US3436843A - Detachable uppers for footwear - Google Patents

Description

April 8, 1969 M. SACHS DETACHABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Sheet of4 Original Filed Dec.

as are a? April 1969 M. SACHS 3,436,843

DETACHABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Original Filed Dec. 12, 1966 are '9 Sheet of 4 .43 .5051 s I A April 8, 1969 M. SACHS DETACHABLEUPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Sheet 5 of4 Original Filed Dec. 12, 1966 April 8, 1969 M. SACHS 3,436,843

DETACHABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Original Filed Dec 12, 1966 Sheet 4 of 4 INVENTOR MAXWELL SACHS BY W ATTORNE United Par cc US. Cl. 362.5 30 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Footwear upper section detachably attached to the sole, slidable, resilient, and adjustable features, attaching structure, attaching and covering sole layer, with resilient characteristics.

My invention pertains to footwear and to parts thereof, including sole and upper sections, and means for imparting adjustability so as to afford improvements in fit and appearance as well as to provide convenience and adaptability in use. The present application is a continuation of my co-pending applications, Ser. Nos. 601,217 and 601,216, filed Dec. 12, 1966. The present application is a continuation-in-part of my applications as follows: Ser. No. 601,215, filed Dec. 12, 1966; Ser. Nos. 56 2,0511, 562,056, and 562,053, filed June 13, 1966; Ser. No. 417,686, filed Dec. 1'1, 1964; Ser. No. 414,159, filed Nov. 27, 1964; Ser. No. 399,269, filed Sept. 2-5, 1964; Ser. Nos. 306,418 and 306,416 filed Aug. 30, 1963; Ser. No. 284,288, filed May 5, 1963; Ser. No. 137,945, filed Sept. 18, 1961; Ser. No. 129,891, filed Aug. 7, 1961; Ser. No. 37,907, filed June 22, 1960; Ser. No. 755,156, filed Aug. 15, 1958; and Ser. No. 679,887 filed Aug. 23, 1957.

In accordance with the invention, these general objectives are obtained by providing an article of footwear in which the relative positions of sole and upper portions are variable. Sliding movement, resilient means, connecting sections which are variable in length, and detachable connections are employed.

The features of my invention apply to footwear of every kind. Details, such as the construction of the sole, can vary. For instance, a sole may have a single layer in some footwear while in other footwear a sole may consist of an outersole, innersole, shank tuck, and heel tuck all cemented together. My invention applies to all types.

The term resilient, as used herein, pertains to any type of resilient element, including elastic fabrics and metal and plastic springs and their functional equivalents.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodiments of the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a shoe in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a partly sectioned side view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of a heel assembly having an upper section,

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a shoe in accordance with another embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 5 is a partly sectioned side view thereof,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the sole of the shoe illustrated by FIGURES 4 and 5,

FIGURE 7 is a longtiudinal section thereof,

3,436,843 Patented Apr. 8, 1969 FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary side view of footwear in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view of the heel upper section shown in FIGURES 4 and 5,

FIGURE 10 is a like view of a modification thereof,

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of an attaching hook,

FIGURE 12 is a like view of a socket,

FIGURE 13 is an elevational view of a socket arrangement providing for adjustments of the position of rest of a part attached thereto, and

FIGURE 14 is a top plan view of a socket having a resilient member,

FIGURE 15 shows a fragmentary top plan view of a rear sole portion with two sockets recessed therein,

FIGURE 16 is a section takenapproximately along the line 16-16 of FIGURE 15.

FIGURE 17 shows a fragmentary top view of the sole of FIGURE 15 with a rear section of upper detachably attached, and a fragmentary view of the rear of a cover section with the top layer turned back to disclose the attaching part,

FIGURE 18 shows a perspective view of the upper section and cover section of FIGURE 17 with a connection between the attaching parts of each.

