US1980410A

US1980410A - Pulling-over machine

Info

Publication number: US1980410A
Application number: US694283A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jacob C Jorgensen
Original assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Current assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1933-10-19
Filing date: 1933-10-19
Publication date: 1934-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 1951-11-13

Description

NOV'. 13, 1934. 1l C, JORGENSEN 1,980,410

' PULLING-0VER MACHINE Filed-0ct. 19,. 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l Tigl.

Nov. 13, 1934. v J, Q JORGENSEN 1,980,410

PULLING-OVER MACHINE Filed Oct. 19, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 O 'A "3 lO/y) v l 7. I O I- l S L C" o PT i O 41 i :f

l f'* F'" l" t 'E $2 FIT-l I* N Q Il lit o 1W Q00 Qsi S33 Q l w E l l i l l l l i @mm Nov. 13, 1934. J, C JORGENSEN 1,980,410

PULLING-OYER MACHINE Filed Oct. 19, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 13, 1934 PTET FFE PULL-ING OVER MACHINE Jacob C. Jorgensen, Beverly, Mass., assigner to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 19, 1933, Serial No. 694,283

22 Claims.

This invention relates to upper-pulling or pulling-over machines and more particularly to an improved mechanism for controlling the relative movement between the upper-gripping means and the last in the upper-pulling operation. The

f are compressed by power-operated mechanism and which react in the upper-pulling operation until the force of the springs is balanced by the resistance of the upper. In such machines a sole rest and a heel rest are employed to afford support for the work, the pulled-over upper is held in tensioned condition upon the last by means of side clamps which for this purpose are moved inwardly toward the sides of the last, the margins of the upper are wiped over the edges of the last bottom and secured to the last by overlaying and tacking devices, and provision is made for opening the grippers to release the Lipper and for thereafter withdrawing the grippers out of the Way of the tacking devices in order that the latter may be moved into operative positions. In the normal use of a machine of this type the machine is brought to rest afterthe grippers have tensioned the upper over the last to perimt the workman to examine the shoe and if necessary manually to readjust the upper to insure its being properly positioned upon the last. Ihereafter, the machine is restarted to complete its cycle of operations and during this second stage in the cycle of the machine the grippers release the upper and the side clamps andthe overlaying devices perform their respective functions and take over control of the tensioned upper to prevent it from slipping back when released by the .l grippers- ,if a slow, steady pull upon the upper, and in which controllingr means is provided for relieving the retarding action of the fluid check at a predetermined time in the second stage of the cycle of operations of the machine so `that when the grippers release the upper the fluid check will no longer be effective to retard the upward movement of the grippers and as a result they will be withdrawn quickly to make Way for the tacking devices. In the machine disclosed in the abovementioned Letters Patent the controlling mechanism just referred to is operated through connections with the side clamps to relieve the action of the fluid check during the inward movements of the side clamps and before the upper has been firmly pressed by the side clamps against the last.

While this patented machine operates in an entirely satisfactory manner with respect to the relief of the retarding action of the fluid check under most conditions of use, it is possible for'an operative, by avoiding the expenditurel of any appreciable time for examining the work or readjusting the upper upon the last, to start the second stage of operations of the machine so quickly after the first stage has been completed that the resistance of the upper will not have been balanced by the pull of the updraw springs at the time when the action of the uid check is relieved. In such an event a sudden upward movement will be imparted to the side grippers, thereby causing the final stage of the upper-pulling movement to be jerky and to have some .tendency to tear or injure the upper if the latter is suiciently Weak or fragile as might be the case', for example, if

the upper were cut from extremely light spongy stock or from loosely fabricated textile material.

