US666726A - Follower-last. - Google Patents

Description

No. 666,726. Patented .Ian. 29, l90l. E. C. WRIGHT.

FOLLOWER LAST. plieation filed Apr. 2, 1900.

llllll UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

ELLERY O. WRIGHT, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOLLOWER-LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 666,726, dated January 29, 1901.

Application filed April 2, 1900. Serial No. 11,144. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELLERY C. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brockton, county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Follower-Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention is an improvement in lasts, being particularly intended for what are termed follower-lastsi. e. lasts which are primarily used in connection with filling out or holding the shoes in shape after they have been lasted-although I do not intend to restrict my invention for all purposes to this class of lasts.

In the process of manufacturing shoes it is desirable after the shoes have been lasted and the first lasts have beenremoved therefrom and the leather of the shoes has contracted or shrunk more or less from its original distened shape when the first last was in place within the shoe to restore the shoes to their original distended shape and maintain them in such distended or stretched condition during the remainder of the manufacture thereof or a portion thereof.

My invention accomplishes the desired results above mentioned by providing alast in which the fore part and heel part are so constructed and joined together that the desired stretching of the shoe is obtained by a'downward movement of the heel portion of the last when the last is in a shoe, said downward movement pressing straight against the counter of the shoe and serving to force the fore part of the last forward, thereby causing approximately the whole of the stretching to take place in the forward portion of the vamp. This not only is of great importance by bringing all the stretching of the leather at that portion of the shoe where said stretching is needed, but also in forcing out and raising or restoring to proper position the box, and thereby restoring to the shoe the desired springor elegance of contour andstyle which the beating-out process tends to destroy.

Various advantages and further details of construction will be more particularly pointed out in the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, illustrative of a preferred embodi ment of my invention, and the latter will be more particularly defined in the appended claims.

- In the drawings, Figure 1 represents in side elevation 21 last constructed according to my invention, parts thereof being broken away to show the internal construction. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showing the rear end thereof in top plan. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal vertical section showing the parts in extended position in full lines and in shortened position in dotted lines. Fig.4 is a rear end elevation of the fore part. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the heel part turned up, soas to exhibit the heel part of the connecting device or union.

A last is a peculiarly-shaped device, as is evident from the accompanying drawings, in which it will be observed, for instance, that the heel part is somewhat pyramidal in shapet'. 6., it slopes inwardly from the bottom to the top on the sides and also slightly at the backand I take advantage of this shape and of the fact that a shoe has a stiff unyielding counter about the heel to enable me to make an exceedingly simple and yet effective self-stretching follower A.

The heel part a is separated from the fore part a by an oblique line of cut a extending from the instep or top of the last at a to a point at of adjacent the rear lower end of the heel, the result being that the lengthening and shortening movement of the last, due to lowering or raising the heel part, is directly toward or away from the heel part of the shoe and in stretching a shoe there is no liability of injuring the lining, because after the heel part has come into direct contact with the counter portion of the shoe the remaining movement of the heel part necessary to effect said stretching is, although downward, so slight, and, moreover, isin adirection taking ad vantage of the slope or pyramidal shape of the heel part above mentioned that no injury to the lining of the shoe can take place, but, on the contrary, the

fore part of the last is irresistibly forced forward into the shoe, so as to restore all the parts thereof to their original .and required shape.

It will be understood that I do not intend .to restrict my invention to the details herein set forth, but have set forth said details in order to make fully known the most advantageous construction or embodiment of my invention at present contemplated. In this connection and in order that a further extremely important and advantageous result of my invention may be understood it may be advisable to explain that it is customary in shoe manufacture to use one form for heating out shoes for different styles,including different sizes and spring or degree of curvature of the toe relatively to the ball of the foot, and as a result the individual spring and character of the shoe is spoiled, and my invention makes it possible to restore this desired individuality to the shoe as it has not been possible to do heretofore by any simple means.

' While accomplishing the above-desired results it is quite necessary that the construction should be strong-for instance, so that it may be used with a tree, usual vertical spindle-holes b, b, or 17' being provided for this purposeand accordinglyl avoid cutting into the heel part by securing a plate connection to the plane secant face of the heel part, said connection having, preferably, considerable lateral width, and thereby getting a firm bracing-bearing against said heel part, to which it is shown as secured by screws 0 and fitting into a corresponding groove 0 in the opposite face of the fore part. The connection 0 is longer, and being of substantially the same width as the groove 0 gives an exceedingly rigid and strong, although light, construction, maintaining the fore part and heel part in accurate alinement, and yet permitting free sliding movement of the parts. The connection 0 is provided with a longitudinal slot 0 in which the neck of a headed device, shown as a screw 0 Works, the head thereof resting between the connection a and the face of the heel part.

As a convenient means of assembling the parts I provide an enlarged opening or slot 0 in one end of the connection 0, by means of which the heel part may slide from the bottom of the last upwardly, so as to engage the screw-head c in proper operative relation, as shown in Fig. 3.