The shoe illustrated by FIGURES 1 and 2 consists of a generally indicated sole 20 to which a heel 2-1 and a vamp 22 are attached. The sole 20 is shown as including a shank tuck 23 extending from the rear of the shoe to the front of the shank and an additional layer or shank tuck 24 and has sockets 25 and 26, the former in the shank area and the latter in the heel area. The socket 25 has an elongated, forwardly opening slot 25A and the socket 26 has an elongated, rearwardly opening slot 26A. The shank tuck 23 is a customary shank stiffening layer which, in the old shoe making processes, is usually cemented to the remainder of the inner sole assembly, and attached before lasting, while the shank tuck 24 would ordinarily be attached as by cementing, together with the sockets 25 and 26, after the shoe has been lasted. In newer procedures, as in string-lasting, the entire innersole assembly would be cemented into the shoe after lasting.

A rear part upper assembly consists of a heel section 27 having a closed bottom 28 to the undersurface of the forward margin of which is secured, as by cementing, a section 29 of elastic webbing or goring. A forward tab section 30 of inelastic material, attached to the front margin of the goring section 29, is provided with a downwardly disposed stud 31 for attachment to the socket 25. A filler layer 32, secured to the undersurface of the bottom 28 of the upper section 27 in abutting relation to the rear edge of the goring section 29, has a downwardly disposed stud 33 for attachment to the socket 26.

It will be noted that the rear part upper assembly is shown as so dimensioned that the goring section 29 yieldably maintains the studs 31 and 33 against the closed ends of the socket slots 25A and 26A, respectively, while enabling the heel section 27 to have a substantial range of sliding movement relatively to the heel section of the sole rearwardly from its position of rest, the slot 26A being so designed and so dimensioned in length as to permit the heel section 27 to slide while still held in attachment to the socket 26. The rearward sliding is particularly advantageous when the foot is getting into or out of the shoe.

The sockets 25 and 26 have marginal flanges 25B and 26B, respectively, anchored by the covering layer 24. The covering layer 24 has apertures 34 and 35 dimensioned to expose the full lengths of the socket slots 25A and 25B, respectively, and to provide space forwardly of their open ends to facilitate the entry of the appropriate one of the studs. If apertures 34 and 35 were dimensioned so as to terminate flush with the open ends of the slots 25A and 26A, respectively, the attachment would be a non-detachable type. Detachability is a convenience, but not a necessary feature of the invention.

The shoe illustrated by FIGURES 4 and has a generally indicated sole 36 provided with a heel 37 and a vamp 38. The sole 36 includes a shank tuck 39 and an additional layer of shank tuck 40 and has a socket 41 in its shank area and a pair of sockets 42 and 43 in itsheel area. The socket 41 has a forwardly opening, elongated slot 41A, the socket 42 has a rearwardly opening elongated slot 42A, and the socket 43 which is spaced'rearwardly of the socket 42, has a forwardly opening slot 43A, also elongated.

A rear part upper assembly, see also FIGURE 9, consists of a heel section 44 having an inturned bottom flange 45 divided at the rear by a notch 46. A length of elastic tape 47 is attached to the undersurface of each front end of the flange 45 with the tape 47 extending forwardly and inwardly towards each other and secured in converging relationship, to a connector 48. A buckle 49, the details of which may best be seen in FIGURE 11, is dimensioned for entry into the slot 41A and includes a hook 50 extending downwardly and to each side- The buckle 49 is shown as having an integral crossed barred section 51. A forwardly extending ribbon or tape 52 is attached to the connector 48 and is threaded through the buckle 49 to permit its effective length to be adjusted as desired and the ribbon or tape to be locked in. place. Other types of length-adjusting buckles may be used.-'A transverse elastic strip 45A interconnects the flanges 45 adjacent the notch 46 and is provided with a downwardly disposed stud 53 for slidable entry into the socket 43. The elastic strip facilitates pressing down the stud when attaching to a socket. It is not necessary, however, that the strip be elastic.

