US3268931A

US3268931A - Apparatus for making adhesive seams

Info

Publication number: US3268931A
Application number: US506953A
Authority: US
Inventors: Philip J Webster
Original assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Current assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1965-11-09
Filing date: 1965-11-09
Publication date: 1966-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 1983-08-30

Description

Aug. 30, 1966 P. J. WEBSTER 3,268,931

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ADHESIVE SEAMS Fild Nov. 9, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 12 TH \Jh Inventor Philly; J VVebszer By his Attorney 6 P. J. WEBSTER 3,268,931

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ADHESIVE SEAMS Filed Nov. 9, 1965 v 2 Sheets$heet 2 United States Patent ice F 3,268,931 APPARATUS FUR MAKKNG ADHESKVE SEAMS Philip J. Webster, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass, in corporation of New Jersey Filed Nov. 9, 1%5, Ser. No. 506353 Claims. (Cl. 12-55) This invention relates to apparatus for ad-hesively joining shoe parts and, more particularly, to apparatus for manufacturing an adhesively bonded backseam.

In the most commonly employed method of forming shoe uppers, the uppers are assembled by stitching together a plurality of appropriately shaped components. The seam located at the back or heel portion of the shoe, commonly referred to as the backseam, is normally formed wth the partially formed upper turned inside out by alining the ends of the quarter components in face to face relationship and applying a stitched seam thereto. The stitching is completed with the upper turned inside out so that when the upper is reversed, the alined ends to which the stitching is applied will be directed inwardly and thereby concealed in the finished shoe. If the quarter ends were initially folded inwardly into alined face to face relation with the upper in its normal orientation, the alined ends could not be introduced to a stitching machine without turning the partially formed upper inside out. It is to be noted that the formation of all the stitched seams of the upper, with the exception of the backseam, are accomplished with the upper in the flat.

When the quarter ends are positioned in alined face to face relation, the upper becomes three dimensional. When the stitched seam is completed, the upper is reversed whereby the stitched backseam is on the inside of the upper.

The surplus material at the backseam is removed after completion of the stitching operation, i.e. the portions of the quarters not exposed to the stitching are removed or flattened. The stitched seam itself is rubber in order to p ovide as fiat or smooth a surface as possible. This operation is necessary because of the position of the stitched seam on the inside of the finished shoe. Failure to provide a smooth surface results in extreme discomfort to a wearer.

The backseam of a shoe upper is subjected to high strain during the lasting operations and,'also, during normal use of the finished shoe. Accordingly, normal shoemaking practice requires the reinforcement of the backseam after the completion of the above described manufacturing procedure, commonly by the application of tape adhesively secured along the stitching.

The plurality of difficult operations delineated above made the formation of backseams a time consuming and costly part of the shoemaking process. Further, failure to take extreme care in the completion of these operations invariably resulted in a shoe which was extremely uncomfortable for the wearer.

Heretofore, apparatus for forming a backseam in a single, simple operation has not been available. The commercial use of adhesives to form seams between shoe parts has been limited to a relatively small number of inexpensive, novelty shoes.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a machine for forming a shoe seam.

It is a further and more specific object of this invention to provide a machine for forming an adhesively bonded backseam.

To these ends and in accordance with a feature of the invention there is provided a machine for forming an adhesively bonded shoe seam comprising a bed, a table slidingly mounted on said bed, a platen movable toward and away from the bed, a forming member, means asso- 3,258,931 atented August 30, 1966 ciated with said table for mounting shoe parts to be joined and the forming member on the table with the forming member inter-posed between said shoe parts to form a sandwich, the shoe part interposed between the table and the forming member having a portion thereof overhanging an end of the table, an end. of the other shoe part and the forming member being located in overlying, essentially alined relation to said table end, means for moving said platen into engagement with said overhanging portion to wipe it about the end of the forming member into an upstanding position relative to the bed, and means for moving said table longitudinally of said bed under said platen to fold the upstanding portion into overlapping engagement with the end portion of the other shoe part.

