US2130590A - Sole press - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 20, 1938. E. J. LE GAULT SOLE PRESS Filed June 26, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 l Ayma- E. J. LE GAULT SOLE PRESS Filed June 26, 1937 Sept. 20, 1938.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 20, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE soils rnnss of Massachusetts Application June 26, 1937, Serial No. 150,592

3 Claims.

This invention relates to presses for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, for example, in cement-attaching soles to shoes or for any other operation in which it is desired to apply a pre- 5,,; determined pressure to the contour of a shoe bottom for a controllable interval of time. In one aspect the invention consists in improvements upon the machine disclosed in my copending ap plication, Serial No. 114,2 ll filed December 4,

lib-1936. In anotherasp'ect it consists in improvements which are of general applicationto machines of that type.- v r p Objects of the invention are to improve the shoe-supporting and positioning elements and the mo -inflatable pad, and in general to provide an improved jack for sole presses. To these ends an important feature consists" in a bedpiece carry ing an inflatable pad and having posts located at each end in combination with a shoe holding bar pivotally' connected to one post and connected for limited vertical adjustment to the other post. It will be understood that the inflatable pad in presses of this type is conformed more or less to the irregular contour of the bottom so that in presenting the shoe with its temporarily attached sole ample clearance greatly facilitates the work of the operator. In presses where such clearance is not allowed there is always danger of displacing the sole in the step of presenting the shoe in ,]operative position. Accordingly, the present invention contemplates a shoe holding bar which is yieldingly maintained in elevated position at one end, preferably corresponding to the heel end of the shoe, and is associated with means by which ;;it may be swung toward the pad by the operator and located in its lowered position. after the shoe has been presented and accurately located under conditions of ample clearance.

Other features of theinvention relate more particularly to .the construction of the inflatable pad which is herein shown as constructed of two flat sheets of heavy leather or the like of substantially equal size and the contour of an enlarged shoe bottom, the said pieces being united throughout their side edges and forepart with a marginal strip which is interposed between their edges and laced together at their heel ends. Such a pad may be constructed conveniently at a minimum of expense. It is of sturdy and reliable construction and well adapted to acquire a molded contour corresponding to that of the shoe bottom. Moreover, the laced rear ends of the sheets comprising the pad aiford convenient means of removing and replacing the enclosed bladder should this be necessary.

Preferably, and as herein shown, the pad is provided with a transverse reinforcing sheet which is located in the pad beneath the forepart of the shoe. This has been found not only to increase the life of the pad, but to insure animproved distribution of pressure upon the shoe bottom.

These and other features of the invention will be best undersood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. l is a view of the improved jack in side elevation, showing the shoe holding bar in elevated position,

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing also the machine frame, the shoe supporting bar being shown in its lowered position,

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation of one of the posts,

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of the jack showing the shoe supporting bar lowered and the pad inflated.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the pad and a shoe thereon,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary View in perspective of the pad, and

Fig. 7 is a view of the uninflated pad in longitudinal section.

The press herein shown comprises a plurality of jacks, only one of which is illustrated, arranged around a segmental frame H supported by legs H3 at a height convenient for the operator as more fully disclosed in my application above identified.

Each of the jacks comprises a cast bed plate.

l2 having a recess or pocket in its upper face and being inclined upwardly toward the toe end. of the shoe and outwardly with reference to the segmental supporting frame. The base plate overhangs the frame 9 I on each end and is provided with a pair of vertical posts l3 and l4. The post I4 is rigidly but adjustably secured to the forward end of the base plate Iii, having its lower end threaded and provided with check nuts for that purpose. At its upper end the post I4 is forked and provided with a transverse pivot pin it upon which the shoe holding or presser bar i6 is arranged to swing. The forward portion of the transverse bar 16 is provided with a guideway in which is adjustably mounted a downwardly extending forepart abutment H. The presser bar is curved downwardly at its rear end to provide an abutment 18 adapted to engage the comb of the last 46 and its rear end is flattened and reduced in width so that it may pass into the forked end of the post l3 which is rigidly secured to the rear end of the base plate [2.

