GB2118867A - Machine for lasting side portions of shoes - Google Patents

Abstract

In a side lasting machine, nozzles (142) are provided for applying adhesive progressively along upstanding lasting marginal portions of a shoe. The height of the nozzles (142) is determined by a shoe- engaging member (170) which runs along the insole during the adhesive application. The relative position between the nozzles (142) and member (170) is varied during the adhesive-applying operation, thus to vary the height between the nozzles (142) and the upstanding lasting margin to which adhesive is being applied. This variation is achieved by means of a piston/cylinder assembly (184) which is controlled by either a timer or a position sensor. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Machine for lasting side portions of shoes This invention is concerned with a machine for lasting side portions of shoes comprising a shoe support for supporting, bottom uppermost, a shoe comprising an upper on a last and an insole on the last bottom, two side lasting assemblies, arranged one at each side of the shoe support, for operating on opposite sides of the bottom of a shoe supported by the shoe support, and adhesive-applying means between which and the shoe support relative movement can take place, in a direction extending lengthwise of the bottom of a shoe supported by the shoe support, prior to operation of the side lasting assemblies to cause adhesive to be applied progressively to lasting marginal portions of the upper of such shoe, wherein the adhesiveapplying means comprises two nozzles, arranged to operate one at each side of the shoe bottom, and nozzle support means arranged to engage with the insole of such shoe whereby to determine the heightwise position of the nozzles in relation to the shoe bottom.

One such machine is commercially available, wherein the nozzles of the adhesive-applying means are constituted by spray nozzles, so that, while the application of adhesive to the lasting marginal portions of the upper can reliably take place in the sense that a reliable adhesive coating is applied over the whole of the lasting marginal portion, nevertheless the control of the application of adhesive may be less than desirable, especially in that adhesive applied to the lasting marginal portions may run down between the edge of the insole and the upper and thereafter cause problems, should the upper consequently become bonded to the last.

In the commercially available machine referred to, furthermore, the lasting operation is effected rather in the waist region only of the shoe, and not in the more toewardly disposed so-called ball region of the shoe. Conventionaily, especially because in the waist region the side portion of the show last are significantly curved away from the insole region towards the "high wood" of the last, a substantial amount of the lasting marginal portion of the upper is exposed to the action of the spray nozzles, so that the application of adhesive thereto can readily be undertaken.Where it is desired to last up to and including the ball region, on the other hand, especially in a case of a previously toe lasted shoe, difficulties arise in applying adhesive to the upstanding lasting marginal portions of the upper in that the amount of lasting margin to which access can be achieved is significantly reduced. Consequently, a nozzle which is disposed at a correct height in relation to the shoe bottom for cementing along the lasting marginal portions in the waist region may well be positioned at an inappropriate height for applying adhesive adjacent to the boundary between the unlasted marginal portions and the previously toe lasted portions of the shoe.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an impwved machine for lasting side portions of shoes wherein adhesvie can be reliably applied to the upstanding lasting marginal portions of the upper from the heel breast region to the ball region of the shoe bottom.

This invention is resolved in accordance with the invention, in a machine as set out in the first paragraph above, in that control means is provided whereby relative heightwise movement is effected, during the application of adhesive as aforesaid, between the nozzles and the nozzle support means.

In this way, the heightwise position of each nozzle in relation to the nozzle support means can be varied, during the application of adhesive, in order to suit the amount of lasting marginal portion of the upper available, thereby in particular enabling adhesive to be applied close to the edge both in the waist region of the shoe and also the ball region thereof.

