US947895A - Method of forming the uppers of boots and shoes. - Google Patents

Description

K. ENGEL.

METHOD 0F FORMING THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES. APPLICATION FILED 141111.20, '1903.

94"Y895 Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

K. ENGEL. METHOD 0I' FORMING THE UPPEBS 01? BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLIUATIOHIILBD MAB. 20, 1908.

Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.'

WM5/WUR.

WTA/55555'.

K. ENGEL.

METHOD 0F FORMING THE UPPBBS 0I' BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLIGATION NLBD 11.13.20, 190s.

`L"15, Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

'M c. any@ ma.

K. ENGEL.

METHOD OE EOEMINO THE UPPEES OE BOOTS AND sHOEs.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 20, 1908.

Patented Feb. 1, 19110.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

- WVM/72751 UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

KARL ENGEL, OF EEVERE, HASSACH'USETTS, ABSIGNOB T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OFl EATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY u METHOD OF FORMING THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

at Revere, in the county of Suffolk and Com-4 monwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Formstitch ing the Uppers of Boots and Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a speelcation, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. t 4

rIhis invention relates to methods of forming or shaping the' uppers of boots and4 shoes.

Although the invention is herein shown and described in its application to the forming or shaping of the uppers of shoes known to the trade as stitch downs that is, shoes having outturned flanges upon the i1 ers to which the soles are attached, it will e obvious to those skilled in the art that many, if not all, of the invention may be employe to a vantage in the forming ori shaping of the uppers of other than stitch down shoes. A

The ty e of shoe designated by the term own has long beenl known but has never until recently been manufactured to any great extent owing to the diculty of producing a well fitting shoe by any method not rendered too costly either by reason of waste of material or by reason of waste of time and labor.

An important obj ect of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a method of formin a well fitting shoe upper, and in particu ar a method of forminga'well fitting shoe upper for a .stitch down shoe which will require for its successful employment a minimum of material and a minimum of time and labor.

In the manufacture of the ordinary shoes of commerce, shapev is given to the upper by forming it over a wooden last, the up er being` drawn over the last and over the e ge of' a sole lplaced upon the bottom of the last and being held to the shape of the last by tacks driven through it into the sole, the tacks extending sometimes through the sole and into the last. In the manufacture of some types ofA shoes the tacks are clenched against an iron' bottom on the last and form part of the permanent fastenin which hold the upper to the sole. In t e manu- Specification of Letters Patent. Application led latch 20, 1908. Serial No. 422,293.

rinci les of thisk are removed from the fore the sole when the upper an sole are united Abyv stitching. In the manufacture of all of the morecommon types of shoes in which the sole and upper are united by stitching, the shaping of the upper by drawing it over a last,together with the use of tacks vto confine the upper'in the lasting operation, necessitates utting into the upper blank more materiail) than would be necessary if the shaping could be performed successfully with onl enough excess material in .the up- Patented Feb.` 1 1910. f

facture of other types of shoes, the tacks art, at least, of

per blan to provide a mar 'n of a suitable width for the attachment o the sole.

A further object ofthe present invention, therefore, is to provide a method of preparing an upper for the attachment of a sole or soles which will dispense with the necessity for initially shaping the upper over a last and confining it with tacks, and will thereby. effect a saving both in upper material and in lasts and lasting tacks.

Another object of the invention` is to provide a method of forming the upper in which the material from which the upper is to be formed will be so manipulated that it will be brought into the desired shape without excessive strain on any part and valso without the necessity for makin the material flow, as in ordinary mol ing operations, such flowing being objectionable since it renders the arts from which the material flows excessivdly thin.

The invention contemplates furthermore the provision of a method of forming shapin shoe uppers in which the upper will not on y be brought into proper form for the reception of the sole, but in which it will also be caused to maintain its form un- .til the sole is secured by permanent fastenings.

With the foregoing and other general objects in view, the invention is herein illustrated and described with especial reference to its application to the 1shaping of the toe parts of stitch down uppers.

