US3308495A - Shoe carriage spindles - Google Patents

Description

March 1967 R. c. SIMMONDS, JR 3,308,495

SHOE CARRIAGE SPINDLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1964 In ven tor Robert C Sz'mmands, J By his Attorney vfjff 74 2 Maid! 1967 R. c. SIMMONDS, JR 330 SHOE CARRIAGE SPINDLES Filed Nov. 9, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 14, 1967 I R. c. SIMMONDS, JR fi fl SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ES v. 9/1964 3 Sheets-Sheet s United States Patent 3,308,495 SHOE CARRHAGE SPINDLES Robert C. Simmonds, Jr., Topsfield, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Nov. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 409,919 Claims. (Cl. 12127) This invention relates to machinery for manufacturing footwear and, more particularly, to a mechanism for securely retaining a last on a last carriage while the shoe on the last is undergoing a manufacturing operation. More specifically, the invention pertains to a spindle which exercises a strong holding force on a last which is fitted upon it.

The invention is herein illustrated in its application to machines for automatically roughing the marginal portions of a lasted upper, of the type disclosed in United States patent application Serial No. 352,009, filed March 16, 1964, upon application of Robert C. Simmonds, Jr, et al. While the invention is particularly applicable to the machine disclosed in the above-mentioned patent application, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in scope to machines of this type, but is applicable generally to shoe manufacturing machines performing operations upon partially fabricated shoes on lasts.

The above-mentioned automatic roughing machine has a drum mounting and driving mechanism which simultaneously produces rotational, reciprocating and rocking movements of an abrading drum. A shoe on a last is automatically moved horizontally below the abrading drum. The drum engages the bottom contour of the moving shoe, being guided by gauge means touching the shoe bottom. The abrading drum, in rotating about a horizontal axis, reciprocating along that axis, and rocking about an axis normal to that about which it rotates, imparts to the entire lasted margin an efficient and uniform roughening.

The last is supported in its travel to and from the drum, and during the roughing operation of the drum, uponv a shoe carriage. The shoe carriage receives a partially fabricated shoe upon a last and transports the shoe into engagement with the abrading drum. The shoe carriage has heretofore included a support pin and a toe rest. The support pin heretofore comprised a solid metal upright post receivable in the thimble of the last. The toe rest is movable vertically to tilt the last upon the support pin to wedge the pin in the thimble and cause the last to be retained upon the carriage.

While the above arrangement proved satisfactory with most lasts, it failed to exercise the desired holding power with some lasts because of the varied dimensions found in the last thimbles. Experience has shown that lasts produced by diflFerent manufactures are not always uniform in the inside thimble diameter dimension. Thus, while the cocking movement of the toe rest caused a tight wedging of the support pin in one last, it might eflect a much less secure wedging operation with another last. In the latter case, the last would be inclined to wobble when in contact with the abrading drum, thereby greatly diminishing the accuracy of the roughing operation, or, at worst, ruining the shoe.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for securely holding lasts having various thimble dimensions on a shoe carriage which submits the shoe to a shoemaking operation.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spindle which, when having a last placed and tilted thereon, will grip the inside of the last thimble to securely hold the last and prevent its moving relative to the spindle when undergoing a shoe manufacturing operation.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention contemplates the provision, in a shoemaking machine, of a spindle having elements which protrude from the spindle to grip the interior walls of a last thimble. The spindle is characterized by pressure applying elements which respond to the cocking motion imparted to the last by the toe rest to move outwards from the spindle and forcibly engage the thimble walls. The spindle exercises holding power and prevents undesired wobbling of the last during the shoe manufacturing operation. At the completion of the travel of the carriage, when the toe rest uncocks the last, the elements of the spindle retr-act back into the spindle, permitting the last to be easily removed from the shoe carriage.

