US2251941A - Splitting machine - Google Patents

Description

12, 1941- F. KENNISON ETAL 2,251,941

SPLITTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1940 k\\ QQK fill/4 Aug. 12, 1941. F. KENNISON ETAL.

SPLITTING MACHINE 2 sheets sheet 2 Filed Aug. 1, '1940 Mira 1 ma i% Patented Aug. 12, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPLITTING MACHINE of New Jersey Application August 1, 1949, Serial No. 349,372

Claims.

This illustration relates to splitting machines and is illustrated as embodied in a machine for splitting heel-breast covering flaps from soles of shoes.

It has been proposed to prefinish soles prior to their attachment to shoes, the sole, for example, being conveniently rough-rounded, shank-reduced, and edge-set, and in the case of compo work, roughed up at its flesh side by the use of a machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,078,981, granted May 4, 1937, and No. 2,081,961 granted June 1, 1937, on applications filed in the name of Ernest W. Stacey. It has been found that when a prefinished sole is split by an Empire splitting machine of the well-known type, which will hereinafter be referred to as the regular machine, and which comprises a yieldable work support or bed having throughout its extent sharp upstanding prongs upon which the sole is impaled during the splitting operation, the penetration of the sole by the prongs is likely to mar the appearance of its finished marginal portions, Moreover, when the shank portions of the soles, in the case of compo work, are reduced by exceptionally wide beveling cuts, the thin lateral'margins of said shank portions are not as effectively supported as desirable throughout their entire areas against the action of a drag bar of the regular machine which acts upon the grain side of the sole in advance of a splitting knife and by its position with relation to the knife determines the thickness of the sole, with the result that the marginal edges of the flap are not split to uniform thickness. In some cases it is the practice to apply cement or other suitable adhesive to the roughedup margins of the sole, with the result that the margins of the shank portion of the sole are curled slightly toward the fiesh side of the sole and must be straightened out effectively by being supported by a continuous surface in order that the lateral edges of the flap split from the sole shall be of uniform thickness.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved machine of the above-men'- tioned type to quickly and effectively split heelbreast covering flaps from prefinished soles of difierent sizes and shapes without danger of spoiling the p-refinished margins of said soles.

With the above object in view and in accordance with a feature of the present invention, there are provided a yieldable bed comprising a block having rigid prongs for supporting the median part of the heel end portion of a sole, a pair of conformable pads for supporting the remaining heel end portion of the sole, a knife for splitting a heel-breast covering flap from the sole, a presser member constructed and arranged to act upon the sole in advance of the knife and by its position with respect to the knife to determine the thickness of the flap produced by the action of the knife, and means for effecting relative translatory movement between the bed on the one hand and the knife and the presser member on the other hand to produce said flap.

During the flap splitting operation, the median part of the heel end portion of the sole is forced against the prongs of the block, thereby effectively insuring against slippage of the sole on the work bed, the remaining heel end portion of the sole being forced with considerable pressure against and into the conformable pads, which are preferably made of rubber. By providing the bed of the machine with conformable rubber pads, the entire lateral margins of the heel end portions of soles of different sizes and shapes are supported throughout their extent to their extreme marginal edges against the action of the presser member, which has the form of a drag bar, during the flap splitting operation. When the lateral margins of the heel end portion of the sole are supported throughout their entire extents by the rubber pads during the flap splitting operation, there is no danger of piercing them and thusspoiling their appearance.

The various features of the invention will be understood and appreciated from the following detailed description read in connection with the accompanying, drawings, in which,

Fig, 1 is a perspective view, partly in section and partly broken away, of an illustrative flap splitting machine;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, partly broken away,

on line IIII of Fig. ,1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, partly broken away, on line III-III of Fig. 1, during a portion of the flap splitting operation;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the work bed of the illustrative machine;- a n Fig. 5 is a section on line 1IIIII of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the work bed of the machine when said machine is idle;

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views, partly broken away, corresponding to Fig. 5 but showing modified types of work beds;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a sole which has been operated upon by the machine disclosed in said Letters Patent No, 2,081,961;

Fig, 9 is a perspective view of the sole of Fig. 8

I after a flap has been split therefrom by the illus- 1 trative machine; and

Fig. is a side elevation, partly broken away,

of the sole shown in Fig. 9.

