US3439367A - Temporarily securing a shoe sole to a shoe form - Google Patents

Description

April 22', 1969 M. M. BECKA E Al- 3,439,367

TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOEFORM Filed Jan. 18, 1967 Sheet of 11 INVENTORS. Mic/vae/ M. Bea/ 0 BY A//en C. Harri/nan W T y 22, 1969 ET-AL TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Filed Jan. 18, 1967 Z of .11

Sheet April 22, 1969 M, M, BECKA ET AL 3,439,367

TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Filed Jan. 18, 19s? Sheet .5 of 11 FIG-7 April 22, 1969 a c 'ET AL 3,439,367

TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Fild Jan. 18, 1967 Sheet 4 of 11 I 4- 4 FIG-9 5 April 22, 1969 M. M. BECKA ETAL 3,439,367

TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Sheet .5 of 11 Filed Jan. 18, 1967 4 I V k\\\ www M. I

April 22, 1969 M. M. BECKA ET 3,439,367

TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Filed Jan. 18, 1967 Sheet 6 of 11 FIG-l2 M. M. BECKA ET AL v April 22, 1969 TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Sheet Filed Jan. 18, 1967 FIG.- [4

I! d III////f// April 22, 1969 M. M. BECKA ET AL 3,

TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Filed Jan. 18,1967 Sheet 9 of 11 FIG-2i A ril 22, 1969 M. M. BECKA ET AL TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Filed Jan. 18, 1967 Sheet fl of 11 April 22, 1969 MM BECKA ET AL 3,439,367

TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Filed Jan. 18, 1967 Sheet of 11 United States Patent 3,439,367 TEMPORARILY SECURING A SHOE SOLE TO A SHOE FORM Michael M. Becka, Cambridge, and Allen C. Harriman, Brockton, Mass, assignors to Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton, Mass.

Filed Jan. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 610,097 Int. Cl. A43d 11/00 US. Cl. 12-142 61 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure is concerned with a method and apparatus for locating a molded insole on a last bottom and then temporarily and adhesively attaching the insole to the last bottom. The apparatus includes a molding device that is adapted to overmold the insole to an exaggerated contour so as to disrupt its fiber continuity to render it less elastic. A locating device serves to locate the insole in registry on the last bottom and a pressing device then presses the insole into flush adhesion against the last bottom, an adhesive applying device having been operative earlier to apply adhesive at the facing surfaces of the last and insole.

Background of the invention This invention pertains to the shoe manufacturing art and more particularly to an apparatus for molding an insole to the contour of the bottom of a last and cementitiously but temporarily securing the insole to the last bottom so that the insole may remain in place during subsequent shoe manufacturing operations but may be easily detached from the last after the shoe manufacturing operations have been completed.

It has been a long standing practice in the shoe manufacturing art to temporarily secure an insole to the bottom of a last by means of tacks that are driven through the insole and into the last bottom. With the currently available adhesives it has become practical and possible to discard the tacking method which tends to cause the lasts and insoles to become damaged.

Summary of the invention The instant invention is directed to the utilization of adhesives in temporarily securing an insole to the bottom of a last. One aspect of the invention concerns the conditioning of the insole by a process hereinafter referred to as overmolding in which the insole is forceably molded to a contour similar to but exaggerating that of the bottom of the last to which it is to be secured, the overmolding procedure being effective to reduce the elastic properties of the insole material so as to render the insole more readily formable to the contour of the last bottom.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention includes a molding member having a molding surface formed thereon that is generally similar in contour to that of the last bottom but is exaggerated with respect thereto in that the radii of curvature of the various curves of the molding surface are smaller than the corresponding curves on the last. The molding member which is normally disposed above a last support arrangement that is adapted to support a last in a bottom-up position, is mounted for retractible movement to a position that is spaced laterally of said last support means. A resilient pressing pad is provided above the last support means and the molding member and is moveable heightwise so as to engage the molding member or the last bottom, depending on whether "ice the molding member is in its normal or retracted position. A further aspect of the instant invention resides in a transfer device that serves to transfer the overmolded insole to the bottom of the last. The transfer device includes abutting members that are adapted to engage the insole and cooperate with the molding member such that when the molding member moves to its retracted position the insole may not be carried thereby but will remain in position above the last so that as the molding member is retracted the overmolded insole may fall directly onto t e last bottom.