In View of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to provide still further insurance against possible injury to the uppers of shoes by the updraw movements of the gripping means of pulling-over machines. l

With the aboveand other objects in View, the means .employed in the illustrated machine for relieving the retarding action of the uid check, is rendered operative later in the cycle of operations of the machine than in machines as previously constructed and after theside clamps have been caused to press the pulled-over upper against the sides of the last, and preferably also after the overlaying devices or side Wipers have arrived in positionsV tok press the marginal portions of the upper against the edges of the insole on the last. By thus delaying the time when the retarding action of the fluid check is relieved more opportunity is afforded for the resistance of the upper to be balanced by the pull of the updraw springs before the fluid check is rendered ineiective to retard the upper-pulling movement of the grippers so that, as a practical matter, there is substantially less liability that any sudden upward pull of the grippers will occur, with possible resulting damage to the shoe upper. Moreover, by causing the side clamps and the overlaying devices to assume control of the upper to the extent of clamping it upon the sides of the last and pressing its marginal portions against the edge of the insole upon the last bottom before the retarding action of the fluid check has been relieved,

the upper will be held or controlled`v in such a manner that, even if the pull of the updraw springs has not been balanced by the resistance of the upper at that time, any resulting sudden or jerky pull of the grippers will be ineffective to tear or otherwise damage the upper in such a way as to interfere with the proper performance of any subsequent shoemaking operations -or to render the finished shoe imperfect in any respect. In the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, the action of the uid check is controlled by a valve through mechanism actuated by the cam which functions also operatively to position the heel rest, the valve being operated by the cam-controlled mechanism at a predetermined time in the cycle of operations of the machine which is subsequent to the movement of the heel rest into operative position and which, as already indicated, is after the side clamps and the overlaying devices have been moved into positions to control the tensioned upper and to clamp or hold it upon the last in such a way that not only will the upper have no tendency to slip back upon being released by the gripper-s but any sudden or jerky upward movement of the grippers just prior to their release of the upper will be incapable of injuring any portions of the upper thus held or controlled. As illustrated also, means is provided for varying the time, after the upper has been clamped upon the last, when the valve in the fluid check is operated to relieve the retarding action of the latter; and such means may be adjusted so that the retarding action will be relieved at, or substantially at, the time when the grippers release the upper. Such an adjustment insures that the grippers will be disengaged from the upper at the time when any sudden upward movement of the grippers might occur and thus further and positive insurance is provided against damage to any portion Vof the upper, including those portions actually engaged by the grippers, in the upper-pulling movement, even if the grippers are suddenlyy raised before their upper-pulling movements have been completed.

The invention further resides in various novel combinationsand arrangements of parts, includ.-l ing certain particulars of construction of the fluid check and associated controlling mechanism, all

of which will now be describedwith reference' to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in ,the claims.

In the drawings, y Fig. l is a side elevational viewof` the upper portion of a pulling-over machine embodying the novel features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a portion of the means for controlling the action of the retarding'mechanism; l.

Fig. 3 is a view, partially in end elevation and partially in section, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a View, partially in section, of the retarding mechanism, showing the parts in starting position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the retarding mechanism showing the parts in the positions they occupy after the grippers have released the upper and have sprungv up out of the way of the overlaying and tacking devices, the section being taken substantially along the line V-V of Fig. 4; vand Fig. 6 is a view, partially in front elevation and partially in section, of a portion of the machine showing particularly the side grippers, the side clamps and one set of overlaying and tacking devices in the positions assumed during the upperpulling operation.

The invention is shown in the drawings as embodied in a pulling-over machine of a well-known commercial type in which the sole rest is indicated at 10 (Fig. 6), the heel rest at 12 (Fig. 1), the side grippers at 14, the side clamps at 16, the

overlaying devices or side wipers .at 18, andthe pressed by the downward movement of the slide to operate the grippers yieldingly. In common with other machines of this type, also, the updraw levers 22 of the illustrated machine are connected to an equalizing lever r32 which is mounted for turning movement in a block 34 about an axis extending lengthwise of the updraw levers, the block 34 being fast upon a rockshaft 36 which carries a gear segment 38 operatively engaged with a cooperating gear segment 40 on a hand lever 42 which is pivoted upon the rod 24 and is arranged to permit manual control of the movements of the side grippers when desired.. The equalizing lever 32 bears upon the upper edges of the updraw levers 22 and is connected to those levers by means of cradlemembers 44 so that the swinging movement of the levers 22 in either direction is accompanied by a swinging movement of the equalizing lever 32 about the axis of the rockshaft y36, the lever 32 being permitted to turn in the block 34 to accommodate itself to different relative positions of the updraw levers. The heel rest 12 of the illustrated machine is operated by a slide 46 (Fig. 3) and is moved to vand from operative position by means including a cam block 48 on the main cam shaft 50 of the machine, the cam block 48 being formed with a cam track 52 for receiv- `Letters Patent No. 1,029,387, granted June ll,

1912, upon application of R. F. McFeely, while the construction, arrangement and mode of operation of the side wipers are substantially the. same as of corresponding parts in the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,409,190, granted March 14, 1922, upon application of R. F. McFeely, and reference may be had to those patents for details of construction and operation of the illustrated machine not herein fully disclosed. The equalizing mechanism is similar to that disclosed in the previously mentioned Letters Patent No. 1,448,742.

