US1126350A - Machine for rendering soles flexible. - Google Patents

Description

BATES.

MACHNE FOR RENDBRNG SOLES FLEXIBLE.

APPLIUATION FILED DHU. 5, 1912.

Patented Jan. 2a?, E925.

2 SEEETS-SEBET l.

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A. BATES.

MACHINE POR RENDERING SOLES FLEXIBLE.

APPLIUATION FILED 1120.5. 1912.

1,126,350, Patented Jan.26,1915.

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UNITED sTA'rEsgigENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR EATES, OE LEI-CEST'ER, ENGLAND, AsfsI'GNn To UNTED 'sn/ion MAOIINERY COMPANY, OF PATEitsoN, JERSEY',

A CORPORATION OE NEW JEnsEY;

MACHINE EOE RENDERING soLEs ELE'XI'LE.

Application led December 5, 197172.

Soles Flexible; and I dohereby declare the .followingto Vbe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enablegothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

f This invention relates to sole flexing machines and more` particularly to such maf chines of the type wherein the flexibility of the sole is obtained by making agseries of slashes or cuts in one face ofthe forepart of In one type ofjmachine,,heretofore proposed, for flexing solesin this manner a single Zknife is provided for making a succes` sion o f parallel slashes, the knife being of a VWidth not greater than the length of the shortest slashrequired, slashes of increased length being produced by moving the knife laterally in the line of cut. Inpractising this method a majority of the slashes require two cutting `movements of the knife and consequently the feed of the sole through thel machine `is somewhat delayed.

The object of the present invention is to produce a machine of the type described in which the speed at which thesole is fed through the machine is increased, and is undelayedby the operation of the mechanism for ,operating the slash forming means.

In accordance With-this object, one feature ofthe invention contemplates the provision of a plurality of reciprocating slash forming knives, arranged to overlap one another, and

means to vary the extentof their overlap=V ping relation, as the sole is fed through the Y machine, to 5 produce slashes of varying length as required by the Width of the `portionof the sole being operated on at each incision. lVith this construction a feedstep may be takenr after each single incising movement of the knives. Preferably the overlapping knives are spaced apart a distance equal to the lengthof feed step used. Thus, after a feed step has taken place, the slash kmade bv one knife will be brought into alinement With another knife so that during the succeeding incising movement thesaid slash will be given a proper increase of length. This construction permits the slashing-totake place While the machine is run at specincatnm of Letters Patent;

, Patented Jan. 26, 1915. serial No. 735,060.

a high rate o f speed. To further increase the speed of the machine the knives are em'-V ployed as the sole feeding agent. In the preferred construction, the slashing knives are arranged to enter the sole at an oblique angle to its face, thus producing a series of overlapping, thin sole portions which, `when the sole is bent, Will easily pick up or open after the manner of fish scales and thus impart extreme flexibility to the sole. The drection of opening of the slashes, that is,- toward the toeA or toward the heel, is of importance to different manufacti'irers. Some manufacturers use an insole tack pulling machine in which the tool has a tack engaging movement from the toe toward the heel, while `other manufacturers use a tack pulling machine in which the tool has a reverse movement. In order to prevent injury ta the sole, by an engagement of the tack pulling tool in the slashes,v the slashesshould open in the same direction as the direction of movement of the tool.

` Another object of the invention, therefore, is to provide for the production of oblique slashesopening either toward the toe or to- Ward the heel of the sole,V j

In accordance With this object a further feature of the invention contemplates a construction and arrangement `of the parts whereby a sole may be instantly presented to the slashingmeans either toefirst or heel first While the direction of feed remains the same. No claim is iliade broadly to provision, in a machine of the type described, for proj ducingoblique slashes opening either toward the toe or heel of the sole, but the inventor believes himself to be the-first to produce a machine by which this .result may be o btained Without making any alteration in the Working parts of the machine Other features of the invention relate to certain devices, combinations and arrangementsof parts, hereinafter described and claimed, which` possess` advantages in simplicity of construction and ease of operation jhich will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Y Y The preferred embodiment of the inven tion is illustrated in the accompanying dra. \vings in which: Figure 1 is a planof the machine vvith a portion of the fra-me removedtoI show` the parts beneath it; Fig` 2 is arear elevation, partly in section, showing the mecha- Y sof 1 the eccentric will cause the knife-carrying ing knives and the means for moving said Y slides laterally; and Fig. 5 is a detail view,

