905,648. Shaping footwear uppers. LAURETTI, P., and HOWE, E. E. July 16, 1959, No. 24459/59. Class 17 (1). A machine for shaping the backs of footwear uppers comprises pairs of inner and outer moulds 24, 26 movable relative to each other to clamp the uppers between them with their margins upstanding, each outer mould being made up of a rear section 54 and two side sections 56 which respectively, unyieldingly and yieldingly press the back and sides of the upper against the inner mould 24, and wiper mechanisms for folding the margins of the uppers over into contact with the bottoms of the inner moulds, several of these shaping assemblies being mounted on a rotatable support 20 for movement from a loading and unloading position in which the moulds are brought together to shape the upper to a position in which the wiper mechanism is operated and on to a further position in which the moulds are moved apart and the wiper mechanism rendered inoperative. The inner mould may be heated by a heating element 34. The outer mould 26 is mounted on the end of the rod 36 of a piston slidable in cylinder 46 for movement towards the inner mould 24, the side sections 56 being moved inwardly against the action of springs 66 by reason of the projections 64 contacting the pivoted levers 60. The moulds are supported in a casting 32, the upper walls of which have grooves 68 (Fig. 6) which slidably receive outwardly-directed flanges 70 at opposite sides of a rigid carrier 72, so that the latter is movable in a plane parallel to the base of the inner mould. The carrier 72 is recessed to receive a flat bearing plate 74 yieldably supported by springs 78 and carrying a pair of wiper blades 77 (Fig. 8). Each blade has an arm 80 extending laterally from its rear end so as to abut against blocks 85 on the edge of the casting 32 as the carrier is moved forwardly, e.g. by power-operated means 87 (Fig. 2), and thus to cause the blades 77 to pivot inwardly over the bottom of the inner mould 24. Alternatively, a cam roll may be mounted on the carrier and effect forward movement of the carrier by engagement with a cam on the front wall of the machine frame. Rearward movement or retraction of the blades is effected by a plate 90 bolted to the rear end of the carrier which has a finger extending downwardly so as to be engaged by the mould section 54, the moulds and the wiper mechanism thus being retracted simultaneously. In another form of the machine, the wiper is constituted solely by a flat rigid plate disposed in the recess in the carrier 72 against the springs 78 and held there by abutment strips fastened to the lower side of the carrier. A number of the abovedescribed shaping assemblies are mounted on a support 20 so as to be rotatable about the horizontal axis of a shaft 18 (Fig. 13). Having placed an upper on the inner mould 24, the operator depresses a suitable treadle 94 which operates the piston in cylinder 46 via a shaft 95 to advance the outer mould 26 into engagement with the inner mould 24 and then a pair of pushbuttons are depressed to effect rotation of the support 20 and bring the next shaping assembly into the loading position at the top of the machine. The wipers operate as described above and retraction of the outer moulds and wipers just before each assembly reaches the top of the machine is effected by a cam roll, situated in the path of the assemblies, which engages a valve 52 to admit air into the cylinder 46. The time it takes for each assembly to travel from the top where it is loaded to the top again for unloading is sufficient for the upper to set under the pressure and heat employed.