US2302750A - Means for use in shaping shoe uppers - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 24, 1942. P. H. DlxQN MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING SHOE kUPPERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 0M.. 18, 1940 /NVENTU/Q- i Nov. 24, 1942. P, H QN I 2,302,750

MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING SHOE UPPERS Filed Oct! 18, 1940 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 NVE/YTD@ -stretching the' welt seam and able grinning of 'the seam.

Patented Nov. 24, 1942 UNITED vSTAjlTllS EATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING SHOE UPPERS Paul H. Dixon, Wenham, Mass., assignor vto United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 18, 1940, Serial No. 361,733

23 Claims.

This invention relates to means for shaping shoe uppers and is herein illustrated in its application to means for molding the forepart of -an upper before the upper is mounted on a last I fore the upper is shaped and the presence of the Welt on the lasting margin greatly hinders the pulling-over and lasting-operations since the length of ythe welt must be substantially reduced in shaping the toe portion of the upper over the last. Furthermore, it is the usual practiceI to last prewelt uppers in lasting machines having wipers which operate Within lthe Welt crease of the upper and act directly against the Welt seam in overwiping the welted margin. Ii the upper is slightly scant for the last on which it is to be shaped, the Wipers in performing the lasting operation exert considerable force against :the Welt, particularly at the toe end of the upper,

causing Aobjf-:ction- It is an object of the present invention to improveupon the-manufacture of prevvelt shoes by providing means for pre-shaping the upper before attaching the welt and before the upper is lasted lin order to facilitate the lasting operation and to obviate the occurrence of grinning seams caused by the stretching of the Welt :seam

in the lasting operation. lIt is a further object of the invention to provide a prewelt upper which, by reason ci its Ibeing pre-shaped before the Welt is attached, will retain its shape during the life of the shoe.

For thus pre-shaping shoe uppers, the present invention in one aspect thereof consists in the provision of means comprising an outer uppershaping form and a solid inner form characterized by its capacity to receive a shape complementary to the shape of the outer form by engaging said outer form. The illustrated inner form is forced against the outer form `by exterior pressure applied to said inner form. The illustrated outer form has an upper molding surface complementary in .shape to the shape desired for the peripheral portion of the forepart of an upper While the illustrated inner form comprises a top plate for shaping the top ofthe forepart of the upper and an expander inthe form of a resilient member operable'by pressure heightwise of the upperfor shaping theperipheral .portion of the upper against the outer form. The illustrated inner formisoperatedlbyia carrier which moves it heightwise of the upper into a predetermined position and imparts height- `Wise pressure to the resilient member 'to expand it outwardly against the periphery of the upper to shape the upper against the outer form. During the operation of the inner form, the upper is yieldingly held and controlled by its outturned margin between members herein illustrated as the outer form and a Work support. During the upward movement oi the inner ifo-rm the outturned margin oi the upper is drawn outwardly from between the outer form and the Work support which exert a sufficient restraining action on the upper to enable the inner form to shape the upper during its heightwise movement. In the course of upward movement oi the inner form, a retarder which, as herein illustrated, is carried by the member which carries the inner form presses against the inner surface of the yupper and serves to hold the upper and restrain its upward movement after the outturned margin has been drawn outJ from 'between the outer form and the Work support. The inner form and the retarder, as herein illustrated, have a common actuator which operates them in predetermined time relation such that the retarder becomes effective While the outturned margin of the upper is still in the grip of the outer form andthe work support and maintains a continuing restraint upon the upper `untilthe kresilient member has expanded sufficiently to press the upper r.against the puter form.

The illustrated machine is Welladapted to :be employed in the practice of a method which is the subject of my co-pending application, Serial No. 386,396, led April 2, v'."L94l, said co-pending `application being a division ofthe present application. This method relates tothe manufacture of prewelt shoes and consists in initially shaping an upper off the last, then securing an outsoleattaching Welt to the upper, and completing the shoe.

It will be underdstood that shoe uppers shaped by the illustrated means are adapted to lbe completed by processes of shoe manufacture other .than the prewelt process. For example, uppers so shaped lend themselves readily to completion as cementprocess orlVicKay shoes.

The invention will now -be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended-claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is aside elevation of a machine embodylng the `features ofthe present invention, certain parts being broken away and other parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top of the machine with an upper mounted therein;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line III-III of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 6;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the retarder;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VI-VI of Fig. 2;

Figs. '7, 8, and 9 are sectional views taken on the same plane as Fig. 6, illustrating certain work engaging parts in progressive stages in their operation; and

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the forepart of a prewelt upper molded in the illustrated machine, the toe portion of the welt and upper being shown in section.

