US2578091A - Leather soled sock with rearwardly extending toe cap - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 11, 1951 5, REED 2,578,091

LEATHER SOLED SOCK WITH REARWARDLY EXTENDING TOE CAP Filed Jan. 28, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET l i INVENTOR.

28 J2 CZLfredEeed A.S.REED

Dec. 11, 195] LEATHER SOLED SOCK WITH REARWARDLY EXTENDING TOE CAP Filed Jan. 28, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 this condition or tendency toward side roll ren- Patented Dec. 11, 1951 LEATHER ,EXTENDING 2,573,691 SOLED SOCK wrrn amawmnnr TQE car I Alfred Bipon, Wis assignor to Ripon Knitting Workm-Blpom Wisconsin 1 a corporation .of y

. Application January as, 1950, Serial No. 141,032

Claims. (case-s) This invention relates to footwear and. more particularly to a knitted sock having attached thereto a sole portion of leather or the like.

' In recent years knitted socks having leather sole portions secured thereto have come into wide 5 spread use for lounging and general indoor purposes in place of the conventional leather slipper. A leather soled sock of this type comprises gen-.

erally a knitted sock or upper portion, a leather sole piece at the underside of the sock, and leather side walls secured to the sole piece and extending a slight distance upwardly from the sole piece I and fastened to the sock by suitable stitching.

However, it has been found that the leather soled socks heretofore known'possess certain disis advantages or undesirable features which have detracted from their popularity and have inconvenienced the users of this type of footwear. For example, users of leather sol-ed socks of the foregoing charaoter have frequently complained of an uncomfortable tendency for the sock toroll or 7 twist outwardly 0n the foot during use. In other words, the outermost leather side wall tends to roll under the foot on normal foot pressure so that the wearer often walks or stands on the outermost leather side wall as well as on the leather sole portion. Obviously, the existence of ders the sock uncomfortable and unattractive in appearance. Moreover, if the condition continues with repeated use of the sock, excessive and undesirable wear on the outer side wall will occur thereby further detracting from the overa all appearance of the sock and decreasing its useful life. L

Another objectionable feature of the previously known footwear of this character has been the lack of any adequate provision for preventing the toe of the article from wearing or breaking through. Prior to the present invention the construction of leather soled socks has been such 0 that a point of weakness or slight resistance to wear was present at the front of the article 4 because the wearer's large toe would press against v the sock portion just above the juncture between the leather side wall and the sock portion, with the result that the wearers toe would eventually wear through the sock portion just above the upper edge of the leather side wall.

Accordingly, a general object of my invention: is to provide an article of footwear of the foregoing type having a novel and improved construction such that the disadvantages of :the previously known articles of this type are overcome.

Another object of the invention is to provide article prior to assembly;

a sock having a sole portion of leather or the like in which the tendency toward objectionable side r'ollduring usehas beenlargely eliminated: P

A- further object of theinvention-is-to: provide a leather soled sock havingmeans for-avoiding side roll which also serves' to prevent the wearers toe from penetrating through" the front. portion of the sock-during use. I

An additional object of the invention is to provide an article of footwear of they classdescribed in which the sole construction provides a slight arch-effect in order tocontribute greater oomfort and support to the wearer's foot. u

Still another object of the invention is to provide an. -improved-article of footwear of the class described in which the various advantages heretofore mentioned are realized without any substantial increase in the required quantity of leather or like material, j

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved article of footwear of the class described in which less stitching is required to attach the leather portion to the knitted sock portion.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become evident from the subsequent detaileddescription :of the invention and the-accompa'nyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article of footwear comprising one specific embodiment of my invention;

- Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the article shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the article shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 4-4 ofjlg. 3; a

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a rear portion of the Fig. 6 is a plan vie'w of a front portion of the 4 article prior to assembly; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are plan views of still other portions of the article prior toassembly. Broadly speaking, my improved article of footwearcomprises a knitted sockv having a sole piece of leather or the-like. upwardly extending side walls of leather or the like disposed around -the perimeter of the sole piece andsecured thereto. and-a separate toe cap formed from a pair of elongated toe strips of leather or the like. will be' seen hereinafter, the toe strips are fastened along their outer edges to the side walls and are secured along their inner edges to the sock portion. In addition, I provide the sole piece with a'cushioning insert of felt or the like having a heel pad at the rear of the article.

