US3550175A - Breast flap attaching machines - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 29, 1970 p v DQWNING ETAL 3,550,175

BREAST FLAP ATTACHING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Shea t 1 Filed April 1, 1969 Dec. 29, 1970 DQWNING EI'AL 3,550,175

BREAST FLAP ATTACHING MACRTNES Filed Apiil 1, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,550,175 BREAST FLAP ATTACHING MACHINES Frank V. Downing, Raymond, and Norman A. Bergeron,

Manchester, N.H., assignors, by mesne assignments, to

Inter-Coastal Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston,

Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 1, 1969, Ser. No. 812,286 Int. Cl. A43d 63/00, 89/00 US. Cl. 1216.4 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for simultaneously applying attaching pressure on the sole and heel breast of cement lasted shoes is provided with a back part heel support responsive to relative movement of sole pad elements and a shoe holding device, the mounting of the heel support being such as to accommodate the heel with increasing back-up pressure as attaching pressure is applied to the sole and heel breast. Relative heightwise movement of the shoe being operated on causes the heel support to be pivoted about an axis widthwise of the shoe and simultaneously moved bodily heightwise thereof against the heel thereby to wrap about the heel back contour in a manner enabling increasing heel breast presure to be uniformly distributed while heel displacement on the shoe bottom is avoided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In US. Letters Patent 3,052,901, issued Sept. 111, 1962 upon an application filed Nov. 1, 1960 in the name of H. Gulbrandsen et al. there is disclosed a machine for applying pressure simultaneously to a shoe bottom and the breast of a heel attached to the shoe bottom. As therein disclosed, a supporting box with a solid resilient pad is moved, in a 2-step operation, first quickly to carry a shoe bottom-down, with its temporarily attached sole relatively to a set of toe and heel abutments with a light force enabling the pad contour to adjust to the shoe shape, and then exert a heavier force on the shoe over a period sufiicient to attach the sole securely. The machine illustrated is intended for operation on a lasted cement shoe on which a Louis or other type of heel has been temporarily attached as by adhesive or a single nail.

Greatest variations in curvature occur on the shoe shanks between shoes of different size and style. To adjust to such curvatures and others, force distributing connections work through resilient pad elements and are eflective to concentrate pressure from the heel and forepart to the shank region of the shoe. For securely and precisely attaching the breast flap portion of a sole to the breast of a shoe-attached heel, it is essential that the heel not be displaced on the shoe bottom when increased attaching pressure is applied. The problem of uniformly applying pressure via resilient solid pads is complicated by their tendency, when compressed vertically, to flow and expand horizontally. While the illustrative machine of the aforementioned patent has generally performed well, it does employ a rearward heel support or ram mechanism which is complex and not adaptable to accommodate as wide a range of heel shapes and sizes as is desirable today.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing it is an object of this invention to provide, in a machine for simultaneously attaching soles and breast flaps to shoes having heels afiixed thereto, an improved heel back-up mechanism of simple yet versatile design.

To this end, and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the heel back-up mechanism includes a heel support cooperative with a shank presser pad and swingably mounted for embracing the back parts of heels, the support being pivotal on a fulcrum movable heightwise of the shoe in response to shoe movement during heightwise compression of the shank pad. In contrast to the heel support operating movements, when employing the pad box and associated shoe engaging devices shown in the patent referred to above, or in for example, Gulbrandsen Pat. 3,055,027, issued Sept. 25, 1962, the present invention requires fewer parts, and the heel support is automatically caused by relative heightwise displacement of the shoe itself to embrace the rearward surface of the heel whereupon that surface can displace and/or bodily move the heel support in counterbalancing pressure applied to the heel breast flap. The heel support mounted as described in the aforementioned patents could provide only such substantially constant counterbalancing pressure as yielding springs permitted, whereas in the arrangement now afforded the heel support automatically and appropriately increases its back-up support for the heel as the shoe assumes the final position for sole and heel flap attachment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features of the invention will now be more particularly described in connection with an illustrative embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings thereof in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a shoe and heelsupporting pad box and shoe engaging and holding devices cooperative therewith, the parts being in inoperative position;

FIG. 2 is a view cor-responding to a right-hand portion of FIG. 1 but showing a different heel with a heel pad now shifted forwardly on its support means and in rest position;

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2, with portions in section, and showing a shoe under pressure in sole and breast flap attaching position, pressure distributing linkage now actuating the heel support; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate in side elevation, two of many variant contours of different styles of heels.

