US2160114A - Sole flexing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 30, 1939.. A. F. BANCROFT SOLE FLEXING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 29, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g u. H JM H HHMP W H A. F. BANCROFT SOLE FLEXING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 29, 1937 W May 30, 1939.

III

Patented May 30, 1939 HE STATES SOLE FLEXING AFPPARATUS Albert F. Bancroft,

West Newton, Mass.

Application October 29, 1937, Serial No. 171,664

7 Claims.

This invention pertains to shoe manufacture, and relates more particularly to apparatus useful in flexing sole members for shoes or other articles of footwear.

In order to make sole members flexible, it has been common, in accordance with prior practice, to subject the sole member to a flexing operation as, for example, by passing it through a set of rolls, but the usual flexing apparatus is designed for sole members which are of substantial thickness and is not at all satisfactory for flexing very thin soles or those having relatively heavy areas of limited superficial extent such, for example, as a Sbicca outer sole.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide improved sole flexing apparatus'paticularly useful for flexing very thin sole members or for locally flexing the thick central pcrtion of the forepart of a Sbicca sole, although the utility of the invention is not necessarily limited to the flexing of such soles.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for so flexing an outer sole as to leave the sole with a slight tendency to curl toward its inner side thereby to ensure a close contact of the sole with the lasted-in marginal portion of the upper when the outer sole is laid and secured in place.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved sole flexing means of very simple inexpensive type and which may be operated successfully by workers having but little previous training or skill.

Further objects and advantages of the inventicn will be made manifest in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in vertical section, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and showing the parts in the normal position which they occupy prior to the introduction of the sole for flexing;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, but omitting certain parts;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly broken away and in vertical section and to larger scale than Fig. 1., illustrating the pos tion of the parts at the initiation of the sole flexing operation;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section illustrating a sole flexing member of modified construction;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of a thin shoe sole before flexing;

Fig. 5 is an edge elevation of the sole of Fig.4 after flexing;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating apparatus of slightly modified construction;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan View illustrating a still further modification; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the device of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates a suitable work bench upon which is mounted the work support or base 2 of that portion of the apparatus which is disposed above the bench. This base 2 may be of cast metal, wood or other suitable material, as desired, and adjacent to its rear end, that is to say, the left-hand side as viewed in Fig. 1, supports a bracket 3 upon which is mounted a grooved pulley t. At a point substantially midwa; the length of the base member 2, there is provided a bracket device which may, if desired, comprise two identical but separate members 5 conveniently made frcm angle iron and each having an upstanding flange or car ii. These ears are disposed in parallel relation and spaced apart and are provided with aligned openings for the reception of a carriagesupporting pivot 8.

On the pivot B is mounted the carriage l! which may be made in any desired manner and from any suitable material but which is conveniently made from two lengths of strap steel riveted or otherwise secured together to form the elongate body portion 9. This body portion of the car-- riage is furnished with an elongate slot it which receives the supporting pivot 8,-the body portion a being disposed between the members 6 which constrain it to move in a substan tially vertical plane. By reason of the elongate slot It the carriage may slide bodily longitudinally of the support 2 and may alsc swing 1-- a vertical plane about the axis of the pivot 3.

At its forward portion the carriage is of yokeshape, comprising the arms l6 and it which are spaced apart a distance greater than the width of any sole which is to be flexed. The free ends of these arms are connected hy the flexing member l2. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, this flexing member is a simple rod of steel or other suitable rigid material fixed at opposite ends in suitable openings in the arms and l l. 17- ever, if preferred and as illustrated in 3 the flexing member may consist of an elongate pivot member I2 secured at its opposite ends to the arms l0 and. H, respectively, and constituting a bearing for a freely rotating roller R.

Whatever thev construction of the flexing member, it is desirable that its external diameter should be relatively small so that when a sole is bent about it as hereinafter described, the radius of curvature of the sole will be quite small, the action, in flexing the sole, being comparable to that commonly employed in removing curl from a photographic print by drawing the print over a sharp edge. To obtain the desired action, the effective radius of the sole contacting part of the flexing member may, for example, approximately equal the thickness of the sole to be flexed.

