US3784995A - Shoe manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Herein is disclosed a carrier for securely holding, at a fixed reference plane, an inverted shoe last upon which a shoe upper is mounted during the manufacturing of the shoe. The carrier includes two vertically movable posts to which the inverted shoe and last are mounted and which are movable to hold the bottom of the shoe against a horizontal reference plane during a gauging step for establishing the reference plane for the shoe last during manufacture. Gauging and locking apparatus along the side of the carrier advancing conveyor cooperates with each carrier. The gauged and locked carrier, with its shoe last having a shoe upper thereon is transported along various stages of an automated assembly line held in the fixed predetermined reference plane. Unique roughing apparatus cooperates with the shoe last and shoe upper to sequentially controllably roughen selected portions of the shoe upper for subsequent sole adhesion thereto.

Description

ilnite atent I191 Egtvedt et ai.

[ SHOE MANUFACTURING APPARATUS [75] Inventors: Robert B. Egtvedt, Comstock Park;

William M. Booth, Grand Haven, both of Mich.

[73] Assignee: Wolverine World Wide, lnc.,

Rockford, Mich.

221 Filed: Feb. 9, 1972 21 Appl,No.:224,766

52 Us. or. ..12/1A,12/127 51 int. c1 A43d 3/00 [58] Field of Search 12/1 R, 1 A, 1 w, 12/123,l26, 127

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,077,619 2/1963 Hidden et al. 12/1 A 2,866,988 1/1959 Rockwell 12/127 2,962,734 l2/1960 Lorenzo 12/127 3,088,143 5/1963 Richter et al. 12/1 A Ijrim ar y Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Aiibrney- Price, l-leneveld, Huizenga & Cooper 5 7 ABSTRACT Herein is disclosed a carrier for securely holding, at a fixed reference plane, an inverted shoe last upon which a shoe upper is mounted during the manufacturing of the shoe. The carrier includes two vertically movable posts to which the inverted shoe and last are mounted and which are movable to hold the bottom of the shoe against a horizontal reference plane during a gauging step for establishing the reference plane for the shoe last during manufacture. Gauging and locking apparatus along the side of the carrier advancing conveyor cooperates with each carrier.

i The gauged and locked carrier, with its shoe last having a shoe upper thereon is transported along various stages of an automated assembly line held in the fixed predetermined reference plane.

Unique roughing apparatus cooperates with the shoe last and shoe upper to sequentially controllably roughen selected portions of the shoe upper for subsequent sole adhesion thereto.

41 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJAH 15 I974 noueume SHANKING SHEET 01 0F 10 LOCKWG GAG! NG CEMENTING SOLING LOADWG UNLOADING INSPECUON PRESSING SHAGGING Q IOR TR\MM\NG PATENTEDJAN 15 m4 SHEEI UEUF 10 PAH-mum 15 m4 SHEET 030F 10 PATENIEDJM 15 m4 SHEET 0 4 OF 10 SHEEI 05 0F 10 m0. Fm

PATENTEDJM 15 m4 SHEET 08UF 10 FIG. I3

PATENTEUJAN 15 m4 3; 784,995

SHEET U70F 10 PATENTEDJAN 15 I974 8 784 995 SHEET 09 (1F 10 y zeo zsu 294 F IG. R

I as as? FIGJS PATENTEUJM 15 1914 3784.995

SHEET NM 10 SHOE MANUFACTURING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to shoe manufacturing apparatus, and more specifically, to carrier mechanism for holding a shoe upper mounted on a last in a fixed reference plane as it passes along a manufacturing line. It also relates to modular shoe manufacturing apparatus, and to shoe upper roughing apparatus forming parts thereof.

Present manufacture of shoes is largely accomplished by mounting a shoe upper and insole to a last which is transported through a plurality of manually operated processing stations which, for example, rough the bottom edges of the shoe upper, apply cement to the shoe inner sole and then attach the sole and heel as well as trim the excess sole material therefrom. All of these steps have basically been done manually by a large number of skilled laborers.

The only automated method currently known is to mount the shoe and last to a specially made template which has a unique shape for each individual shoe size such that sensors along the manufacturing line will detect the template and be actuated thereby to perform the various mechanical operations during manufacture. In such a system, it is necessary to have a template for each shoe being manufactured. The template must hae a shape which uniquely identifies every shoe size manufactured as well as left or right shoes. Thus, it is seen that a considerable number of templatesfor the various shoes being manufactured is necessary. This system imposes a relatively high cost complexity, and inconvenience for the manufacturer and operators.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is one object of this invention to provide novel automated shoe manufacturing apparatus.

Another object of this invention is to provide shoe last mounting, positioning, and locking mechanism enabling support of a shoe last at a fixed reference plane.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unique shoe last carrier device allowing vertical shifting of the last to a fixed reference plane, and capable of locking the last in this plane. Moreover, this can be done automatically, while the carrier is in movement.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel method of shoe manufacture employing a fixed reference plane for the shoe last.

Another object of this invention is to provide modular shoe manufacturing components which are separately replaceable readily and rapidly. The modules assume a fixed position relative to the reference plane of the last, thereby eliminating any need for extended trial and error re-setting of the functional tools relative to the shoe portions being operated upon.

Another object of the apparatus is to provide novel shoe roughing equipment capable of roughing successive shoes of different sizes and contours without resetting. Such roughing apparatus is particularly useful in combination with the fixed reference plane last carrier.

The apparatus of the present invention employs carrier mechanism and cooperative apparatus for uniquely setting and holding the shoe and last in a fixed reference plane during the various manufacturing stages such that each step of the manufacturing process can be accomplished on an automated basis. The carrier engages apparatus on an assembly line conveyor in a manner to automatically forcethe shoe and last against a reference plane element and lock the shoe and last into the reference position. At the end of the assembly line, the conveyor includes apparatus which engage the carrier to unlock the shoe and last to enable such to be removed.

In addition to the carrier means, the novel apparatus includes a unique roughing station which has mechanism capable of accommodating the roughing operation to shoes of varying size and contour through special control of the vertical and horizontal motions of a rotating roughing wheel.

These and other objects and features will be apparent from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the various processing steps in the shoe manufacturing apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective pictorial view of the machinery used to perform the steps shown in block form in FIG. 1, and is in two parts, 2A and 2B, on separate sheets;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carrier on which an inverted shoe and last are mounted;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side elevational view partially in schematic form showing thecarrier illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the carrier shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the carrier shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional plan view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 4 used for holding the shoe and last upwardly against the gauge block;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view partially in schematic form showing a shoe and last mounted on a carriage assembly in the gauging and locking station;

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the gauging and locking station at one end of the assembly line shown in FIG. 2 and shows the first roughing station;

FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the unlocking station at the exit end of the assembly line shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the heel-and-toe roughing stations showing the mechanical sensors used therewith;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the details of the mechanical sensors used for the heel roughing station shown in FIG. 11 and showing the control apparatus used therewith;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the toe roughing station of FIG. 11 showing details of the mechanical sensors and the control apparatus used therewith;

FIG. 14 is a cutaway side elevational view showing the mechanism of one of the side roughing stations;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 14 taken along the section lines XV-XV in FIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the control apparatus employed with the mechanism shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 to operate the side roughing wheel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 illustrates various manufacturing steps which can take place during the manufacture of a shoe using the present invention. The shoe upper and last upon which it is mounted is first placed on a novel carrier such as that shown in FIG. 3 which is then loaded onto the conveyor for transportation through the assembly line. These steps include the loading step shown in FIG. 1. The carrier and shoe thereon then proceed through a gauging step 12 which insures the shoe being oriented in a predetermined fixed horizontal plane, before proceeding to the locking step 14 which locks the shoe last to the carrier in the predetermined position. The shoe and last mounted on the carrier is then ready for the processing steps which can be accomplished by means of automated machines and typically comprise the steps of roughing l6, shanking 18 (i.e., placing of steel shanks within the arch portion of the shoe), cementing 20 (i.e., applying cement to the inner sole and adjacent edge of the shoe upper), and soling 22 (attachment of the sole to the shoes). Once the soles have been attached to the insole of the shoes, the shoe and carrier proceed through a pressing step 24, then through a shagging step 26, and finally, to an inspection step 28 where an operator visually inspects the shoe and removes it from the conveyor system during the unloading step 30. Through the various stages 16 through 28 shown in FIG. 1, the shoe is securely held by the carrier in the predetermined reference plane set during the gauging step 12 and locked into this position by the locking step 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 28, there is shown an assembly line 100 which comprises a plurality of removable production modules which perform the various manufacturing steps shown in FIG. 1. The shoe manufacturing facility may comprise several such assembly lines so that the number of shoes manufactured per unit time is increased. FIG. 2A shows for illustrative purposes only, six such lines in parallel operation while illustrating the various manufacturing apparatus for only the first line.

