US2303268A - Machine for reducing the shanks of shoe soles - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 24,1942. w, P; ORDON 2,303.;268

mcnmn-Foa msnbcme THE SHANK 6F snos SOLES Filed June 1:5, 1940' 2 smu -sheet 1 Elma/WM l Z/illiam" P. Gordon Nov. 24,1942. w. P. GORDON 2,303,268

MACHINE FOR REDUCING THE SHANK OF SHOE SOLES Filed June 13; 1940 U 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /I/I/HIIE 5 ll/illiam P. Cordon Patented Nov. 24, 1942 UNITE ST TES iATENT OFFICE NIACHINE FOR REDUCING THE SHANKS 0F SHOE .SOLES Application June 13, 1940, Serial No. 340,312

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and is particularly directed to a method of and apparatus for beveling the edge portions of shoe soles to reduce the thickness thereof in the shank region.

In the manufacture of Womens shoes, it is particularly desirable to provide shoes which have the appearance of being light in weight and dainty and yet possess sufficient strength to withstand hard use for sustained periods. this desired appearance, it is customary to reduce the thickness of the sole, especially in the shank region and to cause the reduced edge to adhere to the upper by forcing the same into engagement with the rotating element of a sole laying machine.

Heretofore, the edges of the shank portions of the shoe sole were beveled through manually exeouted operations through the use of a suitable sharp knife. Such operations required great skill on the operators part and many times resulted in the production of shoes with shank edges of uneven thickness, the same shank edge often having thick and thin portions. Not infrequently,

through carelessness or lack of skill, the operator would remove so much stock that the stitches which secure the sole would be cut out and the shoe seriously damaged.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision of a machine and a method of working on shoes therewith by which the shank, or other desirable portions, of lasted shoes may be uniformly beveled by relatively unskilled labor without danger of injuring the shoes. have previously been provided but due to the design thereof, experienced operators were required and inferior results were often produced. Such mechanisms generally employed reciprocating knives which were apt to sever the threads of the outseam much in the manner of the hand operation.

It is another object of this invention, therefore, to provide a machine in which a rotary cutter is "employed to reduce the thickness of the sole, the cutter having a plurality of transversely curved blades for engagement with th sole edge portion to produce a beveled surface thereon, the shoe being moved with respect to the cutter to extend the beveled surface to the desired length.

A further object rests in providing the machine above mentioned with a work rest having a reduced edge, the work rest being disposed in closed relation to the rotating cutter and having To give 1 Mechanisms to perform this operation its reduced edge disposed between the shoe sole 55 and the upper to prevent engagement of the upper material with the cutter and to support the sole edge while the cutter is operating thereon. The reduced edge of the Work rest also serves to limit the width of the beveling cut by engaging the inseam and preventing excessive movement of the shoe toward the cutter.

A still further object resides in arranging a gage finger adjacent the rotating cutter whereby the operator may observe the position of the shoe with respect to the cutter and so move it to cause the production of a uniform bevel, the gage finger being resiliently mounted in order to hold the shoe sole in engagement with the work holder and prevent elevation of the shoe into excessive contact with the cutter.

Another object resides in providing means for adjusting the various parts of the machine to adapt the same to shoes of different sizes and styles.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated in its preferred form.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a machine for beveling the edge portions of shoe soles formed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the machine shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating the rotating cutter thereon in one position of movement;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical longitudinal sectional view through the operating portions of the machine and taken on the plane indicated by the line III-III of Fig. 2, this view showing the cutter in another position of movement;

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line -IVIV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken through the cutting head of the machine and illustrating the operation of reducing the edge portion ofa lasted shoe;

Fig. 6 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line VIVI of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings. the numeral I designates a frame member or support on which the operating mechanism of the machine may be mounted. The frame I is provided with horizontally disposed bearings in which a shaft 2 is journaled for rotary movement, one end of the shaft being provided with a pulley wheel '3 around which a belt 4 passes to transmit movement to the shaft from a line shaft or other type of driving member, not shown.

