US1929738A - System of assembling shoes - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 10, 1933. M, Q FROST 1,929,738

SYSTEM OF AS-SEMBLING.' SHOES4 Filed Aug. 24, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ad d.; Y

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Patented Oct. l0, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SYSTEM OF ASSEMBLINGl SHOES Application August 24, 1931. serial No. 558,923

4 Claims.

This invention, relates generally to the manufacture of shoes, and vparticularly to a system of arranging the operators stations for the attachment ofwooden heels. This application is in 5 part a continuation of my prior co-pending application, Serial No. 530,266, filed April 15, 1931, as to common subject matter. Letters Patent 1,863,557 which has been issued to me covers.V

another modiycation of the present system. I0 It has been the customary practice in shoe factories heretofore to transport shoes by cases from one operation station to the next succeeding operation station, it being the usual practice to transport the shoes in a rack which is generally adapted to accommodate an entire case of shoes. In accordance with this practice an individual rack `generally accommodating an entire case of shoes, is positioned adjacent the station of each individual operator of the shoe factory andthe operator who is assigned a particular rack of shoes ordinarily7 completes all of the required operations upon the particular rack or case of shoes before it proceeds to another operator for a different series of operations. It is apparent, therefore, that in shoe factories which are thus operated a great many cases of shoes are held up at the various operators stations and there are in fact relatively few of these shoes which are at any time being operated upon, the remainder thereof, as will be understood, remaining idle. In accordance with the present invention, however, it is intended to break up the various racks or cases of shoes and allow the same to proceed either independently or in small quantites to a number of operators who may concurrently operate upon the same case, and each shoe upon being completed at one st ation may immediately proceed to the nextsucce'eding station for the required operation so that the delay which has been heretofore g experienced is thus avoided and with the system of vthe present invention it is apparent that various shoes constituting the same case may be in position for various different operations concurrently in View of the `fact that the shoes are progressed individually rather than collectively as a case, as has been heretofore the practice.

The object of this invention generally stated is to provide a system for the manufacture of shoes which the shoes upon the completion of each operation areindividually progressed to position for the next operation."

A further object of this invention is to provide an arrangement of operators stations which will permit the employment of a greater number of operators whose operations require a substantially longer period of timeand a lesser number of operators whose operations may be completed with relative rapidity.

A particular object of this invention is to provide a system of operations for the fitting and attachment of shoe heels, particularly of the high or wood type.

yA more specic object of this invention is to provide a system of arranging the operators of a wood heel attaching unit in which each individual operator will be continuously occupied with the same duties. and in which upon the completion of the operation at one station the shoes may be individually progressed to the next succeeding station. 70

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description is read in connection with Vthe accompanying drawings throughout the various views of which like reference characters denote similar parts in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatlcal plan view showing an arrangement of operators for the attachment of wooden heels in accordance with one embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatical view showing an arrangement 'of the wood heel attaching unit illustrated in Figure 1 in relation to the preceding operations in a shoe factory.

Generally stated, in accordance with this invention, there is provided a plurality of operators, such as for instance the wood heel fltters, Whose operations require a considerable period of time, and arranged in convenient position to receive work from all of these Wood heel tters may be provided a single heel attacher, it being understood that the period of time required for the attachment of a wood heel is considerably shorter than that required for the fitting thereof.k As the system proceeds, the number of operators who may be provided vfor the accomplishment of a Aparticular operation are preferably varied in accordance with the period of time required for the respective operations, there being more operators for accomplishing the slower operations than for accomplishing the rapid operations.

Referring now particularly to Figure 1 for an illustrative embodiment of this invention, the shoes may, from another department of vthe shoe factory, be conveyed from the shoe supply into the room illustrated, by means of a suitable conveyor or chute l, which in the present instance operates to convey the shoes from the bottoming room and deposits them upon a suitable table 2. An operator may be stationed adjacent the table 2 for removing the -shoes therefrom and positioning them in the usual rack, employed in the shoe factory and adapted to convey an entire case of shoes, such as for instance 3; When the opera- ,continuous operation and in accordance with the present system sufficient shoes will be available to supply an additional rack in position 4, when-one rack has been completed. This step in the procedure, is however, preliminary to the system of this invention which will now be described.

After the operations upon the entire rack of shoes 4 have been completed by one of the levelers.

5, the racks 4 are removed therefrom to a suitable position such as for instance adjacent a wood heel supply table 6 where workmerr'may be pro.

vided, who in accordance with the order number or other identification of the rack which has proceeded from the leveler, will supply thereto a suitable number of wooden heels which have proceededto their position from the usual storage room.