The assembly line includes a conveyor 35 which is supported by a plurality of vertical posts 36 to which is mounted the conveyor drive apparatus and guide means 37 illustrated as rotating drums in the pictorial diagram of FIGS. 2A and 2B. The movable conveyor belt or drive means 38 to which the carriers 50 are mounted, is driven along the assembly line 100 and transports the carriers 50 with a shoe and last 25 mounted thereon under the various manufacturing apparatus. Although the carriers 50 are shown in a fixed position relative to the conveyor for continuous movement with conveyor drive means 38 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, it may be desirable in some applications to load the carriers onto the conveyor belt 38 during the loading step and unload the carriers from the conveyor belt at the other end of the assembly line during the unloading step.

The loading station 10 at which the loading step takes place is at the right side of FIG. 2A and is indicated by the same reference numeral (i.e., 10) as the loading step of FIG. 1. The various manufacturing stations shown in FIG. 2 will be identified with the same reference numeral as the corresponding processing steps shown in FIG. 1. After the shoe upper, inner sole, and last 25 are mounted tothe carrier 50, the carrier is transported to the gauging station 12 where the bottom of the shoe is pressed firmly in an upward direction against a reference plane 13 to thereby position the bottom of the shoe in the fixed reference plane. As the shoe proceeds under the reference plane 13, it passes through the locking station 14 which locks the carrier and shoe last thereto in the fixed reference position such that as it proceeds down the assembly line 100, it will not move from this predetermined position. The shoe and carrier then exits the gauging and locking stations 12 and 14 and enters the heel roughing station 15 which comprises a rotating roughing wheel 17 operated in an automatic manner discussed below to rough only the portion of the heel of the shoe where the peripheral edge of the shoe upper material curls over to overlap the insole. The shoe and carrier is then transported to the toe roughing station 19 which includes a roughing wheel 21 which rotates to rough the overlapped leather at the toe portion of the insole. The shoe and carrier then proceed to the first side roughing station 23 which roughs one of the sides of the shoe by means of a rotating roughing wheel 27 and then to a second side roughing station 29 which roughs the opposite side of the shoe by means of a rotating roughing wheel 31. Once the roughing step has been completed by the roughing station l5, 19, 23 and 29, the shoe and carrier proceed to the shanking station 18.

The shanking station 18- includes a supply bin 33 which stores steel shanks which are to be inserted in the arch of the shoes, and an applicating apparatus 47 for placing the shanks on the individual shoes as they pass under the station 18. Next, the shoes proceed down the assembly line under a pair of cement applicating machines 40 and 42 which apply an adhesive to the left and right sides of the bottom of the shoes. The cement applicating machines 40 and 42 may be thermocement applicating machines. The shoes then pass under a drying and activating unit 44 which partially dries (liquid vehicle) and activates (through heating) the cement such that when the shoes continue under the sole applying stages 22, the soles will adhere to the bottom of the shoes. The soling stations 22 include three bins 45, 46 and 47 for storing different sized soles, and applicating means 48, 49 and 51 therewith for applying the soles to the bottoms of the shoes as they pass under the various sole stations 22. In one embodiment, only one of the soling stations 22 is actuated while a production run on a certain shape shoe is being made. In other embodiments, it may be desirable to alternately actuate different ones of the soling stations to apply a proper shape sole with a correspondingly shaped shoe as it passes under the machine. In other embodiments a greater or fewer number than the three soling stations indicated in FIG. 28 may be utilized. Each soling station contains sufficient sizes of soles to cover all shoe sizes necessary for that shape.

After the sole has been applied to the bottom of the shoe, the shoe and last 25 continue along the assembly line 100 through the pressing station 24 which presses the sole firmly to the shoe bottom. The shoes then may continue through a trimming and/or shagging station 26 which roughs the outer surface of pigskin textured shoes. When smooth leather shoes are being manufactured the shagging step is eliminated. The trimming station 26 removes any excess material from the edges of the sole bottom of the shoe. The carrier 50 and shoe thereon then proceed to the end of the assembly line where it is visually inspected by an operator 32 and passes through an automatic unlocking mechanism which allows the operator to remove the last and completed shoe from the carrier.

- It is noted that each of the various machines are of modular construction such that they can be lifted from the production line by a suitable crane 11 or other lifting means in the event of their failure and can be replaced by an identical working unit. This construction reduces considerably the down time of the assembly line 100 by providing readily replaceable plug-in modules which provide each of the processing steps as described.

Each of the machines of the modular construction shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B are mounted on vertical supports with locaters such that when a machine is lowered onto the'corresponding supports, it will be in a predetermined vertical position with respect to the reference plane when installed. This insures that each modular unit will be at the desired height for proper operation. Thus, each of the modular units are automatically registered in the vertical direction with respect to the reference plane when they are placed in position along the assembly line 100.

The roughing station 15 for example has four vertical support rods 415 which are rigidly attached to the conveyor 35. The ends of rods 415 remote from the junction with the conveyor fit within mounting means on the roughing machine 15 such that the apparatus 15 is lowered until it reaches the stop 420 on each of the support rods 4l5. The roughing machine 15 is then locked to the support rods 415 at the height determined by the stops 420. The stops 420 are positioned on rods 415 such that the machine 15 is in proper vertical relationship with respect to the reference plane 13. As the shoe and last pass thereunder, the roughing apparatus 15 will be in registry to properly perform the desired roughing steps. Similarly, the remaining modular units 19 through 26 are also attached to vertical support rods with height setting collars such that the units will be at the proper height with respect to the reference plane 13 to perform their processing function upon the shoe and last as it passes each unit. The details of the carrier 50, the gauging and locking stations'12 and 14, and the unloading (unlocking) station 30 is shown in FIGS. 3 through 10.

Referring now to FIG. 3 in detail, there is shown the carrier having a shoe upper and last 25 mounted thereon. The carrier comprises a base plate 52 to which is mounted a front mounting bracket 54. Bracket 54 has a hollow cylindrical portion 55 which accommodates a front vertically movable post 56. The front post 56 includes a T section 57 which has three dove-tailed slots 58, 59 and 60 adapted to receive an upper portion 61 which has a pad 62. Pad 62 contacts the front portion of the shoe and last 25 as seen in FIG. 3. The lower end of the upper portion 61 of the front vertical post 56 has a correspondingly shaped dove-tail member (not shown) such that it can be securely fitted within one of the dove-tail slots 58-60 in the T section 57. The slots 58-60 allow an adjustment of the upper portion 61 of post 56 for different sized shoes being manufactured.

Base member 52 of carrier 50 further includes a rear mounting bracket 64 hingedly mounted between a pair of brackets 66 by means of a pin 65. The rear mounting bracket 64 has an integrally formed camming plate 68 which is a flat, rectangular member extending rearwardly from the mounting bracket 64 and which fits under an elliptical shaped cam 70 which has an elliptical cross section as shown in FIG. 4. Cam 70 is rotatably mounted between a pair of brackets 72 by means of a pin 71. Coupled to the cam 70 at one end is a trip bar 73 and at the opposite end is a locking and releasing wheel 74. Wheel 74 has a plurality of slotted apertures 78 around the periphery. Below the camming surface 68 is a spring 69 under compression between the lower surface of camming plate 68 and the top surface of base plate 52. Spring 69 tends to force the rear bracket 64 and rear vertically movable post 76 in a forward position but is limited in doing so depending upon the position of cam 70.

The rear mounting bracket 64 has a cylindrical portion 67 adapted to receive a rear vertically movable post 76 therein. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 6, the rear vertically movable post includes a serrated tip 77 which is adapted to fit within a correspondingly serrated aperture (not shown) in the heel portion of the shoe last.

The base member 52 further includes a rearwardly extending U-shaped member 63 which is employed as a separating means to space the individual carriers along the conveyor, or can be used as schematically shown. in FIG. 8, to link the carriers together. A forward extending U-shaped member is further coupled to the base 52 and is adapted to receive a T- shaped drive member on the conveyor as shown and described below with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. Also coupled to the base member 52 is a gear plate which has a plurality of teeth 88 around its periphery and is rotatably mountedto the base member 52 by means of a pin 89 and a threaded nut 91.

