Patent GB-749596-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to shoe upper conforming machines
IPC: A43D21/12
Filed: 1953-03-14
Abstract: 749,596. Shoe-upper conforming machines; nailing. BRITISH UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CO., Ltd., and KESTELL, T. A. March 12, 1954 [March 14, 1953], No. 7104/53. Classes 17 (1) and 89 (3). General.-Relates to various improvements in lasting machines having a last support, whereby the upper and insole on a last are supported, preferably with the bottom facing downward, a toe and side gripper devices, and auxiliary toe grippers, to exert a preliminary tension before the main toe gripper operates. The improvements are mainly directed to speeding up the initial setting of the work in relation to the grippers, wipers and fastener-inserting means before the first stage of the cycle of operations commences, and also adjustment of the work in relation to the grippers during the pause which occurs between the end of the first and initiation of the second stage of the cycle of the machine. The gripper devices are improved, to facilitate the introduction of the lasting margin between their jaws preparatory to pulling the upper to the last, and comprise a fixed main toe gripper 13, and two pairs of side grippers 15, Fig. 4, and, in order to co-ordinate the positioning of these latter, they, together with the side wipers 23, and the fastener-inserting means 20 at the sides, by which the upper is secured in position, and also the means for operating these parts, are mounted in two similar carrier units S1, S2, one on each side of the machine. The fastening devices and the means for clamping the work against their action are also improved, and, by arranging the main cam shaft, from which the main mechanisms and their associated parts are driven, well behind the working position, and by using, in general, linkage type mechanisms instead of slides, the possibility of damage by fastenings falling into the machine is reduced. To the same end the mechanisms by which the grippers are operated are constructed and arranged to lie outwardly away from the shoe bottom. The fastener-inserting devices 20 at the sides partake of the adjusting movement, widthwise of the shoe, of the side grippers 15, and are moved inwards on their carriers from tack-receiving to tack-driving positions so that the latter bear definite relation to the initial positions of the grippers, irrespective of the width of the last. The units S1, S2 are so set initially that the inner faces of the fixed jaws of the side grippers 15 are spaced somewhat from the sides of the forepart of the last, and, in operation, they are moved automatically inwards towards each other so that they first engage the sides of the last and then move outwardly a small predetermined distance to clear it, before gripping the upper and tensioning it. As the fixed inner jaws of the grippers 15 engage the last, the units swing as a whole about axes perpendicular to the shoe bottom. They are also capable of independent pivotal movement about axes heightwise of the last through predetermined distances by poweroperated means. The jaws of the toe gripper 13 and each of the side grippers 15 remain parallel to one another during the closing and opening movements of the moving jaws to give substantially uniform grip on the work over their whole area of contact. By adjusting the position of an arm 1493, Fig. 30, by a hand knob 1495, Figs. 4, 30, the strength of the grip of the toe gripper 13 on the upper materials may be regulated. The pull exerted by this gripper may be adjusted by a hand wheel 1561, Fig. 4. A pair of auxiliary toe grippers 29, Figs. 24, 28, impart a preliminary lengthwise draft to the upper on the last towards the toe and introduce the upper materials between the open jaws of the main toe gripper 13. The initial position of the grippers 29 lengthwise of the machine relatively to the gripper 13 is adjustable by a hand lever 1907, Fig. 2. Joystickcontrolled arrangements for adjusting the pulling action and position of the side grippers 15 between the first and second stages of a cycle of power operations, somewhat similar to those disclosed in Specifications 621,710 and 621,722 are provided, and the pull is readily adjustable by setting tension devices for springs 681, Fig. 37, to accord with the class of work, and remains more or less constant irrespective of variations in stretch of upper materials, and therefore of the movement of the grippers heightwise of the last from shoe to shoe. The mechanism which controls the opening of the jaws of the side grippers 15 also operates the wipers 25 associated with those grippers so that risk of loss of tension in the upper material as it is released from the grippers before the fastenings are inserted is reduced. A spring device 1649, Fig. 30, loaded by the pulling action of the toeend gripper on release of the upper by that member, snaps in quickly to wipe the upper margin at the toe beneath the insole and holds it there