Improvements in Boot Soles, Carriage Steps, Stair Treads and other like Articles which have to be Supplied with an Indiarubber or like Wearing Surface.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 21st July, 1899-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Boot Soles, Carriage Steps, Stair Treads and other
like Articles which have to be Supplied with an Indiarubber or
like Wearing Surface.
I, ALBERT WOODIER, of Halton, near Runcorn, in the County of Chester,
Assistant Overseer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object a boot and shoe sole which will combine all
the advantages of an india rubber sole with those of a leather sole, and will
enable rubber treads to be placed on other articles without fear of their being
torn off.
In forming the indiarubber tread whether of a boot or a stair or a carriage step or of
any other article there is the foundation plate which can be of leather, of wood,
of iron, or of other material. Over this foundation plate I place the rubber sole
or cover. This coyer is formed of a layer of canvas or other stout like material,
and attached to this the usual corrugated or other indiarubber cushion or sole.
Unlike other indiarubber plates however this is moulded with a series of hollow
depressions (where the area is large) over that area not extending down to the
canvas and having flat bottoms. In boot soles it is not necessary to have numerous
hollow depressions, but I prefer to have one long groove extending round the
boot sole a short distance from the outside or at the outside say one-quarter inch
wide in the latter case, five-sixteenths to one-quarter of an inch in the former.
In this groove and sometimes in these small depressions extending throughout
the surface I nail or attach in any convenient manner a leather strip or in some
instances a metal strip. This leather or metal strip can project above the india
rubber, can be level with the india rubber or the india rubber can project above
it, and it can be flat or serrated, or have the nail heads projecting upwards above
it. Furthermore, in some instances I may do without any strip whatever but
insert the nails in the groove or depressions with their heads preferably projecting
to the highest point of the corrugations or roughnesses of the rubber, but they can
either be below these or above them if desired. A similar strip goes round the
outside or round near the outside of the heel. Now as the greatest wear and
tear on the shoe sole takes place on the outside, having a more durable material on
the outside enables the india rubber to last for a much longer period. Patches
where the boot sole is most liable to wear can also be formed in indiarubber the
same way with nails having their heads countersunk and in the indiarubber in
the manner set forth or having a leather strip surrounding them in the manner
already described which is nailed down on to the boot sole. The heels whether
of the ordinary shape or circular, can be made in a similar manner, the central

page_text: portion being rubber, the outside leather, metal, hard indiarubber, or other like
inaterial.
Dated this 20th day of October 1898.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Boot Soles, Carriage Steps, Stair Treads and other
like Articles which have to be Supplied with an Indiarubber or
like Wearing Surface.
I, ALBERT WOODIER, of Halton, near Runcorn, in the County of Chester,
Assistant Overseer, 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 has for its object a boot and shoe sole which will combine all
the advantages of an india rubber sole with those of a leather sole, and will
enable rubber treads to be placed on other articles without fear of their being
torn off.
In order to facilitate description, reference will be had to the accompanying
drawings, in which Figures 1 to 3 are plan view of boots to which some forms of
my invention have been applied as examples; Figure 4 a section showing the
construction more clearly; Figures 5 to 7 are perspective views of the heel pieces
shown in Figures 1 to 3 respectively. Figure 8 is a plan of another form of
construction Figure 9 a plan of a heel piece adapted to fit different sized heels
or the like and Figure 10 a view of the heel piece shown in Figure 9, but showing
the same compressed.
In forming the indiarubber tread whether of a boot or a stair or a carriage step or
of any other article there is the foundation plate which can be of leather, of wood,
of iron, or of other material. Over this foundation plate I place the rubber sole
or cover. This cover is formed of a layer A of canvas or other stout like material,
and attached to this the usual corrugated or other indiarubber cushion or sole B.
Unlike other indiarubber plates however this is moulded with a series of hollow
depressions C, as shown clearly in Figures 1, 4, 5 and S. In boot soles it is not
necessary to have numerous hollow depressions C in the middle of the sole but
only at the edge as in Figure 1, or to have one long groove extending round the
boot sole a short distance from the outside, as shown in Figures 2 and 6, or at
the outside, as shown in Figures 3 and 7, say one-quarter inch wide in the latter
case, five-sixteenths to one-quarter of an inch in the former. In this groove and
sometimes in these small depressions extending throughout the surface, I nail or
attach in any convenient manner a leather strip D, or in some instances a metal
strip. This leather or metal strip D can project above the indiarubber B can
be level with the india rubber or the india rubber can project above it, and it can
be flat or serrated, or have the nail heads projecting upwards above it. Further-
more, in some instances I may do without any strip D whatsoever but insert the
nails in the groove or depressions with their heads preferably projecting to the
highest point of the corrugations or roughnesses of the rubber B, but they can
either be below these or above them if desired. A similar strip D goes round
the outside (Figures 3 and 7) or round near the outside (Figures 2 and 6) of the
heel. Now as the greatest wear and tear on the shoe sole takes place on the

page_text: outside, having a more durable material on the outside enables the indiarubber to
last for a much longer period. Patches or tips where the boot sole is most liable
to wear can also be formed in indiarubber the same way with nails having their
heads countersunk in the indiarubber in the manner set forth or having a leather
strip surrounding them in the manner already described which is nailed down on
to the boot sole. The heels whether of the ordinary shape or circular, can be
made in a similar manner, the central portion being rubber, the outside leather,
metal, hard indiarubber, or other like material.
In some cases however I may make the heel piece with the outside portion of
rubber, and the central portion of leather, metal, or the like, fitted into the
central depression and nailed down onto the boot. The rubber piece thus formed
may be provided with a notch E as shown in Figure 9, giving it a certain amount
of yield or spring to allow of it being compressed or reduced in dimensions by
side pressure, as shown in Figure 10 to fit different sized heels or other parts the
central inlay of leather or the like being then cut to the required size.
In order to utilize scrap material, I may sometimes make up a sole as shown
in Figure 8, in which the main rubber portion B is held down by leather or like
inlays in the depressions C and the remainder of the sole consists of pieces of
leather 1 fitted as partial overlays round the grooved or depressed edges of the
rubber and nailed down on to the boot over the canvas edges A. Where the
rubber runs quite up to the edge of the sole it may be secured by nails driven
through recesses or depressions such as F, which are ridged off into separate places
for each nail, or a simple groove may be used to receive all the nails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The improvement in complete or partial covers or wearing surfaces of india
rubber for boot solès, carriage steps, stair treads, and other like articles, which
consists in providing same with a backing of canvas or like stout material, and
with recesses, depressions or grooves, whereby they may be securely nailed down on
to the article through the canvas substantially as herein before set forth.
2. Wearing surfaces for boot soles, carriage steps, stair treads and other like
articles, consisting of pieces or covers of india rubber having a backing of stout
material such as canvas, and provided with recesses, depressions or grooves adapted
to receive pieces or strips of leather, metal, hard rubber or other like material as
inlays or as complete or partial overlays in such a way that said inlays or overlays
may be nailed down on to the article through the canvas to securely fasten the
rubber on the article, substantially as described.
3. Forming india rubber pieces or covers for wearing surfaces of the kind
described, with a notch such as E to give them a yield or spring whereby they may
be compressed to fit different sized parts of the article to which they are to be
applied, substantially as described.
4. The improved complete or partial covers or wearing surfaces of combined
pieces of indiarubber and a harder material for boot soles, carriage steps, stair
treads, and other like articles, constructed and applied substantially as described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
3000
Dated this 20th day of July 1000
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Patent Agents,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London.