partly in section, ofthe floating carrier, for the sole' slashing knives, and its operating mechanism.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings thev machine is shown as comprising a box-shaped frame 1 within which the mechanism is situated, the upper portion of the said frame form* ing a table 2 over which the sole passes. A slot 3 is formed in this table through which reciprocating knives 4,' 5V operate. These knives enter the sole at an oblique angle to its face and aresituated one behind `the other, as shown, for a purpose which will be described later. Situated above the said slot is a bridge 6, suitably secured to the frame 1, for receiving the thrust `of the knives. The bridge 6 is provided with a renewable wear plate 7 held in place by a guide pin 7a and bolt 7 b (see Fig. 3).' Against the bridge 6 the sole,"in the particular construction shown, is intermittently pressed by apresser foot 8. The knives 4, 5 for producing the slash in the sole have imparted to them a fourway motion so as first to slash the sole then to feed the sole then to retire from the sole and, finally to move back to their starting position. In order to enable this motion to be imparted the knives are carried on a floating frame 9 which is controlled by two movable pivots 10 and11. The pivot 10 is supported and actuated by one end of'a supporting and driving link 12, the other end of which is provided with a sleeve em* bracing an eccentric 13 on the main shaft 14 of the machine. The pivot 11 is carried by one arm 15V of abell-crank lever pivoted tothe frame of the machine at 17, the other larm 18 of the said bell-crank lever being provided with contact faces engaging a cam 19- on the main shaft 14 of the machine. rllhe eccentric 13 and the cam 19 are so arranged that in the operation of the machine frame 9' toV rock on its pivot 11 to force the knives into the sole tocut parallel slashes. After these slashes have been vformed and while the knives lie therein the cam will come into operation and Vswing the bellcrank lever arm 15 in the vdirection of the arrow (Fig. 8), and thereby cause the knifecarrying frame 9 to swing on its pivot 10 and thus Afeed the sole forwardly, or to the left of an observer of Fig. 3. In the next portion of the cycle of'operations the eccentric 13will come into action to withdraw the knivesfrom the sole, and when this has taken place the camv 19 willswing the bellcrank lever arm 15 in the reverse direction and thus cause the knife-carrying frame 9 to move back again on its pivot 10 toits original position. A spring 20, one end of which is attached to the bell-crank lever 18 70 and the other end to the frame 1 of the machine (see Fig. 3) is provided in order to counter-balance the weight of the moving parts.

The presser foot 8 is formed on a bell- 75 crank lever having arms 21, 22 and is held in contact with the work during the Vslashing operation by means of a spring 23 which surrounds a spindle 24 'pivoted by means of a stud 25 to the arm 21. The spin- 8@ dle 24 passes through the frame t of the machine and is provided with a milled headed nut, as shown, for the purpose ofadjusting the presser foot toward or from the sole and consequently varying the pressure of the presser foot thereon. In order to release the presser foot from the work and thus allow it to be fed by the knives il, 5 the arm 22 is provided with a cam roll 26 which is adapted'to be engaged by'a cam'27 90 on the shaft 14;. As will readily be understood, when the cam 27 comes into operation the bell-crank lever-'will be swung on its pivot 17 andthus move the presser" foot,

