US2138109A - Method of making shoes - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 29, 1938. A. E. LINDBLAD I -x METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed March 22, 1955 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NOV. 29, 1938. LHNDBLAD 2,138,109

METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed March 22, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WIiIIIIIIIIIIIIII/IA Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Application March 22, 1935, Serial No. 12,466

6 Claims.

plied to the last. In order to overcome certain disadvantages of that practice it has been proposed to skeletonize the insole after it has been assembled with the upper on the last and after the margin of the upper has been secured in overlasted position upon the insole. In carrying out the method just referred to it was proposed to employ an insole having a lip or rib spaced from its edge a suitable distance to provide a wide feather, to last the upper with cement to the feather and fasten it by staples to the lip so as to hold it temporarily inplace, to trim the lip and portion of the upper attached thereto flush with the bottom of the central portion of the insole and, after the trimming of the upper had been accomplished, to skeletonize the insole by removing the central portion of its forepart.

The present invention, in one aspect, provides a further improved method of making shoes having flexible foreparts in accordance with which, after the marginal portion of a shoe upper has been secured in lasted position over the forepart of an insole on a last, the overlasted portion of the upper is trimmed and, simultaneously with this trimming operation, a cut is made through the full thickness of the insole from one side to the other thereof in line with the trimmed edge of the upper, thereby separating the central portion of the insole from the marginal portion to which the upper is secured. Preferably the cutting of the insole is accomplished by means of an upper trimming tool which, as herein shown, is a reciprocatory knife adapted to cut with a chopping action progressively along the marginal portion of the shoe bottom to perform a combined upper trimming and insole cutting operation as the shoe is moved past the knife. As illustrated herein a thin reinforcing piece temporarily secured to the marginal portion of the insole at the side which is to be of the forepart of the insole, thereby separating the central portion of the latter from the adjacent marginal portion, the central portion of the insole is separated from the shank portion of the insole by means of a cut extending across the insole in the vicinity of the break line, after which the entirely separated central portion is removed from the rest of the insole and discarded. Thereafter an outsole is attached, the latter preferably having first had its marginal portion reduced so as to provide a central pro jection adapted to fit Within the opening formed in the forepart of the insole by the removal of the central portion therefrom. Finally the last is pulled and the thin reinforcing piece is removed from the inside of the shoe.

The invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is aperspe'ctive view of an insole as prepared for use in the practice of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lasted shoe embodying an insole of the type shown in Fig. 1, this view illustrating the performance of the combined upper trimming and insole cutting operation as practiced in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the shoe as it appears at the completion of the operation illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the shoe illustrating a further step in the present method;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line VI--VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary perspective view of an outsole adapted for application to the shoe shown in Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the shoe as it appears after the outsole has been attached;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a shoe made in accordance with the present invention but having an outsole of a different type attached thereto;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an insole prepared in a different manner from that illustrated by Fig. 1 for use in thepractice of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X[X[ of Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a shoe embodying an insole of the type shown in Fig, 10 and illustrating the combined upper trimming and insole cutting operation as practiced upon a shoe having this modified type of insole.

In carrying out my improved method of making shoes having flexible foreparts in which the central portions of the foreparts are removed after the shoes have been lasted, I may use an insole such as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,017,856, granted October 22, 1935, upon application of George Goddu. An insole of this type is shown at iii in Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings, the insole having a wide feather 18 of reduced thickness and an integral marginal lip 20 of less width than the feather, the lip extending inwardly and lying substantially flat I against the surface of the insole. For a purpose hereinafter to be described I prefer to secure to the unlipped side of the forepart of the insole,

before the insole is applied to the last, a thin.

reinforcing piece 22 of sheet material, for example, soft upper leather, this piece of sheet material having a contour corresponding to that of the forepart'of the insole and being of a size to underlie the inner extremity of the feather but not necessarily extending to the edge of the insole. Conveniently, the piece 22 may be secured to the insole by a marginal stripe of cement, such as that indicated at 24 in Fig. 2. After the insole has been temporarily secured in place upon the bottom of a last, such as the last 26, a shoe upper 28 is worked over the last and its marginal portion secured in overlasted relation to the insole in accordance with the method of lasting disclosed in the application above referred to. Briefly described, this method consists in applying cement to the marginal surfaces of the upper and the feather of the insole, working portions of the upper over the feather and against the shoulder between the feather and the lip, raising portions of the lip, and inserting metallic fastenings, such as the staples '30, through the'upper and the lip to hold the upper in place until the cement has set. The upper having been lasted as described, a shank stiffener 32 may be attached to the shoe botto in accordance with the usual practice.