Referring now in detail to FIGS. 4 through 7, the in ternal mechanism of the carrier 50 and its operation to cause the vertically movable posts 56 and 76 to move and the locking mechanism to operate is described. As seen in FIG. 4, the vertically movable posts 56 and 76 fit within the cylinders 55 and 67 respectively. Cylinder 55 has an aperture 53 therein which accommodates a spring on the front vertical post which contacts the internal upper surface of the aperture 53 of cylindrical member 55 and a collar 96 rigidly mounted on the front vertical movable post 56. Spring 95 is under compression and tends, therefore, to hold the front vertically movable post 56 in a lowered position.

The rear vertically movable post 76 has a pair of springs and 107 which are fitted within apertures 106 and in the cylindrical member 67. Spring 105 is compressed between the upper internal surface of aperture 106 and a collar 108 rigidly fixed on the rear vertically movable post 76. The second spring 107 is compressed between the upper internal surface of the second aperture 110 and a second collar 112 on the rear vertically movable post 76 thereby tending to hold the post 76 in the lowered position. The post 76 has a slotted aperture 1 l4 therethrough with a pin 115 fitted within the aperture and which extends into the walls of cylinder 67 to limit the vertical travel of the post 76. The gear plate 85 operates to control a pair of wedges 86 and 87 as shown in FIG. 4 to press against tapered bottom surfaces 83 and 84 of the vertically movable posts 56 and 76 respectively. This causes the posts to be moved upward during the gauging step, thereby causing the bottom of the shoe upper to be pressed against the fixed reference plane. The mechanism for controlling the movement of the wedges is discussed with reference to FIGS. 4 and 7.

Gear plate 85 has a pair of semicircular shaped aper tures milled partially through the plate 85 from the bottom side as shown in FIG. 4. Wedges 86 and 87 are slidably mounted in a slot 71' in the base 52 of the carrier 50 and include upwardly extending pins 90 and 92 respectively. Pins 90 and 92 extend upwardly into apertures 79 and 81 in the gear plate 85 and contact edges 80 and 82 as the gear 85 is rotated. The wedges 86 and 87 will be drawn inwardly as the gear plate is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 7. The wedges 86 and 87 are biased outwardly by means of a pair of downwardly extending bottom pins 93 and 94 which are coupled to springs 101 and 102 respectively fitted within the hollowed-out apertures 97 and 98 of the base member 52. The opposite ends of springs 101 and 102 are anchored by means of vertical posts 103 and 104 respectively which are rigidly attached to the base 52.

Springs 101 and 102 are normally under tension such that they tend to pull the wedges 86 and 87 outwardly thereby tending to push the vertically movable posts 56 and 76 in an upward direction counteracting the effects of springs 95, 105 and 107 on posts 56 and 76 respectively. The arcuately shaped surfaces (edges) 80 and 82 of the gear plate 85 are shaped such that when the gear plate is rotated in a clockwise position as shown in solid lines in FIG. 7, the wedges 86 and 87 will be allowed to travel outwardly and push the vertically movable posts 56 and 76 upwardly a distance sufficient to cause the bottom of the shoe upper and last 25 to contact the reference plane 13 (FIG. 8) and be held in compression thereto. When the gear plate is rotated to a fully counterclockwise direction, indicated by the dotted line position in FIG. 7, however, the wedges are pulled inwardly by pins 90 and 92 and the springs 95, 105 and 107 will push posts 56 and 76 downwardly to allow the shoe upper and last to clear the reference plane as is necessary when the carrier first enters the gauging station. The operation of the carrier in conjunction with the conveyor 35 and specifically, the operation of the gear plate 85, trip bar 73 and locking and releasing wheel 74, is best understood by referring to the FIGS. 8 through 10.

FIG. 8 illustrates in schematic form the operation of the wedges 86 and 87 in conjunction with the vertically movable posts 56 and 76. At position A in the figure, the last and shoe upper 25 entering the gauging station 12 and the wedges are in their retracted positions such that the posts 56 and 76 are forced downwardly by the internal springs 95, 105 and 107 associated therewith.

At position B, the carrier 50 is just entering the area in.

which the gear plate 85 contacts a rack mounted on the side of the conveyor such that it is automatically rotated to allow the bias springs 101 and 102 coupled to the wedges to pull the wedges outwardly and force the posts 56 and 76 upwardly. The rack is not shown in FIG. 8, but is mounted between positions B and C such that by the time the shoe and last 25 reach position C, the wedges have been pulled outwardly by their bias springs and the shoe and last 25 is firmly seated against the reference plane 13 of the gauging station 12.

A locking mechanism which is also mounted to the conveyor 35 adjacent the carrier 50, will engage the locking wheel 74 shown in FIG. 3 to cause the cam 70 to be moved in a position illustrated by the dotted line representation in FIG. 4. This occurs at the end of position C after the shoe and last 25 is seated against the reference plane 13. The movement of the cam allows spring 69 to tilt the rear mounting bracket 64 and rear vertically movable post 76 forwardly about the pin 71. the last will be securely locked in the position determined by the reference plane 13 since the last and shoe upper 25 is pressed against the pad 62 of the front post 56 by the tilting action of the rear post 76. As seen in dotted lines in FIG. 4 the camming surface 68 of bracket 64 is moved a distance sufiicient to tilt the bracket 64 and therefore the post 76 forward to lock the shoe and last into position. The posts 56 and 76 are no longer free to move since the tilting moment about post 76 firmly seats the tapered bottom 83 of post 56 against the wedge 87 by means of the transmission of the resulting force from the shoe and last 25 to the contact pad 62. The reaction force of pad 62 against the shoe and last 25 likewise seats the tapered bottom 84 of post 76 against wedge 86 to prevent further movement of post 76. In this manner therefore, the last and shoe 25 is locked in the fixed reference plane and will remain in this predetermined position throughout the manufacturing processes. The details of the sidemounted rack and the dogs which engage the trip bar 73 and locking wheel 74 as well as the reference plane 13 is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

As seen in FIG. 9, the conveyor 35 comprises a bottom 120 having a longitudinal slot 122 extending the length of the conveyor and which is centered in the bottom 120. T-shaped drive bars 124 are coupled to drive means such as a chain or belt (not shown in FIG. 9) to cause the bars, which fit within the slot 122 as shown, to be moved along the bottom 120 of the conveyor 35. The drive bars 124 fit within the forward U-shaped member of the carrier 50 (FIG. 3) thereby pulling the carrier along the assembly line 100. The sides of the base 52 of the carrier are engaged by side members 126 and 128 coupled to the edges of the bottom of the conveyor. As seen in FIG. 9 the sides 126 and 128 have inwardly directed flange portions 127 and 129 respectively which curl around the edges of the base 52 of the carrier 50 thereby holding the carrier fixed between the bottom surface of the edges 127 and 129 and the upper surface of the bottom 120 of the conveyor. In this manner, the carrier 50 is constrained in the vertical and horizontal directions as it moves along the conveyor.

A side plate 130 is mounted on side 128 of the conveyor 35 and extends vertically above the bottom 120. The reference plane 13 includes a flat plate of material which is rigidly affixed to the side plate 130 by a suitable fastening means. The plate 135 can be adjusted so that it lies in a desired horizontal plane relative to the conveyor bottom 130. Since the carrier 50 is moved along the conveyor under the reference plane 13 of the reference element 135, with the bottom of the shoe in contact therewith, it is desirable to provide the reference plane 13 with a sliding surface to facilitate the movement of the carrier. A belt 132 is mounted between rollers 134 and 136 at either end of the reference plane 13 and extends under the plate 135 such that the bottom of the shoe upper actually contacts the movable belt 132 and causes the belt to rotate on rollers 134 and 136 as the carrier 50 moves through the gauging station. Thus, the thickness of the belt 132 is taken into consideration when providing the adjustment to the reference plane plate 134.

As noted above, the vertically movable posts 56 and 76 of the carrier are initially in the retracted position so that, as the carrier and last and shoe thereon are loaded onto the conveyor at the loading station, the bottom of the shoe and last will fit under the reference plane 13 as the carrier-moves into the gauging station in the direction indicated by the arrow 137.

A rack 140 having a plurality of teeth 142 thereon is mounted on the sidewall 130 and extends outwardly at a vertical height such that the teeth 142 of the rack will engage the teeth 88 of the gear plate 85 as the carrier 50 moves down the conveyor. As seen in FIG. 7, some of the teeth 88 of gear 85 are beveled as shown at area 143 such that the rack will firmly seat and engage against the first non-beveled tooth of the gear plate as the carrier moves along the rack. This insures a positive coupling and meshing of the teeth 88 with the teeth 142 on the rack. As the carrier continues down the conveyor, the gear plate 85 will be rotated clockwise by the stationary rack causing the wedges 86 and 87 to be drawn outwardly as described above and forcing the vertically movable posts 56 and 76 upwardly to seat the bottom of the last and shoe upper 25 firmly against the belt 132 of the reference plane 13.