In the operation of the illustrated machine it' will be understood that the sole rest 10 engages the insole to prevent the last from moving upwardly and is operated to sink the last downwardly into the upper during the upper-pulling movement of the grippers and that the heel rest 12 is moved into engagement with the heel end of the shoe to resist the backward strains to which the last is subjected in the upper-pulling operation. It will also be understood that upon the starting of a cycle of operations of the machine the slide 26 receives a comparatively quick downward movement from its operating cam and that, through the springs 28, the updraw levers 22 are thereby operated to close the grippers 14 upon the upper A. and then to pull the upper over the last B until the resistance of the tensioned upper balances the force of the springs which react to complete the pulling of the upper after the slide 26 has completed its downward movement. The machine cornes automatically to a stop with the upper under tension and, upon a subsequent actuation of the starting means, the side clamps 16 are swung inwardly at opposite sides of the shoe to clamp the tensioned upper to the last. Thereafter the side wipers 18, which are carried by swinging arms 56, are operated to wipe the margin of the upper inwardly over the edges of the insole C on the last and the taching devices 20, which are also carried by the arms 56, are operated to fasten the overwiped upper margins to the insole and the last. During the inward movements of the side wipers 18 and the tacking devices 20 the side grippers 14 are tripped to cause them to release the upper, the tripping of the grippers being-accomplished by engagement of the tacking devices with latches 58 that are mounted upon casings 60 which carry the side gripper jaws and are connected with the updraw levers. Thereupon the grippers 14 are quickly withdrawn to the out-ofthe-way positions indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6 out of the paths of the tacking devices by means of overdraw springs (not shown) which act to swing the grippers inwardly in conjunction with the updraw springs 28 which move the updraw levers 22 upwardly. Subsequently the updraw levers 22 are positively returned to starting positions by upward movement of the cam slide 26.

For the purpose of retarding the upward pulling movement of the side grippers 14 the illustrated machine is provided with a liquid check or dashpot which comprises a cylinder 62 and a hollow piston 64. As herein shown, the cylinder 2 is pivotally connected at 66 directly to the y hand lever 42 and is mounted for lengthwisey sliding movement relatively to the piston 64 within a bearing sleeve 68 which is pivotally mounted at 70 upon the frame of the machine for tilting movement about a horizontal axis to accommodate itself to the different positions of the lever 42. The piston 64, which is of tubular form, extends upwardly and rearwardly above the upper end of 'the cylinder 62 and is xedly secured by means of screws 72 to arms '14 extending from the bearing sleeve 68. The upper end of the hollow piston 64 is closed by a block 76 which is held in place by the inner ends of the screws 72. Communication is afforded between the interior of the piston 64 and the interior of the cylinder 62 through an opening 80 in the lower end of the piston, the opening 80 being controlled by a valve 82. The cylinder 62 is adapted to contain liquid, for example oil, which, as shown, completely lls the portion of the cylinder below the piston and extends upwardly into the interior of the piston to a level which varies according to the position of the cylinder, as shown in the drawings but which, in' any case, is a substantial distance below the upper end of the cylinder to insure against outward leakage of oil. An oil trap, in the form of an annular groove 84 (Fig. 5) in the inner wall of the cylinder, near the upper end of the latter, prevents the escape of any foaming oil which may rise above the oil level in the cylinder. Provision is made for introducing the oil through a filling Vcup 83 which is carried by a support 85 bridging the upper ends` of the arms '74 and which is connected by a passageway 86 with the interior of the piston, this cup and passageway serving as an air vent for the piston. The valve 82 is provided with an annular beveled periphery.

