US1678165A - Manufacture of shoes - Google Patents

Description

A. F. PYM

' MANUFACTURE OF SHOES July 24, 1928. 1,678,165

F iled Nov. 28. 1921 3- Sheets-Sheet l July 24, 1928. 1,678,165

' A. F. PYM

MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Filed Nov.28. 1921 s Sheets-Sht 2 July 24 .1928. I v A. F. PYM

MANUFACTURE OF SHOES.

Filed Nov.;28. 1921 I5Sheets-Sheet 3 g llu Patented July 24, 1928 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR F. PYM, 0E LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGivoR To UNTT'EE SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, oErATERsoN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MANUFACTURE OF SHOES.

I Application filed November 28, 1921. Serial No. 518.294.

. This invention relates to the manufacture of turned shoes, and is directed particularly to improving the shape given such shoes during their manufacture, the present application being in part-a continuation of my pending application Serial No. 443,043, filed February 7, 1921. i

In the manufacture of shoes of this type as heretofore made, the three operations of first lasting, second lasting, and treeing have all been relied upon asimportant factors in inmarting to the shoes the desired shape. While in ordinary practice the second lasting is particularly important in the shaping of. turned shoes, nevertheless, in spite of efficient second lasting, there remains a good deal of final shaping to be done in the treeing operation. Too much reliance upon treeing, or any other operation involving stretching or shrinking of the leather, is undesirable, and an object of the present invention, therefore, as hereinafter more fully set forth, is to minimize the shaping which must be effected by the treeing operation by improving the first lasting and second lasting operations.

Itv is usual to provide a smaller first than second last, to compensate roughly for the change caused by turning the shoe, but so far I am aware it has not previously been proposed to design a first last differently from the corresponding second last, toprovide an exact compensation for this change. At present the first last is customarily just like I the second last except that it is one-half size shorter or narrower. Now the second last must necessarily be narrower than the sole of the shoe, since itis to go inside of the shoe afterit is turned, and thefirst last is therefore, according to the present system, still narrower. Thus the sole, of the shoe, when pla ed thcreon'in the assembling operation,

,projects on all sides beyond the first last.

Obviously it is difficult tolast and stitch such a shoe ti ghtly on account of this unsupported margin, even if a first-last could be used which affords an accurate form over which to shape the shoe. Moreover, even if, in a special case, the sole were stiff enough to support itself suliiciently to permit the accurate and tight lasting which is usual, for example, with Goodyear welt shoes, since the spending second last in the shape and size of cross-sections through its various parts, in an amount exactly to compensate for the changes caused by turning a shoe lasted thereon. first last be wider across the bottom of its forepart than the corresponding second last,

It is preferred, further, that the so as to support an entire sole, clear out to its edges, in themanner of a welt insole, thus providing for securing the same'tight and efiicient. lasting with turned shoes as with Goodyear welts.

Having in mind the importance of improving the shaping of the shoe during the step of relasting, as above explained, in a further aspect my invention contemplates a novel process of seating a second last in a shoe after turning which permits as tight a fit of the shoe on this last as if it were still on a first last. While this is especially advantageous in manufacturing turned shoes according to the older methods; it is also well adapted to be used in connection with my improved first lasting operation discussed above.

Accordingto this novel process the shoe is engaged in such a manner that as the shoe and last are relatively moved, the shoe upper is broadened, so that it may afterwards contract by reason of the elasticity of the leather into tight engagement with the last. It is also my intention to avoid any possible damage to the shoe when relasting it so tightly, by permitting slippage to occur when the last has been seated in the shoe. I prefer to bring about both of these results by engaging the forward part ofthe shoe by a friction member, which can slip when the relasting operation is completed, and. which acts by a pushing action to broaden the shoe upper as it is forced on a last. I prefer also to aid in smoothly seating the last in the shoe by relatively tipping the last and shoe so that the toe of the last does not catch on the channel lip of the sole, by relatively twisting the last and shoe to guide their relative longitudinal movement, by stretchingand smoothing out the lining during the relasting, and

