US975820A - Corset for shoes. - Google Patents

Description

S. AZZARA.

CORSET FOR SHOES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1910.

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SANTO AZZARA, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Januaryv 10, 1910.

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Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

Serial No. 537,297.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SANTO AZZARA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of- New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corsets for Shoes, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates more particularly to supporting means or braces forankles, and has for its primary object the devising of such a brace as will sufficiently support the ankle portion of the foot, but. at the same time is constructed to afford the greatest amount of comfort to the wearer, and in this Way overcome the chief objections to such devices as are in common use.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a form of my support opened out. Fig. 2 is a shoe in side elevation and broken away to show the interior, the half of my support being shown in dotted lines, and Fig. 8 is a sectional View taken through the line 0cm of Fig. 2 of a part of the shoe upper. I

My invention comprises stiffening strips of suitable material so positioned in relation to the foot as to'most adequately support those parts of the foot for which such support is intended. The strips are sufficiently resilient to conform to the shape of the foot, but are stifl' enough toafford the necessary support. These features ,I do not claim as new for they are common in nearly all types of ankle supports. The ordinary support, however, comprises a plurality of stiffening strips. Each is made of a single strip of straight material and they are placed in vertica' iosition or nearly so about the foot. Such a -racc supports the ankle part of the foot from bending sidcwise, but it also prevents the ankle,,to a greater or less extent, from having its intended free hinge-like motion to aid the body in walking. The ordinary brace thus supports the weak ankle, but offers no aid to nature to strengthen the weakness, .as it would if it permitted the free and natural movements of the foot. But, on the other hand, it is a harsh device to wear and very tiring tothe foot.

In my device I place the stiffening strips in proper position to brace the foot where it is desired, but thc'strip is not a continuous straight piece of material.- It is made of sections and the sections are hinged together at the proper points. Such a stiffener has all the advantages of those commonly used and at the same time accommodates itself to the hinge-like bending of the ankle while walking. I do not wish to confine myself to any one particular way of using my improved hinged stiffener. But I have shown in the drawings the preferred manner of using same. -The shoe A shown is an ordinary childs i-hoe, spring-heeled and laced. But my device is intended for any size and style of shoe. Or it may be used independently of the shoe. For instance, it may be worn between the shoe and stocking. It is not only useful for weak ankles, but is of advantage to ice and roller skaters. I have shown each stay as composed of two pieces but more could be used if desired. The stays are preferably combined with a piece of suitable fabric 33 cut to proper shape to suitably surround the foot, without interfering with the set of the shoe. Fig. 1 shows a preferred shape to give the fabric, and my combined device, as thus shown, may be conveniently termed a corset and this feature the corset body. The corset has the incisions aand Z) which better enable it to snugly fit the foot without wrinkling. The stiffeners 0 may be made of any suitable material that is generally used for such purposes, as for instancc,the spring steels as are commonly used in corsets and may be covered or otherwise as is desired.

I have preferred to use four stifl'euers in my corset, a pair on each side symmetrically placed. A preferred position to give the stiffeners is to secure the lower edges and upper edges, respectively, of each pair suitably close together and to spread apart the hinged parts as shown in the drawings. This provides an opening (2 on each side of. the shoe in which comfortably rest the bones of the ankle joiut, while the stiffeners themselves surround the joint in the best possible way to strengthen it but without causing any uncomfortable pressure, as they would otherwise do if they rested upon it.

It is preferable to secure the lower sections 6 of the stays c in fixed position and for this reason they are covered in the usual manner with suitable fabric f and the fabric is sewed to the corset body B. The upper sections 9 of the stays are secured to the lower sections by means of rivets or eyelets -]L and the connection should be sufficiently loose to permit of a freely swinging motion.

