US2058454A - Method of making shoes - Google Patents

Description

- 1936- R. E. HOPKINS METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed June 4, 1934 Patented Oct. 27, 1936 PATENT OFFICE 2.058.454 1 METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Raymond E. Hopkins, Pembroke, Mesa, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 4, 1934, Serial No. 728,895

, g 7 Claims.

This invention relates to methods of making shoes and to improvements in insoles as articles of manufacture.

In lasting a shoe upper over-the edge of an insole on a last the wipers or overlaying devices of the lasting machine have some tendency to break down or round over the sharply defined upper corners of the sole edge. It is desirable to preserve the initial sharpness of these edge 10 corners, particularly at the toe of the insole, to insure that the adjacent portions of the upper shall lie close to the outsole in the finished shoe and, accordingly, it is a common practice to'dip the toes of insoles in a solution containing a stiffening medium, such as shellac, before the insoles are assembled with the uppers on the last. The toes of insoles are thus stiffened or reinforced so that their edges are less liable to be distorted or broken down by the action of the m wipers or the tension of the lasted upper. In such cases, however, difficulty is experienced if the upper is to be secured in lasted relation to the insole by means of an adhesive, such for example as rubber latex which is commonly em- 5 ployed for that purpose, because of the fact that the shellac or other stiffening medium closes the v pores of the leather and produces upon the insole a smooth, glazed surface to which thelatex will not adhere. It is also a well-known practice to stiffen the toes of insoles by the application of thin fiberboard reinforcing pieces to the insole surfaces. This practice, however, is also objectionable inasmuch as the hard glazed surfaces of the fiberboard pieces, unless specially roughed or otherwise prepared, are. not adapted to receive latex or similar adhesives in such a manner as to insure security of attachment of an' upper thereto.

For the purpose of avoiding such undesirable 40 conditions, the present invention provides an improvement in the art of shoemaking which involves the application of a stiffening solution to the edge portion only of an insole, the solution V penetrating into the substance of the insole only to such an extent as adequately to reinforce the edge portion of the insole against the stresses to which it is subjected during the lasting of an upper thereover, but not to. an extent suflicient-to interfere with the obtaining of a satisfactory bond between the marginal surface of the insole and the overlasted margins of the upper. An insole thus treated is assembled with an upper upon a last, the upper is worked over the stiffened edge of the insole, and the overworked margins of the upper are secured by means of adhesive to the untreated insole substance immediately adjacent to the stiffened edge portion. As illustrated, the stiffening medium may be applied progressively, about the edge of the toe or the toe and forepart portions of the in'sole or, if desired, 5 entirely around the insole, by drawing the insole edge over a roller arranged to dip into the solution. It will be recognized that invention resides also in an article of manufacture comprising an insole having its extreme edge portion only, or 10 a part of its edge portion only, impregnated with a stiffening medium so that it is stiffened or reinforced to withstand the stress of the lasting of an upper 'thereover. the remaining substance ofthe insole being unimpregnated and presenting an 15 untreated surface adapted to facilitate adhesive attachment of an overlasted upper thereto.

The invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a conventional view illustratingthe 20 application of the reinforcing or stiffening medium to the edge of the toe portion of an insole;

Fig. 2 is a detailed sectional view taken along the line IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to' Fig. 2 but showing a 25 modified construction of the member which applies the stiffening medium;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of an insole as it appears after the stiffening medium has been applied to the edge portion of its toe by 30 means of a roll having a recessed periphery such asthat shown in Fig. 3, the insole being broken away to illustrate how the stiffening medium penetrates slightly into the substance of the sole;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an insole which 5 has been reinforced by the application of the stiffening medium entirely around its edge; and

. Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken through the toe portion of a lasted shoe and illustrating different stages in the operation of lasting the 40 upper materials over the insole.

