Improvements in Detachable Heel-protectors for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Detachable Heel-protectors for Boots and Shoes.
We, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of 18, Queen's Gate Place, in the County of
Middlesex, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Civil and Mechanical Engineer,
and MORTIMER GEORGE COLE, of Moorside, Kingsmead Road, Tulse Hill, Chrono-
meter Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:---
This invention relates to improvements in detachable heel-protectors for boots
and shoes.
According to our invention we prefer to first cut or stamp out from some
suitable material, such as sheet steel, a blank of approximately the shape of
the heel of a boot or shoe, with a series of projections extending outwardly from
it all around its edge. This steel blank is then pressed through a die in such a
manner that all of the aforesaid projections are bent up at right angles to the
plane of the blank. The heel plate so produced is then applied to a piece of
leather of the same shape and size as the heel of the boot, and of a thickness
depending on the length of the said projections on the heel plate. The applica-
tion of the heel plate to the leather portion may be effected by inserting the
projections on the heel plate into and completely through the substance of the
said leather portion so that their ends are visible on one side thereof and have
the appearance of a series of nails, and when the heel-protector is in position on
the heel of a boot or shoe it will resemble exactly an ordinary boot heel. The
said projections on the heel plate act as nails and prevent the heel-protector from
being too rapidly worn away.
The heel protector may be secured to the heel of the boot or shoe by means of
one or more screws or by a series of tongues punched out of the heel plate itself
and bent at right angles to it so that they protrude in the opposite direction to
the projections that pass through the heel-protector. Or the detachable heel-
protector may be secured to the heel of the boot or shoe by both the tongues
and the screws.
By another modification of our invention the heel-protector may be made cir-
cular in shape and be provided with a series of tongues and a centrally dis-
posed screw and be so arranged on the boot heel that it may be shifted angularly
about the aforesaid central screw so that as one portion becomes worn a less worn
portion may be brought into its place. We prefer however to make the heel-
protector of the ordinary shape and instead of rotating it (as has heretofore been
proposed) we prefer to change it from the right boot to the left, and vice versa,
when it becomes worn more on one side or edge than on the other.
In some cases we prefer to harden the ends of the projections with which the
heel plate is provided and which as already stated pass completely through the
heel-protector, so as to make them like hardened steel nails and thus give
greater protection to the leather portion of the heel-protector than is possible
with soft steel nails.

page_text: The leather portion of the heel-protector may be punched out of ordinary sole
leather with a hollow die; although, if necessary, a punch having a series of
points for forming perforations to receive the projections on the heel plate may
be employed. The projections on the heel plate can then be inserted into these
holes in the leather portion of the heel-protector and the parts be placed in a
press, where they are subjected to sufficient pressure to cause the heel plate and
the leather portion to be firmly connected together.
In order to more firmly hold these parts together we may form the aforesaid
projections on the heel plate somewhat greater in length than the thickness of
the said leather portion so that they will project slightly beyond the surface
thereof. The protruding ends will then be turned or bent over when acted upon
in the aforesaid press, thus giving, in addition to their increased holding capa-
bility, a greater surface for wear, thus protecting the leather portion of the heel-
protector for a longer time.
Detachable heel-protectors made in this manner present when applied to the
heels of boots and shoes the appearance of ordinary boot heels. As the heel plates
in their complete form can be cut out of a single piece of metal by a single action
of a die, they are inexpensive to manufacture and can therefore be sold cheaply.
Moreover, as the detachable heel-protectors are capable of being very easily
removed from a boot or shoe they may be changed from the right to the left
boot and vice versa with facility, or old detachable heel-protectors may be
readily replaced by new ones.
The detachable heel-protectors have a neat and ornamental appearance and
may be applied to all sizes of boots and shoes and are especially suitable for the
use of soldiers and policemen.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Detachable Heel-protectors for Boots and Shoes.
We, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of 18, Queen's Gate Place, in the County of
Middlesex, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Civil and Mechanical Engineer,
and MORTIMER GEORGE COLE, of Moorside, Kingsmead Road, Tulse Hill, in the
County of Surrey, Chronometer Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
This invention relates to improvements in detachable heel-protectors for boots
and shoes.
According to our invention we first cut or stamp out from some suitable
material, such as sheet steel, a blank of approximately the shape of the heel of
a boot or shoe, with a series of projections or prongs extending outwardly from
it all around its edge. This steel blank is then pressed through a die to cause
all of the aforesaid projections to be bent up at right angles to the plane of
the blank. The heel plate so obtained is then applied to a piece of leather of
the same shape and size as the heel of the boot, and of a thickness depending
on the length of the said projections on the heel plate. This leather portion and
the aforesaid heel plate, when combined, we term the heel-protector. The appli-
cation of the heel plate to the leather portion is effected by inserting the projec-
tions or prongs on the heel plate into and completely through the substance of
the leather so that their ends are visible on one side thereof and have the appear-