Another aspect of the invention is concerned with the proper location of the insole on the last bottom. To this end a number of abutting members are disposed about and are engageable with the periphery of the bottom of the last. These abutting members may be moved towards the last bottom periphery so as to tend to displace the insole into registry theeron. Inasmuch as the overmolding of the insole tends to decrease the longitudinal dimension thereof, after the overmolding operation the insole may not extend fully between the heel and toe ends of the last so that simply displacing one portion of the insole into registry with the corresponding portion of the last bottom does not necessarily insure that other portions of the insole will engage the other abutting member with the result that the non-engaged portion of the insole may remain out of registry with corresponding portions of the last bottom. This problem is solved by maintaining the abutting members in engagement with the periphery of the last and urging the pressing pad downwardly towards the last bottom so as to remold and press the insole into flush engagement therewith. As the insole is so pressed it tends to flatten out and the peripheral portions thereof are urged into engagement with and thus displaced into registry on the last bottom by the abutting members.

Another aspect of the invention resides in the application of adhesive to the insole and/ or the last bottom prior to engagement of the insole with the last bottom so that when the pressing pad forces the insole to the last bottom it may adhere thereto. This arrangement includes at least one dispensing orifice formed at the molding surface of the molding member and conduit means communicating the orifice with a pump or other source of adhesive adapted to deliver a measured charge of adhesive when actuated. The pump is actuated while the pressing pad is pressing the insole to the contour of the molding surface, the pressing force being suflicient to preclude the flow of adhesive beyond the confines of the orifice so that adhesive may be deposited on the insole in a pattern determined by the configuration of the orifice.

The invention further includes means for varying the downwardly directed force of the pressing pad so that the higher forces required in the overmolding operation will not be applied to the relatively weak last when the insole is pressed into adhesion therewith. This objective is further enhanced by means of the pressing surface of the pressing pad being contoured so as to substantially parallel the longitudinal contour of the bottom of the last so that when the pressing pad is caused to press the insole to the bottom of the last it may do so evenly thereby insuring that the pressing force will not be concentrated in any particular region of the insole andlast bottom. Provision is also made for tilting the pressing pad to an attitude, just prior to engagement thereof with the insole, wherein the pressing surface is in paralleling disposition with respect to the bottom of the last.

After the insole has been remolded and pressed to the bottom of the last there is little or no tendency for the insole to return to its overmolded shape due to the reduced elasticity of the insole material. The insole is pressed to the last bottom until the adhesive is cured at which time the assembled insole and last may be removed from the machine and further shoemaking operations may be performed thereon.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the last supporting unit;

FIG. 3 is a view of the last locking device taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a heelward view of the last supporting unit and the mold slide assembly;

FIG. 5 is a partly sectional view of the last supporting unit taken along the line 55 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the mold member taken along the line 66 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the mold slide taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the mold slide and mold member;

FIG. 9 is a partly sectional front elevation of the mold member and last supporting unit taken along the line 99 of FIG 8;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation of the toe operating unit;

FIG. 11 is a partly sectional view of the toe operating unit taken along the line 1111 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the toe operating unit;

FIG. 13 is a partly sectional heelward view of the toe operating unit;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the machine;

FIG. 15 is a front elevation of the pressing mechanism;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the movable fulcrum taken along line 1616 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a heelward view of the cam cage as seen from the line 17-17 of FIG. 15

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of the pressing pad rotating device taken along the line 1818 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 19 is a view similar to FIG. 15 but being partly in section;

FIG. 20 is a view of the cam cage taken along the line 20-20 of FIG. 21;

FIG. 21 is a rear elevation of the cam cage;

FIG. 22 is a view of the toe adhesive applicator;

FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the toe adhesive applicator taken along the line 23-23 of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a view of the pressing mechanism illustrating the positions of the various parts just prior to the pressing of the insole to the mold member;

FIG. 25 is a view of the pressing mechanism while the insole is being pressed to the last bottom;

FIG. 26 is an elevation of a last having an overmolded insole located on the bottom thereof but prior to remolding of the insole;

FIG. 27 is a view of the last and an overmolded insole taken along the line 27-27 of FIG. 26; and

FIG. 28 is a somewhat diagrammatical plan view of the last having an overmolded insole located thereon.

In the following description the operator will be considered as being located at the front of the machine (see FIG. 1) and directions that are towards and away from the operator will be referred to as being forward and rearward respectively. Directions that extend to the operators left will be referred to as toeward and directions extending towards his right will be referred to as heelward. Furthermore the term general registry will herein refer to a condition wherein two members having substantially identical projected shapes, such as a last bottom and an insole, are disposed in the same general direction; e.g.: the toe of the insole points in the same general direction as the toe of the last, but the insole periphery does not coincide with a projection of the last bottom. The term substantial registry, as used herein will refer to a condition wherein the insole and last are more closely disposed in a common direction and the periphery of the insole is as coincident with a projection of the last bottom as is practically possible.