88 adapted to cooperate with an annular valve seat to vary the size of the opening 80, the valve seat being formed at the outer end of a bushing 90 which is fitted within the lower end of the piston. It will be evident from the foregoing that the cylinder 62, through its connections with the lever 42 will be moved upwardly in response to the updraw movement of the side grippers to pull the upper and that the cylinder will be moved downwardly in response to the downward or return movement of the grippers to starting position and that, as the grippers are moved, the oil is caused `to 'flow through the opening 80 at a rate determined by the position of the valve. As shown, the valve 82 is provided with a stern 92 which is slidingly mounted in a guide 94 formed Within the bushing 90 and is urged upwardly toward its seat on the bushing 90 by a coiled spring 96 which encircles the valve stem 92 and is compressed between an upper abutment 98 on the valve stem and suitable lower abutment surfaces formed on the bushing 90.

In order that the valve 82 may be opened to provide a comparatively unrestricted flow of liquid through the opening 80 at the completion of the updraw movement of the side grippers and thus to relieve the retarding action of the liquid check so that the grippers may be quickly retracted to an out-of-the-way position, the upper portion of the valve stem 92 is received in a socket 101 formed in the lower portion of a rod 102 the upper end of which extends through an opening in the vblock 76 at the top of the piston, and the rod 102 is adapted to be depressed by means of a lever 104 which is pivoted at 106 between ears 108 on the block 76 and which carries an adjustable abutment 110 arranged to engage the rod. As shown, an upward extension 112 of the'lever 104 is'arranged to engage aI stop shoulder 114 on the supportl 85 and is normally held against the shoulder by the valve spring 96 so that the normal size of the' valve opening 80 can be varied by adjustment ofA the abutment 110 as will be hereinafter explained.

In orderthat the opening'of the valve 82 shall be delayed yuntil after the tensioned upper has been clamped tothe last by the side clamps 16, the lever.l04 is arranged to be actuated from a member of the machine which is moved subsequent to the inward movement of the side clamps. As herein shown, the lever 104 is actuated by means of the cam block 48 which, as hereinbefore stated, functions also to operate the heel rest 12. The operative connections betweenthe cam block 48 and the lever 104, as shown, comprise a lever arm 116 (Figs. .2 and 3) which is pivoted at 118 on the frame of the .machine and carries a cam roll 120 arranged to Yride in the track 52 in the-cam block 48, a second lever arm 124 which is pivoted at 126 upon the frame and is formed with segmental gear teeth 128 arranged to intermesh with the teeth of a gear segment 130 formed on the lever arm 116, and a rod 132 (see also Fig. 4)

connecting the lever arm 124 with the lever 104.

J vices.

The illustrated rod 132 is pivotally connected at its lower end to a block 134 which is swivelled in the lever arm 124 while at its upper end the rod 132 extends through and is adapted to slide longitudinally within an aperture in a block 136 which is pivoted at 138 to the lever 104, the rod 132 being provided at its upper extremity with a head 140 which is normally spaced from the block 136 to allow for tilting movement of the cylinder and piston and is adapted to engage the block 136 upon downward movement of the rod 132 to move the lever 104 in a direction to depress the rod 102 and open the valve 82. The cam block 48 and the above-described operative connections between the cam block and the valve 82 constitute controlling mechanism which is rendered operative after the side clamps 16 have clamped the pulledeover upper upon the last for relieving the retarding action of the liquid check so as to permit the side grippers after being released from the upper to be withdrawn quickly to positions out of the way of the overlaying and tacking de- As shown, the rod 132 comprises two parts which are connected by means of a coupling sleeve 144, the upper and lower sections of the rod 132 having screw threads thereon for engagement with corresponding threads formed within the coupling sleeve, and the opposite end portions of vthe coupling sleeve are split and provided with clamp screws 146 by means of which they may be clamped upon the respective rod sections. loosening the upper clamp screw 146 the upper section of the rod 132 may be turned (for example by means of a screw driver inserted in a slot 148 in the head 140) to vary the space between the head 140 of the rod 182 and the block 136 and cam block 48.