After the upper has become fatigued or set in overlasted position I proceed, in accordance with my present invention, as herein illustrated, to trim' theoverlasted margin of the upper and simultaneously to separate the central portion of the insole, together with the lip, from the adjacent marginal portion of the insole. Advantageously, this combined trimming and separating operation may be performed, as illustrated in Fig. 3, by means of a chisel-like chopping knife 34 arranged to be reciprocated (by an eccentric or other suitable means not shown) in an inclined guideway 35 formed within a knife support 38 having a free lower extremity shaped to enter the angular channel formed by those portions of the upper which overlie the feather and the upstanding lip of the insole. As shown, the lower'extremity of the knife support 36 is such as to provide angularly disposed gage faces 33 and 40 adapted to engage, respectively, the portion of the upper which is secured to the feather l8 and the portion of the upper which is secured to the lip 20 and thus to position the shoe relatively to the knife 34 so that the latter will cut at an angle to the face of the insole, as during the reciprocation of the knife, the cutting edge at its lower extremity is projected beyond the gage face 38. During the cutting operation of the knife 34 the shoe may be moved manually past the knife. As shown, a guide finger 42 having a lower extremity shaped to engage within the angle formed between the inner face of the lip 29 and the adjacent face of the insole may advantageously be employed to guide the shoe so that the combined trimming and cutting operation will progress around the forepart of the shoe bottom. The length of the knife stroke should be adjusted so that the knife will cut through the upper and through the insole from one side to the other, i. e., entirely through the thickness of the insole so as to separate a central portion of full insole thickness from a surrounding marginal portion of the insole. Preferably, also, the knife will be so adjusted that it will cut slightly beyond the inner surface of the insole so as to insure clean cutting and the complete severance of the central portion of the insole from the adjacent marginal portion thereof. If a piece of sheet material such as the piece 22 has been previously attached to the unlipped face of the insole the cutting edge of the knife will enter this material instead of cutting into the bottom of the last and thus mutilation of the last bottom will be avoided. In case such a piece of sheet material is not employed between the insole and the last the length of knife stroke may be adjusted-so that the knife will cut through the insole without, however, penetrating at least to any substantial extent into the bottom of the last. By reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the'knife will enter the upper at the base of the upturned portion which is stapled to the lip 20 and will cut through the upper and through the insole just outside of the lip so as to provide a beveled edge upon that portion of the upper which overlies the feather and also an edge beveled at the same angle upon the margin of the insole which is separated from the rest of the insole by the cutting operation.

It is "contemplated that the combined upper trimming and insole cutting operations above described will begin at one side of the shoe bottom substantially at the break line, for example, at the point 46 in Fig. 4, and continue forwardly around the toe and then rearwardly to the break line 'at the opposite side of the shoe bottom. The central portion of the insole together with the portion of the lip 20 which is attached thereto is thus severed from the margin of the insole as already described but it remains integral with the shank portion of the insole. The next step is to separate the central portion of the forepart of the insole from theshank portion thereof and this may be accomplished by drawing a knife across the sole substantially at the break line, as illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein a hand knife 48 is shown in the act of making the break line out. The central portion 50 of the forepart of the insole, together with the forepart portion of the lip 20 and the remnant of the upper which is attached to that portion of the lip, is thus completely separated from the rest of the insole. The portion 50 is then removed and discarded. Thus, not only has the overlasted margin of the upper in the forepart of the shoe been trimmed but, by the operation of the trimming tool, the insole has been skeletonized by the formation therein of a central opening 52, the wall of the opening (or, in other words, the inner edge of the adjacent marginal portion 54 of the sole) being beveled as is also the adjacent trimmed edge of the upper. The appearance of the beveled edges of the upper and the margin of the insole is best shown in Fig. 6. The shoe is now ready to receive an outsole.

It will be noted: that the reinforcing piece 22, evenv though partially.- cut through in places by theaction of the trimming/knife, serves tohold.

themarginal portion 541 oi the insole in shape.

after the trimming until the outsole has been laidv with-v cement.

The outsole 56 may be prepared as shown in Fig. 7 by having its margin and shank portion reduced so as to form in the central portion of its forepart a projecting portion 58 the edges of which are beveled at an angle substantially com- 'plemental to that of the beveled edges of the margin of the sole and the attached margin of the upper. Fig. 8 shows the appearance of the shoe after an outsole having its margin thus reduced has been secured thereto by means of cement. After the last has been pulled the reinforcing piece 22 will be removed and discarded. Alternatively an unreduced outsole 560 may be employed and the space within the rim of the skeletonized insole and the trimmed edge of the upper in the forepart of the shoe filled by suitable filling material, as indicated at 60 in Fig. 9.

