US2059747A - Elastic multi-ply material and elastic shoe embodying the same - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 3, 1936. I E. F. ROBERTS ELASTIC MUL'II-PLY MATERIAL AND ELASTIC SHOE EMBODYING THE SAME Filed Feb. 19, 1936 ATTORNE Patented Nov. 3, 1936 PATENT OFFICE I ELASTIC MULTI -PLY MATERIAL AND ELAS- TIC SHOE EMBODYING THE SAME Edward F. Roberts, Rye, N. Y., assignor to United States Rubber Products, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application February 19, 1936, Serial No. 64,662

2 Claims.

fining the foot to an uncomfortable degree. The

reason why comfort has been difiicult to obtain in a stylish, neat-fitting shoe is that the leather and fabric heretofore used in shoes are non-elastic and while pliable do not contract and expand to accommodate themselves to the rigorous movements of the foot.

The present invention contemplates shoes which will present a neat, stylish and ornamental appearance and at the same time will be capable of stretching and contracting to accommodate the foot movement.

It has been proposed heretofore to provide shoes'with elastic gores but such gores gave the shoes more or less of a patched and unattractive appearance and the fabric face of the gore always presented a marked contrast in appearance to the leather portions of the shoe.

The present invention also contemplates an elastic multi-ply material which is peculiarly well adapted for use in high grade shoes of stylish appearance to impart both ornamental and elastic properties thereto and relates more specifically to elastic multi-ply material formed with a pleated or puckered leather face and elastic fabric back. The invention further resides in the method of making the fabric.

The present invention also-resides in means for imparting a smooth rounded elastic edge to the elastic multi-ply sheet material.

The present invention further resides in a shoe having said elastic multi-ply material embodied therein so that it presents an outer face that is formed of pleated or puckered leather that may resemble closely in'color and finish the leather of the rest of the shoe. 7

The above and other features of the invention wil be more fully understgod from the following description when read in connectionwith the accompanying drawing which illustrates good practical forms thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan viewof a sheet of elastic multiply material constructed in accordance with the present invention and having indicated thereupon portions to be cuttherefrom;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a piece of elastic material which has been cut from the sheet of Fig. 1, the leather being partly turned back to show the 'underlying elastic fabric;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the opposite face of the multi-ply sheet shown iri Fig; 2;

Fig. 4 on an enlarged scale is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 on an enlarged scale is a section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2; I

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a shoe having embodied therein the piece of elastic material shown 15 in Fig. 2; and i Fig. '7 is a plan view of a modified type of multiply elastic material one sheet thereof being partially turned back.

The elastic multi-ply material of the present invention may be employed in men's, womens and childrens shoes but has been shown and described herein in connection with womens shoes due to the emphasis of style and snugness of fit in womens shoes. This multi-ply fabric may however be employed for other purposes.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the material l0 shown therein, it is assumed, comprises a sheet of relatively thin flexible leather which has been pleated or corrugated as at H by treating the leather in a pleating machine of well known construction. To the inner face of the sheet of pleated or corrugated leather of Fig. 1 is secured a one-way stretch backing sheet of elastic fabric l2 arranged so that the pleats will be extended as the fabric stretches. The fabric I2 is preferably a comparatively thin tightly woven material having a short strong stretch so that it will not be too thick or bulky in the shoe and will not stretch too easily. This elastic fabric is preferably formed of relatively fine elastic yarn I3 consisting of arubber core having a textile cover wound thereupon so as to hold the core under tension when the yarn is at rest, and the yarn l3 may be introduced in the. fabric either as warp or weft.

It is important that the sheets l0 and I2 be firmly united and this may be accomplished by applying to a face of the elastic fabric l2 a coating of latex or other strong cement I4 and then pressing the pleated leather sheet l0 firmly thereagainst, and the corrugated sheet is preferably secured to the elastic fabric while the latter is in an unstretched or only slightly stretched condition.

The multi-ply sheet material shown in Fig. 1 55 may be made as large as can be secured from the skin from which the leather is formed and after this leather sheet has been pleated and backed with the elastic fabric 12, as above described, sections of various sizesand shapes may be out therefrom as indicated by the dotted lines a: in Fig. l and as shown in full lines in Figs. 2 and 3. These sections may have straight or curved edges, as desired, and the lines of cut may extend longitudinally and transversely or in any other desired direction with respect to the weave of the fabric l2 due largely to the fact that the elastic fabric I2 is so tightly woventhat the elastic yarn l3 when out will not slip or pull back in the fabric.

