Shoe lasting machine

A wiper assembly (120, 220) for a pulling over and toe lasting machine provides for variation of the configuration of the continuous wiping surface (146, 246) and of the leading edge (144, 244) of the wiper assembly. This is achieved by each wiper plate arrangement comprising two wiper plates (132, 152; 232, 252) pivotally connected to one another whereby their angular relationship can be varied. In one embodiment the wiper plate configuration is varied while the machine is in the rest position, and the wiper plates are then clamped in such position; in another embodiment the individual wiper plates (232, 252) are driven independently of one another whereby the configuration can be varied not only at the start of the lasting operation but during the course of the lasting operation; furthermore, by this independent means, the configuration can be varied differently for left and right shoes. Such variation of configuration in its more complicated aspects is achieved by the use of electronic control means, but in the simpler version the variation may be effected manually. In order to avoid risk of collision between the wiper assembly and an adhesive applicator device (11), furthermore, the latter also has a facility for variation of its configuration.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is concerned with shoe lasting machines and more especially 
those with a wiper assembly for a shoe lasting machine, comprising two 
wiper plate arrangements providing a continuous wiping surface and leading 
edge and being mounted for pivotal movement relative to one another about 
a centrally disposed pivot. 
Wiper assemblies of such a construction are generally well known: see e.g. 
UK patent specification No. 1239326 and European patent specification No. 
0210824. 
In such assemblies, the shape of the continuous wiping surface, as viewed 
in plan, and the leading edge thereof is fixed, since conventionally each 
wiper plate arrangement comprises a single wiper plate machined from a 
single piece of metal. Especially in the case of the lasting of toe ends 
of shoes, however, it will be appreciated that there are distinct 
differences in shape, often dictated by fashion, but nevertheless with 
variations within each fashion style, and with a fixed shape of wiper 
plates it is thus necessary to provide different sets of wiper plates to 
suit the particular style of shoe to be operated upon. In particular, it 
will be borne in mind that toe shapes fall into three general categories: 
pointed, rounded and square. Within any such category it may sometimes be 
possible to compromise between similar styles to achieve a satisfactory 
lasting result, but it would rarely be possible to compromise between two 
categories. Consequently, it is customary to provide suitable sets of 
wiper plates appropriate to any given style of shoe. Not only does this 
lead to increased expense in the provision of such "bespoke" components, 
and not only is the fitting of such components time-consuming, leading to 
loss in productivity, but also where may well be problems of supply, 
especially where the user of the machine is located a long distance away 
from the supplier. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is thus one of the objects of the present invention to provide an 
improved wiper assembly for a shoe lasting machine, wherein the 
configuration of the wiper plate arrangements is variable according to the 
style and size of shoe to be operated upon. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved 
pulling over and toe lasting machine which can accommodate to various 
styles and sizes of shoe without the need to fit "bespoke" components for 
that purpose. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention thus provides, in one of its several aspects, a wiper 
assembly for a shoe lasting machine that includes two wiper plate 
arrangements which provide continuous wiper surfaces and a leading edge 
and which are mounted for pivotal movement relative to one another about a 
centrally disposed pivot. The wiper plate arrangement includes a first toe 
wiper plate that is mounted for pivotal movement about the centrally 
disposed pivot and a second, forepart wiper plate which is mounted for 
pivotal adjusting movement about a second pivot in relation to the toe 
wiper plate thus to vary the configuration of the continuous wiping 
surface and the leading edge that is formed by the two wiper plates. A 
mechanism is provided so that the forepart wiper plate is maintained in 
adjusted position in relation to the toe wiper plate so that when the 
wiper assembly is in use during in wiping movement of the wiper plate 
arrangements, lasting marginal portions of the upper of a shoe will be 
wiped over and pressed against corresponding marginal portions of the 
insole of the shoe. 
By thus providing for pivotal movement between the various components of 
each wiper plate arrangement and also between the two wiper plate 
arrangements and by maintaining them in the adjusted position, it will be 
appreciated, the configuration of the leading edge of the wiper assembly 
can be set according to the style and size of shoe to be operated on 
without losing the continuous wiping surface. 
