US2932911A - Sandals with flexible arch support - Google Patents

Description

April 19, 1960 G. E. MUSEBECK ETAL 2,932,911

SANDALS WITH FLEXIBLE ARCH SUPPORT Filed March 14, 1958 H Y'TORNEV-F- United States Patent SANDALS WITH FLEXIBLE ARCH SUPPORT George E. Musebeck, Oconomowoc, and John C. Boehm, Nashotah, Wis, assignors to Musebeck Shoe Company, Oconomowoc, Wis., a corporation of Illinois Application March 14, 1958, Serial No. 721,437

2 Claims. (CI. 36-85) This invention relates to improvements in sandals with flexible arch support, and more particularly to sandals with a built-in arch support.

A general object of the invention is to provide a novel sandal structure wherein the strap ends are firmly secured to the sole portion of the sandal in a manner whereby there are no bulges or protrusions to cause discomfort or injury to the foot.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sandal wherein a novel arch support is employed which is shaped and positioned to support the cuboid bone and the inner arch of the wearers foot, said arch support being arranged to aid in anchoring some of the strap ends in position, and there being common means for securing the arch support and strap ends to the intermediate and inner soles and for securing the latter together. A further specific object is to provide a sandal structure wherein the arch support and the sandal strapends are separately as well as jointly secured to the sole, thereby providing an economical and highly effective means of assembling said sandal.

With the above and other objects in view, the inven tion consists of the improved sandal structure, and all of its parts, combinations, and manufacturing steps, as set forth in the claims, andall equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing, illustrating onecomplete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved sandal in assembled condition;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the sandal;

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view looking at the underside of the intermediate sole, before the arch support is mounted thereon, and showing the location of the sandal strap ends in their respective recesses;

Fig. 4 is a similar view after the arch support has been secured and stitched thereon; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the upper consists of a plurality of straps, including a heel strap and instep straps 11, which diverge from common rear side straps 12 having lower tab ends 12" which are attached to the sole portion of the sandal in a manner to be hereinafter described. There are also toe straps 13 each of which is a continuation of converging side straps 14 and 15 on each side of the sandal. Said straps are formed of leather, or other suitable material, and there are the usual buckle fasteners 21 and 21. The side straps have lower tab ends 14' and 15' which will be hereinafter referred to.

As is best seen in Fig. 2, the lower portion of the sandal comprises an inner sole 16 of leather or other suitable material, an intermediate or mid-sole 17 preferably of rubber or composition material, and an outer sole 18 including an integral heel portion 18, which outer sole may be of rubber or composition rubber. A further element is an arch supporting Wedge 20 positioned between the outer sole 18 and intermediate sole 17 directly beneath the arch area of the foot, which wedge is an important feature of the structure.

The inner sole 16 has a plurality of slots 19 therethrough adjacent and parallel to the lateral edges, which slots are adapted to receive the ends of the straps 12, 14, and 15. Said strap ends or tabs are designated by the numerals 12, 14 and 15' and, after being projected through said slots, are bent inwardly against the underside of the inner sole and glued in position. The intermediate sole 17 has cut out portions adjacent and extend lug laterally inwardly from said vertical slots 19, as at 22, (Figs. 3 and 5), to provide recesses for the reception of said strap ends. As will be readily appreciated, the positioning of the strap ends 12', 14' and 15 within the out out portions or recesses 22 permits said strap ends to lie flush with the surface of said intermediate sole, as the material of the strap ends has substantially the same thickness as the intermediate sole, as is shown in Fig. 5.

Heretoforeit has been common in the manufacture of sandals to have the strap ends merely inserted between the innersole and outersole of the sandal, with the result that said ends caused bulges or protrusions to form in the top surface of the innersole. Such protrusions are a source of considerable discomfort and annoyance to the individual wearing the sandal and may even cause serious callouses. In the present invention, however, the positioning of the strap ends within the intermediate sole recesses, as aforesaid, prevents the formation of such protrusions.

