US3091785A - Shoe machines - Google Patents

Description

June 4, 1963 Filed Jan. 11, 1960 y In? Inventor (fa/m RPope B his/1ft or'ney United States Patent 3,091,785 SHOE MACHINES John Rose Pope, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass., at corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 1,773 4 Claims. (CI. 12-12) This invention relates to shoe machines and particularly to improved operating instrumentalities for such machines. Although herein illustrated, by way of example only, as embodied in a wiper for a toe lasting machine, it will be understood that the invention is not so limited in its utility but rather is equally well adapted for embodiment in other operating instrumentalities having generally similar functions.

In the manufacture of shoes, various heated operating instrumentalities are utilized which, during the course of their operation on a shoe, may come into engagement with portions of the upper which will be exposed in the finished shoe. In order to avoid marking or otherwise damaging such exposed portions of the upper great care must be taken and the temperature of the heated operating instrumentalities may have to be kept at such a low point as to limit considerably the effectiveness of the operating instrumentalities when acting on other portions of the upper.

For example, in the cement-lasting of shoes it is desirable, in order to obtain (a) rapid setting of adhesive between the overlasted margin of the upper and the shoe bottom member and (b) a well flattened lasting margin, to employ heated wipers as operative instrumentalities in the lasting machine employed. However, if the wipers are to perform a heightwise wiping action on the upper as well as an overwiping action, the heated edge portions of the wipers will usually first engage the upper at a level which will, in the finished shoe, be above the feather line, and will then move heightwise of the shoe to their overwiping level. It will be appreciated that, if the wipers are sufliciently hot effectively to iron the lasting margin during the overwiping operation and to accelerate the setting of the adhesive as above referred to, the hot edge portions of the wipers are likely to mark and often glaze the upper during the upwiping operation. This eifect is likely to be more marked if, as is often the case, a retarder or similar upper controlling means is employed to spread the upper outwardly over the wipers and to press portions of the upper thereagainst during the upwiping operation to augment the tensioning action of the wipers on the upper as it is thereby pulled down to the last.

In view of the above considerations an object of the invention is to provide a novel operative instrumentality, suitable for use in the manufacture of shoes, which, while being capable of being heated adequately to perform its desired function, is so constructed as to be unlikely to damage shoe parts engaged thereby during the course of its operation.

With the above object particularly in view the invention is concerned with providing, in or for use in, machines for operating on shoes (such, for example, as machines for lasting end portions of shoe uppers) plate-like operative instrumentalities adapted, in the course of their operation, to engage portions of the uppers of shoes presented to the machines and comprising portions which are formed mainly of metal and shoe upper engaging portions which are for-med of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the metal of which the instrumentalities are mainly formed so that, when said instrumentalities are used to operate in heated condition on shoes, the shoe upper engaging portions thereof will conduct less heat to the shoe upper than they otherwise would if they also were made of metal.

By way of exemplification of the invention, but not by Way of limitation thereof, there will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawing, an illustrative form of operative instrumentality, which is arranged to be heated to perform its operative function correctly, this illustrative form of instrumentality being provided with heat-insulating portions to protect a workpiece against damage due to contact therewith during the course of operation of the instrumentality thereon.

The accompanying drawing is a cross-sectional view of a Work-engaging portion of the illustrative form of operative instrumentality.

The illustrative form of instrumentality shown in the drawing and described below is a wiper suitable for use, with a similar wiper of opposite hand to provide a pair of wipers, in a lasting machine adapted to perform a toe lasting operation on shoe uppers, for example where marginal portions of the uppers are arranged to be secured in lasted relation to the shoe bottoms by the aid of adhesive. The wiper is a metallic plate-like member of a shape suitable for use in the particular toe lasting machine employed and, assuming the machine to be one to which the shoe is presented bottom upwards for the toe lasting operation, a marginal portion of the upper face and the inner (operative) edge portion of the wiper plate (these portions being portions which are likely to engage the upper during an early stage of the cycle of operations of the machine as hereinafter referred to) are formed of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the metal, being provided by a coating of heat insulating material such as vitreous enamel. The coating also extends, preferably, slightly from the edge beneath the Wiper plate. The coating on the upper face may conveniently be some /2." wide, while that on the under-face may only extend inwardly from the edge for a distance of some to The thickness of the coating will be that required to provide the necessary heat insulation but suitable thicknesses are considered to lie in the range of from about .002 to about .02. The vitreous enamel coating may be applied by any suitable method such as brushing or spraying prior to firing in the usual manner.

The illustrative form of wiper plate is arranged to be incorporated in a wiper carrier provided with heating means and provides wiping means presenting one surface having a heat-insulating portion over which the up per may be outspread, for example, by upper controlling and retarding means which may be hand operated or incorporated in the machine, during an early stage in the cycle of operations while the wiping means performs an upwiping operation on the shoe upper, the upper material then being protected, to some extent at least, from damage by heat resulting from engagement with the upper surface and inner edge portion of the wiper plate since the shoe upper engaging portions provided by the vitreous enamel will conduct less heat to the shoe upper than they otherwise would if they were made of metal. When the wiper plate moves inwards across the edge of the shoe bottom to wipe marginal portions of the up er inwardly of that edge, uncoated portions of the lower face of the wiper plate will engage the lasting margin and heat may then be readily transferred to the lasting margin to assist in bedding it down to the shoe bottom and in accelerating the setting of adhesive between the marginal portions of the upper and the shoe bottom member.

The drawing shows in section a portion of one of the illustrative forms of operative instrumentality. In the drawing the main metallic portion is shown in section and is indicated by the reference numeral 10 while the upper engaging portions of material of lower thermal conductivity are provided by the coating 12 of vitreous enamel, the enamel extending over an upper marginal portion of the plate-like member, an inner edge portion, and, only to a slight extent, on the under face of the plate-like member as liereinbefore referred to.

While in the illustrative forms of instrumentalities above provided by layers of vitreous enamel applied to the metallic portions it will be appreciated that the portions of lowerheat conductivity could be provided by suitable material otherwise attached to the metallic portions or let into suitable recesses in those portions.

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

*1. An operative instrumentality for use in a shoe machine comprising a body portion formed of metal and a coating of vitreous enamel covering selected surface areas of the body portion.

2. An operative instrumentality for use in a shoe machine comprising :a body portion with opposite side surfaces formed of metal and shaped to provide an operating edge of a predetermined contour and a coating of vitreous enamel covering the operating edge and a part of one of the opposite side surfaces of said body portion.

3. A wiper for use in a lasting machine comprising a body portion formed of metal and a coating of vitreous enamel covering selected surface areas of the body portion.

4. A Wiper for use in a lasting machine comprising a body portion with opposite side surfaces formed of metal and shaped to provide an operating edge of a predetermined contour and a coating of vitreous enamel covering the operating edge and a part of one of the opposite side surfaces of said body portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,666,218 Altvater Jan. 19, 1954 t FOREIGN PATENTS 1,123,894 France Oct. 1, 1956

Claims (1)

1. AN OPERATIVE INSTRUMENTALITY FOR USE IN A SHOE MACHINE COMPRISING A BODY PORTION FORMED OF METAL AND A COATING OF VITREOUS ENAMEL COVERNG SELECTED SURFACE AREAS OF THE BODY PORTION.

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