The timing of the variation of the relative heightwise position of the nozzles and the nozzle support means will depend upon the lengthwise contour of the shoe bottom, and also on the transverse contour thereof. Thus, in the case of a shoe of the so-called "flattie" type, it will be necessary merely to bring the nozzles more closely to the insole as they approach the already lasted toe region of the shoe bottom, while in the case of a high-heeled shoe type, the nozzles may require to be lowered in relation to the nozzle support means as the latter moves past the joint region of the shoe (that is to say, considering a shoe which is supported bottom uppermost with the waist-tojoint region inclined upwardly and the joint-to-toe inclined downwardly, as the nozzle support means in engagement with the insole passes over the peak which is the junction of said two regions).In the case, on the other hand, of a shoe having a strong transverse contour, the variations of the relative heightwise position of the nozzles and the nozzle support means will depend largely on where the strong transverse contour is encountered. Thus, it may be in the ball region, or alternatively it may be in the waist region. The effect of a strong transverse contour is to raise the nozzles, whose heightwise position is determined by the nozzle support means engaging with a central portion of the insole, still further heightwise in relation to the lasting margin, and in such circumstances it may be desirable to lower the nozzles in relation to the nozzles support means in such region.

For controlling the timing of the operation of the control means, whichever variation is required, this can take place either as a function of time or distance. Thus, for example the control means may comprise timer means which can be set by the operator, the timer means being actuated in response to initiation of the operation of the adhesive-applying means and being effective, on timing out, to cause the relative heightwise position of the nozzles and the nozzle support means to be varied.Alternatively, the control means may comprise a signalling device, which supplies a signal having a value which varies proportionately with the relative lengthwise movement taking place between the adhesiveapplying means and the shoe support, a reference signalling device which can be set by the operator and which supplies a reference signal, and means for comparing the signals supplied by the signalling device and by the reference signalling device, the arrangement being such that when said signals match, the relative heightwise position of the nozzles and the nozzle support means is caused to be varied.

The control means may also be used to control other aspects of the machine operation concurrently with the variation of the heightwise position of the nozzles and the nozzle support means. Thus, where for example the adhesive is supplied in rod form, and the amount of adhesive to be applied is controlled by the amount of rod fed to melt chambers associated with the nozzles, the control means may control the cutting-off of the stroke of the rod feed means of the machine, which customarily occurs prior to the end of the movement of the nozzles along the lasting marginal portions of the upper, so as to avoid excessive adhesive in the nozzles, and thus undesired drooling, at the end of the adhesiveapplying operation.

Preferably the relative heightwise movement between the nozzles and the nozzle support means is arranged to take place between two fixed, upper and lower, positions, such positions of course being adjustable according to the style of shoe being operated upon. Furthermore, the movement is preferably so arranged that, when the support means is disposed in a lower position in relation to the nozzles, the nozzles are spaced therefrom in a direction lengthwise of the shoe bottom, but when in an upper position, the nozzles are disposed adjacent thereto. Such an arrangement may readily be achieved in that the movement between the nozzles and the nozzle support means takes place along an arcuate path.

In this way, assuming that the support means will be disposed in said lower position during the initial part of the movement, lengthwise of the shoe bottom, between the nozzles and the shoe support, the nozzle support means will "lead" the nozzles and further, especially in the case of a high-heeled shoe, the effect of the spacing between the nozzle support means and the nozzle will be such, as the movement is up the waist-tojoint region referred to above, as to position the nozzles close to the upper margin of the upstanding lasting marginal portions of the upper being cemented. When, on the other hand, the nozzle support means is in said upper position, it will be in iine with the nozzles, viewed transversely of the shoe bottom, and thus will act directly in determining the heightwise position of the nozzles in relation to the shoe bottom.This latter feature is clearly desirable in cementing the relatively small lasting marginal portions adjacent to the boundary between the portions to be lasted and the already toe-lasted portions of the shoe upper.

Conveniently, the nozzle support means comprises a single support member carried by a head portion on which the nozzles are mounted, and further said support member is conveniently mounted for heightwise movement relative to the support head, and thus to the nozzles. More particularly, the support member may be mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending transversely of the shoe bottom, under the control of a fluid pressure operated actuator therefor.

Furthermore, in order to enabie the machine to operate on shoes having a shank secured to the exposed surface of the insole, conveniently the support member has a shoe-engaging surface portion which can straddle such a shank.

There now follows a detailed description, to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, of one machine in accordance with the invention, which machine has been selected for description merely by way of exemplification of the invention and not by way of limitation thereof.

