PULLING OVER AND TOE LASTING MACHINE

Abstract: In a pulling over and toe lasting machine an array of pincers (18, 19, 20) includes a central toe pincer (18) fixedly mounted on a base plate (22), two further toe pincers (19) arranged one at each side of the central pincer, and two sets of side pincers (20). The further toe pincers (19) are mounted for pivotal movement, together with the side pincers, relative to the central toe pincer, and the sets of side pincers (20) are each pivotal relative to their associated further toe pincer. In this way, the configuration of the leading edge of the pincers may be varied according to the style and/or size of shoe being operated upon. The setting of this configuration may be under operator control or be pre-programmed.

Description: PULLING OVER AND TOE LASTING MACHINE TECHNICAL FIELD This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to a pulling over and toe lasting machine comprising a shoe support, arranged at an operating locality of the machine, for supporting, bottom down, a shoe comprising a shoe upper on a last and an insole on the last bottom, a plurality of pincers, including a central toe pincer and two sets of side pincers arranged one at each side of the toe pincer, for gripping lasting marginal portions of the shoe upper in the forepart region thereof and tensioning the upper about its last, and a wiper assembly by which lasting marginal portions of the shoe upper tensioned as aforesaid are wiped over and pressed against corresponding marginal portions of the insole, wherein the central toe pincer is mounted on a base plate of the machine and each set of side pincers is supported by a first support mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending heightwise of the shoe bottom, said axes being disposed at opposite sides of the toe pincer(s), and wherein first drive means is provided for moving each of the supports about its axis relative to a longitudinal centre line of the operating locality of the machine. BACKGROUND ART One such machine is disclosed in EP-A-0 209 282; more particularly, two such machines are disclosed in said specification, in a first of which the sets of side pincers are positioned according to whether the shoe is a left or a right, while in the other the sets of side pincers are moved equidistantly about the' longitudinal centre line of the operating locality of the machine, thus to accommodate to shoes of different sizes. In both machines, furthermore, a plurality of pre¬ determined positions is provided for the sets of side pincers, although reference is also made to thepossibility of manual control of a motor to bring the sets of side pincers into a desired position, in which case the position of the sets of side pincers is infinitely variable under operator control. Whichever of the two aforementioned machines is considered, the axes about which the two supports for the side pincers are mounted for pivotal movement passes through or adjacent the toe pincer(s), more particularly through the jaws of the central toe pincer at the corners formed at opposite ends of the leading edge thereof; that is to say, the two axes are spaced from one another by the length of the central toe pincer, thus leaving in each set of side pincers three or four pincers the positions of which, relative to one another, are not variable (or are only variable by unclamping them from their support, re-positioning them and re-clamping them) . Whereas this arrangement is acceptable where it is merely a question of varying the pincer pattern according to the size of shoe, or indeed according to whether the shoe is a left or a right, it is not suitable where it is a question of readily re-shaping the pattern according to a different style of shoe. In particular, at the toe end of the shoe distinct style features can be found, usually referred to as pointed toe, round toe and square toe, and it will be appreciated that if the pattern of the pincers is established for a pointed toe it is unlikely that it could readily be adapted for, say, a round toe, using an arrangement as disclosed in the said EP-A. In GB-A-2 211 396 is disclosed a pulling over and toe lasting machine generally of the same type as referred to above, but in which the central toe pincer is movable between a retracted and an operative position and each set of wiper plates is bodily movable laterally, the arrangement being such that for a pointed toe the toe pincer retracts and the side pincers are moved towards one another, whereas for a rounded toe the toe pincer assumes an operative position and the side pincers are moved apart in order to accommodate it. Whereas such an arrangement may enable different toe end configurations to be accommodated in general terms, nevertheless because the individual pincers of the sets of side pincers are not readily adjustable as to their relative positions on their support, the arrangement nevertheless lacks overall versatility in catering for any style and size of shoe. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is thus one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved pulling over and toe lasting machine in which the setting of the pincer pattern to any style and size of shoe is facilitated. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION This object is resolved in accordance with the present invention, in a machine as set out in the first paragraph above, in that two further toe pincers are provided one at each side of the central toe pincer, each further pincer being supported by a second support mounted on the base plate for pivotal movement about an axis extending heightwise of the shoe bottom and passing through or adjacent the central toe pincer, second drive means being provided for effecting such pivotal movement, and in that at each side of the toe pincers the first support is mounted for pivotal movement on the second support and the axis thereof passes through or adjacent the further pincer associated therewith. It will be appreciated that with this arrangement the relative positions of the three centrally disposed pincers can now be set accurately to the particular toe end configuration and in addition the sets of side pincers can then be separately positioned in relation to the centrally disposed pincers. In this way, a greater degree of versatility is provided in accommodating the pincer pattern to each style and size of shoe to be operated upon. More particularly, in a preferred embodiment the axis of each second support passes through a leading edge of the central toe pincer at the end thereof adjacent the further pincer, and the axis of each first support passes through a leading edge of the further pincer at the end thereof adjacent the set of side pincers. In this way, with the side pincers correctly adjusted and arranged on the first support leading edges of the jaws of all the pincers form a continuous line regardless of the disposition of the first and second supports in relation to one another, so that the gripping of the lasting marginal portions of the shoe upper can be effected along a continuous line without any "steps" which could cause detriment or damage to the shoe upper. The arrangement described above lends itself readily to programmable control, thus enabling different patterns of the pincers to be pre-set, e.g. by storing appropriate data, in the form of digitised values, in a computer memory, e.g. as part of a data file for a given shoe style, and then to be recalled as and when required. To this end, therefore, preferably the first and second drive means comprise programmable motor means operable in accordance with a programmed instruction. There is described in EP-A-0 338 722 a pulling over and toe lasting machine in which both a wiper assembly and also an adhesive applicator device are provided, both of which can present a configuration which is controlled according to the style and size of shoe being operated upon, and it will be appreciated that advantageously one or both of these arrangements may be incorporated also in the machine in accordance with the present invention, thus rendering the three main integers of a pulling over and toe lasting machine, which previously have been dictated, so far as concerns their configuration, by the style and/or size of the shoe being operated upon, now capable of being provided in a standard form which allows for variation of configuration in accordance with such style and/or size. In this way, therefore, it is possible to avoid the need for so-called "bespoke" (or customised) parts for pulling over and toe lasting machines. There now follows a detailed description, to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, of one machine in accordance with the present invention. It will of course be appreciated that this machine has been selected for description merely by way of non-limiting example of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:- Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a machine in accordance with the invention showing the various instrumentalities thereof; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view showing details of a pincer arrangement forming part of the machine of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing details of one pincer of the type used in the pincer arrangement of Fig . 2 . BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The machine now to be described is a pulling over and toe lasting machine comprising shoe support means comprising a toe support 10 (Fig. 1) and a heel rest generally designated 12 for supporting, bottom down, a shoe S comprising an upper on a last and an insole on the last bottom. In addition an adhesive-applying nozzle 14 is also provided which is generally U-shaped for applying a strip of adhesive about the toe and forepart end of the shoe bottom prior to lasting taking place. The machine further comprises a pincer assembly generally designated 16, comprising a central toe pincer 18 (Fig. 2), two further toe pincers 19 (arranged one at each side of the pincer 18), and a plurality of (in this case four) side pincers 20 arranged in two sets, each of two, at opposite sides of the shoe support means, as will be described in detail hereinafter. The pincers are arranged in a generally U-shape about the toe support 10 for gripping lasting marginal portions of the shoe upper and tensioning the upper about its last in a conventional manner. In addition, the machine comprises a wiper assembly (not shown) by which lasting marginal portions of the upper tensioned as aforesaid are wiped over and pressed against corresponding marginal portions of the insole, said assembly comprising two wiper plates disposed symmetrically at opposite sides of a longitudinal centre line of the operating locality of the machine. The machine also comprises a toe band 22 and a toe pad 24, both of which are conventional in pulling over and