US2164054A - Collapsible last - Google Patents

Description

Patented June 27, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE COLLAPSIBLE LAST Application February 7, 1939, Serial No. 255,123

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in lasts of the kind comprising hingedly connected foreparts and heel sections; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to an improved means cooperative with the hinging connection between the forepart and heel sections for yieldably retaining said parts in operative extended or in collapsed relative disposition as the case may be.

The invention has for an object to provide, in a last having hingedly connected forepart and heel sections, a novel form and construction of tensional or spring coupling link and housing means therefor which is disposed perpendicular to and so as to be capable of swinging movement across the axis of the hinge connection between said forepart and heel sections of the last, with one end portion thereof fulcrumed on a transverse anchor pin with which the forepart section of the last is provided, and the other end portion of which is engaged with a transverse anchor pin with which the heel section of the last is provided; all in such manner that said heel section is strongly but yieldably retained by the tensional resistance of said spring coupling link, in either extended or collapsed relation to the forepart section.

The invention has for a further object to provide in a novel assembled relation, a novel form of spring coupling link and housing therefor, wherein the housing consists in a unitary member comprising laterally spaced side plates joined by an intermediate transverse web extending between opposed longitudinal margins thereof to provide an interior housing space toy snugly receive the spring coupling link, and wherein said spring coupling link 'comprises a bowed spring body terminating in end loops having doubled back arms to converge upon and abut the transverse web of said housing when said spring coupling loop is operatively assembled with the latter; the end portions of said housing side plates having openings through which anchor pins may extend to operatively engage the bights of the loops of said spring coupling link; all whereby a unitary assembly is provided of comparatively narrow width, which consequently may be operatively accommodated within the last sections without necessity for undue cutting away of the bodies of the latter with resultant weakening thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel housed spring coupling link as above mentioned, wherein the terminal loops of the bowed spring body are so braced by impingement of their arms upon a wall of the housing, that stretching or other undesired deformation of the bearing loops, with consequent weakening and impairment of the tensional action of the spring body, is efliciently prevented, and consequently a spring link of high efiiciency and long life is assured.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:-`

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a collapsible last equipped with the novel housed spring coupling link according to this invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View, taken on line 2 2 in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the novel spring coupling link; and Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the novel housing for said link.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to' indicate correspending parts.

Referring to the drawing, the last, in the illustrative form thereof shown therein, comprises a forepart section l@ and a heel section H. The meeting ends of said sections are so formed that one such end, e. g. the heel section end, is provided with a transverse cylindrical tongue l2, and the other such end, e. g. the forepart section end, is provided with a conforming hollow bearing seat I3 to cooperate with said hinge tongue I2 to thereby pivotally relate the last sections for relative movement. Said sections lil and Il are further respectively provided at their meeting ends, and at o-ne side of the hinge connection, with cooperating stop shoulders I4 and I5, which, when mutually engaged, determine the operative extended relation of said forepart and heel sec-- tions. In similar manner, said sections lil and Il are also respectively provided at their meeting ends, and at the other side of the hinge connection, with relatively normally divergent stop shoulders I6 and l1, which, when mutually engaged, determine the collapsed relation of the forepart and heel sections. The described form and relation of last forepart and heel sections is well known to the art.

Indenting the hinged end of forepart section IIJ, intermediate the sides thereof, is a longitudinally disposed recess or chamber A8; and, in like manner, indenting the hinged end of the heel section Il, intermediate its sides, is a longitudinally disposed recess or chamber I9. These recesses or Ii f) chambers I8 and I9 are adapted to register in aligned opposition when the forepart and heel sections are operatively assembled together.

The novel housed spring coupling link means is adapted to be received and to lie within the opposed recesses or chambers I8 and I9, so as to extend between the forepart and heel sections I6 and I I of the last, and in crossing relation to the axis of the hinge connection provided between said sections. Said housed spring coupling link means comprises a housing member constituted by sheet metal stamping formed to provide a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally parallel side plates 20 connected along opposed longitudinal margins by a transverse web or connecting wall portion 2I. Each side plate 28 is provided, adjacent to its respective ends, with openings or eyes 22; the openings or eyes at corresponding ends of said side plates being transversely aligned. The spring coupling link comprises a bowed body 23 capable of longitudinal tensional extension. Said body 23 terminates in end loops 24 having doubled back terminal arms 25. This spring coupling link is inserted within the housing member so as to lie within the interior thereof between the side plates 20. The spacing of the housing member side plates is dimensioned to snugly accommodate said spring coupling link therebetween. When the spring coupling link is operatively disposed within the housing member, the bights 26 of the end loops 24 are aligned with opposed openings or eyes 22 at the ends of the housing member, and the extremities of terminal arms 25 are disposed to impinge upon the transverse web or wall portion 2! of said housing member.

To operatively mount the housed spring coupling link in operative relation to the hingedly related forepart and heel sections Ill-II of the last, the same is inserted within the recess or chamber I8 of the forepart section I8 to extend therefrom into the recess or chamber I9 of the heel section II, and thus in crossing relation to the hinge connection between said sections. When thus disposed, an anchor pin 2T is driven transversely through the forepart section I so as to pass through the aligned eyes or openings 22 and an end loop 24 at one end of the housed spring coupling link; and, in like manner, an anchor pin 28 is driven transversely through the heel section I I so as to pass through the aligned eyes or openings 22 and the end loop 24 at the opposite end of the housed spring coupling link. The disposition and relative spacing of the anchor pins 21--28 is such that when engaged with the end loops 24 of the spring coupling link, the body 23 of the latter is placed under longitudinal tensional stress, suiiicient to strongly but yieldably retain said forepart and heel sections in stopped extended or collapsed relation, as the case may be.

