US1687930A - Shoe rack - Google Patents

Description

' Oct. 16, 1928.

' I w. E. COOMBES SHOE RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 19. 1926 JW Z Oct. 16, 1928.

W. E. COOMBES sacs RACK Filed July 13. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Get. 16, 1928.

UNITED STATES A 1,687,930 PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN E. coormns, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T UNITED snon MACHINERY oonrorm'rrou, or PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION on NEW JERSEY.

SHOE RACK.

Application filed July 19,.

This invention relates to shoe racks such as are used to hold shoes between shoe-making operations and to carry them from one part of a factory to another during the various stages of their manufacture.

One of the most serious problems which have confronted shoe manufacturers has been that of economizin-g in the amount of floor space occupied by racks utilized for carrying shoes. This problem has been aggravated by the fact that care must be exercised to insure that the shoes are held in such a way as to avoid injury to them as they are carried in the racks and by the .fact that during some stages in the manufacture of shoes, it is desirable or necessary to carry shoes bottom side up, and during other stages it is desirable to carry the shoes in right side up position. 1

In view of these facts, it has been'the practice, in some factories, to make use of specially designed shoe racks of several dif ferent types in connection with the various shoe-making operations. For example, in the making room a'shelf rack is employed in connection with all operations up to the operation in which the bottom filling is inserted in the shoes; in connection with that operation and subsequent operations up to the time the lasts are pulled, a rack comprising pins for supporting shoes bottom side up is utilized; anchafter the lasts are pulled another type of shelf rack is employed for carrying the shoes in the treeiug and packing rooms where the finishing operations are performed. I

This has resulted in the necessity of maintaining at hand a large number of racks of each type employed in order that, if opera.- tions are held up at one point, workmen performing operations earlier in the process of shoe-making may be supplied withraclrs of the proper type. Thus, in addition to the highcost of maintaining such racks, a large amount of valuable floor space is occupied by them, and considerable storage space.

must be provided for surplus racks temporarily outof use. i

Accordingly, with a view tov reducing the cost of making shoes, some factories have made use of one type-0f shoe rack throughout the entire process of shoe-making. f This presents'the advantage that, as the racks'are emptied, they can be shifted from onefpart- 1926. Serial No. 128,386.

of the factory to another for use in connection with any operation for which they may be needed; In this way, the number of racks requiredis considerably reduced, less floor space is required than where racks of several types are used, and little or no storage space for surplus racksis necessitated.

To this end, use has been made of a rack construction ofthe type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,556,425, granted October 6, 1925, upon an application filed in the name of W. E. Coombes 'et al., which comprises relatively flat shoe-supporting members, or pins, arranged for contacting with the heel parts of uppers of shoes carried in the rack bottom side up, atoe rest being provided to assist in positioning and supporting the foreparts of the shoes.

The rack construction referred to is particularly adapted for use in cairying shoes bottom side up, in a small amount of space, without subjecting the shoes to the lih lihood of injury, butv at the, same time is constructed and arranged for so holding the shoes that they can be readily removed from the rack. This rack is used normally for carrying lasts or shoes bottom side up between operations performed upon shoes vent discoloration of the shoes from contact with the shoe-supporting members. Thus a rack of the type referred to can be used for carrying shoes at any stage in the process of shoe-making.

One difliculty which has beenexperienced in using such racks in the manner above inn dicated is that if shoes are placed upright upon the covered pins with the heel ends of the shoes exten dingtoward the front of the rack, the shoes ride up, on the toe rest, are

notevenly supported, and consequently tend.

to jostle one another, slide toward the back of the rack, and strike the backrail in such a way as to causeinjury to the uppers of the shoes.

Onthe other hand, if the shoes are placed, with their heel ends extending toward the back of the rack, the counters of the shoes are likely to be scraped or gouged by contact with the back rail, especially when the covers become worn, or are discolored by the back rail or flannel cover in cases .where the same rack is used successively for carrying black shoes and shoes of lighter colors. An additional objection to carrying shoes in this manner is that in order to prevent discoloration of the foreparts by contact with the hands of the operator, the shoes are grasped at the heel ends in removing them from the rack. This necessitates removal of the shoes from the back of the rack, which is inconvenient or even difficult for the reason that the shoes must be lifted over the back rail.

In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides an improved rack for carrying shoes, in which shoe-supporting and shoe-positioning members are arranged for adjustment relatively to each other to render the rack convertible for different uses.

Preferably, and as herein shown, the rack is provided with a plurality of shoe-supporting pins, across which extends a movable bar which can be located in either one of a plurality of positions along the pins by means of grooves in the body por ion of the rack adapted to receive the ends of the bar. In one position the bar serves as a toe rest for shoes carried in the rackbottom side up, and in the other position the bar serves as a heel stop for shoes carried in the rack in upright position.

These and other features of the invention will be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and are disclosed in the accompaying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rack embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2' is a detailed perspective view illustrating a portion of a rack with the adjustable bar in position to carry shoes bottom side up;

Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view illustrating the bar in position to carry shoes right side up; and

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of an end of the bar.

The illustrated rack, as shown in Fig. 1, comprises bottom frame members 10 and end frame members 12 composed of steel angle sections secured together to form a rigid structure by means of braces 14 and 16, diagonals 18 and 20, and a tie rod 22. The bottom frame members 10 are provided with casters 24 and bumpers 26 of well-known construction. Spaced from the bottom members 10 are bars 28 and cross pieces 30 which form a shelf for carrying boxes containing shoe parts. 7

Riveted to inner portions of the end members 12 are channel sections 32 positioned to engage and support wooden shelves 34 which constitute the shoe-supporting portions of the rack.