toe lasting machines. The pincer assembly 16 comprises a base plate 22 (Fig. 2) on which the toe pincer 18 is supported in a conventional manner. Also mounted on the base plate 22, for pivotal movement thereon, are two support plates 21, the axis 23 of such pivotal movement in each case extending heightwise of the base plate 22 and passing through the jaws of the pincer 18 at the corners formed at opposite ends of the leading edge thereof. Each support plate supports a further pincer 19 with a leading edge of the jaws thereof aligned with those of the toe pincer 18 such that adjacent corners of the jaws are in contact or substantially so, thus to provide a continuous "gripping" line with the toe pincer. Mounted in turn on each support plate 21, for pivotal movement relative thereto, is a further support plate 26, the axis 24 of such pivotal movement extending heightwise of the support plate 21 and passing through the jaws of the associated pincer 19 at the corner formed at the end of the leading edge thereof remote from the toe pincer 18. Mounted on each of the further support plates 26, furthermore, is one of the sets of side pincers 20, the leading edge of the jaws of each of the pincers 20 being aligned with one another and with that of the jaws of the associated pincer 19. In this way, a continuous line is formed along the leading edges of the pincer assembly 16 as a whole. For effecting pivotal movement of the two support plates 21 a single stepping motor 30 is provided, mounted on the base plate, the operative output shaft of which is connected by a belt 32 to two pulleys 34 one associated with each support plate 21. More particularly, each pulley 34 drives a lead screw 36 which is captive in a bearing 37 on the underside of the base plate and carries a block 38 which is thus movable in a direction extending lengthwise of the lead screw as the latter rotates. Pivotally mounted on the block 38 is a guide block 39 which is captive in a slot 41 formed in an auxiliary plate 43 arranged between the lead screw and the base plate. The auxiliary plate is fixedly connected to the support plate 21 by pins 29,31 passing through slots 25,27 formed in the base plate. Moreover, the pins each support a cam roll and the slots each constitute a cam slot, the slots being curved and the centre of curvature lying at the axis 23. Thus, by operation of the stepping motor 30, the tv/o support plates 21, and thus the two pincers 19, are movable together about the axes 23. It will of course be appreciated that, if desired, the two plates may be moved independently of one another, in which case two separate stepper motors will be provided, one associated with each of the pulleys 34. Instead of a stepper motor, furthermore, any n.c. motor may be used, e.g. a d.c. servo motor. For effecting pivotal movement of each further support plate 26 relative to its associated support plate 21 the support plate 21 is provided with two cam slots 33,35 in which pins 37,39 respectively can run, the two cam slots 33,35 being curved and the centre of curvature thereof being at the axiε 24. Thus, as each plate 26 is moved relative to its associated plate 21, it is caused to pivot about the axis 24. For effecting such movement a forward, i.e. facing the operator, edge of each support plate 21 is in the form of a rack 80 with which meshes a toothed pulley 82 on the output of a gearbox 84 mounted on the forward end of the further support plate 26. Also carried on the support plate 21 is a further stepping motor (or other n.c. motor) 86 the shaft of which is operatively connected with the gear box. Thus, operation of the motor 86 is effective, through the gearbox 84 and pulley 82 to effect bodily pivotal movement of the further support plate 26 about the axis 24. (It will be appreciated that the motors 86 constitute first drive means of the machine and the motor(s) 30 second drive means of the machine. Moreover, the support plates 26 constitute first supports of the machine and the support plates 21 second supports of the machine.) Each of the pincers 18, 19, 20 is supported on its associated plate by means of a support flange 42 (Fig. 3) for adjusting movement towards and away from the toe support 10 by a pin-and-slot connection, a further support 44 being in turn supported by the support 42 for pivotal adjusting movement about an axis extending normally to the base plate. Mounted in the further support 44 is a column 46 which is movable heightwise by means of a piston-and-cylinder arrangement (not shown) carried on the underside of the base plate 40. The column 46 supports a block 50 the upper end of which is bifurcated to form two wall portions, one at either side of a support surface 52. Received between the wall portions and supported on the surface 52 is a pincer housing 54 on which is provided, at its upper end, a pivot pin 56 on which two jaws 58,60 are supported for pivotal movement. Acting on the outer surface of the jaw 60 is a leaf spring 62 which is carried on the housing 54 and urges the jaw 60 clockwise (viewing Fig. 3) about the pivot 56 to a position which is determined by engagement of an extension 60a of the jaw 60, which extension extends beyond the pivot 56, with an abutment surface 64 provided by the housing 54. The jaws 58,60 are urged apart into an open condition by a torsion spring 66 which is carried on the pivot 56. The pincer assembly also comprises actuator means generally designated 68 and comprising