After the strap ends 12, 14 and 15' have been adhesively fixed to the [underside of the inner sole 16, the arch support 20 is cemented to the underside of said intermediate sole 17, in the position illustrated in Fig. 4, where it may be seen that the wedge locks the tabs 15f and 12 in their recesses.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the inner sole 16, intermediate sole 17, and arch support 20 are next permanently joined by common means, which is the line of stitches 23. As will be noted, in addition to securing said elements together, the stitches 23 also provide additional anchoring means for the strap ends 12', 14, and 15' as the line of stitching is arranged to pass through all of the tabs a short distance inwardly from their end edges as is shown in Fig. 4. Thus the strap ends are positively locked against pulling loose. This latter feature is very advantageous and forms an important element of the present invention. It is apparent that the stitches 23 cooperate with the adhesive initially employed in securing the strap ends against the inner sole and provide a dual anchoring means which is unusally strong and reliable. With the present invention, the possibility of the sandal straps being pulled loose is virtually eliminated. In addition, the mounting of the arch support 20 over the strap ends 12' and 15 aids in maintaining said strap ends within the recesses 22, and avoids the formation of annoying protrusions on the innersole, as aforesaid.

In manufacturing the sandal comprising the present invention, the final step is the attachment of the outer sole 18, which may be done in any conventional way such as with cement.

The arch support 20, briefly described above, is designed to extend beneath the entire arch area of the foot, and is formed of leather, or other suitable material. As will best be seen in Pig. 5, the supporting wedge is relatively thick at 30 below the inner longitudinal arch and is buifed down both forwardly and rearwardly to provide thin front and rear edge portions 31 and 32. In addition, the relatively thick portion 30 is tapered toof the invention will suggest themselves.

ward the outer arch as at 33 in Fig. 5. Thus, a special support is provided for the cuboid bone of the foot,

which bone is the keystone of the vital transverse or outer foot arch.

' As will be readily appreciated, the specially shaped arch support employed in the present invention has addition, said arch support provides support for both the outer arch and inner longitudinal arch of the foot, thereby afiording a solid foundation for the vital bone structure of the foot.

From the ,foregoing description, it is believed that the construction and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art, that many modification and variations It is to be understood, however, that the invention is to include all devices and structures as may come within the spirirt and scope of the appended claims, and is not to be limited to the specific details and form described above.

What we claim is:

1. In a sandal having an upper which includes a plurality of straps and having an innersole with a plurality of slots adjacent its lateral edges through which ends of said straps extend, an intermediate sole attached to the underside of said innersole having cut out portions in communication with and extending inwardly from said slots, said straps having their ends inturned and united to the undersurface of said innersole Within said intermediate sole cut out portions, the thickness of said strap ends being no greater than the thickness of said intermediate sole, an arch wedge of flexible material secured to the underside of said intermediate sole in a position overlapping some of said strap ends and maintaining the same within said cut out portions; common stitching securing said arch wedge, intermediate sole and innersole together, and passing through all of said strap ends; and an outer sole secured to said arch Wedge and intermediate sole over said stitching.

2. In a sandal having an upper which includes a plurality of straps, some of which have lower ends adjacent to but forwardly of the rear end of the sandal; and some of which have lower ends below the forward portion of the shank part of the sandal, and said sandal having an innersole with a plurality of slots adjacent its lateral edges through which ends of said straps extend; an intermediate sole attached to the underside of said innersole and having cut-out portions in communication with and extending inwardly from said slots, said straps.

having their ends inturned within said intermediate sole cut-out portions, the thickness of said strap ends being substantially equal to the thickness of said intermediate sole; an arch supporting wedge of flexible material secured to the underside of the shank portion of said intermediate sole and extending thereacross, said wedge being of such length and so positioned as to cover at least 7 part of those strap ends which are adjacent the rear of the sandal and at least part of those which are below the forward portion of the shank part of the sandal to encompass the same between said wedge and innersole and maintain them within said cut-out portions, a line of stitching spaced a substantial distance inwardly of the margin of the sandal and extending on both sides thereof and securing said wedge, intermediate sole, innersole, and encompasssed strap ends together; and an outer sole secured to said arch supporting wedge and intermediate sole over said line of stitching.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 921,602 Farrell May 1 1, 1909 1,652,034 Mayers Dec. 6, 1927 1,701,839 Diveley Feb. 12. 1929 2,238,274 Lyness .Apr. 15, 1941 2,322,297 Jalbert June 22, 1943 2,366,323 Fried Jan; 2, 1945 2,588,061 Vesely M21114, 1952 2,616,190 Darby Nov. 4, 1952 2,642,677 Yates June 23, 1953' FOREIGN PATENTS 612,411 Great Britain Nov. 12, 1948 792,243 France Oct. 14, 1935 969,624 France May 24, 1950

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