scribed. i Y

-Accordi'ng to the grade of the shoe, and the consequent ease of manipulating it, I may utilize the friction memberprogressively to force the shoe bottom against thelast during the relasting of the counter portion of the shoe, or avoid possible ov ershot toes by using it to seat the last carefully in exactly the correct position in the toe and thento hold the shoe and last tightly clamped together while the counter is relasted. Alternatively, if it is desired to avoid straining the back seam, I may move the toe of the last further into the shoe than its final position, to provide additional clearance at the heel, and after the relasting of the counter by other related operations hereinafter de-' move the shoe relatively to the lastin a forward direction to take up the loosenessintro duced by providing such additional clearance. It is also desirable to avoid any looseness in the, upper by lacing or otherwise securing it about the second last while the shoe bot tom is tightly compressed against the last; or. the desired tight fit may be obtained by lacing the shoe and thenforcing the instep block into place while the shoe bottom is under such pressure. p I c The above and other aspects of the invention including the formof the required apparatus, and the manner of operating it, will be apparent from the following description of the various figures in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing, in full lines, my improved first last and in dotted lines a corresponding second last;

. Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively sections on the lines 22 and 33 of Fig. 1, showing sections of the lasts;

Figs. 4 to 10 are diagrammatic figures illustrating the successive steps of one manner of carrying out my novel process of relasting shoes; i

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a toe shoe horn used to stretch and smooth the lining during relasting;

Figs. 12 to 18 are a series of diagrammatic views corresponding to Figs. L to 10, and illustrating the successive steps of an alternative manner of carrying out my novel process of relasting shoes;

Fig. l9-is a view corresponding to Fig. 13 of my prior application Serial No. 443,043,

filed Feb. 7, 1921, illustrating a modification of tl'ieapparatus shown and claimed in that application, to adapt it for use in performing the method of Figs. 12 to 18 (the apparatus as shown in the said application to turning.

being adapted for use in carrying out the method of Figs. 4 to 10 herein) Fig. 20 is a cross-section of a preferred form-of shoe-engaging roll-for use in the apparatus of the above-identifiedprior application; and

Fig. 21' is adiagrammatic view illustrating the use of a fabric to enable the shoeengagingroll to get a grip on soles which are moist and slippery by reason of being in temper, or to protect a finished surface from injury by such aroll. In Figs. 1 to 3, nay improved first last is shown in full lines, and the corresponding secondlast in dotted. lines. As explained above, and as will be obviousfrom a comparison of the three figures, the first last has less material across the top of the forepart and the bottom of the rear part, as compared with a corresponding second last, in an amount just suificient to compensate for the change of the inside of the shoe due the reversal of materials, such as the counter and the sole, which are inside the upper in one position and outs de 1n the other position, and in part to the fact that on the first Such change is due in partto" last the upper passes over theedge'of the i sole to reach the seam while on the second last it doesnot. u

In connection-with the latter fact, atten-- tion is called to Fig. 2, showing in broken lines a sole in position on the first last. The

sole so shown is also, as will be seen, in correct position with respect to the second last except thatit is upside clown.- In first lasting, the upper must reach from on around 6, 0, and, d, to 6; whereas on-the second last it does not pass over the edges 6 and ""d of the sole, but only through the distance ACD. Accordingly, an important aspect of my invention is in so relatingthe lasts that the distance abccZ-e shall equal the distance A-C D. The measurements of Fig. 2 are shown as somewhat distorted in order more clearly to illustrate the two difierent positions of the upper.

By reason of this exact compensation a shoe made on a pair of these lasts will fit each of them equally well and tightly, and

will thus deriveits form, to a much greater degree than has ever beforebeen possible,

from careful lasting onthe first last.

In addition to this careful compensation for the change" in shape due to turning, it

will be seen that my improved first last may be characterized by being enough broader thanthe corresponding second last to support the edges of a sole beyond-the seam,

vantages of the upward smoothing action of the wipers of that machine may be secured on turns as on welts.