Referring to Fig. 1, the illustrated machine comprises a standard 26 on the top of which there is secured a head 22 in which are mounted the operating parts of the machine. porting the forepart of a shoe upper in an upright position, an. upper supporting member or plate 24 is secured to the upper ends of two vertical shafts 26 (Fig. 4) and has its forward portion recessed to provide clearance for the upward movement of the upper molding parts. For gaging the position of the upper in the machine, the work supporting plate 24 is provided with a shoulder 28 (Fig. 6) uniformly spaced from the inner edge face 3l) of the plate for engagement .A

with the edge of the forepart of the upper. For clamping the margin of the upper against the upper supporting plate 24, a presser plate 32 is secured to a swinging member 34 (Figs. l and 2) fulcrumed at 36 between upward extensions 36 of the head 22. For operating the swinging member 34 to clamp the plate 32 against the upper, a bent hand lever 46 is fulcrumed at its elbow to an arm 42 extending rearwardly from the swinging member 341. At its lower end the bent lever 46 is pivoted to the upper end of a link 44 which is fulcrumed at its lower end between lugs 46 extending upwardly from the base of the head 22. The link 44 in conjunction with the downwardly extending portion of the bent hand lever 46 operates as a toggle upon counter-clockwise movement of the hand lever (as seen in Fig. l) to bring the plate 32 into clamping position and to hold it in that position during the operation of the upper-molding members. turns the toggle to its bent position.

The upper supporting plate 24 is supported by springs 59 surrounding the shafts 26 and operating to maintain a pressing action on the margin of the upper while the toggle is in its straightened position regardless of the thickness of the upper material. The pressure of the plate 24 against the upper may be adjusted by varying the compression of the springs 50. In the illustrated machine, this is accomplished by adjusting externally threaded sleeves 5! which support the springs, said sleeves being threaded into a bracketv 53 on the standard 23. Adjustable stop nuts E2 on the shafts 26 determine the position of the work supporting plate 24 when the presser plate 32 is retracted. For molding the forepart of an upper clamped against the work supporting plate 2li, as shown in Fig. l, a rigid plate 54, the upper surface of which has a contour corresponding to the contour desired for the forepart of the upper, is secured to the upper end of a vertical shaft 56 mounted for vertical sliding movement in a bearing plate 58 secured to forward extensions 6l) (Fig. 3) of the head 22. Mounted on the ,upper portion of the shaft 56 beneath the plate 54 is For supg A spring 48 rea resilient member or expander 62 (Fig. 6) for molding the peripheral portion of the forepart of the upper, said expander, as herein illustrated, being composed of resilient rubber and having substantially the same peripheral contour as the plate 54. The expander is operated by vertical compression which causes it to expand laterally and force the peripheral portion of the upper into an outer mold provided by the edge face 64 of the presser plate 32 which is shaped in accordance with the peripheral contour to be imparted to the upper. For vertically compressing the expander 52 a presser member E6 is positioned at the upper end of a slide 68 mounted in a guideway in the head 22 and extends downwardly to the base of the standard 20 where it is connected to a treadle 10 (Fig. 1) In the course of the upward movement of the upper molding plate 54 the margin of the upper is drawn outwardly from under the presser plate 32, the clamping action on the upper being of a yielding nature and only sufficient to restrain the outward movement of the upper in order to enable the molding plate 54 to exert a shaping or molding action on the upper. In order to maintain a restraining action on the upper after the upper has been drawn outwardly from under the presser plate 32, an auxiliary presser member or retarder 'i2 (Fig. 6) is mounted for vertical sliding movement in the head 22, its upper portion being arranged to engage the upper contacting surface of the outer form 32. As illustrated in Fig. '7, the upper edge face of the retarder 72 has a contour complementary to the contour of the adjacent portion of the presser plate 32 against which the retarder 12 presses the upper. The lower or shank portion of the retarder l2 is channel-shaped, as shown in Fig. 3, and is arranged for sliding movement in a guideway provided in the head 22, the inner surface of said channel-shaped portion of the presser member serving as three sides of a guideway for the slide G8, the fourth side of said guideway being the bearing plate 58. The retarder 12 is yieldingl;7 upheld relatively to the slide 68 by a spring 'I4 (Fig. 1) mounted in a groove in the slide 68 for engagement with a stud 16 extending into the upper portion of said groove from the retarder 12. It will be understood that the upper molding plate 54, the expander 62, and the retarder 12 are all operated by the upward movement of the slide 68 upon depression of the treadle 16. During the movement of said parts from their position illustrated in Fig. 6 into their position illustrated in Fig. '7, the relation of said parts to one another remains unchanged, said parts moving upwardly as a unit until the retarder comes into pressing engagement with the upper. During this initial movement of the operating parts, the plate 54 exerts an initial molding action on the upper and the expander 62 receives no outward expansion by reason of the upward pressure of the presser member 66 against it because it is completely encased by the inner surface of the upper portion of the retarder 12 and a down-turned extension 'I8 (Fig. 6) of the uper molding plate 54. During the continued upward movement of the presser member 66, after the retarder 'i2 has engaged the upper, the molding plate 54 and the expander 62 move upwardly relatively to the retarder through the stage illustrated in Fig. 8 and into the position illustrated in Fig. 9 in which position the upward movement of the upper molding plate 54 is arrested by the engagement of a stop nut (Fig. 1) on the shaft 56 with the bottom of the bearing plate 58. If