until it has been tacked. After the grippers have released the upper materials, side clamping devices 21, Figs. 2, 4, adjustable lengthwise of the last with the side grippers by operation of a second joy-stick 1249, Figs. 2, 16, and a heel rest 27, Figs. 2, 4, 15, 16, support the shoe against the action of the wiping and tacking devices. The initial lengthwise position of the rest 27 relatively to its support 2063, Figs. 2, 3, is set so as to suit the initial position of the heel rest to the length of shoe to be operated on, and is then held by a latch 2065, Fig. 15. The rest 27 is self-accommodating in regard to the heel end of shoe and is moved upwards and rearwards of the machine into engaging position, soon after the commencement of the first stage of the power cycle of operations, by a spring 2100, Fig. 15, and a dashpot device, and is then locked by this device, regardless of the shoe size being operated on, against movement away from the heel before the end of that stage. During the pause between the two stages of the power cycle of operations, any necessary adjustments to the work may be made. The side clamping devices 21 are moved into shoe-engaging position soon after the second cycle of operations begins. They are adjustable lengthwise with the grippers 15. Plungers 2053, Fig. 15, centralize the heel rest 27 after it is disengaged from the shoe. Nailing; general.-Tacks are delivered from a receptacle 31, through a separating device 33 and delivery tubes 35, Fig. 4, to the tacking devices 19, 20, during the first cycle of operations of the machine and these devices are swung, relatively to their carriers or brackets, to driving position shortly after the beginning of the second stage of the power cycle. All operating devices are returned to their initial positions towards the end of second stage of cycle, and shoe is finally released. The tack-holding nozzles and drivers for the tacks are moved by compressed air towards the shoe bottom and, after they have been moved to tack-inserting positions, engagement of the nozzles with the work causes the drivers to be operated by compressed air supplied from cylinders. The air-compressing piston and cylinder arrangements are in fixed location in the machine and driven from its main cam-shaft, the cylinders being connected to the tacking devices by flexible tubes. The driving force of the tacking devices is adjustable by valves associated with an air-compressing piston and cylinder. The tacking devices are adjustable so as either to drive the tacks fully home or to leave them partly upstanding from the work and are more fully described later. The wipers 23, 25 are changeable according to the type of work, their detachment being effected by screws 1620, Fig. 31, and 1740, Fig. 51, which secure them to their carriers. The tacker bodies may be repositioned towards or from the shoe bottom by turning stems 2293, Fig. 61, which carry eccentric pins 2291 in lugs 2297. Also the bush 2435, Fig. 61, and blocks 2388, Fig. 10, through passages in which the tacks are delivered, are repositioned and aligned by adjusting screws 2481, Fig. 71, after bolts 2475, 2366, Fig. 60, which hold the brackets 2437, 2482, Figs. 60, 71, which carry the bush 2435 and blocks 2388, have been slackened. In the illustrated form of machine described, a shoe support 7, Fig. 4, carries a last, face-down at an angle of about 50 degrees to the horizontal, with the toe higher than the heel. The main toe gripper 13 is fixed, and an under surface 1415, Fig. 30, on its fixed jaw 17, Fig. 31, forms a toeend stop to assist in positioning the shoe lengthwise in the machine. The support 7 comprises three shoe-bottom-engaging elements 9, 11, 11, Fig. 16, 9 being slightly adjustable to engage the toe end of shoe bottom, while 11, 11 are spaced widthwise of the shoe and adjustable together lengthwise by a hand lever 1949, Figs. 1, 3, 15, 16, so as to engage soles of different sizes at about the ball portion. The elements 9, 11 may also be moved together toewards or heelwards of the support 7, to adjust a loose insole relatively to the shoe-bottom, by a hand lever 1961, Fig. 15. The wipers 23, 25 associated respectively with the two pairs of side grippers 15, one pair at each side, and the toe gripper 13, wipe the margin of the upper inwards under the shoe bottom and, when the upper is released from the grippers, the tacking devices secure it in position. Drive.-The machine is driven by an electric motor 51, Fig. 1, through belts 53, Figs. 1, 5, and a main pulley 55 normally freely rotatable about a mainshaft 57 which is supported for endwise movement by sleeve-like bushes 59, 61 splined thereon and journalled in bearings 63, 65, respectively, supported by the machine casing 1. Also splined on the shaft 57 is a worm 95 which may be engaged by the bush 61 to urge the shaft 57 forwardly in the machine. A clutch member 91 is keyed to one end 85 of the shaft, and a brake member 117, at the conclusion of the first and second stages of a cycle of power operations, is ar