Patent GB-112959-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to Boots, Shoes and the like.
Inventor: HZN WILLEM JANSEN J
IPC: A43D1/02
Filed: 1917-09-26
Abstract: 112,959. Jansen, W. Sept. 26, 1917. Boots, making, on feet of wearer.- Boots and shoes are made wholly or in part on the feet of the wearer so that allowance may be made for changes in the form of the feet as they perform their function. An insole, Fig. 4, is first made in the usual way from prints of the foot taken in both loaded and unloaded condition, and to it is secured a metal nose piece e, which determines the fashion but has substantially no effect on the fit of the boot. This, together with the upper, is then assembled on the foot of the wearer, and held there provisionally by spring clips. The heel seam is then sewed, the lower part with the foot held in an extended position, Fig. 1, and the upper part with the foot in a flexed position, Fig. 2. A stiffener is inserted and the foot is then placed in another apparatus where, with the foot in its extended position, the upper is stretched towards the toe and secured to the insole from the heel seam to the ball of the foot; the foot is then brought into its flexed position and the sole is stretched from heel to toe, after which the upper is secured to the insole from the ball to the toe. The difference between the extended and flexed positions of the foot is dependent on the height of the heel and the desired spring of the foot, which have been previously determined. The boot is then provisionally provided with a heel after which the wearer may walk about a bit in order to perfect the fit of the tread and leg around the foot. The heel and sole may then be secured in place while the boot is on the foot. Preferably, however, the boot is removed from the foot and placed in an apparatus so that it will assume the correct spring, and a molten mass of low fusing-point is cast into the boot; after solidification, the sole and heel are attached in the usual manner. A suitable alloy for this purpose is Wood's metal, containing bismuth 4 parts, lead 2 parts, tin 1 part, and cadmium 1 part, but a mixture of glue and wood dust with a small addition of acetic acid and formaldehyde may be used. The material may be melted by means of hot air when it is required to remove it from the boot. Fig. 11 shows the apparatus in which the foot is placed while the heel seam is sewed. The leg rests on an adjustable support 48 with the foot bearing against a strap 59 carried at the upper end of a frame 51 pivoted and adjustably clamped to rods 50. A second .strap 58, adjustably carried on slidable rods 54, 55, is then arranged to hold the foot first in its extended position, when the lower part of the heel seam is sewed, and then in its flexed position, when the upper part of the seam is sewed. To secure the insole, the foot is placed in an apparatus shown in Fig. 7, the heel resting on a support 14 adjustable along the horizontal bar 4 of a pivoted frame made up of bars 1, 2, 3, 4. The foot is held by a top pad 21, an insole-engaging support 27, and a strap carried by a rod 34, these various devices being adjustably mounted. Hooks 47 connected to adjustable weights 43 - - 46 are then employed to tension the upper while the foot is in its extended position, and the rear part of the upper is afterwards sewed to the insole. The hooks 47 are released and the frame 1 - - 4 is then swung to bring the foot into its flexed position, when the hooks are engaged with the insole to stress it during the operation of securing the front part of the upper to the insole. The frame 1 - - 4 is locked in its adjusted positions by spring pawls 9, 10 engaging rack segments 11, 12.