One of the great difficulties to be overcome in forming a toe having an outturned flange is to cause the material of the blank to be so distributed during the forming operation thatthe resultant toe shall present a smooth external appearance, and that the outturned liange shall be of uniform width throughout :its extent. If it. is desired that the toe cation, I may utilize theapparatus roper ange, both for appearance and for the comfort of the wearer, the diiculty of causing the material of the blank to be distributed in such manner as to produce the desired results Ais increased.

A particular object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a method of forming a toe having an outturned ila e by which by a simple and quickly and eas' y effected manipulation of the blank or of various parts of the blank during'the toe forming operation the material of the blank will be so distributed and formed as to produce a toe having the desirable characteristics above enumerated.

In carrying out the method ofthis a liustrated and described in my co-pendmg application, Serial No. 387,168, led August 5,

` 1907, for Letters Patent on an improvement in machines for formin uppers of boots and shoes, although it w1ll be obvious that -the successful employment of this method 1s not .dependent upon the utilization of the tapparatus of the said co-pending applicaion.

" In the apparatus above referred to, illustration of which is furnished herewith as of suitable means for carrying out the method of this application, I eifect the desired distribution of the material of the toe blank during the toe forming operation by conining a marginal portion of the blank of substantially the desired width of the llange to be formed and then effecting movements of selected portions of the confined margin in defined directions and for the most part in the plane vof the said margin, while forming pressure is being appliedto the unconiined portion of said blank.

In the apparatus above referred to and also in the method of this application the forming pressure is perferably applied to the blank first in a direction transverse to the plane of the confined portion of the blank and then in a direction longitudinally of, or parallel to, the plane of said confined portion. lAlthough this order of steps is not essential to the carrying out of the method of this application, yet in practical operation there are advantages incident to this order of steps which ymake it preferable, as will appear from the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine by which the method of this application may conveniently Abe carried out, the depressing lever at the forward end of the machine 'being shown in section. Fig. 2 lis a vertical longitudinal lsection a little to the right of the middle of Fig. 1, the parts being shown in operative position. Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partly shall project or bulge out -over its and such bulging isl usually desirable in section, of the elements of this machine utilized in carrying out the method of this application, these elements being shown in operative position. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail, showlng the toe former and one of the pushers about to be brought into operative position. Fi 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, lllustrating t e operation of the machine when a toe, a box toe and a toe lining are being formed simultaneously. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a formed toe with arrows indicating the directions of movement of the material of -the toe during the forming operation. Fig. 7 illustrates the method of attaching an insole to keep the toe in its molded shape until the parts can be stitched together.

The machine illustrated comprises a base orframe 2 adapted to be mounted on a bench or other suitable support. At the forward end of the base or frame 2 is an enlargement 4 having, in the construction shown, an approximately Ushaped recess and constitutmg an elevated support for a plate 6 which forms the stationary member of a clamping device for clamping a toe blank.

The plate '6 is smooth on its clamping falce and is provided with a recess overlyin that in the support 4 but somewhat smal er, so that its inner beveled edge rojects over the recess in the support 4. he recess in the plate 6 has the contour desired for the bottom edge of the toe to be formed, that 1s it has the contour of the crease between the toe and the sole. A movable clamp member 8, adapted to coperate with the clamp member 6, is mounted uponvrods 10 passing through openings in .the member 6 and in the support 4, these rods being connected at their lower ends to suitable treadle-operated mechanism by which they may be pulled down and held in order to cause the blank to be clamped between the members 8 and 6. Suitable mechanism is also preferably provided for locking the rods in their depressed position, so that the operator may leave the blank clamped while he is operating upon a similar blank in another machine.

