US2891265A

US2891265A - Lasting machine with improved wiper action

Info

Publication number: US2891265A
Application number: US685202A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert B Dunlap
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-09-20
Filing date: 1957-09-20
Publication date: 1959-06-23
Anticipated expiration: 1976-06-23

Description

R. B. DUNLAP June 23, 1959 LASTING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED WIPER ACTION Filed Sept. 20, 1957 I 4 Sheets-Sheet l Mveafior Eoeri a I]? (175% a June 23, 1959 R. B. DUNLAP ,2

LAsTING' MACHINE WITH IMPROVED wIPER ACTION Filed Sept. 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 23, 1959 R. B. DUNLAP LAS'IING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED WIPER ACTION Filed Sept. 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent LASTING MACHINE WITH ILIPROVED WIPER ACTION Robert B. Dunlap, Medway, Mass, *assignor to Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton, Mass.

Application September 20, 1957, Serial No. 685,202

18 Claims. (Cl. 12-12.4)

This invention relates to shoe machines and especially to toe lasting machines.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a machine in which, prior to lasting, the wipers may be brought into concentricity with the toe of the last, so as to have substantially continuous engagement with the shoulder of the last around the entire toe, to provide a machine in which the wipers may be brought into the aforesaid position of concentricity automatically and without damaging the upper material, to provide a machine in which the longitudinal position of the toe and its concentricity with respect to the wipers may be selected to obtain the best possible uniformity of lasting and fixed at this place independently of the eccentricity of the heel end of the last, and to provide a machine in which the heel end of the last is clamped following the fixing of the .toe .at whatever position of eccentricity it occupies independently of the toe end and without modifying the position of the toe. Other objects are to provide a machine in which the foregoing optimum position of the last with respect to the wipers can be obtained automatically, after which the wiping action can be manually controlled independently of the automation.

In the illustrated machine there is means mounting the 'wipers and a support for a last for relative movement to bring the wipers and last into engagement and means for effecting the aforesaid relative movement. In accordance with the invention the wiper mounting means is yieldable rearwardly when the pressure between the wipers .and the last reaches a predetermined amount, to cause .the wipers to adjust themselves to substantially the entire contour of the toe end of the last at the shoulder. The support includes a toe rest upon which the toe of the last 'is placed with its bottom side up adjacent the wipers and toe and heel clamp members movable successively into engagement with the toe and heel. There is power operablemeans and electrical means for initiating operation :thereof, for effecting movement of the wipers, support and clamping means in a sequence to bring the toe clamp down into engagement with the toe to clamp it against :the support, to move the heel clamp forwardly into enfgagement with the heel end of the last and lock it in position, to bring the wipers and shoe into engagement and to lock the wipers in their rearwardly displaced operative position and finally to restore the control of'the power operated means to a manually operable handle so that lasting can be effected while the shoe is locked in posi- "tion. The heel clamp is laterally movable as it is advanced into engagement with the heel end of the shoe to r accommodate itself to the eccentricity of the last at the *heel end so as not to twist the shoe.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of the machine with the lower part of the base omitted;

Fig. 2 is a plan view as seen from the top of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation as seen from the right-hand side of Fig. 1 partly in section;

2,891,265 Patented June 23, 1959 ice Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on theline44ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section t ken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a plan view to much larger scale of the wipers in relation to the shoe prior to being brought into close conformity therewith;

Fig. 8 is a corresponding view showing the position of the wipers after they have been brought into conformity with the shoe;

gig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of the pressure system; an

.Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical system.

The machine herein illustrated (Fig. 1 and 2), which is of the kind shown in Patent No. 2,668,967, granted February 16, 1954, in the name of J. S. Kamborian, has a hollow support or base 10 and cap 12 which provides a sup.- port for a horizontally arranged slide 14. The forward end of the slide 14 rests upon a wiper support 16 (Figs. 7 and 8), which, for example, may be a Web integral with the cap 12. The wiper support is provided with a smoothly finished upper surface forming a guide for a pair of wiper actuators 18 and 20 (Figs. 7 and 8), whose undersurfaces are shaped to provide guideways for a pair of

wipers

22 and 2,4. The forward end of the slide 14 has pivotally connected to it the rear ends of

links

26 and 28 which extend forwardly beneath the wiper actuators and are pivotally connected thereto at their forward ends. The wiper actuators are provided with slotsof proper shape to impart the desired wiping smoothness to the wipers, and movement of the actuators is effected through w pe t ken P 1? these aforesaid links by reciprocation of the slide 14,.