After the first lasting, stitching, and turning operations, a turned shoe is relasted on its second last. This operation is of great importance, as the shape of the finished shoe depends largely on the second last and on the operation of relastingor inserting the second last. My novel processof performing this operation is designed with a View to securing a tighter fit. on the second last than has heretoforebeen feasible, While at the sametime permitting the relaster to exercise greater control of the operationthan' has been the ease up to the present time.

In my above-referred to prior application No. 443,043, is illustrated aform of apparatus which may be utilized in carrying out this novel process. The work-engaging parts of that apparatus are shown in a diagrammatic way in Figs. 4 to 10 herein, illustrating one manner of performing my process of relastin'g shoes, and it will be understood that in details of actuating mechanism and'construction of parts the apparatus may, if desired, be substantially in accordance with that described and claimed in my said prior application.

As explained in that applicationmy improved apparatus is designed to engage the shoe in a manner to broaden or stretch the upper of a shoe while a. last is being seated therein, thus facilitating the seating of the last and permitting the upper afterwards to contract by its own elasticity, aided as I prefer by the longitudinal pull of a. shoe horn on the counter portion of the shoe, into extremely tight engagement with the last. I find it quite feasible to secure relasted shoes as tightly secured about the enclosed lasts as lasted welt shoes, a result greatly superior to any secured by prior methodsof which I am aware. Y

A roll 30, rotatable under control of an operator, is arranged to co-operate with a shoe horn 32, to seat a shoe S on a last L supported on a last pin 34. The relation of these parts before the machine starts is shown in Fig. 4:. When the machine starts the roll first moves upward into engagement with the shoe bottom, as shown in Fig. 5, and is then rotated in the direction of the arrow in that figure until the forepart of" the shoe is seated on the last.

It will be observedthat the roll at this time engages the shoe forwardly of the shank, as distinguished from prior relasting devices which engage the shoe at the shank or heel seat. This gives a pushing efi'ect which results in a marked broadening of the upper, the advantage of which has previously been pointed out. The difference in the effects of these various ways of engaging a shoe can readily be demonstrated experi mentally by holding a shoe and manually pushing on it from the forepart, producing the desired" broadening, and then grasping it at the shank or heel seat and pulling on it, which, it will be found, narrows the upper to a degree which is very noticeable, and which requires considerable force to overcome in seating a last in a shoe so held, and which allows the upper to broaden when released, thereby tending to loosen it on the last.

A further advantage of engaging the shoe at the forepart as shown in Fig. 5, is that the toe end of the sole is pulled downwardly, so that the toe of the last cannot catch on the channel lipas it passes over it.

with respect to the sole, it is relatively easy to stretch the upper into place. Accordingly I find it advantageous, in securing the tight lasting which is one object of my process, to urge the upper relatively forward with respect to the sole as the shoe and last are being relatively moved, by pounding it at the toe with wiping hammer blows, or otherwise. This stretches the upper forwardly on the last, and diminishes the resistance offered thereby to the forward thrust of the last. The upper is afterwards pulled back into place by the rearward pull of the shoe horn in relasting the counter portion of the shoe.

It is further helpful, in securing the desired result, to arrange the roll so that the effective direction of the pushing force may be varied, in order to keep it parallel to the axis of the forepart of the last, regardless of the swing of the last. As an illustrative arrangement for this purpose, the roll 30 is of variable diameter, and may be moved axially under the control of the operator, to

bring portions of different diameter (and consequent different peripheral speeds) in engagement with opposite sides of the shoe, thus varying the resultant effective direction of the pushing force exerted by the roll.

