Improvements in the Manufacture of the Soles and Heels or Bottoms of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 27th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 18th May, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Soles and Heels or Bottoms
of Boots and Shoes.
I WILLIAM FROST of 17 Fenchurch Street in the City of London, Solicitor
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Take a piece of ordinary leather guttapercha indiarubber or other natural or
manufactured substance or composition (a) used or (b) suitable for. use as the sole
or heel or bottom of a boot or shoe whether such boot or shoe shall be (c) in
course of manufacture or (d) newly manufactured or (e) already worn, and press
force inject strike or drive into it from the side that is, or is intended to be, worn
next the ground (or outer side) a number of (f) short hollow tubes or pipes or
short lengths of hollow tubing or piping or (g) narrow widths or strips of metal
shaped, or (h) pieces of metal cast or by any other means made in accordance with
or suitable to the requirements hereof, either (i) unbroken in outline (like a quoit)
or (j) broken but embracive or enclosive in outline (like a horse shoe, or the
letter S, or a watch-spring), whether (k) the same shall have been first made in
lengths of the required shape or pattern and then cut into the said short tubes or
short lengths (which would be more suitable to the case of unbroken outlines)
or (L.) shall have been first made in flat form and then pressed rolled bent or struck
into the required shape or pattern (which would be more suitable to the case of
broken outlines) and either (m.) circular (n) oval (o.) triangular (p) rectangular
or (7) irregular in shape or pattern or of the shape or pattern of the (r) heart
or (s) club on a playing card or (t.) of any of the shapes or patterns aforesaid but
with corrugated indented or wavy outlines or (u.) of any other fancy shape pattern
or design and either (v.) having or (w.) not having any small projection indentation
barb or wedge thereon or therein for the purpose of increasing or strengthening
their hold or bite or (c) of all or any of such shapes patterus designs or kinds
intermixed, made of (y.) steel (2.) iron (a. a.) brass (b. b.) copper (c. c.) aluminium
(d. d.) tin or (e. e.) other metal or (f. f.) combination or mixture of metals
or (g. g.) combination or mixture of metal and alloy, of such a length or width
as shall be insufficient to penetrate the entire thickness of the leather guttapercha
indiarubber substance or composition, and shall accordingly leave the opposite
or inner side thereof and also the unpenetrated portion thereof unperforated
unbroken and intact, and shall also leave each and every of the various portions
of the leather gútta percha indiarubber substance or composition that have been
compressed into or enclosed within or embraced by the various tubes or shapes
still naturally and completely connected with and remaining unsevered parts
of the piece of leather gutta-percha india-rubber substance or composition in
question.
My invention also includes the following variation, viz., the same invention in all
respects as is before described down to and including (g. g.) but then proceeding as
follows:-Of such a length or width as shall be either (h. h.) just sufficient or (i. i.) a
little more than sufficient to penetrate such entire thickness.
In the last mentioned case (i. i.) the necessary pressing forcing injecting striking
or driving would and should have the effect of turning down bending or flattening
the superfluous length or some part thereof at one end or both ends so as
to constitute a flange or projection which would increase or strengthen the hold
or bite.

page_text: In order to obtain the whole or larger portion of the flange or projection at the
inner side of the leather or substance (where it would be most serviceable and
valuable) the insertion should or might be accomplished (j. j.) by inserting the
tubes or shapes from the, inner (instead of the outer) side, or (k. k.) by means
of two blows or pressures, having at the first blow or pressure a comparatively
soft substance (such as indiarubber) next such inner side and having at the
second blow or pressure a hard substance (such as steel) next both sides thereof.
In dealing with a substance which during manufacture or treatment would be of
a liquid or soft nature (subsequently becoming hard or harder) the tubes or shapes
should or could be cast or moulded or run into such substance at the liquid or
soft stage thereof, and either by some or one of the means aforesaid or by being
previously placed in the mould or receptacle in which such substance is cast or
moulded..
The number size position and character of the tubes or shapes may be regulated
or varied at pleasure but will in a general way be governed by the character of the
boot or shoe for which they are intended, and the nature and amount of wear they
are likely to receive.
I claim protection in respect of the whole of the foregoing and also in respect of
each and every severable part thereof.
Dated this 21st dor of January 1805
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Soles and Heels or Bottoms
of Boots and Shoes.
WILLIAM FROST, 17 Fenchurch Street London E.C. Solicitor 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 aud by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to the means employed for increasing the durability of
the soles and heels of boots and shoes by the insertion of pieces of metal therein.
Hitherto this has been done by means of solid nails and plugs and by means of plates
or protectors held in position by nails plugs or spikes which are objectionable for
many reasons and do not obtain a firm hold on the surrounding, leather, and (more
recently) by means of hollow tubular insertions driven right through the leather
and consequently entirely separating from such leather the small piece contained
therein and depending upon some kind of head on the inner side of the leather to
prevent their dropping out.
The present invention has for its object the use of tubular metallic insertions
of such a shape as to put into a state of compression the leather that lies between
the different parts of the metallic insertions and at the same time not to sever such
compressed portion of the leather (as is necessarily done in the case of the said
hollow tubular insertions) from any other part of the leather.
In order more accurately to describe my invention I shall in this Specification
use the term "tubular " to mean sections by planes perpendicular to the length of
cylindrical or corrugated sheets of metal of any section whether in the shape of a
closed or open curved or broken line. Thus the word "tubular" will include any
form of tube or corrugated sheet whether its section at right angles to its axis be
a closed or an open figure.
My invention consists in the use of tubular insertion pieces of such a kind that
the leather adjoining the concave side of the insertion piece is put into a state of
compression by reason of the concavity, the insertion piece being so shaped or so
used that this portion of the leather remains substantially a continuous part of the