Conveniently each wiper plate arrangement is supported by a base plate and 
comprises a wiper carrier by which the pivotal movement and also linear 
movement relative to the base plate is transmitted to the toe wiper plate 
and to the forepart plate maintained in adjusted position in relation 
thereto as aforesaid. Moreover, in such an arrangement, preferably the toe 
wiper plate is mounted for pivotal adjusting movement relative to the 
wiper carrier about the centrally disposed pivot, means being provided for 
locking the toe wiper plate in an adjusted position. In this way, it will 
be appreciated, the configuration of the wiper surface and the leading 
edge of each wiper plate arrangement can be further adjusted according to 
the style and size of a shoe which is to be operated upon. Conveniently, 
furthermore, in the described arrangement, the forepart wiper plate is 
pivotally connected to the toe wiper plate so that adjustment of the 
position of the latter also adjusts the position of the former in relation 
to the carrier, and further the position of the forepart wiper plate 
relative to the toe wiper plate and to the carrier is independently 
adjustable. 
Moreover, while the wiper carrier is so provided means may be disposed 
thereon for adjusting the position of the forepart wiper plate in relation 
thereto in which position the wiper plate is maintained as aforesaid 
during the inwiping movement of the wiping plate arrangement. Preferably, 
furthermore, a means is provided for locking the forepart wiper plate in 
an adjusted position on the wiper carrier although in certain 
circumstances, this may not be necessary since the wiper plate will always 
assume its adjusted position as inwiping movement takes place and the 
wiper is brought into engagement with the shoe and will be maintained in 
that position as it traverses the edge of the shoe to wipe lasting 
marginal portions of the shoe upper over and press them against 
corresponding marginal portions of the insole. 
In the wiper assembly in accordance with the invention referred to above, 
preferably the two wiper plate arrangements are mounted for movement 
relative to a shoe supported by a shoe support not only pivotally relative 
to one another as aforesaid, but also bodily in a direction extending 
lengthwise of the shoe bottom. In such an arrangement, further, drive 
means are preferably provided for a effecting such movement of the wiper 
plate arrangements. Furthermore, conveniently, the wiper plate 
arrangements are mounted in a support by which a cam track arrangement is 
supported, the arrangement being such that as lengthwise bodily movement 
of the wiper plate arrangements is effected as aforesaid, the cam track 
arrangement is effective to cause pivoting inwiping movement to take 
place. In this way, a single motor can be used the various motions of the 
wiper plate arrangements which can be effected simultaneously. 
As is conventional in wiper assemblies for shoe lasting machines, the 
centrally disposed pivot preferably comprises a "button" having a surface 
forming part of the continuous wiping surface, and furthermore in the 
wiper assembly in accordance with the invention, each second pivot is 
similarly constituted, thereby enabling the continuous wiping surface to 
be achieved. 
The buttons providing the centrally disposed pivot and each second pivot 
may, furthermore, either be formed separately from the wiper plates 
themselves, or may be formed integral with one of the wiper plates, in 
which latter case the adjacent wiper plate which is pivotally connected in 
this manner is provided with a complementarily shaped portion for 
cooperating with such button. 
For effecting such adjusting movement of the wiper plates in, said one 
embodiment the toe wiper plate adjusting means may be manually operable , 
e.g. by suitable pin-and-slot connections and a simple clamping 
arrangement, or indeed by threadedly engaging adjustment screws, or may be 
motorised. In particular, in the case of an electronically controlled 
machine such motorisation may be by a suitable n.c. motor operating in 
accordance with shoe pattern data stored in an electronic memory. 
Alternatively, motorisation of the adjustment may be nevertheless under 
operator control, if desired. 
By the phrase "n.c. motor" where used herein is to be understood a motor 
the operation of which is controlled by control or drive signals supplied 
thereto in accordance with stored information appropriate to a desired 
operation, such information usually being stored in the form of digitized 
coordinate axis values. Examples of such motor are stepping motors and 
d.c. servomotors. 