The above and other features of the invention, including various 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. It will be understood that the particular machine embodying the invention is referred to by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in varied and numerous automatic shoe manufacturing operations without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a shoe carriage, showing in phantom the cocked position of the shoe and portions of the carriage;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the heel area of the shoe with a portion of the heel broken away to show the spindle in elevation and the shoe last thimble in section;

FIG. 3 is an elevational View similar to FIG. 2 but showing the shoe in the cocked position;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the upper end of the spindle;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line V-V of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VIVI of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VIIVH of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 8 through 10 are sectional views similar to FIGS. 5 through 7, respectively, but showing an alternative embodiment; and

FIGS. 11 through 13 are sectional views similar to FIGS. 5 through 7, respectively, but showing another alternative embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a shoe carriage 2 of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned patent application. Its purpose is to receive a partially fabricated shoe S upon a last L and transport the shoe into engagement with an abrading drum or other shoemaking instrumentality. The shoe carriage is movable toward and away from said instrumentality upon rods 4, 6 (the rod 4 being broken away in FIG. 1 for greater clarity). For the purpose of supporting the carriage upon the rods there are slidably disposed upon the rods 4, 6 carriage plate support blocks 8, having low friction sleeves 10, to which is secured by screws 12 a centrally apertured carriage plate 14, broken away in FIG. 1 for clarity. Attached to the carriage plate 14 by screws 16 are upstanding irregularly shaped support blocks 18 (one of which is shown in FIG. 1) having lugs 20 which receive bolts 22. Pivotally mounted upon the bolts 22 are ends of support arms 24. Lock nuts 26 secure the bolts 22. The other ends of the support arms 24 are pivotally mounted upon bolts 28 received in a support 30. A spindle 32 is mounted upon the support 30 for receiving the last L with the shoe S thereon, the last L having a thimble T (FIGS. 2 and 3) which accepts the spindle 32.

'sense truly chordal.

Means for varying the elevation of the support 30 and hence the last L by means of a rod 34 (FIG. 1) is fully explained in the referenced patent application, as is the means for moving the carriage to and from the shoemaking instrumentality.

A toe rest, generally designated 36, is provided for supporting the toe portion of the lasted shoe and for cocking the last upon the spindle 32. The position of the toe rest 36 is adjustable lengthwise of the last. To this end the support 30 receives a slide rod portion 38 of the toe rest 36. The slide rod portion 38 is retained in place by a winged set screw 40. A cylinder mounting portion 42 of the toe rest 36 extends upward and at right angles to the slide rod portion 38. A toe rest piston 44 is slidably disposed in the cylinder mounting portion 42. Fixed to the upper end of the toe rest piston 44 is a toe pad block 46 having mounted thereon a toe pad 48 of resilient material for supporting the toe of a shoe to be operated upon. Pressurized air is supplied to the cylinder through the mounting portion 42 by a line 50 from a source not shown.

Referring to FIGS. 2-7, there is shown in detail the spindle 32 on which the last L is placed and cocked. The spindle 32 comprisesa pin 52 having mounted thereon pressure applying members in the form of chordal elements 54, 56, 58, 60, (best seen in FIGS. 4-7) and resilient rings 62 and 64. As may be seen in FIG. 4, the pin 52 includesrrecesses 68 shaped to accommodate the chordal elements. The recesses 68 in pin 52 are provided with biased wall portions or cam surfaces 69 against which are urged the straight line sides of the chordal elements. The cam surfaces 69 are shorter than the straight line sides of the chordal elements and are each disposed at an acute angle a (FIGS. 5-7) to the heel-toe axis AA of the spindle. The pin 52 and chordal elements 54-60 have grooves 66 for receiving the resilient rings, each of which extends around the pin and two chordal elements.

When air is admitted through the line 50 (FIG. 1) into the cylinder mounting portion 42, the toe rest piston 44 is urged upward, changing the shoe from position P to position P (FIG. 1). When this is done the walls of the thimble T push against the chord- a1 elements 54, 56 near the top of the spindle 32 (FIGS. 3 and 6) in a heelward direction along the heel-toe axis A-A, and the elements 58, 60 near the bottom of the spindle (FIGS. 3 and 7) in the diametrically opposite direction, or toeward, along the heel-toe axis AA. The straight line sides of the chordal elements slide against the cam surfaces 69. The result is to cause the chordal elements to move outwards from the pin 52, the movement of the elements exerting a force having a vector substantially normal to the heel-toe axis. The rings 62, 64, readily deform so as to allow the chordal elements to expan against the walls of the thimble generally laterally of the direction of applied force. In practice, the chordal elements exert a forceful influence upon the last, eliminating tendencies toward unwanted movements during roughing operations.

