US878572A - Machine for making rubber footwear. - Google Patents

Description

No. 878,572. PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908.

v A. 0. $QUIRES. 111101111111 FOR MAKING RUBBER FOOTWEAR.

APPLICATION FILED APB..30.1907.

INVENTOR- Wzfnesse JrfbUrCLSQ E" a157,?? 1 v l BY flrrof zy.

. 30 and as it has been found commercially UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR C. SQUIRES, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-EIGHTH TO RUSSELL T. DOBSON, OF AKRON, OHIO, ONE-FOURTH TO ELMER G. LAHR AND TWO-SIXTEENTHS TO CHESTER N. RUSSELL, BOTH OF CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO, ONE-SIXTEENTH TO CHARLES SENN, OF MONROE FALLS, OHIO, ONE-SIXTEENTH TO NICK HUBER, OF AKRON, OHIO, ONE-SIX- TEENTH TO HARRY E. BOWMAN. OF CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO, AND ONE-SIXTEENTH TO CHARLES H. STAHL AND ONE-TENTH TO GEORGE W. GRIDLEY, BOTH OF AKRON,

OHIO.

rmcnn'm non MAKING RUBBER 'roo'rwnan.

Patented. Feb. 1 1 1 908.

Application filed April 30. 1907. Serial No. 371.049.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. SQUIRES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in' the county of Summit and State 5 of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Rubber Footwear, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for manufacturing rubber footwear, and the object thereof is toprovide a mechanical means for placing certain of the componentparts of foot wear in'position on the last, in a more satisfactory and perfect manner than can be accomplished .by hand, and also accomplish the same in much less time. In the common manufacture of rubberboots and shoes the fabric lining is 1placed upon the last and after stretching to p ace, the ends of thelinin lapped at the rear of the heel, where y a seam is formed. The same operation is employed with respect to the upper, resulting 1n asecond seam being formed which is superposed on the lining seam itself, materially increasing the thickness of the shoe at this point and a consequent-weakness due to the employment of the seams.

This invention contemplates the use of a seamless lining and also a seamless upper,

1mpossible heretofore to place seamless hnings and uppers upon lasts, it is the primary object of this invention to place linings and uppers of this description perfectly in position upon the last during the building up of a shoe preparatory to vulcanization. In order to make a perfect shoe the wrinkles must be removedand air bubbles expelled from the structure before the same is vulcanized, and my invention contemplates employing such mreans as will properly accomphsh these resu ts. a

, One form of and a practical embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accom- 4 panying drawings, in which similar reference numerals indicate like parts in the difierent figures. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of my improved device; Fig. 2 alongitudinal, central, vertical section of a device embodying my invention; Fig. 3

are

is a plan view showing the general outline of a shoe upper employed in connection with myinvention; and, Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a shoe last with a seamless upper and lining in position. thereon.

The structure which I prefer to employ consists generall of a box containing a suitable form for t e reception of the last, a plunger to force the last into the form and retain it there, and means for compressing an elastic form or mold about the last 11 on which the lining or upper has been place It will be stated before giving a detailed description of the apparatus, that the same device is capable of placing not only the seamless lining but also the seamless upper position, and a description of one will y with equal pertinency to the other.

escribing specifically the device illustrated in the drawings, the reference nu-v meral '1 is a hollow air-tight member, hereinafter referred to for the purpose of this description as a box, consisting of a bottom,

sides 2 and ends 3, all constructed of any suitable or referred material and securely united toget er b any of the ordinary fastening devicessuc as screws 4. Across the top of this box is laid and preferably strained very slightly, a sheet of rubber 5 which is comparatively thick and which has formed in its central portion a pocket '6 having the general outline of a boot or shoe last of a certain style and size. This pocket will be hereinafter referred to as the mold. The rubber of which the sheet5 and mold 6 is composed need not be highly elastic, but sufficiently firm to resist unintentional change of form by repeated use. Upon the rubber sheet 5 is placed a cover 7 consisting of a sheet of rigid material, such as wood or sheet metal having an opening therein corresponding in outline to the top of the mold 6 and adapted to be vertically flush therewith. Upon the cover 7 is placed an a ron -8 of thin and highlyelastic and resi-ient rubber having the capability of stretching to a great extent and returning to its normal fiat condition at all time. In order to maintain the apron 8, as well as the cover 7 and mold sheet 5 inposition, there are placed on the top of the apron 8 strips of suitable material 9 secured to the sidesand ends of the box by appropriate fastening devices such'as screws 10, so that all the partsconstituting the top of the box are unlted together and held fixedly in osition.