Because of the relatively limited space available for motorisation, it is 
preferable that any suitable drive means is spaced from the actual path of 
inward and linear movement of the wiper plate arrangements. With such an 
arrangement, therefore, adjustment means is preferably arranged to be 
operatively connected with the toe wiper plate when the wiper plate 
arrangements are in a rest position, and prior to lengthwise movement of 
said arrangements being effected as aforesaid, whereby such operative 
connection is disconnected, the first clamping means is rendered 
operative. In addition, if desired, the setting means for the forepart 
wiper plates may be similarly arranged to be operatively connected with 
the plate only when the wiper plates are in such rest position. 
The invention also provides, in another of its several aspects, a wiper 
assembly for a shoe lasting machine comprising two wiper plate 
arrangements each providing a continuous wiper surface and leading edge 
and being mounted for movement relative to a shoe supported by a shoe 
support, both pivotally relative to one another about a central disposed 
pivot and also bodily in a direction extending lengthwise of the shoe 
bottom thus to effect an inwiping movement whereby lasting of marginal 
portions of the upper of the shoes are wiped over and pressed against 
corresponding marginal portions of the insole. Each wiper plate 
arrangement comprises a wiper carrier which is mounted for pivotal 
movement about the centrally disposed pivot and is movable linearly and 
bodily with the wiper carrier of the other wiper plate arrangement, 
together with the centrally disposed pivot. A first toe wiper plate is 
fixedly mounted on the wiper carrier for pivotal movement therewith about 
the centrally disposed pivot and a second forepart wiper plate which is 
mounted on the wiper carrier for pivotal movement about a second pivot 
disposed between the first and the second wiper plates relative to the 
wiper carrier and also to the first wiper plate while maintaining the 
continuous wiping surface and leading edge, together with a first drive 
means for effecting pivotal movement of the wiper carrier and thus the 
first and second wiper plates mounted as aforesaid thereon and a second 
drive means, operable independently of the first drive means for effecting 
pivotal movement of the second wiper plate relative thereto and to the 
first wiper plate. 
In the case of this further embodiment, instead of utilising conventional 
drive means, including a conventional cam track arrangement (as in the 
case of the first embodiment referred to above), first and second plate 
drive means are associated respectively with the wiper carrier and the 
forepart wiper plates for effecting arcuate movement thereof in timed 
relationship with the operation of the drive means for the carriage. In 
this way as already mentioned, it is thus longer a question merely of 
setting the various component parts of each wiper plate arrangement to a 
particular profile or configuration and clamping them in that 
configuration for the lasting operation, but rather the path of movement 
of the toe and forepart wiper plates can be independently controlled 
during the lasting operation. Furthermore, preferably the first and second 
plate drive means each comprise two motors, one associated with each of 
the wiper plates, said motors being driven independently of one another. 
By this arrangement, it will be appreciated, the wiper plates in one 
arrangement need not be driven symmetrically with the wiper plates in the 
other wiper plate arrangement, so that the wiper plates can be driven 
according to whether the shoe is a left or a right and according to the 
asymmetrical contour of the shoe bottom. 
From this it will be appreciated that the present invention is particularly 
suitable, especially in its second embodiment, for use in a machine having 
electronic control means wherein the various drive means each comprise an 
n.c. motor (as hereinbefore defined), operating in response to control 
signals generated in accordance with shoe pattern data stored in an 
electronic memory. 
It will be further appreciated that it would be advantageous in a shoe 
lasting machine provided with a wiper assembly having a variable 
configuration as above described, to provide also an adhesive applicator 
device which is itself of variable configuration, since, quite apart from 
any risk of collision taking place if the adhesive applicator device and 
wiper assembly do not "match", the exchange of applicator devices is 
tedious and time-consuming but necessary, since the use of compromise 
shapes is unsatisfactory.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The pulling over and toe lasting machine shown in FIG. 1 and now to be 
described comprises a shoe support 10, which is elongated in the 
lengthwise direction of a shoe to be supported thereby, and an adhesive 
applicator device 11 which surrounds the shoe support 10, whereby adhesive 
can be applied to toe and forepart portions of the insole of a shoe 
supported by the shoe support. Arranged in an array about the applicator 
device 11 is a pincer assembly generally designated 114, comprising a toe 
pincer 116 and, at each side thereof, four side pincers 118. In addition, 
the machine comprises a wiper assembly generally designated 120 and a toe 
band 23 which engages the toe end of a shoe supported by the shoe support 
10 while leaving unclamped the depending lasting marginal portions of the 
shoe upper in the toe and forepart region thereof. Above the shoe support 
10 and to one side thereof is a toe pad 25 which is movable firstly into a 
position in opposed relationship with the shoe support and downwardly 
theretowards, the toe pad cooperating with the wiper assembly 120 to apply 
bedding pressure to the shoe in the course of the lasting operation. 