After the operator 6 hasaccumulated the heels corresponding to the shoes'on the rack adjacent the station, theshoes of the particular rack may be distributed among a plurality of heel tters with their corresponding heels. For instance, one rack may be distributed among the group of heel tters 7 and a different rack may be distributed among the group of heel tters 8. It is apparent, therefore, that there isprovided a series of heel fitting stations which are arranged in groups 7 and 3 so that a single rack of shoes may be conveniently Within one group or among the series of operators comprising both groups 7 and 8. Adjacent the station of the heel litters 7 and 8 a suit. able divided conveyor 9 is preferably provided. The conveyor 9 maybe of any suitable'type such as for instance a belt conveyor and is preferably centrally divided by suitable partition, such as 11 in order that segregation of separate cases is possiblewhen separate cases are supplied the groups 7 and 3. After the heel tters have performed their operations upon the heel seat, which generally consists of trimming and fitting the heel in position, the individual shoes with the corresponding heels may be laid upon the conveyor 9 by which they are transported toward the end thereof.

Adjacent the end `of the conveyor 9 a plurality of heel attaching stations 12 and 13 are provided. In th embodiment here shown, the heel attacher 12 may operate upon the output of the group of heel tters 7 while the attacher 13 may operate .on the output of the group of heel tters 8. In view of the fact -that the period of time required for the heel attaching operation at stations 12 and 13 is considerably shorter than the period of time required to properly fit a Wooden heel and form a heel seat, it is possible for one heel attacher to accommodate the entire output of the four individual operators which comprise the separate groups. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to a system in which the group of heel tters consists of four operators, since it will be readily apparent that with the use of some types of heel fitting machines the operators may produce a greater quantity of work in some instances than is produced by hand operation, and it is to be understood, therefore,

that the number of operators comprising thel various series and groups of this invention may be varied in accordance with operating conditions.

From this point, the route provided for shoes which are provided with the so-called Louis heels is quite different from the route followed by shoes provided with Cuban or Box heels, by the fact that the former are provided with a leaf that must be treated and fitted against the breast of the heel, whereas no such operation is necessary with the Cuban or Box heels.

When the heel attachers 12 and 13 conclude their operations upon shoes provided with heels of the Louis type, the shoes may be'deposited upon a convenient conveyor or chute 14,- which is preferably centrally divided by a suitable partition 15 in order to maintain the individual cases segregated. Positioned adjacent the chute or conveyor 14 a skiver 16 may be provided. The duty of the skiver 16, generally comprises roughly trimming the leaf to size and shape of the heel, as well as skiving the edges thereof and since it is apparent that such operations as these require a relatively short period of time, one such operator is sufficient to handle the combined output of heel attachers 12 and 13.

-The skiver 16, upon completion of his operaorder that the separate cases may be maintained.

in segregation and at the end of the conveyor or chute 17 is provided a station for a series of -operators 19 whose duties for instance consist in tacking the sole directly in front of the breast line of the heel and perhaps' performing a sanding operation upon the joint formed between the breast of the heel and the adjacent sole portion. In view of the fact that such operation ordinarily requires substantially twice the period of time required for the operation of the skiver 16 upon each individual shoe, the output of the skiver 16 is divided between the respective operators 19. When the operators 19 have concluded their operations the shoes may be deposited upon a suitable chute or conveyor 20, also preferably centrally divided by suitable partition 21 in order to maintain the individual cases of shoes segregated.

At station 22 adjacent the end of the conveyor or chute 20, an operator is provided whose duty it is to apply suitable cement to the breast of the heel as well as to the leaf, and disposed immediately behind the cementing station 22 may be provided a suitable drier such`as 23 of any suitable type, such as for instance that disclosed in to. `The drier is also preferably divided centrally by a suitable partition or marker 24, in

order that the respective cases of shoes may be maintained in segregation. It may be pointed out that the drier 23 is preferably of a conveying type, moving at a suiiiciently slow rate of speed that sucient time will lapse between the depositing of shoes thereon until removal thereof that the cement applied at station 22 will have suflicient time to set.

After the drier 23 has moved through sufiicient distance to bring the shoes into position adjacent operators station 25, the respective operators 25 remove the shoes from `the corresponding sides of the drier 23 and perform a so-called laying-up operation upon the shoes which consists in laying the sole-leaf upl against the breast of the heel and rubbing out the creases in order that a smooth surface results. It is` apparent that such operation as this requires considerably more time than the application of cement and accordingly there are in the embodiment illustrations in the drawings providing two operators at station 25, while there is provided but one operator at cementing station 22.