It will be appreciated that the cam surface 69 need not necessarily be a plane surface, but may, for example, be concave, as is illustrated in FIGS. 11 through 13 and designated 169. The inward surfaces of the pressure applying elements 154 and 156 would, in such a case, be convex in shape rather than plane surfaces. It is intended that the term chordal element include shapes, as shown in FIGS. 11 through 13, which are not in a mathematical The operation of the chordal elements 154 and 156 is substantially the same as the operation above described for the chordal elements of the preferred embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 8 through 10, there will be seen still another embodiment in which pressure applying elements 254 and 256 pivot about pivot pins 255 and 257 rather than slide against cam surfaces. The result, again,

is the exertion of a force generally laterally of the direction of applied force against the walls of the thimble. Inasmuch as the pressure applying elements 254, 256 are secured to the assembly by their being mounted on pivot pins 255, 257, the annular ring found in the other embodiments may be replaced by a spring 258 which holds the pressure applying elements in a non-binding position until acted upon by the thimble T of the last L.

When the last is uncooked the resilient rings return to their normal annular configuration, in effect pulling in the extended elements and permitting the last to be easily removed from the spindle. In the embodiment utilizing pivoted pressure applying elements the spring 258 which interconnects each pair of elements causes the elements to move back to a non-binding position penmitting the last to be easily removed.

It may be noted that the last is presented to the carriage by simply lowering an upside-down last onto the spindle. Thus, the present invention is ideal for incorporation in an automatic assembl I line having a means to drop a last onto the spindle and means for picking up the last from the spindle at the completion of an operative cycle. As is evident from the foregoing description, after completion of a cycle the last merely rests by gravity upon the spindle. Thus, any apparatus for inserting and removing of the lasts could be of relatively simple design.

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

1. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising a rigid pin having a free end and lateral recesses spaced from said free end, movable pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, and means mounting said elements for movement laterally outwardly from the recesses upon pressure being applied to said elements in a direction different from that in which they move outwardly.

2. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising a rigid pin having a free end and lateral recesses spaced from said free end, cam surfaces in the recesses, and pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, each of said elements engaging one of said cam surfaces, whereby upon relative tilting movement between the spindle and a last mounted on the spindle said elements move along said cam surfaces outwardly from the pin to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

3. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising a rigid pin having a free end and lateral recesses spaced from said free end, cam surfaces in the recesses, and pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, each of said elements engaging one of said cam surfaces, whereby upon tilting of a last mounted on said spindle in one direction said elements move along said cam surfaces outwardly from the pin in directions generally laterally of the first direction to engage the inside walls of the thirnble of said last.

4. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising a pin having lateral recesses, cam surfaces in the recesses, pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, each of said elements engaging one of the cam surfaces, and resilient rings retaining said elements in said recesses, whereby upon tilting of :a last mounted on a spindle in one direction said elements move along the cam surfaces and are thereby directed outwardly from the pin to engage the inside walls of the thim ble of said last.

5. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising a pin having chordal recesses, cam surfaces in the recesses, chordal elements disposed in each of said recesses, said cam surfaces being disposed at acute angles to the heeltoe axis of the spindle, each of said chordal elements engaging one of said cam surfaces, whereby upon tilting of a last in a vertical plane along the heel-toe axis of the last said chordal elements are urged against the cam surfaces and thereby directed outwardly from the pin in directions generally laterally of the heel-toe axis to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

aseaaae 6. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising an up right pin, chordal recesses near the upper and lower ends of the pin, and chordal elements disposed in said recesses, said recesses having upright walls forming cam surfaces, each of said chordal elements engaging one of said cam surfaces, said carn surfaces being disposed at acute angles to the heel-toe axis of the spindle, the upper cam surfaces extending in a direction generally opposite to the direction in which extend the lower cam surfaces, whereby upon tilting of a last in a vertical plane along the heeltoe axis of the last said chordal elements are urged against the cam surfaces, the upper and lower chordal elements being urged in generally opposite directions along the heel-toe axis and directed outwardly from the recesses in a direction generally transverse to the heeltoe axis to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

7. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising a pin having lateral recesses, a pivot pin disposed in each recess, and a pressure applying element mounted for pivotal movement on each of said pivot pins, whereby upon relative tiltin movement between the spindle and a last mounted on the spindle said elements pivot about said pivot pins outwardly from the recesses to engage the inside walls of the thimble of said last.