The tacking devices 20 are moved inwardly to cause the side wipers 18 carried thereby to engage themargins of the upper and wipe them inwardly over the edges of the insole onthe last bottom and to position the 'ta-cking devices for the driving of tacks to secure the upper margins to the insole and last by means of mechanism which is de scribed in detail in Letters Patent No. 1,029,387, above referred to, and which, as herein shown,

The cam tracks 154 and 52 in the cam'block'48 are so constructed and relatively arranged that the side wipers 18 will engage'the upper and start their inward movements over the shoe bottomy before the valve 82 is opened to relieve the reytarding action of the liquid check. Thus, the

upper will be held in place and controlled not only by the side clamps 16 but also by means of the side wipers 18, through their clamping action yon the upper at the edge of the insole, before the retarding action of the liquid check is relieved. Continued inward movement of the overlaying and tacking devices 20 vwill result in laying the upper margins in position to receive the tacks and in operating the latches 58 to trip the side grippers 14, the latter action causing the grippers rto release the upper and then to be withdrawn to permit nal positioning of the tacking devices. The exact time when the valve is opened may be varied by adjusting the upper section of the rod 132 to vary the spacing between the head 140 and the block 136 as above described.

In order that the effectiveness of the retarding action of the oil check may be varied provision is made for adjusting the size of the opening which affords -communication between the cylinder 62 and the interior of the piston 64. To this end the abutment 110 which is carried by thev lever 104, and which engages the rod 102 for the purpose of operating the valve 82, is carried by a stem 160 (Fig. 4) which extends upwardly through a bore in the lever 104 and is provided with screw threads engaging corresponding screw threads formed in the lever 104 so that, by turning the stem 160, the location of the abutment 110 relatively to the lever may be adjusted to effect a corresponding adjustment in the position of the valve 82 relatively to its valve seat. The stem 160 is adapted to be turned by means of a disk 162 flxedly secured to the stem and is adapted to be retained in adjusted position by the engagement of a spring-pressed lplunger 164 carried by the lever 104 with one or another of a series of depressions 166 formed in the lower surface of the disk 162. As shown, the depressions 166 and the cooperating end of the plunger 164 are soy shaped that the turning of the disk 162 will result in automatically disengaging the plunger 164 from holding engagement therewith.

In the use of the machine, the valve 82 in the liquid check will be manually adjusted by manipulation of the abutment 110 to restrict as desired the iiow of liquid through the opening 80 in the piston 64 so as to retard the upper pulling movement of the side grippers to such an extent as may be found necessary or desirable to insure against injury to the shoe upper, having regard to the character of the upper and the strength of the updraw springs. In operation the liquid check becomes effective to retard the upward movements of the side grippers 14 when the machine is started in operation and it continues to be eifective for that purpose until after the side clamps 16 and the side wipers 18 have been moved into positions to control the upper, i. e., until after the side clamps have clamped' the pulled-over upper upon the last and the side wipers have en gaged the margins of the upper and pressed them against the edge of the insole at the start of their inward wipping movements. At any time during the slow upward movements of the side grippers under the control of the liquid check the operator may still further retard the Ypulling of the upper by applying force to the hand lever 42 in a direction tending to move that lever forwardly and thus to supplement the resistance offered by the liquid check to the upward movements of the side grippers. In this way the operator may interrupt the upper-pulling movement at any point to enable him to perform any desired intervening operation such, for example, as adjusting or straightening the partially tensioned upper upon the last.

After the side clamps 16 and the side wipers 18 have arrived in positions to control the upper, as

above described, and before theside grippers have released the upper (or substantially at the time when the side grippers release theupper, depending upon the adjustment of the mechanism for controlling the valve 82 in theliquid check) the valve is automatically opened to permit a comparatively unrestricted ow of liquid through the opening and thereby to relieve the retarding action of the liquid check and enable the updraw springs and the overdraw springs to effect a quick Withdrawal of the side grippers upon their release of the upper so that they will make way for the tacking devices, thus enabling the latter to be positioned for the driving of tacks to secure the upper to the last. Because of the fact that the action of the fluid check in retarding the updraw movement of the side grippers is relieved by the opening of the valve 32 at a time substantially later in the cycle of operations of the machine than in machines as previously constructed, more opportunity is afforded for the resistance of the upper to become balanced by the pull of the updraw springs before the opening of the valve takes place. Thus there is decidedly less liability that any sudden or jerky upward movement of the side grippers while they are still holding the upper will follow the opening of the valve with resulting possible injury to the upper. Moreover, the pulled-over upper has been firmly clamped upon the last by the action of the side clamps and engaged and pressed against the insole by means of the wiper plates 18 before the valve in the fluid check is opened. Consequently, even if the resistance of the upper has not been 'balanced by the pull of the updraw springs and even if the grippers are not released from the upper at the time when the valve is opened, any sudden or jerky upward movement of the side grippers cannot then cause any such injury to the upper as will result in any interference with any subsequent shoemaking operation or in any actual damage to the shoe. In other words, any sudden upwardmovement of the side grippers will be ineffective to injure those portions of the upper which have been clamped to the last by the side clamps or engaged and controlled by the side wipers and any possible damage to the upper will be confined to the marginal portions thereof which are actually engaged by the grippers and which are not exposed to view in the finished shoe. It is, however, practicable, as above explained, by adjustment of the upper section of the rod 132, to set the valve-controlling mechanism for such operation in relation to a shoe of a given width that the valve in the uid check will be opened at, or

