An insole for a shoe and a shoe incorporating such an insole

Abstract: An insole is provided for a shoe, particularly for a welted shoe which insole is composed of at least three longitudi­ nally arranged sections, adjacent sections being connected at transverse lines of flexure to impart a degree of flexibility to the insole. Preferably the transverse lines of flexure are produced by sewing together three separate sections form­ ing respectively a toe section a centre section and a waist section of alternate methods of producing transverse lines of flexure are suggested. The invention also provides a welted shoe incorporating such an insole, said shoe according to a preferred embodiment being provided with such an insole having a projecting rib to which the shoe upper a lining for the shoe upper (if present) and a welt are affixed, in which shoe, before application of the sole of the shoe, the rib and that portion of the upper adjacent the rib are deformed inwardly so as to lie adjacent to the lower surface of the insole.

Description: This invention relates to improvements in or relating to footwear and relates in particular to a welted shoe incorporating an insole, a shoe upper, a welt and a sole. In a traditional welted shoe the insole is formed from a single piece of thick leather. Fixed to the bottom of the insole is a projecting rib to which the upper and the welt are sewn. The thickness of the insole and the nature of the material from which it is fashioned, together with the presence of the projecting rib, mean that the insole is extremely rigid and does not feel at all soft to the foot of the wearer. Traditionally such shoes need "breaking in" by the wearer before any degree of comfort can be achieved. Various ways of softening the insole of a welted shoe to render it more flexible have been proposed. One way is disclosed in US patent No. 2794996 which describes an insole for a welted shoe having a heel portion made from leather or other relatively stiff material cemented on to an "insole" or "body layer" made from sock lining, upper leather or other thin, soft, flexible material. The resultant insole has a relatively stiff heel portion and a thin, soft, flexible toe portion. However, the cementing of the heel portion to the body layer does not enhance the flexibility of the insole in the area adjacent the line of connection and the insole is relatively stiff in that area. Furthermore, the toe portion of the insole is too soft to enable a rib to be attached to the underside of the insole without temporary stiffening of the toe portion being utilised. This increases the cost of manufacture of the insole and also the production time which inevitably further increases the costs involved. The present invention has as an object the alleviation of the problems inherent in a traditional insole and other known insoles. According to the present invention there is provided a welted shoe comprising an insole, a shoe upper, a welt and a sole, the insole having a toe section and a waist section and a projecting rib attached thereto to which the shoe upper and the welt are affixed, and the cavity delimited by the lower surface of the insole and the rib surrounding the insole being filled with a packing material, characterised in that the insole is further composed of at least one centre section intermediate the toe section and the waist section, each of the at least three sections having a respective degree of flexibility and adjacent sections being connected at lines of flexure extending across the insole to impart an additional degree of flexibility to the insole portion at each line of flexure, in that the rib is arranged to overlap each line of flexure, in that, before application of the sole, the rib and that portion of the shoe upper adjacent the rib are deformed inwardly so as to lie adjacent the lower surface of the insole. Although the provision of the sectioned insole provides a degree of flexibility and although the comfort of the shoe may be augmented by the use of the relatively soft centre section for the insole, the existance of the rib projecting from the insole still acts to reduce the ultimate flexbility of the insole and hence of a shoe into which it is incorporated. By deforming the rib before the application of the sole, the insole is rendered still more flexible. The cavity defined by the lower surface of the insole and the so deformed rib surrounding the insole is filled with a packing material. This may be a conventional packing material such as leather or a cork-based material such as rubberised cork but it is preferably a resilient cellular material such as a foamed rubber or plastics. The presence of such a resilient cellular packing material serves to further increase the comfort of the shoe when worn. Preferably, the packing material is a resilient cellular material, more preferably a foamed rubber or plastics material. Preferably the lines of flexure are produced by sewing together, e.g. by means of a zig zag stitch, the respective sections. Although it is envisaged that the insole may be made of any suitable natural or synthetic material, it is preferred that leather be employed for this purpose and that a different leather be employed for the centre section from that employed for the toe and waist sections. For example, the toe and waist sections may be formed from the conventional leather used to make traditional insoles, e.g. vegetable tanned shoulder leather of four irons in thickness (0.21 cms), whilst the centre section is preferably made from a full chrome crust upper material also of four irons in thickness (0.21 cms). As an alternative to the connection of separate sections e.g. by stitching or by means of a cloth hinge, it is envisaged that the sections could be formed from a single sheet of material provided with regions of thinning to form the said lines of flexure. Alternatively the three sections may be different sections adhered together at their junctions in such a way as to provide the said lines of flexure. It is envisaged for example that contiguous edges of the respective sections could be provided with cooperating tapers, the tapered surfaces being glued to each other. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan of an embodiment of an insole for a shoe according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows the underside of the insole of Figure 1. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, an insole 1 consists of a toe section 2, a centre 3 and a waist or seat section 4. Toe section 2, and waist section 4 are produced from vegetable tanned bare shoulder leather of 4 irons thick (0.21 cms) whilst centre section 3 is produced from full chrome crust upper material of the same thickness. The centre section 3 is attached at A-A and B-B to the toe section 2 and the waist section 4 by means of zig-zag stitching or seaming. The resultant insole is therefore able to flex along lines A-A and B-B to increase the comfort of the shoe whilst the fact that the centre section is composed of a softer leather than the toe and waist sections further increases the comfort of the shoe to a wearer. On the underside 5 of the insole 1 is provided a projecting rib 6. A leather upper (not shown) is attached to the projecting rib 6 and thereafter a welt is likewise attached to the rib 6. Thereafter the rib 6 with adjacent attached portions of the upper and the welt, is hammered inwardly to lie flat adjacent the underside 5 of the insole 1. By such flattening, the resistance of flexing afforded to the insole by the projecting rib is reduced. The cavity defined between insole 1 and deformed rib 6 is filled with foamed rubber or plastics material, thereby further to increase the comfort of the shoe to a wearer. The insole and shoe of the present invention afford a shoe which possesses the advantages of a traditional shoe but with the additional advantage of greatly increased flexibility and comfort.