DESCRIPTION OF T HE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT By way of facilitating appreciation of the present invention, a comparison of the heel end portion of the pad box structure shown in FIG. 3 of the above cited Pat. 3,052,901 (or FIG. 1 of the Pat. 3,055,027) with that illustrated in FIG. 1 herein is invited. Not only have some fifty parts been made unnecessary and eliminated by the present invention but a novel mounting of a resilient support 10 for the rearward surface of a Louis or other heels 12 has proven markedly advantageous as will hereinafter be explained.

For a clearer understanding of the invention it will for convenience be described as embodied in a breast flap attaching machine of the type otherwise assumed to have a construction essentially as disclosed in the Gulbrandsen Pat. 3,052,901 cited, it being understood that the invention is not thus limited in its application. Thus, while the invention is illustrated as applied to a pad box generally designated 14 that is raised vertically by pressure means (not shown) to compress a cement lasted shoe on the box against stationary toe and heel abutment devices 16 and 18 (FIG. 1), the invention is equally advantageous in other machines, for instance of the type wherein the abutment devices are moved to apply pressure to the shoe, and regardless of whether pressure is applied in one or more stages.

The shoe to be operated upon, often having a high heel, has an upper 20 supported on a last 22 with an outsole 24 spotted in the shoe bottom. The rearward end of the outsole is formed as a reduced portion or flap 26 for covering the usually arcuate front face or breast of the temporarily attached heel 12. The pad box 14 is provided with a composite set of pad elements for accommodating the shoe bottom. These elements are protected by a leather cover 28 secured by a rim plate 30.

Preferably in lieu of manually adjustable forepart, shank and heel pads, pressure distributing connections between these members enable them to adjust automatically to each shoe bottom contour. To this end a forepart tray 32 (FIG. 1), a shank tray 34, and a heel supporting tray 36 are yieldingly held in the pad box in preliminary positions of adjustment. The arrangement is such that the forepart and heel trays 32, 36 are relatively depressed when the shoe is brought under compression on the cover 28, components of the forces bearing on the forepart and heel being imparted through links and levers (largely as fully set forth in the Pat. 3,052,901)

to cause independent vertical layers of resilient shank pads 38 and a heel breast pressing layer 40 which rest on the shank tray 34 to be pressed against the shank area of the shoe. The forepart tray 32 containing parallel pad layers 42 engages a pin 44 mounted in the forward arms of a pair of balancing levers 46. The latter are fulcrumed on a shaft 48 rotatable in opposed side plates 50 (one shown in FIG. 1) constituting a base for the box 14. Rearward ends of the levers 46 extend beneath forward arms of the shank tray 34. This tray 34 is in the form of a wide lever pivoted on a shaft 52 extending widthwise of the shoe and journaled in the side plates 50. For avoiding abrupt change in pressure exerted by the trays 32, 34 they are desirably connected loosely by a link 54 as set forth in the Pat. 3,052,901.

Coming now more especially to the novel mounting of the heel support 10, which may be a rubber pad block of selected shape and suitable hardness to accommodate the back ends of the heels to be engaged thereby, it is formed with a widthwise kerf 57. Hence, as shown in FIG. 2 the support is tightly but detachably seated on a pair of aligned, widthwise-spaced upstanding ribs 56 (one shown) integral with the base of the heel tray 36, or when desired the support 10 may be entirely in the tray and retained by the ribs as shown in FIG. 1. The tray 36 is pivotally supported on a pin 58 (FIGS. 13) extending widthwise of the shoe and carried by an arm 60 of a bell crank lever having arms 62, 64, the bell crank lever itself being carried by a pin 66 transversely fixed in the opposed side plates 50. The arm 62 is formed with a horizontal slot 68 for slidably receiving a pin 70 in the rearward end of the shank tray 34. The toe and heel trays 32, 36 are urged upwardly while the shank tray 34 is depressed by means of a strong tension spring 72. For this purpose one end of the spring 72 is secured by an eye bolt 74 coupled to a cross bar 76 in the base of the pad box 14 and the other end of the spring is connected to the depending end of the arm 64.