In relasting shoes by previous methods,

overshot toes, produced by pushing lasts rollat exactly the right instant. As eX- plained in detail in my above-identified prior application, the roll 30 is pressed against the shoe with a force which can be adjusted to vary the friction between the roll and the shoe to the correct amount to result. a

At the conclusion of theoperation illustratcd in Fig. 5, roll 30 is left free to rotate idly, and the apparatus is operated to actuate horn to relastthe counter portion of the shoe, as shown'in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. At the same time roll 30 moves l -cl: through the shank to the heel-seat,co-operating with the born by progressively forcing the, shoe bottom against the last and at the same tin'ie operating to some extent to level the sole against the last. Before the actuating mechanism of the apparatus comes to rest, the roll returns to the shank, as shown in Fig. 9, and holds the shoe bottom clai under heavy spring pressure against the last.

It is advantageous at this step of the relasting operation to secure the upper of the shoe about the enclosed last, by lacing or produce this otherwise, as the pressure of the roll. 3t, against the shoe bottom aids materially in securing a ti ht fit. This may be accomplished by inserting the instep block l3 and then lacing or otherwise securing the shoe upper in place, or alternatively by perforining the lacing or securing operatioi'i first and then forcing the instep block B into place. its this bloc-l: has somewhat of a wedgeshaped form this further tightens the shoe. It is to be noted that in the reverse operation of withdrawing this blocl-z. it is also advantageous to compress the shoe bottom against the last as shown in Fig. 9.

The final operation of the machine is to tilt the last pin into the position shown in Fig. 10 to present the relas'ted shoe in. a convenient position for removal and to lower the roll 30 to its original position.

As explained above it is desirable with some kinds of shoes to vary the details of this process as illustrated in Figs. 12 to 18. As will be hereinafter explained, in so modifying my novel relasting process it may be further desirable to mount the shoe ei'igaging roll in a manner to prevent bodily movementlongitudinally of the shoe and to arrange the driving mechanism therefor; so that the roll may be rotated in either direction under the control of an operator.

In relasting a shoe in this way a toe shoe horn or distorting member, shown in 11, comprising a horn portion 36 and a handle 38, may be used shown in Figs. 12 and 13 to stretch the lining of the shoe during the relastingof the toe in a manner to preventwrinkling. This will obviate or at least minimize the necessity for what now a subsequent operation in sn'ioothing and stretching the lini with a hand implement called a lining knife. The shoe is assembled on a last in the machine as shown in Fig. 12 with' member 36 between the toe portion of the shoe and the toe of the last,

theroll 300 is brought upwardly against the shoe bottom and rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 13, while member 36 is withdrawn by the operator; It will be evident that this operation will result in In-preventingovershot toes by operat ing according to the modification being'descr bed, I fine it desirable to maintain roll 300,,after the rotation has been stopped,

clamped against the same place on the shoe bottom as shown n Figs. 14 and 15, while the horn 32is operated to relast the counter portion of the shoe. By this arrangement the forward portion of the shoe is clamped tightly imposition, and any tendency of horn 32 to pull. the shoe rearwardly far. enough to {result in an overshot toe is positively prevented.

In case it s desirable in operating on a -given kind of shoe to avoid strain on the back seam, roll 300 may be arranged to entheshoe bottom with sufficient friction so that when itis rotated in the direction shown in Fig. 13 the shoe will be pushed rearwardly on the lastfurther than its final position. Thereafter, the counter portion of the shoe having been relasted as shown in Figs. 14 andlli, the direction of rotation of roll 300 is reversed as shown in Fig. 16

t0 draw the shoe forwardlyon the last to its final position, taking up the slack provided I l to glveadditional clearance. while relasting the counter portion of, the shoe.

Thereafter the upper may be secured about thejlastby closing the fly of the upper by lacing or otherwise, as shown in 17 corresponding to Fig. 9, and the relasted shoe ren'iovcd from the machine after being moved to the position shown in 18, corresponding to Fig. 10.

