IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by André Christophe at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 18th July 1881.
ANDRÉ CHRISTOPHE, of Liège, in the Kingdom of Belgium, but temporarily
of 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer. IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes,
whereby the soles as well as the heels of boots and shoes are so constructed and
connected to the uppers as to allow of their being easily and quickly removed for
renewal or repair, without requiring the use of tools or skilled labor for the
operation. Boots and shoes constructed according to my Invention are also water-
proof and very strong, and as steel is employed in their manufacture, the parts
forming the boot are kept in their proper places, so that the boots do not get out
of shape from wear from the fact that steel is so much less liable to expansion than
leather.
Further, boots and shoes manufactured according to my improvements require
much less labor for their production than is required by the present mode of
manufacture.
In carrying out my Invention the upper of the boot or shoe is manufactured as
hitherto, and is sewn to a kind of first or inner sole of thin leather in the ordinary
manner. The upper with its insole so formed is then adapted to a sole made of
sheet steel, which forms an essential feature of my Invention.
This steel sole which is made of the form of the sole of the foot is perforated all
round the outer part or edge of its surface with a number of small holes to allow of
the introduction of nails or rivets, which pass through these holes as well as
through the edge of the upper already connected, as herein before described in the
first sole.
The upper having previously been placed on a metal last, if the nails or rivets
are driven into the said holes they will first pass through the steel plate, then
through the leather of the upper, and the ends of the nails or rivets coming against
the metal last placed on the boot will be rivetted or upset. In order to obtain a
perfect joint I prefer to first coat with red lead the parts of the steel plate or sole
where the holes are perforated, and also the part which comes against the leather.
D

page_text: The steel plate or sole which I employ varies in thickness according to the
strength and flexibility to be given to the boot, and before it is applied to the sole,
as herein before described, it is prepared in the following manner :-
At the same time that the metal sole or plate is punched with the herein before
described holes, which serve to connect it to the upper, and which holes are
circular and small in size; I also punch it with other holes of a different shape,
and which are to serve the purpose of fixing a moveable leather outer half sole or
clump. These latter holes are circular, and each has a rectangular slot of a less
width than the diameter of the circular hole. All the slots are made in the same
direction, and preferably in the direction of the length of the sole of the boot, but
they may be placed at right angles thereto, or in any other suitable direction.
These openings are placed throughout the surface of the sole, and within the
small holes by which the sole is connected to the upper, and are less in number
than the said small holes.
The moveable half sole or clump previously cut out to suit the shape of the steel
sole is provided at the parts corresponding with the said holes in the said metal
sole or plate with a number of screws fixed in the said leather sole or clump with
the heads only projecting, and the said screw heads can all be passed at the same
time through the said circular holes of about the same diameter. If the leather
sole be pushed towards the end of the boot, all the heads of the screws will at the
same time take into the rectangular slots, so as to come under the steel sole or
plate on the side next the foot. Two screws suitably placed at the end of the sole
at the side of the bend prevent it from moving.
To remove and replace the said half sole it is merely necessary to at first remove
the said two screws, when the worn sole can be removed by sliding it in the
direction of the slots; a new sole can then be placed on the boot by sliding it in the
opposite direction to that hereinbefore described, and it may be fixed in position
by replacing the said two stop screws.
The steel plate or sole is, as hereinbefore described, made so as to fit the form of
the foot, whether for the waist or heel.
At the waist the steel plate is covered with a thickness of leather fixed to the
steel plate, at the same time that the steel plate is fixed to the upper. The said
thickness of leather also covers the surface of the heel.
At this place the edge of the steel plate or sole is turned over so as to form the
commencement of the heel.
A complete heel is prepared from superposed pieces of leather in the usual
manner, and is provided with a central hole through which is passed a screw for
fixing the heel to the steel sole. The flange formed on the steel plate or sole will
prevent the leather heel from turning, the screw holding it in its place. The
leather heel is terminated by a small steel plate on the side opposite the steel sole
to provide a seat for the head of the screw. The steel plate at this part is made of
double thickness to admit of being screw-threaded for receiving the screw.
To fix or remove the heel it is merely necessary to screw or unscrew the said
Bcrew,