against the action of its spring, from the Work. Y y

As the width of a sole varies at different parts, means is provided to enable the length of the slashv to be variedI correspondingly as the slashing progresses along the length of the sole and preferably thisineans is controlledby one or more` devices which'rbear on the edge of the sole. As previously pointed out, the knives l, 5 are mounted one behind the other, and the width of each of the knivesis equal to the shortest slash which it is required to cut. In order to increase the legnth of the cut means is provided whereby the knives may be moved relatively to each other laterally so thatas the knife 5 110 forms a slash of its widthduring one stroke, at the next slashing 'stroke the knife 4, which is situated at one side of it,`will cut partly into the slash which the knife 5 previously made and'will also by reason of its lateral 115 displacement, cut more or less to oneside of the said slash but in alinement therewith, thereby increasing Vits'length. In order to carrythis into eect the two knives 4, 5 are fixed on independent slides28, 29 vmounted 120 on'the knife-carrying frame 9 so that when the saidslides are operated by mechanism which .will now be described, thesaid knives will be moved laterally relatively to each other. The slides 28-29' work in a suitable 125 slideway 30 on the knife-carrying frame 9, and are held in place therein by a plate 31 secured to the said frame by screws. As shown in Fig. 3 theplate 81 is provided with an undercut portion 32 whichfits over pro- 130 jecting portionsvfornied on the slides. rllhe slides 28, `29 are inalinernentfwith. one another butthe` slide 28 is made tllker `than the ' Slide 2,9, aS. Shown inl11 iis-44, Sethtth@ knife e projects beyond `and .overlaps the knife 5. In their extreme inward position when the shortest slash is required, that is, a, slash `which is, equal in lengthvonly the width of one of theknives, they will lie directly over each other. In order tolnove the slides 28, 29 they are provided with slots 33, 341-. and these slots are engaged bv blocks pivoted on levers 3G that are fulcruined to the frame of the machine at 37. The levers 3,6are provided at their upper ends with gages 38 that are adapted to Contact one on either side of the edges of a sole as it is passed through the machine, a spring 39, one end of which is attached to one of the levers 36 andthe other end to the other lever, being provided so as to keep the two gages 38 in contact with the edge of the sole.

From the foregoing it will be understood that as the sole is fed through the machine the edge gages bearing on the edge ofy the sole at points between which the knives are acting, will Inove th@ `knives d, 5 and decrease or increase the overlap of the knives according to the width ofthe sole, or the width of the portion of the sole to be slashed, so` that the slashes cut will correspondingly be varied in length. It will of course be understood that the length of feed step is equal to the distance. between the two knives so that the knife 4 will come into its correct position in alinement with the slash previously caused by the knife 5. In order that the distance between the two knives sha-ll be equal to the lengthof feed step this distance may be varied by inserting packing pieces between the knives to bring .the edges of the knives nearer to or farther from each other. t i lnorder to vary the depth of cut of the knives il, 5 they are fixed in the slides 28, 29 so that they can be adjusted upwardly and downwardly, slots 40, ll being vprovided in the Shanks of the knives for this purpose through which pass suitable locking screws see Fig. l) which take into the slides. Two screws 42, 4er-3 are provided which project from the lower portion of the knife carrying frame 9 and act as abutment screws to take the thrust of the knives. e

, It will be clear that when the knives l, 5 are in the sole that the edge gage levers 36, owing to their operative connection to the knives, will be unable to expand and hence the sole cannot be fed through the machine if its taper is an increasing one., In order to overcome this difficulty the edge gages 38 are mounted in hollow bosses t formed Von the ends of the levers 36 and are provided with springs which surround reduced portions 46 of the gages and hold them yieldingly in position. The reduced portions pass through the bosses 44 and are provided with nuts 44 so that the outward position of the gages canbe varied. It will be understood that when the levers are held stationary, as aforesaid, the gages will yield to allow for the increased width of the sole as it is fed forward. These springs are arranged to be stronger than vthe spring 39 so that they will not come into play except during the time when the knives are actually in the sole, as itV will be understood that as soon as the knives come out of the sole the yielding contact points will be able to take up their correct positions. The slots 33, Sil engaged by the blocks 35 lie in the general direction of the feed so as to allow the feed movement of the knives VThe machine is provided with fast and loose pulleys il?, i8 and with any convenient clutch mechanism and starting mechanism.