approximately at, the same time as that when the side grippers are released from the upper. With such an adjustment of the valve-controlling mechanism it is impossible for the upper to be injured in any way by any sudden or jerky movements of the grippers, since at the time when such movement takes place the grippers will be disengaged from the upper. When operating upon a narrower shoe, if no compensating adjustment vof the valve-controlling mechanism is made, the

valve in the fluid check may be opened somewhat before the grippers release the upper but, as a1- ready explained, even if any sudden upward movement of the grippers should follow, there will be no resulting injury to the upper beyond the points where the side wipers engage it, on account of the fact that the upper at that time is under the control of the side wipers and the side clamps and is firmly held thereby so that it cannot be further affected by the actionof the grippers.

The valve in the fluid check being Wide open upon release of the grippers from the upper, the uid check'will be ineffective to retard further upward movement of the grippers so that the updraw springs will effect a quick withdrawal of the grippers as is necessary for the proper operation of the tacking devices. In the subsequent return of the parts to starting positions the gripper levers are positively operated by upward movement of the cam slide 26 and, through their connections to the cylinder 62, they lower the cylinder positively to the starting position shown in Fig. el, the valve 82 remaining wide open during this time to permit a quick return of the cylinder.

While the mechanism for relieving the retarding action of the fluid check has been disclosed herein as lbeing actuated by the heel rest cam, it is to be understood that satisfactory results may be obtained by actuating that mechanism through connections with some other operative part of the machine, it being essential only that the actuation of the relief mechanism be timed to occur after the side clamps, and preferably after both the side clamps and the overlaying devices, have taken control of the upper to the extent of holding it securely upon the last.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, means for pulling an upper over a last, means for retarding the movement of said pulling means, upper-holding means for taking control of the upper after it has been acted upon by said pulling means, and means for automatically altering the resistance of said retarding means to said upper-pulling movement after said upper-holding means has taken control `of the upper.

2. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, means for pulling an upper over a last, means for retarding the movement of said pulling means, upper-holding means for assuming control of the upper after it has been pulled over the last, means for lessening the resistance of said retarding means to said upper-pulling movement, and mechanism for operating said lastnamed means at a predetermined time in the cycle of the machine after control of the upper has been assumed by said upper-holding means. "f

3. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, means for pulling an upper over a last, means constructed and arranged to retard the pulling movement of said upper-pulling means,

means for pressing the pulled-over upper upon T-f the last, and mechanism automatically operative after the pulled-over upper has been thus pressed upon the last to lessen the resistance of the retarding means to said upper-pulling movement.

4. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means, means for pulling an upper yieldingly over a last by relative movement of said upper-gripping means and the last, means constructed and arranged to retard said relative pulling movement, devices for clamping the pulled-over upper against the sides of the last, and mechanism automatically operative after the upper has been thus clamped to lessen the resistance of the retarding means to the relative movement of the upper-gripping means and the last in the direction oi pull.

5. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means, means for pulling an upper yieldingly over a last by relative movement of said upper-gripping means and the last, means lll) constructed and arrangedV to retard said relative pulling movement, means for holding the upper. against the edge of an insole on thelast, and mechanism automatically operative afterr the upper has'been thus held against the insole to lessen the resistance of the retardingmeans to the rela.- tive `movement of the upper-grippmg means an the last in the `direction of pull. f

6. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means, means for pulling an upper yieldingly over a last by relative movement of said upper-gripping means and the last, a uid check for retarding said relative movement, side clamps for holding the pulled-over upper against the sides of the last, and mechanism automatically operative after the upper has been thus clamped to the last to lessen the resistance of the fluid check to said upper-pulling movement.

7. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means for pulling an upper over a last, means constructed and arranged to retard the pulling movement of said gripping means, means for wiping the marginal portion of the pulled-over upper over the edge of an insole on the last, and mechanism automatically opera-V tive after the upper has been engaged hy said wiping means to lessen the resistance of said retarding means to said upper-pulling movement.

8. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means for pulling an upper over a last, a fluid check for retarding the pulling movement of said gripping means, a valve for controlling the action or the fluid check, clamping means for clamping the pulled-over upper upon the last, means for opening the valve to lessen the resistance of the iiuid check to said upper-pulling movement, and cam-actuated mechanism operative subsequent to the action of said clamping means for operating said valveopening means.

9. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means for puling a shoe upper over a last, a fluid check for retarding the pulling movement of said gripping means, a valve for controlling the action of the iluid check, wiping members for pressing the marginal portions of the pulled-over upper against the edge of the shoe bottom, means for opening said valve to lessen the resistance of said fluid check to said upper-pulling movement, and automatic mechanism for operating said valve-opening means after the upper has been pressed against'the edge of the shoe bottom by said wiping members.

10. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means for pulling a-shoe upper over a last, means constructed and arranged to retard the puliing movementof said gripping means, clamping means for clamping the pulled-over upper against the sides of the last, means for wiping the marginal portion of the upper over the edge of the shoe bottom, and mechanism automatically operative after the upper has been acted upon by said clamping means and said wiping means to lessen the resistance of said retarding means to said upper-pulling movement.

11. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means for pulling an upper over a last, means for retarding the movement of said gripping means, upper-holding means for assuming control of the upper after it has been pulled over the last by said gripping means, and means'automatically operative after said upperholding means has assumed control of the upper tolessen the resistance of said retarding means and approximately at the same time to release said gripping means from the upper. .y

12. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means for pulling an upper over a last, means for retarding the upper-pulling movement of said 'gripping means, means for causing said gripping means to release the upper,

, and means for lessening the resistance of the retarding means to said upper-pulling movement approximately at the time when said grippingv means is caused to release the upper.

13. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means and operating mechanism comprising spring connections constructed and arranged to operate .said upper-gripping means to pullan upperyieldingly and to come automatically to'a stop with the upper under tension, mechanism for retarding the pulling movement of said upper-gripping means,.a controlling device automatically operative upon a subsequent starting of themachine to relieve the checking action of said retarding mechanism to permit a quick withdrawal of the upper-gripping means by said spring connections when said means releases the upper, and means for adjusting said controlling device to render the latter operative approximately at the time when said upper-gripping means releases the upper.

14. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, upper-gripping means, means for pulling an upper yieldingly over a last by relative movementy of said upper-gripping means and the last, means for retarding said'relative movement, a rest for the heel portion of the last, means including a cam for operatively positioning said heel rest, upper-holding means for assuming control of the upper after it has been pulled over the last by relative movement of said upper-gripping means andthe last, and means operated by said heel rest cam after said upper-holding means has assumed control of the upper for lessening the resistance of said retarding means to said upperpulling movement.

15. In an upper-pulling machine, the combination with upper-gripping means and operating mechanism for imparting movement yieldingly to said upper-gripping means'to pull an upper, of a fluid check for retarding the upperpulling movements of said gripping means, a rest for the heel portion of the last, means including a cam for operatively positioning vsaid heel rest, mechanism including side rclamps for clamping the upper to the sides of the last after the upper has been pulled over the last by said upper-gripping means, and means operated by said heel rest cam after the upper has been clamped to the last for lessening the resistance of said iiuid check to said upper-pulling movement.

16. In an upper-pulling machine, in combination, gripping means for pulling an upper over a last, mechanism for retarding the'pulling movement of said gripping means, means for releasing said gripping` means and for withdrawing said gripping means to an out-of-the-way posi-v tion upon its release of the upper, means for clamping the upper to hold it after it has been pulled by said gripping means, a controlling de vice automatically operative after the upper has been clamped to relieve the checking action ofy said retarding mechanism and permit a quick withdrawal of said gripping means upon its release of the upper, and means for Varying the time of relief of said checking action.