In Fig. 19 is shown a view corresponding toFig. 18 of my above-referrcd to prior application No. 443,043, showing a mocliiication of the actuating mechanism of the machine shown in that apg'ilication to make it possible to operate the roll 300 as shown in Figs. 12 to 18 The parts shown in Fig. 19 which have identical functions with corresponding parts in F] 3 of the said prior application are indicated by the same reference characters. Thus shaft 426 a support upon which are loosely mounted a series of hell crank levers-110, 224;. and 126 for actuating various parts or" the n'iachine and reference character 100 indicates a pinion which acts tl'iroun'h mechanism fully described in the said prior. application for 100- tating the roll 300. The pinion 100 is keyed to shaft 46 to rotate therewith. Likewise 68 indicates the main cam shaft of the shaft under the control of the operator.

machine on which are mounted cams 120, 226, and .210 operating as described in the said prior application.

It will be noted that a cam indicated at 128 in Fig. 13 of the said prior application has been replaced by a sleeve indicated in F1g.19 of the present application at 129. Thus, while bell crank lever 126 may be ad justed as explained in my prior application to vary the position of roll 300, it will not have the bodily movement longitudinally of the shoe during the operation of the machine which in the former design was efiiected by cam 128.

It will be observed that the drive mechanism at the right "of Fig. 19 has been modified to permit rotation of pinion 100 (and therefore roll 300) in. either direction under the control of'the operator. A gear 47, loosely mounted on shaft 46, is driven from a worm drive 40' by suitable gears 42 and. 44.

' A bevel gear 48 is secured to the gear 47 vto rotate therewith, and operates through an intermediate gear 50 to rotate a third bevel gear 52 in the opposite direction. Bevel gears 48 and 52 are loosely mounted with respect to shaft 46 and means is provided v for connecting either of them to rotate that A clutch face is formed on the inner surface of each of the bevel gears 48 and 52 and a clutch member 54, which is keyed to shaft 46, is ararnged between them to be moved into engagement with either of them by means of an operator-controlled bell crank lever 56. By'this modification of the mechanism of the machine shown in my said prior application. No. 443,043 the roll 300 can be rotated in either direction at the will of the operator by manipulation of lever 56-.

In Fig. 20 is shown a preferred construction of the above-referred to shoe-engaging roll comprising a cushion layer 146 enclosed in a rubber friction layer 144 in which are formed vacuum cups .142. v The shoes being relasted must necessarily be in temper and in some cases the soles may be sutficientlywet to make it possible for the roll to slip sooner than is desired unless a heavy pressure is used. To obviate such. possible slipping there may be provided, as shown in Fig. 21, a suitable fabric, such as a canvas belt 802 passing about roll 300 and suitable idler rolls 30 4. The canvas has a greater tractive force on a wet surface than by or otherwise appended claims, y 1

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1% i i I 1. Thatimprovement in] methoes of relasting shoes which comprises partially inserting a lastin shoe, supporting the last and engaging the shoe in a manner to allow for slippage under excessive resistance without changing the point of engagement with the shoe, and then relatively moving the shoe and the last and simultaneously broadening the shoe upper to facilitate the seating of the lastand continuing said relative movement until the seating of the last causes slippage to occur.

than by the termsuof the 2. That improvement in methods of re-.

lasting shoes which comprises partially inserting a last in a shoe. and then pushing the toe portion of the shoe over the last by engagement with the tread face of the sole forwardly of the. shank in a manner to permit slippage to occur when the shoe is seated on the lastto avoid undue strainor injury of the shoe. W I I That improvement in methods of relasting shoes which comprises seating the toe portion of a shoe on a last, and then progressively forcing the shoe bottom against the last andlongitudinally thereof while seating the counter port-ion on the last.

comprises seating the forepart of shoe upon a last and thereafter applying pressure progressively along the shank of the shoe to shape the shank. 5. That method of relasting turned shoes which comprises partially inserting a last in a shoe, and then seating the toe portion of the shoe over the last while maintaininglthe toe of the last separated from the sole until after it has passed the channel lip and constantly maintaining engagement of the sole with the last rearward of thetoe;

6. A method of making turned shoes which comprises the steps of providing a second last and a first last wide enough to support the edges of the sole and related to the second last bywbeing 'of the shape and size of. the inside of a shoe which when turned will tightly fit both the forepart and heel portion of the second last, lasting and stitching a shoe on, the first last in the man ner of awelt shoe, removing: the. last, and relasting on'the second last in a manner to shape the shoe thereover.

