US2941317A - Resilient shoe heel - Google Patents

Description

RESILIENT SHOE HEEL Original Filed Jan. 20, 1959 INVENTOR. LEONARD HACK ATTORNEY RESILIENT SHOE HEEL Leonard Hack, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Ripple Sole Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Original application Jan. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 787,887. Divided and this application Feb. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 8,568

1 Claim. (CI. 36-76) This invention relates to a resilient shoe heel, and

more particularly to such a heel embodying resilient flexing ribs and an S-breasted configuration providing the advantages of delimiting downward thrust at the highpoint of the arch.

This application is a division of Hack et al. patent application Ser. No. 787,887, filed January 20, 1959, and now pending.

In the instant invention, heels are made of resilient materials such as rubber, flexible plastics, or other suitable compositions well known in the art. Heels of this type are usually made by the molding process. The heel comprises a platform portion, which may have a wooden plug or insert therein, secured to the rearward part of the shoe by an adhesive or nails or other suitable fastening means, from which depend a longitudinally extending series of parallel transverse rib members having their front and rear faces rearwardly and downwardly slanted. The heel of this invention is provided with an S-breasted configuration providing substantially improved support in the arch and shank area of the shoe.

A separate heel provides simplicity in manufacture and can be used and secured to shoes without wedges. There is economy in replacement costs over full length soles. A separate heel further permits a stylized shoe construction in certain types of shoes.

Reference is made to the drawing annexed hereto forming an integral part of this specification and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a heel embodying the inventive features here disclosed.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the heel shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the heel 50 comprises a platform portion or body 52 from which depend a longitudinally extending series of parallel transverse rib members 54, a rear heel plateau 56 and an 8 curve 58 at the forward end of the heel. This type of heel is generally known as a Thomas heel, named after the English orthopaedic surgeon who first designed a heel having a forward support under the talo navicular articulation, the highest point of the arch, curving to a point under the lateral malleolus.

The S-breasted heel here disclosed provides an additional function and effect beyond that attainable with a regular Thomas heel and beyond that provided by a full ribbed sole of the constructions disclosed in Hack Patents 2,710,461 and 2,833,057. The forward prolongation of the heel 50 is under the high point of the arch. At this point the resilient rib members 54 delimit the downward thrust-actually they press upward on each step as the weight is brought down-and massage the arch of the States Patent "ice foot. By the S-breasted configuration of the heel 50, the weight can now be, and is, shifted to the outer border of the foot. This function cannot be achieved with a full ribbed sole or a straight regular ribbed heel, because one of the prime assists of the full ribbed sole disclosed in the above patents is to provide traction and support evenly across the foot from heel to toe.

The curved rib members 54 are integrally formed within the heel platform portion 5'2, by the molding process, and have rearwardly and downwardly slanting front faces 60 and rear faces 62 preferably conjoined at their lower extremities by a rounded blended edge 64. The rear faces 62 and front faces 60 of adjacent rib members are conjoined by a smooth blending radius 66 at the platform portion 52.

The flexibility and resiliency of the above described resilient heel is of course in part a direct result of the use of resilient materials such as rubber, resilient plastics, and similar compositions. The rib construction, in which the rib members yield downwardly and forwardly under load, imparting a forward movement to the foot in walking or running, is also a feature of the invention.

The economics of the instant heel construction involve savings in material, in the production of heels from molds that are substantially smaller and less expensive to produce and maintain, in replacement of the heel independently of any other portion of the sole, and in the use of a heel without a wedge. In addition, manufacture of shoes with the separate heel of this invention provides the benefits of simplicity and a very close relationship to current shoe manufacturing methods and processes.

Having described the invention in its simplest terms, it is to be understood that the features of construction may be changed and varied in greater or lesser degree without departing from the essence of the invention defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a ground plane contacting element for a shoe, a heel made of resilient material having a body secured to said shoe at the rearward part thereof and a series of transversely extending, parallel, downwardly and rearwardly inclined rib members projecting from said body and spaced longitudinally along said heel, said rib members having front and rear forwardly inclined faces diverging upwardly from their lower edges and forming a rounded juncture with the body of said heel, whereby when said rib members are engaged upon a supporting surface, said rib members will flex forwardly under weight and produce a forward movement of said shoe relative to said surface, said heel extending into the shank area of said shoe, said heel having rib members in said shank area extending partially across said shoe commencing from the inner side edge of said shoe toward the outer side of said shoe, said latter rib members progressively increasing in transverse length from the foremost of said rib members until said latter rib members achieve full length at the heel portion adjacent said shank area.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,809,405 Ehrendfried June 9, 1931 2,650,438 Whitman Sept. 1, 1953 2,710,461 Hack June 14, 1955 2,833,057 Hack May 6, 1958

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