Approximately midway along the rack 140 and mounted along sidewall 126 of the conveyor, is a trip bar post 150 which has a horizontal element 152 extending toward the center of the bottom 120 of the conveyor. Post member 152 is set at a height such that it will contact the trip lever 73 as the carrier 50 moves along the conveyor line to insure that the trip lever 73 is in a rearward or cocked position as shown in FIG. 3 and in solid lines in FIG. 4. Thus when carrier 50 has moved along the conveyor line to this point, the locking mechanism is in the cocked position and the rear bracket 64 is in its rearward (unlocked) position.

Spaced some distance downstream from the post 150 and adjacent sidewall 128 of the conveyor, is a pair of dogs 156 and 157 mounted to a mounting bracket 158. Dogs 156 and, 157 are mounted at a height such that they will engage the slots 78 in the locking and releasing wheel 74. By providing the post 150, the trip lever 73 is assured to be in its cocked position such that the forward aperture 78 of wheel 74 will properly engage the first dog 156 as the carrier 50 moves along the conveyor.

As the carrier 50 continues along the conveyor line, the wheel 74 is caused to be rotated by the stationary dogs 156, 157 in a direction indicated by the arrow 159 shown in FIG. 3 to cause the cam 70 to be rotated into the releasing position indicated by the dotted line representation in FIG. 4. The rear bracket 64 is tilted forwardly by the spring 69 (FIG. 4) thereby locking the shoe and last in a fixed position as described above. It is seen that the dogs 156 and 157 are mounted in relation to the rack 140 such that the shoe and last have already been fixed in the reference plane by the time the locking wheel 74 is moved by the dogs to lock the shoe and last into position. It is noted that the dogs 156 and 157 contact the lower side of the wheel 74 during the locking step. The shoe and last on the carrier 50 is then moved out of the gauging and locking station into the first processing step which is the heel roughing station shown at the left end of FIG. 9.

At the opposite end of the conveyor (FIG. 10), a similar rack and pair of dogs are mounted to provide the opposite functions;'namely to rotate the locking and releasing wheel 74 in the opposite direction thereby unlocking the shoe and last from the carrier and then rotating the gear plate in the opposite direction to prepare the carrier 50 for the next processing cycle so that it can be inserted at the loading station once again. The direction of travel of the carrier 50 shown in FIG. 10 is to the right as indicated by the arrow 160 in the figure. A pair of dogs 156' and 157' are mounted upstream the conveyor flow with relation to a rack 140 such that they will contact the top of the locking and releasing wheel 74 thereby turning the wheel 74 in a direction indicated by the arrow 159' in FIG. 10 to unlock the locking mechanism by turning the cam into the position shown by the solid lines in FIG. 4. As the carrier 50 continues down the conveyor line, it reaches the area where the unlocking rack is mounted. Rack 140' has teeth 142' and is mounted on the opposite side of the conveyor as the rack 140 (Le, adjacent side member 126) by suitable mounting means and at a height and spacing such that the teeth 142 of rack 140' will contact the teeth 88 of the gear wheel 85. on the opposite side as the teeth 142 of rack 140. As seen in FIG. 7, the teeth in the area on the gear plate 85 are beveled to allow positive meshing between the teeth 88 and the teeth 142 of rack 140 as the carrier 50 moves along the conveyor. Gear plate 85 is rotated thereby in a counterclockwise direction to retract wedges 86 and 87 and lower posts 56 and 76 such that the carrier is again ready for insertion. With the cam 70 in the unlocked position, the completed shoe on the last and the last can be removed from the carrier.

Returning now to the input end of the conveyor, once the shoe upper and last 25 exits the gauging and locking stations, it passes under the heel and toe roughing stations 15 and 19 shown pictorially in FIG. 2A and in perspective view in FIG. 11. Referring now in detail to FIG. 11, the heel roughing station 15 is to the right and the toe roughing station 19 to the left. The heel roughing station 15 comprises a rotatable drum-shaped roughing wheel 17 having an abrasive surface which contacts the shoe upper material which is turned over the heel portion of the insole of the shoe upper to rough the rear area of the heel. It accomplishes this by means of a drive motor 172 which is coupled to the roughing wheel 17 by means of a drive belt or other suitable drive means not shown in FIG. 11. The wheel 17 is rotated in a direction indicated by the arrow 174 adjacent the wheel 17. The wheel 17 is rotatably mounted in a framework 176 having a transverse axle 177 which passes through the axis of the wheel 17. The motor 172 is likewise mounted on a suitable framework 179 which is further coupled to the conveyor 35. Framework 176 is pivotally mounted to the motor 172 by suitable pivot means such that wheel 17 can be raised and lowered. An arm 171 is coupled to frame 176 and has a remote end coupled to a spring 181 suspended in a frame 183. The tension of spring 181 can be adjusted to counter the weight of the wheel 17 and frame 176 to apply a desired pressure between wheel 17 and the heel of a shoe upper as it is being roughed. The frame 176 and attached wheel 17 can be raised out of the roughing position when the shoe heel is not in place by a pneumatically operated cylinder 187 mounted on frame 183 and having an extensible and retractable shaft 188 coupled to arm 171. The operation of cylinder 187 is controlled by a control means 185 shown in detail in FIG. 12 and a mechanical sensor coupled thereto. I

The sensor 180 comprises a first arm 181' and a second arm 182 both of which are underneath and generally forward of wheel 17. End tips 183' and 184 are mounted to arms 181' and 182 respectively. The tips 183 and 184 contact the shoe upper as it enters the roughing station 15 to provide detection means for determining when the shoe enters the station and when it has cleared the roughing station to control the raising and lowering of wheel 17 so that it roughs only the desired heel area.

In FIG. 12, the shoe upper has a bottom 192 with a toe portion 194 and a heel portion 196. The bottom 192 is shown in three positions, A, B, and C, as it passes through the heel roughing station 15. The shoe bottom 192 includes an insole portion 193 around which is overlapped the shoe upper material 195 which extends around the periphery of the insole as shown. The overlapped material 195 is roughed at the heel area by the roughing wheel 17 whose vertical position is controlled by the control unit 185.

Arm 181 of the control unit 185 is coupled to a member 199 rotatably mounted to a base plate 200 of the control unit 185. The second arm 182 is coupled to a second rotatable member 197 comprising a cam rotatably mounted to the plate 200 and having a lobe 198 which contacts a roller 203 coupled to an arm 204 of a pneumatic valve 205 as the arm 182 moves thereby causing cam 197 to rotate. Cam 197 is coupled to member 199 by means of a spring 201 and is anchored to the plate 200 by means of a second spring 207. The valve 205 is adjustably mounted to the plate 200 by means of a slotted aperture 206 through which a mounting bolt 208 passes. A spring 209 anchors the right end of the valve 205 to the plate 200, and a set screw 211 provides an adjustment around the rotating point 210 of the valve such that it can be adjusted to provide the proper control response as the lobe 198 of the cam 197 contacts the roller 203.

In operation, valve 205 is coupled between a source of pressurized air (not shown) and the pneumatically operated cylinder 187 (FIG. 11). Before the shoe enters the heel roughing area, the first arm 181 is in position A approximately perpendicular to the direction of travel of the shoe (as indicated by the arrows 189 in FIG. 12). The second arm 182 is held in position A by spring 209 such that it is approximately parallel with the travel of the shoe bottom 192 through the heel roughing station. The toe 194 of the shoe 192 will first contact tip 183' of arm 181' and cause the rotatable mem ber 199 to begin to rotate in a clockwise direction. The cam 197 is also rotated in a clockwise direction by the tension on spring 201 caused by the clockwise rotation of member 199. Thus, as the shoe enters the heel roughing station, the tip 184 of the second arm 182 is pulled against the side of the shoe and will contact and follow the heel area contour of the shoe.

By the time the shoe has progressed to position B, shown in solid lines in FIG. 12, the lobe 198 on cam 197 has contacted the roller 203 and lifted it upwardly thereby actuating the valve 205. This shuts off the air pressure applied to the cylinder 187 (FIG. 11) and simultaneously vents the cylinder 187 to the atmosphere thereby causing the frame 176 and roughing wheel 17 mounted thereon to be lowered until the roughing wheel contacts the heel area 196 of the shoe and roughs the overlapped upper material 195 thereon shown as the shaded area in FIG. 12. The rotation of roughing wheel 17 is shown by the arrow 174 in FIG. 11.