The

wipers

22 and 24 are removably connected to their actuators and are furnished in pairs of a given size which are adapted to be suitable for operating upon several shoe sizes without change. In other words, one pair of wipers may be used for shoes ranging from size 4 to size 8 and are so designed as to approximate the contour of all of the shoes in this range. It is obvious, however, that this is but an approximation and that the closeness of the fit becomes less and less accurate as the ends of the range are approached. Compensation for this departure is, of course, to some extent provided for by longitudinal adjustments of the shoe, however, because of the screw devices currently used for adjusting the longitudinal position of the shoe with reference to the wipers it is diflicult and time consuming to make the adjustments with any degree of satisfaction; hence most operators will not make the adjustment. As will appear hereinafter, one of the features of the invention is to effect this adjustment automatically.

The slide 14 is actuated to advance and retract the wipers as more specifically described in the pending appli cation of Thomas'AIWeisi, SerialNo. 563,270, filed February 3, 1956, by a bellcrank'lever 30'piv oted at 32to the base, one arm of which is connected byia link, 3j4 to the rear end of the slide and the other arm of whichis connected by a pin 36 to a rod 38 extending from afluid motor 40 pivotally mounted at the inside of the base on a bracket 42. Admission of the motivating fluid to the motor 40 to advance and retract the wipers is controlled by a valve which in turn is manually shifted by a hand lever 44 extending horizontally from the left-hand side of the machine, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the machine shown in the pending application the cap 12 is bolted to the top of the base. In contrast thereto, the cap in the instant machine is mounted for limited horizontal movement relative to the top of the base on pairs of links 45-4S and 46-46, pivotally connected at their upper ends to the cap and at their lower ends to the frame. The required movement of the cap is in the order of one-quarter A) of an inch and the length of the links are such that while the cap actually moves on an are about the lower centers of rotation of the links, the vertical displacement is less than ten thousandths (0.001) of an inch and hence may be ignored. By this construction the wipers are movable forwardly and rearwardly relative to the cap, as previously described, and are also movable with the cap forwardly and rearwardly withreference to the base. Normally, the cap is yieldany held in its forward position by a plunger 43 extending from an air cylinder 50 mounted on a bracket 52 fastened to the base at the rear of the cap. The plunger 48 bears on a plate 54 fastened to a rearwardly extending block 56 on the cap 12. Forward movement of the cap is limited by a stop.

At the front of the machine, Figs. 1 and 3, there is a carriage 58 mounted in laterally spaced, vertically extending' ways 6060 6n the base for vertical movement with reference to the wipers. To facilitate vertical movement (if the carriage it is provided with antifriction rollers 61 at its lateral edges which are engaged Within the Ways. The carriage has a rearwardly extending, vertically disposed sleeve 76 which embraces a rod 68 and is held there between collars so that moving the rod 68 vertically the carriage 'may be elevated and lowered. The rod 68 is mounted on the base with its lower end connected to a fluid motor 70 and is supported for vertical movement by a bearing 72. The fluid motor 70 is supplied with a motivating fluid by way of a valve which is also controlled by the hand lever 44 as is the valve for the fluid motor 40 in the same way as the wipers and carriage are actuated in the aforesaid pending application. Briefly the arrangement is such that pushing and pulling movement applied in a horizontal plane to the hand lever 44 retract and advance the wipers in a horizontal plane and rotation of the hand lever about its longitudinal axis in counterclockwise an'd clockwise directions respectively, lower the carriage and raise it with reference to the wipers.

The carriage (Figs. 1 and 3) mounts a toe support 62 for a last, a toe clamp 64 cooperable with the support to clamp the toe of the last thereto, and a heel clamp 66, the details of which will now be described.

