US2776502A - Footwear construction - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 8, 1957 L. L. TAYLOR FOOTWEAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 25, 1954 INVENTOR. [EON/7R0 L 79 YA 0/2 A MQ flrraeMs X United States Patent FOOTWEAR CONSTRUCTION Leonard L. Taylor, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 25, 1954, Serial No. 412,547 1 Claim. (Cl. 36-36) My invention relates to improvements in footwear construction.

My invention relates more particularly to improvements in the construction of heels and is directed to heels which are rotatable so that the wear around the peripheral edge will be uniform, regardless of the walking habits of the individual wearer.

Various persons wear shoes or similar footwear in different Ways, some people wearing out one side or the other of the heel due to a particular way of walking or to a handicap or deformity of one type or another. Thus, if it were possible for the wearer to easily and quickly replace a worn heel or the wearing portion thereof, he would get much more use out of the pair of shoes, and as a result each pair would have a longer useful life.

In addition, if it were possible for a user to buy an extra set of this particular type of heels when he bought a pair of shoes for a deformity of the feet or handicap of some kind, and the heels were such that he could easily remove the worn ones and replace them with the spare or additional heels he had purchased, he could quite easily double the life of the shoes he has purchased. This is especially desirable since it is often inconvenient for persons to get to shoe repair shops when the heels need replacement, and as a result either the shoes are worn until they are beyond repair or are thrown aside and a new pair must be purchased.

In addition thereto, the cost of specially made shoes of the orthopedic type for persons with handicaps or foot impediments, is usually comparatively expensive and large sums of money are spent for such shoes. With the simple expedient of a rotatable heel of the type described, a much longer life would result from the use of each such pair of shoes.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a shoe or other article of footwear having a rotatable heel attached thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotatable heel of the type described which will automatically, from the action of the wearer in walking, tend to intermittently rotate the heel so that the wear on the peripheral edge of the same is maintained throughout the entire diameter of the heel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heel for footwear of the type described that is easily attachable and one which may be removed and replaced when it becomes worn and no longer gives satisfactory performance.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings, upon which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a mans shoe equipped with my new type of rotatable heel;

Fig. 2 is a bottom fragmentary view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view thereof taken generally on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary bottom perspective view showheel portion are connected together.

2,776,502 Patented Jan. 8, 1957 "ice ing my invention as applied to the heel of a lady's shoe; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view showing the same as applied to an orthopedic shoe.

In the embodiment of the invention which I have chosen to illustrate and describe the same, I have shown a typical mans shoe 10 which may have a body portion 12, a sole 14 and a heel 16. The heel 16 which I provide may be generally formed in three parts, a shallow or comparatively thin heel portion 18, an inner portion 19, and a rotatable member 20.

The thin or shallow heel portion 18 may have a centrally located nut member 22 provided with a flange 24 which is adapted to be fastened on the inner face of ,the same by means of the usual fastening nails 26. The

nut member 22 may also have a boss 28 provided with a tapped central bore 30.

The rotatable heel portion 20 may be formed with a central opening 32 terminating in an enlarged shallow circular opening in the upper face of the same. A flexible metal plate 34 is placed on the floor of said shallow opening, the plate 34 being provided with radially extending arms 36 which have serrations 38 about their periphery for engaging into the surface of the edge of the shallow opening so that the plate and the rotatable If the rotatable heel portion is made of rubber, the same may be suitably embedded therein by extruding plugs 40 through suitable openings in the plate 34.

The rotatable heel portion 20 may be fastened to the shallow heel portion 18 by means of a bolt member 42 which has a threaded portion 44 engaging in the tapped Opening 30, the bolt having a suitable shoulder to properly space the same against the nut 22 and a slotted head 46 for fastening the same down. The bolt extends through a central opening 50 in the spring plate member 34.

The inner heel portion 19, as can be seen, is provided with an arcuate end Wall 52 of the same diameter as the rotatable heel portion 20, so that in ordinary appearance the entire heel has a fiat lower surface and is generally shaped to the contour of the rigidly secured heels. However, as can be seen in Fig. 1 of the drawings, there are persons who as they walk put more pressure on either the left or right side of the heel as it engages the walking surface, with the result that as each step is taken there is a tendency to rotate the heel portion 20 slightly. In this way, as a person walks, the rotatable heel portion 20 will intermittently move in a circle, and as a result the wear on the edge of the same be uniform about its entire diameter.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a ladys shoe 60 provided with the usual sole 62 and a high heel 64. I have provided the same attachment of shallow heel portion 18, inner heel portion 19 and rotatable heel portion 20, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a similar attachment of a rotatable heel portion 20 fastened by the bolt 42 in association with an orthopedic attachment 66 applied to the sole 68 of a specially built shoe for persons who have a deformity and require the orthopedic build-up, as shown. With this construction of shoe the rotatable heel again is provided so that even though greater pressure is brought on the left or right side of the heel when walking, the heel portion 20 will intermittently move as steps are taken, thereby rotating the same continuously when the wearer is walking so that the peripheral edge of the same will be worn down in a uniform manner.

With the present attachment for shoes it can be seen that the health of the wearer can be greatly improved and the expense, especially of orthopedic or other specially built shoes can be greatly reduced.

I contemplate that changes and modifications may bemadein the exact details shown and I do notv wish. to be limited in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A three-part heel for shoes comprising athin heel portion adapted to be fastened to a shoe, a centrally lo.- cated nut member secured thereto, said nut member having an enlarged flange fastened on the inner surface of said thin heel portion. and a tapped boss extending through the same, a fiat rotatable heel portion cylindrical in shape and having a central opening therethrough terminating in an enlarged shallow opening in the face of the same, a flexible metal plate positioned in said opening and lying against the floor of said opening, said plate having radially extending arms, serrations. on the outer edges of said arms for frictionallyconnecting said plate and said rotatable heel portion together, said plate having a central opening therethrough, a fastening bolt extending through said central opening and engaging said tapped boss, a spacing shoulder on said bolt and an inner heel portion of the thickness of said rotatable References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 801,549 Santini Oct. 10, 1905 833,078 Morrison Oct. 9, 1906 1,052,508 Newland Feb. 11, 1913 1,274,734 Maliszewski Aug. 6, 1918 1,280,836 Quevedo Oct. 8, 1918

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