(Details of the toe pad construction and its mode of operation are to be 
found in UK patent specification No. 1351192.) The machine also comprises; 
a heel support arrangement generally designated 27 by which the heel end 
portion of a shoe is engaged, during the lasting cycle, in order to 
support the heel end of the shoe. It will thus be appreciated that the 
machine is generally similar, except as hereinafter described, to a 
conventional so-called "fixed head" pulling over and toe lasting machine. 
In a first embodiment of the machine the wiper assembly 120 (FIG. 2) 
comprises a base plate 122 which is fixed in the machine and mounted on 
which, but spaced therefrom, is a cam plate 170 provided with two sets of 
cam slots 124 (one set being shown in full line and the position of the 
other set being indicated in chain-dot line in FIG. 2). In said cam slots 
are accommodated pins 126 mounted on a wiper carrier 128, there being thus 
two such wiper carriers arranged side-by-side in the wiper assembly. It 
will thus be appreciated that, as is conventional in pulling over and toe 
lasting machines, the two wiper carriers are moved forwardly (i.e. 
toewardly) and inwardly, by reason of the inter-action of the cam slots 
124 and pins 126 in response to linear forward movement being transmitted 
to the wiper carriers. For effecting such linear forward movement, 
furthermore, there is pivotally connected to each wiper carrier a link 
130, said links being in turn connected pivotally with a cross-member (not 
shown) which is driven by means of a piston-and-cylinder arrangement (also 
not shown), constituting drive means of the wiper assembly. The 
arrangement for effecting such forward and inward movement of the wiper 
carriers is also conventional. 
As will be appreciated, the two wiper carriers 128 are generally 
mirror-opposites, and the mounting of wiper plates on the wiper carriers 
will now be described with reference only to the right-hand wiper carrier, 
as shown in FIG. 2. The wiper plate arrangement of the aforementioned 
wiper assembly comprises a first, toe, wiper plate 132 which is mounted on 
the wiper carrier 128 for pivotal adjusting movement about a pivot 134. 
More particularly, the wiper plate 132 is provided with an arcuate slot 
136, whose centre of curvature is at the pivot 134, and there is provided 
on the wiper carrier a pin 138 which is accommodated in the slot 136 thus 
to guide the wiper plate during adjustment of its position in relation to 
the wiper carrier. The pin 138 also carries a clamp arrangement 140 
whereby, after the position of the wiper plate has been adjusted, it can 
be clamped in said position. For guiding the wiper plate during its 
adjusting movement, furthermore, the wiper carrier is provided with an 
arcuate guide surface 142 which cooperates with a complementarily shaped 
rear surface of the wiper plate. 
The wiper plate 132 thus provides a portion of the leading edge 144 of the 
wiper assembly 120 and a portion of the wiping surface 146 thereof. At the 
end of said edge portion and surface portion remote from the pivot 134, 
furthermore, the wiper plate 132 is formed with an integral "button" 148 
and in overlapping relationship therewith is arranged a complementarily 
shaped button 150 formed on a second, forepart, wiper plate 152, the two 
buttons 148, 150, providing a pivotal connection, at the pivot 154 between 
the two wiper plates, 132, 152. The forepart wiper plate is held 
constrained, by a bifurcated extension 128a of the wiper carrier, for 
pivotal movement about the pivot 154. By virtue of the overlapping button 
arrangement, it will be appreciated, the wiper edge 144 and the wiping 
surface 146 can be maintained continuous regardless of the angular 
position of the wiper plate 152 in relation to the wiper plate 132. 
