US3222703A

US3222703A - Lasting machine

Info

Publication number: US3222703A
Application number: US294377A
Authority: US
Inventors: Broughton Ernest; Stuart R Burns
Original assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Current assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1962-07-20
Filing date: 1963-07-11
Publication date: 1965-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 1982-12-14
Also published as: GB1049784A; CH428494A

Description

1965 E. BROUGHTON ETAL 3,

LASTING MACHINE Filed July 11, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 C f D o 12 0 If 8, J41 30 o 4 4 0 Inven mm" Ernest Broughzon Stuart R. Bums By their Attorney 1965 E. BROUGHTON ETAL 3,222,703

LASTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11, 1963 km I I IN I I J: R a b a I, Q C

| l I l l l llllllllllill I|I||||I Dec. 14, 1965 E. BROUGHTON ETAL 3,222,703

LASTING MACHINE Filed July 11, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,222,703 LASTING MACHINE Ernest Broughton and Stuart R. Burns, Leicester, England,

assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 11, 1963, Ser. No. 294,377

Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 20, 1962, 27 ,931/ 62 3 Claims. (Cl. 12-12) This invention relates generally to shoe upper forming machines such as that disclosed in an United States Letters Patent, No. 3,099,846, granted August 6, 1963 in the names of Lane et a1. More particularly the invention is directed to improvements in means for lasting the ball regions of a shoe.

The machine disclosed in said patent is adapted to perform a pulling over and lasting operation in the toe, forepart and ball regions of a shoe. To this end the machine is provided with a plurality of grippers arranged to pull an upper about the toe and forepart of a last upon which the upper is assembled and with wipers adapted to wipe the pulled upper inwardly over the forepart of an insole for attachment thereto, The machine is further provided with a pair of lasting units arranged to operate at opposite sides of the shoe at the ball portion.

The ball lasting units each include ball wipers which move inwardly to wipe the upper over the ball regions of the shoe before the forepart of the upper is lasted. To avoid the formation of wrinkles in the upper toeward of the ball line the forepart wipers are elongated and the heelward ends are adapted to overlap the portions of the shoe operated upon by the ball wipers. So that the ball wipers will not interfere with the operation of the forepart wipers they are arranged to be yieldable heightwise so as to be displaced by the forepart wipers during their heightwise and inward movements. While the above machine generally performs satisfactorily, its operation on a shoe is subject to improvement where the forepart wipers overlap the ball Wipers in order to effect a smoother shoe bottom.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide improvements to the ball wiping mechanism which insures a moreefiicient and more effective wiping action on the upper where it is operated upon by both the forepart wipers and the ball wipers. To this end each ball wiper has associated therewith a thin resilient plate which overlies a substantial part of the inner operative portion of the ball wiper. The plate is spaced heightwise from its associated ball wiper and is arranged to be pressed by the wiper against the upper as it is moved inwardly over the ball portion of the last bottom. The plate also is recessed sufficiently at its toeward side so that the heelward ends of the forepart wipers during their heightwise movement engage only the ball wipers. During their in ward movement the forepart wipers pass between the ball wipers and their associated plates to maintain the plates pressed against the upper while displacing the ball wipers heightwise. In this fashion the plates continually engage and maintain control of the inwiped upper preventing for mation of wrinkles.

The above and other features of the invention together with novel combinations and details of construction will now be described with particular reference to the drawings and thereafter particularly pointed out in the ap' pended claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the machine as shown in the above-mentioned patent and includes the improved ball wiping mechanism of the present invention;

FIG, 2 is a section through one of the ball wiping units substantially on line IIII of FIG. 1;

3,222,703 Patented Dec. 14, 1965 FIG. 3 is a plan view of one of the ball wipers;

FIG. 4 is a section on line IVIV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section similar to FIG. 4 showing a modi fied form of the wiper; and,

FIG. 6 is a view of the modified ball wiper illustrated in FIG. 5, showing the relative positions of the forepart wiper and the ball wiper during operation on a shoe.