As the shoe 192 proceeds through the roughing station 15 to position C (shown in dotted lines), roller 203 of valve 205 will roll ofi the lobe 198 of cam 197 and cause the valve to once again open and apply pressurized air to the cylinder 187 (FIG. 11) thereby lifting frame member 176 and the roughing wheel 17. Once the shoe has passed through the roughing station and the first arm 181' has cleared the heel 196 of the shoe, the spring 207 will cause the cam 197 and the rotating member 199 to return to the initial position A shown in dashed lines in the figure to be in position for the next shoe which enters the roughing station.

It is seen that the roller 203 is mounted on a pivotable arm 203 such that as the lobe 198 of the cam 197 contacts the roller 203 while moving in a counterclockwise direction (during the return of the members 181' and 182), arm 203' will break into the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 12 so that the valve 205 will not be actuated and will continuously supply air pressure to the cylinder 189 in FIG. 11. In this manner, therefore, the heel portion 198 of each insole is automatically roughed as the shoe bottoms 192 pass under the roughing station 15.

The toe roughing station 19 is similar in construction to the heel roughing station and includes a drive motor, a framework which is pivotally mounted to the drive motor and raisable and lowerable by a pneumatic cylinder; and a rotating roughing wheel which is operated by the motor and raised and lowered by the pneumatic cylinder to rough only the toe area. A single sensor 212 (FIGS. 11 and 13) contacts the toe portion of the shoe as it enters the toe roughing area 19 and provides detection means for actuating a toe roughing control 215 shown in detail in FIG. 13.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the sensor 212 is an arm which has a tip 213 shaped to contact the toe 194 of a shoe bottom 192 as it enters the toe roughing station 19. The shoe bottom 192 is shown in four positions, A, B, C, and D, as it progresses through the toe roughing station. Sensor 212 is likewise shown in four positions corresponding to that of the shoe bottom 192. The shoe bottom 192 comprises an insole portion 193 around the periphery of which is overlapped the shoe upper material 195. Sensor 212 is coupled to a cam 217 having a lobe 219 and which is held in position A by means of a return spring 218 when the tip 213 is not in contact with a shoe. Lobe 219 of cam 217 contacts a roller 221 coupled to an arm 223 of valve 225 by means of a pivotally coupled roller arm 222 when cam 217 is rotated. The valve 225 is mounted to the base 230 of the control unit 215 by means of a pivotable coupling 231 and a slotted aperture and pin arrangement 232. A spring 233 anchors the right end of the valve 225 to the base 230 and a set screw 235 provides an adjustment for the rotational position of the valve 225 on the control unit 215 such that the lobe 219 of cam 217 properly actuates the valve 225. Valve 225 is coupled between a source of pressurized air and the pneumatic cylinder which raises and lowers the toe roughing framework and roughing wheel shown in FIG. 11.

In operation, the valve 225 is nonnally open when the roller 221 of valve 225 is lowered against the lower region of the surface of cam 217, and supplies pressurized air to the pneumatic cylinder of the toe roughing station to cause the roughing wheel to be in a raised position. As the shoe bottom 192 enters the roughing station indicated by the position A, the toe 194 of the shoe bottom 192 contacts the tip 213 of sensor 212 to cause the cam 217 to begin rotating in a clockwise direction. By the time the bottom of the shoe has reached the position B, the lobe 219 of cam 217 has contacted the roller 221 which is moved upwardly to actuate the valve 225. When so actuated valve 225 shuts off the supply of pressurized air to the pneumatic cylinder while simultaneously venting the cylinder to the atmosphere to cause the roughing wheel 21 of the toe roughing station 19 to be lowered thereby contacting the toe area of the shoe bottom. The roughing wheel 21 rotates in a direction opposite to the heel roughing wheel 17 to rough the area of the toe indicated by the shaded portion of the toe in FIG. 13.

As the shoe continues through position C, the cam lobe 219 clears the roller 221 and the valve 225 is again opened to supply air pressure to the pneumatic cylinder which then'raises the framework and rotating roughing wheel 21. In this manner, therefore, only the forward portion of the shoe bottom is roughed by the toe roughing station and as the shoe progresses through stage D and exits the toe roughing station, the arm 212 will be returned to position A by means of the return spring 218 thereby being in a position to receive the next incoming shoe.

Once the heel and toe areas of the bottom 192 of the shoe upper have been roughed, the last and shoe 25 thereon continues along the assembly line 100 until it reaches the first side roughing station 23. Roughing station 23 has a roughing wheel 27 controlled in the horizontal and vertical directions to follow the contour of the side of the shoe upper. As the bottom 192 passes under the roughing wheel 27, one edge of the shoe upper material 195 (FIGS. 12 and 13) that is overturned along the edge of thebottom of the insole 193 of the shoe is roughed. The wheel 27 is controlled by means of a mechanical sensor 240 which is shown in FIG. 14. The sensor 240 comprises an arm portion 242 which is positioned under and forward of the roughing wheel 27 so as to contact the bottom of the shoe upper just prior to the entrance of the shoe under the roughing wheel 27. Arm 242 is coupled to ashaft 244 which is mounted within a control unit 250'which employs the rotation of shaft 244 in accordance with the contour of the edge of the shoe bottom to provide a mechanical control for the rotational roughing wheel 27.

Referring now to FIGS. 14 and 15, the control unit 250 comprises an outer frame 260 in which is movably mounted an inner frame 270. The outer frame 260 comprises a top surface 261, a bottom surface 262, a front surface 263, a rear surface 264, a left sidewall 265 and a right sidewall 267, forming a container. The inner frame 270 comprises a top wall 271, a bottom wall 272 and left and right sidewalls 275 and 277, the ends being open. Mounted on a platform 278 within the inner frame 270 is an arbor 290 mounted to the platform 278 by means of a front bearing block assembly 276 and a rear gimbal bearing 279. The arbor extends through an aperture 263' in the front wall 263 of the outer container 260, and the roughing wheel 27 is attached to the arbor 290 by suitable coupling means 291. The rear gimbal bearing 279, platform 278, and inner frame 270 are rotatably mounted to a partition 269 within the outer frame 260 by means of an upper shaft 280'coupled from the platform 278 to a bearing block assembly 282 mounted on partition 269 and lower shaft 284 coupled from the gimbal bearing 279 to an additional hearing block assembly 286 mounted to the bottom wall 272 of the inner frame 270. The aperture 263' in the forward wall 263 of the frame 260 is sufficiently large to permit the arbor 290 to move in a horizontal direction into and out of the plane of the drawing of FIG. 14 so that it can follow the contour of the edge of a shoe. The arbor 290 pivots about the shafts 280 and 284 at the rear of the arbor and is rotatably driven bymeans of a motor 296 (FIG. 15) mounted on top of the outer frame 260. The motor is coupled to the arbor 290 by drive belt 294 (FIG. 14) which is coupled to a pulley 292 mounted on the rear of the arbor 290.

The horizontal or side-to-side motion of the arbor 290 and inner frame 270 about the axis of the shafts 280 and 284 is permitted by constructing the inner and outer frames such that the outside vertical dimensions of the inner frame 270 are slightly smaller than the inner vertical dimensions of the lower portion (i. e., below partition 269) of the outer frame 260. The width of the inner frame 270 is considerably less than the width of outer frame 270 thereby permitting the sideto-side motion. The movement is effected by a dual opposed shaft pneumatic cylinder 295 securely mounted at the forward end of the bottom surface 272 of the inner frame 270 as shown in FIG. 14. Cylinder 295 has a first movable shaft 297 which extends through an aperture 293 in the left sidewall 275 of frame 270. The end 297' of shaft 297 contacts the inner surface of wall 265 of the outer frame 260. A second shaft 298 extends horizontally from cylinder 295 in the opposite direction of shaft 297. Shaft 298 extends through an aperture 299 in right sidewall 277 of inner frame 270 and has an end 298' which contacts the inner surface of right sidewall 267 of outer frame 260. As the cylinder 295 has the chambers (not shown) associated with each shaft 297, 298 alternately pressurized and depressurized, the movement of the shafts will cause the inner frame 270 and therefore the arbor 290 and roughing wheel 27 thereon to move in the horizontal direction. The control means for cylinder 295 is shown in detail in FIG. 16 and is discussed below. i

