US1687514A - Machine for incorporating stiffeners in boots and shoes - Google Patents

Description

F. Ricks "MACHINE FOR INOGRPORATING STIFFENERS IN BOOTS AND SHOES Filed Aug. 10, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2a 52 so 56' J4 24 igl Oct. 16, 1928.

F. RICKS MACHINE FOR INCORPORATING STIFFENERS IN BOOTS AND SHOES Filed Aug. 10. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4.

Patented Oct. 16, 1928.

barren STATES PATENT orrics.

FRED KICKS, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHQE MACHINERY GOR- PORATION, OF PAT E RSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION (1F NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR INCORPORATING STIFFENERS IN BOOTS ANDv SHGES.

Application filed August 10, 1925, Serial No..49,307, and in Great Britain September 12, 1924.

This invention relates to machines for placing and for pressing into place in the uppers of boots and shoes, preparatory to the pulling-over and lasting operations, stiffen-ere which require some preliminary treatment such as dipping them in a solvent or subjecting them to heat in order to render them sticky and pliable.

BOX-toe blanks of this general type are commonly incorporated in the uppers of boots and shoes in two ways (1) by stitching or stapling them in place and by putting them loosely into the upper and depending upon their sticky quality when softened and upon pressure to fix them in position in the upper, the present invention being concerned with a machine for use in carrying out the last-named procedure. For example, a thermoplastic box-toe blank in its stiff condition is commonly placed in position between the proper layers of material at the toe portion or the upper, and then said toe portion, with the blank in place, subjected to the action of a heated press whereby the blank is softened by the heat and pressed into the layers of the pper to fix it in place.

tions is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,443,378, granted Jan. 30, 1923,

upon an application filed in the name of Ordway, said machine being adapted for use only with uppers before they are assembled upon lasts. i In incorporating a box toe'blank in an up per in the manner which has been described above, the operator works at a disadvantage by reason of the fact that, in inserting the box-toe blank in the upper preparatory to the pressing operation, he must do three things at the same time, namely hold the upper down upon a table or other support, pull back certain layers at the toe portionof the upper and insert the box-toe blank in position.

According to the present invention, there are provided upper supporting means for facilitating the insertion of the stiffener and means for pressing theinserted stiffener into place, whether the upper is on orofi the last. The pressing means may be heated, as n the machine of the patent; or, if deslred, the

ings A machine for ac complishing the heating and pressing opera pressing means may be cold, and the stiffener rendered soft and sticky prior to the presentaterial of the upper and to insert the stitfener between the proper layers.

Thls and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described as embodied in an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now Figure 1 shows in side elevation a machine, according to the invention, for supporting an upper assembled upon a last to facilitate the insertion of a box-toe blank, and having means forpressing the toe portion of the upper;

Figure 2 showsdiagrammatically on an enlarged scale a portion of materials of an. upper supported by'the machine of Figure 1 at a certain stage in a preferred way of using the machine; V

Figure 3 shows inside elevation another form of machine according to the invention; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 3. I r

The machine shown in Figure 1 has means for supporting an upper whether on'or oil the last in such manner as to leave both hands of an operator free to manipulate the toe portion of the upper while he inserts a box-toe blank in proper position in the upper as hereinafter described, and means for thereafter pressing the toe portion of the upperv so supported, with the box-toe blank in position in, the upper, so as to attach the blank to oneor more adjacent layers of the upper.

For holding orsupporting the last, the machine comprises an abutment 1 for the heel end of a last, a last pin 2 movably mounted and adapted to press a last 3 placed to the accompanying draw- 7 underthe base.

thereon against the abutment 1 and a table 4 upon which the toe portion of the upper may be held while a box-toe blank is positioned upon it.

The last-heel [abutment 1' is conveniently lined with felt or the like and is V shaped, extending upwardly and at a small angle to the vertical from a base 5 which carries astandaid 6 on which a lever 7 carrying the last pin: 2 is pivotally mounted.