If desired, the pulley and belt may be dispensed with and a direct drive to the shaft 2 from a suitable motor substituted. The shaft 2 projects a considerable distance from the support I and is reduced at its outer end as at 5 to receive a star-shaped cutter 6, the latter being secured in engagement with the shaft by a screw I extending through the cutter and into the shaft from one end. One or more collar members 8 are disposed between a shoulder 9 formed on the shaft and the cutter member to maintain the longitudinal position of the cutter on the shaft.

Adjacent the upper portion of the support I, there is provided a horizontally extending rib I6 which is positioned in a keyway I I formed on the rear surface of a bracket member I2. This member may be formed from a metallic casting and includes a vertically extending portion I3 from which projects a lateral extension I4, the extension being disposed slightly above the axis of the shaft 2 when the rib I is placed in the keyway II. The bracket member is held in position on the support I by a machine screw I which extends through a slotted opening IS in the bracket and into the support I, the slot I9 being provided to permit the bracket to be adjusted longitudinally of the rib III, the purpose of the adjustment being set forth hereafter.

At the lower end of the vertically extending portion I3 of the bracket, a rearwardly extending foot I! is provided. This foot may be integrally formed with the bracket or, as illustrated, secured thereto through the use of screws I8. The rear surface of the bracket immediately above the foot I! is provided with a vertically extending channel I9 for the reception of a tongue 29 provided on an adjustable block 2|. The bracket is also provided with an elongated opening 22 in registration with the guide channel I9 for the reception of a screw 23 used to hold the block 2I in positions of adjustment relative to the bracket. The slot 22 is formed with a shoulder for engagement by the under side of the head of the screw when the screw is tightened in the operation of securing the block.

By loosening the screw 23, the block may be adjusted vertically in the guide channel I9 by turning an adjusting screw 24 which is threadedly received by the foot H. The upper portion of the block 2I is provided with a dovetail guide groove 25 for the adjustable reception of a work rest 26, this member being retained in its positions of adjustment with respect to the block by a thumb screw 21. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the work rest includes a body portion 28 from one end of which projects an upwardly and wardly directed extension 29, the outer end portion thereof being reduced in thickness to provide a relatively thin edge 39. After the bracket is properly positioned on the support, the block 2| is adjusted to position the projection 29 in close proximity to the periphery of the cutter 6, sufficient clearance being allowed to permit the cutter to rotate.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the cutter possesses considerable thickness and decreases in diameter from the inner to the outer sides, the blades 6a possessing a transversely curved cutting edge. By this construction, a substantially triangular space will be provided between the periphery of the cutter at its largest diameter, the work rest and the outer side of the cutter,

this space receiving the edge portion of the shoe sole when the operation of beveling the same is being performed. The lateral extension I4 of the bracket is also provided on its rear surface with a channel guide for the adjustable reception of a tongue 3| formed on a gage supporting block 32 which is held in adjusted positions on the extension by'a screw 33,

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the block 32 has a vertically extending chamber 34 formed therein to receive the headed end of a gage bar 35. The lower end of the chamber terminates in a slot 36 to permit the gage bar to extend through the lower portion of the block and move vertically therein. When the bracket and the block 32 are properly positioned, the longitudinal axis of the gage bar 35 will be positioned in a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 2 and the gage bar will extend downwardly at the outer side of the cutter 6. The lower end of the gage bar is reduced in thickness as at 3! to permit the bar to be employed as a tractor to guide the operator in moving the shoe through the machine when the sole edge is being beveled. The reduction in thickness of the bar also permits the operator to have an unobstructed vision of the work in progress.