In the practice of my improved method the reinforcing or stiffening of the edge portion only of an insole may conveniently be accomplished,

as illustrated in Fig. 1, by drawing the edge of 45 an insole In over the periphery of a roll I! partially immersed in a stiffening solution ll contained within a receptacle l6 within which the roll I2 is mounted to turn freely. Shellacor a solution of one or more resins in a solvent such 0 as alcohol may be employed as the stifiening medium or any of the commercial solutions commonly used for stiffening leather.- The insole may be manipulated to cause the stiffening solution to be applied to the sole edge at the toe por- 55 tion only of the insole, as indicated at IS in- Fig. 1, or to such additional portions of thesole edge as may be desired. It has been found to be advantageous to apply the stiffening solution to the sole edge around the entire forepart of the insole and in some cases to apply it also to the shank or to the shank and heel portions of the insole, as indicated in Fig. 5. The periphery of the roll [2 may be transversely straight, as shown at 20 in Fig. 2, in which case the roll will function to apply the stiffening solution directly to the edge face only of the insole. If desired, however, the periphery of the roll [2 may be made transversely concave or provided with an annular groove, such'as that indicated at 22 in Fig. 3, in

which case the stiffening solution will be applied not only to the edge face but also to narrow portions of the top' and bottom surfaces of the insole which are immediately adjacent to its edge face. Upon application of the stiffening solution to the sole the solution will penetrate or strike a in to the substance of the sole to a certain extent, as indicated at 24 m Fig. 4, so that not only will the edge facebe coated with the stiffening medium but the fibers of the leather will be thoroughly impregnated therewith throughout an area extending inwardly a slight distance from theedge face. Inwardly of this narrow area, however, the substance of the sole will not be impregnated and the marginal portion of the bottom surface of the insole (to which the overlasted margins of the upper are to be-secured) will be entirely unaffected by the solution, except in the immediate vicinity of the edge face itself. After being treated with :the stiffening solution the soles are preferably laid aside to permit the solution to dry so as effectively to stifien 'or reinforce the'edge portions which have been impregnated by it.

In proceeding with the practice of my improved method, an insole, the edge portion of which has been treated as above described, is assembled upon a last, such as the last 26 (Figs. 6 and 7),

together with the usual upper materials which,

- as illustrated, comprise an upper 28, a. toe stiffener or box toe 30, and a lining 32. The lasting of the upper materials over the insole l0 now proceeds in the customary manner. The lasting operation at the toe of the shoe may advantageously be performed by means of a bed lasting machine of a well-known type, such for example as the machine disclosed in United States Letters 'Patent No. 1,018,477, granted February 27, 1912, upon application of Matthias Brock. In the use of a bed lasting machine of this type the toe wipers, one of which is indicated at 34 in Figs. 5 and 6, are first moved inwardly under the control of the operator to engage their edge portions with the upper at opposite sides of the toe of the last in locations below the bottom of the last, one of the toe wipers beingindicated in dotted lines in such a location in Fig. 5. The wipers,

while being pressed inwardly against the upper,

are raised to wipe the uppe materials upwardly against the sides of the toe portion of the last so-as to tighten them onthe last. When the wipers have been raised sufficiently above the insole they are moved toward each other to wipe the margins of the upper materials inwardly over the edge of the insole so as to form a definite crease in the upper where it overlies the upper corner of the insole edge. It is then customary to withdraw the wipers into positions clear of the upper, thereby permitting the operator manually to aise the overwiped margins of the upper materials and to trim the margins of the toe stiffener mately of an inch) above the insole. A suitable adhesive, such as latex, is then applied to the marginal portion of the outer or bottom face of the insole and to the inner side of the margin of the upper 26. Thereafter, the toe wipers 34 are operated the second time to wipe the upper materials upwardly against the sides of the last and are then moved inwardly again to press together the coated margins of the upper and the insole and to hold the latter together under pressure long enough to cause them to adhere to each other, this operation of the toe wipers being illustrated in Fig. 7, wherein the adhesive is indicated at 3'6.

