IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOVEABLE OR ADJUSTABLE HEELS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OF SPURS ADAPTED THERETO AND TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Wadsworth, of Salford, in the Parish of
Manchester, and County of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOVEABLE OR ADJUSTABLE HEELS
FOR BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OF SPURS ADAPTED THERETO AND TO BE USED
THEREWITH."
Scaled the 6th May 1859, and dated the 13th November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Wadsworth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
November 1858.
j
I, JAMES WADSWORTH, of Salford, in the Parish of Manchester, and County
of Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
." IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOVEABLE OR ADJUSTABLE HEELS FOR
BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OF SPURS ADAPTED THERETO AND TO BE USED THEREWITH," to
be as follows:-
So far as the said Invention relates to the heels of boots and shoes, it
*consists in uniting the moveable to the fixed part or seat of the heel by a ring
and disc concentric with each other, and furnished respectively with corre-
sponding flanches, lips, or projecting bevilled edges, whereby they are mutually
interlocked or disengaged, according to the positions which their contiguous
or touching parts are made to assume relatively to each other in turning about

page_text: their common centre. The moveable part when placed in a proper position
for being worn is restrained from radial movement by a spring latch or detent
taking into a notch or recess, or becoming engaged with a stop from which it
can be lifted or disengaged by the application of manual force when it is desired
to remove or readjust the heel. This mode of affixing the heels makes them
removeable or adjustable at discretion, so that fresh surfaces may be from
time to time presented towards the direction in which they are found to suffer
the greatest amount of wear or abrasion.
So far as the said Invention relates to spurs, it consists in forming each of
them with a hoop or ring which fits upon and embraces the ring of the heel
previously mentioned, being confined and retained vertically by the closure of
the moveable upon the fixed part of the heel, and prevented from turning
horizontally by a pin, screw, or other simple and suitable means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Wadsworth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WADSWORTH, of Salford, in the Parish of Manchester, and County of Lancaster,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said James Wadsworth, Her special licence that I, the said
James Wadsworth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said James Wadsworth, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOVEABLE OR ADJUSTABLE HEELS FOR
BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OF SPURS ADAPTED THERETO AND TO BE USED THEREWITH,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Wadsworth,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed

page_text: in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Wadsworth, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
The object of my aforesaid Invention is to make the heels of boots or shoes
capable of being removed from time to time and replaced in altered positions
so as to expose fresh surfaces in those directions in which they are found to be
subjected to the greatest amount of wear, and also to adapt the holding parts of
spurs for being firmly attached to and easily detached from the moveable heels
before mentioned.
So far as my said Invention relates to moveable heels, it consists in the
art or method of uniting the moveable to the fixed or stationary part of the heel
of the boot or shoe. This union is effected by a ring secured permanently to
the heel part of the boot or shoe, and a corresponding disc or plate which forms
the foundation upon which the heel is built. The inner edge of the ring and
the outer edge of the disc are furnished respectively with flanches, lips, or
projecting bevilled edges, which consist of equal annular segments or portions
of rings of equal radius and breadth projecting inwardly from the ring and
outwardly from the disc. In both the ring and disc these flanches alternate with
blank spaces or intervals of a magnitude rather greater than that of the flanches,
and consequently large enough in each part to permit the flanches of the other
part to pass through them. The plane of the flanches of the disc can thus be
brought within or above the plane of the flanches of the ring, when the disc
being turned round its centre through the angle subtended by one of the blank
spaces, the flanches of each part are brought to coincide with the flanches of
the other part; and the ring and disc become mutually interlocked. This
position being attained, the disc is restrained from further motion round its
centre by a spring, detent, or latch affixed to one of the parts, and taking into
a corresponding notch, groove, or recess in the other part. To remove the
heel this spring must be again disengaged or lifted out of its groove, and the
disc turned round its centre until the flanches of the one part coincide
with the blank spaces or intervals in the other, when the disc with the heel
attached will be liberated, and may be re-applied in a new position.
So far as my said Invention relates to spurs, it consists in making the part
of each spur which embraces the heel in the form of a hoop or ring, which
fits upon the ring of the moveable heel before mentioned, and is retained there
by the moveable part of the heel closing upon it, while it is prevented from