the plate 54 comes to the limit of its upward movement before the expander G2 has expanded suiiiciently to seat the upper in the recess in the inner edge face of the presser plate 32, the slide 68 continues its upward movement until the expander 62 completes its operation on the upper, as shown in Fig. 9. A stop screw 52 carried by a collar 84 on the slide 68 engages the bracket 53 on the standard to prevent excessive compression of the expander 62.

In the operation of the illustrated machine, the forepart of an upper is outspread and positioned on the work supporting plate 2d with its edge m contact with the work engaging shoulder 28 on said plate. While the operator holds the upper in position on said plate with one hand, he operates the lever with the other hand to move the presser plate 32 downwardly from its position shown in broken lines in Fig. l to its full line position. The operator then depresses the f treadle l0 thereby moving the upper molding mechanism upwardly from its position illustrated in Fig. 6 through its positions shown in Figs, 'l and 8 andl into its position illustrated in Fig. 9, causing the plate 54 to shape the top of the forepart of the upper and causing the expander 52 to shape or mold the peripheral portion of the forepart of the upper against the upper molding surta-ce of the presser plate 32. During the molding operation, the movement of the upper is restrained f and controlled lrst by the gripping action of the presser plate 32 and the work supporting plate 24 against the margin of the upper and, at a later stage in the -cycle of operations, by the gripping action of the retarder 'i2 against the inner surface of the upper, and finally by the action of the expander G2 to press the upper against the upper-molding surface of the plate 32 (Fig. 8).

Referring to Fig. 10, the illustrated upper, after it has been molded, is provided with an outsole attaching welt 86 and it will be seen that the inward inclination of the lasting margin of the upper causes the welt to be arranged in a position such that no considerable stretching or turning of the welted margin at the toe end of the upper is required to position the welt for attachment to an outsole. Furthermore, the reduction in. the length of the lasting margin of the forepart of the upper in the molding operation reduces the length of welting required for the upper and the required welting being of a length comparable to the length of the periphery of the outsole is very readily lasted and prepared for the outsole attaching operation.

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

1. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form and a solid inner form characterized by its capacity for receiving a shape complementary to the shape of the outer form by pressing it against the outer form.

2. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form and a solid inner 'form characterized by its capacity for receiving a shape complem entary to the shape of the outer form by the application of exterior pressure to iorce it against the outer form., and characterized further by its capacity for returning to its original shape upon disengagement from the outer form.

3. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form having an upper shaping surface, and an inner form comprising a rigid member and a member characterized by its capacity to receive a shape complementary to the upper shaping surface of the outer form by the application of exterior pressure to force it against the outer form..

4. Means for molding shoe uppers including an inner form having a resilient upper molding member and means for compressing said molding member to cause its peripheral portion to bulge and thus to apply molding pressure to the shoe upper.

5. Means for shaping shoe uppers including an inner form comprising an expander, a presser for operating the expander, and a member against which the presser compresses the expander to cause its peripheral portion to bulge and thus to apply molding pressure to an upper.

6. Means for shaping toe portions of shoe uppers including an inner form having a rigid plate, an expander forshaping the peripheral portion of an upper, and means including said platel for operating said expander by the application of pressure thereto.

7. Means for shaping shoe uppers including an inner-form comprising a rigid plate and an eX- pander, one surface of which engages said plate, and a plunger constructed and arranged to act against an opposite surface of said expander to compress it against the plate. i

8. Means for molding a shoe upper comprising an outer foren-art mold having a recess within which the forepart is shaped and the lasting margin is inwardly flanged, and an inner form including an expander operable by the applicatic-n ci' exterior pressure thereto to force the upper into molding engagement with the outer form.

9. Means for molding the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form provided with an upper receiving recess, an inner form including an expander for pressing the upper into the recess in the outer form, said inner form being constructed and arranged for movement heightwise of the upper, and means for retarding eightwise movement of the upper with the inner form.