In the accompanying drawings:- Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the machine in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a view in front elevation, showing details of adhesive-applying means of the machine; Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view of parts shown in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of a shoe, indicating the heightwise relationship between a nozzle and nozzle support means of the adhesiveapplying means, as said means operates progressively along the shoe bottom.

The machine now to be described is a machine for use in the combined lasting of heel seat and side portions of shoes and comprises a shoe support generally designated 10, including a last pin 12 on which a shoe can be supported, bottom uppermost, and a toe rest 14, a heel band 16, heel seat lasting instrumentalities generally designated 18, a holddown generally designated 20 and side lasting instrumentalities generally designated 22.

The side lasting instrumentalities, which are generally similar to those described in our copending patent application No. 8035768, comprise a plurality of fingers 24, a plurality of clamp pads 26 and lasting strap elements 28 extending over said fingers 24 and pads 26. Other features of the machine now to be described, not pertinent to the present invention, may be found set out in our co-pending patent application No. 8126399.

The machine in accordance with the invention also comprises adhesive-applying means, comprising two nozzles 142, outlet ports (see Fig. 3) of which are arranged at the sides thereof, spaced from their lowermost ends, in order to enable adhesive to be applied to the upstanding lasting marginal portions of an upper carried on the shoe support 1 0. Each nozzle 142 is carried on a block 144 incorporating a melt chamber, adhesive being supplied to the melt chamber in solid rod form in a conventional manner. The rod feed arrangement, which is also conventional, controls the amount of adhesive supplied to the melt chamber in a cycle of operation, and thus the amount applied to the outlet ports to the shoe bottom.Each block 144 is clamped by a bracket 146 on a support plate 148, each plate being mounted for pivotal movement about a pivot pin 150, and the two pivot pins being carried by a nozzle support plate 1 52. For effecting pivotal movement of the plates 148, and thus of the nozzles 142, about the pins 150, upper ends of the plates 148 have connected therebetween a piston-and-cylinder arrangement 154, the cylinder of which is connected to one plate and the piston rod 1 56 to the other. The nozzles 142 can thus be moved transversely of the bottom of the shoe supported by the shoe support 10, towards and away from the upstanding lasting margin of the shoe upper, indpendently of one another, under the action of said arrangement 1 54.For determining an initial, inwardly directed, rest position of the two nozzles 142, stop pins 1 58 are carried on lugs 1 60 depending from the plates 148, the pins being arranged to engage with a stop pin 1 62 mounted on the support plate 1 52.

The support plate 1 52 is carried at the forward end of two rods 164, which extend lengthwise of the machine and are mounted, towards the rear end thereof on a pivotal axis (not shown) extending lengthwise of the machine. In this way, the support plate 152, and thus the adhesiveapplying means bodily, can be moved vertically heightwise relative to the shoe support 10. For enabling heightwise movement of the rods 1 64 to take place, slots 1 66 are provided in the main frame portion of the machine.

For determining the heightwise position of the support plate 1 52, and thus of the nozzles 142, in relation to a shoe bottom being operated upon, nozzle support means is provided, constituted by a carrier arm 1 68 on which is supported, in a manner now to be described, a shoe-engaging member 170. The member 170, which is provided with a rounded (as viewed from the side) shoeengaging surface, and further the shoe-engaging surface of which is provided with a central cutaway portion in order to allow it to straddle any shank forming part of the shoe bottom being operated upon, is bolted to a depending arm 1 72 which is pivotally mounted in a box-shaped support block 1 74 secured to a front face of the carrier arm 168.The block 1 74 has a slot 176 provided in opposite side faces thereof, and said slot receives a transverse pin 1 78 against which an upper end of the arm 1 72 can abut. The pin 1 78 is carried in the "legs" of a bifurcated support block 180, itself carried at the lower end of a piston rod 1 82 of a piston-and-cylinder arrangement 1 84. The arrangement 1 84 is carried by a bifurcated support block 1 86 which is slidable against a face of a bracket 1 88 secured to the front face of the carrier arm 1 68.The bracket also supports a rod 1 90 extending upwardly from the support block 1 86 and carrying, on an upper, threaded, portion thereof, a knurled nut 1 92. For urging the support block 1 86 and its associated parts downwardly, to a limit determined by abutment of the nut 192 with the bracket 1 88, a spring 1 94 is provided acting between the underside of the bracket 1 88 and the block 186.

