WO2002035955A1

WO2002035955A1 - Pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear

Info

Publication number: WO2002035955A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/007031
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giovanni Bagini; Sergio Sattin
Original assignee: Sabal S.P.A. Officina Meccanica
Priority date: 2000-11-06
Filing date: 2001-04-05
Publication date: 2002-05-10
Also published as: IT1319263B1; AU2001267549A1; ITMI20002388A1

Abstract

A pneumatic hell-nailing machine suitable for fastening heels (31) on footwear, comprising a number of actuating motors (MI-M4) which control some corresponding hinged joints (23, 26, 39, 40) so as to enable the operator to position every nail (63) at any point of the heel (31) and at the needed angle.

Description

"Pneumatic Machine for Fastening Heels on Footwear"

This invention refers to a pneumatic heel nailing machine, suitable for fastening heels on footwear. The pneumatic heel nailing machines used at this time comprise an outer frame and an inner nailing unit capable of inserting nails in a vertical direction from the bottom to the top, by actuating a hammer controlled by a hammer-bearing cylinder. Once the shoe has been positioned on an upper support, with the heel tip facing upward and the heel bottom appropriately positioned under the sole underside of the footwear and resting on said support, the types of nails to be used are selected and introduced, one at the time, inside a small nail-bearing tube so as to carry them by compressed air to a position facing the hammer, designed to insert them one by one into the heel.

The action exerted by the compressed air forces the nail to run down the entire length of the nail feeding tube, up to a position facing it against the underside of the footwear. At a manual command of the machine, which must be imparted when- ever a nail is inserted, the air is removed from the tube, and by moving a small column serving as a nail and hammer guide as well as by lifting the stem of the nailing cylinder, the hammer is raised so as to drop the nail by gravity onto the hammer, while the same is in an already rising position.

At this point, the hammer sliding in the column drives the nail up to nailing point in the heel. However, the heel nailing machines of a known type exhibit a few drawbacks limiting their use, in particular as regards their limited productivity and the long time periods needed to complete their nailing cycle. In fact, the traditional machines allow inserting nails in footwear heels only in a vertical position, and above all force the user to continuously vary the position of the footwear's underside, so as to allow inserting the nails at various pre-established points of the heel. The purpose of this invention is therefore to indicate a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, capable of overcoming the men- tioned drawbacks, or to produce a machine allowing it to automatically insert the nails at various pre-established points of the footwear's heel, without manually acting on an optimum positioning of the underside, in an error-free manner during the processing step and without any need of arresting the machine between inserting one nail and the next. A further purpose of the invention is to produce a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, capable of inserting nails into the heel while regulating any angle with respect to the vertical, and at any desired position on the outer surface of the heel. An additional purpose of the invention is to produce a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, capable of performing the nailing process on any heel of any male or female footwear model. Not the least purpose of the invention is to indicate a pneumatic ma- chine for fastening heels on footwear, capable of being produced easily and inexpensively as a result of these advantages, without requiring the use of complex or particularly expensive technologies, suitable for full automation and capable of substantially reducing the processing time and productivity losses with respect to those of known technologies. These and other advantages are achieved by a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, according to claim 1. In an advantageous manner, the pneumatic machine according to this invention allows moving the upper and lower sections of a nailing cylinder in at least two directions in space, thanks to the action exerted by somestep-wise motors and their respective hinging devices This further allows the operator to position each nail to be inserted in the heel of the footwear at any point of heel itself, and at any needed angle converging toward a vertical trajectory. Further scopes and advantages of this invention will become clear from the following description and its attached drawings, supplied for purely exemplifying and non-limiting purposes, in which: - Figure 1 is an overall view of a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, according to this invention; - Figure 2 is a partially exploded view of the pneumatic machine of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is an enlarged overall view of the nailing unit utilized in the pneumatic machine of Figure 1 , according to the invention; - Figure 4 is an overall view of the pneumatic machine shown in Figure 1 for fastening heels on footwear, in a first operating position, according to this invention;

- Figure 4A is a prospective view of a footwear heel to be placed on a support of the machine according to the invention, showing a nail in- serted in accordance with the operating mode described in Figure 4;

- Figure 5 is an overall view of a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, in a second operating position, according to this invention;

- Figure 5A is a prospective view of a footwear heel, to be placed on a support of the machine according to the invention, showing a nail in- serted in accordance with the operating mode described in Figure 5;

- Figure 6 is an overall view of a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, in a third operating position, according to this invention;

- Figure 6A is a prospective view of a footwear heel to be placed on a support of the machine according to the invention, showing a nail in- serted in accordance with the operating mode described in Figure 6;

