US2334474A - Shoe tip protector - Google Patents

Description

Patented Nov. 16, 1943 UNITED' S'IATES` "PATENT OFFICE assaut i snor; 'r11'. rrtorrnoron. estar t. ehertok', Brooklyn, N. Y; a aeeiieatienpeeemter s, 1940seria1Ne. 368,951

` r claim. (ci. 3ft- 72) Thisinventionrelates generally teY the tootwear f tector prevents, the 'shoe from being injured.

thereunder, and also/actsA to protectthe Wearers foot. should any heavy object fall; upon the shoe. Another object. herein lies. in the provision of shoe tin protecting structureA which is readilyY fabricated in large quantities at low cost so that the same, mayhave. ajconsequentjwide use and distribution. f y n .A still further obj ectjhereinliesinthefprovision of shoe tip. Protecting structure which is readily' detachably engageable,V with, the shoe, requiring ne specialv tools or'skill for this, purpose. In ac-.1

cordance with thepresent novel construction...` the shoe tip protector when ingplaceA does not` damagev the shoe in any conspicuous or vital portions thereof.

A feature" of the present invention lies` in the fact. that, when the. shoe protector is, in place upon the shoe,j the. protector is securely held thereat. against movement in many directions so that aceidental displacelfnent` thereofv is extremely remote. y

These objects. `and other incidental ends and advantages will more fully appear` in the progress ofthis disclosurey and be.` pointedl out. in theL appended claim. I

VIn the drawing constituting a material part, hereof, similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several, views in which: l

Figure 1' is a front elevational' View of' a shoe having associated therewith a rst embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged Verticalsecf tionalV view, constitutingn a medial section of the forwardportion of `Figure 1.

`Figure 3* isafragmentary enlarged' view in perspective showing in detail two of the, sole edge similar to- Figure 11, but taken from a higher viewpoint.

Figure 7 is aperspective view ofA a secondA eine'y bodiment of the invention, in place upona shoe.`

Turning now to` the first. embodiment. of. the.

invention illustrated in Figures` `l toi` 6l inclusive;r

the shoe `tip protector is. generally indi-catedI by;

numeral It). The protector I0 is of irregular configuration and theshape.- thereofis bestA seen. prof. tector Il) includes a shoe tip covering portion Ht;

in the several figures of. the drawing..

a welt engaging rib L2.; a-.soletop engaging ange I3; a sole periphery engaging vertical rim I4 and a sole bottom engaging lip- I5.

The protector I''` is preferably lfabricated ofi a stimateriale having some resiliencyv An example of such material is sheet steel. When made from sheet steel', the protector lilv maybe manufactured in one piecebysuitable blanking and forming operations;

The tipV covering portion H is generally of" convex shape, but the configuration thereof is pri'- marily determined' byV the external configuration of the shoe tip I6. The upper rear edge I8 ofthe portion II may extend rearwardly on, the shoe p any suitable distance, and the, rearward extenof the shoe when placed thereon) and formsin part the welt engaging rib I2; From the welt engaging rib I2, the material of which, the protector Itis composed extends radially outwardly in a horizontal plane to form the flange I3; The,

convergence or juncture formed by the lower front part of the tip covering portion I I andthe rearl part of the solel top, engaging flange I3 form an acute angle with relation to each other.

The outer edge `portion oi the sole tcp engagingflange I3 forms, a right angle with. rel'ation to the vertical rim I llr which engages thepe- `riphery of theY sole. The rim I4 is preferably coextensive with the edge i8', though where desired,

lsaid rim may extend' rearwardly along the edge.

of the solev 2i), to some point beyond the edge l; The forward portion o f the lower edge 2i. has extending' rearwardly therefrom, and preferably. at-right angles-thereto, the bottom engaging lip I5. The rear edge 22 of the lip I5 is preferably rounded as best seen in Figure 4. The inner opposed surfaces oi the flange I3 and the lip I5 are preferably parallel and are spaced from each other a distance equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of the sole 2Q.

The rear portions of the rim le are provided with sole edge engaging prongs 23 to 28 inclusive.

larin shape and have the points thereof facing forwardly of the shoe I1 and the protector Ill.

