Usm Corporation

Derek H Garner

Frank C Price

Anthony M White

Joseph A Shutt

Robert C Quarmby

Nicholas J Campling

Philip Reader

David W Whittingham

In a pulling over and toe lasting machine the construction of the gripper assemblies (12) and their mountings is simplified firstly to enable the assemblies to be standardized and secondly, by means of a simple manual operation, readily to be located and oriented in relation to the shoe support means (10) in accordance with the shoe style to be operated upon. Furthermore, the most heelwardly disposed gripper assemblies (No. 2 gripper assemblies) are mounted each on a slide-way inclined at about 17.degree. to the longitudinal center line of the machine, and a single mechanism firstly allows their positions along the slide-ways to be simultaneously adjusted and secondly, by means of a fluid pressure operated piston-and-cylinder arrangement, allows them to effect a heelward pull on an upper gripped thereby.

Gripper assembly

A single-station combined toe and side lasting machine comprises pulling over instrumentalities 20, 22 for tensioning an upper over its last, toe lasting instrumentalities, including toe wipers 38, toe pad 48 and toe band 50, a heel support 56, two adhesive applying nozzles 28 and side lasting instrumentalities 114 constituted by two lasting rollers 176. In operation, with the upper tensioned, first the shoe is clamped by the toe lasting instrumentalities and heel support to allow adhesive to be applied progressively along opposite side portions from the toe to heel breast. Then the lasting rollers operate progressively from the ball region to the heel breast, and, when the rollers have cleared the ball region, the inwiping movement of the toe wipers is completed. The nozzles and side lasting rollers are mounted on a common carriage 26 which moved rectilinearly, supports 116 for the rollers being mounted for movement thereon about three perpendicular axes 82, 122, 140. The rollers are also supported by carriers 174 on said supports for pivotal movement about a further axis 170. In this way, the rollers can follow the contour of the shoe bottom and also the angular relationship of the rolers with the shoe bottom can be varied in two planes. For following the shoe bottom contour the rollers (and also, independently, the nozzled) are moved by stepping motors 80, 166 (96) in accordance with a program instruction, under the control of which also the angular relationship is varied. The carriers for the rollers also support wiping fingers 222 which ensure that the lasting margin of the upper is correctly positioned for engagement by the rollers.

Combination toe and side lasting machine

A shoe pulling and lasting machine having an arrangement of side grippers which are each provided with a tensioning device by which an operator can vary the tension in the upper of the shoe being lasted. Each tensioning device is operated through a wedging member, an eccentrically mounted block, which also provides a self-locking facility for the tensioning device.

Shoe upper conforming machine

An arrangement for applying adhesive to insoles of shoes in a lasting operation comprising a U-shaped applicator having passages therethrough for extruding cement upon the insole. An array of criss-crossed channels drain surplus adhesive from the extrusion arrangement. The extrusion arrangement includes V-shaped grooves which apply the adhesive to the insole.

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Leicester, United Kingdom

Derek H Garner