The toe support is at the upper end of the rod 68 and is constituted by a U-shaped bracket 78 between the laterally spaced arms of "which is fastened a flexible element 80 in the form of a length of link chain covered "with a piece of soft material such as leather or fabric,

"to form a cradle for receiving the top side of the toe of are inverted last, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to support the last bottom side up in a'position to be operated upon by the wipers. Since the toe support 62 is fast "to the rod 68 it will be elevated simultaneously with the carriage 58. r The carriage '58 has laterally spaced, forwardly extend- 1 ng, vertically disposed tracks 82--82 within which is slidably mounted an auxiliary carriage 86, to the forward face of which are welded or otherwise fastened laterally 'spaced,'vertically extending legs 88-88 of an inverted t l-shaped "clamp support 90, the upper closed end of which is situated above the "toe support 62 and has "fastened to itsunderside the 'toe'clamip "64. The auxiliary carriage 86 has at its lower end a boss 92 to which is secured the upper 'end of a rod 94-, the lower end of which is connected to a piston, not shown, within a cylinder 96. The lower end of the cylinder 96 is bolted or otherwisefastened to a block 97, welded to the carr1age-58, and by suppl'ying fluid'thereto, as will be described hereinafter, provides means for effecting vertical :moveinent'of the auxiliary carriage on the carriage 58 and hen'cethe clamp64 with reference to the toe sup- 'port'62.

The heel support is mounted on a pair of vertically have welded thereto vertically spaced sleeves 9S98, adapted to be supported on vertically spaced pins 190 fast to the carriage 56, so as to swingably support the plates for movement about a vertical axis parallel to the rod 68. The plates 102-102 have welded to their upper edges a cap N3 which slopes forwardly and downwardly and contains inclined tracks 104 on which there is slidably mounted a block 106, to the rear end of which are fixed laterally spaced posts 108-103 containing arcuate slots i1(l-110. The heel clamp 66 is mounted between posts itl8-ltl8 for movement along the slots 1ltl*1lltl upon laterally and oppositely extending screw bolts 112ll2 which are engaged within the slots and which may be locked at any given heightwise position by means of thumb screws lit-4.14. The forward end of the block 106 is connected to a rod 116 extending from a cylinder 118 to which fluid may be supplied to retract or advance the block along its track and hence to advance the clamp 66 into engagement with the heel end of the last or toretract it therefrom. Since the plates 102 are mounted for pivotal movement about the vertical axes of the pins 160, as the heel clamp 66 is brought into engagement with the heel end of the last, the plates 162 will swing laterally to accommodate the heel clamp to the eccentricity of the heel.

At the lower part of the carriage 53 there is fastened a forwardly extending, arcuate-shaped brake plate 120 having a radius of curvature corresponding to the radius of swing of the plates 102. The plates have at their lower parts grooves l22-l22 into which the forward edge of the arcuate plate extends. An eccentric 124 (Fig. l) is pivotally mounted on one of the plates 102 so as to have contact with the brake plate 120 and by rotation about its axis frictionally to lock the plates 1W2 with respect to the brake plate 120, thereby to lock the angular position of the heel clamp. The eccentric 124 is moved into and out of locking position by an arm 1% pivotally connected to a rod 128 which extends from a cylinder 130 bolted to the bracket plate 102. A spring 134 on the rod operates to hold the latter extended so that the ecentric is in non-locking position.

A corresponding locking eccentric 136 is mounted on the bracket arm 52 for locking the cap in a given rearwardly displaced position. Operation of the eccentric is effected through an arm 138 pivotally secured to a rod 140 operating in a cylinder 142, the latter being fastened to the frame of the machine. Braking is eifected by a brake plate 143 pivotally fastened to the block 56 which is forced into frictional contact with a brake shoe 145 fastened to the bracket 52.