The clamp member 8 isprovided with teeth or corrugations on its under side in order that it may firmly rip the material of the toe blank, these teet or corrugations third toothed plate 30 is mounted upon the clamp member 8in position to grip the forward part of the toe blank, this plate 30 being connected to the member 8 by a headed screw 32 traveling -in a slot 34 in said member. llt will be noted that these plates have movement only in the plane of the clam ing means, the side plates being so guide in their slots that they move in converging paths toward the front ofthe toe blank during the formin operation, and the front plate being gui ed 1n a slot and by its contact ywith the side plates so that it moves rearwardly with a clamped portion of the blank.

rllhe side plates are preferably kept normally in theirrearmost positions by s rings 36 and 38, the s ring 36 being attac ed at its respective en s to a pin 40 on the clam member 8 and a lug 42 on the right-han plate 22. The sprin 38 is attached to a .similar pin 40 upon t e clamp" member 8 at its rear end, but at its lforward end it is attached to one arm of a lever 44 pivoted at 46 uponthe clamp member 8 and having its other arm pivotally connected with they late 30. An offset portion 48 upon the leftand side plate 22 is adapted, as the side plate 22 moves forward, to engage the outer arm of the lever 44 and cause it to rotate about its pivot 46, thereby moving in a rearward direction the front late 30.

v The toe blank c amped between the clam members 6 and 8 is operated upon by a toe former 50. The toe former 50, of a contour in plan like that of the recess in the plate 6, is adjustably carried upon the forward end of an arm 52 pivoted at 53 between ears rising from a carriage 54 slidably mounted upon the base 2.

A frame 56 through which the arm 52 passes is also mounted upon the pivot 53 to swing with the arm 52. v Adjustably mounted in the forward end of the frame 56 are pushers 58 adapted to coperate with the side plates 22, respectively. Movement longitudinally of tahe clamping mechanism may be imparted to the carriage 54 and the former 50 by means of the lever 60 pivotally mounted in ears 62 rising from the base 2.

rlFhe lever 60 has an enlargement about its pivot, said enlargement being provided with circular shoulders eccentric to the pivot of the lever, and links 64, each connected at one end to the ivot 53, have openings at their other ends into which the shoulders upon the lever 60 tit. Rotation of the lever 60 about its pivot therefore imparts longitudinal movement to the carriage 54, forward movement being imparted to the carriage when the lever is depressed and rearward when it is raised. I l

rlhe toe former 50, when not in use, is adapted to rest upon a steam pipe 66 shown in section inplFig. 2. rlhe steam pipe 66 passes through the' support '4 below the clamp member 6 and is adated to heat the support and its attached am 'members A depressing lever 68 pivote atv70 in a forked post 7 2 integral with the support 4 at its forward en ,carries an engaging block 7 4 adapted to engage and depress the toe former 50- as it rests upon the toe blank clamped between the clamp members 6 and 8. The` action of the depressing lever is only temporary, the toe former 50, after it has been depressed sufficiently-by the de ressing lever, being moved forward by the ever 60 until its forward 4end lies under the overhangin part of the clamp plate 6 by which it is ept in its depressed position.

The shape of the recess in the clamp plate 6 is determined not only by the style of the .shoe for which it molds the toe, but also by the differin characteristics of the right and left shoes o a pair. llf, therefore', a toe is to be molded which is not symmetrical," two molding devices are `preferably employed, one for the toe of the right shoe and the other for the toe of the left shoe of a pair. Furthermore, it is advanta eous to provide several of these molding operator,`in order that the former maybe allowed to remain in the toe after it has shaped it until the material of the toe hasadapted itself to, or set to, its new form.

The loperation of the mechanism hereinbefore described in carrying out the method of this application is as follows: A Vsuitable toe blank of the material of the upper alone, as shown in Fig. 4, or made up of upper ma-4 terial together -with -a blank for a box toe and a blank for a lining, as shown vin Fig. 5, is clamped along its outer edge between the clamp members 6 and 8, the clamped portions of the blank lying approximately 1n one plane and the unclamped portions of the blank preferably saggin somewhat below the clamped portions. s the blank is -placed upon the lower clamp member 6 in position to be clamped, the Width of the flange to be formed is gaged from the inner edge of the member 6 in any suitable way,

-as, for example,. by extending the edge of evices for each` lll@ and frame 56 have previously been raised.