When the hook 50 is caught within the socket 41 and the stud 53 has been entered in the socket 43, the heel upper section 44 has a substantial range of sliding movement relatively to the heel area of the sole 36 rearwardly from its position of rest against the resilient opposition of the elastic tapes 47. In FIGURES 4 and 5, the attaching stud 53 is shown to be centrally located lengthwise in the slot 43A. This position of rest can be varied by adjusting the length of tape 52. The closed rear end of the socket 43 serves, as would the closed portion of the sole at that rear end, to prevent the attaching stud or hook from being accidentally pushed out of the socket rearwardly by the foot.

The sockets 41 and 42 are of the type illustrated in FIGURE 12, and their anchoring flanges, and the end wall of each socket extending downwardly below the plane of the anchoring flanges, are indicated by the suffix addition B and C, respectively. The socket 43.is of a similar type except that its end wall does not extend downwardly so far. The stud 53 is shallow to avoid interference with heel nails. Each socket is seated in an aperture in the tuck 40 and is anchored by the engagement of the tuck 40 with its flanges, which are resting on the tuck 39. The aperture for the socket 41 is indicated at 54 and that for the socket 42 and 55. The tuck 40 is provided with registering apertures 56 and 57 and the apertures provide space to permit access to the open ends of each socket slot.

A cover member includes a section of inelastic ma terial 58 secured to the fore part of the sole 36, a heel section 58A also of inelastic material, and an intermediate section of elastic goring 59. The forward edge of the elastic section 59 is secured, as by cementing, to the undersurface of the section 58 and the rearward edge of the elastic section 59 is secured to the heel section 58A. A Tape 60 and a transverse strip 61 are interposed and anchored between the rear edge of the elastic section 59 and the forward edge of the heel section 58A. The tape 60 is connected to the buckle 62 which will not be further detailed as it is identical to that shown in FIGURE 11. In order to provide additional depth for the downwardly extending parts of the buckles 51 and 62, the tuck 39 is provided with apertures 63 and 64 to accommodate them, and the tuck 40 has slightly longer apertures 65 and 66 overlying the apertures 63 and 64, respectively. In addition, a filler layer 67, secured to the undersurface of the section 59 has a tape-accommodating aperture 68.

After the heel section 44 is attached the hook part of the buckle 62 of the cover member is caught in the socket 42, exposed within the heel section 44, after the effective length of the tape 60 has been suitably adjusted. This enables the lengthwise portion of the heel section 58A of the cover layer to be adjustable. When the adjustment results in an elastic tension strong enough to exert a flexing pull on the sole, it helps to minimize any upward strain by the foot on the heel upper section 44. Since the tape 60 at the rear attaching end of the cover member is narrow and is separated at the attaching position from the wider covering part, visibility and ease of attachability are facilitated, as is the use of a desirable type of narrow adjusting buckle and the attaining of a desirable amount of adjusting range. In addition, it enables the socket 42 and the buckle 62 to be depressed sufliciently to avoid being felt by the foot, without distorting the wider covering part.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURE 8, a fragment of the sole is indicated at 69 as is a fragment of a vamp 70. The rear part upper assembly may be identical, except as hereinafter noted, to that shown in FIGURE 9 but its corresponding parts are distinguished by the suflix addition A.

The heel upper section 44A has a strap 71 pivotably connected to each of its sides by studs 72 and each strap 71 includes an elastic section 71A connecting it to a tape 71B looped through a buckle 73 to enable its effective length to be adjusted as desired and having a stud 74 at its other end which may be snapped into a socket 75 with which each side of the vamp 70 is provided or into a loop 76 attached to the sole 69, one on each side thereof. The position and construction of the elastic section as shown is not intended to limit the elastic section to the particular construction or position shown.

The rear upper assembly shown in FIGURE 10 is generally similar to that shown in FIGURE 9. The heel section 77 has a cut out bottom 78 providing a large central aperture 79. The rear portion of the bottom 78 is provided with a depending stud 80. An elastic section 81 is secured to the front of the bottom 78 centrally thereof and is connected to the buckle 82 by a length of tape 83. The buckle 82 may be identical to the buckle 49 so that it is not here detailed.