page_text: ance of a series of nails. When the said detachable heel-protector is in position
on the heel of a boot or shoe it will resemble exactly an ordinary boot heel. The
said exposed ends of the projections or prongs on the heel plate prevent the
leather portion of the protector from being too rapidly worn away.
The heel-protector can be secured to the heel of the boot or shoe by means
of one
or more screws or by a series of tongues punched out of the heel
plate itself and bent at right angles to it, so that they protrude in the opposite
direction to the aforesaid projections that pass through the leather portion of the
protector. Or the said heel-protector may be secured to the heel of the boot or
shoe by both the tongues and the screws.
According to a modification of our invention the detachable heel-protector is
made circular in shape and the heel plate is provided with a series of tongues
and a centrally disposed screw for securing the protector to the boot-heel. The
heel-protector can be shifted angularly about the aforesaid central screw so that
as one portion becomes worn a less worn portion can be brought into its place.
As the heel plates in their complete form can be cut out of a single piece of
metal by a single action of a die, they are inexpensive to manufacture and can
therefore be sold cheaply. Moreover, as the detachable heel-protectors are cap-
able of being very easily removed from the boot or shoe, they may be changed
from the right to the left boot and vice versa with facility, or old detachable
heel-protectors may be readily replaced by new ones.
The detachable heel-protectors have a neat appearance and may be applied
to all sizes of boots and shoes and will be found especially suitable for the use
of soldiers and policemen.
In order that our said invention may be clearly understood and readily
carried into effect we will proceed to describe the same more fully with reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
-
Figure 1 is a plan of one form of heel-plate blank.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same after the series of projections around
its edge are bent at right angles to the blank.
Figures 3 and 4 are plan views of the obverse and reverse of the detachable
heel-protector in its complete form.
Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 1, 1, of Figure 3.
Figures 6 to 10 are similar views to those above described, shewing a slight
modification.
Figures 11 to 15 are also similar views to Figures 1 to 5, shewing a further
modification in which the detachable heel-protector is of circular shape.
Figures 16 and 17 are respectively a plan and a central vertical section shew-
ing the circular detachable heel-protector applied to the heel of a boot or shoe.
In all these figures like reference letters indicate similar parts.
A is the metal blank and B the piece of leather which the blank is applied to
and which is of the shape of the boot or shoe heel it is intended to be used with.
The metal blank A is formed with numerous projections or prongs a a around
its edge and the central part is removed in order to decrease the weight of the
blank. These projections a a are bent at right angles to the plane of the blank
as shewn at Figures 2, 7 and 12 and are subsequently pressed into the substance
of the leather portion B as shewn at Figure 5, the thickness of the leather and
the length of the projections or prongs being such that the ends of the latter are
visible on the obverse of the heel plate as illustrated in Figures 3, 9 and 13.
The leather portion B of the detachable heel-protector may be punched out of
ordinary sole leather with a hollow die; although if necessary, a punch having
a series of points for forming perforations to receive the projections or prongs
on the heel plate may be employed. The projections a a on the heel plate can
then be inserted into these holes and the parts be placed in a press, where they
are subjected to sufficient pressure to cause the heel plate A and the leather
portion B te be firmly connected together.
In order to more firmly hold these parts together, we may form the aforesaid

page_text: projections or prongs on the heel plate somewhat greater in length than the
thickness of the leather portion, so that they will project slightly beyond the
surface thereof. The protruding ends will then be turned or bent over (as shewn
in Figure 10) when acted upon in the aforesaid press, thus giving, in addition to
their increased holding capability, a greater surface for wear and protecting the
leather portion of the protector for a longer time.
In the construction illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 the detachable heel-protector
is connected with the boot-heel by means of ordinary wood-screws, screwed
through the conical holes bb in the said protector. These holes are preferably
so shaped that the heads of the screws will lie below the plane of the exposed
face of the protector, whereby a cavity will be left for the reception of some
filling material that will hide the screw-heads.
In some cases we dispense with the aforesaid screws and provide the detach-
able heel-protector with tongues a¹ a¹ (Figures 6 to 10) that are adapted to enter
the substance of the boot-heel and so secure it in place.
When the detachable heel-protector is made of circular shape as shewn in
Figures 11 to 17 we provide it with a central conical hole as well as with
tongues a a¹. By unscrewing the screw 61 and raising the protector a sufficient
distance from the boot-heel to permit of the said tongues to be withdrawn, the
said protector can then be turned about the said screw to bring an unworn por-
tion in the place of a worn portion. We prefer however to make the protector
of the ordinary shape and instead of rotating it we prefer to change it from the
right boot to the left, and vice versa,, when it becomes worn more on one side
or edge than on the other.
In some cases we prefer to harden the exposed ends of the projections or
prongs a with which the heel plate is provided, so as to make them like hard-
ened steel nails and thus give greater protection to the leather portion B than is
possible with soft steel nails. Even when the leather portion and the projections
or prongs a are worn completely away the metallic portion A still remains fixed
to the boot-heel and serves to prevent further wear of the said boot-heel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A detachable heel-protector comprising a leather portion with a metallic
portion or heel plate secured thereto by projections or prongs which extend
completely through the leather portion so as to have the appearance of a series
of nails substantially as described..
2. The employment of tongues on the heel plate, or of screws, or of both ton-
gues and screws for detachably connecting the aforesaid heel-protector to a
boot or shoe substantially as described.
3. A detachable heel-protector consisting of parts constructed and combined
in accordance with one or other of the arrangements illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings for the purposes specified.
Dated this 25th day of May 1898.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants. -