Each of the shelves 34 (see Figs. 1 and 2) comprises end pieces 36 connected by a back rail 38 and a pin bar 40. Sec'uredtothe' upper surface of the pin bar 40 by means of screws 42 are a plurality of shoe-supporting members or pins 44, the rear ends of which are received in a groove 46 formed in the back rail 38. The pins adjacent the end pieces 36 are positioned in grooves 48. The bar 40, groove 46, and grooves 48 are inclined to the horizontal in such manner that the pins 44 are supported with their free ends tilted upwardly toward the front of the rack. The construction just described provides means for securely supporting the pins, but at the same time readily permits removal of the pins for purposes of replacement.

The pins are of the alternate wide and narrow construction disclosed in the aforementioned patent, and are adapted normally to receive and support between them shoes in inverted position with the heel end portions of the uppers of the shoes in contact with the edges of the pins.

Means is provided for assisting in the supporting and positioning of shoes either in inverted position or in upright position. As herein shown, this means comprises a bar 50 provided at each end with a tenon 52 as illustrated in Fig. 4. The end pieces 36 of each shelf are provided with two sets of substantially vertical grooves 54 and 56, equally spaced from the back rail 38 at opposite ends of the shelf and shaped to receive the tenoned ends of the bar 50 to hold it, selectively, in either one of two positions in each of which the bar extends across the pins parallel to the back rail. The two operative positions of the bar are illustrated in Fig. 1 in connection with the showing of the'upp'er and the lower shelves respectively.

The use of the rack is best illustrated with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. V 7

As indicated in Fig. 2, the bar 50 is positioned in the grooves 54 which operate to locate the bar in position to actas a toe rest for shoes, such as a shoe 58, the heel portion of which is supported upon the edges of'the pins 44. This constitutes the normal use of the rack, and the bar 50 ordinarily willbe left in the position shown until the rack is to be used as a treeing and packing room rack. The bar 50 is then removed from the grooves 54, a-cover 60 of flannel, paper or other sheet material is placed over the pins, as shown in Fig. 3, and the bar is inserted in the grooves 56. In this position the bar acts as a heel stop for shoes, such as a shoe 62 placed on the cover 60, in upright position with its shank extending over the bar 50 and its heel in contact with that portion their heel ends extending outwardly as to be readily accessible from the front of the rack.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ot the United States is 1. A shoe rack comprising a plurality of shoe-supporting members, a shoe-positioning member, and means for locating the positioning member relatively to the shoe-supporting members in positions for contacting with different portions of shoes carried in the rack at different stages of their manufacture for maintaining the shoes in position upon the supporting members.

2. A shoe rack compris'ng a plurality of shoe-supporting pins, and a bar selectively adjustable into a plurality of positions along the pins for contacting with different portions of shoes carriedin the rack at different stages in the process of their'manutacture for mainta ning the shoes either in upright or in inverted position upon the pins.

3. In a shoe rack for carrying shoes either right side up or bottom side up, a plurality of shoe-supporting members, a movable bar extending across the shoe-supporting members, and means selectively effective to hold 'the bar in posit on to act as a heel stop for shoes carried right side up upon the shoesupporting members, .or to hold the bar in position to act as a toe rest for shoes carried bottom side up upon the shoe-supporting members.

4. A shoe rack comprising a plurality of shoe-supporting members, and a member adjustable along the shoe-supporting members into posit on to act as a toe rest for shoes carried in the rack bottom side up, Or into position to act as a heel stop for shoes carried in the rack in upright position.

5. A shoe rack comprising a plurality of shoe-suppor ing pins, a movable bar extendng across the pins, means for locating the bar along the pins in position to act as a toe rest for shoes carried on the pins bottom side up, and means for locating the bar along the pins in position to act as a heel'stop for shoes carried in the rack in upright position.

6.. A shoe rack comprising members for supporting shoes in inverted position, a member for positioning shoes carried upon the supporting members, the positioning member being adjustable relatively to the supporting members for rendering the rack convertible to use in carrying shoes in upright position, and means for holding the positioning member in various positions of adjustment. 7

7. A shoe rack comprising a plurality of members, operative normally for supporting shoes 11 inverted position, a shoe-positioning member extending across the shoe-supportlng members, and .meansfor co-ope'rating with the shoe-positioning member to locate it in either one of a plurality of positions along the shoe-supporting members.

8. A shoe rack comprising a frame, end I members supported in the frame, a pin bar connecting the end members, shoe-supportingmembers mounted on the pin bar, a movable bar extending across the pins, and grooves in the end members for co-operatmg with the movable bar to locate it in either one of a plurality of positions along the pins. V

-9' A shoe rack shelf for carrying shoes either bottom side up or right side up, comprising end members, a plurality of shoesupporting members and a movable bar extending across the shoe-supporting members, the end members being provided with grooves for receiving. the bar to hold it n position to act as a heel stop for shoes carried right side up, the end members also being provided with grooves for receiving the bar to hold it in position to act as atoe rest for shoes carried bottom side up.

10. 'A shoe rack shelf comprising end pieces, a connecting member and a back rail,

shoe-supporting members carried by the connecting member and back rail, the end pieces being provided with a plurality of sets of substantially vertically extending grooves,

anda removable bar constructed and ar- ARRENE. GOOMBES.

have signed my

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