Although the sole portion, side walls, and toe cap of the present construction are referred to herein as preferably formed from leather, it will be understood that the invention also contemplates the use of other similar and generally equivalent materials such as the various forms of artificial leather, plastic compositions, etc.

Referring now to the drawings, the specific embodiment of the invention shown therein by way of illustration comprises a knitted upper portion or sock portion II, including a leg portion and a complete foot portion, which extends into and is attached to a bottom portion I2 formed from leather or other like material. The leather bottom portion I2 is made up of a plurality-of separate pieces including a flat bottom strip or sole portion I3 which is substantially coextensive with the bottom of the sock II.

A generally upright side wall of leather or like material extends around the perimeter of the sole piece I3 and comprises a rear section or strip I4 and a front section or strip I6, the two strips being approximately equal in length with their ends meeting at the sides of the foot. The rear half ll of the side wall may have the general shape shown in Fig. 5 prior to assembly, the strip bein of greater height or width at its center portion than at its ends and being provided with a plurality of aligned perforations or apertures Il adacent its upper edge. The strip I4 is sewed along its bottom edge, as at I8 (Fig. 4), to the sole I3 and is attached to the sock II preferably by means of embroidery stitches I3 extending through the perforations I1 and through the body of the sock II. side wall may have the general shape shown in Fig. 6 prior to assembly and is also sewed along its bottom edge to the sole I3, as indicated at 2|. Thus, it will be seen that the upright leather side wall of the article is formed from two strips of approximately equal length, the rear strip I4 extending around the heel of the sock and forwardly therefrom to cover the rear half of the foot and the front strip I6 extending around the toe of the sock and rearwardly therefrom to cover the front half of the foot. The adjacent ends of the strips I4 and I6 are joined together as indicated by the seams 22.

In order to provide certain improved wearing qualities of the article, as hereinafter described in detail, a pair of right-hand and lefthand elongated toe strips 23 are employed, the strips 23 having the general curved shape shown in Figs 7 and 8 prior to assembly of the article. The toe strips 23 are formed with a row of apertures or perforations 24 adjacent their innermost curved edges whereby the toe strips may be secured to the sock I I by a continuation of the embroidery stitches I9, as indicated at 26. The outer edges of the toe strips 23 are sewed to the uppermost edge of the front strip I8, as seen at 21. The toe strips 23, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 8, are each tapered at one end 28 so that upon assembly the strips blend gradually into the side wall of the article rearwardly of the toe thereby presenting an attractive appearance. The opposite end of each of the toe pieces 23 is formed with a straight edge 29, the strips 23 being sewed together at their abutting edges 23, as indicated by a seam 3| at the toe of the article,

whereby to provide a generally U-shaped toe cap for the sock.

Another feature of my invention is the provision of a cushioning pad of felt or similar material between the leather sole of the article and The front half I6 of the leather CPI the adjacent sole of the sock whereby to contribute increased comfort and support. This pad, as seen in Fig. 4, comprises an elongated strip 32 which is sewed to the leather sole piece I3 around its perimeter by means of the same stitching I3 and 2| provided to connect the sole I3 to the strips I4 and I8. In addition, if desired the strip 32 may be cemented to the underlying leather sole piece I3. A heel pad 33 of felt or similar cushioning material is secured to the strip 32 by cement or other suitable adhesive means at the heel of the article whereby to provide an internal heel construction and thereby produce a slight arch effect, as indicated at 34 in Fig. 4.

By means of the foregoing construction I have found that the objectionable tendency toward side roll formerly encountered in articles of this character can be substantially eliminated. The effect of the U-shaped toe cap comprising the two toe strips 23 is to bridge over the foot of the wearer whereby to retain the upper edges of the side wall I6 which would normally tend to roll over and flatten out particularly at the outer edge of the wearer's foot. Inasmuch as the toe strips 23 overlie the toe portion of the sock II, it will be apparent that the entire front portion of the article is better able to resist the expansive tendency of normal foot pressure because the leather or like material from which the strips 23 are formed is relatively inelastic. In addition, the two toe strips 23 are attached to the sock II inwardly and upwardly in the direction of the instep of the article and consequently. at a substantially higher point on the sock than the front leather strip I6 would normally be stitched, thereby providing further resistance to side roll or spreading. In addition to overcoming side roll as described above, the toe strips 23 together form a protective leather toe cap for the sock which extends well over the ends of the wearers toes with the result that there is no longer any excessive tendency to penetrate the toe portion of the sock during use. In the absence of the elongated toe strips 23, there is a marked tendency for the wearer's toe to break through the sock immediately above the upper edge of the leather side wall at the front of the article.

