging 4 part being adapted to be cemented in position with respect to the shoe, and a movable, flexible accessory secured to said gauging part adjacent the shank area only thereof, said accessory extending to the rear and being otherwise free of the gauge part, the accessory normally extending above the shoe counter and upon Which the foot is adapted to be set in entering the shoe, the foot causing said accessory to slide down and conform to the shape of the counter, assisting the foot in entering the shoe, said gauging part including an arcuate rear edge that conforms to and fits the corresponding portion of the heel of the shoe to correctly locate the accessory with respect to the counter portion of the shoe.

2. The attachment of claim 1 wherein the gauging part is located and conforms only to the heel and shank area of the shoe.

3. The attachment of claim 1 wherein said gauging part extends throughout the sole of the shoe.

4. The attachment of claim 1 wherein said gauging part extends to the heel and shank portion only of the shoe and there being an integral, forwardly extending toe portion on the accessory, said forwardly extending toe portion of the accessory and said gauging part together forming a gauge extending throughout the entire sole of the shoe.

5. The attachment set forth in claim 1 wherein said tab is perforated.

6. The attachment set forth in claim 1 wherein said tab is perforated and including slits extending from said tab into the body of the accessory.

7. The attachment set forth in claim 1 wherein said tab is perforated and including slits extending from said tab into the body of the accessory, a constricted Waist portion between the tab and the main body of the accessory, said inwardly extending slits extending from the tab into the main body of the accessory at the waist to aid in flexing of the tab as the foot descends into the shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 764,635 Scism July 12, 1904 769,766 Palmer Sept. 13, 1904 2,118,019 Benjafield May 17, 1938 3,014,288 Evans et a1 Dec. 26, 1961

Claims (1)

1. AN ATTACHMENT FOR A SHOE, SAID ATTACHMENT COMPRISING A FLAT GAUGING PART, SAID GAUGING PART HAVING A PORTION THEREOF CONFORMING TO THE SHAPE OF THE SOLE OF THE SHOE INCLUDING THE HEEL AND THE SHANK, SAID GAUGING PART BEING ADAPTED TO BE CEMENTED IN POSITION WITH RESPECT TO THE SHOE, AND A MOVABLE, FLEXIBLE ACCESSORY SECURED TO SAID GAUGING PART ADJACENT THE SHANK AREA ONLY THEREOF SAID ACCESSORY EXTENDING TO THE REAR AND BEING OTHERWISE FREE OF THE GAUGE PART, THE ACCESSORY NORMALLY EXTENDING ABOVE THE SHOE COUNTER AND UPON WHICH THE FOOT IS ADAPTED TO BE SET IN THE ENTERING THE SHOE, THE FOOT CAUSING SAID ACCESSORY TO SLIDE DOWN AND CONFORM TO THE SHAPE OF THE COUNTER, ASSISTING THE FOOT IN ENTERING THE SHOE, SAID GAUGING PART INCLUDING AN ARCUATE REAR EDGE THAT CONFORMS TO AND FITS THE CORRESPONDING PORTION OF THE HEEL OF THE SHOE TO CORRECTLY LOCATE THE ACCESSORY WITH RESPECT TO THE COUNTER PORTION OF THE SHOE.

Images