MUSSABINI

Patented May 26, 1025,

139,762

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Scipio Godolphin MussAinNi, a British subject, residing at Brixton, London, England, have invented 6 certain new and useful Improvements in Footgear, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in athletic and other footgear and it consists

10 essentially in constructing footgear of front and rear portions separably connected at and around the waist, said connection enabling the footgear to be adjusted or tensioned at the arch or underside of the foot

15 and to be there held against the foot of the wearer.

I make the boot or shoe of two separate parts, front and rear, which are normally secured together at the waist of the shoe

20 by a releasable connection which holds the front and rear portions together at the waist as well as at the sides of the shoe. The connection between the front (or toe) portion and the rear (or heel) portion ex

25 tends transversely from one side to the other side, and it includes ties at points below and around the underside of the instep. The connection is with advantage so made that it is adjustable as to tension.

30 By this means I am enabled to make the boot or shoe a glove-tight fit upon and around the foot, to afford increased support to the middle portion of the foot, to provide adjustment in the length of the

85 boot or shoe, and to enable either the front or the rear portion of the shoe to be changed when required. For example, a single rear or heel portion could be used with either a spiked front portion or with a rubber-soled

40 front portion, in the case of a shoe for use by a runner. Preferably the releasable connection between the front and rear portions is by means of laces and eyelet holes, which latter are arranged at intervals around the

48 underside of the front and rear portions of the shoe, but other suitable fastenings may be employed such as straps and buckles, or the like.

The invention is hereafter described with 80 reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:—

Figure 1 is a plan view from the imder

side, and Figure 2 a plan from top of a shoe fitted with a crepe rubber sole.

Figures 3 and 4 are plan views respec- 55 tively of the sole and of the top of the front portion of a spiked running (or track) shoe.

Figures 5 and 6 are plan views respectively of the underside and of the top, of the rear portion of a shoe intended to com- 60 plete the front portion sh"-wn in Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 7 is a side view of the heel-less shoe, represented in Figures 3-6.

Figure 8 is a side view of another form- of 65 carrying out the invention.

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the invention applied to a boot.

The front portion a is shown in Figures 1 and 2 provided with the ordinary longi- 70 tudinal lace-up device consisting of a lace I) and eyelets b', this front portion a being provided with a rubber sole or wearing piece c. A tongue d is arranged below the lace-up device b V in the usual manner. At 75 its rear end, the front portion a of the shoe is shown provided with a series of eyelets a which extend around the waist and so below the instep, as clearly seen , in Figure 1. It is to be noted that these eyelets e are 80 continued from the one meeting face of the lace-up device b V to the other meeting face of b b'.

The rear portion / is shown in Figures 1 and 2 with a rubber heel or wearing piece 85 ff, and at its forward end with a complementary series of eyelets h also extending around the underside of the foot so that the front and rear portions a f can be secured together by means of a lace i which passes 90 through the eyelets e h. The rear portion is also provided, as will be clearly seen in Figures 6 and 7, with a counter /'.

Both front and rear portions a f are made of leather, canvas or other suitable material, 95 and the transverse eyelets e h may be of any usual construction. The eyelets may be spaced apart at equal distances or other- . wise, as desired.

In the arrangement of Figures 3-6, the 100 front portion a is provided with a leather sole c' and spikes tf2 of the well-known character employed by track runners. As will be seen from Figures § and 6, the sep

arate heel or wearing piece g is-dispensed with and the rear portion / is formed to embrace the heel of the wearer without a separate wearing piece (as g). The heel

5 less arrangement will be clear from inspection of Figure 7.

The rear portion / of the shoe is provided with a forwardly extending tongue j secured thereto as by stitches f which

10 tongue overlaps the joint adjacent to the roAvs of transverse eyelets e h and is continued into the front portion a of the shoe.