A, part e9 of the frame of the machine is pivoted to the main portion of the frame by means of a spindle 50 to which it is fulcrumed, the said spindle passing through a boss 5l on the main portion of the frame and having a spring 52 surrounding it', which is held in place by means of a nut and washer, as shown. The part 49 can be swunO backwardlv about its fulcrurn` a 2D -v f handle 53 being provided for this purpose, in order to render the various parts inside the frame accessible. The spring 5:2l will hold the part 4:5) locked, whether it is swung backwardly in the manner just described, or whether it rests in the position shown in Fig. 3.

The operation of the machine will no doubt be understood from the foregoing, but it may be briefly ire-stated as follows: The presser foot 8 is depressed by means of a treadle not shown) connected to its arin 22. and the sole having been placed on the work table and inserted between the bridge (i and the presser foot, so as to grip the work, and the edge gages 3S having been placed in contact with the edge of the sole, the machine is started. The knives e, 5, through the mechanism just described. will then move forward and slash the sole. They j:

will then move forward in a direction to the left of an observer of F ig. 3 to feed the sole and then come out of the work and return to their original position. During the next slashing stroke of the knives the f knife lwill come into line with the slash previously formed by the knife 5 and will, if the contour of the sole is such as to cause the edge gages 3S to more it, be displaced more or less to one side of the slash and consequently during this slashing move nient of the knife 4f the length of the slash will be increased to accord with the width of thesole atV this point. The cutting operations just described are repeated the required number of times whereby a series of slashes of the proper varying lengths are obtained.

lt will be understood that by having both knives movable they are guided into their correct position on the sole by the gages 38, and, when operating on an insole, both knives being always located the correct distance from the channel as it is important that the slash should not extend across the channel.

instead of two knives being used as shown, three or more could be employed, the said knives being slidingly connected one to the other, and the outside knives be ing connected in the manner hereinbefore described to the levers 36.

It will be observed that the bridge 6 is so constructed and arranged as to provide an unobstructed space at either side of the slashing knives. As a result of this construction a sole may be instantly inserted between the knives and bridge either toe first or heel first, thus producing slashes opening` toward 'the toe or heel, respectively, 'as may be desired, without change in the direction of feed, readjustment of gaging devices or in fact any alteration whatever in the machine. It is only necessary for the operative, if the toe of the sole is first presented to the knives, to initially position it so that the first slash willbe at the toe width corresponding to the width of the knife Ll, and if the heel of the sole is presented iirst, to initially position it so that the iirst slash will be at the shank width co1'- responding to the width of the knife 4'. i

lhile the machine is capable of operating on any type of sole, it is especially adapted to flexing welt linsoles wherein the slashes extend between the portions of the channel cut at each side of the sole, that is, the construction provides for an unslashed margin on the sole, thus preserving the channel lip and between substance from mutilation.

Vhile it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, since this construction and arrangement is the simplest and most elicient embodiment of the invention which has yet been devised, it will be understood that this construction `and arrangement is Vnot essential except so far as it is specified in the claims, and may be varied or modified without departing from the broader features of the invention.

W'hat is claimed as new, is :H

l. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, a plurality of parallel slash ing knives, of less number than the number of slashes to be cut, spaced apart a distance equal to the desired lspacing of the slashes, means for relatively moving the knives and sole and for reciprocating the knives toward and from the sole to cause a succession of parallel slashes to be cutrin the'sole, and means for causing a slashmade by one knife on one reoiprocation to be lengthened by the next adjacent knife on the succeeding reciprooation, substantially as described.

2. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, means for feeding a sole stepby-step, means for cutting a transverse slash in the sole after one sole feeding movement, and means for lengthening the slash so made after the next succeeding sole feeding movement, substantially as described. Y 3. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, a plurality of sole slashing knives, means to feed the sole step-by-step, means for reciprocating said knives toward and from the sole, to cut a plurality of slashes, after each sole feeding movement, and means for lengthening the slash made by one of said knives by the cutting stroke of a different knife after each succeeding sole feeding movement, substantially as described.

al. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, two parallel sole slashing knives, means for reciprocating the knives toward and from the sole and for feeding the sole'step-by-step, and means for causing one of said knives to lengthen the last preceding sla-sh, and the other knife to cut a new slash after each sole feeding step, substantially as described.