Referring now to Figs. 7, i8, 9 .and 10, the sequence of events will be described with reference to a lasting operation. As earlier pointed out the fluid motors 4i) and 70 are controlled through the intermediary of valves by a common hand lever 44 and by pushing and pulling on the lever the wipers may be advanced rearwardly and forwardly with reference to the support for the last and by rotating it in counterclockwise and clockwise directions the support for the last may be lowered and raised with reference to the plane of movement of the wipers. Thefluid motor 40 foreffecting movement of the wipers .is shown in Fig. 9, together with the servo-valve 14.4,

which iscontrolled bythe aforesaid handle and operable thereby to permit fluid to be supplied-to the motor 413. The motor 70 and its valve areornittedsince they operate in thesamefashion as described in the aforesaid pending application and are not directly involved-inthe succession of events which takes place automatically herein. To start with, however, the wipers .22 and 24 are retracted to their full extent by pushing the handle 44 rearwardly and the toe support is elevated by rotating the handle 44 in a clockwisedirectionso that the toe support 62 is .at sucha level with respect to the wipers :that when the toe of a. last :is placed on the support, bottom up, with the upperassembled thereon,- the plane of the bottom of the last will be substantially inthe plane of the wipers and the tip of the toe will be within approximately a quarter of an inch of the wiper edges. The operator places the shoe in position so that its center line is substantially symmetrical with respect to the wipers and the bottom substantially horizontal. While thus holding the shoe the operator moves a switch lever 146 (Fig. from contact 148 to 150. This de-energizes the solenoid 147 and opens the self-venting valve 149 so that the lower end of the cylinder 96 and the upper end of the cylinder 118 are vented. At the same tirne current is supplied by way of a conductor 152 to the solenoid 154 of an air valve 156. The air valve 156 supplies air from a source 158 through a conductor 160 to the upper end of the cylinder 96 which lowers the toe clamp 64 into engagement with the bottom of the last at the toe so as to clamp the toe rigidly in place against the toe support 62. A pressure operated switch 162 is connected to the cylinder 96 by a branch conductor 164 and when the pressure within the cylinder 96 reaches a predetermined amount it is closed so as to supply current through

conductors

166 and 168 to the solenoid 170 of an air valve 172. Operation of the air valve 172 supplies air from the source 158 through a conductor 174 to the lower end of the cylinder 118 so as to advance the heel clamp supporting posts 108-408 rearwardly to bring the heel clamp 66 into engagement with the heel end of the last. As previously explained, as the heel clamp comes into en gagement with the heel its supporting plate 102102 will swing laterally in one direction or the other about the vertical axis of the pins 100 so as to accommodate the heel clamp to the eccentricity of the heel with reference to the toe. It is to be observed, of course, that plates 102102 must be manually positioned so as to roughly approximate the position of the heel before the operation is started, so that as the heel clamp is advanced it will be certain to contact the heel end of the shoe, although not necessarily exactly centered thereon. A pressure operated switch 176 is connected to the cylinder 118 and this is closed when the pressure in cylinder 118 reaches a predetermined amount to supply current through

conductors

180, 182, a normally closed switch 184 and a conductor 186 to two

solenoids

188 and 190. The solenoid 190 operates an air valve 192 so as to deliver air from the source 158 through a conductor 194 to the rear end of the motor 40. This automatically advances the wipers independently of the position of the servovalve 144. This is accomplished without affecting the position of the servo-valve and without causing it to move by a second air valve 196 which is operated by the solenoid 188 to exhaust air from the forward end of the motor 40. Referring to Fig. 7, as the wipers. are automatically advanced toward the toe of the last, fixed as previously explained so that its bottom is substantially on a level with the wipers and clamped there by the toe and heel clamps, the leading edges of the wiper blades come into contact with the last substantially at its shoulder and because of the design of the wipers, as previously explained, will in most instances fail to conform exactly to the contour of the last so that as shown, for example, in Fig. 7, the edges of the wipers may have contact with a tip of the last but diverge increasingly as they extend rearwardly. As the wipers advance into engagement with the toe of the last and the pressure increases, the wiper support 16 begins to yield rearwardly, displacing the plunger 48 rearwardly within the cylinder 50, and as the support yields rearwardly the wipers are displaced rearwardly, but at the same time are swung inwardly by their guide plates so as to conform closely to the contour of the last as shown in Fig. 8. The wiper support is held in its forward position by the plunger 48 which yields as full pressure is applied to the wipers by reason of the fact that the cylinder 50 is supplied with less than full air pressure through a regulating valve 51.