7 A method of making turned shoes which comprises the steps of providing a second last and a. first last which is related to the second last as if formed therefrom by removing material from the top of the forward portion and the bottom ofthe rear portion thereof and by adding material to the sides of the second last adjacent to the bottom thereof to compensate for the thickness of the shoe materials, and determining the size and shape of a shoe relatively to its second last by lasting it on the said first last.

8. That improvement in methods of re lasting shoes which comprises inserting a last in a shoe, and moving the sole'of the shoe rearwardly of the last while urging the upper forward relatively to the last during the seating of the shoe on the last.

9. That improvement in methods of re lasting shoes which comprises partially inserting a. last in a shoe, moving the shoe and the last longitudinally relatively to one another, while twisting them relatively to one another to seat the forepart of the shoe on the last, and applying pressure to the rear part of the sole progressively lengthwise of the last to facilitate the seating of therear part of the shoe.

10. That improvement in methods of re lasting shoes which comprises pushing the toe portion of ashoe on a last by engagement with the tread face of the sole forwardly of the shank, and varying the effec-tive direction of the pushing force to guide the shoe to seated position on the last.

11. That method of relasting shoes which comprises the steps of relatively moving a last and shoe to seat the toe of the lastfurther in the shoe than its final position in order to provide extra clearance at the heel, then seating the counter-portion of the shoe on the heel end of the last, and finally rela' tively moving the lastand shoe in a direction the reverse of the first movement in order to place the last in its final position.

12. That method of relasting'shoes which comprises bringing a friction roll against a shoe-and rotating it to push the shoe on a last further than its final seated position to provide clearance about the heel, then sea-ting the counter portion of the shoe on the last while the forward portion is held by the roll, and finally reversing the rotation of the roll to draw the shoe forward on the last to final position.

13. That method of moving shoes'relatively to lasts which comprises placing a fabric in engagement with a. shoe, pressing said fabric thereagainst to produce a considerable friction, and moving the fabric while pressed against the shoe frictionally tomove the shoe relatively to a last;

14. That method of assembling a shoe on a last which comprises compressing the boting the instep block of the last while the,

shoe'bottom is compressed against the last.

15. Thatmethod of relasting shoes which comprises smoothing the lining of a shoe simultaneously with the insertion of a last by placing a horn member between the toe of the last and the inside upper toe portion of the sho'eto stretch and smooth the lining as the shoe is seated onthe last,

16. A method of relasting shoes which comprises simultaneously pressing a shoe against a last and relasting the toe of the shoe, and progressively pressing the rear part of the shoebottom against the last and longitudinally thereof WVllllB' relasting the counter port-ion of the shoe to prevent displacement of the previously'relasted toe.

17. That step ina method of relasting shoes which comprisesrelasting the counter portion of a shoe while progressively pressing the rear part of the shoe bottom against the last and longitudinally thereof.

18. For use in the manufacture of turned shoes,-wherein there is employed a second last shaped in accordance with the form to be imparted to afinished shoe, a first last which is related to said second last by having less material across the top of the forward portion and across the bottom of the rear portion in order to compensate for the thickness of the shoe materials. I i

19. For use in the manufacture of turned shoes, wherein there is employed'a second last shaped in accordance with the form to be imparted to a finished shoe, a first last which is related to said second last by'being enough broader to come out flush with the edges of the sole'of a shoe lasted thereon,

and enough thinner to compensate exactly caused-by turning a shoe, lasted upon said first last, and determining the size and shape of a shoe relatively to said second last by lasting it upon said first last.

name to this specification. I

ARTHUR F. PYM.

In testimony whereof I hav'e sign'ed my

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