A suitable locking device is provided for holding the parts in lengthened position, as shown in Fig. 1, said locking device being herein shown as consisting of a pin 6, normally held upward by a spring 6 and limited in its movement by an annularstop or bushing 6 I have arranged this locking device e so as to come adjacent the end of the connection c in which is the perforation c in order that the slight weakening of said connection by said perforation may be offset by said locking device.

I have already alluded to the common hinged last variety of followers and now point out that in such followers a more or less sharp edge and rear corners are left on the fore partwhich dig into the lining of the shoe and injure the same to a greater or less extent, this injury being more liable to occur at this stage of the manufacture because the parts are yet soft and usually moist, and hence more liable to become distorted and abraded than when subsequently dried and hardened. Accordingly I have shaped the rear end of the fore part at a to correspond wit-h the rear end curvature of the heel part when the latter is raised or shortened, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The fore part a is shaved or turned off so as to present a smooth lower edge and rounded corners of, the two parts of the last when in collapsed or dotted line position having the shape of the complete full-length last.

From the above description it will be evident that when it is desired to use my last it is simplyinserted in the shoe, being crowded forward to a convenient extent when inserted, so that the fore part will be in approximately proper position in the toe end of the shoe, and then the operator simply presses straight downward upon the heel part, causing the latter to slide along the inclined surface of the fore part until it comes into contact with the lining at the counter, whereupon heavy downward pressure forces the fore part forward into absolutely correct distended position, and the moment the heel part has thus been forced downward to the full extent required the lock e snaps into its socket, thereby holding the shoe rigidly in properlystretched condition.

When the last is to be removed from a shoe, it will be evident that the heel part does not scrape over the lining of the shoe, as is the case with hinged heel parts, but, on the contrary, it instantly moves directly out of contact with the shoe-lining until it is in the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and when in such position the last is readily and quickly removable from the shoe Without any danger of breaking the instep of the shoe or distorting the shoe in the slightest degree, and this removal takes place when the rear ends of the fore part and heel part are in position to give togethera rounded smooth bearing-surface to contact with such parts of the shoe as are liable to be touched thereby in removing the last from the shoe.

While my follower for the best results requires that all the features above explained and shown in the drawings shall be used together, yet several of these features are in themselves new and may be advantageously employed without certain other of the features, and I do not therefore limit myself otherwise than as defined in the claims.

The straight oblique movement enables the heel part to move straight against the lining without the sliding movement of the last over the leather, as in the hinged lasts, which sliding movement has been exceedingly objectionable in tending to open the seams and strain the shoe, and also this same construction enables me to use the same last-i. e., lasts turned to the same size and shape before cuttingfor a number of sizes of shoes simply by slightly changing the position of the locking device, it being evident that because of the cooperating surfaces at a it is feasible to use the same follower with the heel part in slightly-dilferent positions.

It will be understood that various details of construction and arrangement may be varied from the specific construction herein shown without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

In my application, Serial No. 1,987, I have shown another automatic means for locking the two parts of the last in operative lengthened position and do not limit my claims thereto in this application to any specific device.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. A divided last, having its heel part severed from its fore part on a line of out extending obliquely rearwardly and downwardly, one of said parts having a vertical groove, and the other of said parts having a plate secured rigidly and immovably thereto and entirely carried thereby, said plate extending into and substantially fitting said groove, said plate presenting a wide front corresponding substantially to the width of said groove, said front portion of said plate being longitudinally slotted, and a headed stud projecting from the bottom of said groove and entering said slot.

2. A divided last, having its heel part severed from its fore part on a line of cut extending obliquely rearwardly and downwardly, one of said parts having a vertical groove,

and the other of said parts having a one-piece plate secured rigidly thereto and entirely carried thereby and extending into and substantially fitting said groove, said plate presenting a wide front corresponding substantially to the width of said groove, said front portion of said plate beinglongitudinally slotted, and a headed stud projecting from the bottom of said groove and entering said slot, said plate having at one end an opening from said slot to receive the head of said stud.

3. A last having a separate heel part and fore part arranged to move relatively to each other into lengthened or shortened position, the rear lower end of said fore part being rounded and shaped to approximate the curvature of the rear end of the heel part.

4:. A last having a separate heel part and fore part arranged to move relatively to each other into lengthened or short-ened position, the rear lower end of said fore part being rounded and shaped to approximate the curvature of the rear end of the heel part, said heel part when in its collapsed or shortened position coinciding at its lower rear edge with the adjacent edge of said rounded part of the fore part, the last when in said shortened position having a substantially smooth and unbroken rear end from its top to the bottom thereof.

5. A divided last having its heel part severed from its fore part, and movable into shortened or lengthened position as desired,

the heel end of the last, when the heel part and fore part are in shortened position, consisting ofthe contiguous rear ends of both parts of the last and having a smooth symmetrically-curved surface of approximately the same shape as that of the heel part when in lengthened position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELLERY O. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. MAXWELL, M. D. OLEMENTS,

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