These prongs are formed by making a series ofM V-shaped incisions 29 and then forcing inwardly the prongs so that they take a position as'seen in Figure 4. The rim I4 is composed of relatively stiff resilient material so that the prongs have a spring-like action. f

The outer surface of the protector may be treated in such manner as to take on an appearance harmonious with the shoe with which the protector is to be used. Examples of such nishes are bright plating, colored enamel, or certain chemical nishes such as gun-metalling. The brighter vfinishes are ymore suited to childrens shoes while the more subdued finishes are more adapted for adults shoes,

` The sole top engaging ange is preferably of uniform width so that'the same may properly overlay Vthe upper portion of the exposed sole edge.

` Operation The operation of the rst embodiment of the device is substantially as follows:

The protector II] is held in a position corresponding to the oneit will occupy when fully seated upon the shoe and with the lower surface of the lining I9 resting upon the outer surface of the shoe tip I 6, the entire device is moved rearwardly upon the shoe. As the device is pushed to the rear, the rim I 4 will be guided in position as the flangeV I3 slides over the upper surface of the sole edge. Since the prongs23 to 28 inclusive are positioned inwardly of the inner surface of the rim lli, they contact the outer surface of the edge of the sole 20 and are pressed outwardly toward the rim IG. The device is then pushed into its fully seated position so that the portion 35 (see Figure 2) contacts the outer surface of the sole 20 at the front central portion thereof. In its fully seated position, the

protector becomes for practical purposes anv inl Movement of the protegral part of the shoe. tector I Il downwardly of the shoe is prevented by such movement. Upward movement of the device is prevented by the rib I and the lip I abutting the adjacent parts. Rearward movement is prevented by the portion 35 abutting theforward central portion of the front edge of the sole 2G as well as other parts abutting the shoe. Forward movement of the protector I relative to the shoe is prevented by the prongs 23 to 28 inclusive penetrating into the edge of the sole 20.

The points of the prongs are urged inwardly since they are spring-like in action, and forward movement'of the rim I4 causes them to dig in moredeeply into the edge of the sole 2).

Where it is desired to remove the protector, it becomes a simple matter to insert a thin knife blade between the inner surface of the rim l and the outer surface of the edge of the sole 20. The knife blade is preferably introduced at the rihese prongs are preferably triangu-I points 36. By reason of the resilient nature of the prongs 23 to 28 inclusive, it is not necessary that a different size of the protector IEI be made for each shoe size, though in order to provide a proper co-relation between the parts, it is considered necessary to have left and right shapes to correspond to the right and left shoes.

Turning now to the second embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 7, parts corresponding to the first embodiment are given singly primed needless repetition. Y

The principal difference existing between the first embodiment and the second embodiment lies in the fact that the tip covering portion Il' is provided with a plurality of perforations indicated Vgenerally by numeral 3l and stitch markings indicated generally by numeral 38; and the sole top engaging flange I3 is provided with a plurality of stitch markings 39 and stitcher knife marks 40.

Another difference between the rst and sec'- ond embodiments lies in the fact thatythe edge I8' is irregularly shaped to conform to the shape of the shoe tip which lies directly therebelow. It

is thus seen that the protector l0 may be so4 shaped and decorated that when in place, it is` ness and advantages of the present tip protecting construction are retained. y

It may thus be seen that I have provided a novel shoe tip protector which may be made at low cost and yet which is light in weight, convenient, and useful. My shoe tip protector furnishes adequate protection for the shoe as Well as the Wearers foot and yet is readily put in place or removed without the aid of special skill or tools. While the invention is especially useful in connection with children, to be Worn While playing, or for adults, while engaged in hazardous occupations, or those in which the front portion of the shoe is subjected to a'great deal of Wear,

it is obvious that any shoe in need of protec? tion may be benefited by the use of my improved shoe tip protector. l

As contrasted with certain constructions in the prior art, no interferencev is made with the shoe tip I6 and no pointed objects are inserted into the shoe at the welt, that is to say at the point' shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

For use with a shoe, a shoe tip protector comprising: a tip covering portion; a sole periphery engaging rim composed of resilient material and integral with the lower .part of the tip covering portion, said sole periphery engaging rim being ,generally U-shaped; each of the lateral rear portions of said rim having a V-shaped incision forming a triangularly shaped prong, the point of which is disposed inwardly of the rim and forwardly directed with relation to the tip protector and said shoe.

OSCAR J. CHERTOK.

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