With the piston-and-cylinder arrangement in its retracted condition, the position of the nut 1 92 on the upper end of the shaft 190 determines the initial, rest, condition of the shoe-engaging member 1 70. Thus, with the nut 1 92 in the position shown in Figure 3, the pin 178 is at the upper end of the slot 176; that is to say with the nut in this position, the shoe-engaging member is in its lowermost possible condition. By winding the nut 192 upwardly on the upper end of the shaft 1 90, the spring 1 94 is effective to lower the piston-and-cylinder arrangement 184, and thus the pin 1 78 in the slot 1 76, the effect of which will be to cause the arm 1 72 to pivot clockwise, to a limit determined by engagement with the pin 1 78.For maintaining the upper end of the arm 172 in contact with said pin, furthermore, a light spring 1 96 is accommodated in the block 174 and acts between the upper end of the arm 172 and the front face of the carrier arm 168.

When the piston-and-cylinder arrangement 1 84 is in its extended condition, on the other hand, the pin 178 is moved down the slot 176 and the arm 172, and thus the shoe-engaging member 170, is caused to pivot clockwise. Such pivotal movement will be caused to take place, to maintain the upper end of the arm 172 in contact with the pin 178, in the operation of the machine, by upward pressure exerted on the shoe-engaging member in engagement with the shoe bottom.For limiting such pivotal movement, a stop screw 1 98 is provided in a depending flange of the carrier arm 168, and engages with the arm 1 72. The screw 1 98 thus determines the upper position of the shoe-engaging member 1 70. The piston-andcylinder arrangement 1 84 has a fixed stroke, viz.

of 15 mm, so that if the pin is set, in the rest position of the adhesive-applying means, spaced from the upper end of the slot 176, such that it is spaced less than 1 5 mm from the bottom of the slot 176, in effecting its fixed stroke, the arrangement 184 will be lifted, together with its support block 1 86, against the influence of the spring 1 94. That is to say, the bottom of the slot 1 76 has an over-riding control on the uppermost possible condition of the shoe-engaging member 170.

It will thus be appreciated that the shoeengaging member is movable relative to its associated nozzles 142 along an arcuate path, between a lower position (as shown in Fig. 3) in which it is also spaced in advance of the nozzles 1 42 (viewed in the direction of movement along the shoe bottom) and an upper position (see Fig. 4) in which it is located between the two nozzles 142 (viewed transversely of the shoe bottom) and adjacent thereto.

In the operation of the machine in accordance with the invention, the relative heightwise position of the nozzles 142 and the member 1 70 will be varied during the operation of the adhesiveapplying means, in order to accommodate the lengthwise and transverse contour of the shoe bottom being operated upon. Usually, the heightwise relationship of the nozzles 142 and member 170 will be as shown in Figure 3 at the start of a cycle of operation, whereafter the member 170 will be moved to its upper position in relation to the nozzles 142 according to the dictates of the shoe bottom contour.Figure 4 indicates the changes in the relative heightwise positions during the operation of the adhesiveapplying means, For effecting such changes in the relative heightwise positions, under the action of pistonand-cylinder arrangement 184, the machine in accordance with the invention comprises control means in the form of a timer 200 (see Fig. 1) which is on the control panel of the machine and which can be set by the operator. In the operation of the machine, the timer is actuated upon initiation of a cycle of operation, and, upon timing out, causes the piston-and-cylinder arrangement 184 to be switched to its extended condition, said arrangement having been maintained in its retracted condition in the earlier part of the operating cycle.The timer wifl of course be set according to the speed at which the adhesiveapplying means is caused to operate progressively along the shoe bottom. Such speed is under the control of a piston-and-cylinder arrangement (not shown) in combination with a so-called hydrocheck arrangement, as conventionally used in side lasting machines employing adhesiveapplying nozzles.

