WO2003056965A1

WO2003056965A1 - A device for folding and contemporary gluing of a shoe upper edge to an insole

Info

Publication number: WO2003056965A1
Application number: PCT/IB2003/000051
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mario Ciucani
Original assignee: Mario Ciucani
Priority date: 2002-01-08
Filing date: 2003-01-03
Publication date: 2003-07-17
Also published as: AU2003235811A1; ITBO20020003A0; ITBO20020003A1; TW200302058A

Abstract

A device (100) for folding and contemporary gluing the edge of an upper to an insole stitched thereto, includes a dispenser (4), for applying glue on the edge of an insole (3), arranged horizontal and stitched to an upper (1), turned downwards. The dispenser (4) is situated upstream of stationary folding means (5) and movable folding means (6) for folding the edge (la) of the upper (1) protruding from the insole (3). Pliers means (7) are situated downstream of the movable folding means (6) for gripping the just glued portion of the edge (la) and at making the material move forward. The device (100) includes a disc (8) which is introduced into the upper (1) to act as a support for the insole (3) and as an abutment to keep the edge (la) adhering to the stationary folding means (5). The disc (8) is carried by the end of an arm (80), oscillating freely on an axis (y) coinciding with the axis of the disc (8). The arm (80) is connected to a slide (9), which translates and carries the disc (8) to a working position (L), and a rest position (R). When in the working position (L), the disc (8) leans against the folding means (5,6) and the pliers means (7), and when in the rest position (R), the disc (8) is shifted with respect to the folding means (5,6) and the pliers means (7), so that the upper (1) can be fitted on the arm (80) at the beginning of the process, and withdrawn when the process is completed.

Description

A DEVICE FOR FOLDING AND CONTEMPORARY GLUING OF A SHOE UPPER EDGE TO AN INSOLE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to apparatuses for footwear industry and more particularly to a device for folding and contemporary gluing of a shoe upper edge to an insole .

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Up till now, there are particular types of footwear manufacturing, which are performed wholly manually, because there are no suitable machines suitable to perform them automatically, in the whole or in part. Obviously, this creates some drawbacks, such as low productivity, non-homogenous quality of products and high costs of manpower.

Due to the above drawbacks, some constructive processes, belonging to the traditional footwear technique and create products, whose features are much appreciated by the users, are little used, if not abandoned.

A typical example is the so-called San Crispino manufacturing process, according to which the shoe upper is produced with a dimension such that, when stitched to an insole, an edge remains free, which can be folded and glued onto the corresponding border portion of the insole, so that the stitching line is covered.

The main aesthetic effect of the San Crispino shoe, which makes it different from other types of shoes, is due to the insole border lined with the same type of leather of the shoe upper.

The San Crispino method is normally performed by the "mounting technique", i.e. using the lasts both for stitching the insole and for folding and gluing the edge.

In order to avoid the inconvenient use of the lasts during the stitching step, a method is known, whose teachings are reported in the Italian Patent No. IT.1.295.172. Moreover, a machine is described in the Patent Application No. B099A 000399 filed on July 16, 1999 by the same Applicant, which has been prepared specially for stitching an upper to an insole according to the San Crispino method. However, the difficulty and the costs of the remaining manual folding and gluing operations represent drawbacks of the above mentioned method for stitching shoes .

There are also commercially available machines for folding and gluing an edge of a lining applied to an insole .

The above described machines include a working surface, on which the assembly, formed by the lining and the insole to be processed, is placed and is moved forward with the lining being situated below: a nozzle applies glue to the insole, upstream of a shaped guide, extending upwards from the working surface and aimed at raising the edge of the lining, in order to arrange it substantially vertically.

A folding member, situated near the guide, is moved horizontally, crosswise to the edge, in order to complete the folding of the latter. A pliers-group acts downstream of the folding member to tighten the just glued edge and the relative portion of the insole; the pliers-group suitably oscillates on a horizontal axis, so as to make the group move forward stepwise.

The above described machines are capable of performing the processing only when the element with the edge to be folded (lining) adheres to the other element (insole) , due to the presence of the working surface : this constitutes a limitation, which makes it impossible to process a close shoe, i.e. an upper stitched to a relative insole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to propose a device which includes constructive solutions for the working means of the above mentioned folding/gluing machines, but whose conformation is suitable for processing the edge of an upper stitched to a relative insole.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a device especially for uppers and insoles not mounted on lasts .