During the above-described upward and inward wiping movements of the toe wipers the edge portion of the insolelO, becauseof the fact that it has been stiffened or reinforced, will effectively resist any tendency of the wipers to distort or displace it or to break down or round over the upper corners of the sole edge, As a result the margin of the upper will be laid smoothly over the margin of the insole and a more or less sharply defined crease will be formed in the upper where it overlies the edge of the insole. This portion of the upper will thus be adapted to' lie close to the outsole when the latter has been laid on the shoe bottom -so that there will be no unsightly gap or open crease between the upper and the projecting margin of the outsole. Furthermore, on account of the fact that the stiffening material has been allowed to impregnate the extreme edge portion only of the outsole so as to leave the adjacent marginal portionsof the outer surface of the insole entirely uncoated and unaffected, there will be nothing to prevent the overlasted upper materials from adhering firmly to the insole and consequently a strong bond will be obtained between them which will effectively and permanently secure them together.

The lasting of thernpper materials over the insole in the shank and ,at opposite sides of the forepart, rearwardly of thetoe, is customarily accomplished by means of a side lasting machine in the use of which one or more overlaying members operates progressively along the shoe bottom to wipe the upper materials inwardly over the operator, the overlaying member or members may engage the upper in locations so close to the edge of the insole that the .latter may be distorted or broken down. If the edge portion of the insole has been stlfiened, however, at opposite sides of its shank and forepart as well as in its toe portion as above described, the insole edge in these localities will be preserved in an unbroken or undistorted condition such as will best facilitate the lasting of the upper. If the overlasted upper materials are to be secured to the insole by means of latex at the sides of the forepart and shank, as is often desirable, this be effectively accomplished and a strong'bohding together of the materials insured, because of the fact that no stifiening medium has been applied to the surface of the insole except in the immediate vicinity of the sole edge. Moreover, the hereindescribed method of reinforcing an insole is particularly advantageous where it is desired to prevent breaking down or distortion of the edge of the insole in the vicinity of the ball line since, by confining the application of the stiffening medium to the extreme edge portion only of the insole there will be no stiflening of the body por-' tion of the insole and the latter will be capable of flexing freely in its ball portion, as is desirable.

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

1. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in impregating the extreme edge portion only of the toe of an insole with a stiifening medium and allowing the latter to dry thereby stiffening said edge portion while leaving all of the toe end of the insole except said extreme edge portion thereof unaffected by. said stiffening medium to facilitate adhesive attachment of an upper thereto, assembling the insole with an upper on a last, working the upper over the stiffened edge portion of the insole, and securing the overworked margins of the upper by means of adhesive to the untreated insole substance immediately adjacent to the stiifened edge portion.

2. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in applyi a stiifening medium directly to the edge face only of an insole and allowing it to penetrate and stiifen the extreme edge portion of the insole while leaving the adjacent marginal portions untreated to facilitate cement attachment, assembling the insole with an upper on a last, lasting the upper over the treated sole edge, and securing the over-.

lasted margins of the upper to the untreated insole margin immediately adjacent to the treated edge portions.

3. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in applying a stiifening medium directly to the edge face and to the extreme edge portions only of the side faces of an insole and allowing said medium to impregnate and stiffen the extreme edge portion only of the insole while leaving the adjacent marginal portions unaffected by the stiifening medium, assembling the insole with an upper on a last, lasting the upper over the stiffened edge portion of the insole, and securing the overlasted margins of the upper to the unstiilened insole substance immediately adjacent to the stiffened edge portion.

4. That improvement in methods of making shoes whichconsists in applying a stiflening medium to the extreme edge portion only of an insole by relative movement of the insole and a stiifening medium applicator in a direction lengthwise of the sole edge while leaving the ad- Jacent inner portions of the insole untreated, assembling the insole with an upper on a last, working the upper over the stiflened edge portion of the insole, and securing the overworked margins of the upper by means of adhesive to the untreated insole substance immediately adjacent to the stiifened edge portions.

5. An insole having its extreme. edge portion I only impregnated with a sti-ifening medium in reinforce it against the stress of the lasting of an upper thereover, the remaining substance of the I sole being unimpregnated and presenting an untreated marginal surface of a width substantially equal to that of the lasting allowance of an up- '7. An insole having portions of its edge face.

coated with a stiifening substance to reinforce them against the stress of the lasting of an upper thereover and having marginal portions of its bottom face adjacent to said edge face portions uncoated by said substance to facilitate adhesive attachment of the overlasted margins of an upper thereto.

' RAYMOND E. HOPKINS.

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