US2204505A - Welt insole - Google Patents

Description

June l1; 1940. H.` G. LUMBARD WELT INSOLE Filed Augl 7, 1939 Patented June ll, 1940 UNIT-ED, STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to shoemaklng' and consists in improvements ln flexible welt insoles and in a novel process of producing the same. My improved inso'le may be incorporated in a welt shoe of otherwise standard construction and greatly improves the shoe in respect to flexibility and comfort in wear.

In my copending application, Ser. No. 240,987, led September 17, 1938, is disclosed an insole for McKay or Compo shoes characterized by through and through slashes extending transversely from edge to edge of theinsole, in some cases intersecting the edge of the insole, and collectively adapting the insole to be stretched longitudinally thus increasing its size and rendering it extremely flexible in use.

The present invention in one aspect consists in a welt insole having the same broad charac teristics, that is to say, a welt insole having its body provided with through and through slashes of the character described and a lip or rib also slashed but including a continuous fabric ply or flange therein for receiving the inseam stitches. I have discovered that this novel insole may be successfullyI produced by rstchanneling an insole blank, cementing the insole surface and turning the lips by the conventional steps, and then slashing the insole thus prepared and applying a fabric reinforcement to the surface of the insole and the lips thereoi. The slashing step as carried out in accordance with my in vention, consists in cutting in the insole transverse through and through slits which' extend yfrom edge to edge and intersect both edges of Athe insole, being interrupted by short unslitted` portions, but severing from time to time the lips raised in a rib from the body of the insole, The reinforcement may take the form of any suitable textile fabric,`such as gem duck or the like, and

dis applied intact to the slashed insole body presenting a continuous fabric ply for the inseam stitches.

The slashing'of the insole may be confined to the forpart or it may include any other selected area. It imparts extreme flexibility to the sole,

not only because of its effect on the body of the sole, but because it severs the upstanding lips which otherwise tend to act as stiffening trusses when they are supported by the iiller'and other elements of the shoe bottom.

The welt insoles of my invention may be pro- ,duced by the novel process which is characterized by passing the insole blank, in which the lips have been turned up andI set, beneath or vpast a roll having slashing blades therein. In this step transverse rows of slashes are cut in the body `of the insole and the insole lips are temporarily flattened and severed wherever theI slashing blades happenfto encounter them, thus dividing them into a series of segments of un- 5 equal length. These temporarily flattened seg- .ments may be easily restoredto their normal upright position and the reinforcing operation carried outin the usual manner.

When the insole isembodied in a welt shoe some m of the inseam stitches may strike 'sl'ashes in the ins01e rib although muy more wm bass through solid portions of the rib and in all cases the stitches will pass through ythe intact textile reinforcement of the insole. Thus adequate anw Fig. 1 is a View in perspective of an insole blank 2s which has been channeled and cemented,

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the insole blank with its lips turned up, Y

Fig'. 3 is a similar view of the insole after the slashing operation,

Fig. 44 is a similar view of the insole after it has been reinforced, and

li'ig. 5 is a cross sectional View on an' enlarged scale showing the insole as embodied in the bottom of a welt shoe.

Aninsole blank of the desired thickness is first selected and rounded to size and shape. lt is then 'channeled and cemented in the usual manner as lsuggested'in Fig. l. In the leather body l@ of l the insole are formed the inside channel cut it 4o and the outside channel cut l2, these cuts extending topward each other beneath the esh surface of the insole. After the channeling operation a band of cement I3 is applied tothe margin oi the insole outside the inner channel cut @Las The insole in this condition is shown in Fig. 1. The channel lips dened by the two channel cuts are next progressively turned up and stuck together forming4 a continuous 1upstanding rib it which, as' shown in Fig. 2, extends from the 5o heel seat on one side forwardly about the blank and back to the heel seat on the other side of' the insole. This rib stands substantially at right .angles to the plane of the insoleblank or if de- 4lsired may be given a slight inward'inclination.