It will be noted that the heel tray 36 with its support 10 may be readily removed and interchanged with another corresponding assembly when desired and without disassembling the machine since front leg portions 78 of the tray 36 are formed with open-ended bearing slots 80 (only one shown) for receiving the pin 58. The limit of counterclockwise movement of the heel tray with respect to the bell crank lever 62, 64 is determined by engagement of a flat under surface of the portions 78 with a flat 82 on the lever. It is to be noted, however, that a limit of counterclockwise movement of the heel tray is not finally determined until, in the unusual condition, the arm 62 abuts a block 84 (FIGS. 1 and 3) secured in the pad box base, and that the support 10 is bodily movable heightwise of the shoe as well as pivotally about a widthwise axis during pressure engagement with the heel. This combined motion enables the support 10 to accommodate various heels by further concentrating pressure on the breast surface as an increase of pressure on the rear surface of the heel is applied.

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

1. A machine for applying pressure simultaneously to a shoe bottom and to the breast of a heel attached to the shoe bottom, said machine having a pad box relatively movable with respect to cooperative toe and heel engaging devices and including forepart, shank, and heel pressing elements, in combination with a pressure distributing linkage for applying pressure to the shank of a shoe when pressure is applied to the forepart and heel portion thereof, the heel pressing element being pivotally supported on said linkage for movement bodily heightwise of the shoe during application of said shank pressure and for movement about an axis extendingwidthwise of the shoe to embrace the rearward surface of the heel.

2. A machine for applying pressure simultaneously to a shoe bottom and to the breast of a heel attached to the shoe bottom, said machine having a pad box relatively movable with respect to cooperative toe and heel engaging devices and including forepart, shank, and heel pressing elements, in combination With a pressure distributing means including a forepart tray for the forepart pressing elements and a shank tray for the shank pressing elements, said trays being interconnected, and a heel support operable to embrace the rearward surface of the heel when attaching pressure is exerted by the forepart and shank pressing elements, said heel support being mounted in a heel tray, a bell crank lever fulcrumed in the pad box and pivotally connected to the shank tray, means pivotally mounting the heel tray on an arm of the bell crank lever for movement about an axis extending widthwise of the shoe, and yieldable means connected to said lever for resisting movement of the heel support bodily heightwise of the shoe when the latter and the pad box are relatively moved heightwise.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein the heel tray is detachably mounted on the bell crank lever.

A. A machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein the heel tray is formed with an upstanding rib adapted to extend into detachable, tightfitting relation with a kerf portion of the heel support.

5. In a breast flap attaching machine, a resilient heel support having an under portion formed with a kerf, a

heel tray pivotally mounted for carrying the heel support, said tray having a pair of front aligned ribs extending widthwise of a shoe to be operated upon for retaining the support on the tray or optionally seating in said kerf to retain the support in a second position.

6. For use in a heel breast flap attachin'g machine, a pad box having side enclosing means for confining vertically disposed independent shank engaging elements and a breast flap pressing member, a heel support cooperative with the flap pressing member to hold a heel against displacement relative to its shoe on the pad box, and pivotally related means for simultaneously pressing the shank engaging elements, the flap pressing member and the heel support against the shoe, and means for mounting said heel support, on being engaged by the rearward surface of the heel, for yielding movement heightwise of the shoe and for pivotal movement about an axis extending widthwise of the shoe to cause increasing pressure to be applied by the heel support against the rearward surface of the heel at the desired point on the heel as said pressing member increases its pressure on the flap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,052,901 9/1962 Gulbrandsen l216.4 3,055,027 9/1962 Gulbrandsen 12l6.4 3,081,468 3/1963 Barker 12l6.2

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner

Images