The above mentioned objects are obtained, in accordance with the content of the claims, by a device for folding and contemporary gluing the edge of an upper to an insole stitched thereto, with the edge of said upper protruding from the peripheral border of said insole, including: a disc, aimed at receiving and supporting the inner surface of said, insole, with said upper turned downward, said disc being carried idle, with vertical axis, by the free end of a curved arm, which is capable of oscillating on a vertical axis coinciding with the axis of said disc; a glue dispenser, situated above said edge of said insole, upstream of said stationary folding means, which are aimed at cooperating with movable folding means to fold the edge of said upper; pliers means, situated downstream of said movable folding means and aimed at gripping the just glued portion of the edge together with the corresponding portion of said insole, with said pliers means oscillating on a horizontal axis, in step relation with closing of said pliers means in order to make the material to be processed move one step forward; a slide, carrying, pivoted thereto, the above mentioned curved arm, engaged with guide means and connected to actuating means, with the latter being aimed at making said slide translate between two extreme positions, a working position and a rest position of the disc, respectively; with said disc, when in said working position, leaning against said folding means and said pliers means, in order to keep the corresponding portion of the edge of said upper adhering to said stationary folding means, and when in said rest position, said disc being shifted with respect to said folding means and said pliers means, in order to allow respectively, fitting of the group upper-insole on said arm at the beginning of said folding and gluing operation, and withdrawal of the same group, when this operation is completed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The characteristic features of the present invention will be pointed out in the following description, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an upper stitched to an insole according to the San Crispino method;

Figure 2A is a section view of a portion of the upper-insole assembly, with the edge of the upper before being folded;

Figure 2B is a view of the same portion of Figure 2A, with the edge folded and glued to the insole;

Figure 3 is a lateral view of the device as a whole;

Figure 4 is a view of the device from the side opposite to Figure 3 ;

Figure 5 is a top view of the working means of the device, along the line V-V of Figure 3 ;

Figure 6 shows, with a section view taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 5, the moment of the application of the glue to the insole;

Figures 7A and 7B show, with section views taken along the line VII-VII of Figure 5, two moments of the edge folding;

Figure 8 shows, with a section view taken along the line VIII-VIII of Figure 5, the grip on the just glued edge performed by a pliers-group of the device .

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to the above figures, reference numeral 100 indicates the proposed device, as a whole, for folding and contemporary gluing the edge la of a shoe upper 1, joined by stitching 2 to an insole 3.

Figure 1 shows the upper-insole assembly obtained according to the San Crispino method, already mentioned in the introduction, in which the dimensions of the upper

1 are such that, after having been stitched to the insole

3 , an edge la protrudes from the peripheral border of the insole 3 (Figure 2A) , so that it can be folded and glued to the corresponding peripheral portion of the insole, so as to cover the stitching 2 (Figure 2B) .

The device 100 includes, among other parts, means of known type, used in folding/gluing machines, mentioned in the introduction, which process the edge of a lining applied to an insole. Like in the above mentioned machines, during operation of the device 100, the insole 3 is held in a substantially horizontal position and the edge to be folded protrudes from below the insole: this means that the upper 1 is turned downward. The above mentioned known means include a glue dispenser

4, whose nozzle 40 is inclined with the outlet mouth turned downward, upstream of stationary folding means 5, which cooperate with movable folding means 6, situated downstream, to fold the edge la of the shoe upper 1. The outlet mouth of the nozzle 40 is situated directly above the edge of the insole 3 , so that the glue is applied to the area, where the edge la of the upper 1 is folded.

The stationary folding means 5 extend upwards and are shaped in such a way that the edge la engaging them, is gradually raised from the initial horizontal position to a substantially vertical position (Figure 7A) . The movable folding means 6, situated near the stationary folding means 5, include a bar 60, which moves horizontally crosswise to the edge la; during the forward stroke, the bar 60 contacts the edge la and folds it on the insole 3 situated below (Figure 7B) .

The subsequent return stroke is operated in step relation with the forward moving of the material to be processed, carried out as described in the following.

Pliers means 7, situated downstream of the stationary folding means 5 and movable folding means 6, include a lower jaw 70 and an upper jaw 71; the closing of the pliers means is determined by the movement of the sole upper jaw 71, operated by a lever 72 connected to a cursor 73, which in turn, is connected to power means, not shown.

Moreover, the pliers means 7 oscillate on a horizontal axis X, coinciding with the axis of the cursor 72, due to the action of other means, not shown, which drive the means 7 to perform a rotation of a predetermined angular extension, in a direction A (Figure 8) .

During the working stroke, the jaws 70, 71, closed to tighten the just glued portion of the edge la, as well as the corresponding portion of the insole 3 , are moved away from the folding means 5, 6, thus determining a one-step forward movement of the material to be processed, i.e. the upper-insole assembly.

Obviously, the return stroke is performed in the opposite direction, with the jaws 70, 71 held open.