a piston-and-cylinder arrangement 70 mounted on the pincer housing 54 and having a piston rod 72 mounted for sliding movement in the housing 54. At its upper end the piston rod 72 carries a roller 76 which engages with an inclined lower end face of an extension 58a of the jaw 58, which extension also extends beyond the pivot 56. When the piston-and-cylinder arrangement 70 is operated, the roller 76 is moved in a direction towards the common pivot 56 and in so doing runs along the end face of the extension 58a with a result that the jaw 58 is caused to pivot anticlockwise (viewing Fig. 3) about the pivot 56 and thus the jaws are moved to their closed condition. It will be noted that the relative forces applied by the leaf spring arrangement 62 and the torsion spring arrangement 66 are such that the force applied by the torsion spring is overcome first when the arrangement 70 is actuated, thereby causing the jaws to close. Moreover, when the jaws have reached their closed condition, initially the gripping pressure applied by the jaws to a lasting marginal portion of a shoe upper gripped therebetween will be controlled by the leaf spring arrangement 62, as the jaws 58,60 as a unit are now caused to pivot about the common pivot 56 against the influence of the leaf spring arrangement. Continued advancing movement of the piston rod 72 ultimately brings the roller 76 into engagement with the extensions 58 ^ 60a of both jaws whereupon the gripping pressure applied by the jaws to a lasting marginal portion as aforesaid is transferred to the control of the piston-and-cylinder arrangement 70. By reason of the shape of the extensions 58a, 60a ^ of the jaws, and in particular the shape of the surfaces engaged by the roller 76, and by reason of the angled location of the actuator means, in closing the jaws and in thereafter applying full gripping pressure the jaws are pivoted out of the plane P so that the risk of collision between the jaws and inwardly moving wiper plates 28 is reliably avoided. Moreover, by the pivoting of the jaws about the pivot 56 the jaws are moved transversely of the housing 54, and thus inwardly relative to the shoe support 10/ whereby the shoe upper gripped thereby tends to be "wrapped" around its last during the tensioning action. It will be appreciated that, by reason of the different heights of the supporting surfaces of the various plates, because of their thickness, the heightwise dimensions of each pincer will be varied in order to ensure that the jaws of the pincers all lie in the same plane. Moreover, it will be appreciated that a facility for varying the position of each pincer on its supporting plate, both towards and away from the toe support 10 and also pivotally is merely provided by way of a setting-up operation, and it is not intended in general that the operator will be required to re-position any of the pincers in this way to accommodate different styles and/or sizes of shoe. In conventional machines the width of the central toe pincer may vary between, say, 10mm and 40mm, according to the style of shoe and in particular according to the configuration of the toe end. Consequently, in order in the machine in accordance with the present invention to accommodate all styles of shoe, the width of the central toe pincer 18 is in the order of 10mm; this also has the advantage of bringing relatively close together the axes 23, which again enhances the versatility of the pincer assembly in terms of the styles of shoe and in particular the configuration of toe ends which can be accommodated. In the pincers shown in Fig. 2, it will be seen that the pincers 19 are in fact curved, thus to accommodate a rounded toe. In the case of other configurations of toe end, on the other hand, it may be necessary to replace these curved jaws with straight jaws, e.g. in order to accommodate especially pointed toes; exchanging the jaws is however a relatively straightforward task. In using the machine in accordance with the invention firstly it is possible, with a shoe positioned on the toe support 10, for the operator, using operator- actuatable means, e.g. cursor keys or buttons on a control panel 90, to move the support plates 21 thus to position the pincers 19 in a desired relationship with pincer 18 according to the style of such shoe. Thereafter, using further cursor keys or buttons, the further support plates 26 can be pivoted to bring the two sets of side pincers 20 into a further desired relationship with the other pincers again in order to accommodate to the style of the shoe being operated upon. In this way, the operator can thus readily arrange the pincers in a desired relationship with the bottom of the shoe. Alternatively, however, the particular arrangement of the various pincers 18,19,20 may be pre-programmed, e.g. in an in-machine digitising operation, in which the pattern of the pincers is determined and stored, in digitised form, in a memory of a computer for subsequent recall, if need be together with other style-related data, for use with shoes of the given style. Whereas in the machine described above conventional wiper plates and a conventional imprinter plate for applying adhesive to the toe end of the shoe are provided, the provision of a pincer assembly as described above may also be regarded as beneficial in a machine in which the wiper assembly is itself capable of being configured according to the style and/or size of the shoe, e.g. as described in EP-A-0 338 