567,681. Boot-making machines. BRITISH UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CO., Ltd. (United Shoe Machinery Corporation). May 25, 1943, No. 8280. [Class 17 (i)] Uppers, machines for.-An end portion of a shoe. upper is moulded between inner and outer moulds, and a sharply defined crease is made between an out-turned permanent flange and the body of the upper, by fluid pressure operated mechanism. The invention is illustrated in a twostation machine having two moulding mechanisms side by side for operating on the heel ends of stitch down shoes, a treated shoe upper being taken off and a new one inserted at one station while a second upper is under moulding treatment at the other. The heel end of the upper with stiffener and lining is placed at one station over an inner mould 30 which extends, with the heel end uppermost, rearwardly and upwards, at an angle of 45 degrees and is retained on a supporting plate 36 by gravity. The two outer moulds 32 are removably mounted on a carrier 52, an arcuate tongue 54 on which fits in a corresponding groove in the moulds 32, the groove being so shaped that there is no appreciable separation of the work-engaging faces of the moulds 32 when the moulds are opened slightly to free them from the work. The weight of the carrier 52 and moulds 32 is supported on a fixed crosshead 60, and carrier 52 is secured to a piston rod 58. The moulds 32 are normally held in open position by a compression spring 76 and are closed by links 66 connected to a cross-head 64 and to ears 68 on the moulds. The sleeve 64 is slidably mounted in a fixed cylinder 80 and its rear portion is counterbored to receive a piston 84 on the piston rod 58. A rearward extension 86 of piston rod 58 forms a piston 90 in a cylinder 88 to which pressure fluid is admitted so that the entire mould assembly may be advanced with moulds 32 open until the mould engages the upper or inner mould 30 when a port 98 is closed by piston 90. Advance of sleeve 64 opens port 100 in cylinder 80 to admit pressure fluid from pipe 190 against piston 84 and rear edge face 104 of sleeve 64 to force moulds 32 under relatively high pressure against inner mould 30. Two flange formers 34 are connected by a halved joint 114 and are removably secured to plates 106 mounted against upward movement on bed plates 107, their movements being controlled by rolls mounted on studs arranged to operate in arcuate slots in the plate 106. The flangeforming assembly is mounted on a head 124 of a flange former sleeve 126 in a fixed cylinder 128 so as to move heightwise of the upper with the sleeve during the flange-forming operation. The formers are moved rearwardly and outwardly, to flange the upper, by a pressure fluid actuated piston rod 130 which carries at its rear end a piston 132 slidably mounted in a cylinder 134. A cross-head 136 fixed to the forward end of piston rod 130 has its opposite ends connected to the flange former plates 106 by ball-ended links 138. An adjustable screw 150 holds the flange former assembly in initial rest position against upward movement while permitting the assembly to move down slightly against a spring 140, upward movement of the formers 34 to press the flange against the outer moulds 32 occurring after rearward and outward movement of the formers 34 has been completed. Means are described to permit an upper which is under moulding pressure at one of the two stations to be released without affecting operation of the mechanism at the other station. Hand levers may be provided adjacent each station so that the cycle of operations at one station may be completed without changing the position of the operating parts at the other station so that the last upper in a batch may be operated on. Indicating means are provided to show which of the two stations will first operate on depression of the starting treadle of the machine. Specifications 408,953 and 538,410 are referred to.