It will be appreciated that, when bedding pressure is applied to the wiper 
plates, as is conventional in pulling over and toe lasting machines, 
bearing in mind that, in adjusting the relative positions of the two wiper 
plates 132, 152 the wiper plate 152 may be moved inwards about the pivot 
154, relative to the bifurcated extension 128a, thus leaving the major 
part of its surface unconstrained, an undue strain would be put on the 
pivot 154 during the application of such pressure. In order to counter 
this, therefore, a slotted support plate 172 is provided, bolted to the 
base plate 122, which plate receives in its slot the remote end of the 
wiper plate 152. For adjusting the position of the forepart wiper plate 
152 relative to the wiper plate 132, the bifurcated extension 128a 
supports an adjustment screw 156 a forward end of which engages with the 
rear surface of the wiper plate 152 thus to set the rearward position of 
the plate 152 about the pivot 154. A suitable clamp arrangement 158 may 
again be provided; alternatively, provided that the wiper plate 152 is 
held against the abutment 156, e.g. by springs, when the machine is idle, 
it will be appreciated that contact of the wiper plate with the shoe will 
urge the plate into engagement with the abutment in any event. 
The two toe wiper plates 132 are, as has already been mentioned, pivoted 
about the pivot 134. To this end, in the wiper assembly shown in FIG. 2, a 
separate button 160 is provided and each wiper plate 132 has an arcuately 
cut-away portion whereby it can "mate" with said button 160. The button 
160 is carried on a slide 162 which is accommodated in a groove 164 formed 
in the base plate 122. The slide 162 has an upstanding lug 166 which can 
be engaged by a projection 168 formed on the wiper carrier 128 of the 
right-hand wiper plate arrangement. In this way, when forward linear 
movement is transmitted to the wiper carrier 128, the button 160 is moved 
through a commensurate distance therewith. 
Instead of providing an independent button 160, it will be appreciated, in 
other wiper assemblies in accordance with the invention the button 
arrangement may be provided in a manner similar to the button arrangement 
148, 150 by which the two wiper plates 132, 152 are connected, or by the 
button being formed integral with one of said plates and mating with a 
cut-away portion formed in the other. 
It will of course also be appreciated that similarly the button arrangement 
148, 150 may be replaced by an independent button arrangement along the 
lines of the button arrangement 160; in this case, no sliding movement of 
said button arrangement would take place, but its position in relation to 
the pivot 134 would be adjustable commensurately with the adjustment of 
the position of the toe wiper plate 132. 
It will also be appreciated that, whichever button arrangement is provided 
in whichever of the three positions, the button arrangements should 
provide a smooth or substantially smooth planar surface with the adjacent 
portions of the wiper plates 132, 152, as the case may be. Where the 
wiping surface 146 of the wiper plate is chamfered, there will of course 
be inevitably some stepping of the button surfaces according to the 
angular relationships between the various wiper plates, but such stepping 
should be maintained at a minimum. When reference is made herein to a 
continuous wiping surface, it is intended that such surface may include 
some, relatively insignificant, stepping in the vicinity of the pivotal 
connections between the various plates. 
In the operation of the machine incorporating the first wiper assembly 
described above, the configuration of the continuous surface 146, and of 
the wiper edge 144, is adjusted manually prior to a cycle of operation of 
the machine being initiated. Once this configuration has been determined, 
furthermore, the operation of the machine is generally as a conventional 
pulling over and toe lasting machine. 
Whereas in the wiper assembly just described, the adjustment of the wiper 
plates is effected simply by releasing clamping arrangements, setting and 
re-clamping, which may be tedious and time-consuming, it may alternatively 
be desired to render such adjustment more easily carried out, e.g. by 
enabling the adjustment to be made from a remote position. By way of 
example, a suitable drive (not shown) may be provided by which the arcuate 
rearward surface of the toe wiper plate 132 can be engaged, e.g. a worm 
and rack arrangement, the drive also including a flexible drive shaft 
connected to a suitably disposed operator-actuatable knob; similarly, the 
abutment screw 156 could be connected by a flexible drive to a suitably 
disposed operator-actuatable knob. In such an arrangement, furthermore, 
the worm and rack are brought into engagement only when the wiper plate is 
in its rest position, thereby reducing the need for moving the whole of 
the adjusting mechanism during the lasting operation. 
