GB2125319A

GB2125319A - Surface treatment of footwear

Info

Publication number: GB2125319A
Application number: GB08313888A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sakari Patjas
Original assignee: MUOTOTERA Oy
Current assignee: MUOTOTERA Oy
Priority date: 1982-06-01
Filing date: 1983-05-19
Publication date: 1984-03-07
Also published as: FI64885B; FI821925A0; DE3318578A1; GB8313888D0; FI64885C; GB2125319B

Abstract

A device for the surface treatment of articles of footwear, comprising a track (1) disposed in a partially enclosed space, a plurality of transport devices (2) on which holders for carrying the articles to be treated are provided, the transport devices (2) being located on the track (1) and being in abutment with one another, a treatment station being provided in one region (5) of the track (1) at which the treatment agent is sprayed onto the articles to be treated as they pass therethrough and article loading and unloading stations being provided in further regions (10, 11) of the track (1), means (13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18) being provided in the region of the treatment station for separating the transport devices (2) supporting the articles from one another. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for surface treatment of products The present invention relates to a device for the surface treatment of footwear and more particularly to a device which is useful in the painting or lacquering of boots or shoes.

A known device of this general type comprises a track winding around in an at least partly enclosed space, on which are arranged transport device which are periodically displaceable. The devices carry holders which are adapted to the shape of the products to be treated. In appropriate regions of the track, there are provided a treatment station at which the treatment agent is sprayed onto the articles passing therethrough and a second region on which the articles to be treated are loaded onto the device and, after treatment, are removed therefrom.

Such devices are known, chiefly for use in the boot and shoe industry but also in other production processes. One inconvenience of such a device is that the spraying is not generally effected automatically. Generally a worker must remove an article to be treated, such as a shoe, from the production line, insert his hand into the shoe and direct the spray onto the shoe with one hand whilst turning the shoe with another hand. In this way, a shoe can be treated comparatively speedily. Then, the worker returns the treated shoe onto the production line, by means of which it is transferred to a drying chamber, and takes the next shoe from the production line for similar treatment. However, the same worker is generally expected to find time to unload from the production line, the articles issuing from the drying chamber. This, of course, tends to slow down production.

The worker may also be exposed to the gases which evaporate from the treatment agent. These gases may be dangerous to health. In the art of mechanized surface treatment, it is also well known to use spray nozzles, which automatically spray the treatment agent onto the article to be treated. In such a case, however, the spacing between two adjacent articles must, of necessity, be somewhat long. Since the spacing is generally constant this leads to unnecessarily large gaps in those parts of the line where no treatment takes place. Consequently the production line becomes unnecessarily long and occupies an unreasonable amount of floor space. This increases production costs and is therefore disadvantageous.

The known devices are also prone to breakdowns. For instance the treatment agent may permeate between the transport devices and prevent the devices from moving.

The present invention seeks to provide a device in which the above mentioned inconveniences and disadvantages are eliminated or at least obviated.

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for the surface treatment of articles such as footwear comprising a track disposed in an at least partially enclosed space, a plurality of transport devices on which holders for carrying the articles to be treated are provided, the transport devices being located on the track and being in abutment with one another, a treatment station being provided in one region of the track at which the treatment agent is sprayed onto the articles to be treated as they pass therethrough and article loading and unloading stations being provided in further regions of the track, means being provided in the region of the treatment station for separating the transport devices supporting the articles from one another.

One embodiment of the present invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic top plan view of a surface treatment device according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of Fig. 1, but on an enlarged scale relative thereto, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the surface treatment device shown in Fig. 1 to 3.

A device in accordance with the present invention comprises, as shown in the drawings, a substantially horizontal track 1, on which individual transportation devices which support and transport the articles to be treated. A surface treatment station is provided in a convenient location on the track and a loading and unloading station for the articles is provided at a further convenient location.

As shown, the track 1 includes a plurality of disc-like transport devices 2 which are arranged sequentially and abut one another. The lateral edges of the devices are guided between two grooved guides 3. The guides are so located with respect to the track that they lie in substantially the same horizontal plane, with the grooves facing one another. The disc-like devices 2 thus slide along the grooves in the guides. The track constructed from the guides 3 has two long arms which are joined at one end by an arcuate portion 4 and at the other end by a straight section 5 extending substantially at right angles to each of the two long arms. The provision of such an arrangement permits two articles to be separated from one another whilst on the track so that they can each be subjected separately to the surface treatment.In this way there is little possibility of the treatment agent accidentally affecting other articles.

