Heel finishing machines

• Main Authors: STANTON LEO F, STEWART JAMES R, RIPLEY DONALD E, GILBRIDE ANDREW J, DOROSZ ADOLPH S, ALDERMAN LEON D
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 22.02.1966
• Subjects: FOOTWEAR; HUMAN NECESSITIES; MACHINES, TOOLS, EQUIPMENT OR METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING ORREPAIRING FOOTWEAR

1,057,324. Boots &c. BRITISH UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CO. Ltd. May 12, 1964 [May 14, 1963], No. 19632/64. Heading A3B. A machine for performing finishing operations on the heels of shoes, such as trimming, scouring or inking, has a rotatable shoe support, a tool which is movable into engagement with the heel and a cam which controls the movement of the tool so that the tool operates on the heel along a path corresponding to the shape of the cam. As described the machine has a rotary cutter 6 for trimming the heel of a shoe S as it rotates on a Jack 12, the shoe being clamped on the jack 12 by a heel clamp 14. The jack 12 consists of a last carrier 28 mounted on the end of a shaft 20 which is slidable heightwise in a rotatable sleeve 22. The last is supported by a last pin 60 and has its positioning plate 68 (Fig. 9, not shown) clamped between a fixed lug 64 and a lug 66 on the end of a lever 72 which is urged against the positioning plate 68 by a spring loaded toggle 78, 82. When the jack is lowered legs 87 on a bar 84 engage the top of the sleeve 22 to break the toggle to release the last. The last carrier 28 can be moved lengthwise of the shoe relative to the shaft 20 by an adjusting screw 54. The shaft 20 is raised and lowered by a piston and cylinder 94 (Fig. 4, not shown) via a bell crank 102. The. shaft 20 is keyed to the sleeve 22 which carries the cam 232 and a gear 390. The heal clamp 14 is mounted on an arm 16 pivoted to the machine frame at 108 and which is swung to its operative position by a piston and cylinder 112, a tongue 123 (Fig. 3, not shown) on a lever 120 engaging a recess 124 to lock the arm 16 in position when the clamp is directly above the axis of rotation of the jack Aj. The clamp consists of a pad 140 rotatably mounted in a screw 142 (Fig. 11, not shown) which can be adjusted heightwise in a sleeve 144 slidable heightwise in the arm 16. When the jack applies upward clamping pressure the sleeve 144 moves heightwise to operate a switch S 4 by a bell crank 166 and stops when a flange 148 on the sleeve engages the arm 16. The cutter 6 is mounted on the end of an arm 8 pivoted to the machine frame at its other end and is urged towards the heel by a piston and cylinder 190 (Fig. 3, not shown). The cutter head 172 is mounted on a shaft 176 in a sleeve 208 and is driven by a belt 180. The sleeve is slidable heightwise in the arm 8 and is counterbalanced by a spring 266 via a yoke 25 pivoted to the arm 8 so that the cutter is mounted for floating movement and is moved heightwise by a feeler guide 280 which engages the rand crease of the shoe and ensures that the cutter follows heightwise variations in the contour of the shoe. A cam follower 220 mounted on a bracket 222 depending from the arm 8 controls the movement of the cutter. The cam 232 is generally heel shaped the size of the cam varies with its height to give a series of geometrically graded heel sizes. The cam is keyed to the sleeve 22 and is movable heightwise on the sleeve by a lever 18 (Fig. 4, not shown) via link 318 and bell crank 316 to vary the size of the heel shape. In addition to varying the size of the heel a uniform increment can be added to the shape of the cam by using cam followers 220 of different radii. The jack is rotated by a geared segment 382 (Figs. 4, 7, not shown) which meshes with the gear 390 on the sleeve 22. The segment is oscillated by a piston and cylinder 414 which moves a slide 394 having a roller 396 which engages a slot 398 in an extension 392 of the segment 382. The limits of oscillation of the segment are determined by stops 370 which operate switches S7, S8 and which have inclined faces 376. The stops 370 are mounted on a slide 352 and transverse movement of the slide increases or decreases the amplitude of the oscillation. The slide is connected via levers 348, 342 and link 338 to the cam adjusting mechanism so that the amplitude of oscillation is adjusted automatically with the adjustment of heel size. The machine has an automatic control circuit which operates as follows:- on placing a shoe on the jack (with the toe towards the operator, Fig. 1, not shown) the operator starts the machine by depressing switches S1 S2 which causes the heel clamp to move into operative position above the jack. The jack is then raised to clamp the heel against the clamp. The jack then rotates counterclockwise to the position shown in Fig. 3 and the cutter moves into engagement with the heel. The jack then rotates clockwise through approximately 180 degrees, the heel being trimmed during this movement. The jack then rotates counterclockwise until the toe again points towards the operator when the jack stops and the cutter moves away from the heel. The jack is then lowered and the heel clamp swings to its inoperative position.