Under the broader aspects of this invention, said spring coupling link may be of any desired cross-sectional shape; specifically, however, the same is made of rectangular cross-sectional shape as shown, such shape contributing several advantages, viz.. the link so shaped possesses greater mass and consequently stronger tensional characteristics, and also provides at bearing surfaces at the bights of the end loops 24, thus providing a broader bearing contact with the anchor pins 21-28, with less likelihood of scoring the surfaces of the latter, with resultant tendency to weaken said pins and at the same time to relax the tensional stress set up and desired to be maintained in the spring coupling link body.

Owing to the fact that the extremities of the terminal arms 25 of the end loops 24 of the spring coupling link impinge or abut the web or wall portion 2I of the housing member, said end loops 24 are rmly braced and held against drawing distortion or other deformation likely to result in relaxing the tensional stress set up and necessary to be maintained in the spring coupling link body. This is of great importance and advantage, and is a considerable factor both in maintaining the eiiiciency of the spring coupling link, and in assuring its durability in use through a long life period.

It will also be no-ticed that the housed spring coupling link is of comparatively narrow over all width, and consequently requires but a minimum cutting away of the forepart and heel sections of the last for the purposes of providing the recesses for the reception of said housed link; with the consequence that undue weakening of the bodies of the last sections is avoided.

In operation, when the forepart and heel sections ID and II of the last are disposed in operative extended relation (as shown by the full lines in Fig. l) the spring link structure inclines between the anchor pins 27-28 on line extending angularly above the axis of the hinge connection between said last sections, and the longitudinal tensional stress of the spring link structure tends to strongly and rmly mutually draw said last sections into extended relation, as determined by the meeting of the stop shoulders Ill- I thereof, thus yieldably holding said sections in such relation, but strongly enough to prevent collapse thereof under pressures and strains to which the last is subjected when in work supporting use.

To collapse the forepart and heel sections I8- II, the heel section is swung downwardly relative to the forepart section about the intermediate hinge connection until it occupies the collapsed position determined by the meeting of the stop shoulders I6-I'I (see dotted representation in Fig. l). As the heel section is thus swung downwardly, the spring link structure will swing about the anchor pin 2 of the forepart section II) as a fulcrum and past dead center alignment with the hinge connection between the last sections. Owing to its longitudinal tensional extensibility, the bowed body 23 of the spring link will stretchingly yield to this movement, and once the point of dead center alignment is passed, will thereupon, by its normal tendency to contract, strongly and iirmly mutually draw the last sections to and will yieldably hold the same in collapsed relation as determined by the engagement of said stop shoulders IB-II.

From the above dcscripttion it will be obvious that this invention provides a novel and highly emcient housed spring coupling link for collapsible lasts, wherein the housing member rmly guards the spring link per se against lateral displacement or distortion; and wherein the terminal arms of the loop ends 24 of the spring link, by reason of their firmly retained impinging relation to a wall of the housing member, serve to ef.V1 ciently guard the loop ends 24 against relaxing distortion relative to their operative anchored connection with the anchor pins 2?-28 of the last sections.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In a last having hingedly connected relatively movable forepart and heel sections provided in their meeting end portions with matching longi- 'I6 tudinally disposed and opposed recesses, a spring coupling link and housing therefor snugly embraced within said recesses, said link comprising a longitudinal tensionally extensible body terminating in end loops providing doubled back arms to impinge on a wall of said housing to support said loops against deforming stresses, and anchor pins carried respectively by said last forepart and heel sections to extend through said housing ends into anchoring engagement with the bights of said link end loops to thereby pivot said link and housing for swinging movement across the axis of the hinged connection between said last sections.

2. In a last structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the spring coupling link is formed from material of rectangular cross sectional shape.

3. In a last having hingedly connected relatively movable forepart and heel sections provided in their meeting end portions with matching longitudinally disposed and opposed recesses, a sp-ring coupling link and housing therefor snugly embraced within said recesses, said housing comprising spaced side Walls between which said link lies and a connecting transverse wall joining. opposed longitudinal marginal portions of said side Walls, said link comprising a longitudinal I terminally extensible body terminating in end loops having doubled back terminal arms to impinge upon said transverse Wall of said housing to supiport said loops against deforming stresses, said housing having eyes in the end portions of its side walls aligned with the bights o said end loops, and anchor pins respectively extending transversely through said last forepart and heel sec tions to pass through said housing side wall eyes into anchoring engagement with the bights of said link end loops, said anchor pins pivoting said link and its housing for swinging movement across the axis of the hinged connection between said last sections.

4. A spring coupling link and housing therefor adapted for use between pivotally related last sections, the housing comprising spaced side walls and a connecting transverse wall joining opposed longitudinal marginal portions thereof, and said link comprising a longitudinal tensionally extensible body terminating in end loops having doubled back terminal arms to abut said trans verse wall of the housing to support said loops, when anchored, against deforming stresses, and said housing side walls having eyes in the end portions thereof to pass anchor pins into anchoring engagement with the sights of said link end loops.

5. In a spring coupling link and housing therefor as defined in claim 4, wherein the link is formed from material of rectangular cross sectional shape.

EMIL DIETZE.

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