The steps so far described are conventional in welt shoemaking lbut at this point a novel operaif tion is introduced,- viz., the ribbed insole is subjected to a novel slashing operation. This may be confined to a wide zone in the forepart vof the insole, as suggested in Fig. 3, or it may extend into any selectedarea of the insole. It may be conveniently effected by passing the insole transversely between rolls one of which is provided with segmental slashing knives designed to form uniformly spaced lines or rows of interrupted through the insole material at the root of the ribs.

In Ithis slashing operation the rib is temporarily flattened down upon the body of the insole but after the slashing operation the rib segments may be easily restored to their normal upright positio-n as shown in Fig. 3.

The reinforcing operation is next carried ,out in the usual manner, that is to say, an 7imslashed sheet lli of textile material such as duck or canvas is cemented to the flesh surface of the insole inside its rib Il and the margin of the duck is turned up and cemented in a peripheral flange to the-inner surface of the insole rib thus forming a continuous reinforcement which is tucked into the inner angle or vertex of the rib and trimmed substantially flush with thetop of the rib. -Since this textile reinforcement is essentially flexible of itself, it does not substantially decrease the ilexibility of the insole as a whole but it does supply sufficient strength to the insole rib to provide firm anchorage for the inseam.

The welt insole thus provided and shown in Fig'. 4 may be incorporated directly in any welt shoe with great resulting flexibility or it may be first combined with a cushion ply. In Fig. 5 I have suggested such specific employment of my novel insole but as already explained its usels not in any manner so limited. In Fig. ,5, however, the slashed and reinforced insole is shown as continuously cemented in 4face to face contact to a cushion ply l1 of cork or cork composition. The cushion layer is trimmed flushA with the edges of the slashed portion of the composite insole and is .to be located next the foot of the lwearer in. the finished welt shoe. In Fig. 5 the welt i8 and upper I9 are shown as secured in lasted position to the insole rib bylstitohes 20 of the inseam all` of which results may be effected in accordance with the usual commercial steps of inseam sewing by hand or by a welt sewing machine. It will be noted that the cross-sectional view of Fig. 5 is represented as if taken on the line of certain of the slits or slashes l5 and as showing three of the solid bridge portions of the insole body. The stitch 2@ of the inseam is shown at the left hand side of this gure as passing through a slit in the insole rib and at the right hand side of this figure as passing through a solid portion of the insole rib, the reinforcing ply it being intact in both cases.

After the inseaming operation the inseam may be trimmed, the bottom filled, and the outsole attached, all in the usual manner followed in manufacturing welt shoes.

It will be understood that the slashed insole is subjected to tension in the lasting operation and, although the reinforcing fabric i6 is substantially inextensible, this tension tends to open the slashes in the leather portion of the composite insole and thus provide spaced internal edges that may move freely relatively to each other when the` shoe bottom as a wholel is flexed.

Having thus disclosed my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. An insole which comprises a body portion and an upturned sewing rib, the insole having a plurality of rows of staggered short spaced through-and-through slashes forming free open spaces at intervals in the body of the insole, the rows extending entirely across the insole, some of the slashes intersecting the edges thereof and some of the slashes severing not only the rib but also the entire thickness of the body portion at the root of the rib, and an unslashed fabric reinforcing sheet cemented to the surface of the insole within the rib'and along its inner surface.

2. An insole for a welt shoe which comprises a body portion having' up-turned lips and `provided with a plurality of rows of short, spaced, staggered, through-and-through slashes having freely movable edgesl and extending'transversely across the entire body of the'sole and intersecting the edges of the sole, some of the slashes severing the lips and the material below the lips, and a fabric reinforcing sheet disposed on the surface of the insole inside the lips. f

3. A welt insole comprising Ta body portion, a sewing rib integral with said body portion, the ball yportion of the body and rib being provided with staggered rows of short, through-andthrough slashes some of which sever the'edges of the body portion andthe ribs, each row of slashes extending entirely across the body portion and a fabric reinforcing sheet disposed in face to face contact with the body portion and the inside of the rib within the' area defined by the sewing rib.

HENRY G.` LUMBARD.

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