Improvements in Safety Soles for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Safety Soles for Boots and Shoes.
A communication from CARL HEINRICH FRIEDE, Merchant, and HUGO FRIEDE,
Locksmith, both of Planitz, Saxony, in the German Empire.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
This invention relates to a protective sole for boots and shoes consisting of a
metal plate or sheet cut to the desired shape and covered with elastic material such
as felt the whole being adapted to be suitably attached to the boot or shoe by
means of screws, buckles, spring clamps, or the like. Owing to its elasticity this
protective sole will fit the configurations of the sole of boot or shoe to which it is
applied without interfering in the least with the free motion of the foot. Should
however the metal sheet be formed insufficiently yielding a hinge or joint may be
provided near its centre say between the heel and sole portions.
The sole so arranged may be employed in a variety of ways. Its main object is
to prevent accidents upon slippery roads, ice and the like. The protective sole which
may be readily and conveniently attached to a boot or shoe and as readily removed
therefrom when done with will most effectually prevent slipping and the evils con-
sequent thereon whenever for example the thawing of snow renders the roads
muddy and slippery. In divers departments of industry too these soles will prove
a valuable safety appliance to the operatives such as plumbers, chimney-sweeps etc.
whom it will protect from falling down from the roof. Again by applying soles of
this description to his riding boots a rider will ensure a better hold on the stirrups.
Besides these soles will prove useful in protecting boots and shoes from damage
resulting from dampness rain or snow and they may also be employed instead of the
protective slippers or goloshes which visitors to certain castles or monuments are
at present asked to put on to prevent mosaic or other valuable flooring being
damaged by their boots or shoes.
To enable the invention to be more readily understood reference should be made
to the accompanying drawings in which
Fig. 1 is a plan and
Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of the improved safety sole.
A A' is a metal plate or sheet shaped to the contour of a sole and heel and
forming the support of the sheet of felt B B¹. Both these sheets are connected by
screws a a the nuts a¹ a¹ into which they screw forming shoulders for holding in
position the sheet B B¹. Thus it is sufficient to loosen the screws whenever it is
desired to remove and replace worn out sheets of felt. The sole proper A B is
connected with the heel portion A¹ B¹ by a hinge c. The plate A is bent so as
to fit the shape of the heel to which it is fixed by means of the pin d and
pointed screw d'. For the attachment of the sole a strap with a buckle is
employed.
A modified arrangement consists in fastening the sole A B without the use of the
strap d but by means of a screw or yielding clamps. Similarly the heel portion A' B¹
may be fixed to the heel by means of spring-controlled clamps instead of the pin d
and screw d' mentioned above. As before stated the hinge c may be replaced by
another form of joint or the whole of the sheet A A' may be sufficiently flexible to
enable any hinge or joint to be dispensed with.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A safety or protecting sole consisting of a metal sheet covered with an elastic
material such as felt which owing to its yielding nature fits the shape of the sole
without interfering with the free motion of the foot for the better attainment of
which latter object a hinge or joint may be arranged about midway of the sole
between the sole proper A B and the heel A' B' substantially as described.
2. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete safety
or protecting sole substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this Tenth day of March 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.