An Improved Adjustable, Elastic, or Resilient Heel for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 29th Feb., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Adjustable, Elastic, or Resilient Heel for Boots
and Shoes.
I, WILHELM NOELLE, of Greiz, in the Empire of Germany, Merchant, 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:-
The heels of boots and shoes, when made of india-rubber, have hitherto consisted
of an india-rubber plate secured to a piece of leather by means of a number of
screws or nails which were driven in close to the edge of the rubber plate. This
method of attachment, however, has proved altogether inconvenient and unsuited to
its purpose; for, owing to the close contact or adhesion of the rubber plate to the
edge of the leather, the advantages arising from the yielding and resilient nature of
the rubber has been practically lost, the pressure applied to the india-rubber disc
or plate being so powerful as to leave little or no scope for the display of the elastic
quality of the rubber; while a further disadvantage of the arrangement in question
is, that the rubber plates, fixed in the manner stated, are apt to be trodden down
and worn at the back in a very short time and to an extent rendering them quite
unfit for further use.
These drawbacks are removed by the present invention, in accordance with
which an india-rubber disc or plate is employed and instead of this being tightly
pressed down at the edge, it is secured in position by means of a central screw,
which, when screwed home, exercises little or no pressure upon the edge of the
rubber plate. The yielding and resilient properties of the plate are thus fully
retained, and in addition to that, owing to the circular shape of the disc or plate,
and the pivot formed formed by the central screw, whenever the disc or plate
is found to be worn out to any appreciable extent at any part of its edge or
periphery, it may be re-adjusted by turning it round so as to subject another part
to wear, after loosening the screw for the purpose.
In the accompanying drawings a heel of the improved construction is represented
by way of example, in two alternative forms, Figs. 1 and 2 being respectively, a
section of each.
Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the central screwing arrangement
consists of a screw b and a sleeve or nut a. The nut a is closed by a bottom
plate or head a¹ at one end, such head serving to secure and retain it within the
leather c; pins, such as 9, being employed to effect the attachment by engaging in
apertures a² and thus preventing the nut or sleeve from turning out of position.
The india-rubber plate or disc d is placed on to the leather c, after which the
screw is inserted and screwed home so that its head enters the central
recess; a wrench, adapted to engage in the holes b*, being employed in turning the
screw.
It will be understood that the india-rubber plate, being fixed in position in the
manner described, will at all times retain a certain amount of flexibility at its edge,
so that any concussion resulting from the wearers foot being put down with something
more than the usual force of pressure, is necessarily taken up and deadened as it
were, by the body of rubber; a feature which, particularly in the case of invalids
or convalescents, will prove to be an invaluable advantage.
Fig. 2 as before mentioned exemplifies a modified form of the improved heel.

page_text: The india-rubber disc or plate m is here used as an intermediate piece, while its
underlying support n consists of a plate of leather or other suitable material, such
as compressed paper, wood, metal or the like. In this instance, therefore, it
is this additional plate n that is formed with a recess for the head of the screw
to be embedded in.
Here also the india-rubber plate is compressed, but to an insignificant extent at
the edge when the screw is screwed home, so that the desired elasticity of the heel
is fully retained.
It will be understood that the lower plate n may in this arrangement, as in that
shewn in Fig. 1, be turned round, should it prove to have been worn out unduly on
one side.
The screwed parts should in all cases be plated with zinc to protect them from
rust or oxidation.
Instead of effecting the central attachment of the india-rubber plate by means
of a screw, any other equivalent device may be employed for fixing the said plate
centrally.
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. A heel for boots and shoes, which forms a yielding and resilient cushion
between the foot of the wearer and the ground, and which is attached to the boot
by a central screw or other pivot, by loosening which the heel can be turned round
for adjustment, substantially as described and shewn.
2. A heel for boots and shoes, consisting essentially of a rubber or other resilient
disc or plate, which is attached to the boot by a central screw or other pivot in such
manner that by loosening the screw, the rubber disc or plate can be turned
round for adjustment, substantially as shewn and described with reference to
Fig. 1.
3. A heel for boots and shoes consisting essentially of a disc or plate of leather
or the like between which and the boot a disc or plate of rubber or other resilient
material is interposed, the whole being held together by a central screw or other
pivot in such manner that by loosening the screw, the leather disc or plate can be
turned round for adjustment, substantially as described and shewn with reference
to Fig. 2.
4. A heel for boots and shoes, substantially as described and shewn in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 24th day of January 1896.
WILLIAM J. MUNDEN,
106 Priory Park Road, Kilburn, London, N.W.,
Agent for the Applicant.