701,207. Boots and shoes: lasting and inserting nails. BRITISH UNITED SHOE: MACHINERY CO., Ltd. (United Shoe Machinery Corporation). March 29, 1951. [March 30, 1950], No. 7941/50. Classes 17(1) and 89(3) A shoe-upper lasting and fastener-in serting machine has means for wiping the margin of a toe-end portion of a shoeupper inwardly across an insole and means for inserting fastenings through the margin while the upper is held after the lasting operation, the fastener-inserting means being moved stepwise along the margin to insert fasteners at spaced positions around the whole of the toe-end of the shoe. The wipers are apertured at spaced positions for the passage of the fasteners (tacks) and two tackers work in conjunction with one another to and from the toe respectively along the margins of the upper at opposite sides of the shoe. The tackers are advanced to and withdrawn from the margin of the upper at each tacking operation. The wipers advance lengthwise of the shoe without substantial closing movement until they commence to urge the margin of the upper inwardly at the toe end of the shoe, after which they close across the insole without substantial lengthwisemovement and then finally advance lengthwise without further closing movement. Interchangeable cams may be provided to' enable the tackers to insert tacks at the desired distance from the insole edge on shoes of different styles or sizes. Tacking is effected by fluid-pressure and is initiatedby contact between a part of the tacker- and the wipers. The two tackers have raceways for the supply of tacks, these raceways being brought alternately, during consecutive operations of the machine, into alignment with a commonsupply raceway. Shoe-clamping. The machine described has a clutch 2, Fig. 1, driving through gearing 6 a cam shaft 8, one revolution of which corresponds to a cycle of operations. 'The clutch is engaged by a treadle 10 and automatically disengaged by a stop-cam 12 on the shaft 8 the clutch gear being generally as disclosed in Specification 520,194, except that the cam 12 provides only one pause in each cycle, viz.: to allow the tackers to operate while the upper is held in lasted condition. After insertion of the tacks, the treadle is again operated for the completion of the cycle. The bottom of the forepart of the,insole is positioned by the operator against a shoe-bottom plate 26, Fig. 47, the shoe being clamped against the plate 26 by upward movement of a toerest 30, this clamping being effected generally as described in Specification 540,174. The toe-rest 30, Fig. 10, is floatingly mounted by springs 58 and leaf-springs 64, so that the toe-rest may accommodate itself to the wiper movements. A heelrest 66, Fig. 3, is applied to the shoe shortly after the beginning of a cycle of operations, the heel-rest having a stem 72 turnable in a cross-bar 74 so that the heel-rest may adjust itself to the shoe. The opposite ends of the cross bar 74 are coupled to adjustable rods 84, locked in the adjusted positions relatively to holders 86 by pivoted latches 88 engageable with slots 90 in the rods. The holders 86 are adjustably mounted on arms 92, Fig. 1, as generally described in Specification 520,194, the arms 92 being mounted, with provision for lateral swinging movement, but spring-urged to a central position, on arms 94, the heel-rest thus having free selfadjustment to the shoe heel. When pressure is applied to the heel-rest, however, interlocking teeth prevent swinging movement of the heel-rest during the lasting operation. ' Pressure on the heel-rest is applied through the rods 94, Fig. 2, linkage 108, 110 and spring 114 when a drop in the cam 136 on the camshaft 8 releases a linkage to allow the spring 114 to act. At the required point in the cycle of operations a cam-lever 130 actuates a pin-andslot linkage connection 128 to actuate an arm 118, and thus the arm 110, in a clockwise direction to release the heel-rest. The rods 94 are hydraulically locked to prevent endwise displacement of the shoe during lasting, the rods being of telescopic construction to permit adjustment for shoes of different sizes and each being locked in set position by a transverse pin. The hydraulic locking mechanism for the rods 94, described with reference to Figs. 8, 9 (not shown) includes duplicate cylinders 164, Figs. 1, 2, each containing a valve controlled by a lever 188 actuated by a bar 192 carried by the toe-rest support 54. When the toe-rest moves upwardly to clamp the shoe, the bar 192 moves clear of the lever 188, thus allowing the valves within the cylinders 164 to close, after which only one-way movement of the rods 94 is possible, to move the heel-rest support 92, and so advance the heel-rest 66, Figs. 1, 3 to clamp the shoe. On downward movement of the toe-rest 30 near the conclusion of the cycle of operations, the bar 192 re-opens the valves within the cylinders 164 and allows the heel-rest to be withdrawn