Furthermore, such an arrangement would lend itself readily to being 
automated. In particular, in an electronically controlled machine 
comprising electronic control means including a micro-processor, pattern 
data may be stored in a memory of the control means and control or drive 
signals may be supplied, in response to such pattern data, to stepping 
motors or other n.c. motors forming part of the drive arrangements. In 
such a case, the clamping arrangements would also have to be automatically 
operated and released. 
In an arrangement as described in the last paragraph, it will be 
appreciated, the configuration of the continuous wiping surface 146 and 
its associated leading wiper edge 144 can be readily set individually to 
each shoe to be operated upon. 
In a second wiper assembly 220 (FIG. 3) in accordance with the present 
invention, a top plate 222 is provided in which is formed a continuous 
arcuate groove 224 having a centre 234. Mounted for arcuate movement about 
the centre 234 are two wiper plate arrangements each comprising a wiper 
carrier 228, which is provided with an arcuate guide flange 226 formed 
complementarily with and accommodated in a portion of the groove 224. 
Since the wiper arrangements are mirror-opposites, only the right hand one 
(viewing FIG. 3) will now be described. 
Secured to the wiper carrier 228 is a first, toe, wiper plate 232 having a 
rearward edge which engages along a surface of the flange 226 and 
providing a toe part of a continuous wiping surface 246 and of a 
continuous leading edge 244 of the wiper assembly. 
The wiper carrier 228 also is itself formed with an arcuate groove the 
centre of curvature of which lies at a pivot 254 about which a second, 
forepart, wiper plate 252 is mounted for pivotal movement. The wiper plate 
252 is itself formed with an integral guide rib 276 which is arcuate and 
is formed complementarily to and accommodated in the groove 274. The wiper 
plate 252 is thus guided for arcuate movement about the pivot 254. 
In the second wiper assembly 220 a central button arrangement 260 is 
provided having a surface portion which forms with the adjacent surface 
portions of the toe wiper plates 232 a continuous wiping surface. The 
button 260 is supported by an integral carrier which is secured to the top 
plate 222. In this way, the central button is fixed in relation to the top 
plate. 
The wiper plates 232, 252 are pivotally connected to one another by a 
further button arrangement made up of a button portion 250 formed integral 
with the forepart wiper plate 252 and cooperating with a complementarily 
shaped cut-out 248 formed in the toe wiper plate 232. 
It will of course be appreciated that in other wiper assemblies generally 
similar to the second wiper assembly 220, the central button may be 
provided by overlapping or complementarily shaped portions of the two toe 
wiper plates 232 inter-engaging, while similarly each button arrangement 
248, 250 may be formed by the provision of an independent button 
arrangement mounted on the wiper carrier 228. 
Each wiper plate arrangement is also provided with a base plate 278, bolted 
to the top plate 222 and forming a "sandwich" therewith thus to contain 
the wiper plates 232, 252 therebetween. 
The two wiper plate arrangements and the top plate described so far are 
supported in a further "sandwich" comprising a base plate 270 bolted to 
the machine frame and a cover plate 280 secured to the base plate but 
spaced therefrom by spacer bars 282, the latter serving also to guide the 
top plate 222 for sliding movement within the space between the base and 
cover plates 270, 280. 
In the case of the second wiper assembly it is no longer a question of 
adjusting the relative positions of the wiper plates about the centres 
234, 254 prior to the lasting operation being initiated, but rather a 
question of effecting movement of the various wiper plates in an optimum 
manner during the lasting operation. That is to say, in this case the 
configuration of the continuous wiping edge 244 and continuous wiping 
surface 246 is varied during the lasting operation, thus to accommodate 
appropriately to each shoe shape. For driving the wiper plates in this 
manner, any suitable drive means may be provided, but this second wiper 
assembly is especially suitable for use in a machine provided with 
electronic control means, the drive means for the various wiper plates 
thus being constituted by drive arrangements including stepping motors or 
other n.c. motors. The manner in which the drive is transmitted from the 
stepping or like n.c. motors to the various wiper plates is again a matter 
of choice; for example, a worm and rack arrangement as referred to in 
connection with the first wiper assembly 120 may be utilised in each case. 