While the position of rest of the heel part upper section, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES 4 and 5 may be varied by varying the eflective length of the tape 52, in the case of the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES l and 2, the socket arrangement shown in FIGURE 13 may be used. In that arrangement, two aligned sockets 84 and 85 are employed with the open end of the slot 84A disposed towards but spaced from the open end of the slot 85A. The sockets are of the same type as the sockets 41 and 42, and their flanges and end walls are distinguished by the suflix additions B and C. The socket 85 is shown as having stop bars 86, which, when transferred into the socket 84, provide means for changing the position of the rest of a heel upper section attached thereto. When the stop bars are used in socket 26 of FIGURE 1, the elastic sections 29 would enable the heel section 27 to have a more rearward position of rest.

In place of or in addition to the use of elastic fabric metal or plastic springs may be used for resiliency. For example, the socket 87 shown in FIGURE 14 may be used in the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES 4 and 5 in place of the socket 41. The socket 87 is of a type similar to the sockets 25, 41, and 42, in FIGURE 14, the slot, attaching flanges, and end wall are distinguished by the suffix additions A, B, and C as in the case of the other sockets. The socket '87 houses a compression spring 88 engageable by the hook 50.

The features herein pertaining to positional variability, slidability, and resilient resistance to rearward sliding are applicable even though details of construction may vary, and location of attachments to sole or upper may vary in any direction.

FIGURE shows a plan view and FIGURE 16 a sectioned view of a rear sole portion 89 with a front socket 90 and a rear socket 91. The flanges 92 of socket 90 and the flanges 93 of socket 91 are shown each held down by heel tuck 94. FIGURE 17 shows the sole portion '89 with a rear section of upper 95 attached thereto, and the rear part of a cover section 96 with the top layer 97 turned back to disclose the attaching part 98; and FIGURE 18 shows the upper section 95 partially sectioned to disclose a connection 99 between the buckle 100 of attaching part 98 of the cover section 96 and attaching part 101 of the upper section 95. The connection 99 may be elastic or inelastic.

Added thicknesses are shown in rectangular form at 102 and 103 of FIGURES 15 and 17, although the shape may vary and they need not be confined to the particular area shown. The added thicknesses are preferably strips attached to the sole portion, although the manner of having added thickness in the area may vary. The purpose of the added thickness is to offset the top bulge created by the flanges 92 and 93, which permits a rocking or in stability of the sole portion 104 of upper section 95. Added thickness could also be used in the rear adjacent to flange 105. The added thicknesses may be of resilient material such as foam or sponge rubber or polyurethane foam rising somewhat higher than the bulge resulting from the thickness of the flanges. Thus when pressed down when the rear section of upper is attached to the sole, this provides a desirable snugging effect.

It will be seen in FIGURES l7 and 18 that there is an aperture 106 in sole portion 104 with a forward connecting width 107 between the side portions 108 and 109 of the sole portion 104 at the forward position where the sole portion 104 tapers thinner. In FIGURES l7 and 18, the ribbon 110 of the attaching part 98 is shown to depress the connecting width at the position in front of the aperture 106. This helps to resist sideways sliding. When the top 97 of the covering part 96 is in place it adds additional firmness against sliding.

Details may vary. For instance, while FIGURE 5 shows the ribbon 60 of the attaching part as attached directly to the rear end of the elastic section, it may also be attached indirectly as by being attached to the covering section rearwardly of the elastic section.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that my invention provides footwear in which heel upper sections may have a range of sliding movement rearwardly from a position of rest with attendant advantages and that the invention also provides for a wide range of adjustments ensuring the full realization of those advantages.

I claim:

1. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole in a direction lengthwise of said sole while connected to said sole by said attaching element, and a resilient section connected to said sole and to said heel section and yieldably resisting the rearward sliding of said heel section.

2. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole, said attaching element and said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole in a direction lengthwise of said sole while said heel section is connected to said sole by said attaching element, and a resilient section connected to said sole and to said heel section and yieldably resisting the rearward sliding of said attaching element.

3. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly, said section of material including a resilient section and being attached to said footwear at a position forwardly of said heel area, said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward position of attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole while connected to said sole by said attaching element.

4. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said solo in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly, said section of material including a resilient section and being attached to said sole at a position forwardly of said heel area, said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward position of attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole while connected to said sole by said attaching element.

5. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly, said section of material including a resilient section and being attached to said forward section of upper, said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole in a direction lengthwise of said sole while connected to said sole by said attaching element.

6. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them, a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly, said forwardly extending section of material including a resilient section and being attached forwardly to said sole, and said forwardly extending section of material including portions separately attached to said side portions and connected to each other forwardly, a covering layer extending over said section of material and attached to said sole forwardly of said heel area, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture between said side portions, said aperture extending from said connection in a direction lengthwise of said sole, and an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole and relatively to said connection through said aperture in a direction lengthwise of said sole while said heel section is connected to said sole by said attaching element.

7. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area,

a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, a layer of material extending over said section of material and attached to said sole forwardly of said heel area, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, said aperture extending from said connection in a direction lengthwise of said sole, said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole and relatively to said connection through said aperture in a direction lengthwise of said sole while connected to said sole by said attaching element.

8. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly, said section of material being at tached forwardly to said footwear and including an elastic section between said attachment to said heel section and said forward attachment to said footwear, said heel section being slidable relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole while connected to said sole by said attaching element.

9. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, an attaching element detachably connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, the border of said aperture being spaced from said attaching element.

10. The article of claim 9 in which said layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material includes a narrow tapelike section, with a covering section of said layer extending over said narrow tapelike section, said covering section being wider than said tapelike section and being separable from said tapelike section in the area adjacent to said detachable attachment of said layer to said sole within the area of said aperture.

11. The article of claim 10 in which areas on each side of the sole in the heel area are higher than a central area and the narrow tapelike section depresses in said central area a part of the material connecting the side portions of material attached to the upper and resting on the sole in the heel area.

12. The article of claim 9 in which said layer of material extending over said section of material and attached to the sole forwardly of said section of material includes an elastic section, with the attaching part in the sole including a socket with a lengthwise channel.

13. The article of claim 9 in which the detachable connection of said heel section to said sole includes a socket depressed in said sole and having a slot extending in a direction lengthwise of said sole.

14. The article of claim 10 in which said layer of material extending over said section of material and attached to the sole forwardly of said section of material includes an elastic section with the attaching part in the sole including a socket with a slot extending in a direction lengthwise of said sole.

15. The article of claim 12 in which the detachable connection of said heel section to said sole includes a socket depressed in said sole and having a slot extending in a direction lengthwise of said sole.

16. The article of claim 15 and a part extending between and connecting the detachable attaching element of said heel section to the detachable attaching element of said layer of material which extends over said section of material.

17. The article of claim 10 in which said layer of material extending over said section of material and attached to said sole forwardly of said heel area includes an elastic section, with the attaching part in the sole including a socket with a slot extending in a direction lengthwise of said sole and the narrow tapelike section including a buckle for adjusting the length of said tapelike section.

18. The article of claim 9 in which the material connecting the side portions of the part of said heel section resting on the sole is in the heel area.

19. The article of claim 15 in which the parts connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area include a socket in said sole with a slot having a closed rear end and a forward entrance opening in said heel area, and in which said layer of material opposes the sliding of said heel section out of the position of attachment to said socket.

20. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, an attaching element detachably connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, a layer of material extending over said section of material and attached to said sole forwardly of said section of material, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, the border of said aperture being spaced from said attaching element.

21. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, a layer of material extending over said section of material and attached to said sole forwardly of said section of material, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, said layer of material including an elastic section, and said detachable connection including a socket depressed in said sole and a part connected with said layer and detachably attached to said socket, said socket having a slot with a rearward entrance and said part being slidable in said slot.

22. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, a socket in said sole rearwardly of said aperture and having an overlying portion, an attaching element detachably connecting said heel section to said socket, said attaching element having a holding part extending under and engaging said overlying portion of said socket and detachably maintaining the attachment of said attaching element to said socket, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, said connection including a socket in said sole forwardly of said rearward socket, said socket having a section extending over an area of said sole, and said connection including an attaching element having a holding part in said section of said socket and maintaining said last named attaching element detachably connected to said sole.

23. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, said heel section being detachably attached to said sole rearwardly of said aperture, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material, a socket in said sole forwardly of said rearward attachment of said heel section to said sole, and a detachable connection between said layer and said socket, said connection passing through said aperture, said connection including an intermediate neck and a wider lower portion and a wider upper portion, a section of the border of said aperture being spaced from said neck.

24. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, a socket in said sole rearwardly of said aperture and having an overlying portion, an attaching element detachably connecting said heel section to said socket, said attaching element having a holding part extending under and engaging said overlying portion of said socket and detachably maintaining the attachment of said attaching element to said socket, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, said connection including a socket in said sole forwardly of said rearward socket and an attaching element having a narrow neck passing through said aperture and a wider part positioned in said forward socket and maintaining said forward attaching element detachably connected to said forward socket, a section of the border of said aperture being spaced from said neck.

25. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, said heel section being detachably attached to said sole rearwardly of said aperture, said attaching element having a part passing into an opening in said socket and a holding part maintaining said attaching part connected to said socket, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, said connection including a socket in said sole forwardly of said rearward socket, said socket having a section extending over an area of said sole, and said connection including an attaching element having a holding part extending in said section of said socket and maintaining said last named attaching element detachably connected to said sole.

26. The article of claim 25 with said holding part which extends in said forward socket being spaced from the rear end of said socket.

27. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, a socket in said sole rearwardly of said aperture, an attaching element detachably connecting said heel section to said socket, said attaching element having a neck entering said socket and a wider part positioned insaid socket and maintaining said attaching element detachably connected to said socket, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forward-1y of said connecting material, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture, said connection including a socket in said sole forwardly of said rearward socket and an attaching element having a neck passing through said aperture and a Wider part positioned therein and maintaining said last named connecting attaching element detachably connected to said forward socket, a section of the border of said aperture being spaced from said neck.

28. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including parts extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, said material being detachably connected to said sole rearwardly of said aperture, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material, a socket in said sole forwardly of said rearward attachment of said material to said sole, said socket having top and side portions, an attaching part connected to said layer and passing through said aperture, said attaching part detachably engaging a section of the underside of a top portion of said socket and maintaining said layer detachably connected to said sole.

29. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including parts extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, said material being detachably connected to said sole rearwardly of said aperture, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connecting material, said layer including in said heel area a covering part and an underpart extending under said covering part and passing through said aperture, said underpart detachably connecting said layer to said sole and being separable from the overlying portion of said covering part in the area of said detachable connection.

30. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of up er attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them and material connecting said portions forwardly of said aperture, an attaching element detachably connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, a layer of material extending over said connecting material and attached to said sole forwardly of said connect- 11 ing material, and a detachable connection between said 2,207,306 layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection pass- 2,844,891 ing through said aperture, said layer including a resilient 2,897,612 section between said attachment of said layer to said sole forwardly of said connecting material and said detachable connection of said layer to said sole in said heel 5 370,375

area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,907,997 5/1933 Nickerson 36-44 X 10 36-585 1 2 7/ 1940 Taaler. 7/ 1958 Meltzer. 8/1959 Meltzer 36--58.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 6/ 1961 Great Britain.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

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