The upper Sections need not be co\erctl.l These sections have slots 2' formed in their upper ends by means of which they can be loosely secured to the top of the corset body B. A preferred means of securing these ends is by employing a strip j of suitable material. It may be thin spring steel 'if desired. it may extend across the entire top of the corset as shown and be easily flexible to snugly fit about the foot at: the shoe top, or it may be made of two sections, leaving the central part Z: free from any stili'ening. I prefer to use also a second strip but this is preferably made in two sections l--l to prevent the bend at the back of the shoe as at Z: from being too stiff. The strips j, Z and Z" are preferably covered with fabric in the usual way to facilitate an easy sewing of them together along their top edges and also to the corset body. The strips are provided with holes oppositely disposed and pins or eyelets m are passed through the slots 2' and secured through the oppositely disposed pairs of these holes in a manner to permitthe sections g to freely more with the bending motion of the shoe at the ankle or instep in the act of walking, It. is advisable to form the slots 2' so that their lower ends 11 will strike the eyelets m in time to prevent the upper ends of the sections from piercing the stitching uniting the sections l and Z with j, see Fig. 3.

My corset may be secured in any desirable manner to the shoe. It may be secured between lining and upper by sewing it in this position along thetop and the bottom edge may be turned in and secured between the inner and outer sole. The front edges may also be sewed fast if desired. The drawing shows the three top eyelets of the shoe secured to the corset. I have further sho n the lower sections provided with nail holes 0. The ends may be bent over and nailed between the inner and outer soles. To take up as little space as possible, I have shown the ends reduced in size so they will not interfere with the proper nailing or sewing of the inner and outer soles. I do not. restrict myself to any particular way of securing the corsetf It is admirably adapted for use in my improved shoe upper, for which application for Letters Patent was filed Aug. 9. 1909, which application bears Serial Number 512,041. -lt is preferable when using my corset that the corset body B be between the foot and the stiffening strips and the strips should be rounded at their ends to prevent any sharp corners.

Having thus described my invention I claim 1. A foot support comprising strips of suitable resilient material to adapt it to the shape of the foot, each of said strips com- 1 posed of a lower section and an upper section and a pin rotatably connecting the up-.

per section tothe lower section at a point thereon approximately equal in height to the ankle of the wearer ofthe support.

2. A foot support comprising strips of suitable flat material resilient in a transverse direction to adapt it to the shape of the foot, each of said strips composed of a lower section and an upper section and a pin rotatably connecting the upper section to the lower section upon their fiat faces at a point approximately equal in height to the ankle of the wearer of the support.

3. A corset for a foot comprising a piece of fabric suitably shaped to conform to the foot formingthe corset body, stiffening strips of suitable material, each 'strip composed of sections, the lower section of each strip secured to the corset body in fixed position, and the upper section rotatably pinned at its-lower end to the upper end of the respective lower section.

t. A corset for a foot comprising a piece of fabric suitably shaped to conform to the foot forming the corset body, a plurality of stitl'ening strips secured in fixed positions to the lower part of the corset body, a plurality of still'ening strips rotatably pinned each at its lower end to an upper end of one of the first mentioned strips, and. having its upper end secured to the upper part of the corset body.

A corset for a foot comprising a piece of fabric suitably shaped to conform to the foot and forming the corset body, a plurality of stiffening strips secured in fixed positions to the lower part of the corset body, a plurality of stiffening strips rotatably pinned each at its lower end to an upper end of one of the first mentioned strips, a slot in the upper end of each of the upper strips, and pins secured to the corset to engage the said slots.

6. In combination with a shoe a corset comprising a piece of fabric secured to the shoe and suitably shaped to conform to the shape of the foot and forming the corset body, a plurality of stiffening strips secured in fixed positions to the lowerpart of the corset body, a plurality of stiffening strips rotatablyv pinned each at its lower end to an upper end of one of the first mentioned strips, a slot in the upper end of each of the upper strips, a double strip of material secared to the corset body along its upper edge adapted to engage between its folds the said slotted ends, and pins engaging the said slots and secured to the said double strip.

SANTO AZZARA. W'itnesses:

Siumvronr PALMA, LAWRENCE Amuse

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