page_text: sole leather.
In the case in which the section of the tubular insertion piece is a
closed figure this is effected by allowing it only to penetrate through a portion of
the thickness of the leather.
My invention may be put in practice by the following methods: Firstly by
inserting in the leather from the outer side tubular pieces which are less in length
than the thickness of the leather so that when inserted (although they completely
surround the enclosed part of the leather) they do not penetrate the entire thickness
thereof secondly by inserting in the leather from the outer side tubular pieces in
the above sense which are less in width than the thickness of the leather, so that
when inserted they neither penetrate the entire thickness of the leather nor
completely surround any part thereof thirdly by inserting in the leather from
either side tubular pieces which are equal in width with the thickness of the leather
so that when inserted although they penetrate the entire thickness of the leather
they do not completely surround any part thereof: and fourthly by inserting in the
leather from either side tubular pieces which are greater in width than the thickness
of the leather, so that when inserted they project beyond the inner side and
accordingly penetrate the entire thickness of the leather but do not completely
surround any part thereof the projecting edges of the last mentioned pieces being
rolled or pressed down in any convenient manner. Such metallic insertions may
if desired be provided with a metal surface plate of any size shape or thickness, so
that in effect such combined pieces would be plates or protectors for the outer side
of the leather held in position (without the aid of either nails plugs or spikes) by
means of the tubular pieces already described and so that when such added surface
had been worn off or become detached there would still remain in the leather the
pieces described in methods 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In the accompanying drawings p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y and z are illustrations of
the sort of tubular pieces intended to be used in the said first method; a, b, c, d,
e, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n and o are illustrations of the sort of tubular pieces intended
to be used in the said second third and fourth methods, and a a, b b, c c, d d
and ee are illustrations of the method of attaching plates to the tubular pieces.
It may be explained that when any one of the pieces aforesaid has been inserted
in the leather (cousiderable force or pressure being necessary for the purpose) the
surrounded or partially surrounded leather by reason of its compression between
the various parts of the inserted metal piece grips tightly upon such inserted metal
piece and holds it firmly in position. Such surrounded or partially surrounded
leather is in its turn gripped and held by the entirety of the remaining leather
because by each of the said methods it has been left unsevered therefrom.
Moreover by the said second method two separate and distinct connections
are left between the leather that is partially surrounded and the remaining
leather.
The shape of the metal pieces is a matter of taste and can be varied provided
that the enclosed or partially enclosed leather be put into a state of compression so
as to insure its grip upon the inserted metal piece and provided also that such
compressed leather be not severed from any other part of the leather, so as to
ensure that such compressed leather be (in its turn) held by the remaining leather.
The designs in the accompanying drawings must accordingly be taken to be merely
illustrative.
The width and length of the tubular pieces inserted will be regulated by the
thickness of the leather and according as it is desired that they shall, or shall not,
entirely penetrate the same. The thickness of the pieces and the positions in which
they are inserted in the leather will be regulated by the character of the boot or
shoe and the wear to which it is likely to be subjected.
The insertions may be indented wedged or barbed so as to increase their bite on
the leather.
Several thicknesses of leather may be put together and treated as one sole
or heel in which case the pieces inserted will entirely or partially hold them
together.

page_text: Any substitute for leather may be treated in the same way as leather, and the
method of the actual insertion of the pieces may be varied according to the nature
of such substitute.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a view of the outer side of a boot sole to which this invention has been
applied.
Figure 2 is a section shewing a tubular piece t inserted according to the said first
method.
Figure 3 is another section shewing a tubular piece a inserted according to the
said second method.
Figure 4 is another section shewing a tubular piece a¹ inserted according to the
said third method.
Figure 5 is another section shewing a tubular piece a² inserted according to the
said fourth method.
Figure 6 is another section shewing a combined piece bb (combined with one of
each of the sorts of pieces used in methods 1, 2, 3 and 4) and Figure 7 is a view of
the inner side of the last mentioned combined piece buninserted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. Insertions for the soles and heels of boots and shoes constructed and used
substantially as herein before described.
2. The employment in and combination with the soles and heels of boots and
shoes of the metal insertions described and shewn in the drawings substantially as
described.
Dated this 27th day of March 1805
WM. FROST.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.