The above and other features of the invention including various and novel details of construction and combinations of parts will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of apparatus embodying features of the present invention with the operative members in the rest position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 1 showing the opera-five members of the apparatus in an intermediate, folding position;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the operative members in a final fold position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 4.

The apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 is particularly adapted for use in the formation of a baclcseam between two leather quarters 1t) and 12 each of which has a

curved edge portion

14, 16, respectively. The apparatus essentially comprises a bed 20, a table 22 slidingly mounted on the bed 20, and a platen 24 movable toward and away from the bed 20 and cooperative with the table 22 to fold a leather quarter mounted on the table 22 into abutting overlapping relation to a second leather quarter mounted on the table, as hereinafter described in detail. The platen 24 also functions as a member of a high frequency :press to form a seal or bond in the overlapping portions of the quarters i0, 12.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the bed 20 has a slot 30 in which the table 22 is slidingly mounted. Sliding movement may be imparted to the table 22 by any convenient, conventional means (not shown) associated with a drive rod 34 fixed to the table 22. The forward end of the table 22 has a convex projection 36 corresponding in curvature to the

curved edge portions

14, 16 of the quarters 1t), 12, respectively, see particularly FIG. 4. The upper face 40 of the table 22 has a plurality of upstanding metallic locating pins 42 spacially mounted thereon for locating the quarters in position to be folded, as hereinafter described.

The platen 24 is mounted for transverse movement relative to the bed 20 on a drive rod 50. The drive rod 50 may be linked to any convenient, conventional drive means (not shown). The end of the platen 24 located adjacent to the table 22 has a concave recess 52 corresponding in curvature to the convex projection 36 of the table 22. The platen 24 is employed to apply a high frequency electric field to the overlapping quarters after the fold has been completed, as hereinafter described. A forming member 56 is employed as a complementary electrode. The high frequency impulse is induced by a radio frequency generator 58 of conventional design, the electrical connection between the member 56 and the generator 58 being established by the metallic bed 20, table 22 and pins 42.

The shoe quarter 10 is prepared for introduction to the apparatus embodying the invention by skiving the flesh side 60 (FIG. thereof at the curved edge portion 14 to provide a skived face or scarf 62. The shoe quarter 12 is slightly larger than the quarter to provide sufficient material to form a fold. The grain side 64 of the quarter 10 is skived at the curved edge portion 16 to provide a comparatively narrow skived face or scarf 66. The flesh side 68 is skived to provide a somewhat wider skived face or scarf 70.

The use of the above described apparatus will now be described with particular reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. The normal rest positions of the table 22 and platen 24 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The convex projection 36 of the table 22 extends into the concave recess 52 of the platen 24. The gap between the projection 38 and recessed portion 52 is approximately the thickness of the leather quarter 12 to permit the quarter to be folded over a forming member 70 see FIG. 4 is in this regard. The upper surface of the platen 24 is located coplanar with or below the upper face 40 of the table 20.

The shoe quarter 12 is mounted on the upper face 40 of the table 22 with the flesh side in contact with the face and with a substantial portion of the skived face 70 extending beyond the terminus of the convex projection 36 in overlying relation to the platen 24. The exact location of the quarter 12 is established by a plurality of holes in the lasting margin thereof which are disposed in complementary relation to the upstanding pins 42 on the table 22. The quarter 12 is mounted on the table 22 in the position described above by inserting the pins 42 through the holes in the quarter. It should be noted that it is the curved edge portion 16 which extends beyond the projection 36, said projection being of the same curvature as the portion 16.

The forming member 56 which has a plurality of apertures therein in complementary positions to the metal he pins 42 is thereafter mounted on the table 22 on top of the quarter 12, see particularly FIG. 5. The forming member 56 has a tapered curved edge portion 82 corresponding in curvature to the portion 16 of the quarter 12 and to the projection 36. The member 56 is positioned on the table 22 with the curved edge portion 82 in overlying alined relation to the convex projection 36 by inserting the pins 42 into the apertures in the member 56. The apertures are sized to contact the pins 42 when the forming member is in operative position whereby to effect the conduction of electricity. The skived face 66 of the quarter 12 is not engaged by the member 56 as it is narrower than the face 70.