The lever 7 carries the last pin pointing downwardly and forwardly on one of its ends, and the other end extends'rearwardly of the pivot and is-connected at 8 to a treadle (not shown) placed horizontal and is surrounded by a spiral springlO which tends'to move the last p nto} wards the abutment 1, the last pm'bemg roughly p'arallel,in the position'shown, to the'line forming the apex of the V" of the abutment. As shown in liigaire 1, the'last 3 held by the pin 2 andabutm'ent 1 occupies a position bottom down with the toeport'ion' pointing upwardly towards the operator;

The table l'is' supported by legs'11 upon the base 5 and is positioned at a small angle to the horizontal, so that the toe portion of an upper assembled'on the last 3, but heldat its rear end between the last and abutment 1, may b'eturn'ed backwardly over the table 4 and there held by the operator in his full View, inside uppermost, while the box-toe blank is being inserted as hereinafter described. I p A Inus'ing the machln'e the operator places an upperupon a last and depresses'the treadle mentioned, thus liftingthe last pi'n2' away from the heel abutment 1. He then places the last upon the pin and releases the treadle.

Release of the treadle causes'thelast to be clamped between the pin and abutment with the forepart of the last closely under the table 4 and the tip line of the upper adjacent to the edgeof the table. The toe portion of the upper is then turned back uponthe table and held there by one hand ofthe operatorwhile the blank is inserted by the other hand, no manual holding of the last being required. A second depression of the treadle at the conclusion of the use of the machine releases the last.

An'upper as placed on its last generally comprises, besides the material composing the actual toje tip which will be visible when the shoe is in wear, one or more layers of fabric of an absorbent nature. It will be assumed that the upper is of this kind and that these last-mentioned materials are attached to: gether by stitches'running across the toe tip from side to side of the shoe near the tip line so that the rear edge of the visible toe tip overlaps the forward edge of the vamp ofthe up-,

per; and it will be further assumedthatth'e boX-toeblank' to be used is'a composite one made of two separate pieces, the one ther- The pivot 9 of'the lever 7'is" doubters.

and the machine enables the position of this layer to be thus fixed with singular facility. Referring more particularly to Fig.2, it will be seen thatthe upper of the shoe is so held that the rear edge of the toe tip H is'adjacent to' thero'unded edge of the table 4 so that, if the toe tip is pressed'down upon the table and the fabric layers '17 18 pulled back,-

thetoe tip is bent away from the forward edge of the vamp 13t0 provide a groove or pocket into which. the operator may place thebottom "or rear edge o'f the piece 15 which has been previously wet so asto be soft and pliable.

The thermoplastic piece may then be inserted while hot and soft'and then the layers all secured together as usual-by a mere wipe ofthe fingersor hand to press them firmly together and ensure adherence, but, as hereinafter indicated, themachine comprises apresser that may be used 'for this latter purpose. It will be apparent that the machinemay be use'd'in the manner described to incorporate' 1n an'upperany box-toe blank which is'sticky. In Figure 2,-theportions- 16, 1'?

and'lS'represent respectively a lin'ing proper not-attachedto the upper atthe toe. portion, and two layers of fabric, usually known-as Dealing now with the aforementioned pressingarrangements of the machine of Figure '1, the presser 20 is mounted upon a stem 21'which 'can'mo ve up and down in a bore in a bracket member 22"slidably car-riedby a bar 23"which is'adapted to slide horizontally in bearings 24, 25, carried at the upper endsof exten'sio'ns'26, 2-7 of the standard 6. The rear endofthebar 23 is connectedby a cord 28 to a second treadle', by. depression-off which the rod may be broughtforwardly to theposition shown against the pressure of spiral springs 29, 30 confined by collars 31, 32'fixed on the'rod'28'. Pivoted upon the bracket 22 at 33 isa bell-cranklever Slslotted at its ends to engage pins. 36 fixed respectively upon the stem 21an'd' the bar 23. The bracket also carries'a'stop 37 for the lever 34.

Except when in use for pressing the toe portion of an upper the presser 20, bracket 22 and lever 3e occupy the positions indicated by the dotted lines 260,- 220and 340, the bar 23 being maintained in a-rearward position by thesprings 29, 30. o By a pull upon the cord 28 the bar 23 moves forward carr in with it the bracket 22 which is propelled by the spring until it reaches the bearing 24:. The bracket being thus stopped, further movement of the bar 23 and pin 36 causes rock-. ing movement of the lever' l into the position shown and causes depression of the presser 20 upon the table l. The treadleby which the cord 28 is pulled is latched in position if it is desired to hold the presser down without action by'the operator.