10. Means for molding the forepart of an upper comprising an outer form. having an upper receiving recess, an inner form including an expander, means for moving the inner form heightwise of the upper, a retarder for resisting heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, and means for actuating the expander to mold the upper against the recessed portion of the outer form.

ll. Means for molding the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form having a shaped surface against which the peripheral portion of the upper is molded, an inner form including an expander for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against the outer form, means for moving the inner form heightwise of the upper to cause it to shape the upper, and a retarder for pressing the upper against the outer form to restrain heightwise movement with the innner form.

12. Means for molding the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form having a shaped surface against which the peripheral portion of the upper is molded, an inner form including an expander for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against the outer form, means for moving the inner form heightwise of the upper to cause it to shape the upper, a retarder for pressing the upper against the outer form to restrain heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, and means constructed and arranged to engage opposite faces of the expander to compress it thereby to cause the lperipheral portion of the expander to bulge and force the periphery of the upper against the shaping surface of the outer form.

13. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form having a surface constructed and arranged to shape the peripheral portion of the upper, an inner form comprising a rigid upper engaging member, an expander for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against the outer form, a presser for actuating the expander by compressing it against said rigid upper engaging member, means for operating the presser to move the rigid upper engaging member and the expander upwardly to a limit and then to complessthe expander, and a retarder for restraining heightv/ise movement of the upper with the inner form.

14. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising a ,support constructed and arranged to receive the outturned margin of the forepart of an upper, an inner form movable heightwise oi the forepart of the upper to shape the upper, a presser for yieldingly gripping the outturned margin against the support and restraining heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, and a retarder which operates to restrain heightwise movement of the upper after the upper has been drawn aWay from the support.

l5. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an inner form for molding the forepart by movement heightwise of the upper, means for yieldingly gripping the fcrepart by its marginal portion and restraining heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, and a retarder for restraining heightwise movement of the upper after the upper has been drawn away from the gripping means.

16. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an inner form for molding the iorepart by movement height-wise of the upper, means for yieldingly gripping the orepart by its margin and restraining heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, a retarder for restraining heightvvise movement of the upper after the upper has been drawn away from the gripping means, an actuator for the gripping means, and a common actuator for the inner form and the retarder,

17. Means for shaping the forepart of an upper comprising an outer form, an inner forni constructed and arranged for operative movement heightwise of the upper, means for pressing the outturned margin of the iorepart against the outer form to restrain heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, and a retarder for pressing the outturned margin against the outer form.

i8. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form, an inner form comprising a plate for shaping the top of the forepart of the upper and an expander operable by pressure heightwise oi the 'upper for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against the outer form, and an actuator for moving the inner form heightvvise of the upper to a predetermined limit and ior then pressing the expander against the plate to cause it to expand and shape the peripheral portion of the upper against the outer form.

19. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form, an inner form comprising a plate for shaping the [top of the forepart of the upper and an expander operable by pressure heightwise of the upper for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against the outer form, a carrier for the inner form constructed and arranged for movement heightwise of the upper, and a retarder carried by said carrier and operable against the upper to restrain heightwise movement thereof with the inner form.

20. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form, an inner form comprising a plate for shaping the top of the forepart or" .the upper and an expander operable by pressure heightwise of the upper for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against the outer form, a carrier for the inner form constructed and arranged for movement heightwise of the upper, a retarder slidably mounted on the carrier for movement relatively to the carrier heightwise of the upper, and means in the carrier for pressing the retarder against the upper to restrain heightvvise movement of the upper with the inner form.

2l. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising members for yieldingly gripping an upper by its margin including an outer upper-shaping form, an inner form i'or shaping the upper by pressure thereof against the outer form, a retarder for restraining movement of the upper With the inner form to render the inner form effective for shaping the upper, and a common actuator for operating the inner form and the retarder in predetermined time relation such that the retarder becomes effective While the outturned margin of the upper is held by the upper gripping members and maintains a continuous restraint upon the upper until the inner form comes into control of the upper by pressure thereof against the outer form.

22. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form, an inner form characterized by an expander, a member constructed and arranged to cooperate with the outer form to grip a shoe upper by its outturned margin, a retarder for yieldingly pressing the upper against the outer form, and a common actuator for operating the inner form and the retarder in predetermined time relation such that the retarder becomes effective While the outturned margin of the upper is still in the grip of the outer form and said member and maintains a continuous restraint upc-n the upper untilA the expander presses the upper against the outer form.

23. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outer form constructed and arranged to engage the outturned margin of the forepart of an upper, a presser member for pressing the outturned margin against said outer form, springs for actuating said presser member, means for adjusting the force of said springs, an inner form operable to shape the upper against said outer form, and a retarder Which operates to restrain heightvrise movement of the upper after the upper has been drawn out from between the outer form and the presser member.

PAUL H. DIXON.

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