8. A shoe last supporting spindle comprising a pin having lateral recesses, a pivot pin disposed in each recess and a pressure applying element mounted for pivotal movement on each of said pivot pins, whereby upon tilting of a last mounted on said spindle in one direction said elements pivot about said pivot pins outwardly from the recesses in directions generally laterally of the first direction to engage the inside walls of the thimble of said last 9. A shoe last supporting means comprising a rigid spindle having a free end and lateral recesses spaced from said free end, pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, means mounting said elements for movement laterally outwardly from the recesses, and means for tilting a last mounted on said spindle relative to said spindle, whereby upon operation of said tilting means said elements move outwardly from the recesses to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

10. A shoe last supporting means comprising a rigid spindle having a free end and lateral recesses spaced from said free end, pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, means mounting said elements for movement lateraily outwardly from the recesses, and means for tilting a last mounted on the spindle, whereby upon tion, whereby upon operation of said tilting means said elements each move outwardly from the recesses in a direction generally laterally of the first direction to engage the inside Walls of the thimble of said last.

11. A shoe last supporting means comprising a rigid spindle having a free end and lateral recesses spaced from said free end, cam surfaces in the recesses, pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, each of said elements engaging one of the cam surfaces, and means for tilting a last mounted on the spindle, whereby upon tilting of the last in one direction said elements move along the cam surfaces outwardly from the spindle in directions generally laterally of the first direction to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

12. A shoe last supporting means comprising a spindle having lateral recesses, cam surfaces in the recesses, pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, each of said elements engaging one of said cam surfaces, resilient rings retaining said elements in the recesses, and means for tilting a last along the heel-toe axis of the last, whereby upon operation of the tilting means said elements move along the cam surfaces and are thereby directed outwardly from the spindle in directions generally laterally of the heel-toe axis to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

13. A shoe last supporting means comprising an upright spindle, chordal recesses near the upper and lower ends of the spindle, chordal elements disposed in said recesses, said recesses having upright walls forming cam surfaces, each of said chordal elements engaging one of said cam surfaces, said cam surfaces being disposed at acute angles to the heel-toe axis of the spindle, the upper cam surfaces extending in a direction generally opposite to the direction in which extend the lower cam surfaces, and means for tilting a last mounted on the spindle in a vertical plane along the heel-toe axis of the last, whereby upon operation of said tilting means the upper and lower chordal elements move along the cam surfaces in generally opposite directions with reference to the heel-toe axis and are directed outwardly by the cam surfaces in directions generally laterally of the heeltoe axis to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

14. A shoe last supporting means comprising a spindle having lateral recesses, a pivot pin disposed in each recess, a pressure applying element mounted for pivotal movement on each of said pivot pins, and means for tilting a last mounted on said spindle, whereby upon operation of the tilting means said last is tilted in one direction and said elements pivot about their respective pivot pins outwardly from the recesses in directions generally laterally of the first direction to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last.

15. A shoe last supporting means comprising a rigid upright spindle having a free end, lateral recesses near the free end of the spindle but spaced therefrom, upright walls in said recesses forming cam surfaces, pressure applying elements disposed in the recesses, each of said elements engaging one of the cam surfaces, a toe rest, and means for elevating the toe rest to tilt a last mounted on the spindle, whereby upon operation of said toe rest elevation means the elements are moved along the cam surfaces and thereby directed outwardly from the pin to engage the inside walls of the thimble of the last,

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 432,074 7/1890 Pratt 12-127 1,436,065 11/1922 Tophan 12-127 2,083,897 6/1937 Drohau 12-426 2,255,164 9/1941 Gross 12-126 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

Patent No 3 ,308 ,495

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION March 14, 1967 Robert C. Simmonds,Jr.

It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below Column 5, lines 49 and 50, "the spindle, whereby upon tion" should read said spindle in one direction Signed and sealed this 16th day of December 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, 11'.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Claims (1)

1. A SHOE LAST SUPPORTING SPINDLE COMPRISING A RIGID PIN HAVING A FREE END AND LATERAL RECESSES SPACED FROM SAID FREE END, MOVABLE PRESSURE APPLYING ELEMENTS DISPOSED IN THE RECESSES, AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID ELEMENTS FOR MOVEMENT LATERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE RECESSES UPON PRESSURE BEING APPLIED TO SAID ELEMENTS IN A DIRECTION DIFFERENT FROM THAT IN WHICH THEY MOVE OUTWARDLY.

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