The illustrative machine embodying the present invention is a shoe upper conforming machine suitable for use in performing a combined pulling over and lasting operation on the toe, forepart and joint regions of a shoe (i.e. including regions also commonly known as the ball regions where the shoe bottom curves heightwise from the generally fiat portion of the forepart into the shank portion). The machine is generally similar to that shown in said patent to which reference may be had for a more detailed description of machine functions not fully treated herein.

For supporting the forepart of a last having an insole positioned against the bottom thereof and an upper mounted thereon the illustrative machine has supporting means 2 (FIG. 1). For exerting a tensioning action on the upper the illustrative machine is provided with a plurality of forepart grippers 4, 6 and 8 and a pair of ball grippers 10, the grippers being disposed around the shoesupporting means in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The upper is tensioned as a result of relative movement, heightwise of the last, taking place between the grippers and the shoe-supporting means 2 in a manner fully explained in said patent. For wiping the marginal portions of the upper at the toe and forepart inwardly across the edge of the insole the illustrative machine is provided with a pair of toe-embracing wipers 12 mounted in a wiper box 14. For wiping marginal portions of the upper inwardly of the edge of the insole in the ball region of the shoe, the illustrative machine is provided with a pair of ball wipers 16 on each side of the machine, the ball wipers being mounted as hereinafter described on a pair of ball lasting units 20. These units are each provided with a pair of side clamps 22 and 24 (FIG. 2) for engaging the upper in the ball region just prior to the release of the upper by the ball grippers 10 so as to maintain tension in these portions of the upper as the ball wipers take over control of the upper from the ball grippers. For supporting the last with the shoe upper thereon against the heelward thrust of the toe-embracing wipers as they Wipe the upper inwardly, the illustrative machine is provided with a heel support 28. The machine is also provided with a toe pad 30 which is arranged to engage the upper with a relatively light pressure before the toe-embracing wipers perform their inwiping operation and then to press more firmly on the upper to assist the wipers in bedding the upper firmly on the insole.

Each of the ball lasting units 20 is secured to a bracket 32 mounted on the machine frame and is adjustable in a plurality of directions for positioning the units relative to the ball regions of a variety of shoe in a manner fully described in said patent. A main casting 34 (FIG. 2) of each unit 20 provides a hollow housing having adjustably secured to it by means of a flange 35 a piston rod 36 on which is slidably mounted a cylinder block 38. By introducing a fluid such as air from a pipe 40 through a passage 42 in the piston rod, the block 38 i caused to move toward a shoe in the machine until the side clamps 22, 24 engage the side of the shoe at the ball region. Thereafter, in time-d relation, air is admitted from a pipe 44 and passage 46 into a cylinder 48 formed in the block 38 causing a piston 50 to be moved relative to the block toward the shoe. This piston at its right end is provided with depending ears 52 carrying a pin 54 on which is pivoted a block 56 carrying the wiper 16. A spring 58 acts on the block to maintain the wiper in a predetermined heightwise position as determined by a stop screw 60 while permitting the wiper to yield downward. Up to this point the ball Wiping mechanism described is substantially similar to that illustrated in said patent.

The present ball wiper 16 comprising the present invention includes a substantially rigid plate 62 which is secured to the block 56 by means of a screw 64 extending through the block and a hole 66 (FIG. 3) in the plate and into a threaded block 68. The inner edge of the wiper plate 62 is enlarged at 70 (FIG. 4) and beveled at 72 to provide the operative wiping in portion of the wiper. A resilient spring plate 74 as seen in FIG. 3 has a free end 75 overlying a substantial part of the operative portion of the wiper plate 62 and i secured remote from the free end between the plate 62 and the block 68. In the arrangement shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the inner free end 75 of the plate 74 is bent downwardly over the beveled operative portion 72 of the plate 62. The plate 62 is recessed at 76 so the spring plate 74 is spaced slightly above the plate 62.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a modified arrangement in which the free end 75' of the spring plate 74 does not overlie the beveled portion 72 of the wiper plate but terminates outwardly of this portion and is received within the modified recess 76 so as to be flush with the operative wiping face of the wiper plate 62 as it wipes the upper inwardly over the shoe bottom.