'overhanging edge of the clamp plate 6. The

toe former 50 is then moved forward by means of the lever 60, and as it moves forward the pull on the portions of the clamped material alon thesides of the toe blank will cause the p ates 22, 22 to move forward with the toe formed. This movement of the plates 22, 22 will eiect orpermit the forward movement of the portions of the ange along the sides of the toe which are held by saidrplates, these portions movin freely over the smooth plate 6. As the le t-hand plate 22 moves forward with the toe former, the engagement of its offset part 48 with the lever 44 will cause thefront plate 30 to move rearwardly, carrying with it the portion of the toe blank clamped between it and the plate 6. Should the'side plate 22, 22 for any reason fail to move forward under the pull of the material, due to the action of the toe former 50, the pushers 58 upon the front of the frame 56 will engage their rearv ends and push them positively forward. A redetermined movement of selected portions of the flange in its own plane is thus insured. I

It will be noted by an inspection of Figs. 2, 3 and 5 that the rearward movement of the front toothed plate 30 will cause some of the -material clamped by it `to be moved so that 1t can be pulledv over the edge of the plate 6 by the forward movement of the former 50 and thus beI used in forming the bulge at the front of the toe over the ange. It will befurther noted by an inspection of Fig. 1 that the forward movement of the side plates 22, 22 and the rearward movement ofthe front plate 30 will cause a gathering in, or puckering of the material in the' region of the sharply rounded corners of the toe. This gathering in or .puckering of the material in this region and moving of the material held by the front plate 30 into a position Where it may be utilized in formin the bulge'facilitates the proper shaping o the toe, and tends to equalize the strain on the different parts of the blank in the toe forming operation.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited toa movement, in the toe formingv4 operation, of the particular selected portions of the margin here illustrated, but that it comprehends broadly the predetermined movement .in the plane of the margin of such selected portions in such selected directions as will in any way facilitate the forming of a properly shaped'toe having a flange, or the predetermined feeding from one region to another of material which will facilitate the shaping operations in that other region.

The position ofthe eccentric shoulders such tempering is not essential to the successful employment of this method. It will be noted that the heating means 1s so arranged that it heats the clamping means and push forward the former 50 the that it also imparts heat to the material of the toe while the toe former is locked in its depressed position during the toe forming operation. The inside of the toe blank an the adjacent sides of the toe stiffener and toe lining are preferably provided with cement, so that they are both pressed into shape and cemented together when the form-l ing pressure is applied during the toe forming operation.

After the toe has been allowed to set to its new form, while the former is locked in its depressed position and while the lange is held between the clamp members by any suitable means for holding the upper clamp member in depressed position, the former 1s withdrawn, the upper clamp member released "so that it may be restored to its uppermost position by the spring surrounding the rods 10 and an innersole provided with cement along the edge of its inner face is laid upon the flange of the toe lying upon the ther fastened together/ by stitches.

It is obvious that with material which may be stretched considerably, a toe shaped like that shown in Fig. 5 may be formed with mechanism of this type in which no part of the clamping surface is movable in -its own plane, and the invention should be understood to comprehend, therefore, a method with which such a clamping mechanism could be employed. It is also obvious that the relative movement of the' clamp and the toe former which causes the bulge of the toe ,over the flange may be efected 1n other ways, as, for example, by

providing a movable clamping means.

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

1. That improvement in the art of preparing a shoe upper for the attachmentof the sole which consists in confining a marginal portion of the toe part of the shoe upper, effecting a relative movement of the confined and unconfined portions of said toe part of the upper in a direction transverse to the plane of the confined portion and then effecting a relative movement of said confined and uneonfined portions of the toe part of the upper in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the confined portion.

2. 'lhatl improvement in the art of preparing a shoe upper for the attachment of the sole which consists in confining throughout its extent the marginal portion of the 'toe part of the shoe upper, effecting a relative movement of the confined and unconfined portions of said toe part of the upper in a direction transverse to the plane of the confined portion and then effecting a relative movement of said confined and unconfined portions of the toe part of the upper in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the conned portion.

3. That improvement in the method of preparing a shoe upper for the attachment of the sole which consists in confining the marginal portion of the toe part of an upper, pressing the unconfined portion of said toe part out of theplane of said confined portion and then pressing said unconfined portion forward relatively to said confined portion to form a bulge at the front and sides of the toe.

