Patent GB-302958-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to the application of coatings to boot or shoe parts or the like
IPC: A43D25/18
Filed: 1927-09-22
Abstract: 302,958. British United Shoe Machinery Co., Ltd., (United Shoe Machinery Corporation). Sept. 22, 1927. Coating-machines.-A machine for applying adhesive or like coating substances to leather and similar materials, particularly for applying rubber latex to parts of boots and shoes, comprises means for feeding the material through the machine, and an adhesive-supplying roll together with a scraper or " doctor " roll to ensure a regular distribution of adhesive on the applying roll: the two roils rotate in the same direction so that their surfaces pass each other in opposite directions, the doctor roll preferably rotating at a much lower peripheral speed. The machine may be adapted to apply adhesive to such parts of shoes as uppers, soles, heel lifts, and rands; in the first case. it is usually required to apply only a band of adhesive to the margin, and each application may also be used for other articles of leather and similar materials, such as book covers, purses, bags, and the like. Figs. 1 and 2 shew a machine for coating heel lifts and like articles on both sides with rubber latex. It embodies a pair of rotary applying rolls 10 and 12. journaled side by side in a casing 14. Each of the rolls may be made up of a hollow cylindrical metal roll, provided with a preferably yielding applying surface 22 which is unaffected by the latex and is easily cleaned, for example, a gelatinous body similar to that used on ink rolls. The shaft 24 carrying the other applying roll 10 is journaled on a hanger 26 supported on a pivot rod 28. This hanger and its accompanying roll are urged towards the other roll by a spring 22 surrounding a rod 34, which passes through a boss 36 in the casing, and is adjusted by a stop nut 38. The supply of coating material or adhesive, such as latex, is carried in receptacles 40 and 42. which may be an integral part of the casing; these receptacles have separated inclined edges 44 and 46, thus providing a delivery opening 48 through which treated pieces of work may drop. The level of the liquid in the receptacles is maintained by a barometric feed device from the supply bottles 52, the level being determined by the height of posts 58. Doctor rolls are provided for each applying roll, and one of these rolls 60 is supported in hangers 62 and driven from the corresponding applying roll 12. A suitable slot is provided in the casing to permit adjustment of the shaft 68 of the doctor roll by means of a turnbuckle 70. The other doctor roll 76 for the applying roll is similarly supported and driven. By this means, adjustment of the relative positions of the applying rolls does not alter the adjustment of their respective doctor rolls, which latter may be adjusted independently. The machine may be supported upon legs 90 and 92, and the gears interconnecting the shafts 16 and 24 possess teeth sufficiently deep so that the driving connection is unaffected by adjusting the position of the applying roll 10. As the heel lifts, for example, are delivered in bulk to the machine they are spread out on a sorting table 120. provided with reticulated sides and bottom 128 and 129, and are then passed manually by the operator through an inlet opening to a guide sheet 122, delivering the articles to the meeting point of the applying rolls. After passing through, they are discharged through the opening 48 on to an inclined member 124, and slide off on to the surface of a conveyer belt 126 for subsequent operations or use. The construction of the guide shoot is shown clearly in Fig. 3, being adjustable in accordance with the width of the article to be treated. To prevent work sticking to the applying rolls and being carried round therewith, strippers 170 are provided, which are shown in detail in Fig. 5. These are supported by lugs above the inclined edges 44 and 46 of the receptacles and in such a manner that any drippings on to these plates will be carried back into the receptacles instead of passing through the outlet 48. The diverting member 124, a cross-section of which is shown in Fig. 4, is made of corrugated material. Various other modifications are also given, describing machines for different purposes, for example, coating one side only of an article, this machine having a pressure roll above the applying roll, to hold the piece of work against the applying roll, and means are also provided to determine the initial position of this roll, and the separation of the pressure and applying rolls when no work is in the machine. The pressure roll is positively driven in the opposite direction of rotation from the applying roll, thus facilitating the feeding of work through the machine. To prevent the creeping of latex or other cement into the bearings of the machine, the shafts of the applying and doctor rolls are provided with disc-like projections with sharpened peripheries. For applying latex or like casings to the margins of upper parts, or to the lips of insoles, to channels in soles or to rand surfaces, a further modification is described in which an upstanding hollow column carries a head, containing bearings for a driving shaft, coating roll shaft, a trough for the coating, and support for the same. The adhesive is picked up from the trough by a large diameter roll, provided with a doctor roll, and is delivered to an intermediate roll and thence to an applying roll, all of which are driven in the same direction of rotation, such that the surface speeds of the pick-up, intermediate and applying rolls are identical. By this means, dripping of the adhesive is avoided to a large extent and also much of the coating is taken to the final point of delivery without passing between the rolls, thus lessening any coagulation of the latex. The machine is provided with some form of workengaging appliance or guide, carried upon an adjustable arm. In the case of a machine for applying a coating upon opposite sides of the material, the applying roll. with its attendant feeding roll and means of supply, is duplicated, so that the work passes, horizontally between the two applying rolls. The intermediate roll may be eliminated in the case of the lower applying roll. Suitable gauges or guides to determine the width of coating to be applied or to guide the work in its passage through the machine are fixed to the work-engaging device. For the coating of such work as rands, the rolls engaging the work both at its upper and under sides respectively to apply the adhesive and give support for such application, may be shaped to follow the cross-contour of the work, the edges of these rolls being inclined or curved transversely, and the other co-operating rolls being shaped accordingly. The adhesive may also be applied by a rotary brush taking its supply from the coating roll.