The improved footgear made with a transverse adjustable connection at the waist be

15 tween the front and rear portions, and continued under the foot, will be found of considerable advantage to runners, boxers, fencers, tennis players, ball-players, cyclists, cricketers and others, inasmuch as not only

20 can a glove-tight fit be secured, but the foot is better supported especially around the instep and arch, and the wearer saved from fatigue. Moreover each front portion a or rear portion / is exchangeable, as will be ob

25 vious by comparing Figures 1 and 7. Clearly the shoe shown in Figure 7 could have a rear portion / with rubber wearing piece g as shown in Figure 1.

The row of eyelets /(• upon the front of

30 tlie rear portion / is preferably continued rearwardly as indicated at h' in Figures 2, 5 and 6, to facilitate the fitting of the shoe to the foot and the tieing of the lace i immediately above the instep. As may be de

33 - sired, the laces h may be continued through the aligned eyelets h and h', or through the eyelets h' or the laces i may pass through the eyelets h'.

In the example shown in Figure 8, the

40 front and rear portions a f are again provided with eyelets e h. These eyelets, however, are indirectly connected together. A strap 1c is provided with complementary eyelets h' along its edges whereby the strap h

45 can be laced on the one side to the front part a by the lace i and on the other side to the rear part / by the lace This transverse strap ends in the usual tongue and buckle for fastening purposes upon the upper part

80 of the instep.

Where the invention is applied to boots, see Figure 9, the uppers f2 of the boots are formed with the rear portion /, and the laceup jjortion b V may be partly in the front

55 portion a and the remainder in the uppers f2 upon the rear portion /.

In this example, a strap & is employed which passes through loops IV provided upon the front portion a and rear portion /, these

80 loops alternating in series around the sides and waist of the boot. The strap can be tightened around the waist of the foot and the front and rear portions are threaded on the strap, whilst the engagement of the rear

65 portion / with the heel of the wearer, pre

vents the strap h from riding down the foot towards the toes of the wearer.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:—

1. Footgear comprising a front portion, a 70 rear portion, and means for separably connecting said front and rear portions, said means extending transversely from side to side and around the waist of the footgear and being adapted to be tensioned to draw 75 the said waist upwardly.

2. Footgear comprising a front portion, a rear portion, and adjustable means for releasably connecting together said front and rear portions, said means being arranged at fi0 the sides of said front and rear portions and extending transversely across the waist of the footgear.

3. Footgear comprising a front portion, a wearing piece to said front portion, a rear R5 portion adapted to embrace the heel of the wearer, and releasable fastening means arranged transversely at the sides and at the waist of said footgear, said fastening means being adjustable as to tension and adapted 90 to hold the waist against the foot of the wearer.

4. Footgear comprising a front portion, a wearing piece to said front portion, a rear portion adapted to embrace the heel of 95 the wearer, and an adjustable releasable fastening means arranged at the sides of the said front and rear portions and transversely at the waist of the footgear, said fastening means being adapted to be ten- 100 sioned from the upper part of the footgear.

5. Footgear comprising a front portion, a wearing piece to said front portion, a rear portion adapted to embrace the heel of the wearer, an adjustable fastening means be- 108 tween said front and rear portions, said fastening means being continued from the sides across the waist of the footgear and involv-- ^ ing components provided around the rear

of said front portion and around the front 110 of said rear portion, and a tongue secured to one of said portions and extending beyond the said fastening means.

6. Footgear comprising a front portion,

a wearing piece to said front portion, a rear 1U portion adapted to embrace the heel of the wearer, a single releasable connection arranged transversely between the rear of said front portion and the front of said rear portion, said single connection being arranged 120 at the sides and at the waist of said footgear, and a tongue secured to one of said portions and extending across said trans- versely arranged releasable connection.

7. Footgear comprising a front portion, 126 a wearing piece to said front portion, a rear portion adapted to embrace the heel of the wearer, a single releasable and adjustable • connection between the rear of said front portion and the front of said rear portion, 130