From the 'operators at. station 2,5, the shoes may proceed through Vsuitable chutes or conveyors 26, also preferably centrally divided as by partition 27 to operators station 28 at which the operators accurately trim the laid-up leaf against the breast of the shoe in order to bring the same into conformity with the heel and upon completion of this operation the shoes proceed through a suitable chute or conveyor 29, preferably provided with a divided partition such as for instance 31.-

Adjacent the end the chute or conveyor 29 is a brushing station 32, it depending upon the extent of the brushing necessary in a particular factory, either one or two operators may be pro- -vided to brush the output of the system just def scribed along the heel portion. Uponthe completion of this brushing operation the shoes may be deposited in a suitable chute or conveyor as 33, by which theyare conducted to a series of operators 34 whose duty it is to trim the front overlapping edge of the top lift into conformity and alignment with the breast of the heel, it being understood that it is the usual practice in shoe factories in the manufacture of Louis heeled shoes that the front portion of the top lift be not trimmed until the flap is laid-up. In view of the fact that such a trimming operation takes place.

at 34 requires but little time, the operators'thereat may deposit shoes 'upon completion of the trimming operation upon one of the racks 35. As one of the racks 35 becomes completely filled, the operator who performs the cutting operation at 34, andv who has just filled the rack may move the same into a drier 36, which may be' of any suitable well known type and may or may not be provided with suitable mechanism for advancing the respective racks therethrough after being placed in positions 37. It may be pointed out thatvthe chute 33 is considerably larger than the various chutes or conveyors which have heretofore been referred to and it is apparent that with a chute thus formed the operators at 34 will have sufficient time to move the racks 35 to position 37 within the drier 36 and without blocking the system, in view of the fact that a substantial quantity of shoes may accumulate within the chute 33 without blocking the same.

The arrangement of operatorsstations referred to may be conveniently denominated as a team, it

being understood that the arrangement just described is complete within itself for cooperation upon shoes which are provided with heels of the Louis type. Thereis, however, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure l, provided a duplicate unit or team to that which has just been described, but it will be distinctly understood that one such team may be readily operated without operating the other and it is apparent, therefore, that the system is extremely flexible and may be accommodated to the necessary output of the factory in which it is installed.

Conveniently positioned between the team or unit just described and the duplicate unit or team 38, an operators station 39 is provided. A suitable chute or conveyor 41 extends from position adjacent to the station of the attacher 12 to the station 39 andlikewise 'a similar chute or conveyor 42 is positioned for transporting shoes from the attacher 13 to the station 39 and similar conveyors or chutes are provided for conveying shoes from the attacher stations of the duplicate unit 38 to the station 39. The function of the operator stationed at 39 is one of dressing or finishing the joint between the soleand a heel of the Box or Cuban type. V n o y It may be pointed out'that vin the factory of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 of thedrawings, the output of shoes provided with Box` or Cuban heels is much less than the output of shoes provided with Louis heels and accordingly it is` possible for one jointer stationed at 39 to handle the entire output of both of the teams of heel tters and attachers. In view of the fact, however, that when shoes provided with heels of the Cuban or Box type do begin to come through their unit, they will invariably come of quantity approaching that of an entire case, it is necessary to make some accommodations adjacent the jointer 39 which will permit such shoes to accumulate without blocking the entire system. It will be observed, therefore, that the chutes or conveyors .A

41 and 42, as well as the chutes or conveyors extending from the attachers of the duplicate unit 38 to the station 39 are of substantial length and in this way it is possible for almost an entire case of shoes to be accumulated in one of the chutes or conveyors without blocking the system. Furthermore, in this manner the jointer stationed at 39 is as a general rule provided with work continuously regardless of the fact that the output of Cuban or Box heels is relatively small. Upon completion of the operations at station 39 the operator thereat may deposit the shoes operated upon in a suitable-rack 43 which may be moved into the drier 36 as were the racks 35 containing Louis heels.

After the racks of shoes have remained in the drier 36 for a time sufficient t`o properly temper the leather, the racks may be removed therefrom, suchv as for instance from the opposite end of the drier to that at which they entered, and from thence theyproceed to the finishing operations such as for instance the system of each trimmer designated generally as 44 which system is more fully described in my co-pending application, Serial No.530,266 led April 15. 1931.

Referring now particularly to Figure 2, the environment of the system of the type just described is diagrammatically illustrated. The systems illustrated in Figure 2 are preferably arranged in such a manner within a room of a shoe factory that work coming into the particular room may proceed down one wall thereof across the back thereof and return along the opposite wall in the direction opposite to that which it rst moved. In the particular embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 the entrance to the room which may be an elevator or doorway may be, for instance disposed at the lower right hand corner of the drawings. It will be apparent,

therefore, that when work which in the present instance will be lasted shoes is brought into the room through the doorway just referred to it will be distributed among the various pounders 45, andfrom thence proceed to the series or' ironers 46, after which, if the shoes be of a delimediate stations 48 and 49, however, soles corresponding to the shoes upon the conveyor which operates to transport the shoes from the pound- 4ing-up stations 49 through the system, may be the shoes with the sols thus attached reach station 51, theyare delasted and proceed to stitchers 52, after which they may berelasted as as station 53 and are then delivered to operators stationed at 54, whose duty it is to apply,ce ment to the channel flaps. After cementing the channel flaps as just described, the shoes may be deposited upon suitable driers as 55 and after remaining thereon for a sufficient time to permit the cement to set, the shoes are removed therefrom by operators at 56 whose duty it is to turn down the channel aps. At this point .in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the shoes are placed in the usual racks which may be subsequently located in position convenient for the battery of levelers 57.

