Method for repairing heels of shoes

A method for repairing worn heels of shoes, which is comprised of a mold built on the worn part of the heel with a strip of aluminum foil on the sticky side of an adhesive tape that is adhered to the curved wall on the side of the heel to be repaired, for the repairing material to be poured into there. A repairing material, comprising of a synthetic rubber, butadienestyrene, dissolved in the organic solvent mixture which is comprised of toluene, xylene, and amyl acetate, mixed with aramid fibers of various sizes, and a coloring material in a fluid mass for repairing worn heels and tears on straps and bands of shoes.

This invention relates to a method of repairing worn heels and tears on 
straps and bands of shoes and similar articles. This invention likewise 
relates to products adapted with this method to be used for repairing worn 
heels and tears on straps and bands of shoes. 
An object of the invention is to provide a method and products by which the 
ordinary individual may repair worn heels and tears on straps and bands of 
shoes, without the use of special technical skill and without the use of 
apparatus or equipment or facilities not readily at hand. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a product that has a good 
wearing resistance and good resilient property on heels and high strength 
to hold together the tears on straps and bands of shoes. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a product that can be 
dried and develop strength over night, so the individual can wear the 
shoes the next morning after he or she has used the method and products to 
repair the shoes, the evening before. 
Yet still another object of the invention is to provide a product that has 
a pleasant odor rather than an objectable odor to the user when repairing 
shoes. 
The way that many people walk is that they put the edge of the heel of the 
shoes down on the floor first and then follow by the bottom of the heel 
and the sole on the floor. This way, the edge of the heel of the shoes is 
worn faster than the other parts of the heel and sole. The worn out part 
of the heels usually ends up in a wedge shape. If the worn out wedge shape 
edge on the heels is not repaired, it will eventually affect the posture 
of the wearer when walking with such shoes. It is important for a person 
to repair this type of damage on the heels of the shoes as often as 
needed, economically, easily, and conveniently. 
A present method of repairing this kind of damage on the edge of the heel 
is by replacing the worn out ones with a new pair of heels. This method is 
expensive and inconvenient. Another present method of repairing the worn 
out edge of the heels is to put some liquid rubber or plastic rubber on 
the worn out place. This method cannot restore the damaged heels back to 
their original shape. When the liquid rubber or plastic rubber dries on 
the heels, it gives an unattractive appearance. Besides this, the liquid 
rubber or plastic rubber does not have a good wearing resistance. 
The present invention provides a method and material for repairing the worn 
out edge of the heels. The method calls for a mold to be built on the worn 
out edge of the heel, after the worn out edge surface has been cleaned and 
roughtened with a piece of sand paper. The mold, formed by a strip of 
aluminum foil (thickness from less than a mil to several mils) on the 
sticky side of an adhesive tape (masking tape, Scott's tape, etc.), which 
is adhered to the wall on the side of the heel to be repaired. The 
aluminum foil strip should be large enough to cover the area of the worn 
out part and also the area about a quarter of an inch beyond the edges of 
the worn out part of the heel. When forming the mold with the adhesive 
tape on the wall of the heel, the upper edge of the aluminum foil strip 
should be extended about a quarter of an inch above the level surface of 
the bottom of the heel, when the shoe is held with the bottom side of the 
heel up. 
The adhesive tape should be larger than the aluminum foil strip. When the 
aluminum foil strip is placed on the sticky side of the adhesive tape, the 
left, right, and the lower edges of the adhesive tape should be extended 
to more than a quarter of an inch from the corresponding edges of the 
aluminum foil strip. 
To form the mold on the worn out edge of the heel, the assembly of the 
aluminum foil strip on the sticky side of the adhesive tape is adhered 
firmly to the curved wall on the side of the heel to be repaired, with the 
upper edge of the adhesive tape extending about an eighth of an inch above 
the level surface of the bottom of the heel, when the shoe is held with 
the bottom side of the heel up.