On release of the treadle, the springs 29, 3O expand, the action of the latter being to hold the bracket 22 in its forward position until the lever 84 contacts with the stop 37, the presser 20 being thereby raised from its pressing position before moving rearwardly, this latter movement being for the purpose of affording ample clearance formanipulation of the work on the table 4, it being understood that, in order to operate as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2, there should be abundant room above the table 4 for various layers such as 17, 18 to be turned back, the box-toe blank inserted, and the layers returned to position over the blank, all while the toe cap lies'on the table 4 .As shown, the presser 20 is so mounted and operated that the squeezing pressure is distributed uniformly over the blank; it may, however, be mounted so that the pressure is concentrated along the rear margin of the blank to secure the advantageous thinning of that margin by pressure upon the soft materialof the blank, as in the press of'the United States patent.

In addition to its pressing mechanism, the device of Figure 1 comprises an upper clamping finger adapted to clamp upon the top face of the table 4 at the rear margin thereof the extreme toe portion of the toe tip of the upper. Such a finger is shown at 40, extending from the hub of the lever 7, so that, as the last pin 2 moves toward the abutment 1 to clamp the last 3, the finger comes down towards the upper lying on the table. A stop pin 42 is provided to limit the upward movcv ment of the spring 4L0 so that it does not interfere with the rearward movement ofthe presser 20. p The machine has been described above as provided with a presser 20, a last holder 2 and a clamping finger 40. It should be noted, however, that certain of these parts may be omitted or not used under certain circumstances without destroying the utility of the machine. For example, it may be desired to place a softened thermoplastic blank in an upper before the upper is assembled upon the last in which case the last holder is not required. In such case the toe portion of the upper may be placed upon the table i and held there by engagement of the clamp 40 with the toe tip while the operator inserts the softened blank in the upper.

I The form of machine shown in Figures 3 and a is designed only for use in incorporating a box-toe blank in an upper which is already assembled upon a last. The pressing parts comprise a table 52 and a presser which, as in the machine described in the patent referred to above, squeeze between them the toeportion of the upper and the blank by reason of the descent of an arm 51 on which the presser is pivoted.

The machine comprises an extension from the base 53 of the press composed of two vertical ribs 55, spaced apart a convenient distance (about two inches) to support the cone of a last between them. The ribs 55 extend horizontally forward towards an operator of the press for about ten inches, there terminatingin vertical front ends 56, the tops of the and the ribs are mutually rigidly positioned. conveniently upon a common supporting bench or board to which all are united and which is cutaway between the ribs so as to leave clearance for even a high upper to hang down between them. ribs are beveled off downwardly towards each other providing a V support for the cone of a-last resting upon them. Eurther last holding means is provided by a last toeend sup port mounted on the end of the presser-carry ing armfil of the press, This support is composed of a wire 57, U shaped when viewed from above, with its ends attached to the 7 arm and extending forwardly and down wardly therefrom towards the operator and the ribs.

In using the machine, the operator place a last (on which an upper has been assembled) toe end upwards with the cone of the last between the front ends of the ribs as shown at the right in Figure 3, said ribs being beveled inwardly as shown in Figure 4-. The substantially upright last thus sup ported rests against the chest of the operator so that the operator has both his hands free. He can then place a b :r-toe blank in correct position between the layers of the toe portion of the upper, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 3. Then, holding the upper at either side at the tip line, he will draw the upper towards the press, passing the toe pormay 'tion of the upper, with the previously in serted box-toe blank, in between the presser and the table of the press and its tip line adjacent the edge of the table. In this movement the last necessarily follows the upper and travels sole upwards with its cone m the guideway between the ribs. As the toe end of the upper enters bet-ween the presser and the table, the toe end of the last engages the support 57, is lifted thereby, and is held,

as shownyabov e the presser, the rear end of the last remaining supported on the ribs.