17. In-an upper-pulling machine, the combination with upper-gripping means and operating mechanism for imparting movement yieldingly to said upper-gripping means to pull an upper, of a device for retarding said movementl of the upper-gripping means comprising a cylinder containing a liquid, a hollow piston within said cylinder provided with anopening aiording communication between the cylinder and the interior of the piston, a valve for controlling the ow of liquid through said opening, andfconnections between said cylinder and said upper-gripping means comprising a lever arm directly connected to said cylinder for moving the cylinder relatively to the piston in response to movement of said upper-gripping means, said cylinder being mounted for tilting movement to enable it to accommodate itself to changes of position oi said lever arm.

18. In an upper-pulling machine, the combination with upper-gripping means and operating mechanism for imparting movement yieldingly to said upper-gripping means to pull an upper, of a checking device for retarding said movement of the upper-gripping means, said checking device comprising an upwardly extending cylinder having a closed lower portion, a hollow piston having a closed upper portion and having an opening in its lower portion affording communication between the cylinder and the interior of the piston thereby providing a liquid-holding chamber contained partially within the cylinder and partially within the piston, said chamber containing liquid the level of which is located at all times below the upper end of the cylinder, and a valve for controlling the flow of liquid through the opening in said piston.

19. In an upper-pulling machine, the combination with upper-gripping means and operating mechanism for imparting movement yieldingly to said upper-gripping means to pull an upper, ci a checking device for retarding said movement of the upper-gripping means, said checking device comprising an upwardly extending cylinder having a closed lower portion, a hollow piston having a closed upper portion and having an opening in its lower portion aording communication between the cylinder and the interior of the piston thereby providing a liquidholding chamber contained partially within the cylinder and partially within the piston, said chamber containing liquid the level of which is located at all times below the upper end of the cylinder, a valve for controlling the flow of liquid through the opening in said piston, and automatic means for opening said valve to relieve the retarding action of said checking device.

20. In an upper-pulling machine, the combination with upper-gripping means and operating mechanism for imparting movement yieldingly a device for retarding said movement of the upper-gripping means comprising a cylinder containing a liquid, a hollow piston within said cylinder provided with an opening affording communication between the cylinder and the interior of the piston, a valve for controlling the low of liquid through said opening, connections between said cylinder and saidupper-gripping means for moving the cylinder relatively to the piston in response to movement of said upper-gripping means, a rod controlling said valve and extending outwardly beyond the end of said piston, a lever arm carried by said piston and arranged to act on the outer end of said rod, and mechanism for operating said lever arm at a predetermined time in the cycle or" the machine to open said valve to relieve the action of said retarding device.

2l. In an upper-pulling machine, the combination with upper-gripping means and operating mechanism for imparting movement yieldingly to said upper-gripping means to pull an upper, of a device for retarding said movement of the uppergripping means comprising a cylinder containing a liquid, a hollow piston within said cylinder provided with an opening affording communication between the cylinder and the interior of the piston, a valve for controlling the flow of liquid through said opening, connections between said cylinder and said upper-gripping means for moving the cylinder relatively to the piston in response to movement of said upper-gripping means, a rod controlling said valve and extending outwardly beyond the end of said piston, a lever arm carried by said piston, an adjustable abutment carried by said lever arm and arranged to engage the outer end of said rod, mechanism for operating said lever arm to open said valve, and means for adjusting said abutment to vary the action of said valve.

22. In an upper-pulling machine, the combination with upper-gripping means and operating mechanism for imparting movement yieldingly to said upper-gripping means to pull an upper, of a device for retarding said movement of the uppergripping means comprising a cylinder containing a liquid, a hollow piston within said cylinder provided with an opening affording communication between the cylinder and the interior of the piston, a Valve for controlling the flow of liquid through said opening, connections between said cylinder and said upper-gripping means for moving the cylinder relatively to the piston in response to movement of said upper-gripping means, a rod controlling said valve and extending outwardly beyond the end of said piston, a lever arm carried by said piston and arranged to act on said rod, and cam-actuated mechanism for operating said lever arm to open said valve, said mechanism being adjustable to vary the time when said valve is opened.

JACOB C. JORGENSEN.