The rear end of the body portion 9 of the carriage is provided with an opening which receives a hook E3 or equivalent device to which is secured one end of a flexible cable or chain l4 which leads about the pulley 4 and then down through a suitable opening in the support 2 and through an aperture I5 in the bench l and has its lower end connected to a hook or equivalent member 55 which engages a lug ll projecting upwardly from a treadle lever 18. This treadle lever is pivoted at H) to a bracket which may be secured to the floor beneath the bench I or to a portion of the bench or the wall, as may be preferred, and is furnished at its forward end with a foot-contacting member 20.

A spring 2| is connected at one end to the hook or, if preferred, directly to the member 9, and the opposite end of the spring is anchored to a fixed part, for example to the bracket l. This spring tends to move the carriage forwardly or to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, the limit of its forward movement being determined by the length of the slot ill. In order that the flexing member i2 may be suitably spaced from the upper surface of the base member 2 to permit introduction of a sole beneath the flexing member, it is preferred to provide a resilient holddown member 2 5 such as a spring arm anchored to the bracket 5 and having a finger at its free end which overlies the upper edge of the body porticn 9 of the carriage at a point to the rear of the pivot 3. While this member 2 I holds the flexing member I2 in the position shown in Fig. 1 when the apparatus is not in action, it does not interfere with any up and down movement of the member l2 during the actual operation of the .evice.

In order to assist the operator in holding the sole in position on the support 2 during the flexing operation, it is preferred to provide the upper face of the base member 2 at its forward end with a friction element 22 such, for example, as a layer of sandpaper, a knurled metal plate, or the like, although, as hereinafter described, it may be preferred to employ mechanical means such as a clamping device for positively holding the sole in position.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, which illustrate a iber such as may readily be flexed by the s apparatus, the sole 25 is shown as of 'xally uniform thickness from the toe por tion F to the heel portion H. However, the apparatus is well adapted to flex the forepart of a Sbicca type outer sole, which has a thick area at its central part.

In using the apparatus above described, the operator slips the toe portion F of the sole beneath the flexing member i2, doubles the fore part of the sole sharply about the flexing memer and, if desired, may hold the doubled-over toe portion F downwardly against the body portion of the sole merely by pressure of his hand during the flexing operation. However, to relieve the hand of the operator and to assist in obtaining a better and more uniform pressure, it is preferred to provide, as an adjunct to the apparatus, a rigid pressing block 23 having a hand grip 24. This pressing block is held down against the doubled-over portion F of the sole (for example, by the rigid hand of the operator) so as to press the toe end firmly against the body portion of the sole. At the same time the operator grasps the heel portion H with his left hand, thus to prevent bodily movement of the sole in a 1ongitudinal direction during the operation of the flexing member. The friction element 22 assists in thus holding the sole, particularly if the forward edge of the block 23 is so disposed as to press the body portion of the sole firmly against the friction member.

With the parts positioned as illustrated in Fig. 3, the operator places his foot on the member 20 and depresses the treadle, thus pulling on the cord or chain M and drawing the entire carriage l bodily in the rearward direction longitudinally of the sole. Since the flexing member #2 is located in a fold or bend of the sole and since the sole can not move bodily with the flexing member, the line of flexure of the sole is dragged rearwardly, and since the sole is bent to a small radius of curvature, this dragging action of the flexing member produces a very sharp progressive flexing of the sole which is found to be highly effective in softening and flexing the flber without damage to the sole. However, the sharp flexing and dragging action tends to cause the sole to curl, as shown in Fig. 5.

By the arrangement above described it is possible to flex the sole locally without subjecting the entire sole to the flexing operation, and when used for flexing soles of the Sbicca type, it is thus possible to increase the flexibility of the sole at the forepart, where it is abnormally thick, without at the same time unduly softening the other and relatively thin portions of the sole.

The apparatus is thus capable of locally flexing soles of non-uniform thickness; of flexing some particular portion of a sole of uniform thickness, for example, when it is desired to flex the forepart of an ordinary sole without increasing the flexibility at the heel portion and shank; or of flexing an entire sole, as well as for imparting a curl to the sole to facilitate its close contact with other parts of the shoe bottom poses it may be preferable to use a positive clamp for holding the sole in position rather than to rely upon a friction element such as the element 22.