It will of course be appreciated that in this event the worm and rack are 
maintained constantly in engagement. Furthermore a similar drive 
arrangement is provided for moving the top plate 222 (which thus 
constitutes a carriage for the wiper plate arrangements supported thereby) 
linearly forwardly whereby to cause the button arrangement 260 also to 
wipe the lasting marginal portion of the upper over and press it against 
the corresponding marginal portion of the insole, such drive arrangement 
operating in timed relation with the drive means for the wiper plates. 
It will thus be appreciated that, in using the second wiper assembly 220, 
not only can the wiping edge be accommodated to each size and style of 
shoe specifically, thereby accommodating not only rounded, pointed and 
square shoe toes in general, but being configurable to each variation of 
any one of these styles, but also, by using independent motors for each 
wiper plate, different configurations, and indeed different variations of 
configuration during the lasting cycle, may take place for left and right 
shoes. 
In some machines, see e.g. the machine described in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,579,691, the wiper plates are conventionally brought to an intermediate 
position in which they have just crossed the edge of the insole, thereby 
trapping the margin of the shoe upper against the insole. In this position 
an adhesive-applying operation may take place using the adhesive 
applicator device 11, which device is then moved out of its 
adhesive-applying condition to an out-of-the-way position, whereafter the 
wiper movement is continued. It will thus be appreciated that, in 
conventional pulling over and toe lasting machines, the shape of the wiper 
plates, and in particular the leading edge thereof, and the shape of the 
adhesive applicator device must be matched; otherwise there is a risk of 
collision therebetween when the wiper assemblies are moved to their 
intermediate position. 
In order to avoid such collision in the machine in accordance with the 
present invention, the adhesive applicator device 11 is also susceptible 
of variation of its configuration to take account of the difference styles 
and sizes of shoe to be operated upon. To this end, with particular 
reference to FIG. 5, the adhesive applicator device comprises a block 12 
which is provided with an internal recess by which the block can be 
accommodated at the upper end of a piston rod 14 of a piston-and-cylinder 
arrangement by which heightwise movement of the device 11 is effected. The 
block 12 is mounted for limited rocking movement on the piston rod and is 
held against rotation thereon by screw 16. Towards the toeward end (i.e. 
right-hand end, viewing FIG. 5), are provided two projecting lug portions 
18 having aligned bores 20 formed therein. In addition, the block 12 
provides, at each side of the piston rod 14, a supporting surface 22, to 
be referred to hereinafter. 
The device 11 also comprises two melt chambers generally designated 24, 
each comprising a block 26 in which a heater element 28 is accommodated 
and which has an inlet 30 through which adhesive in solid rod form can be 
introduced into the melt chamber. By the heat supplied by heater 28, the 
adhesive rod is melted and flows along a passageway 32 to an outlet 34. 
The forward end (i.e. right-hand end, viewing FIG. 5) of each melt chamber 
has two lug portions 36, again formed with aligned bores 38. In the bore 
formed in the upper lug portion 36 is supported a pin 40 on which is 
carried a further support block 42 which is generally kidney-shaped in 
plan view. The two support blocks 42 are formed with inter-engaging lug 
portions, respectively at the end thereof remote from the pin 40, and the 
lug portions are formed with bores 44 which can thus be aligned not only 
with each other but also with the bores 20 formed in the block 12. By 
means of a pin 46 (FIG. 6) the support blocks 42 and also, through the 
pins 40, the melt chambers 24 are thus all supported on the pin 46. The 
support surfaces 22 provided by the block 12 also serve to provide a 
support for the melt chambers 24. 