It will be seen from the foregoing that as a result of the present invention a piece of elastic two-ply material, such as designated by IS in Figs. 2, 3, and 6 and of any desired size and configuration and having straight or curved edges may be provided by simply cutting the desired section from the larger sheet of Fig. 1. This is of great importance because it enables sections I5 to be cut to any desired shape or size for use in various portions of a shoe, or in other desired fields of use. It also permits the upper edge of the section I5 to be cut to conform to the desired curvature of the upper edge of the shoe as will be apparent from Fig. 6.

It is important that this upper edgebe so finished that it will provide a smooth, well rounded edge and at the same time will contract and expand to accommodate the contraction and ex pansion of the multi-ply material in the shoe. This is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by providing along the upper edge of the elastic multi-ply section 15 a narrow ribbon of woven elastic fabric l6 having embodied therein the very fine elastic warps l1. This elastic ribbon may be folded over the upper edge of the multi-ply fabric, as best shown in Fig. 5 wherein it will be noted that one edge of the ribbon is secured to the upper edge of the leather sheet It] by elastic stitching l8, where-,

upon the ribbon is folded over and about the multi-ply fabric, as shown, and it is preferably secured in this position by cementing it to the underlying fabric l2 and also by the elastic stitching l 9 which may be formed on the ordinary sewing machine by using non-elastic thread in the needle and elastic yarn 20 in the bobbin. The elastic binding l6 provides a smooth, round finished edge without appreciably restricting the stretch of the elastic multi-ply material.

The two-ply elastic section l5 consisting of a pleated leather face Ill and an elastic backing fabric I2, is cut in the construction shown, for use in the 'side or quarter area of the shoe near the front thereof, as shown in Fig. 6. A similar elastic section may be provided in the wall at the opposite side of the shoe, and these sections may be sewed in place in the shoe by ordinary stitching 2|. The rows of pleats I I are shown in Fig. 6 as extending at approximately right angles to the upper edge l6 of the shoe, and these rows or pleats of leather add materially to the pleasing appearance of the shoe in addition to their primary function of permitting this portion of the shoe to contract and expand to improve the fit of the shoe and accommodate the foot movement.

While the sheet Ill has been shown and described as pleated or corrugated, it may be puckered or otherwise treated to cause it to accommodate the contraction and expansion of the backing fabric l2, and while it is desirable in many cases to employ leather as the pleated material II], it will be understood that imitation leather, woven fabric, and other sheet material may if desired be pleated or puckered and employed in place of the fabric It] in forming elastic multi-ply material such as herein contemplated.

Should it be desirable to provide a two-way stretch multi-ply material, this may be done by employing a one-way stretch elastic fabric 22 such as shown in the modified construction of Fig. 7 and which is provided with the elastic yarns 23 shown as extending vertically in this view. The fabric 22 is pleated as shown in this view so that these pleats 24 extend substantially parallel to the yarns 23. The effect of this is to impart to the fabric 22 the property of stretching vertically and of extending transversely. If the sheet 22 is then cemented to a two-way stretch elastic backing sheet 25 a multi-ply twoway stretch elastic material will be produced. A two-way stretch, multi-ply elastic material may also be produced by puckering or otherwise distorting a non-elastic sheet so that it will be capable of extending both longitudinally and transversely, and then securing this puckered sheet to a two-way stretch elastic fabric.

. It is -to'be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construction shown in the drawing and described in the specification, as various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and that the invention is not to be limited except as required by the state of the art and as defined by the appended claims. i

Having thus described my invention What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A shoe having the upper thereof formed at least in part of stretchable multi-ply sheet material comprising a sheet of pleated leather backed with elastic fabric to yieldingly retain the leather in the pleated condition, the pleated leather being attached to: the elastic fabric by an adhesive binder that secures only the spaced ribbed portions thereof to the fabric, said elastic multi-ply material having its upper edge cut on a curved line, and said upper edge being provided with a finishing bead formed of a narrow strip of elastic binding fabric having one edge positioned under the body of said strip to conceal this edge at the outer face of the multi-ply material.

2. A shoe having the upper thereof formed at least in part of stretchable multi-ply sheet material comprising a pleated sheet backed with elastic fabric to yieldingly retain such sheet in the pleated condition, the pleated sheet being attached to the elastic fabric by an adhesive binder that secures only the spaced ribbed portions thereof to the fabric, said elastic multi-ply material having its upper edge out on a curved line, and said upper edge being provided with an elastic finishing bead formed of a; narrow strip of elastic binding fabric having one edge positioned under the body of said strip to conceal this edge at the outer face of the multi-ply material, to thereby finish this elastic portion of the shoe along its upper edge.

EDWARD F. ROBERTS.

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