Claims: A welted shoe comprising an insole (1), a shoe upper, a welt and a sole, the insole (1) having a toe section (2) and a waist section (4) and a projecting rib (6) attached thereto to which the shoe upper and the welt are affixed, and the cavity delimited by the lower surface of the insole (1) and the rib (6) surrounding the insole (1) being filled with a packing material, characterised in that the insole (1) is further composed of at least one centre section (3) intermediate the toe section (2) and the waist section (4), each of the at least three sections (2,3,4) having a respective degree of flexibility and adjacent sections (2,3; 3,4) being connected at lines of flexure (A,B) extending across the insole (1) to impart an additional degree of flexibility to the insole portion (1) at each line of flexure (A,B), in that the rib (6) is arranged to overlap each line of flexure (A,B), in that, before application of the sole, the rib (6) and that portion of the shoe upper adjacent the rib (6) are deformed inwardly so as to lie adjacent the lower surface of the insole (1). A shoe according to Claim 1, wherein the packing material is a resilient cellular material. A shoe according to Claim 2, wherein the resilient cellular material is a foamed rubber or plastics material. A shoe according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lines of flexure (A,B) are produced by sewing together the respective sections (2,3; 3,4). A shoe according to Claim 4, wherein the sewing takes the form of a zig-zag stitch. A shoe according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lines of flexure (A,B) are formed by providing transverse regions of thinning in a single sheet of material. A shoe according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least three sections (2,3,4) of the insole (1) are provided at their contiguous edges with cooperating tapered surfaces, the tapered surfaces being glued to each other to provide said lines of flexure (A,B). A shoe according to any preceding claim, wherein the at least three sections (2,3,4) of the insole (1) are composed of leather. A shoe according to claim 8, wherein the toe and waist sections (2,4) of the insole (1) are composed of vegetable-tanned shoulder leather and the centre section (3) of the insole (1) is composed of full chrome crust upper leather. A shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein an upper lining is affixed to the rib (6) before the rib (6) is deformed inwardly.

Inventors: GREEN DONALD WILLIAM JACK, PURSLOW TERENCE ALFRED, GREEN, DONALD WILLIAM JACK, PURSLOW, TERENCE ALFRED
Applicants: GREEN & SON LTD WILLIAM, WILLIAM GREEN AND SON LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A43B13
IPC codes: A43B13, A43B17