US1766311A - Shoe heel - Google Patents

Description

W. S. SHAFT June 24, 1930.

SHOE HEEL Fild May 29, 1928 2 SheeiiS-Slfleefkl l "Ill Ill INVENTR. nw L75 5. SMQ/Cr June 24, ,1930.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 sHoE HEEL W. S. SHAFT Filed May 29. 1928 the desired results.

Patented June. 24, 1930 UNITED STATES lPATENToFFicE y WILLIS S. SHAFT, OF FRIBALT, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOB TO SHAFT-PIERCE SHOE COMPANY, OF FARIBAULT, MINNESOTA.

Application filed May 29,

ing the heel of a shoe whereby the trans-v mission of shock to the wearer of the shoe, incident to walkin will be prevented.

It has, heretobe ore, been proposed in the art, to provide means for cushioning` the heel, such` as by the use of rubber heels se cured toy the ordinary heel lifts or by the' use of cushioning inserts in the ordinaryl heel. lVhile the use of rubber heels has been found beneficial to la certain extent such use does not entirely cushion the lheel or give The use of inserts in the heel as now known the art has also failed in view of the arrangement of these inserts and the construction. thereof relative to the usual heel.

It isV therefore anotherisalient feature of` this invention to provide a novel cushion arranged'in the heel of' a shoe in a predetermined manner and position whereby` the insert will beisposed directly belowthe heel or calcaneumbone of the wearer, whereby the lower part of such bone will rest directly upon the cushion and the cushion thus forming a resilient support for the bone and thus prevent the transmission of shockto the bone and the entire foot and leg of the wearer.

A further important object of the inven Vtion is the provision of a cushion linsert for a shoe heel arranged directly below the point ofthe heel or calcaneum bone of the foot of the wearer, said cushion insert extending entirely through the sole and heel lifts of the shoe in abutting engagement with an ordinary rubber heel whereby strains placed upon said -inse'rt will be deflected throughout the entire rubber heelv and thus forming a positive cushioning heel for the calcaneum or heel bone.

cushioning heel which will give with each 192s. smaila. 281,518?

vention ofundue wear on the rear edge portion of a rubber heel or wear-lift.

With these and other objects in view, theV invention consists in the novel construction,

arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described,

claimed,-and illustrated in the accompanyi y Figure2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a'shoetaken on the4 line 2-2 of l Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows. i 0,

Figure 3 isa horizontal section through the heel of a shoe constructed in accordance y of Figure 2 looking in the direction ofthe arrows. v i

Figure All is a horizontal section taken ythrough the heel.ofu ashoe on the line 4-4 of Figure 2 looking in the direction'of the arrows. v -n x Figure 5 ils 'a detail section similar to Figure 2 illustrating a position assumed b y the inner sole -of a shoe after the vshoe has been in use@ f y Figure 6 is -a transverse' section through .the shoe heel taken on the line 6- 6 of Figure `.5 looking in the direction of the arrows. v

Figure 7 is a fragmentary bottom" plan i '-view ofthe inner solel illustrating the cavityv formed vtherein for receiving the upper end of a cushioninginsert.

with the invention taken on the ,line 3-3 Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a shoe sole and heel lifts illustrating the formation .thereof forreceiving a cushioning insert.

Figure. 9 is a detail perspective View of a. cushioning insert', and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the' heel of a shoe illustrating a slightly modilied Aform of the invention. i

Referring now to .the drawings in detail,- wherein similar reference characters designatel corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A generally indicates a `shoe constructed in accordance with this invention and as shown the same includes an inner sole 15, a counter 16, the upper 17, and the outer sole 18. 'The heel liftsI 19 and 20 are secured to the heel or seat on'the sole 18 in the usual way.

In accordance with this invention the sole 18 and the heel lifts 19 and 20 are provided with openings forming a well or recess 21. As shown this well or recess 21 extends entirely through the heel lifts and sole 18 and is disposed at the longitudinal center of the heel but in rear of the transverse center of the heel. This recess orwell is so disposed as to liedirectlybeneath the lower part of the heel or calcaneum bone; of the foot, for a purpose which will be more fully brought out. The lower surface of the inner sole 15 is provided with a` seat or cavity 22 and this seat or cavity is arranged directly above the well and directly below the portion of the shoe `upon which the heel bone or calcaneum bone ofthe heel rests. f-

Fitted within the well or opening 21 is a cushioning pad 23 which can be formed of any desired resilient material such as rubber, sponge rubber, or 'any material possessing the necessary resiliency and shock absorbing qualities. The upper end of the cushion 23 is received within the cavity 22 as clearly shown inthe drawings. It is preferred that the cushion extend slightly below the lower face of the lowermost lift 2O as is also clearly shown in the drawings.

In the illustration I have shown the cushion pads either of circular or cylindrical form but it is to be understood that pads or cushions can be made in any desired shape and that the opening can be made to conform to the configuration thereof, the essential feature of the invention, being the arrangement of the pad in rear of the transverse center of the heel so as to occupy that portion of the shoe upon which the calcaneum bone normally rests. p

' After the cushion or pad 23 has been placed in position a rubber heel 24 is secured to the lifts 19 and 20 and thus the rubber heel closes the well or recess 21 and the cushion or pad 23 rests directly upon the upper surface of the rubber heel. Due to the fact that the cushion 23 extends below the heel lifts, the rubber heel 24 abuts the lower end of the cushion 23 and is slightly spaced from the lifts around the cushion, thereby forming a complete resilient support for the calcaneum bone.

By this construction and arrangement an effective cushion is provided for the support of the calcaneum or heel bone and this bone rests directly upon a pad of cushioning material which will effectively prevent the transmission of injurious shocks to the heel bone and consequently to the entire foot and leg of the wearer. With a shoe conlis clearly drawings.

structed, in accordance with this invention, persons are enabled to walk for long distances and to stand upon their feet for long durations of time without injurious effects,

thus rendering the shoe particularly adapted for persons whose calling requires them to be constantly upon their feet.

The provision o f the cushioning pad 23 resting upon the rubber heel 24 adds resiliency to the entire shoe heel and the calcaneum bone rests entirely upon the cushioning material. y

In Figure 10 of the drawings I have shown a slightly modified form of the invention 'and in this form, I prefer to have the opening 21 slightly tapering toward its upper end and in this form I prefer to use a cushion 25 of substantially frusto-conical configuration with the lower face of the pad of a greater area than the upper face thereof which allows a relatively large seat for the pad or cushion upon the rubber heel 24.

After a shoe, constructed as shown, has been in use for a time, the cavity 22 formed in the inner sole and the cushion 23 allows the inner sole to form a recess in the upper l face to normally receive' the calcaneum bone so that aseat will be provided therefor, as shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the From the foregoing description, it can be seen that a novel effective means has'been provided for cushioning the heel of a shoe in order that a positive cushioning member is provided for the heel or calcaneum bone and `that'the point of the bone will be normally seated upon a shock absorbing member.

Not only does the pad or cushion form a shoe of great comfort, but the pad also prevents undue wear on the rear portion of a rubber heel incident to walking, in that in each step taken, the cushion or pad 23 is compressed thus taking up the jolt or shock generally imparted to the rear surface of the heel. I

Changes in detail may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention but What I claim as new is:

In a shoe, an inner sole having a cavity formed in the lower face thereof, an outer sole, heel lifts secured to the outer sole, the heel lifts and outer sole being provided with aligned openings, a pad of cushioning material fitted into said openings extending above and below said openings with the up- WILLIS s. SHAFT.

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