- Figure 7 is an overall view of a pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, in a fourth operating position, according to the invention; - Figure 7A is a prospective view of a footwear heel to be placed on a support of the machine according to the invention, showing a nail inserted in accordance with the operating mode described in Figure 7. With reference to the mentioned figures, the pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, according to the invention, comprises two frames 10, 20, vertically arranged one over the other. The frame 10 comprises two first rods 29, 43 sliding on guides provided respectively on the rods 11, 12 of the frame 20, so that the upper plate of the frame 10 can be lowered to fasten the heel 31 in position, mean- ing appropriately resting on the underside 32 of a footwear, and arranged opposite a profiled hollow block 33 holding and guiding it. The hollow block 33 is in turn fastened opposite the opening 44 of an upper plate 34 of the frame 20, by using a nut indicated by the number 35 in the Figures 1 and 2. The inside of the frame 20 holds a nailing cylinder 13, arranged in a vertical sense and attached at the extremities in its upper and lower part, respectively, by a block 14 supporting a hinge 36 and by an anti- rotating block 37 fastened to two supporting rods 38. In a resting position of the machine the axis 19 of the cylinder 13 is aligned with the center of gravity of the opening 44, and in any other operating position, the extension of said axis 19 always passes through the inside of said opening 44. The block 14 is free to slide over the guide 15, in a forward or backward direction marked by the reference Y1 of Figure 2, thanks to the motion imparted by a step-wise actuating motor M2 to a pin 39 solidly attached to the hinge carrying block 14. The guide 15 may on the other hand be shifted right and left, depending on the directions marked by the reference X1 of Figure 2, by the step- wise actuating motor M1 acting by the pin 40 on the block 41. The latter is in turn connected to a guide 15 opposite a rail 42 provided on the lower plate 16 of the frame 20, between the rods 11 and 12. The supporting rods 38 of the cylinder 13 are connected to a first hinged pin 18, which is guided from the inside of a boxy support 21. The boxy support 21 is further attached to a second hinged pin 17 passing the rods 11, 12 and connected to a block 22, which is in turn connected to a step-wise actuating motor M3 by a pin 23. The motor M3 is attached to a supporting plate 24 and allows a motion to the right and the left, depending on the sense and direction of the pin 17 indicated by the reference X2 in Figure 2

In a similar manner, the step-wise actuating motor M4 attached to a plate 25 allows moving the first hinged pin 18 backward and forward, by using the pin 26 and block 27.

The shifting of the hinged pin 18 connected by the boxy support 21 to the supporting rods 38 takes place in the reference sense and direction indicated by Y2 in Figure 2, while the support 21, attached to the ex- tremity 28 of the hinged pin 18, is also free to rotate, as a result of the forward and backward motion of the block 14 (indicated by Y1 in Figure 2), along the direction indicated by the reference Z in Figure 2. A nailing unit is housed within the boxy structure 21 inside of the nailing cylinder 13, as shown in greater detail in the enlarged view offered by the Figure 3.

In particular, the unit is centered on the axis 19 of the stem 61 of the cylinder 13, and holds, above the anti-rotating block 37, a lower clamp 52 supported by some springs 54 and connected, by a rod 56, to an upper clamp 64, fastened into position by screws 55.

The stem 61 provides a set of bushings 62 sliding within the blocks 37, 52 and is fitted, parallel to the stem 56 and outside the stem 61 , with a number of half-cut hexagonal nuts 60 and a hammer-bearing element 59, which provides a stop 58 for the actual hammer 57. A small column 52, shaped like a fork, is further positioned above the clamp 54, next to the hammer 57 and along the axis 19. During the operation of inserting the nail 63 into the heel 31 of a footwear, the section P of the nailing unit rises vertically, and the hammer 57 in particular penetrates inside a seat 67 provided inside the section 65 of the piston 52 in order to hit the nail 63, which is in the meantime carried into the small column 52 on the side of the section 66, by using the tube 53 and therefore falls by gravity on the hammer 57, when the latter is already moving upward. The operation of the pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, according to this invention, is as follows.

