US2759206A - Method of making a shoe last or a shoe tree - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 21; 1956 H. c. VINING 2,759,206

METHOD OF MAKING A SHOE LAST OR A SHOE TREE Filed April 15, 1955 United States Patent METHOD OF MAKING A SHOE LAST OR A SHOE TREE Howard C. Vining, Brockton, Mass., assignor to Jones &

Vining, Inc, Brockton, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 15, 1955, Serial No. 501,521

1 Claim. (Cl. 12-146) My present invention is an improved adjustable shoe tree, being an improvement on the type of shoe tree illustrated in my prior Pat. No. 2,518,261 dated August 8, 1950; and the object of the present invention is to improve and perfect shoe trees of the type shown in said patent.

It is Well known that a shoe tree for use in holding boots and shoes in properly extended condition for display or for preserving the style, shape, and appearance of same requires that it be easily and readily flexed to be inserted in a completed shoe or removed therefrom, and that the shoe tree should have a bearing on the heel portion and a full and complete supporting and distending contact in the forepart.

Also, such shoe trees to be efl'icient should be substantially in the form of a complete last to extend the shoe in a smooth even contour throughout, and to be readily and quickly flexed to permit insertion in or removal from the shoe without unduly stretching or injuring the shoe structure itself.

Important objects of the present invention are to provide such a shoe tree of general last-like contour, to provide a strong, simple, and economical construction, and to afford a full support particularly on the forepart of the shoe, while permitting a speedy pivotal action of the forepart and heel part when Withdrawing the shoe tree or applying the same to the shoe.

In the construction of my said prior Pat. No. 2,518,261 a member uniting the forepart and heel part was pivoted in a saw kerf or slot formed in the forepart and extended into a recess in the heel part, which was threaded to allow lengthwise adjustment. While this was a highly desirable construction, yet it required a plurality of operations, boring into the heel part and sawing the forepart while these two parts were separated and, therefore, had to be separately handled and the accurate alignment and fitting of the two parts together with the fitting of the uniting element and pivot pin required multiple handling operations.

By my present invention I have discovered a new, simple, and eflicient construction wherein the pivotal member has its pivot pin fitted in the heel part where the Wood is wider and stronger, and wherein the alignment of the adjustable hinged element is effected With both forepart and heel part in assembled relation, boring the recess for the hinge element directly from the top of the last downwardly toward the toe portion before dividing the fore and heel parts.

Furthermore, I have discovered that it is an important feature and advantage to have the connecting member in this type of shoe tree substantially in parallelism with the upper portion of the forward or front cone part of the last, together with a specially advantageous line of cut dividing the forepart and heel part, which line of cut is perpendicular to the normal position of the adjustable hinge element and at an angle of substantially 45 between the line of pressure from the heel to the toe of the last.

Patented Aug. 21, 1956 Said line of cut also is formed from a relatively high point on the forward or cone part and into the arch portion of the last or tree and of the shoe to which the tree is to be applied.

A further object and feature of my present invention is to have the connecting element consisting in a threaded end portion to fit in the forepart, and a flattened and perforated portion to fit in the heel part, wherein said perforated portion is in the form of a slot which will provide for relative longitudinal movement between the forepart and heel part and thus afford a quick separation to facilitate the flexing of the heel part relatively with the forepart to remove or apply the same to a shoe.

Thus the heel part is pivoted to the connecting element and the opposite end portion of the connecting element is threaded and fitted into the forepart, thus providing for a limited adjustment by the relative rotation of the heel part and forepart on said connecting element.

Referring to the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of my present invention:

Fig. 1 is a side view partly in cross-section illustrating my improved shoe tree in normal and extended position with a pivot pin shown at opposite ends of the slot for the connecting element;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding side view partly in crosssection illustrating the shoe tree in flexed or broken position, with the two parts separated for the limit of the slot in the connecting link element for quick flexing and removal from a shoe.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the forepart of my present improved shoe and 2 the heel part divided on a line of cut illustrated at 3, which line of cut is from a relatively high position on the front of the forepart, as shown at 4, and extending in a rearward line terminating at 5 in the shank portion of the shoe tree or of the shoe to which it is to be fitted. The connecting and hinged single link element comprises a straight rod 10 having one end threaded as shown at 12, and the opposite end flattened as indicated at 13, and having therein a longitudinal slot 14. This slotted end is intended to fit in a saw kerf 15 in the heel portion 2, and the opposite threaded end portion of the element 10 is constructed to be threaded into a bored opening 16.

This bored recess 16 is formed while the forepart and heel part are in assembled condition and, preferably, before the saw cut 3 is made, said bored recess being made from the top 20 of the last in a straight line approximately and closely parallel with the front or cone of the last, as shown in Fig. 1. Thereupon a lateral bored opening for the pin 21, which is also the pivot on which the two parts hinge, is made at an appropriate distance to engage the slot 14 in the flattened end portion of the connecting element 10.

With these two bored openings, the last is then cut on the slanting line 3, which, as best shown in Fig. 1 on the dotted line 25 is substantially at an angle of 45 between the line of pressure from the heel portion to the toe portion, as indicated at 3. The connecting element is then fitted into the saw kerf 13 until the pin 21 is assembled therewith engaging the slot 14, and thereupon the threaded portion 12 is threaded into the opening 16 of the forepart and the last thus assembled. Relative longitudinal adjustment is secured by rotation of the heel part and/ or forepart, thus threading or unthreading the connecting element 10 in the forepart recess 16, as will be readily appreciated. A finishing top or cover 26 may be supplied if desired, covering the bored recess 16 and a handle of any desired type, as indicated at 30.

The process of making my improved shoe tree and the ease and economy of the manufacturing method, as Well as the speed and facility of the operation in applying same to and removing from a completed shoe, will be readily appreciated. I consider the process as herein explained to be novel and important, and I wish to claim both the process of manufacture and the completed article as herein described.

I claim:

The improved process of making a wooden shoe tree with forepart and heel part united by a single metal link having One end threaded and the opposite end with an oblong hole therein, which consists in turning the form, then boring a recess from the top toward the toe in the central part of the Wood of the form at an angle of 45 relative to the line of pressure from heel to toe, then severing the tree into separate forepart and heel part on a line perpendicular to said bored recess from a point in the cone below the top and rearwardly to the bottom in the shank portion of the form, thereupon cutting a narrow slot in the heel part on a line with the bored recess,

421 then cross-boring said heel part intercepting said slot, then fitting the threaded end of the link into the recess in the forepart and the opposite oblong holed end into said slot in the heel part, and driving a pin thru the cross-bored opening and thru said oblong hole in the link, thus uniting the forepart and heel part, with provision for separating said parts to the extent permitted by the length of the oblong hole thru which the pin extends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 914,409 Hansen Mar. 9, 1909 947,387 Koster Jan. 25, 1910 1,753,908 Scimonelli Apr. 8, 1930 2,158,394 Baas May 16, 1939 2,503,227 Vining Apr. 4, 1950 2,518,261 Vining Aug. 8, 1950

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