4. That improvement in the art of preparing a shoe upper for the attachment of the sole which consists in confining a marginal portion of the' toe part of the shoe upper, of a Width corresponding to the desired width of an outturned flange to be formed upon the said upper.v edecting a relative movement of the confined and unconfined portions of said toe part of the upper in a direction transverse to the plane of the confined portion and theneffecting a relative movement of said confined and unconfined portions of the toe part of the upper in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the confined portion whereby a toe is formed havinga bulge over the outturned flange.

5. The method of forming shoe uppers which consists inconfining. a marginal portion of an upper blank, applying forming pressure to an unconfined portion of said blank and moving selected portions of the conned margin in the plane of said margin during the application of the forming pressure.

- 6. The method of forming shoe uppers which consists in confining a marginal portion of an upper blank, applying forming pressure to an unconfined portion of said blank and moving selected portions of the 'portions f the margin into the field of operation of the forming pressure during the application of said forming pressure.

8. The method of forming a toe having an outturned flange, which consists in confining a marginal portion of a toe blank of substantially the Width of the desired flange, applying forming pressure to the unconfined portion of said blank and reducing the peripheral length of the margin during the application of the forming pressure.

9. The method of forming a toe having an outturned flange, which consists in confining a marginal portion of a toe blank of substantially the desired Width of the fiang'eto be formed, applying forming pressure to the unconfined portion of said flange and edectinga relative movement to each other of portions of the confined margin in the plane of said margin during the application of the l forming pressure.

10. The method of forming a toe having mes Ian outturned flange, which consists in confining a marginal portion of a toe blank of substantially the desired Width of the flange to be formed, applying forming ressure to the unconfined portion of said lank and controllably moving the margin While the forming pressure is being app ied. t

11. rlhe method of formin a toe having av flange which consists lin con 'ning the marginal portion of a toe blank to form the flange, bringing forming pressure to bear upon the unconfined portion of said blank and transferring forwardly during the forming operation portions of the margin at the` sides of the toe.

12. The method of forming a toe having a i flange Wh'ichconsists in confining themarginal portion of a toe blank against movement out of its own plane, effecting a relative movement of the confined and unconfined portions of said blank in a direction transverse to the plane of the margin and then eecting a relative movement of parts of said margin in the plane of said margln.

13. The method of forming a toe having a I' flange which consists in confining the marinai portion of a toe blank to form' the ange, bringin forming pressure to bear upon the uncon ed portlon of said blank in a direction transverse to the plane of the conned portion While holding said confined portion against movement out of its plane, bringing orming pressure to bear upon the blank in a directlon substantially parallel to the plane of the confined portlon, moving yportions of the .marginin its own plane .the confined portion, then in a direction substantially parallel to said plane, and gathering in the material along'the iiange line during the forming operatipn.

1'5. The method of formlng a toe having an outturned {iange and a crease between the toe and its flange, which' consists inrso mav npulating a toe blank relatively to a fixed 20 crease line that portions of the blank which are to form the iange are moved relatively to each other alon said line as the portion ,which is to form te toe proper is caused to bulge out over said line.

16. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in conninga marginal portion of a shoe upper to-form an outturned flan e, formin the unconfmed portions into t e desired shape of. the fin ished upper after the confining operation, partially releasin the confined portion and temporarily attac g an insole to the outturned flange to hold the upper to its proper outturned flange, and again confining said liange to ether with the insole until attachment of t e flange and insole is effected.

18. That im rovement in the art of making shoes which consists in confining the marginal portion of a shoe up er to form an outturned=flan e, forming t e uncontined portions into t e desired shapeof the iinlshed upper after the confining operation,

permittmg the flange and unconned portions to set in their formed shape, partially releasing the confined portion and temporarily attaching an insole to the outturned flan e to hold the upper to its proper outline whie permanent fastening of the insole and flange 1s beingfeected.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

I KARL ENGEL. Witnesses: y

H. Donsn SPENCER,

FREDERICK L. EDMoNDs.

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