to initial position by the cam 136. The caps 96, Figs. 1, 2 at the forward ends of the rods 94 are supported on guides 198 to prevent downward-springing of the rods 94 during the lasting operation. Lasting. The toe-wipers 16, Figs. 6, 7, are operated generally as described in Specification 520,194. The two toe-wipers are each detachably mounted by a spring- pressed pin 202, Fig. 7, in a holder 200 guided by a projection 212 and cam groove in a carrier 208 which is mounted at its forward end on a link 216, Fig. 4, and at its rear end on a bell-crank 248 carried by a further bell-crank 228 mounted on a lever 218 actuated by a cam 224. The bellcranks 228 are yieldable against the thrust of springs 240 and the arm 254 of each bellcrank 248 is controlled by a cam-track 258 carried by an arm 264 adjustable about the shaft 220 by a hand wheel 284, Figs. 2, 6 and screw gear 270, 266. The cam-track 258 and its associated gear enables the position of the wipers, lengthwise of the last, at the times when they wipe the upper heightwise, to be readily adjusted to suit varying upper-materials. The cam 294, Fig. 4, controls the movement of the wipers heightwise of the last first to wipe the upper and later to increase the pressure of the wipers downwardly on the marginal portion of the upper over the insole. The closing movement of the wipers widthwise of the shoe is effected by a cam 338, Fig. 4, and linkage 334, 330, 326, 320 the upper fork of the lever 320 being coupled by links 318, Fig. 6, to a crossbar 314 actuating a slide 302 linked by yieldable rods 296 to the wiper holders. The rods 296 yield only a definite amount determined by a pin-andslot connection 306, 308, so that the wipers close to a definite position when wiping the margin of the upper inwardly over the insole whereby the holes 340 in the wipers are correctly positioned for the fastenerinserting operation. In this position, the nipples 204, Figs. 6, 7, carrying the spring pins 202 for securing the wipers, are located at one end of the slots 214 in the wiper carriers 208. The wipers are changed to suit shoes of substantially different sizes. The shoe is steadied against lateral displacement during lasting by a leatherfaced resilient metal toe band 344 the ends of which are secured to blocks 350 coupled by non-parallel links 352 to the wiper carriers. The plate 26, Fig. 47, against which the insole is clamped prior to lasting, is adjustable about axes extending both longitudinally and transversely of the shoe, and is bodily adjustable vertically by screw-gear 398, 396, Fig. 15. The margin of the insole is pressed down on to the last when the wipers begin to wipe the upper inwardly over the insole by a holddown 422 curved in plan generally to the toe-end curvature and detachably latched in a carrier 428 which is guided along an inclined path through the mounting of the shoe-bottom plate 26, by toothed-gearing and levers under the control of a cam plate 464 actuated by rod-and-cam mechanism 466, 468, 474, 476, 478, 484, Fig. 1. A retarder 28, Fig. 47, curved to extend about the toe-end of the shoe and which assists in determining approximately the correct position of the toe-end of the last laterally with respect to the wipers, controls the upper-material outspread around the toe on the wipers during upwipe, the retarder being tilted about a transverse axis during this movement to ensure that tension is applied to the upper at the sides as well as at the end of the toe. A cam plate 590, Fig. 47, angularly settable about an axis 558 relatively to a lever 582 and coacting with a lever arm 596, controls the degree of bodily movement of the retarder away from the end of the last, while the retarder is tilting at the end of upwipe, grip being maintained on the upper during this movement by the spring 522 acting through the lever 516. The upward movement of the substantially parallel linkage 514, 578 then moves the retarder-carrier 512 heelwardly to make room for the movement of the fastening-inserting mechanism into operative position. A plate 604 on the retarder, engages with the top faces of the wipers to prevent damage to the machine if it is operated without any shoe therein. Fastener - inserting mechanism. The fastener-inserting mechanism is carried by a tacker-support 606, Figs. 1, 22, pivotably mounted on blocks 612 which are guided lengthwise of the shoe, the swinging and longitudinal movements of the tackersupport being effected by crank-arms 616, Fig. 1, fast on the shaft 470. Two plates 626, Fig. 22, curved approximately to the curvature of the toe-end portion of the shoe are secured to the tacker-support and carry stops 624 comprising strong springs 636, Fig. 26, and plunger 638 which engage fixed brackets on the frame when the tacker-support swings down to position the tackers, lost motion being provided to permit further movement of the crank arms 616 after arrest of the tacker-support. Two tackers