Thus, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7, the block 23 of Fig. 3 is replaced by a pressure-applying member 23 which is pivotally supported at 27 upon the upper end of a rod 23 which slides vertically in a bore in the base member 2 and which is normally drawn downwardly by means of a heavy spring 29. Adjacent to the pivot 21, the block 23 is furnished with an eccentric portion 3%. In introducing the sole beneath the flexing member iii, the pressure-applying element 23 is first swung up toward the vertical position, but after the forward part F of the sole has been doubled around the flexing member 52, the pressure-applying device 23 is moved downwar ly, as shown in Fig. '7, and in so moving, the eccentric member 3f! clamps the sole against the upper surface of the support 2. Obviously, if desired, the upper surface of the support may, in this case, as well as in the arrangement of Figs. 1 to 3, be provided with a friction surface so as to ensure a firm grip.

In Figs. 8 and 9 a still further construction is illustrated wherein the clamping member is independent of the pressure-applying device. In this instance the support 2 is provided with brackets and 32 at its opposite sides which receive a pivot rod 33 upon which is mounted a clamping lever 3t having the eccentric contact element 35. If desired, the upper surface of the base 2 may be furnished with a friction device 22 such as above described.

In the use of this device the operator swings the lever arm 3d upwardly substantially to verti cal position and pushes the sole forwardly beneath the member 35 and beneath the flexing member I2 (not shown in Figs. 8 and 9). He then swings the lever 34 down to the position shown in Fig. 9, thus firmly clamping the sole against the support 2. position, the forward part of the sole is doubled over the flexing member and the doubled-over portion may be held down against the body of the sole during the flexing operation either by hand or with the assistance of a pressure-applying block such as the block 23 above referred to.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have been illustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to these precise embodiments but is to be regarded as broadly inclusive of all equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Sole flexing apparatus comprising a support for a sole to be flexed, means operative to resist bodily movement of the sole in a longitudinal direction, a sole flexing member normally spaced from the support a sufficient distance to permit a sole to be placed between the flexing member and the support, said flexing member being designed and arranged to have a portion of the sole doubled about it, means operative to move the flexing member bodily longitudinally over the support and of the sole, and means for holding the sole bent about the flexing member while the latter is being moved.

2. Sole flexing apparatus comprising a support for a sole to be flexed, retaining means carried by the support for opposing bodily movement of a sole resting on the support, a rigid flexing member arranged to extend transversely of a soie resting on the support and about which a portion of the sole may be doubled, a movable carriage for the flexing member, and means for moving the carriage and the flexing member longitudinally over the support and longitudinally of a sole resting on the latter.

3. Sole flexing apparatus comprising a support Having thus clamped the sole in ment of a sole resting on the support, a flexing member extending transversely of the sole and of a length greater than the width of the sole, a carriage for the flexing member, said carriage being mounted on the support and being movable longitudinally of the sole, a foot-operated treadle and connections between the treadle and carriage such that actuation of the treadle moves the carriage, and means operative to hold a portion of the sole bent sharply about the flexing member While the carriage is being moved.

4. Apparatus for flexing shoe soles, comprising a support for the sole to be flexed, a carriage and a flexing member mounted on the carriage, means for supporting the carriage for bodily movement longitudinally of the sole and for rocking movement toward and from the support, means normally limiting approach of the flexing member toward the support, means tending to hold the carriage at one limit of its path of longitudinal movement, means for moving the carriage toward the other limit of said path, and means operative to resist bodily movement of the sole with the carriage.

5. Apparatus for flexing shoe soles, comprising a support for a sole to be flexed, a carriage comprising a longitudinally slotted body portion and a yoke portion comprising spaced arms, a flexing bar extending transversely from one of said arms to the other, a pivot member extending through the slot in the carriage and about which the carriage may rock and with reference to which the carriage may slide bodily, spring means tending to move the carriage in one direction, means normally limiting rocking of the yoke portion of the carriage toward the sole support, and means operative to move the carriage bodily relatively to said pivot member.

6. Sole flexing apparatus comprising a support for a sole, a flexing member movable longitudinally of a sole member so supported, a lever pivoted to the support, said lever comprising a clamp operative to clamp one end portion of the sole to the support, and means operative to move the flexing member longitudinally over the support and of the sole away from the clamp.

'7. Sole flexing apparatus comprising a support for a sole, a flexing member movable longitudinally of a sole mounted on the support, a lever pivoted to the support, said lever comprising a clamp element operative to engage and clamp one end portion of the sole to the support, and a pressure-applying part operative to hold the opposite end portion of the sole doubled over the flexing member, and means for moving the flexing member away from the clamping element.

ALBERT F. BANCROFT.

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