(As an alternative to a timer control of the aforementioned type, a distance control may be utilized. Thus, for example, a reference potentiometer may be provided, which is located on the control panel of the machine and which may be set by the operator, there being associated with the movement of the adhesive-applying means a linear potentiometer, the arrangement being such that when the signals from both potentiometers match, the piston-and-cylinder arrangement 1 84 is switched to its extended condition as aforesaid.) In the operation of the machine described above, the upper is clamped against its last by the clamp pads 26 of the side lasting instrumentalities, which pads are arranged to engage below the level of the insole, so that lasting marginal portions of the upper are upstanding beyond the level of the insole.The nozzles 142 are then lowered towards the shoe bottom, at a locality which overlaps the region over which the heel seat lasting instrumentalities 1 8 will operate; the machine described utilises tacks for securing the lasting marginal portions of the upper to corresponding marginal portions of the insole in the heel seat region. The nozzles 142 are then moved outwardly against the upstanding lasting marginal portions of the upper whereafter they are caused to operate progressively therealong, as described above, applying adhesive to said portions. As is conventional, the extent of such toeward movement is set according to the length of the shoe; the control means is used for this purpose also. The outward movement of the nozzles 142 is limited by engagement of the lasting marginal portions with outwardly inclined portions of the lasting straps 28 of the side lasting instrumentalities extending upwardly beyond the clamp pads 26.

Claims (8)

1. A machine for lasting side portions of shoes comprising- a shoe support for supporting, bottom uppermost, a shoe comprising an upper on a last and an insole on the last bottom, two side lasting assemblies, arranged one at each side of the shoe support, for operating on opposite sides of the bottom of a shoe supported by the shoe support, and adhesive-applying means between which and the shoe support relative movement can take place, in a direction extending lengthwise of the bottom of a shoe supported by the shoe support, prior to operation of the side lasting assemblies, to cause adhesive to be applied progressively to lasting marginal portions of the upper of such shoe, wherein the adhesive-applying means comprising two nozzles, arranged to operate one at each side of the shoe bottom, and nozzle support means arranged to engage with the insole of such shoe whereby to determine the heightwise position of the nozzles in relation to the shoe bottom, characterised in that control means is provided whereby relative heightwise movement is effected, during the application of adhesive as aforesaid, between the nozzles and the nozzle support means.

2. A machine according to Claim 1 characterised in that the control means comprises timer means which can be set by the operator, the timer means being actuated in response to initiation of the operation of the adhesive-applying means and being effective, on timing out, to cause the relative heightwise position of the nozzles and the nozzle support means to be varied.

3. A machine according to Claim 1 characterised in that the control means comprises a signalling device, which supplies a signal having a value which varies proportionately with the relative lengthwise movement taking place between the adhesive-applying means and the shoe support, a reference signalling device which can be set by the operator and which supplies a reference signal, and means for comparing the signals supplied by the signalling device and by the reference signalling device, the arrangement being such that when said signals match, the relative heightwise position of the nozzles and the nozzle support means is caused to be varied.

4. A machine according to any one of the preceding Claims characterised in that the relative heightwise movement between the nozzles and the nozzle support means is arranged to take place between upper and lower positions and further in that, when the support means is disposed in a lower position in relation to the nozzles, the nozzles are spaced therefrom in a direction lengthwise of the shoe bottom, but when in an upper position, the nozzles are disposed adjacent thereto.

5. A machine according to Claim 4 characterised in that the relative movement between the nozzles and the nozzle support means takes place along an arcuate path.

6. A machine according to any one of the preceding Claims characterised in that the nozzle support means comprises a single support member carried by a head portion on which the nozzles are moutned, and in that said support member is mounted for heightwise movement relative to the support head, and thus to the nozzles.

7. A machine according to Claim 6 characterised in that the support member is mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending transversely of the shoe bottom, under the control of a fluid pressure operated actuator therefor.

8. A machine according to either one of Claims 6 and 7 characterised in that the support member has a shoe-engaging surface portion which can straddle a shank secured to the exposed surface of the insole.