IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Nathaniel Mole at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
July 1869.
I, NATHANIEL MOLE, of No. 16, Calvert Street, Shoreditch, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOTS AND SHOES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to that class of boots and shoes in which what
are known as "revolving heels" are used. This description of heel as
heretofore made has been subject to various defects; thus where the
heel was built up of leather it was apt to swell or shrink and conse-
quently to become either too tight or too loose, and where the parts
were held together by means of a screwed pin in the axis of the
heel the said screwed pin got out of order by wear and was troublesome
to adjust.
My Invention consists of the improved construction and arrange-
ment herein-after described whereby the above defects are avoided..

page_text: According to my Invention I construct the heels of boots and shoes
as follows: A circular foundation plate is affixed to that part of the
heel which is built on the boot or shoe, and a circular bearing plate is
affixed to the revolving part of the heel, which is connected to the fixed
part by means of a cylindrical boss or axis passing through a circular
hole in each plate, recesses being made in the leather to receive the ends
of the said boss, on one of which ends a flange is formed, which flange,
when the parts are put together, lies between the bearing plate and the
revolving part of the heel to which the said plate is affixed. A taper
hole is made through the fixed part of the heel at right angles to its
axis; a corresponding hole is made through that part of the boss which
passes through the foundation plate; a taper pin is passed through the
said holes, and the boss is thus securely affixed to the said fixed part of
the heel and serves as an axis on which the revolving part can be turned
by the finger and thumb as required without the necessity for discon-
necting any of the parts. Instead of passing the taper pin herein-before
referred to through the fixed part of the heel, as described, the arrange-
ment may be reversed, that is to say, taper holes may be made in the
revolving part of the heel and in the end of the boss inserted in the
said part, and the taper pin aforesaid may be passed through the said
holes. In this case the flange herein-before referred to will lie between
the foundation plate and the fixed part of the heel. One of the circular
plates herein-before referred to is by preference made of the same
diameter as the revolving part of the heel, and serves as a guide to the
workman in cutting the said part into a circular form. Instead of
connecting the revolving part of the heel to the aforesaid boss by a
taper pin, as described, the said part may be connected to the said boss
by means of a flat spring affixed to the foundation plate, which spring
engages in an annular groove formed around the said boss. The free
end of the said spring projects slightly from the heel, so that by pressing
the said end with the thumb nail the said spring can be moved out
of the groove in the boss when it is required to detach the revolving
part of the heel from the fixed part. If required ratchet teeth may
be formed on the aforesaid boss, and a flat spring may be affixed to
the bearing plate so that the free end of the said spring shall engage
with the said teeth and thus hold the heel in the position to which
it has been turned, the said heel being capable of revolution in one
direction only.

page_text: Heels made according to my Invention are very durable and are
easily repaired. When worn out they can be readily removed and
replaced by new ones, and owing to the bearing surfaces being made of
metal they do not jam or work loose.