The illustrative machine, with the exception of a work bed 28, is substantially identical with the machine disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,224,918,

the name of Frederick M. Furber, and comprises a reciprocatory carrier 22 which is mounted on ways 24 of the frame of the machine and to which a knife 26 is adjustably secured by screwand-slot connections 28. Fitting in alined bores 39 (Fig. 3) of the carrier 22 are trunnions 32 of a matrix or drag bar 34, which may be referred to as a presser member and which is constructed and arranged to act upon the grain side of a sole 36 in advance of the knife 26 during the forward reciprocation of the carrier over the Work bed 28, and by its position with respect to the bed and the knife to determine the thickness of a flap 38 (Figs. 9 and 10) split from the sole by the knife during its forward movement. The carrier 22 and the mechanism for operating the same are'fully described in said Letters Patent No. 1,224,918, which should be referred to for a detailed description of said machine.

Although the invention is described with reference to the machine disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 1,224,918, it will be appreciated that the illustrative work bed 28 may be effectively used in connection with machines such as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,992,- 952, granted March 5, 1935, on an application filed in the name of Charles Edward Johnson, and also in connection with machines such as disclosed in United States Letters 'Patent No. 2,118,825, granted May 31, 1938, on an application filed in the name of Thomas H. Seely, which machines are adapted to split from soles heelbreast covering flaps which are reinforced at their central or central base portions in order to strengthen the flaps at the localities desired.

The illustrative sole 38; shown in Fig. '8, has already been operated upon in the-machine disclosed'in said Letters Patent No. 2,081,961, the shank portions, as well as the foreparts, of the soles having been rough-rounded and edge-set to their final shapes and the shank portions of the soles having been reduced by exceptionally wide beveling cuts, the margin of the flesh side of the sole, in the case of soles for use in connec-, tion with compo work, having beenroughed up. As above stated, it is sometimesthe practice to apply cement to the roughed up margin of the sole prior to splitting the fiap fromthe same.

As disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,224,918, the work bed 28 comprises a U- shaped frame 48 having in each of its twodepending flanges three slots 42 for receiving rollers 44, respectively, pivoted upon the ends of rods 45 secured to a sunportj48 which rests upon four or more springs 58 (Fig. 3, only two shown) and which, when the machineis idle, is forced by the springs againstthe heads of two or more stop screws .52 threaded into the base of the machine frame. The slots 42 are parallelto each other, the arrangement being such that when the U-shaped frame 40 is moved forwardly or rearwardly, that is, in the general direction of movement of the carrier 22 over the work bed 28, the frame will be raised or lowered according to the direction of such movement. When the machine is at rest, the U-shaped frame 48, and therefore the work bed 28. is held in its lowered position by a coil spring 54 (Fig. 2) encircling a rod 58 the forward end of which is secured to the support 48 and the rear end of which passes through a recess 58 in a block 68 secured to the under side of the U-shaped frame 48, the rod 56 having a stop nut 62 threaded onto its rear end.

The carrier 22 is reciprocated along the ways 24 through a connecting rod 64 (Figs. 1 and 2) the forward end of which is pivoted upon a fulcrum pin 66 mounted upon the carrier and the rear end of which is pivoted upon a bushing 68 (Fig. 1) mounted upon a threaded bolt H1. The bolt 10 may be secured to a rotatable operating plate 12 with its head arranged in different adjusted positions along an arcuate slot F4 formed in said plate, through the provision of a nut 15 threaded onto the upper end of the bolt. The slot 14 is centered about the axis of rotation 18 of the operating plate 12 and, accordingly, the carrier 22 is always moved in a path of fixed extent. It will be noted, however, that the starting position of the carrier may be varied in accordance with the adjustment of the bolt 18 along the slot 14, but that the carrier is always moved forwardly to the same position.