It will be appreciated that, by virtue of the pivotal connections by means 
of the pins 40 and 44, the configuration of the various parts described so 
far can be varied. For effecting such variation, in the bore 38 formed in 
the lower lug portion 36 of each block 26 is accommodated a pin 48 
carrying at its lower end a block 50, which is clamped against the 
underside of the block 26 by a clamp nut 52 accommodated between the two 
lug portions 36. The two blocks 50 each threadedly receives one end 
portion of a threaded rod 54, opposite end portions of which are provided 
with threads of opposite hand. Thus, by rotating the rod 54, the blocks 50 
and thus the forward ends of the blocks 26 are moved towards or away from 
one another. For facilitating such rotation of the shaft, two rotary 
wheels 56 are provided centrally of the rod 54, said wheels being spaced 
from one another and being held against displacement in a direction 
lengthwise of the rod by a lug 58 formed on the underside of the forwardly 
projecting portion of the block 12. 
It will be appreciated that, by rotating the wheels 56, the pins 40 are 
moved towards or away from one another so that the forward ends of the 
melt chambers 24 are similarly moved. Since, however, the pin 46 is fixed 
in the support block 12, the effect of such adjustment is to move the melt 
chambers also bodily in a direction lengthwise of the device. 
Similar adjusting means is provided for varying the distance between the 
ends of the melt chambers 24 remote from the pin 46 and to this end there 
is mounted on the underside of the block 26 of each melt chamber a further 
support block 58, and a further rod 60 having opposite-handed threaded end 
portions is carried by the two blocks, said rod being provided with a pair 
of centrally disposed rotary wheels 62 spaced apart and held captive, 
against transverse movement, by a depending lug formed on the block 12. 
Whereas in the device now being described, the adjustment of these various 
distances is achieve manually by means of rotation of the rods 54, 60, it 
will be appreciated that such rotation could be motorised, e.g. by a 
stepping motor or other n.c. motor; alternatively instead of threaded rods 
as above described, wedge arrangements could be utilised. 
For applying the adhesive which has been melted in the melt chambers as 
aforesaid, a continuous adhesive-applying surface 64 is provided by means 
of a plurality (in casu 4) elements 66, 68, supported by the blocks 26 and 
support blocks 42 as will now be described. Each element 66, which 
constitutes a "leg" element of the generally U-shaped configuration of the 
continuous surface 64, is secured by screws (not shown) to the upper 
surface of its associated block 26, such that an inlet passage 70 thereof 
coincides with the outlet 34 of the block 26. The inlet 70 is connected 
through internal passages formed in the element 66 to outlets 72 which 
open into the continuous surface 64. The elements 68 are formed with 
inter-engaging lug portions (see especially FIGS. 4 and 6) and bores, one 
of which is blind, aligned with the bores 44 of the support block 42, for 
receiving an upper end portion of the pin 46, and each element 68 and its 
adjacent element 66 are also formed with inter-engaging lug portions 
having bores, one (74) of which is blind, aligned with the bores 38, for 
receiving the upper end portion of the respective pin 40. 
As will be seen most clearly from FIG. 4, adhesive is supplied to each 
element 68 from the melt chamber 24 associated with its associated element 
66. To this end, the passage 32 formed in the block 26 has a branch 76 
which is connected to a passage formed in the pin 40, which is thus 
tubular. The upper end of the pin 40 opens into the blind bore 74 into 
which also opens an internal passageway 78 formed in the element 68 and 
itself opening through outlet 72 into the continuous surface 64. 
In this way, adhesive is supplied through all of the outlets 72 to ensure 
an adequate supply to the continuous surface 64. 
It will thus be appreciated that using the variable-configuration adhesive 
applicator device 11 in conjunction with either one of the wiper 
assemblies 120, 220 in accordance with the present invention, a fully 
adjustable system is provided which enables the need for so-called 
"bespoke" fittings, conventional in currently available pulling over and 
toe lasting machines, to be dispensed with. Moreover, especially in the 
case of the second wiper assembly, the configuration of the continuous 
wiping surface 246 and leading edge 244 of the wiper assembly can be 
"tailored" specifically to the requirements made by the shoe shape not 
only as a general compromise at the start of the lasting operation, but 
actually during the lasting cycle.