The quarter 10 which also has a plurality of holes in its lasting margin is then mounted on the pins 42 on the table 22 with the grain side thereof in contact with the forming member 56 thereby to form a sandwich comprising the

quarters

10, 12 and forming member 80. The curved edge portion which corresponds in curvature to the portion 82 located in overlying, alined relation to the portion 82. Adhesive is applied either to the

face

62 or 66 or both prior to positioning of the

quarters

10 and 12. Neoprene cement is employed in the preferred embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the platen 24 is thereafter moved upwardly to wipe the edge portion 16 of the quarter 12 about the forming member 56 into an upright position perpendicular to the forming member 56. The table 22 is thereafter moved longitudinally on the bed in sliding engagement with the slot whereby to fold the portion 66 of the quarter 12 into engagement with the portion 62 of the quarter 10 (FIG. 3). The skived faces 62 and 66 are positioned in overlying, abutting relation. The skived face 70 provides a smooth transitional area at the seam.

The adhesive on the

faces

62 and 66 is then activated by the application of the high frequency electric field thereacross by means of the platen 24 and forming member 56. As noted above, the high frequency field may be created by a radio frequency generator 58 of conventional design.

The resulting seam is of a strength equal to or greater than the normal stitched seam as the adhered faces are skived and positioned in such a manner as to provide a maximum surface area for bonding. The seam also eliminates the need for rubbing as the skived, abutting faces 62, 66 and the face 70 provide a smooth transition between the two quarters.

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

1. A machine for forming an adhesively bonded shoe seam comprising a bed, a table movably mounted on said bed, a platen movable toward and away from the bed, a forming member, means associated with said table for mounting shoe parts to be joined and the forming member on the table with the forming member interposed between said shoe parts, the shoe part interposed between the table and the forming member having a portion thereof overhanging an end of the table, an end of the other shoe part and the forming member being located in overlying, essentially alined relation to said table end, means for moving said platen into engagement with said overhanging portion to wipe it about the end of the forming member into an upstanding position relative to the bed, and means for moving said table longitudinally of said bed under said platen to fold the upstanding portion into overlapping engagement with the end portion of the other shoe part.

2. A machine for forming an adhesively bonded shoe seam comprising a bed, a table slidingly mounted on said bed, a platen movable toward and away from the bed, a forming member, means associated with said table for mounting shoe parts to be joined and the forming member on the table with the forming member interposed between said shoe parts to form a sandwich, the shoe part interposed between the table and the forming member having a portion thereof overhanging an end of the table, an end of the other shoe part and the forming member being located in overlying, essentially alined relation to said table end, means for moving said platen into engagement with said overhanging portion to wipe it about the end of the forming member into an upstanding position relative to the bed, means for moving said table longitu dinally of said bed under said platen to fold the upstanding portion into overlapping engagement with the end portion of the other shoe part, and means for establishing a high frequency electric field between said platen and forming member to activate adhesive deposited on at least one of said shoe parts in the overlapped portion to bond said shoe parts together.

3. A machine for forming an adhesively bonded backseam between two shoe quarters comprising a bed, a table slidingly mounted on said bed having a concave projection on one end thereof corresponding in curvature to the ends of the shoe quarters to be joined, a platen movable toward and away from the bed having a convex recess in an end thereof adjacent the table, said recess being of a curvature complementary to that of the said projection on the table, a forming member having a curved end portion corresponding in curvature to the said projection, means associated with said table for mounting the shoe quarters to be joined and the forming member on the table with the forming member interposed between the shoe quarters to form a sandwich, the shoe quarter interposed between the table and the forming member having a skived curved end portion overhanging the projection of the table, a skived curved end of the other shoe quarter and the curved end portion of the forming member being located in overlying, essentially alined relation to said projection of the table, and means for moving the platen into engagement with said overhanging portion to wipe it about the curved end of the forming member into an upstanding position relative to the bed, and means for moving said table longitudinally of said bed under said platen to fold the upstanding skived portion into overlapping engagement with the skived curved end portion of the other shoe part whereby to form a smooth transitional seam.