In the operation of the machine the ball lasting units 20 operate after the upper is tensioned by the grippers 4, 6, 8 and 10 to wipe the upper inwardly over the ball regions at opposite sides of the shoe. Thereafter, the forepart wipers 12 are moved heelwardly until they substantially overlie the outline of the forepart of the last. At this time the heelward ends of the forepart wipers 12 overlie a part of the ball wiper plates 62 as seen in phantom in FIG. 3. During their heightwise wiping movements, the forepart wipers are moved into engagement with the recessed portions 76 of the ball wiper plates 62, the spring plates 74 being cut away at 78 to clear the forepart Wipers at this time. The heelwaird ends of the forepart wipers then are substantially aligned with the spaces between the ball wiper plates 62 and the spring plates 74. As the forepart wipers move inwardly, they pass between the wiper plates 62 and the

spring plates

74 or 74 and hold the spring plates pressed against the upper while depressing the wiper plates 62 out of the path of their inwiping movements as illustrated in FIG. 6. In this manner, the

spring plates

74, or 74 continually engage the ball regions of the upper preventing formation of wrinkles and effect a smooth shOe bottom at the juncture between the ball regions and the forepart of the shoe.

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

1. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, ball wipers mounted in the machine to engage opposite marginal portions of the upper at the ball line, means for moving the ball wipers inwardly widthwise of the last while yieldably pressing the ball wiper toward the last bottom for wiping the u per over the ball region of the last, forepart wipers movable heighwise of the last into engagement with exposed surfaces of the ball wipers after widthwise movement of the ball wipers, the forepart wipers thereafter being movable widthwise between the ball wipers and the upper previously wiped by the ball wipers, and thin resilient plate each having an inner operative end overlying an associated ball wiper and being pressed thereby against the upper, the plate adjacent the exposed surface of the ball wiper forming an opening therewith through which the forepart wiper passes during its inward movements whereby the plates are held pressed against the upper by the forepart wiper while the ball wipers are displaced away from the last bottom.

2. A machine as described in claim 1 in which said plates overlie a substantial part of an operative portion of the associated ball wipers and are recessed to permit the heelward ends of the forepart wipers during their heightwise movement to engage only the ball wipers, said plates also being spaced heightwise from their associated ball wipers to provide said opening for passage of the forepart wipers during their inward wiping movements.

3. A machine as described in claim 1 in which each ball wiper is provided with a recess which receives the inner operative end of its associated plate while the upper is wiped over the ball portion of the last bottom during the inward wiping movement of the ball wiper.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,665,436 1/1954 Jorgensen 12l().1 2,739,323 3/1956 Jorgensen 12--12 2;778,039 1/1957 Hubbard 1212 3,099,846 8/1963 Lane et al 1210.1

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A MACHINE FOR SHAPING UPPERS OVER LASTS, BALL WIPERS MOUNTED IN THE MACHINE TO ENGAGE OPPOISTE MARGINAL PORTIONS OF THE UPPER AT THE BALL LINE, MEANS FOR MOVING THE BALL WIPERS INWARDLY WIDTHWISE OF THE LAST WHILE YIELDABLY PRESSING THE BALL WIPERS TOWARD THE LAST BOTTOM FOR WIPING THE UPPER OVER THE BALL REGION OF THE LAST, FOREPART WIPERS MOVABLE HEIGHTWISE OF THE LAST INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH EXPOSED SURFACES OF THE BALL WIPERS AFTER WIDTHWISE MOVEMENT OF THE BALL WIPERS, THE FOREPART WIPERS THEREAFTER BEING MOVABLE WIDTHWISE BETWEEN THE BALL WIPERS AND UPPER PREVIOUSLY WIPED BY THE BALL WIPERS, AND THIN RESILIENT PLATES EACH HAVING AN INNER OPERATIVE END OVERLYING AN ASSOCIATED BALL WIPER AND BEING PRESSED THEREBY AGAINST THE UPPER, THE PLATE ADJACENT THE EXPOSED SURFACE OF THE BALL WIPER FORMING AN OPENING THEREWITH THROUGH WHICH THE FOREPART WIPER PASSES DURING ITS INWARD MOVEMENTS WHEREBY THE PLATES ARE HELD PRESSED AGAINST THE UPPER BY THE FOREPART WIPERS WHILE THE BALL WIPERS ARE DISPLACED AWAY FROM THE LAST BOTTOM.