In order that the work bed 28 may be moved to a raised position at a. predetermined time during the forward stroke of the carrier 22, preparatory to splitting the sole, said bed carries a pin 78 (Fig. 2) upon which is mounted a roll 88 shaped and arranged to be contacted by an actuating cam 82 during a portion of the cycle of operation of the machine. The actuating cam 82 may be moved about the axis of rotation it of the plate 12 into different adjusted positions upon the operating plate 12, as will appear later, through the provision of the above-described connections. When the actuating cam 82 has been properly adjusted upon the plate 12, the nut 15 is tightened to secure the cam to the plate. The forward portion 84 of the outer face 86 of the actuating cam '82 is beveled, the remaining outer face of the cam having the form of a segment of a circle centered about the axis of rotation I6 of the platel'Z and the cam. When the sole is placed upon the work bed 28 and the plate 12 revolves, together with the actuating cam 82, the cam, by contacting the roll 88 (Fig. 2), moves the U-shaped frame 49 forwardly, thereby raising it and holding it in a raised position until the knife 28, which moves forwardly with the carrier 22, has completed the formation of the flap 38. After the flap 38 has been formed and just before the carrier 22 begins its retractive or rearward movement, the roll 88 runs .off the trailing end of the face 86 of the actuating cam 82 and the spring'54 moves the U-shaped frame 40 of the work bed 28 to its lowered position, thereby insuring that the drag bar 34 shall not rub heavily on thefiap during the retractive movement of the carrier. I I

In order that the extreme base portion 88 (Fig. 10) of the flap 38 shall be split thicker than the remaining portion of the flap, the drag bar 34 is rotated slightly at the extreme forward end of the stroke of the carrier through mechanism Which will now be described. Threaded into the drag bar 34 (Figs. -1 and 2) is a screw 98 upon which is mounted a roll 92 (Fig. 2'), which, when the machine is idle, is held in engagement with a stop screw 94 by a spring 98. The connecting rod 64 has a forward extension 98, the opposite sides of which are channeled for the reception of a bracket lllfl'having an arcuate cam track I 02, the bracket being clamped in a predetermined position to the extension 98 of the connecting rod 64 by screws I64 (only one shown) threaded into the bracket and having their inner ends forced against said extension. Threaded into the forward end of the bracket I is another screw I06 which may be turned to facilitate the proper adjustment of the bracket I00 upon the extension 98 of the connecting rod 64. The major portion of the cam track I02 is centered about the axis of the pin 66 so that during the time the roll 82 is in contact with said track, the screw 90, and consequently the drag bar 34, maintains the same angular position. A central portion of the roll engaging face of the track I02 is recessed, the arrangement being such that when the roll 02 encounters said recessed portion near the forward end of the stroke of the carrier 22, the drag bar 34 swings slightly in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, thereby permitting the springs 50 to raise the work bed, and with it the sole, so as to cause the knife 26 to cut deeper into the sole and thus to form the thickened base portion 88 of the flap. The spring 90 is not strong enough to prevent clockwise movement of the drag bar 34 due to the pull of the drag bar on the sole, the clockwise movement being limited by the engagement of the roll 02 with the track I02.

The work bed 20 also comprises a central block IIO having prongs or teeth II 2, sharp edges of which are arranged approximately in a plane, and a pair of rubber pads I I4 (Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5) which are arranged at the opposite sides of the block and, when the machine is idle, have their work engaging faces I I3 (Figs. 1 and 5) arranged above or extending beyond the plane of the sharp edges of the prongs H2. The block III] is rigidly secured by screws H6 (Figs. 3 and 5) to the U-shaped frame 40, and the pads II4 are impaled upon prongs II I secured to said frame, the end and the outer side margins of the pads I I4 being secured to the frame by plates H8 and I20, respectively, screwed to the U- shaped frame 40.