In order to process the edge la of an upper 1 stitched to a relative insole 3 according to the San Crispino method, the just described working means are connected to original means of the device 100 including, among others, a disc 8, situated in front of the folding means 5, 6 and the pliers means 7, in an intermediate position between them in a direction of the forward movement of the material being processed (Figure 5) . The disc 8 is aimed at being introduced into the upper 1, and is carried idle, with its axis vertical, by the free end of a curved arm 80, which can oscillate freely on a vertical axis Y coinciding with the axis of the disc 8: in this way, the spatial position of the disc 8 is kept unchanged independently from the position assumed by the curved arm 80.

The curved arm 80 is pivoted, in a position corresponding to the oscillation axis Y, to a slide 9, engaged with the guiding means 90, integral with the structure of the device 100.

The slide 9 is connected to operating means 91, e.g. pneumatic, which drive it to translate horizontally between two extreme positions, in a direction parallel to the one, in which the bar 60 moves. The extreme positions of the slide 9 correspond respectively, to a working position L and a rest position R of the disc 8.

When in the above working position L (Figures 3, 5, 7A, 7B, 8) , the disc 8 is leaning against the above mentioned folding means 5, 6 and the pliers means 7, in order to constitute a support for the portion of the insole 3 , which is being processed.

Contemporarily, the circumference 8a of the disc 8 strikes against the inner part of the shoe upper 1, which is firmly joined to the insole 3 by the stitching 2, so that the material being processed is pushed toward the above mentioned folding means 5, 6 and the pliers means 7 , so that the corresponding part of the edge la of the upper 1 is kept adhering to the stationary folding means 5.

It is to be noted that the disc 8, idle on its axis, does not resist against the forward movement of the material being processed on, and that its arrangement on the horizontal plane is such that the above mentioned bar 60 practically acts in a diametrical plane of the disc 8, i.e. in the plane in which the striking action on the material is maximum (Figure 5) .

During the processing, the operator guides the shoe with both hands , so that the perimeter of the insole 3 is correctly oriented with respect to the folding means 5, 6 and makes the arm 80 rotate to that position which is each time of less hindrance .

When in the above mentioned rest position R (Figure 4) , the disc 8 is shifted with respect to the folding means 5, 6 and the pliers means 7, in order to allow, respectively, the fitting of the upper 1 onto the arm 80 at the beginning of the above folding and gluing operations, and the withdrawing of the upper 1 when these operations are completed.

The advantages of the proposed device result obvious from what has been said above. The proposed device allows the processing to be performed automatically, which so far has been performed completely manually, thus avoiding the use of the lasts, which constitutes another advantage.

The fact that the proposed device uses working means partly known, thus tested, does not invalidate its originality, but increases its reliability and ensures high quality of the work. Those skilled in the footwear field are able to appreciate the capability of a device which makes it possible to produce shoes according to the San Crispino method in a rapid and cheap way with constant and assured results .

Practically, the proposed device is the ideal completion of the stitching machine mentioned in the introductory note, which allows to stitch the upper to the insole without using the lasts .

Claims

1. A device for folding and contemporary gluing the edge of an upper to an insole stitched thereto,, with the edge (la) of said upper (1) protruding from the peripheral border of said insole (3) , including: a disc (8) , aimed at receiving and supporting the inner surface of said insole (3) , with said upper (1) turned downward, said disc (8) being carried idle, with vertical axis, by the free end of a curved arm (80), which is capable of oscillating on a vertical axis (Y) coinciding with the axis of said disc (8) ; a glue dispenser (4) , situated above said edge of said insole (3) , upstream of said stationary folding means (5) , which are aimed at cooperating with movable folding means (6) to fold the edge (la) of said upper (1) ; pliers means (7) , situated downstream of said movable folding means (6) and aimed at gripping the just glued portion of the edge (la) together with the corresponding portion of said insole (3) , with said pliers means (7) oscillating on a horizontal axis (X) , in step relation with closing of said pliers means (7) in order to make the material to be processed move one step forward; a slide (9) , carrying, pivoted thereto, the above mentioned curved arm (80) , engaged with guide means (90) and connected to actuating means (91) , with the latter being aimed at making said slide (9) translate between two extreme positions, a working position (L) and a rest position (R) of the disc (8) , respectively; with said disc (8) , when in said working position (L) , leaning against said folding means (5,6) and said pliers means

(7) , in order to keep the corresponding portion of the edge (la) of said upper (1) adhering to said stationary folding means (5), .and when in said rest position (R) , said disc (8) being shifted with respect to said folding means (5,6) and said pliers means (7), in order to allow respectively, fitting of the group upper-insole on said arm (80) at the beginning of said folding and gluing operation, and withdrawal of the same group, when this operation is completed.

2. A device according to claim 1, in which said movable folding means (6) include a bar (60) operated to move horizontally, crosswise to said edge (la) , and said disc (8) is arranged on the horizontal plane in such a way that said bar acts practically in a diametrical plane of said disc 8.

3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said slide (9) moves horizontally in a direction parallel to the direction, in which the moving folding means (6) are operated.