As hereinbefore noted, the rear strip I 4 is of greatest width or height at the center of the strip and tapers to a narrower width on either side thereof. In addition, the front strip I6 is relatively narrow compared to the side wall height heretofore employed in articles of this character. As a result of this decrease in the normal width or height of the strip I6 and also as a result of the tapering construction of the strip I4, I am able to provide the toe strips 23 without any substantial increase in the total amount of leather needed. Moreover, the construction embodied in my invention involves fewer embroidery stitches because the inner edges of the toe pieces 23 which are stitched to the sock II are of lesser overall length than the corresponding upper edge of the Side wall I6 which would normally be stitched directly to the sock I I prior to my invention.

In the event that it is desired to cover the instep or front portion of the sock II with suitployed for the toe strips 23 and the adjacent side wall I6.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to a specific structural embodiment, it will be understood that various modifications and equivalent structures may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article of footwear of the class described comprising a knitted sock having a sole portion, a leather sole below the sole portion of said sock and provided with an upwardly extending side wall around its perimeter, said side wall being attached to said sock at the sides and rearof the article and the adjacent edges of said side wall and said leather sole being turned inwardly and fastened together, and a leather toe cap extending over the top of said sock adjacent the front of the article, said toe cap having elongated portions curved rearwardly from the front of the article and extending to, and terminating adjacent, the rear of the ball of the sock and fastened to said side wall and to said sock.

2. An article of footwear of the class described comprising a knitted sock havinga sole portion, a leather sole fitted at the foot of said sock below said sole portion and provided with an upwardly extending side wall around its perimeter, said side wall being fastened directly to said sock adjacent the rear portion of the article and the adjacent edges of said side wall and said leather sole being turned inwardly and fastened together, and a generally U-shaped leather portion extending over the front of the sock and rearwardly to, and terminating at, the shank portion thereof and attached to said sock at the front thereof and fastened to said side wall adjacent the front portion of the article whereby to retain said side wall at the front of the article in its normal upwardly extendingposition and thereby preventing spreading or flattening of the side wall during use of the article. v

3. An article of footwear comprising a knitted sock having a sole portion, a leather sole fitted at the foot of said sock below said sole portion and provided with an upwardly extending side wall around its perimeter, and a leather toe cap attached to said sock at the front of the article, said toe cap being formed from a pair of curved elongated strips joined together at the front of the article and extending rearwardly on either side thereof adjacent said side wall rearwardly of, and terminating adjacent to, the ball of the sock, said side wall being fastened directly to said sock at the rear portion of the article with the adjacent edges of said side wall and said leather sole being turned inwardly and fastened together, and said rearwardly extending strips comprising said toe cap being fastened at their inner edges to said sock and at their outer edges to said side wall adjacent the front portion of the article.

4. An article of footwear of the class described comprising a knitted sock having a sole portion, a leather sole fitted at the foot of said sock below the sole portion thereof and provided with an upwardly extending side wall around its perimeter, said side wall being connected to said sock, an elongated cushioning pad extending between said leather sole and the sole portion of said sock throughout the length thereof, said pad having a portion of increased thickness adjacent the heel of the article, and a toe cap secured to said side wall and said sock and having portions extending to, and terminating at, a point rearwardly adjacent'the ball of the sock for preventing the sock from rolling sidewardly.

5. An article of footwear of the class described comprising a knitted sock having a sole portion, a leather sole fitted at the foot of said sock below the sole portion thereof and provided with an upwardly extending side wall around its perimeter, said side wall at its rear portion being connected adjacent its upper edge to said sock, an elongated cushioning pad extending between said leather sole and the sole portion of said sock, said cushioning pad and the underlying leather sole being sewed to the lower edge of said side wall whereby to retain said pad in position adjacent said sole, and means for preventing the front portion of the article from rolling sidewardly on the foot comprising a toe cap secured to said side wall and to said sock and extending rearwardly along the side to, and terminating at, the shank of the sock.

ALFRED S. REED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED sTATEs PATENTS Number Name Date 590,295 Brockman Sept. 21, 1897 1,335,287 Lundin Mar. 30, 1920 1,661,726 Jensen Mar. 6, 1928 2,391,023 Maling Dec, 18, 1945 2,541,020 Arnold Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 859,262 France June 3, 1940 866,772 France June 9, 1941

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