A rearward movement of approximately one quarter A) of an inch maximum sufiices to insure adjusting the wipers so as to closely fit the contour of the last in any given range of sizes for which the Wipers have been designed. As the wipers move into close conformity with the last, and as the pressure increases, a pressure operated switch 198 connected by

conductors

200 and 202 to the opposite ends of the motor 40 is operated by a pressure differential of a predetermined amount to supply current through

conductors

204 and 206 to two

solenoids

208 and 210. The solenoid 208 opens the normally closed switch 184 so as to de-energize the

solenoids

188 and 190 which cut off the supply of air to the motor 40 and closes the exhaust. This returns the control of the motor 40 to the position of the servo-valve 144 and of the hand lever 44. At the same time the solenoid 210 closes a normally open switch 212 and this, through a conductor 214, supplies current to a solenoid 216 which operates an air valve 218, which supplies air through a conductor 220 and conductors 222 and 224 respectively, to the cylinders 142 and 130. Supplying air to the cylinder 142 actuates the eccentric 136 in a direction to swing the brake lever 143 hard against the brake band so as to fix the position of the wiper mount 12 in the position shown in Fig. 8. Simultaneously, supplying air to the cylinder 130 rotates eccentric 124 into engagement with the brake plate 120 so as to lock the angular position of the bracket plate 102 and hence of the heel clamp 66. With the last supported and locked in position, the head locked in a position in which the wipers conform to the contour of the last and the control of the apparatus. restored to the hand lever 44, the operator may now lower the support with reference to the wipers so as to produce the heightwise stressing desired and advance the wipers forwardly over the bottom so as to wipe the lasting margin inwardly against the bottom. In accordance with usual practice these manipulations are carried out several times in order to work the upper over the shoulder of the last and to lay it down in place to attain the best possible snugness about the toe. Having attained satisfactory lasting the operator grasps the last at the waist and flips the switch arm 146 from the contact over to the contact 148. This de-energizes the solenoids 154 and so that their

respective valves

156 and 172 supply air to the opposite ends of the

motors

96 and 118, thereby retracting the heel clamp and raising the toe clamp so that the shoe may be removed. Simultaneously, the

solenoids

208 and 210 are de-energized so that the normally open switch 184 is closed and the switch 212 is opened, thereby deenergizing the solenoid 216 which in turn opens the air valve 218 and releases the cylinders 130 and 142 so as to unlock the head and the support. The apparatus is now restored to its normal position in readiness for the next operation.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the support and wipers for relative movement to bring the wipers and last into engagemennsaid wipers being designed progressively to close as the wipers and last move together, so as to be capable of accommodating themselves to shoes of diiferent sizes, and power operated means for efiecting said relative movement of the wipers and last into engagement, said wiper support being rearwardly displaceable when the pressure between the wipers and the last reaches a predetermined amount to cause the wipers to adjust themselves to the toe: by such rearward displacement.

2. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a' last with an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support for relative movement to bring the wipers and the last into engagement, said wipers being designed progressively to close during said relative movement so as initially to conform to the curvature of the toe end of the last, power operated means efiecting said relative movement, said wiper support being rearwardly displaceable when the pressure between the wipers and the last reaches a predetermined maximum, to a position in which the wipers adjust themselves to the contour of the last and means for locking the wiper support at said rearwardly displaced position.

3. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support for relative movement to bring the wipers and the last into engagement, said wipers being designed progressively to close during said relative movement so as initially to conform to the curvature of the toe end of the last, power operated means for 'efiecting said relative movement, said wiper support being rearwardly displaceable relative to the wipers when the pressure between the wipers and the shoe reaches a predetermined maximum, means operable at said predetermined pressure to lock the wiper support at said rearwardly displaced position and other means operable at that pressure to disconnect the Wipers from said power operated means.

4. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, a support with a last for an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support for relative movement to a position in which the wipers are wide open to a position in which they are closed, said wipers being designed progressively to close during said relative movement so as to conform closely to the curvature of shoes of different sizes according to the amount of said movement, manually controlled power operated means for effecting said relative movement, means for actuating said power operated means independently of the manual control, automatically to effect said relative movement to bring the wipers and toe of the shoe into engagement, said wiper support being rearwardly displaceable relative to the wipers when the pressure between the wipers and the shoe reaches a predetermined maximum, means operated at said pressure to lock the wiper support at said rearwardly displaced position and other means operable at that pressure to restore the power operated means to the manual control.

5. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and thesupport for relative movement, said wipers being designed progressively to close as they are moved relative to the shoe so as to be capable of conforming closely to the contour of shoes of different size according to the degree of their displacement, power operated means automatically operable for effecting relative movement, and means operable when the pressure between the wipers and shoe reaches a predetermined maximum to fix the position of one of the relatively movable parts and to disconnect said power operated means.

6. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support for relative movement to efiect engagement therebetween, said wipers being designed progressively to close as they are displaced relative to the shoe to be capable of conforming closely to the contour of shoes of different size according to the degree of displacement, power operated means automatically operable for effecting relative movement, means operable when the pressure between the wipers and the shoe reaches a predetermined maximum to fix the support and to permit rearward displacement of the wipers relative to the shoe, and other means operable at that pressure to disconnect, the power operated means.

7. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and the support for relative movement to effect engagement therebetween, said wipers being designed progressively to close as they are moved relative to the support to accommodate themselves to different size shoes, manually controlled power operated means for'eifecting said relative movement, means operable to disconnect said manual control and to cause said power operated means to eiiect said relative movement, means operable when the pressure between the shoe and the wipers reach a predetermined amount to fix the position of the shoe and to permit the wiper support to yield, and other means operable to restore the manual control to said pressure operated means.

8. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with an upper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and the support for relative movement to efiect engagement therebetween, said support including toe and heel clamping elements movable relative to the support, power operated means for eliecting movement of the toe clamp to bring it into engagement with the toe, power operated means for effecting movement of the heel clamp to bring it into engagement with the heel and means operable when the pressure of the toe clamp reaches a predetermined amount to initiate operation of the power operated means for effecting movement of the heel clamp, said heel clamp being unconstrained laterally so as to adjust itself to the position of the heel regardless of the eccentricity of the heel with respect to the center line of the toe.

9. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, means for clamping the toe of the last with an upper assembled thereon in a position to be operated upon. by the wipers, a heel clamp, means mounting the heel clamp for movement lengthwise of the last and swinging movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to the wipers in directions laterally of the last, and power operated means for effecting movement of the heel clamp lengthwise of the last to bring it into engagement with the heel end thereof, said heel clamp being laterally displaceable about its axis by the eccentricity of the heel end of the last, so as to accommodate itself to the center line of the heel and means for locking the heel clamp. in its forward and laterally displaced position,

10. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, means for clamping the toe of the last with an upper assembled thereon in a position to be operated upon by the wipers, means mounting a heel clamp for movement lengthwise of the last and movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to the wipers in directions laterally of the last, power operated means for effecting movement of the heel clamp lengthwise of the last to bring it into engagement with the heel end thereof, said heel clamp being laterally displaceable about its axis by contact with the heel end of the last as it is brought into engagement therewith, locking means for fixing the lateral position of the heel clamp after it is engaged with the heel and means operable when the pressure between the heel clamp and the last reaches a predetermined amount to effect operation of said locking means.

11. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, means for supporting the toe of the last with an upper assembled thereon in a position to be operated upon by the wipers, means mounting a toe clamp for movement into engagement with the toe to clamp it against said support, power operated means effecting movement of the toe clamp, means mounting a heel clamp for movement lengthwise of the last into engagement with the heel end and laterally of the last to take up a position corresponding to the eccentricity of theheel, power operated means for efiecting lengthwise movement of the heel clamp, means controlling operation of the power operated means to cause the toe clamp to clamp the toe first and then to bring the heel clamp into clamping position, and means operable to lock the heel clamp at its heel engaging position when the pressure reaches a predetermined amount.

12. In a toe lasting machine, means mounting wipers and last supporting and clamping means for relative movement to eflfect wiping an upper on the last about the toe, power operated means for effecting such relative movement, said power operated means being controlled by a manually movable lever, said last supporting and clamping means comprising a toe support, a toe clamp and a heel clamp, power operated means for moving the toe clamp into engagement with the toe to clamp it against the toe support, power operated means for moving the heel clamp lengthwise of the last to bring it into engagement with the heel, said heel clamp being laterally swingable by engagement with the heel end of the last as it is brought into engagement therewith to take up the lateral eccentricity of the heel with respect to the toe, means for locking the heel clamp in position, and means for rendering the manual control of the power operated means inefiective and initiating automatic operation of the power operated means sequentially to bring the toe clamp into engagement with the toe, the heel clamp into engagement with the heel and to efiect operation of said locking means.

