US3398415A

US3398415A - Composite last

Info

Publication number: US3398415A
Application number: US605416A
Authority: US
Inventors: Anthony A Mattos
Original assignee: Marbill Co
Current assignee: Converse Inc; Marbill Co
Priority date: 1966-12-28
Filing date: 1966-12-28
Publication date: 1968-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 1985-08-27

Description

A. A. MATTOS COMPOSITE LAST Aug. 27, 1968 Filed Dec. 28, 1966 United States Patent 3,398,415 COMPOSITE LAST Anthony A. Mattos, Bristol, R.I., assignor to Marbill Company, Providence, R.I., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed'Dec. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 605,416 3 Claims. (Cl. 12- 133) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A last for making footwear comprising a short last upon which shoes may be manufactured and an extension in the form of a leg attachable to the shoe last to provide a composite last upon which boots may be manufactured.

Background of the invention The manufacturer of rubber footwear is called upon to make both boots and shoes and therefore he has to keep an inventory of lasts for both purposes so that in effect there is duplication of lasts in every size for boots and shoes. The boot lasts are large, comprised of an aluminum alloy and hence quite expensive, and to maintain a large inventory of these boot lasts in addition to the shoe lasts represents a loss of capital for other uses and the necessity for maintaining a large storage space.

Summary The principal objects of this invention are to eliminate such duplication of lasts, together with the cost factor and storage problem and this is accomplished herein by utilizing in combination with a conventional shoe last an extension adapted to be attached thereto to convert the shoe last to a bootlast. The aforesaid extension (boot leg) has a lower end which corresponds substantially in cross-sectional area to the top of the shoe last and there is means on the lower end of the extension and the top of the neck of the shoe last interengageable to hold them together on the one hand to permit manufacture of boots and to enable separation on the other hand to permit manufacture of shoes. The attaching means are holes in the top of the neck of the shoe last and pins at the lower end of the extension adapted to be frictionally fitted into the holes. The extension may be made of any suitable material, preferably wood which is light in weight and inexpensive. Optionally, the extension may be made in two or more sections provided with interengageable attaching means to provide for short, medium or long leg boots.

The term shoe last as employed herein is intended to cover any kind of last upon which a foot covering is made as distinguished from a last upon which a boot is made.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation showing a shoe last and an extension adapted to be secured to the shoe last to form a boot last;

FIG. 2 is an elevation taken from the left side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the shoe last and the extension engaged to form a boot last;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the top of the shoe last at the neck;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the lower end of the extension;

FIG. 6 is an elevation of an alternative form of extension made up of two sections to enable making boot legs of ditferent lengths; and

FIG. 7 is an elevation of still another form of extension made up of three sections.

Referring to the drawings (FIG. 1) there is shown a 3,398,415 Patented Aug. 27, 1968 shoe last 10 provided with a neck 12 having an upper flat surface 14 containing a hole 16.

The shoe last 10 is comprised of metal, for example, an aluminum alloy and is designed to be mounted on a jack or other pin support by engagement of the hole 16 in the neck therewith to support and/or transport the last from operation to operation during normal manufacture of footwear.

In accordance with this invention, the shoe last 10 is adapted to be converted by addition of an extension 18 to a boot last 20 as illustrated in FIG. 3. The lower end of the extension has a fiat surface 22 corresponding substantially in area to the upper fiat surface 14 at the top of the shoe last. The sides of the extension are uniformly flat and substantially parallel and the front and back edges are rounded and diverge from the lower end upwardly toward the upper end according to conventional boot leg design. The extension constitutes a boot leg last upon which the leg of a boot is formed.

A pair of attaching pins 26 are fixed in the lower end of the boot leg extension 18 and these pins are adapted to be frictionally engaged within holes 24 in the neck of the shoe last. Preferably a lip 28 is provided at the lower end of the extension which projects downwardly over the forward side of the neck of the shoe last as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Optionally, the boot leg extension 18, as shown in FIG. 6, may be made of two parts 18a and 18b secured to each other by means of pins 26a at the lower end of the part 18a, fitted into holes 24a in the upper end of the part 18b. This two-part construction provides for making boots of short and long lengths. A three-part extension may be employed to provide for short, medium and long length boots.

The boot leg extension 18 is, in the preferred form, comprised of wood; for example, it may be fabricated of plywood or the like. This provides for lightness, enabling shaping or shaving with a knife or other cutting instrument when necessary to fit it exactly to the shoe last, and keeping the cost to a minimum. Optionally, the boot leg extension may be made of any suitable material such as molded paper stock, plastic, aluminum alloy, etc.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the shoe last can be continued to be used as such without having suffered any disadvantage in its combination with the extension and by the simple expedient of maintaining extensions which may be applied to the shoe lasts an equal number of boot lasts may 'be provided without the extra cost for maintaining an independent stock of boot lasts.

While the composite last herein illustrated is designed especially for the manufacture of footwear comprised of rubber and equivalent sheet material which is laid onto the last and vulcanized or cured thereon, it is intended that the composite last may be used for the manufacture of footwear of any kind and/or material and according to any method of manufacture.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A mold assembly comprising a shoe last, a neck at the top of the last containing a thimble hole by means of which the last may be mounted on a jack or the like for a shoe making operation, a boot leg extension having a lower end corresponding substantially in area to the neck of the shoe last for engagement with the neck of the shoe last, means at the lower end of the boot leg extension and at the neck of the shoe last interengageable to hold the last and boot leg extension assembled for a boot making operation, and a lip at the forward side of the boot leg 3 extension extending downwardly therefrom into engagement with the forward side of the neck of the last.

2. A composite mold comprising a shoe last and an extension in the form of a leg last detachably attached to the shoe last and providing in conjunction therewith a boot l'ast, said leg last comprising two sections, one of which surmounts the other, and means connecting the sections of the leg last.

3. A composite mold comprising a shoe last and an extension in the form of a leg last detachably attached to the shoe last and providing in conjunction therewith a boot last, said leg last being comprised of three sections,

and means detachably connecting the sections to each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,066,049 7/1913 Redin .Q 12-1235 1,627,661 5/1927 Morrill Q; 18-46 1,758,706 5/1930 Kelnhoter 12-'--133 1,322,467 11/1919 Powell 12-133 X PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Exdminer.