The roughing wheel 27 is additionally permitted to move in a vertical direction by means of forward left and right roller assemblies 302 and 304 coupled to the platform 278 as shown in FIG. 15. Each of the assemblies 302 and 304 has a pair of rollers, 303 and 305 respectively, which contact the inner sidewalls 275 and 277 of inner frame 270 thereby permitting the forward end of platform 278 and arbor 290 to move in a vertical direction within frame 270. The aperture 263' in the forward wall 263 of frame 260 is sufficiently large to permit the desired vertical travel. The rear ends of the platform 278 and arbor 290 are permitted to rotate within the gimbal 279 in an amount which does not interfere with the drive belt and pulley (294, 292) but which permits the desired vertical travel for the roughing wheel 27. The vertical motion of the arbor 290 is accomplished by means of a pneumatic cylinder 306 mounted to the bottom 272 of the inner frame 270 and oriented in a vertical direction. The pneumatic cylinder 306 has a shaft 307 which contacts the movable platform 278 within frame 270 such that as the cylinder 306 is actuated to cause the shaft 307 to move, the platform 278 and arbor 290 aNd roughing wheel 27 attached thereto is moved in the vertical direction. A

spring 308 has one end anchored to the top surface 261 of outer frame 260 and a remote end coupled to the platform 278 of the inner frame 270 through an aperture 309 in the partition 269 and an aperture 309 in the top surface 271 of the inner frame 270. The tension of spring 308 can be adjusted such that the weight of the wheel 27, arbor 290 and platform 278 can be counterbalanced a desired amount when the shaft 307 of cylinder 306 is retracted and the wheel 27 is roughing a shoe bottom. In this manner, the desired roughing pressure can be set. The control means for cylinder 306 is shown in detail in FIG. 16.

Referring now to FIG. 16, there is shown a control unit 310 for operating the side roughing mechanism shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. Unit 310 is mounted above the partition 269 of the outer frame 260 and is shown in block form in FIGS. 14 and 15. The control unit comprises a main base plate 312 which is secured to the partition 269 by means of a suitable fastener passing through apertures 313 at the corners of the plate 312. The plate 312 is positioned on the partition 269 such that a slotted aperture 315 in the plate 312 receives a post 318 securely mounted on the top wall 271 of the inner frame 270. The post 318 passes through the partition 269 through a similar-shaped slotted aperture 317 in the partition 269 thereby projecting into the slotted aperture 315 of the main base plate 312.

The shaft 244 of the mechanical sensor 240 also passes through apertures 312 and 323 in the upper wall 271 of the inner frame 270 and the partition 269 of the outer frame 260, respectively, to extend into the control unit 310. A bearing assembly 324 is mounted within the aperture 312 to provide support and guide means for shaft 244. Thus it is seen that the control unit 310 is mechanically coupled to the sensor 240 to receive information as to the actual position ofa shoe as it passes under the roughing station, and is mechanically coupled to the inner frame 270 by means of the post 318 such that it can receive information as to the actual position of the roughing wheel 27. The information so imparted through these mechanical means is employed by the control 310 to actuate the pneumatic cylinders 295 and 306 by means of the apparatus shown in FIG. 16 which is now described.

Shaft 244 of the mechanical sensor 240 is coupled to a geared cam 327 of a gear assembly 325, which assembly is securely mounted to the main base plate 312 by means of a mounting bracket 326. The gear assembly 325 further includes a second gear 330 having teeth 331 along its periphery which mesh with teeth 328 of the geared cam 327. The geared cam 327 further includes at its periphery an indent 329 and a smooth cam surface 332 on the opposite side of the indent as the teeth 328. The teeth 331 of the second gear 330 also mesh with the teeth 335 of a pinion gear 334 which is axially aligned with and securely coupled to a drive gear 338 having teeth 339 on its periphery.

A pneumatic valve 345 has an actuation arm 347 with a roller 348 at the end thereof which contacts the cam surface 332 of the geared cam 327 and is adapted to fit within the indent 329 of the geared cam 327 when the sensing arm 242 is in a position perpendicular to the travel of the shoe bottom. Arm 242 is self-centering by means of a spring (not shown) associated with shaft 244 and is in the perpendicular position before a shoe bottom enters the roughing station. The movement of arm 242 by contacting an edge 393 of a shoe bottom 192 as the shoe enters the roughing station will cause the geared cam 327 to rotate thereby moving the roller 348 out of the indent 329 and onto the cam surface 332. This causes the actuation arm 347 of the valve 345 to move thereby actuating the valve. Valve 345 is pivotally mounted to the main base plate 312 by means of a bolt 341 which serves as the pivot point and a slotted aperture 342 in the valve 345 which spans a post 343 mounted to the plate 312. A spring 344 anchored to the plate 312 is coupled to the valve 345 at the end remote from the bolt 341 and pulls the valve into contact with a set screw 346. By adjusting the set screw 346, the position of the valve 345 can be varied such that the movement of the roller 348 into and out of the indent 329 provides the desired actuation of valve 345.

The teeth 339 of the drive gear 338 engage teeth 353 on a rack 354 which is securely mounted to a carriage assembly 350. The carriage assembly 350 comprises a base plate 360 slidably mounted to the main base plate 312 and to which is adjustably mounted a first valve 370 and a second valve 380 by means of mounting plates 375 and 385 respectively. The base plate 360 is moved as the drive gear 338 rotates and thereby causes the rack 354 attached to the base plate 360 to be moved laterally (toward the top and bottom of the drawing of FIG. 16). Base plate 360 is allowed to slide between a guide member 365 and a pair of posts 362 and 364 mounted to the plate 312 by means of slots 361 and 363 associated with posts 362 and 364 respectively. The guide member 365 has a tab 366 which extends over the edge of the base plate 360 thereby holding it in slidable engagement with the main base plate 312 of the control unit 310. An additional post 367 is mounted to the main base plate 312 and extends through an aperture or slot 368 to provide additional guide and support means for the base plate 360.

The first valve 370 is firmly secured to the mounting plate 375 by means of a pair of mounting screws 371. Plate 375 is adjustably mounted by means of a pivot pin 377 which is mounted to the base plate 360 and extends through an aperture in the mounting bracket 375 held thereto by means of a lock nut 378. An arcuate slot 379 in the mounting bracket 375 provides a rotatable adjustment around the axis of pin 377 by means of the lock screw 376 which can be loosened to provide the adjustment and then tightened to securely fix the position of the mounting bracket 375 relative to the base plate 360. The second valve 380 is likewise securely fixed to the mounting plate 385 by means of a pair of screws 381. The mounting plate 385 is pivotally mounted to the base plate 360 by means of a pin 387 which is attached to the plate 360 and which extends through an aperture in the mounting bracket 385 held thereto by means of a lock nut 388. Mounting plate 385 further includes an arcuate slot 389 which permits rotation of the plate 385 about the axis of pin 387 by means of a lock screw 386 which can be loosened to provide the adjustment and tightened to firmly fix the position of mounting plate 385 with respect to the base member 360.

The valves 370 and 380 each have actuation arms 372 and 382 respectively which are coupled to the valves for causing them to open and close as rollers 373 and 383 mounted on the ends of the arms 372 and 382 respectively are contacted and moved by the post 318 extending upwardly from the top surface 271 of inner frame 270 (FIG. 14). It is seen that the post 318 extends through an aperture 315 in the main base plate 312 and through a correspondingly shaped aperture 390 in the base plate 360. The valves 370 and 380 further include associated adjustable stops 374 and 384 for limiting the outward travel of arms 372 and 382 respectively.

In operation, as the shoe bottom 192 enters the roughing station in a direction indicated by the arrow 395, the arm tip 243 will contact a side 393 of the shoe bottom 192 to cause the shaft 244 to rotate thereby rotating the geared cam 327. This will cause the rollers 348 of the valve 345 to be lifted out of the indent 329 of cam 327 thereby actuating the valve 345 which is in series between a source of pressurized air and the pneumatic cylinder 306 shown in FIG. 14. By actuating the normally open valve 345, air pressure to the cylinder 306 is cut off and the cylinder is vented to the atmosphere thereby causing the platform 278 and roughing wheel 27 thereon which are coupled to the shaft 307 of cylinder 306 (FIG. 14) to be lowered. This positions the roughing wheel 37 properly for the roughing operatron.