The disc-like members 2 are preferably made of a plastics material having a low coefficient of friction but could be made of any suitable material peripherally coated or covered with such plastics material. The guides 3 are made of steel.

For holding the articles on the transport devices 2, there is provided a vertically projecting arm 6, having radially extending resilient members 7 projecting therefrom. These arms 6 and members 7 hold the footwear to be treated, as can best be seen in Fig. 3.

The disc-like devices 2 are periodically moved along the track 1 by means of a power source 8 in the form of a piston and cylinder arrangement. The piston rod of the arrangement is located in the region 5 of the track at the end of one of the longitudinal arms of the track and extending in the direction of the latter direction. At the end of this longitudinal side an opening is formed through which the piston rod can move in the direction of the devices 2. The stroke of the piston 8 is substantially equal to the diameter of the devices 2. Consequently with one stroke of the piston, and because they are all of the same diameter, all of the transport means 2 are moved a distance equal to their diameter around the track. Such movement takes place in the direction of an arrow A shown in Fig. 1.In the arrangement shown, the treatment station is provided at the end 5 of the track whilst the straight longitudinal portion 10 comprises the loading and unloading station for the products where the shoes to be treated are loaded onto the transport means. At the same time, shoes which have already been treated and have been transported on the track, through a drying chamber, are unloaded from the apparatus from the other straight portion 11 and from the curved portion 4.

The treatment station, located in the transverse portion 5 of the track, comprises a carriage 13, which reciprocates in a transverse direction on guides 12. The carriage is moved by power means such as a cylinder 14. The amount of displacement of the carriage 1 3 is one-half of the spacing between the parallel portions 10 and 11 of the track 1. This makes it possible to move the transport devices from the portion 10 of the track along the transverse portion 5 to the other straight portion 11.

To permit the transfer of the transport devices on the transverse portion 5 of the track, the carriage 13 is provided with two piston and cylinder arrangements 1 5 and 1 6. When the carriage is in the initial position, as shown in Fig.

1, the piston rods 1 7 and 1 8 are so located as to engage the devices 2 at the end of the track portion 10 and in the middle of the track portion 5 respectively. When the carriage 1 3 is displaced, the devices 2 in the treatment station in the central region of the track portion 5 move to the end of the track portion 11, and the devices at the end of the track portion 10 move, correspondingly, into the treatment station in the middle of the track portion 5. During the return movement of the carriage 13 to the starting position, the piston rods 17 and 18 of the cylinders 15 and 16 respectively are retracted. At the same time, the power cylinder 8 is actuated and the piston rod 9 thereof pushes all of the transport means 2 from the end of the track part 11 one step forward on the track.In this way, a new transport device 2 carrying an article to be treated arrives at the end of the track portion 10 and the carriage 1 3 can then effect a further transverse movement. To enable the piston rods 17 and 18 to engage the transport devices 2, a slit having a diameter substantially equal to that of the piston rods is formed in the side of the outer guide 3 on the track portion 5. The surface treatment of the article takes place during the return movement of the carriage 13. For this purpose, nozzles 1 9 are provided at the treatment station for spraying the articles with paint or lacquer.

In the treatment station, the transport devices 2 carrying the articles are coupled to a rotary device 20, best seen in Fig. 3. During the surface treatment operation, this rotary device 20 rotates the devices 2 around their vertical axes through at least one complete revolution so that the entire surface of the article can be treated. The rotary device comprises a vertical shaft 21. On the upper end of the shaft 21, a chuck 22 is provided. This chuck engages with the lower surface of the disc-like devices 2. For this purpose, in the embodiment shown, each device carries a substantially rectangular projection 2a. The projection also assists in the guidance of the device 2 between the opposed inner edges of the guides 3, thus preventing the devices 2 from rotating. The articles carried thereon are therefore moved progressively around the track without being able to touch one another.