The post I3 is shouldered and maintained in engagement with the base plate by a nut at its lower end. Its upper end is forked as already stated to receive the flattened rear end I9 of the presser bar and it is provided with a longitudinal bore in which is placed a compression spring 2!] bearing against the lower side of the reduced end l9 and tending always to lift the presser bar l6 and maintain it in elevated position as shown in Fig. 1. In the upper end of the post I3 is mounted an eccentric disk 2| which bears upon the upper side of the reduced end l9 and is provided with an outwardly extending handle 22 by which the operator may easily and rapidly swing the eccentric disk 2| from its-open position as shown in Fig. l to its closed or lowered position as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. By swinging the handle 22 through 180 the presser bar I6 is forced down- Wardly against the action of the spring 20 for a predetermined distance and rigidly locked in its lowered position with the forepart and last abutments brought into contact with or closely adjacent to the lasted shoe 4| as shown in Fig. 2. In the raised position of the presser bar the operator has ample clearance for inserting the lasted shoe with its temporarily attached outsole 42 in position beneath the abutment members, and having accurately located the shoe under these conditions, he may then lower the presser bar preparatory to inflating the pad beneath the shoe. Similarly, after the pressure interval, the operator may swing the handle 22 to open position thus insuring ample clearance between the shoe and the abutment members for conveniently removing the shoe with its completely attached sole.

The inflatable pad comprises a pair of pieces 30 and 3| which may be of sole leather or other tough and flexible sheet material. These pieces are cut to the same size and roughly approximate in outline the shape of an enlarged shoe bottom. The pieces 30 and 3| are stitched together about their marginal edges by a heavy seam 32 and interposed between their edges is a flexible spacing strip herein shown as a double strip of welting 34, which consists of thin strips of leather in face to face engagement. This spacer strip extends about the side edges and forepart of the pad, while across the rear end the pieces 30 and 3! are laced together by a lacing 33. The lacing may be removed to afford convenient access to the interior of the pad when this is desired, without otherwise disturbing the construction of the pad.

As an optional, but desirable feature, the pad is herein shown as equipped with a reinforcing sheet 35 which extends transversely across the pad in a location beneath the forepart of the shoe, being held at each end by the seam 32 as shown in Figs. and 7. The pad which is usual in presses of this kind contains a rubber bladder 36 having a threaded stem 31 which extends .down through the bed plate [2 and is connected by a tube 38 to a three-way valve 39. The valve 39 communicates with a source of compressed air and has an operating arm connected through a treadle rod 23 to a treadle 24 located beneath the jack and in convenient reach of the operator. After the shoe has been located as above explained, the operator may depress the free end of the treadle 24 thus lifting the treadle rod and admitting compressed air to the pad 30-3|. The lasted shoe is then left under pressure for a sufficient interval of time to permit the cement to set and effect permanent union of the sole 42 to the bottom of the shoe. The operator then proceeds to work along the segmental frame placing one shoe after another in the various jacks and eventually returns to operate the valve 39 cutting off the supply of air and opening an exhaust port so that the pad is rapidly deflated. When this has been done the presser arm is released and the shoe removed as already explained. 7

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

1. An improved jack for sole presses, comprising a stationary bed piece carrying an inflatable pad, posts located at both ends of the bed piece, a shoe-holding bar connected to one post and slidably engaged within a slot in the other post, spring means encased in the latter post and normally elevating said bar, and means mounted in the slotted post and under the control of the operator for depressing the bar to a predetermined location after a shoe has been presented beneath it. 7

2. An improved jack for sole presses, comprising a bed piece carrying an inflatable pad, posts at both ends of the bed piece, a shoe-holding bar pivoted at one end to one post and arranged at its other end to move vertically in a slot provided in the other post, a spring encased in the latter post tending always to lift that end of said bar, and an eccentric disk mounted in the upper end of the slotted post and bearing at all times upon said bar.

3. An improved jack for sole presses, comprising a base shaped to carry an inflatable pad of full length of a shoe bottom, a toe post having a bar pivoted thereto, and a heel post slotted at its upper end to receive one end of the bar and having a longitudinal bore therein, a spring in said bore acting at all times to lift said bar, and an eccentric disk journalled in the heel post and arranged to be rotated by the operator to force down the heel end of said bar against the action of said spring.

ELZEAR J. LE GAULT.

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