The gage bar is normally held in its lowermost position with the lower end thereof in close proximity to the reduced outer edge of the work rest by a coil spring 38 disposed in the chamber 34 between the headed end of the gage bar and a follower 39 disposed for sliding movement in the recess. The upper end of the block 32 has a cover 49 secured thereto, this cover being provided in registration with the recess with a threaded opening M for the reception of a thumb screw 42. By threading the thumb screw into the cover member, the resistance to upward movement of the gage bar may be increased. If it is desired to decrease this resistance, the screw 42 may be rotated to cause the threaded shank to move out of the chamber 34 and thus reduce the resistance to the compressive force of the spring 38. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the gage bar 31 will be moved upwardly in opposition to the spring 38 when the shoe sole is positioned in the machine. The spring then serves to move the sole downwardly into engagement with the work rest and prevents the shoe from being moved upwardly which movement would result in excessive reduction of the sole.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Assuming the various parts of the machine to be in properly adjusted positions, the operator holds an inverted lasted shoe at the side of the machine with the shank portion either at the ball or heel end adjacent the cutter. The shoe is then moved toward the cutter with the reduced edge of the work rest between the welt strip or upper surface of the outsole and the shoe upper. This operation will cause the gage bar to move upwardly in opposition to the spring and the compressive force of the spring will enable the gage bar to hold the shoe in contact withthe work rest, When the shoe has been moved a sufficient distance into the machine, the reduced edge of the work rest will engage the inseam joint and further movement will be precluded. At this time, the gage bar should be in registration with the outseam. By observing the position of the gage bar, the operator may then move the shoe at right angles to the axis of rotation of the cutter until the length of bevel desired has been produced.

While moving the shoe, the operator may seacure a uniform width of bevel by maintaining the relative position of the gage bar and the outseam. If the operator also maintains the welt strip or upper surface of the outsole in firm engagement with the Work rest, the thickness of the outer edge of the sole will be kept uniform. In other Words, the amount of stock removed in the beveling operation will be uniform throughout the length of the beveling operation.

After reaching the desired point at the heel or ball portion of the sole, the shoe may be gradually removed from the machine to blend the bevel into the portion of the sole which is not beveled. Due to the fact that the cutter has an arcuate cutting edge, the bevel cut will be slightly concave and when the shoe is subsequently treated on a sole laying operation, a smooth surface, devoid of shoulders, will be produced.

By reason of the adjustability of the work rest, the width of the beveled surface and the amount of stock removed in the operation may be varied, thus enabling the machine to be employed on all different sizes of shoes. With a little care, a relatively inexperienced operator will be enabled to produce shoes having uniformly reduced shank portions and no danger of injury to the shoe upper will be present due to the fact that the work rest is at all times positioned between the marginal portion of the sole and the shoe upper. rest serves to maintain the shoe sole in spaced relation'from the upper and there can be no contact of the upper with the cutter.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that there has been provided a machine which may be employed to reduce the shank portions of the soles of lasted shoes quickly and uniformly without requiring the services of highly skilled operators. hand operations, thereby decreasing the manufacturing costs of shoes and producing shoes having an improved appearance. While the machine may be modified in numerous ways, it is desired to reserve the rights to all such modifications as may be said to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The machine also eliminates costly During the cutting operation, the work What is claimed is:

1. A machine for beveling the edge portion of the sole of a lasted shoe comprising a frame, a horizontally disposed shaft journaled in said frame, a star-shaped cutter secured to the end of said shaft for rotation therewith, said cutter having blades with curved outer edges which cause the cutter to increase in diameter from the outer to the inner side, a work rest stationarily supported by said frame below said cutter, said work rest having a fiat upper surface disposed substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of said shaft, the outer edge of said Work rest being reduced for insertion between the edge of the sole and the upper of a lasted shoe whereby the marginal edge portion of the outsole of an inverted shoe will be engaged with said cutter, and a spring-pressed gage member carried by said frame and extending across the outer side of said cutter, said gage contacting the surface of the shoe sole and holding the sole firmly upon said work rest.

2. A machine for beveling the edge portion of the sole of a lasted shoe comprising a frame, a horizontally disposed shaft journaled in said frame, a star-shaped cutter secured to the end of said shaft for rotation therewith, said cutter having blades with curved outer edges which cause the cutter to increase in diameter from the outer to the inner side, a work rest stationarily supported by said frame adjacent to said cutter, said work rest having a flat surface disposed substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of said shaft, an edge of said work rest being disposed in registration with the outer surface of said cutter and reduced in thickness for insertion between the sole and the upper of a lasted shoe whereby the marginal portion of the bottom surface of the shoe sole will be disposed in engagement with said cutter, a gage member movably supported by said frame and extended across the end of said shaft, said gage member engaging the surface of the shoe sole adjacent to the outseam, and means for yieldably moving said gage member toward said work support to hold the shoe sole in engagement therewith.

WILLIAM P. GORDON.

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