After placing the underside 32 on the hollow block 33, resting the heel 31 with the tip turned upward and the bottom at a predetermined point of the underside 32, the types of nails to be used are selected and introduced one by one inside the tube 53, so as to move them, by compressed air, to a position facing the hammer 57, for their subsequent insertion into the heel 31 on the side of the outlet hole 68 of the small column 52. The action performed by the compressed air allows each nail 63 to slide along the section 66 of the adduction channel 53, until reaching the small column 52, which is in turn housed inside the hollow block 33, in a position facing the under-foot 32 opposite the heel 31. When actuating the control, air is removed from the small tube 53 and the following motions occur simultaneously: The stem 61 of the cylinder 13 rises as a result of the lifting of the section P of the nailing unit, with a consequent lifting of the hammer 57; the small column 52 rises until it comes up against the underside 32, so as to act as a guide for the nail 63 and the hammer 57. The nail 63 falls by gravity on the hammer 57, while the latter is already moving up. While sliding on the small column 52, the hammer 57 is at this point lifting up the nail 63, until it is nailed into the heel 31 in the pre- established position. The fastening of the heel 31 on the shoe, by the action exerted by the cylinder 13, is possible, according to this invention, by adjusting any angle and position. The machine of this invention in fact allows, thanks to a software for managing the movements, to nail any heel 31 on any female or male shoe model destined for men or women.

The operating principle is based on the actuating mechanisms M1 , M2, which allows a shifting motion in the direction X1 (lower actuating mechanism from right to left) and Y1 (lower actuating mechanism for- ward and back) of the block 14 of the cylinder 13, and M3, M4, which allow a shifting motion of the structure 21 along the direction X2 (upper actuating mechanism from right to left) and Y2 (upper actuating mechanism forward and back). In particular, the actuating mechanism M1 actuates the stroke of the guide 15 carrying the hinge 36 in the direction X1, while the actuating mechanism M2 regulates the stroke of the hinged block 14 in the direction Y1.

In a similar manner, the actuating mechanism M3 regulates the stroke in the direction X2, while the actuating mechanism M4 regulates the stroke in the direction Y2.

The motion imparted to the cylinder 13 in its upper and lower zones allows the operator to position the nail 63 at any point of the heel 31 and at any needed angle (converging toward the center of the hollow block 33).

In particular, Figure 4 refers to an overall view of the machine as the subject of this invention in a first operating position, in which the block 14 and the boxy structure 21 are actuated toward the left (directions X1 , X2) by the motors M1 and M3, respectively; in this case the trajectory of inserting the nail 63 is represented by the line L1 and the seat inside the heel 31 , where the nail 63 is inserted and indicated by the number S1 (see Figure 4a): The further seats provided in the heel 31 and shown by dotted lines in the Figures 4A - 7A constitute some possible trajectories for inserting the nails 63, which can, as can quickly be noted, be provided at any point of the heel 31 and at any desired angle, converging toward the axis 19 of the cylinder 13 and toward the center of the block 33. Figure 5 refers to an overall view of a machine according to the invention, in an operating position alternative to the previous one, in which the actuating mechanisms 1 and M3 are controlled so as to shift the block 14, hinged pin 36 and boxy structure 21 to the right, in the directions X1 and X2, respectively. In this case, the trajectory of inserting the nail 63 inside the heel 31 is represented by the line L2 of Figure 5, and the point of inserting the nail 63 is indicated by S2 in Figure 5A. Figure 6 refers to an overall view of a machine according to this invention in a third operating position, in which the actuating mechanism M2 is controlled so as to move the hinged block 14 backward, in a direction Y1. In this case, the forward motion of the block 14, which is flexibly connected to the cylinder 13, causes a rotation along the trajectory Z of Figure 6 of the boxy structure 21 , which is free to rotate around the pin 17, the trajectory of inserting the nail 63 inside the heel 31 is therefore that indicated by L3 in Figure 6, while the point of inserting the nail 63 inside the heel 31 is shown by S3 in Figure 6A.

A last example is represented by the Figures 7 and 7A, in which the machine as an object of this invention provides, in a further operating position, for a forward shifting of the block 14 in the direction Y1 , by the actuating mechanism M2. The trajectory of inserting the nail 63 inside the heel 31 is therefore represented by the line 4 of Figure 7, and the point of inserting the nail 63 is indicated by S4 in the Figure 7A.

The above description shows that an appropriate combination of shifting motions in the directions X1 , Y1 , X2, Y2 imparted by a managing and controlling application program of the machine can allow automatically inserting a number of nails in any portion and at any desired angle of a footwear heel. The shifting of the blocks placed at the ends of the nailing cylinder allowing these operations is achieved by suitable commands appropriately imparted by the actuating mechanisms which may, in these exemplifying but non-limiting examples of the invention, include some step- wise motors.