The rubber pads II4 are sufficiently resilient to insure that the soles 36 shall be forced into the pad and be properly supported against action of the drag bar 34 and the knife 25, irrespective of the size or the shape of the sole. It will be appreciated that in order that the conformable pads II4 shall be compressed sufficiently to support the sole firmly, it is desirable that the flat work engaging surfaces H3 of such pads shall extend slightly above the general plane of the sharp edges of the prongs II2, as shown in Fig. 5, when the machine is idle. On the other hand, in order to insure that the sole shall be positively gripped on the work bed 20 during the splitting operation, it is desirable that the median portion of the sole shall be effectively impaled upon the prongs II2 of the block H0. Accordingly, in order to facilitate the flow of the portion of the rubber pad II4 adjacent to the block I I0 so that said pad II4 may readily accommodate different sizes of soles, and to insure that the inner margins of the pads shall be properly impaled upon the prongs II2, the upper surface of the U- shaped frame 40 is provided with slight recesses or depressions I22 (Fig. 5), the inner margins of the pads forming with the depressions a pair of small pockets I24. It will be noted that the width of the depressions I22 increases slightly, as illustrated in Fig. 4, as they extend from the front to the back of the machine, the width'of said depressions reaching a maximum at points I 26, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be appreciated that, if desirable, the depressions I22 may be of uniform width throughout their length, or may be entirely eliminated, in which case the inner margins of modified pads I28 may be slightly undercut, as shown in Fig. 6, or the inner margins of a modified pad I30 may be honeycombed or otherwise pocketed, as shown in Fig. 7. From the foregoing it will be clear that the inner marginal portions of the pads located adjacent to the block are adapted to flow more readily under pressure of the work piece than the outer marginal portions of the pads.

Although the illustrative machine has been described with reference to splitting flaps from soles which have been operated upon by the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,078,981, it will be clear that the illustrative machine may be used for splitting flaps from all types of soles.

After the actuating cam 82 has been initially adjusted upon the plate I2, the sole is placed upon the work bed 20 in its desired position and a treadle rod (not shown) is depressed causing the operating plate 12, together with the cam 82, to make a revolution. As the knife 26 and the drag bar 34 move forwardly, the work bed 20 is raised and held raised until the completion of the forward movement of the carrier 22, at which time the spring 54 lowers the work bed and holds it lowered while the carrier moves back to its retracted position. When the carrier 22 is moved forwardly over the work bed 20, as above described, the bar 34 causes the median portion of the sole to be impaled upon the prongs II2 of the block H0 and progressively forces the entire lateral margins of the sole against the pads II4 which effectively support the sole throughout the flap: splitting operation without any danger of marring said lateral margins.

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

1. A splitting machine having, in combination, a yieldable bed comprising a block having rigid prongs for supporting the median part of the heel end portion of a sole, said bed also comprising a pair of conformable pads for supporting the remaining parts of the heel end portion of the sole, a knife for splitting a heel-breast covering flap from the sole, a presser member constructed and arranged to act upon the surface of the sole in advance of the knife and by its position with respect to the knife to determine the thickness of the flap produced by the action of said knife, and means for effecting relative translatory movement between the bed on the one hand and the knife and the presser member on the other hand to produce said flap.

2. A splitting machine having in combination a yieldable bed for supporting a sole, said bed comprising a rigid central portion having a plurality of sharp prongs constructed and arranged to be engaged by the median part of the heel end portion of the sole, said bed also comprising conformable pads which are located at opposite sides respectively of said rigid central portion and are constructed and arranged to be engaged by the lateral margins of the heel end portion of the sole, a carrier, a knife and a presser member mounted upon the carrier, and means for moving the carrier over the bed to cause said knife to split a heel-breast covering flap from the sole as it is progressively forced against the bed by the pressermember. I w

i 3. A splitting machine having, in combination, a yieldable bed for supporting a sole,a carrier, a knife and a drag bar mounted upon the carrier, and means for effecting relative translatory movement of the bed and the carrier to cause the sole to be progressively conformed to the drag bar and to be split by the knife, said-bed comprising a block having sharp rigid prongs constructed and arranged to be engaged by the median part'of the heel end portion of the sole, and a pair of readily conformable pads which are arranged at the opposite sides respectively 1 of the block and which areconstructed and ar- 1 ranged to be engaged by the remaining heel end 1 portions of the heeland when extend beyond the prongs.