722. Moreover, where the configuration of the leading edge of the pincers 18,19,20 is pre-programmed, as referred to above, the same data may be used for also configuring the initial position of the wipers, as described in said EP-A. Again, in said EP-A is described an imprinter plate the configuration of which again is programmable according the style and/or size of shoe to be operated upon and, if desired, the data relating to the configuration of the pincers may also be utilised to determine the configuration of the adhesive-applying device. It will of course be appreciated that instead of utilising data obtained in pre-programming the pincer configuration, it would also be possible, where the configuration of the pincers is determined by the operator according to the particular shoe supported by the shoe support means, to obtain data arising out of such positioning for controlling the configuration of the wiper plates and also the adhesive-applying device. Again, instead of utilising data determined by the setting of the pincer pattern to establish the configuration of the wiper assembly and/or the adhesive- applying device, if desired the configuration of one of the adhesive-applying device and the wiper assembly could be utilised for determining also the configuration of the other of those two and also of the pincer pattern. In yet another alternative form of machine, moreover, instead of using an imprinter plate as the adhesive-applying device, nozzles may be used which apply adhesive along opposite side portions of the shoe between the toe and the ball regions or indeed beyond the ball region according to the extent of the pulling over and toe lasting operation. Again in such a case, it will be necessary to determine only one of the following three controls in a digitising operation, namely the configuration of the pincer pattern, the configuration of the wipers and the configuration of the adhesive-applying nozzle paths, and then to utilise the data thus obtained for controlling the other two features. It will of course be appreciated that for these various calculations the machine in accordance with the present invention also comprises computer means, of which the aforementioned memory may also form part. It will also be appreciated that, using the machine in accordance with the invention or one of the various alternative forms in accordance with the invention, the versatility of the machine in comparison with a conventional pulling over and toe lasting machine is significantly enhanced. Whereas the pincer assembly 16 of the machine described above comprises seven pincers 18,19,20, it will of course be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to pulling over and toe lasting machines having a pincer assembly comprising a different number of pincers, e.g. nine.

Claims: Claims : 1. Pulling over and toe lasting machine comprising a shoe support, arranged at an operating locality of the machine, for supporting, bottom down, a shoe comprising a shoe upper on a last and an insole on the last bottom, a plurality of pincers, including a central toe pincer and two sets of side pincers arranged one at each side of the toe pincer, for gripping lasting marginal portions of the shoe upper in the forepart region thereof and tensioning the upper about its last, and a wiper assembly by which lasting marginal portions of the shoe upper tensioned as aforesaid are wiped over and pressed against corresponding marginal portions of the insole, wherein the central toe pincer is mounted on a base plate of the machine and each set of side pincers is supported by a first support mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending heightwise of the shoe bottom, said axes being disposed at opposite sides of the toe pincer(s), and wherein first drive means is provided for moving each of the supports about its axis relative to a longitudinal centre line of the operating locality of the machine, said machine being characterised in that two further toe pincers are provided one at each side of the central toe pincer, each further pincer being supported by a second support mounted on the base plate for pivotal movement about an axis extending heightwise of the shoe bottom and passing through or adjacent the central toe pincer, second drive means being provided for effecting such pivotal movement, and in that at each side of the toe pincers the first support is mounted for pivotal movement on the second support and the axis thereof passes through or adjacent the further pincer associated therewith. 2. Machine according to Claim 1 characterised in that the axis of each second support passes through a leading edge of the central toe pincer at the end thereof adjacent the further pincer, and the axis of each first support passes through a leading edge of the further pincer at the end thereof adjacent the set of side pincers. 3. Machine according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterised in that the first and second drive means comprise programmable motor means operable in accordance with a programmed instruction.

Inventors: BRAMLEY FRANK, EVANS DAVID JOHN LYSHON, BRAMLEY, FRANK, EVANS, DAVID, JOHN, LYSHON
Applicants: BRAMLEY FRANK, BRITISH UNITED SHOE MACHINERY, EVANS DAVID JOHN LYSHON, USM ESPANA SA, BRAMLEY, FRANK, BRITISH UNITED SHOE MACHINERY LIMITED, EVANS, DAVID, JOHN, LYSHON, USM ESPANA, S.L.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A43D21
IPC codes: A43D21, A43D23