The above description clarifies the characteristics as well as the advantages of the pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear as an object of this invention. In particular, these bear on the following aspects: - less wasted time during the nailing process, with respect to the known art;

- greater productivity with respect to the known art;

- possibility of totally automating the process of nailing the heels on footwear. It is finally clear that numerous variants may be applied to the pneumatic machine for fastening heels on footwear, as an object of this invention, without thereby abandoning the principle of novelty inherent in the inventive idea, just as it is clear that in the practical implementation of the invention, the materials, shapes and sizes of the illustrated details may be of any kind, depending on the requirements, and that the same may be substituted by others of a technically equivalent type.

Claims

1. A pneumatic machine for fastening heels (31 ) on footwear, of a type comprising at least one outer framework or trestle (10, 20), suitable for holding in position at least one heel (31) on the underside (32) of at least one footwear, and at least one nailing unit, supported at least partially by a nailing cylinder (13) designed to insert nails (63) inside the heel (31), characterized in that it also comprises a multiple number of actuating mechanisms (M1 - M4) controlling respective hinged devices (40, 39, 23, 26), so as to allow the operator to position each of said nails (63) at any point of the heel (31 ) in a desired axial or inclined trajectory (L1-L4), converging toward said axial trajectory.

2. A pneumatic machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that said actuating mechanisms (M1 - M4) are capable of shifting sections connected to said nailing cylinder (13) in at least two directions (X1, Y1 , X2, Y2) in space.

3. A pneumatic machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that at least one first framework (10) comprises some first rods (29, 43) sliding on guides provided on second rods (11, 12) of at least one second framework (20), so that at least one upper element (30) of said first framework (10) is used for fastening the heel (31) in a position resting on said underside (32) and arranged opposite at least one profiled and hollow block (33) provided for support and guidance.

4. A pneumatic machine according to claim 3, characterized in that said block (33) is attached opposite at least one opening (44) of an upper plate (34) of said second framework (20).

5. A pneumatic machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that said nailing cylinder (13) is positioned inside said second framework (20) and fastened at its extremities by at least one supporting block (14) of a hinged element (36) and at least one anti-rotation block (37) attached to at least one supporting rod (38).

6. A pneumatic machine according to claim 5, characterized in that said supporting block (14) is free to slide on a guide (15) along a first pre- established direction (Y1 ), moved by at least one (M2) of said actuating mechanisms (M1-M4), by using at least one pin (39) firmly attached to said supporting block (14).

7. A pneumatic machine according to claim 6, characterized in that said guide (15) can be shifted along at least a second pre-established direction, (X1), by at least one actuating mechanism (M1) acting, by a pin (40) on an element (41) connected to said guide (15).

8. A pneumatic machine according to claim 5, characterized in that said supporting rods (38) of the nailing cylinder (13) are connected to a first hinged pin (18) internally guided by a boxy support (21 ).

9. A pneumatic machine according to claim 8, characterized in that said boxy support (21) is attached to a second hinged pin (17) connected to a block (22) which is in turn attached, by a pin (23), to one unit (M3) of said actuating mechanisms (M1 , M4), capable of allowing the shifting of said second hinged pin (17) in at least one pre-established direction (X2)

10. A pneumatic machine according to claim 8, characterized in that said first hinged pin (18) is connected, by said boxy support (21), to said supporting rods (38) and is shifted in at least one direction (Y2) and by at least one (M4) of said actuating mechanisms (M1-M4).

11. A pneumatic machine according to claim 10, characterized in that said boxy support (21 ) is attached on at least one extremity (28) of said first hinged pin (18) and is also free to rotate, as a result of a shifting action in at least one pre-established direction (Y1) of said supporting block (14), in a pre-established manner (Z).

12. A pneumatic machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that said nailing cylinder (13) houses, at least partially, a nailing unit cen- tered on the axis (19) of a stem (61) of said cylinder (13), and comprises at least one hammer (57) capable of freely moving in an axial direction within a seat (67) of a column (52), as a result of the vertical shifting of at least one section (P) of the nailing unit while inserting at least one nail (63) inside the heel (31), in order to fasten the same to the underside (32) of the footwear.

13. A pneumatic machine according to claim 12, characterized in that said nails (63) are passed through the inside of said column (52) by a tube (53), and conveyed, by compressed air, to a position facing said hammer (57) so as to allow them to be inserted into the heel (31 ) though an outlet hole (68) of said column (52).

14. A pneumatic machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that said actuating mechanisms (MI-M4) are imparting motions which are appropriately combined in some pre-established directions (X1 , Y1 , X2, Y2) by at least one application program for managing and controlling the machine, so as to automatically insert a number of nails (63) into any part of the heel (31) and at any desired angle.

15. A pneumatic machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said actuating mechanisms (M1-M4) comprise some step-wise motors.