While the invention has been described above in its relation to methods of making shoes in the practice of which the overlasted margin of a shoe upper is temporarily secured to a lasting lip on the insole, it is not essential that the upper be secured to a lasting lip and if desired an insole having no such lip may be employed, as indicated in Figs. 10 to 12, inclusive. In using the insole having no lasting lip the upper may be lasted with cement to the margin of the insole and held in place prior to the setting of cement by means of fastenings, for example, curved staples which do not extend entirely through the material of the insole and which may be removed after the cement has set, such a method of lasting being disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,932,544, granted October 31, 1933, upon application of George Goddu. If desired, the staples may be permitted to remain, in which case it will be unnecessary to use cement. When employing an insole having no lasting lip it is advantageous to form a shallow channel in that face of the sole over which the upper is to be lasted, as shown for example at 62 in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, the channel being spaced inwardly a predetermined distance from the edge of the sole and being employed merely for the purpose of receiving the guiding finger 42 or some equivalent guiding device so that the latter may-function in guiding the shoe as the shoe is moved past the trimming knife so that the trimming cut and the opening in the insole will be at the desired distance from the edge of the shoe bottom. If desired, however, satisfactory results may be secured by guiding the shoe from the edge of the shoe bottom either by the eye of the operator or by the use of a suitable edge guide. Although the protective piece 22 has not been shown in Figs. 10 to 12 as being applied to the insole, such a piece may be employed, if desired, in which case it will function, as already described, to permit the trimming knife to cut slightly beyond the inner surface of the insole without cutting into the bottom of the last. In these figures the shoe upper is shown with its marginal portion secured by means of curved staples, one of which is shown at 64, to the margin of the insole and the trim gming knife 34 is shown as performing its combined upper trimming and insole cutting operation.

Having described my invention, What I claim new'and -desire to secure 1 by Letters Patent of the- Uni-ted- States is:

1; That. improvement in methods of making shoes which consists: in assembling an upper and anwin's'ole on a last with a piece of sheet material; interposed between the insole and the bottom of the last, cutting inwardly through the overlasted marginal portion of the upper and through the full thickness of the insole and part way into said piece of sheet material, thereby trimming the upper and separating material from the central portion of the insole without cutting the last, attaching an outsole to the shoe, and removing the last and said piece of sheet material rom the shoe.

2. That improvement in methods of making.

shoes which consists in assembling on a last an upper and an insole having a feather and a marginal lasting lip, working the upper over the last and securing its marginal portion to said feather and said lip, trimming the overlasted margin of the upper and, by the same operation, cutting inwardly through the feather of the insole, thereby separating material including said lipfrom the central portion of the forepart of the insole, and attaching an outsole to the shoe.

3. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in assembling on a last an upper and an insole having a marginal lasting lip, working the upper over the last and securing the marginal portion of the upper to said lip by means of staples, trimming the upper at the base of the lip and cutting inwardly through the insole from one side to the other with the trimming tool, thereby separating material including said lip from the central portion of the forepart 01f1 the insole, and attaching an outsole to the s e.

4. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises assembling on a last an upper and an insole having an upturned marginal lasting lip, working the upper over the last and securing its marginal portion to said lip by means of a line of staples, feeding the shoe past a trimming tool while guiding the shoe by engagement within the angle between the inner side of said lip and the adjacent surface of the insole, operating said trimming tool to cut through the overlasted margin of the upper and through the insole from its outer surface to its inner surface outside said line of staples, thereby trimming off the margin of the upper, and separating material including saidlip from the central portion of the forepart of the insole.

5. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in assembling an upper and an insole on a last with a piece of sheet material interposed between the insole and the bottom of the last, cutting inwardly through the overlasted marginal portion of the upper and through the insole from its outer surface to its inner surface and part way into said piece of sheet material thereby trimming the upper and skeletonizing the insole withoutcutting the last, providing an outsole having at its attaching side a projection complemental to the opening in the skeletonized insole, securing said outsole to the shoe with said projection fitting within said insole opening, and removing the last and. said piece of sheet material from the shoe.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in assembling on a last an upper and an insole having a feather and 2. marginal lasting lip, working the upper over the last and securing its marginal portion to said feather and said lip, trimming the overlasted margin of the upper and, by the same operation, cutting inwardly through the feather of the insole thereby separating material including said lip from the central portion of the forepart of the insole so as to form an opening therein, forming upon an outsole a central forepart projection complemental to the opening in the insole, and attaching said outsole to the shoe with said outsole projection interfitting within said insole opening.

AXEL EMIL LINDBLAD.

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