13. A toe lasting machine according to claim 12, Wherein said last-named means is operable to restore the control of the power operated means to said manual lever after effecting operation of said locking means.

14. In a toe lasting machine, means mounting wipers and last supporting and clamping means for relative movement in directions parallel to and perpendicular to the bottom of the last to efiect wiping an upper on the last about the toe, power operated means for effecting such relative movement, said power operated means being controlled by a manually movable lever, said wiper mounting being yieldable under a predetermined pressure lengthwise of the last, said last supporting and clamping means comprising a toe support, a toe clamp movable substantially perpendicular to the bottom into engagement with the toe and a heel clamp movable lengthwise of the last into engagement with the heel and laterally to accommodate itself to the eccentricity of the heel, power operable means for effecting movement of the toe clamp, power operable means for effecting movement of the heel clamp, control means operable to initiate operation of the power operated means for the toe and heel clamps sequentially, to render the manual control of the power operated means for effecting relative movement of the wiper and support inoperative and automatically to efilect such relative movement to bring the wipers and the toe into engagement, said wipers being designed by their relative position to fit snugly about the toe of a shoe, and being displaceable when the pressure between them and the end of the shoe reaches a predetermined amount to yield to the contour of the toe, locking means operable when the pressure between the wipers and the last reaches a predetermined amount to lock the position of the wiper support and the heel clamp, said control means being operable at said pressure to restore control of the manual lever to the first-named power operated means.

15. In a toe lasting machine, a support for a last, wipers, a movable support for the Wipers, said wiper support being movable a limited amount toward and from the support for the last, means supporting the wipers on the movable wiper support for movement toward and away from the support for the last, means yieldably holding the wiper support in its forward position and means for advancing the wipers on the wiper support into engagement with the last, said yieldable means permitting the wiper support to yield rearwardly when the forward pressure of the wipers against the last reaches a predetermined amount.

16. In a toe lasting machine, a support for a last, wipers, a movable support for the wipers on which the wipers are movable, pneumatic means for holding the wiper support in its forward position and for advancing the wipers relative to the wiper support into engagement with the supported last, means for supplying pressure to said pneumatic means, and means for maintaining the pressure supplied to the pneumatic means for holding the wiper support in its forward position at a lower level than that which is supplied to the pneumatic means for advancing the wipers into engagement with the last.

17. In a toe lasting machine, a support for a last, wipers and wiper mounting means, said wiper mounting means and Wipers being movable relative to the last support and to each other, yieldable means normally holding the wiper mounting means advanced toward the last support and means for advancing the wipers on the wiper mounting means into engagement with the last, said last-named means being designed to overcome the yieldable means sufficiently to efiect rearward displacement of the wiper mounting means and means for supporting the wipers on the wiper mounting means for movement in the plane of the last bottom lengthwise of the shoe and laterally toward each other to close the wipers in proportion to their relative movement lengthwise of the shoe, said relative movement being continued after the wipers have been brought into engagement with the toe of the last when the pressure between the wipers and last reaches a predetermined amount by rearward yielding movement of the wiper mounting means.

18. In a toe lasting machine a relatively fixed support for a last, wiper mounting means movable relative to the support for the last, yieldable means normally holding the wiper mounting means advancedl toward the last support, wipers mounted on the wiper mounting means for movement from a normally wide open position at the forward position of the mounting means, forwardly relative to the wiper mounting means to a partially closed position determined by their contact with the toe of the last, and means for efiecting movement of the wipers on the wiper mounting means, said yieldable means permitting rearward movement of the wiper mounting means relative to the wipers after they engage the last, when the pressure between the wipers and the last reaches a predetermined amount to efiect further closing of the wipers relative to the last without further forward movement thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,019,125 Brock Mar. 5, 1912 1,077,938 McLeely Nov. 4, 1913 1,692,284 Baxter Nov. 20, 1928 2,733,460 MacDonald Feb. 7, 1956 2,774,086 Burby Dec. 18, 1956