Improved Boot or Shoe Protectors.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Jan., 1891-Accepted, 21st Feb., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Boot or Shoe Protectors.
I, DAVID THORPE LEE, of Hogarth House, Maidenhead, in the County of
Berkshire, Artist, 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 consists in improved boot or shoc protectors and the object of the
invention is to provide a protector ready to be fastened upon the sole or heel of a
boot or shoe which shall have the advantages over former known protectors of greater
lightness for equivalent wearing power or greater durability for equal weight,
greater strength of fastening in the first instance and greater facility for further
or more secure fastening should such protector become loose, also less liability to
form or present a slippery surface to the ground and thus give greater grip and
security in walking.
A further object is to provide a resilient protector or stud having the above
qualities and suitable for wearing on tennis shoes and other shoes etc., used in
athletics generally.
The improved protector is formed of steel wire of a suitable length which is bent
or curved in such a manner as to cover in one plane a certain desired space of suitable
breadth and length, being equivalent to the surface to be protected the two ends of
the wire being respectively bent upward on the one side perpendicular to the general
plane of the aforesaid bent or curved wire and extending to a suitable distance and
sharpened at the ends so that they form or constitute spikes to be driven into the
sole or heel of the boot etc., or into holes therein drilled for that purpose and thus
secure the bent or curved part of the wire as a surface upon such sole or heel. To
allow such protector to be used to compensate unequally worn or obliquely worn
surfaces the plane or part of bent or curved wire, which forms the head of the
protector should also be of unequal thickness throughout, this is effected therefore
by stamping, pressing or beating out the protector so that it is thinner towards its
edges or towards one or more of its edges that is to say so that the protector may.
be placed evenly on the surface of the sole or heel of the boot but may project to
a greater distance from said surface in some parts than in other parts. The form
of the head of the protector may vary according to the style of surface to be
covered.
The points should not be close together as the existence of two points at a com-
paratively large distance apart gives greater steadiness and security to the fastening
of the protector upon the boot or shoe.
The stud for shoes etc., used for tennis and other athletic games and the like is
made in a similar way except that the head is made convex in general form and
the wire is so arranged that the prongs project at that part of the stud which is
always in contact with the surface of the shoe.
The accompanying drawings illustrate several forms of protector and show also
a plan of the lower surface of a boot to indicate how the various forms may be used
to cover different parts of the surface. I do not confine myself however to the
forms there shown nor solely to employing the different shapes for the respective
places shown on the plan.
In Figs. 1 to 9 A B C D E F G H J are different forms of protectors with flat
heads.
Fig. 10 is a plan and Fig. 11 an elevation of a stud with convex head suitable
for tennis shoes etc.
Fig. 12 is a plan and Fig. 13 is an elevation of another stud with convex head
suitable for tennis shoes etc.

page_text: Fig. 14 is a plan of the under side of a boot with protectors attached.
a is the wire head made by bending the main part of the wire in a suitable
manner to cover the space required and to leave the ends projecting at a suitable
place for fixing the wire surface so formed onto the boot, bb are the two ends of
wire bent up and sharpened at the ends, c indicates that part of the wire head
which is flattened out more or less to render the head thinner at this part.
The stud for tennis shoes and the like need not have any part of the head flattened
or beaten out.
The protector is preferably made of soft steel wire afterwards hardened. The
thickness of the wire will be chosen in proportion to the heaviness of the style of
boot or shoe for which the protector is intended.
The interstices between the wire will give a secure foothold and tend to prevent
slipping they also provide passage for additional nails should such be required by
the loosening of the protector or the possible breaking of one of the wire ends
thereof, the latter however being of steel are less easily broken than the prongs of
other protectors.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. A. boot or shoe protector consisting of a length of wire bent or curved in
a plane to cover a space of suitable breadth and length and having the two
ends bent up perpendicularly to said plane substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
2. A boot or shoe protector consisting of a length of wire bent or curved in
a plaue to cover a space of suitable breadth and length and having the two ends
bent up perpendicularly to said plane, said plane of bent or curved wire forming the
head being flattened towards one or more of its edges substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
3. A. boot or shoe stud consisting of a length of wire bent or curved to form a
convex head and having the two ends bent up for fastening the stud to the shoe at
that part of the stud which is in constant contact with the shoe or the like substan-
tially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 21st day of January 1891.
HERBERT & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.