,5. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, at least two parallel slashing knives, and means for moving said knives relatively to each other laterally to vary the outer limits of the slashed area, substantially as described.

6. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, at least two parallel slashing knives, and means controlled by the contourV of the sole area to be slashed for ,movingV said knives relatively to each other laterally to vary the outer limits of the slashed area, substantially as described.

7. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, at least two parallel slashing knives, means for moving said knives relatively to each other laterally, and means engaging the sole edge for controlling the extent of said lateral movement, substantially as described. l

8. A shoe sole slashing machine,.having, in combination, atleast two parallel slashing knives spaced apart a distance equal to the desired spacing of the slashes, means to vary the lateral relation of said knives, and means for feeding the sole step-by-step a distance at each step equal to the spacing of the knives, whereby the slash made by one knife will be completed by another knife, substantially as described.

9. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, at least two parallel slashing knives relatively movable laterally, devices, engaging the sole edge, connected to said knives for controlling the amount of said lateral movement, means for feeding the `sole past said devices, and means for rendering said devices ineffective during the feeding movement, substantially as described.

10. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, at least two parallel slashing knives, means for reciprocating the knives toward and from the sole and for feeding the sole While the knives are engaged therein, means for moving said knives relatively to each other laterally, and means for preventing the operation of said last named means until the withdrawal of the knives from the sole, substantially as described.

11. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, at least two parallel slashing knives, a carrier for said knives, mechanism for actuating said carrier to reciprocate the knives toward and from the sole and to advance said knives While engaged in the sole to feed it, and devices controlled by the contour of the sole area to be slashed for moving said knives relatively to each other laterally constructed and arranged to be inoperative while the knives are in the sole, substantially as described.

12. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, at least two parallel slashing knives, a carrier for said knives, mechanism for actuating said carrier to reciprocate the knives toward and from the sole and to advance said knives while engaged in the sole to feed it, devices controlled by the contour of the sole area to be slashed for moving said knives relatively to each other laterally, and yielding members engaging the sole edge, carried by said devices for rendering said devices ineective while the knives are in the sole, substantially as described.

13. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, a sole slashing knife, a floating carrier for said knife, means to reciprocate said carrier and its knife toward and from the sole, a support to receive the thrust of the carrier and its knife, means to ad- Vance the knife while in the sole to feed it, and an intermittently operating presser foot to hold the sole on said support during the slashing stroke of the knife, substantially as described.

14. A shoe sole slashing machine, having,

in combination, a sole slashing knife, a carrier for said knife, and means for actuating said carrier to force the knife into the sole, then advance the knife to feed the sole and then withdraw the knife from the sole and reposition it for another parallel slash, substantially as described.

15. In a sole slashing machine, a unitary four-motion sole slashing and sole feeding device, and means for operating it to produce parallel slashes in the sole, substantially as described.

16. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, sole slashing means, means to reciprocate said slashing means in a path oblique to the sole face, a support to receive the thrust of the slashing means, means for feeding the sole step-by-step between the sole slashing strokes of said slashing means, and provision for instantly inserting the sole between said slashing means and support in proper position to receive the iirst cut either toe first or heel rst, whereby slashes opening toward either the toe or heel are produced at the will of the operative, substantially as described.

17. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, sole slashing means, means to reciprocate said slashing means in a path oblique to the sole face, means for feeding the sole step-by-step between the sole slashing strokes of said slashing means, and a bridge opposite the slashing means to receive the thrust thereof, having an unobstructed space at each side of the slashing means whereby a sole may be instantly initially positioned to receive the first slash in either the toe or shank at the Will of the operative, substantially as described.

18. A shoe sole slashing machine, having, in combination, a unitary means for producing in one face of a sole a succession of oblique slashes opening'toward one end of the sole and invariably feeding the sole step-bystep in one direction, and means for receiving the thrust of the slashing means permitting an instant reverse presentation of the sole to the slashing means in proper' initial position to produce slashes opening toward the other end of the sole while feeding in the same direction, substantially as described.

ARTHUR BATES.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK WILLIAM WORTH, ALBERT AMos ASTON.

Copies of this, patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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