It will be seen from t e foregoing de-- scription, that when all the parts are in.

proper position, the structure will present the appearance of an ordinary box with an elastic rubber a ron covering the top thereof, such as is in icated in Fig. 1. Air under ressure is conveyed to the interior of the Box by means of an inlet pipe 11 provided with a threeway cock -12having an exhaust vent 13 by which any air returning from'the box after'the cessation of the pressure therein will be permitted to escape therethrough.

Mounted above the box 1 is a plunger 14, (only the lower end of which is shown in Fig. 2) which is provided with a pair of fingers 15 arranged to press upon the heel and,

sole of a last during the process of placing the lining and upper of a'rubber shoe and to force the last downward into the mold 6 after M taken and after being inverted, held immediately over the seamless lining on the a ron 8. The plunger 14 is then caused to escend forcing the last down into the mold 6, carrying with it the lining, which during the descent of the last into the mold will be shaped about the sides of the last and caused to conform thereto to a certain'extent. As soon as the plunger has made its entire downward movement, and while still retained there air under pressure is admitted to the interior of the box 1 by means of the cook 12 which.

causes the elastic mold 6 to be compressed against the apron which has been forced downward into the mold 6 with the last and which in turn forces the lining against the last evenly and perfectly, removing all wrinkles therein and driving therefrom any air bubbles that might exist thereunder. As

soon as the air pressure has-compressed the mold 6 upon the apron surrounding the last and lining, the plunger may be withdrawn and the last remain securely held Within the confines of the elastic mold, for the reason that as the lasts used for this purpose conform in contour to the ordinary shoe, and as the molds 6 are made to conform to the lasts, the pressure of air will force the upper and lateral portions of the mold and apron into the hollow ortion of the last which exists between t e heel and sole of the last, thereby holding the last securely against upward movement; and as the mold 6 itself is held from being forced upward by reason of the cover 7, the last will remain fixedly in position until the air pressure is released.

.ward the last and throw it completely out of i the mold 6 In placing an upper on the lining, the same operation is used as has just been described with reference to the lining, with this exception, that the ankle portion of the last is placedsothat it will project through the opening in the upper and when the plunger forces the last downwardly, the upper will be forced onto the lining on the last in proper position thereon and the same process takes place with respect to the upper as has been described with reference to the lining. After the upper has been securely placed indposition and before the air pressure is reduce in the box 1, the last being fixedly held in position, the outside sole of the foote wear is placed in position by hand and caused to adhere to the mturned portions of the upper by manual pressure; then the pressure of air is released and the last with its footwear thereon is thrown upwardly by the apron and sent to the vulcanizing department. It will be seen from the foregoing description, that this device aifords a perfect means for placing these two portions of a rubber shoe in posi tion without any danger of wrinkles occurring or air existingunder or between the various layers which go to make up the shoe, and also the necessity of employing seams is elimi nated, thereby making a more erfect shoe without the necessity of the emp oyment of a great amount of hand labor, thus making the manufacture of shoes by this device more perfect, cheap and expeditious.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A-device of the class described comprising a hollow air-tight member, an elastic dia- I phragm extending across said member provided with a de ending open-topped mold formed integral tl ierewith, an inflexible member provided with an o' ening corresponding in contour to said mol superposed on said dia hragm, 'an elastic apron secured above sai inflexible member and arranged'to envelop articles forced into said mold, and means for producing an even and simultaneous pressure of said mold upon anobject ,contained therein. 5

' 2. The combination in a device of the class described, of a hollow air-tight box, an elastic diaphragm extending across said box provided with a depending compressible mold formed integral therewith, a cover for said box provided with an opening so positioned as to register with the opening in said mold,

ing an elastic member arranged to inclose the article,-an'elastic sustaining means integral with said elastic member, a substantially rigid member rovided with an ening registering with t e opening in said e astic member for maintaining said member against outwarddistortion, and means for exerting a fluid pressure about said elastic member-for compressing said member upon a form carrying superimposed adhesive portions of the article to be produced.

4. A device for forming articles of a plurality of adhesive superimpositions comprising an elastic envelop to inclose a-form carrying said impositions elastically sustained,

a rigid member provided with an opening registering with t e opening in said envelo an elastic apron suitably sustained on t e opppsite side of said rigid member arranged to e carried into said envelop and inclose the-article while sustained therein, and a fiuid pressure-producing instrumentality to cause the compression of said envelop on said article. a

5. A device for roducing articles from a plurality of adhesive members successively imposed on a suitable form comprising an elastic envelop conforming a proximatel to the sha e of the article to e produce arid provi ed with an integral sustaining member for elastically maintaining said en velop, an elastic member adapted to cover the open'face of said envelo and to inclose the article to be produced an be carried into said envelop with said article, and means for producing fluid pressure about said en- I velop, whereby the successive superimpositions on said form are caused to simultaneously adhere to one another.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR C. SQUIRES.

Witnesses:

C. E. HUMPHREY, GLENARA Fox.

Images