After the completion of the leveling operation, the various racks of shoes may be distributed among the respective teams of heel tters, .attachers, and lflap appliers 58, 59, 61, each corresponding substantially to the system illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings and fully described hereinbefore. It will be noted that after the shoes have passed through team 58 they are deposited in a rack 62 disposed adjacent the top lift trimmer 34 as illustrated in Figure 1. Similarly the output of team 59 may be deposited in suitable racks disposed in position 63 and the output of team 61 may be deposited in suitable racks such as 64. After being deposited in the racks 62, 63 and 64, the respective racks may then be moved into adrier corresponding to drier 36 of Figure 1 and allowed to remain for a sunicient time to permit proper tempering thereof before proceeding to the finishing room. It is apparent, therefore, that in .the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 the terminus or exit from the system (the last element of which is comprised of the heel fitting, attaching and flap applying systems) the completed work is delivered to a position adjacent the entrance to the bottoming system which originates with pounders 45 and which bottoming system furnishes the subject matter of a co-pending application, SerialNo. 530,266, filed April 15, 1931. With the various sub-systems, including the bottoming system and the heel attaching systems which have been hereinbefore described, oo-ordinated, as in Figure 2, it is apparent that not only is the entrance to the system disposed conveniently to the elevator or entrance to the room,l but that upon completion of the work, the point where it Vmakes the exit from the system is also conveniently arranged to the entrance of the room; and it is apparent, therefore, that the movement of Work through a room of a shoe factory arrangedas in Figure 2 may be not only direct but free from impediments. Manipulation of the various racks may be thus accomplished with readiness and only near the entrance to the room; not as has been the case in the shoe factories heretofore, where great congestion has generally been prevalent.

In this specification reference has been had to various machines or devices designated in accordance with the operations they are to perform; such as heel attachers, etc. Such machines or devices are well known and in common use in various shoe factories and are illustrated in various catalogues, as well as patents, to which reference need not be had in order to enable those skilled in the art to obtain a full disclosure of the system embodying this invention. In many cases the various operations may be performed by hand and, in some cases, are performed by hand. Heel fitting and heel attaching may be performed either by hand or machine, while the heel flap is usually applied by hand. It is, therefore, to be understood, that where any operation is referred to it contemplates not only a machine but also a station at which an operator may be positioned in the system to perform the operation.

It will be seen from the above that the assemblies of shoe parts progress from station to station, the stations being arranged in series shunt relation in accordance with their relative capacities. For instance one of the operators 7, and operators 12 and 16 operate in series, and operators 16, 19 and 22 operate in shunt. Also, the operators in either leg of the shunt operate in series.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that many modifications of the systemof manufacturing shoes and particularly the system vof attaching wooden heels to lasted shoes will present themselves to those skilled in the art, which modifications will not depart from the spirit of this invention.

It is to be distinctly understood that such modifications or the use of such individual features or subcombinations of features as do not depart from the spirit of this invention are, although not specifically described herein, contemplated by and within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The art of making shoes in which parts of shoes are assembled and the assemblies progressed to successive stations Where successive operations are performed, characterized by the feature that the stations are arranged in series-shunt relation in accordance with relative capacities, that the assemblies are conveyed from a selected anterior station and guided directly to and distributed between several'selected posterior stations, and that the assemblies are conveyed from said several selected posterior stations and guided directlyy and moved to a selected and more posterior station.

2. The art of making shoes in which parts of shoes are assembled and the assemblies progressed to successive stations where successive operations are performed, characterized by the feature that the stations are arranged in series-shunt relation in accordance with their relative capacities, and that the assemblies are conveyed from a selected anterior station and guided directly to and distributed between several selected posterior stations and subsequently conveyed from said severalselected posterior stations and guided directly in a.plurality of paths' to a selected but more posterior station.,

3. The art'of making shoes in which parts of shoes are assembled and vthe assemblies progressed to successive stations where successive operations are performed, characterized by the feature that the stations are arranged in seriesshunt relation in accordance with their relative capacities, and that the assemblies are conveyed from a selected anterior station and guided directly to and distributed between several selected posterior stations and subsequently conveyed from at least two of said selected posterior stathat the assemblies are conveyed from a selected anterior station Aand guided directly to and distributed between several selected posterior .stations, said assemblies at a subsequent period being' convergingly conveyed and guided directly to at leastone more posterior station.

MYRON O. FROST.

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