the machine is idle 4. A splitting machine having, in combination, a yieldable bed comprising a block having rigid prongs for supporting the-median part of the 1 heel end portion of a sole, and conformable pads ;normally projecting beyond said rigid prongs and arranged. at opposite sides respectively'of l the prongs for supporting the lateral margins of the heel end portion of'the'sole; a carrier, a

knife and a drag bar mounted upon the carrier,

and means for moving the carrier over the sole supported on said bed to cause the barto force the sole progressively against the work bed and to cause the knife to split a flap from the sole pressed between the bar andthe bed. A

5. A splitting machine having, in combination, a yieldingly supported frame, a knife, a presser bar, a block secured to the frame and having prongs constructed and arranged to be engaged by the median part of the heel end portion of a sole, and a pair of conformable pads'secured to said frame at opposite sides respectively of said block and constructed and arranged to be engaged by the remaining parts-of the heel end portion of the sole, said frame having adjacent to the opposite sides of the blockshallow depressions the bottoms of which when the machine is idle are spaced from the opposing portions of the conformable pads, and means for-moving the knife and the presser member over said bed causing the sole tobe progressively forced against the pads and the prongs of said blockto conform the sole to a predetermined shape and causing the knife to split a flap from the sole.

6. A splitting machine having, in combination, a sole supporting bed comprising a yieldable frame, a rigid block secured to the frame and having prongs which are constructedand arranged to be engaged by the median part of the heel end portion of a scleand which have sharp ends arranged approximately in a plane, a pair of rubber pads which are secured to said frame and are arranged at opposite sides respectively of the block wit-htheir inner marginal portions,

a presser member constructed-and arranged to cooperate with said bed to-split a flap from the sole.

'7. A splitting machine having, in combination, a yieldable work support comprising a rigid block having sharp prongs and comprising a pair of conformable pads arranged at opposite sides respectively of said block, a knife, a presser member, and means for effecting relative movement of the work support on the one hand the knife and the presser member on the other hand to cause a work piece upon the support to be progressively conformed to the shape determined by the presser member and to cause a flap to be formed on the conformed work piece by the knife, portions of the pads which are located adjacent to the block being adapted to flow more readily under pressure of the work piece than other portions of the pads which are spaced considerable distances from said block.

8. A splitting machine having, in combination, a yieldable work support comprising a rigid block having sharp prongs and a pair of rubber pads arranged at opposite sides respectively of said block, a knife for splitting a flap from 'a sole mounted upon said work support, and a presser bar constructed and arranged to act upon the face of the sole in advance of the knife and by its position with relation to the knife to determine the thickness of the flap split from the sole by the knife, portions of the pads which are located adjacent to the block being more readily yieldable under pressure of the sole than are other portions of the pads which are spaced considerable distances from the block.

9. A splitting machine having, in combination, a, supporting bed comprising a yieldable frame, a rigid block secured to the frame and having prongs which are constructed and arranged to be engaged by the median part of the heel end portion of a sole, and a pair of rubber pads which are secured to the frame and are arranged at the opposite sides respectively of the block, a presser bar, a knife, means for effecting relative translatory movement of the bed on the one hand and the presser bar and the knife on the other hand to split a heel-breast covering flap from the sole, inner portions of the rubber pads located adjacent to the block being spaced from the block and from the support while outer portions of the pads located considerable distances from the block are secured to the block thereby rendering the inner portions of the pads more readily yieldable than the outer portions of the pads under the action of the sole.

10. A splitting machine having, in combination, a yielda'ble bed comprising a rigid block having sharp prongs and a pair of rubber pads which are arranged at opposite sides respectively of the block, a knife, a presser member, and means for moving the knife and the presser member over the bed to split a flap from a sole mounted upon said bed, the inner portions of the pads being spaced from the frame and being free to yield toward the block under pressure of the sole so as to insure that the rubber pads may readily flow to accommodate soles of different sizes and shapes during the splitting operation.

FRANK KENNISON. HARRY L. BELL.

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