page_text: turning horizontally by a pin or screw passing through it into the ring of the
heel or by any other adequate means.
f
The construction, arrangement, and mode of combining the parts necessary
for carrying this my Invention into practical effect will be still more clearly
understood by the following explanation, with the aid of the Drawing hereto
annexed, the parts of the several Figures or Diagrams in which are
referred to by means of alphabetical and numerical characters, which, when
repeated, are used to indicate similar parts or things throughout.
Figure 1 represents the under side of the ring, which is affixed permanently
to the boot or shoe; Figure 2 represents the upper side of the disc, upon
which the heel is built. The faces of the two parts here shewn are conse-
quently those which are opposed to each other when the parts are conjoined.
Figure 3 is a vertical section along the line 1, 2, in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a like
section along the line 3, 4; Figure 5 is a vertical section along the line 5, 6,
in Figure 2; and Figure 6 is a like section along the line 7, 8; Figure 7 is a
profile view of part of a boot with the ring attached thereto for the reception
of the disc carrying the moveable heel, and shewing one of my improved spurs
in its place upon the said ring. The moveable part of the heel and disc are
shewn in their normal position, but detached in Figure 8; and Figure 9 is a
plan view of the spur.
a, a, (Figures 1, 3, 4, and 7,) is the ring affixed to a back plate b, both
being permanently secured to the boot by screws c, c, c, c; a¹, a¹, a¹, a¹, are
projecting parts of the lower side of the ring, which form the annular
segments or flanches (two of them being seen in section at Figure 4), and
a, a, a, a, are the blank spaces or intervals between the flanches. The
section through two of these appears in Figure 3. d is a tongue or blade
spring, one end of which is rivetted to the back plate b, the other end being
free; e is a pin or piece of wire shewn in order to exemplify the manner in
which such an instrument may be temporarily introduced through an aperture
in the ring at e¹, for the purpose of raising the spring d; f, f, (Figures 2, 5, 6,
and 8,) is the disc: It is secured to the back plate g, g, g, and to the heel g¹,
built upon the same by screws 92, 9, 9², g²; f', f', f',ƒ', are projecting parts
of the upper side of the disc, which form the annular segments or flanches, two
of which are seen in section at Figure 5; and ffff, are the blank
spaces or intervals between the segments or flanches. The ring and disc are
of equal depth or thickness, and that thickness is also equal to the thickness of
à flanch on the one added to the thickness of a flanch upon the other, so that
when the ring and disc are united they fit accurately without any shake or
looseness. k, k, h, k, are broad shallow grooves or recesses crossing the disó

page_text: diametrically between opposite pairs of the blank spaces or intervals f,f,f³‚ ƒ³.
When the heel is placed in any one of its wearing positions, the spring d
drops into one of these grooves, and restrains the disc from turning about its
centre. h, k, k¹, k¹, are bevilled indentations at the ends of the grooves seen
in section at Figure 6, and are made to admit the point of the pin or
wire e, when the same is inserted for the purpose of raising the spring d out of
-the groove. It will be seen that if the upper side of the disc be applied concen-
trically to the lower side of the ring, and so that a diameter passing through
the middle of opposite flanches in the one (such as the line 3, 4, in Figure 1,
or 5, 6, in Figure 2,) shall coincide with a diameter passing through the
middle of opposite blank spaces or intervals in the other (such as the linė 1, 2,
in Figure 1, or 7, 8, in Figure 2), the flanches of the one piece will pass
through the corresponding blank spaces or intervals of the other piece, and the
back plate g of the disc may be pressed into contact with the face of the ring a.
If the disc be now caused to rotate about its centre through a space equal to
the angle at which the aforesaid diameters of either piece intersect each other,
the flanches of the one piece will be inserted behind the flanches of the other,
and the ring and disc will be mutually interlocked and fastened together.
The spring d will also coincide in position with and will enter one of the
grooves k, k, k, k, and abutting against the sides thereof will prevent the disc
from being turned about its centre in either direction, and the hee will be
securely fixed in its place. When it is desired to liberate the heel a pin or
wire is to be introduced through the hole in the ring (el, Figure 3), which is
drilled in such a direction as to admit the point of the pin into one of the
bevilled indentations k³, k', k³, k¹, and immediately under the end of the spring d,
so that being pressed forward it raises the spring clear of the groove, and leaves
the disc at liberty to move about its centre; the disc may then be disengaged
by turning it partially round through the distance measured by the angle of
intersection of the diameters before mentioned, when the flanches of each piece
will be brought to coincide with blank spaces or intervals in the other piece,
through which they may be withdrawn, and the heel separated from the boot,
and replaced in another position.
The construction and mode of applying my improved spur are illustrated by
Figures 7, 8, and 9, the latter being a plan view of the spur. t is the hoop of
the spur, which is shewn in its position encircling the ring of the heel in
Figure 7. The latter is turned down a little so as to leave a small flanch or
overlap s, s, (Figure 7,) to confine the hoop of the spur above, and when
the moveable part of the heel is fixed in its place the back plate g thereof also
projects beyond the hoop on the under side, and confines it below. To

page_text: prevent the spur from turning round, a pin or screw is inserted through
a hole in the hoop into the hole e¹ in the ring of the heel before described.
I am aware that moveable heels and revolving heels have beretofore been
applied to boots or shoes for the same purpose as that contemplated by the
present Invention, but by other and different methods. I therefore claim
not to be the Inventor of moveable or adjustable heels generally, but
what I wish to be understood by the foregoing statement to claim as of
my Invention is, firstly, as relates to the moveable heels of boots and shoes,
the art or method herein-before described of uniting or joining the
moveable to the fixed part of the heel by means of rings and discs with
interlocking flanches, as herein-before described; and secondly as relates to
spurs, the art or method of constructing the said spurs, and attaching the same
to the moveable heels by means of hoops forming parts of the said spurs,
and adapted to encircle the rings of the moveable heels, in manner herein-
before explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Wadsworth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Signed and sealed by the before-
mentioned James Wadsworth in
the presence of
JAMES WADSWORTH. (L.S.)
JN° TAYLER, Patent Agent,
Manchester.