In the treatment station, however, adjacent the rotary device, the guides 3 are spaced further apart to permit the devices 2 to rotate. As shown, the chuck 22 comprises a groove defined by the edges 23, the width of the groove being substantially equal to the width of the projection 2a. In the center of the chuck, a spring-loaded ball 24 is provided which engages in a conical indentation formed in the lower surface of the devices 2 in order to centralize the devices 2 relative to the chuck. In order to bring about the rotational movement, a horizontally disposed power cylinder 25 is connected to the rotary device.

By utilising a lever 26, the cylinder 25 rotates the shaft 21 during the return movement of the carriage 13, which is when the spraying of the surface treatment agent onto the articles takes place.

The rotation can also be brought about by utilising a rack extending parallel to the movement of the carriage which rack is connected to the carriage 1 3. The rack co-operates with a pinion affixed to the shaft 21. Between the pinion and the shaft, a free coupling is provided which operates so that the shaft is rotated only during the return movement of the carriage.

The operations described hereinbefore are synchronized so that the devices 2 automatically move ahead on the track. A worker at the track portion 10 unloads the treated articles and loads untreated articles onto the empty holders. The device is covered so that the track is substantially covered with only the area BCDE remaining uncovered. In the sidewalls BC and DE, suitable openings are provided to facilitate the movement of the products on the track.

On the roof of the apparatus, a ventilator which removes the vapors and gases which evaporate from the treatment agent, is provided. Due to the relatively lower pressure subsisting in the chamber during the operation of the ventilator, no gases can escape from the apparatus to the ambient atmosphere. From the ventilator the gases can be conveyed to a purification or treatment area.

The device in accordance to the invention can obviously be used for the surface treatment of articles other than boots and shoes.

Claims

1. A device for the surface treatment of articles such as footwear, comprising a track disposed in an at least partially enclosed space, a plurality of transport devices on which holders for carrying the articles to be treated are provided, the transport devices being located on the track and being in abutment with one another, a treatment station being provided in one region of the track at which the treatment agent is sprayed onto the articles to be treated as they pass therethrough and article loading and unloading stations being provided in further regions of the track, means being provided in the region of the treatment station for separating the transport devices supporting the articles from one another.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which the track is continuous and comprises two substantially parallel straight arms, the arms being interconnected at one end by a substantially arcuate track portion and at the other end by a straight portion extending substantially at right angles to the parallel arms, the treatment station being located in said straight portion.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the transport devices which support and transport the articles are substantially disc-like and are guided between a pair of grooved steel guides.

4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the transport devices are made of a plastics material having a low coefficient of friction or are covered or coated with such material.

5. A device as claimed in claim 3 or 4 in which a substantially rectangular projection is provided on the underside of each transport device, the projection being guided by the internal edges of the steel guides and preventing rotation of the transport device as it moves around the track.

6. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the transport devices each include a holder, the holder including a plurality of radially extending resilient members which retain the article to be treated.

7. A device as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein drive means are provided to move the transport devices along the longitudinal arms and the curved region of the track, such drive means acting in the longitudinal direction of one of the parallel arms and being disposed at the point of intersection of said parallel arm and the straight transverse portion of the track, the pushing component of the drive means acting on the transport device located at said point and having a stroke equal to the diameter of said transport devices, said action causing all of said transport devices to be moved around the track by a distance equal to their diameter.

8. A device as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7 wherein a carriage displaceable on guides is provided in the transverse region of the track, further drive means in the form of a piston and cylinder arrangement being provided for displacing the carriage, said carriage transferring the transport devices from one of the parallel arms to the other parallel arm, the devices, during such transfer, passing through the treatment station.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein first and second additional drive means are associated with the carriage means, said first additional drive means, in its initial position, engaging with the transport device temporarily located at the junction of one end of the longitudinal arms and the straight portion and, in use, transferring said transport device to the central region of said straight portion and said second additional drive means engaging with the transport device temporarily located in said central region and, in use, transferring said transport device to the junction of said other longitudinal arm and said straight portion.

10. A device as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9 wherein a rotary device for rotating the transport devices about their vertical axes is provided in substantially the central region of said straight portion, said rotary device comprising a vertical shaft mounted in bearing, a chuck mounted on the end of the shaft for receiving the transport devices and means for rotating the shaft to permit the spraying of the articles.

11. A device for the surface treatment of articles as claimed in claim 1, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.