As the shoe bottom 192 progresses to a position A indicated in the FIG. 16, arm 242 is moved to the left causing the rack 354 and therefore the base plate 360 to be moved upwardly such that post 318 extending through the aperture 390 in the base plate 360 will be in the position shown in phantom lines and labeled with reference character A. The post 318 contacts roller 383 of valve 380 and causes the actuation of the valve 380 which is coupled to the cylinder 295 in a manner to cause the cylinder to move the roughing wheel 27 in a direction to accommodate the extending curved area A of the shoe side 393. The valves 370 and 380 are coupled to the cylinder 295 to vent the chambers of the cylinder 295 associated with shafts 297 and 298 (FIG. 15) such that the continuous pressure applied to the opposite chamber will cause one of the shafts-297 or 2.98 to be extended thereby causing the inner frame 270, arbor 290, and roughing wheel 27 thereon to be moved. In the position A, for example, the valve 380 will cause the air chamber associated with the shaft 297 of the cylinder 295 to be vented such that the pressure applied to the chamber associated with shaft 298 will cause the shaft 298 to extend while the vented chamber will allow the shaft 297 of the cylinder 295 to contract. In this manner, therefore, the roughing wheel 27 is caused to follow the contour of the edge 393 of the shoe bottom 192.

It is seen that once the valve 380 has been actuated, the post 318 which is attached to the inner frame 270 will again move with the arbor 290 and inner frame 270 to a self-centering position at which position the valve 380 will again be de-actuated, stopping the lateral motion of the arbor 290 and roughing wheel 27 thereon.

As the shoe bottom 192 continues through the roughing station until point B is adjacent the arm 242, the drive gear 338 will cause the rack 354 to move downwardly thereby moving the base plate 360 downwardly such that the post 318 will be in a relative position in the aperture 390 indicated in phantom lines and accompanied by the reference number B in FIG. 16. In this position, the opposite effect takes place, namely the chamber of the pneumatic cylinder 295 associated with shaft 298 is vented to the atmosphere such that shaft 298 will contract and shaft 297 will be extended to cause the roughing wheel 27 to move in a direction to follow the contour of the shoe at point B. Again, as the wheel 27 moves, the post 318 will move toward the self-seeking center position as shown in the solid lines in FIG. 16.

In this manner, therefore, the sensor 240 causes the roughing wheel 27 to follow the contour of the edge 383 of the shoe bottom 192 as it passes through the side roughing station. It is noted that each of the side roughing stations have identical apparatus as shown inFIGS. 14 through 16 and the wheel 27 and 31 (FIG. 2A) are canted to provide the desired roughing angle for each of the sides of the shoe. It is further noted that this apparatus may likewise be employed with the various remaining steps of the process, and particularly, for example, can be used to control the application of cement in cementing stages 40 and 42 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

The total operation of the apparatus disclosed is apparent from the detailed preceding description of the separate components and their operation, and hence will not be repeated here under a separate heading.

Various obvious modifications of the concepts set forth, including the carrier and associated apparatus, the modular system, and the position control apparatus will be apparent to those skilled in the art after studying this disclosure. Such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a shoe manufacturing apparatus;

a carrier for holding a shoe last and shoe upper mounted thereon, said carrier including releasable bias means for urging a shoe upper mounted on a last mounted to said carrier toward a fixed reference position, said carrier further including means for locking a last mounted to said carrier in said fixed reference position; and

conveying means for a shoe assembly line and adapted to receive said carrier such that said shoe upper is moved along the assembly line in said fixed reference position, said conveying means including means cooperating with said urging means and said locking means on said carrier as said carrier moves along said conveying'means to first release said bias means to urge'the shoe upper in said fixed reference position and then actuate said locking means to secure the shoe upper in said fixed reference position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carrier comprises:

a base member; and

a front vertically movable element and a rear vertically movable element coupled to said base member and adapted to receive and hold said shoe last, said releasable bias means coupled to said front and rear vertically movable elements, said rear vertically movable element being pivotally mounted to said base, and wherein said means for locking said front and rear vertically movable elements at a desired height comprises means for pivoting said rear vertically movable element such that said elements and said last thereon will remain in a fixed position.

3. In' a shoe manufacturing apparatus:

a carrier for holding a shoe last and a shoe upper mounted thereon in a fixed reference position, said carrier comprising a base member; a front vertically movable post slidably mounted within a front

Claims (41)

1. In a shoe manufacturing apparatus; a carrier for holding a shoe last and shoe upper mounted thereon, said carrier including releasable bias means for urging a shoe upper mounted on a last mounted to said carrier toward a fixed reference position, said carrier further including means for locking a last mounted to said carrier in said fixed reference position; and conveying means for a shoe assembly line and adapted to receive said carrier such that said shoe upper is moved along the assembly line in said fixed reference position, said conveying means including means cooperating with said urging means and said locking means on said carrier as said carrier moves along said conveying means to first release said bias means to urge the shoe upper in said fixed reference position and then actuate said locking means to secure the shoe upper in said fixed reference position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carrier comprises: a base member; and a front vertically movable element and a rear vertically movable element coupled to said base member and adapted to receive and hold said shoe last, said releasable bias means coupled to said front and rear vertically movable elements, said rear vertically movable element being pivotally mounted to said base, and wherein said means for locking said front and rear vertically movable elements at a desired height comprises means for pivoting said rear vertically movable element such that said elements and said last thereon will remain in a fixed position.

3. In a shoe manufacturing apparatus: a carrier for holding a shoe last and a shoe upper mounted thereon in a fixed reference position, said carrier comprising a base member; a front vertically movable post slidably mounted within a front cylinder coupled to said base and a rear vertically movable post slidably mounted within a rear cylinder coupled to said base member and adapted to receive and hold said shoe last; means for adjusting the vertical height of said front and rear vertically movable posts comprising front and rear wedges having a tapered surface and which are slidably mounted to said base member such that said tapered surface of said front wedge contacts an end of said front vertically movable post and said tapered surface of said rear wedge contacts an end of said rear vertically movable post such that as the position of said wedges is changed, said posts move in a generally vertical direction; and means for locking said front and rear vertically movable posts at a desired height such that said elements and last thereon will remain in a fixed position once locked; and conveying means for a shoe assembly line and adapted to receive said carrier such that said shoe upper is moved along the assembly line in said fixed reference position.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said front and rear vertically movable posts include bias springs coupled thereto and mounted within said corresponding front and rear cylinders for holding said posts against said tapered surfaces of said wedges.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said rear cylinder associated with said rear vertically movable post is pivotally coupled to said base member, and wherein said means for locking said front and rear vertically movable posts at a desired height comprises means for tilting said rear vertically movable post.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said front vertically movable post has a pad at an end remote from said front wedge, said pad adapted to contact an outside surface of said shoe upper, and wherein said rear vertically movable post has a tip at an end remote from said rear wedge adapted to fit within a correspondingly shaped aperture in a heel portion of said last when said last and shoe upper thereon is mounted to said front and rear vertically movable posts.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said conveying means comprises a conveyor bed having guide means adapted to hold said carrier in engagement therewith in a relatively fixed vertical and lateral position relative to said conveyor bed, and means coupled to said carrier for moving said carrier along an assembly line.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said means for moving said carrier comprises a slot extending the length of said conveyor bed along said assembly line drive means located in alignment with said slot and gripping means coupled to said drive means and extending through said slot to engage said carrier thereby causing said carrier to follow said drive means along said assembly line by sliding within said guide means.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said guide means comprises a pair of sidewalls extending upwardly from each side of said conveyor bed and spaced to allow said base of said carrier to fit therebetween, and a pair of inwardly directed flange members mounted on said sidewalls at an end remote from the junction of said sidewalls with said conveyor bed, said flanges shaped to fit over the base of said carrier such that said carrier is held between said flange members and said conveyor bed and between said sidewalls in slidable engagement in a relatively fixed vertical and lateral position.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 and further including means coupled to said front and rear wedges and rotatably coupled to said base member of said carrier for sliding said front and rear wedges in relation to said base member as said means is rotated relative to said base member.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said conveying means includes a gauging station having first engaging means thereon which engage said means on said carrier for sliding said wedges such that as said carrier enters said gauging station, said sliding means is caused to rotate thereby sliding said wedges in a manner to cause said front and rear vertically movable posts to be moved in an upward direction.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein said gauging station includes means forming a horizontal reference plane mounted above said conveying means such that as said front and rear vertically movable posts are moved upwardly by said means for sliding said wedges, said shoe upper mounted on said last moves into contact with said reference plane.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 12 in which said gauging station of said conveying means further includes second engaging means thereon for engaging said locking means on said carrier only after said shoe upper is in contact with said reference plane in a manner to actuate said locking means to fix said shoe upper in a predetermined position as said carrier moves along said assembly line.

