Improvements in Lasts for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Feb., 1892-Accepted, 19th Mar., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by ANDREW HARDY BAKER, of Brockton, Plymouth
County, Massachusetts, United States of America.]
Improvements in Lasts for Boots and Shoes.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention has for its object to provide improved means for quickly securing
or latching a last block to the last to which it belongs, and as quickly releasing
said block ; and it consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to
describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this Specification,
Figure 1 represents a partial side elevation and partial sectional view of a last
and its block provided with my improvements.
Figure 2 represents a similar view showing a modification.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both of the figures.
In the drawings:
a represents a last having a seat a' formed to support the bottom or under surface
of the block b. The last is shown in Figure 1 as provided near the lower portion
of said seat with a pin or dowel c projecting diagonally upward from the seat, said
pin engaging a correspondingly formed hole or socket d in the lower portion of the
block. In Figure 2, the last has a shoulder c' engaging the lower end of the block,
said shoulder being an equivalent for the pin c.
In carrying out my invention, I provide a last and last block of the general
construction above described with two fastening members, one of which is affixed
to the last and the other to the block. Said members are formed and arranged to
interlock or engage each other, and when so interlocked or engaged to coöperate
with the pin c and socket d or with the shoulder c', and the end of the block
in securing the block to the last; said fastening members being arranged so
that they prevent the movement of the block in the direction required to
disengage it from the pin c or shoulder c'. The fastening member supported
by the block is self-acting, so that it automatically engages the fastening
member of the last, and is provided with a flexible handle e which projects
through a hole in the block, above the upper surface of the block. Said
handle is preferably a flexible cord e, one end of which is shown in Fig. 1, as
suitably attached to the last, the arrangement being such that when the last is
engaged with the block an outward pull on said cord will displace the self-acting
fastening member supported by the block and disengage it from the fastening
member attached to the last, thus permitting the block to be moved in the
direction required to remove the socket d from the pin c. The cord e, as shown
in Figure 1, not only serves as a means for displacing the self-acting fastening
member, but also constitutes a connection between the last and the block when
the latter is disengaged from the last, the flexibility of the cord enabling it to
project permanently outside of the last block without injuring the upper of the
boot or shoe and without being injured by external pressure and the rough usage
to which it is liable to be subjected, the handle being always accessible.
The construction of the said fastening members may be variously modified.
In Figure 1, I show the fastening member attached to the last made as a socket
which is preferably formed by boring a hole into the seat a near the upper end
of the latter, and lining or re-enforcing said hole by a short metal tube or bushing g'.
Price 81

page_text: The self-acting fastening member carried by the block is, in this case, a bolt h
which is fitted to slide in a casing 'affixed to the block, said casing being inserted
in a hole formed for its reception in the upper portion of the block. The lower
end of the bolt is form d to enter the socket g, and is normally pressed downwardly
to the extent required to retain it in the socket by means of a spring i inserted in 5
the casing and bearing on the outer end of the bolt h. The socket and bolt h
are arranged diagonally and at a different angle from the pin c and shoulder c.
The handle e is attached to the bolt in any suitable way, preferably by being
inserted in a longitudinal hole made in the bolt.
In securing the block to the last, the socket d is first placed on the pin c, and
the block is pressed downwardly toward its seat, the lower end of the bolt h
bearing first on the seat and being caused to yield to the downward pressure of
the block until its lower end coincides with the socket g, whereupon the bolt is
projected by its spring into said socket, thus completing the locking of the block
to the last. When it is desired to disengage the block, the operator pulls upwardly
on the handle e, thus with drawing the bolt from the socket so that the block is free
to be lifted from the pin c.
As shown in Figure 1, the orifice is provided with a shoulder at the upper end
of the casing h¹ which prevents said casing and its bolt from being accidentally
pulled through the orifice.
In the construction shown in Fig. 2, the fastening member affixed to the last is
a stud projecting upwardly from the block seat a' near the upper end of the latter,
and the self-acting fastening member carried by the block is a resilient strip k,
preferably of steel, attached by screws or rivets m m to the underside of the block
and having one of its ends free to spring up and down, its free end being bent at k
and again at 2, the strip k being thus provided with a shoulder ³ formed to engage
one side of the stud j, and an ear formed to be secured to one end of the
handle e. The shoulder and the side of the stud with which said shoulder
engages are bevelled so that when the block is in place on the last, the shoulder k³
will engage the stud j in such manner as to prevent the separation of the upper
end of the block from the last until the shoulder is forcibly extended by an
upward pull on the cord.
In
The spring of the strip k holds it normally in the position shown in Figure 2, so
that when the block is being applied to the last the shoulder springs into engage-
ment with the stud; when the block comes to its full bearing on the seat a'.
the form shown in Figure 2, the upper portion of the recess for the strip k forms
means for preventing the excessive withdrawal of the strip. It will be seen that
in either case the self-acting fastening member is wholly below the exposed surfaces
of the block, so that it is protected by the block and cannot be injured by the rough
usage and pressure to which the last is subjected when in use.
The handle e is shown in Fig. 2, as attached only to the fastening member of
the block, said handle being preferably formed as a loop adapted to receive the
operator's finger.
It will also be seen that in both constructions shown, the fastening member on
the block is self-acting, so that when the block is pressed to the seat its fastening
member automatically engages the fastening member on the last. It will also be
seen that in both constructions the self-acting member is permanently secured to
the block and forms a part thereof so that there is no liability of loss of said
fastening member, whether it is engaged with the handle e or not.
The movable fastening member permanently fastened to the block and located
wholly below the exposed surfaces of the latter, and its flexible handle permanently
projecting above the block constitute a simple, durable and effective means for
automatically locking the block to the last and for readily unlocking and releasing
the block.
I am aware that a pin wholly detachable from the block and connected to the
last by a cord has been used to fasten the block as shown in the United States
Patent No. 403,982, but said pin does not operate automatically in locking the

page_text: block but has to be pushed in by the operator after the last has been placed on
the block.
I am also aware that a self-acting fastening member has been permanently
connected to a last block and adapted to automatically engage a fastening member
on the last, but in all devices of this kind heretofore it has been necessary to employ
a hook or other tool entirely separate from the last to withdraw or extract the
movable fastening member.
In some cases a last block has had a self-acting fastening member provided with
a handle projecting outside of the block as in the Wright's United States Patent
No. 438,671, but in this case the handle is rigid and is liable both to injure the
upper by contact therewith, and to be injured by the rough usage and pressure to
which the last is subjected.
In my improvement the device which extracts or withdraws the self-acting
fastening member is permanently connected with the last block and is always ready
for use, its flexibility enabling it to bear on the outer surface of the block without
injury, as already stated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, it is declared that what is claimed is:
A last having a block seat provided with a fixed fastening member, combined
with a block having a hole extending from its upper to its lower surface, a self-
acting fastening member movable in said hole and arranged to engage the fixed.
member on the last, and a flexible handle attached to the said self-acting member
and projecting from the same through said hole above the block.
Dated this 2nd day of February 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.