The top edges of the ribs being approximately on a level with the top of the table 52 of the press. The press press is unheated-,but, if the-press is heated and the heat-resistant layer is of fabric impregnated with a water soluble gum, ad

vantage may be taken of the heating of the press to facilitate fining the gummed fabric layer in position in the upper, since the heat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A machine for incorporating a stiffener in the upper of a shoe having, in combination, upper supporting means for facilitating the insertion of the stiffener by the operator, and means for pressing the stiffener into place.

2. A machine ior incorporating a stiifener in the upper of a shoe having, in combination, a support for the upper constructed and arranged to permit the operator to .use both hands to manipulate the layers o'f the' upper and to inserta stiffener between select-- ed layers, and means for pressing the-stiffener into place.

3. A machine for incorporating a stiffener in the upper ot a shoe having, in combination, means for facilitating the support of an upper so as to leave both hands of the operator tree to manipulate the layers of the upper and to insert a stiliener between selected layers, and means for pressing the stiiiencr into place. I

4-. A machine for incorporating a stiffener in the upper or a shoe having, incombination, a table adapted to receive the toe portion of the upper, and means for supporting the upper in position to permit its toe por tion to lie upon the table.

5. A machine for incorporating a box-toe blank in the upper of a shoe having, in combination, a table adapted to receive the toe portion ot'the upper, n eans for supporting the upper in position to permit its toe portion to lie upon the table, and means for pressing the toe portion including on inserted bo2 -toe blank against the table.

6. A machine for incorporating a box-toe blank in the upper of a boot or shoe having, in combination, a. table, means'for support ing an upper assembled upon a last in position to permit the toe portion of the upper to lie upon the table, and means for pressing the toe portion including an inserted box-toe blank against the table. I

"tion is engaged by the press.

, A machine of the-class described having, in combination, a press adapted to eXertpressureupon-a portion otthe upper ofa shoe, and a support adjacent to the press for'hold ing an upper assembled upon a last in such manner thatthe manipulation ot th'e layers otthe upper and the insertion of a stiffener between selected layers ot the upper prior to the pressing operation is facilitated.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a press. adapted to exert'pressure upon a portion of theupper of a shoe, and a support adjacent to the press for holding an upper assembled upon a lastin such manner that the manipulation of the layers of the upper and the insertion of a stiffenerbetwecn selected-layers of. the upper prior to the pressing operation is facilitated, said support being constructedandarranged to engage the last at two separated localities during the pressing operation.

9. A. machine 01 the class described having, in combination, a press. adapted to exert pressure upon a portion of the upper of a shoe, and a support carried byv the frame of the press for holding a last with'theupper assembled thereon in such manner that the manipulation of the layers of the upp'erf and the insertionot' astifi'ener betwecn'selecte'd layers, prior to the pressing operation, is facilitated.

10. A machine of the class described having, in combination,-pressingmeclianism, and a support for anup'per assembledup'on a last, said support extending in' front of thepressing mechanism and having a recess to receive the cone of the last.

11. A machine ofthe classv described having, in combination, a press adapted to fix a vstiltenerin position in-theu'pper' of a sho'c and a member adjace'ntto the press for sup porting an upper assembled upon ailast in two? positions, a position'in whichthe toe portion 01" the upper is accessibleto the operator and a position in which the toe por- 12; A machine of the class described having, in combination, pressing mechanism including a table and a presser, a'supp'ort for an upper assembled upon a last, said support having a-guideway "for the cone of the last extending toward the pressing mechanism so that apull exertedon the'toe portion of the upporin aldir'ection to'pla'ce' said toe'portion between the table and the press-er means for engagingthe toe p'ortion'o'f the last during such movement and'for' holding itduring the pressing operation.

13. A machine for incorpo'rating 'a boxtoe blank in-the upper of afboot'or shoe having, in combination, a. t'able and a member adapted to support an upper-assembled upon a last adjacent to the table with the toe end of the last pointing upward and the toe por-' will pull the last along the'gu'ideway, and I tion of the upper resting upon the table. upper resting upon the table,ra,nd means for 14. A machine for incorporating a box-toe pressing the toe portion of the upper against blank in the upper of a, shoe having, in c01nthe table. 10 hination', a table, a member adapted to sup- In testimony whereof I have signed my 5 port an upper assembled upon a last adjename to this specification.

cent to the table with the toe end of the last pointing upward and thetoe portion of the FRED KICKS.

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