14. In a shoe manufacturing system whereby shoe uppers are mounted on lasts which are transported along an assembly line such that automated manufacturing steps can be performed upon them, a carrier for holding a shoe last thereon in a fixed position, said carrier comprising: a base member; a front vertically movable post slidably mounted within a front cylinder coupled to said base and a rear vertically movable post slidably mounted within a rear cylinder coupled to said base member adapted to receive and hold a shoe last thereon; means for adjusting the vertical height of said front and rear vertically movable posts comprising front and rear wedges having a tapered surface and which are slidably mounted to said base member with said tapered surface of said front wedge contacting an end of said front vertically movable post and said tapered surface of said rear wedge contacting an end of said rear vertically movable post such that, as the position of said wedges is changed, said posts move in a generally vertical direction; and means for locking said front and rear vertically movable posts at a desired height such that said posts and lasts thereon will remain in a fixed position once locked.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein said front and rear vertically movable posts include bias spring means coupled thereto and mounted within said corresponding front and rear cylinders for holding said posts against said tapered surfaces of said wedges.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said rear cylinder associated with said rear vertically movable post, is pivotally coupled to said base member, and wherein said means for locking said front and rear vertically movable posts at a desired height comprises means for tilting said rear vertically movable post.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said front vertically movable post has a pad at an end remote from said front wedge, said pad adapted to contact an outside surface of said shoe upper, and wherein said rear vertically movable post has a tip at an end remote from said rear wedge adapted to fit within a correspondingly shaped aperture in a heel portion of said last when said last and shoe upper thereon is mounted to said front and rear vertically movable posts.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 in which said adjusting means further comprises a gear plate having teeth at a periphery thereof, said gear plate rotatably mounted to said base member and coupled to said front and rear wedges so as to slide said wedges when said gear plate is rotated.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said teeth of said gear plate are adapted to engage an externally mounted rack so as to effect rotation of said gear plate as said carrier passes said rack.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein each of said front and rear wedges has an associated bias spring coupled thereto at one end, said bias springs anchored to said base member at an end of said springs remote from the junction to said wedges, said bias springs tending to hold said wedges in contact with said front and rear vertiCally movable posts when said gear plate is rotated in a first direction.

21. A system for manufacturing shoes in which a shoe last with a shoe upper and an innersole mounted thereon is mounted in a predetermined fixed position in which the innersole remains in a fixed, predetermined reference plane during various manufacturing steps along an assembly line, said system comprising means forming a horizontal reference plane, conveying means passing under said reference plane; a carrier for holding a shoe last with a shoe upper, and an innersole mounted thereon, said carrier coupled to said conveying means such that said shoe last will pass under said reference plane; said carrier including self-contained means for pressing said shoe last with a shoe upper and an innersole thereon against said reference plane; and means on said carrier cooperating with said conveying means for locking said shoe last in a fixed position when it is pressed against said reference plane.

22. A system as defined in claim 21 wherein said conveying means includes means for guiding said carrier in a longitudinal direction along an assembly line while holding said carrier in a relatively fixed vertical and lateral position, and drive means engaging said carrier for moving said carrier longitudinally along said assembly line.

23. A system as defined in claim 22 wherein said carrier includes a base member adapted to fit within said guide means of said conveying means and to which said pressing means and said locking means of said carrier are coupled.

24. A system as defined in claim 23 wherein said pressing means includes vertically movable means coupled to said base member for mounting said shoe last to said carrier, and means for moving said movable mounting means in a generally vertical direction.

25. A system as defined in claim 24 in which said locking means comprises means for fixing the vertical position of said vertically movable mounting means.

26. A system for controlling the position of a machine tool to follow the contour of a work piece comprising: a processing station having a machine tool for performing a processing step upon a work piece; means for moving said work piece through said processing station; movable means for holding said machine tool; detecting means coupled to said work piece to receive work piece position information therefrom; additional detecting means coupled to said holding means for receiving machine tool position information therefrom; means coupled to said detecting means and to said additional detecting means for comparing the position of said machine tool to the position of said work piece; and control means coupled to said comparing means and to said holding means to change the position of said machine tool to follow the work piece when the position of the work piece and machine tool do not coincide.

27. A system as defined in claim 26 wherein said detection means includes sensing means contacting said work piece and having a follower arm adapted to contact and follow the contour of said work piece passing through said station, said follower arm coupled to a rotatable shaft having a geared cam at an end remote from said arm.

28. The system as defined in claim 27 wherein said additional detection includes a post coupled to said machine tool and linearly movable therewith and a movable carriage including valve means adapted to contact said post at predetermined positions of said carriage.

29. A system as defined in claim 28 wherein said comparing means comprises gear means coupling said geared cam to said movable carriage such that said carriage moves in predetermined relationship to position changes of the work piece.

30. The system as defined in claim 29 wherein said holding means comprises an outer frame in which is mounted in laterally movable relationship, an inner frame; and wherein said machine tool is coupled to said inner frame in vertically movable relationship, said outer frame being mOunted in fixed relationship to said processing station such that as said work piece passes adjacent thereto, said holding means allows said machine tool to contact said work piece.

31. The system as defined in claim 30 wherein said control means comprises a first pneumatically operated cylinder with a movable shaft, said first cylinder being mounted between said machine tool and said outer frame to provide vertical motion to said machine tool; and a valve adapted to supply said first cylinder with pneumatic pressure, said valve controlled by means of an actuation arm coupled to said valve and contacting said geared cam of said detection means.

32. A system as defined in claim 31 wherein said control means further includes a second pneumatically operated cylinder having a movable shaft and coupled between said inner and outer frames, said shaft being movable to provide lateral movement of said machine tool; said second cylinder coupled to said valve means in said carriage such that as said valve means is actuated by contacting said post said shaft associated with said second pneumatic cylinder provides lateral movement to said machine tool.

33. A system as defined in claim 32 wherein said work piece comprises a shoe bottom having overlapped shoe upper material therein, and wherein said machine tool comprises a rotating roughing wheel for roughing said overlapped shoe upper material.

34. A system for manufacturing shoes in which a shoe last with a shoe upper and an innersole are mounted thereon is mounted in a predetermined fixed position in which the innersole remains in a fixed, predetermined reference plane during the various manufacturing steps along an assembly line, said system comprising means forming a horizontal reference plane, conveying means passing under said reference plane, a carrier for holding an inverted shoe last with a shoe upper and innersole thereon will pass under said reference plane, means on said carrier for pressing said shoe last, shoe upper and innersole against said reference plane, means on said carrier for locking said shoe last in a fixed position corresponding to the position of said shoe last when it is pressed against said reference plane, at least one processing station along said assembly line, and having a machine tool for performing a processing step upon said shoe upper as it is advanced on said last, movable means for holding said machine tool, detecting means comprising a sensor having a first follower arm which extends into the path of and contacts said shoe upper as said upper is conveyed through said processing station to receive positional information as to the position of the advancing last; and control means coupled to said detecting means and to said holding means for controlling the position of said machine tool in response to the position of said shoe upper.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein said control means comprises a pneumatically operated cylinder having a movable shaft coupled to said holding means and further includes a valve coupled to said cylinder and adapted to supply pneumatic pressure to said cylinder, said valve coupled to said follower arm to be controlled by the motion thereof in a manner to control the position of said machine tool as a function of the position of said shoe upper.

36. The system of claim 35 and further including a second follower arm elastically coupled to said first follower arm such that said first arm follows the contour of a rear position of said shoe upper as said upper passes through said processing station.

37. The system of claim 35 in which said machine tool is a rotating roughing wheel and said processing station is a toe roughing station.

38. The system of claim 36 in which said machine tool is a rotating roughing wheel and said processing station is a heel roughing station.

39. Shoe manufacturing apparatus comprising: a plurality of shoe last carriers adapted to retain shoe lasts with shoe uppers and inner soles attached thereto; conveyor means cooperable with said carriers to transport the shoe lasts along an assembly line; gauging means adjacent said conveyor means and cooperable with said carriers to fix the shoe lasts in a reference plane; a plurality of modular shoe processing units removably mounted adjacent said conveyor means and downstream of said gauging means, said modular units each having locater means fixing the position of said unit relative to said reference plane.

40. The apparatus as defined in claim 39 in which each of said processing units includes a mounting frame coupled to said conveyor by means of a plurality of legs, and wherein said locating means comprise a collar on each leg which vertically positions said mounting frame with respect to said reference plane.

41. Shoe manufacturing apparatus comprising: an assembly line formed of a plurality of shoe processing units in sequential order each of said processing units being of modular nature and removably mounted relative to the other units; shoe last conveying means for transporting a shoe last having a shoe upper mounted thereto past said processing units; and locater means for each of said modular units to fix the functional location thereof relative to said shoe last conveying means.

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