The drawing in FIG. 1 shows the position of the aluminum foil strip 10, 
with respect to the position of the adhesive tape 11, when the aluminum 
foil strip is placed on the sticky side of the adhesive tape. The drawing 
in FIG. 1 also shows the left, right, and the lower edges of the adhesive 
tape to be extending more than a quarter of an inch from the corresponding 
edges of the aluminum foil strip, while the upper edge of the aluminum 
foil strip is entending about an eighth of an inch above the corresponding 
edge of the adhesive tape. 
The drawing in FIG. 2 shows how the mold is built on the worn out edge of 
the heel. The assembly of the aluminum foil strip 10, on the sticky side 
of the adhesive tape 11, is adhered firmly on the curved wall of the heel 
12, of the shoe 13. The drawing shows the positions of the aluminum foil 
strip, the adhesive tape, and the heel with respect to themselves. When 
the shoe is held with its bottom side up, the upper edge of the aluminum 
foil strip should be about a quarter of an inch above the level surface of 
the bottom of the heel, while the upper edge of the adhesive tape should 
be about an eighth of an inch above the level surface of the bottom of the 
heel. 
When a tear is developed on a strap or band of the shoe, particularly 
sandals, a repair is needed in order to extend the life of the shoes. A 
present method for repairing such tears is to sew some threads over the 
tears to hold the straps or bands together or to secure them to the shoes. 
This method is expensive and inconvenient to the wearer. The sewing around 
the tears may weaken the spot because of too many needle holes. Another 
present method for repairing the tears on the straps and bands of the 
shoes is to glue the tears together with or without a reinforcing material 
over the tears. Without a reinforcing material over the tears, the glued 
splice on the strap or band will not be strong. With a reinforcing 
material over the tears, the glued splice with a reinforcing material on 
it will appear unattractive. 
The present invention provides a method and material for repairing such 
tears on the straps and bands of the shoes, easily, economically, 
conveniently, and with little alternation in the original appearance of 
the shoes. The material is a good adhesive and has elastic property. It 
contains a recent developed strong aramid fiber, such as Du Pont Kelvar, 
which is used in the automobile tires and in the bullet proof vest. Shoes, 
particularly women's shoes, come in many colors. The present invention 
permits the user to choose the color that matches the color of his shoes 
by allowing him to add the coloring material to the composition and mix 
well before it is used to repair the shoes. 
The present invention provides a composition that is adaptable to repair 
the heels, straps, and bands of shoes. A typical composition of the 
repairing material is as follows: 
Synthetic rubber, butadiene-styrene--100 grams 
Organic solvent mixture--30-35 ml. 
Aramid fibers--5-10 grams 
Coloring material--2-30 grams 
The synthetic rubber, butadiene-styrene, is dissolved in the organic 
solvent mixture. A coloring material may be added to the composition at 
this time or later. The aramid fibers of various sizes are then added to 
the composition and mixed well before use. 
A typical organic solvent mixture by volume is as follows: 82 parts of 
toluene, 15 parts of xylene, and 3 parts of amyl acetate (banana oil). 
Xylene has a higher boiling point than the toluene. It is advantageous to 
have a high boiling point organic solvent mixture. Amyl acetate is added 
to the composition of the repairing material to give a pleasant odor to 
the user when he repairs his shoes. 
Examples of the synthetic rubber, butadiene-styrene, used are: Shell 
Chemical Company, Kraton D-1101; Firestone Synthetic Rubber and Latex 
Company, FR-S 1502 and FR-S 1513; and BF Goodrich Chemical Group, Ameripol 
4616. 
An example of the aramid fiber used is the Du Pont Kelvar fiber. It has a 
good resistance to wear when it is used in the repairing material for the 
heels. It has a high strength to hold the tears together or to secure the 
loose straps and bands on to the shoes when it is used in the repairing 
material. The repairing material should contain several different sizes of 
aramid fibers, such as 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, etc. of an inch. If the repairing 
material is intended for repairing heels only, aramid fiber size up to a 
quarter of an inch will be sufficient. But if the repairing material is 
also for repairing the tears on straps and bands of the shoes, some of the 
aramid fibers in the repairing material must be over a quarter of an inch. 
Coloring material used in the repairing material can be organic or 
inorganic pigments or organic dyes. The coloring materials have different 
covering or masking power. The amount of coloring materials used in a 
batch of repairing material is depending on their covering or masking 
power. Some coloring materials, such as carbon black, can be used as a 
filler as well as coloring. This invention provides a method, whereby the 
user can add the coloring materials to the repairing material to match the 
color of his shoes before he uses it to repair his shoes. Examples of 
coloring materials used are: titanium dioxide for white color, carbon 
black for black color, and blending of two or more coloring materials, 
such as titanium dioxide and iron oxide to give a tan color. 
Coloring materials can be obtained from commercial establishments, such as 
Harshaw Chemical Co., Color Division of Ferro Corp., Pigment Department of 
the Du Pont de Nemours and Co., and Sherwin Williams Colorants and 
Chemicals. 
To repair the worn part of the heel of the shoe, the shoe is placed on the 
top of a level surface with its bottom side up. Crushed newspaper may be 
placed under the shoe to make the bottom of the shoe level. A mold is 
built on the worn part of the heel as described elsewhere in this patent 
application. The repairing material is poured into the mold with the help 
of a wooden stick to direct where it should go until the repairing 
material comes up to just a little above the level surface of the bottom 
of the heel. The little extra repairing material poured into the mold is 
to compensate the shrinkage when the repairing material dried. The 
repairing material will be dried over night, so the user can use his shoes 
the next morning. A thick layer of repairing material may take more than a 
day to dry. When the repairing material is dried, the form of the mold may 
be taken off, for the aluminum foil will not adhere to the dried repairing 
material. 
To repair the tears on the straps and bands of the shoes, choose a coloring 
material which when added to the repairing material will produce a color 
that will match the color of the shoes to be repaired. Then add this 
coloring material to the repairing material. Mix the coloring material and 
repairing material well before use. The repairing material is placed 
around the tears with the help of a wooden stick. When the repairing 
material has dried, it will hold the tears together on the straps and 
bands or it will hold the loose straps and bands on to the shoes. 
Since certain changes may be made in the above methods and material without 
the departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is 
intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in 
the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in 
a limiting sense.