4. A machine for forming an adhesively bonded backseam between two shoe quarters comprising a bed, a table slidingly mounted on said bed having a concave projection on one end thereof corresponding in curvature to the ends of the shoe quarters to be joined, a platen movable toward and away from the bed having a convex recess in an end thereof adjacent the table, said recess being of a curvature complementary to that of the said projection on the table, a forming member having a curved end portion corresponding in curvature to the said projection, means associated with said table for mounting the shoe quarters to be joined and the forming member on the table with the forming member interposed between the shoe quarters to form a sandwich, the shoe quarter interposed between the table and the forming member having a skived curved end portion overhanging the projection of the table, a skived curved end of the other shoe quarter and the curved end portion of the forming member being located in overlying, essentially alined relation to said table projection, means for moving the platen into engagement with said overhanging portion to wipe it about the curved end of the forming member into an upstanding position relative to the bed, and means for moving said table longitudinally of said bed under said platen to fold the upstanding skived portion into overlapping engagement with the skived curved end portion of the other shoe part whereby to form a smooth transitional seam, and means for establishing a high frequency electric field between said platen and forming member to activate adhesive deposited on at least one of said shoe quarters in the overlapped skived portion to bond said shoe parts together.

5. A machine for forming an adhesively bonded backseam between two shoe quarters comprising a bed, a table slidingly mounted on said bed having a concave projection on one end thereof corresponding in curvature to the ends of the shoe quarter to be joined, a platen movable toward and away from the bed having a convex recess in an end thereof adjacent the table, said recess being of a curvature complementary to that of said projection on the table, a forming member having a curved end corresponding in curvature to the said projection, a plurality of outwardly extending members mounted on said table cooperative with a plurality of holes in said quarters and said forming member whereby said shoe quarters and forming member may be mounted on said table with the forming member interposed between said quarters to form a sandwich, the shoe quarter interposed between said forming member and the table having a skived curved end portion overhanging the projection of the table, a skived curved end of the other shoe quarter and the forming member being located in overlying, essentially alined relation to said projection, means for moving the platen into engagement with said overhanging portion to Wipe it about the curved end of the forming member into an upstanding position relative to the bed, and means for moving said table longitudinally of said bed under said platen to fold the upstanding skived portion into overlapping engagement with the skived curved end portion of the other shoe part whereby to form a smooth transitional seam, and means for establishing a high frequency electric field between said platen and forming member to activate adhesive deposited on at least one of said shoe quarters in the overlapped skived portion to bond said shoe parts together.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 606,301 6/1898 Ross 12-57.1 1,226,503 5/1917 Gillette 12-57.1 2,286,467 6/1942 Coston 12-55 2,311,085 2/1943 Rudolph 1255 FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Examiner.

Claims

1. A MACHINE FOR FORMING AN ADHESIVELY BONDED SHOE SEAM COMPRISING A BED, A TABLE MOVABLE MOUNTED ON SAID BED, A PLATEN MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE BED, A FORMING MEMBER, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID TABLE FOR MOUNTING SHOE PARTS TO BE JOINED AND THE FORMING MEMBER ON THE TABLE WITH THE FORMING MEMBER INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID SHOE PARTS, THE SHOE PART INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE TABLE AND THE FORMING MEMBER HAVING A PORTION THEREOF OVERHANGING AN END OF THE TABLE, AN END OF THE OTHER SHOE PART AND THE FORMING MEMBER BEING LOCATED IN OVERLYING, ESSENTIALLY ALINED RELATION TO SAID TABLE END, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID PLATEN INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID OVERHAGING PORTION TO WIPE IT ABOUT THE END OF THE FORMING MEMBER INTO AN UPSTANDING POSITION RELATIVE TO THE BED, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID TABLE LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BED UNDER SAID PLATEN TO FOLD THE UPSTANDING PORTION INTO OVERLAPPING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE END PORTION OF THE OTHER SHOE PART.