Referring to FIG. 1 the machine includes a frame 10 having a lower sub-frame 12 and an upper sub-frame 14. A last supporting unit 16 is mounted on the lower subframe 12 and is adapted to support a last L in a bottomup position. The last supporting unit 16 includes a plate 18 that is mounted in ledges 19 that are formed on the lower sub-frame 12. At the toewar d end of the plate 18 is mounted a toe rest 20 on which the vamp portion of the last may rest. Supported on the heelward end of the plate 18 is a heel supporting unit 22. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 9 the heel supporting unit 22 includes a slide 24 that is mounted on gibs 25 formed on the plate [18 for movement in a heelward-toeward direction. The extent of heelward movement of the slide 24 is limited by the stop 23 (see FIG. 2). An air operated motor 26 is secured to and depends from the slide 24 and has a piston rod 28 extending upwardly therefrom.

Secured to the end of the piston rod 28 is a last pin 30 that normally extends through an opening 32 in the slide 24 so as to be above the level of the slide 24. A bushing 34 may be provided in the opening 32 to accommodate the last pin 30. The motor 26 is normally actuated so as to maintain the last pin in its upwardly extended position and is actuated to retract the last pin 30 downwardly below the level of the slide 24 only at the end of the cycle of operation of the machine to simplify removal of the last from the machine. It may be noted here that removal of the assembled last and insole from the machine is aided by an ejection device that includes an air operated motor 29 that is mounted to the machine rearwardly of the last supporting unit '16 and has a piston rod 31 disposed for movement over the last supporting unit 16 so as to be capable of ejecting the last therefrom.

In placing the last in the machine the operator places the last bottom-down with the last pin 30 inserted into the last pin hole H of the last L and with the vamp of the last resting on the toe rest 20. The last is then urged toewardly thereby drawing the slide 24 and all the members mounted thereto toewardly therewith until the toe of the last L abuttingly engages an actuating member 35 (later described see 'FIGS. 11 and 12) which aids in the positioning of the last in the machine. The slide 24 is biased heelwardly by means of a compression spring 33.

When the last -L is so positioned a locking device 36 is actuated to rigidly clamp the last in place. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 the locking device 36 includes a driven wedge 38 that is slidably mounted to the slide 24 for movement in a forward-rearward direction and is guided for such movement by means of cooperation of crossshaped lug 40 that depends from the wedge 38 and is contained within a cross-shaped guideway 42 that is formed in the slide 24. Secured to the heelward end of the slide 18 is a bracket 44 on which is supported an air actuated motor 46 having 'a toewardly extending piston rod 48. The piston rod 48 has a head '50 formed at the end thereof and is in engagement with a pair of upwardly extending ribs 52 that are formed on the upper surface of a driving wedge 54. The driving wedge 54 is slidably supported on the plate 18 and is engageable with the wedge 38 along a common plane 56. It may be seen that as the motor 46 is actuated to drive the piston rod 48 thereof toewardly the driving wedge 54 will engage the driven wedge 38 along the common plane 56 and thus urge the driven wedge 38 forwardly toward the last pin 30 so that when a last L is supported on the last pin the driven wedge 38 may press the last tightly to the last pin thereby locking the last in position. When the driving wedge 54 is retracted heelwardly the driven wedge 38 is caused to move to its rearward position to be out of engagement with the last by means of a compression spring 58 that is contained within a bore 60 that is formed in the slide 24. The compression spring 58 has one end thereof in abutment with the bushing 34 and has the other end thereof in engagement with the depending lug 40 of the driven wedge 38.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 10, ll, 12, and 13 a toe operating unit 62 is mounted to the frame toewardly of the last supporting unit 16 and is adjustably movable toward and away from the toe end of the last. The toe operating unit 62 includes devices for locating the toe end of the insole in registry with the bottom of the last, depositing a dot of adhesive to the last in the toe region thereof and pressing the insole to the bottom of the last in the forepart region. The toe operating unit has a base plate 64 that is secured to a slide 66 that is movable in a heelward-toeward direction in a guideway 68 that is formed in a bracket 70 which is in turn secured to the frame 10. The entire toe operating unit 62 is supported on the base plate 64 so that when the position of the slide 66 is adjusted toward and away from the toe end of the last the instrumentalities supported on the base plate 64 Will move therewith. Adjustment of the slide 66 and the toe operating unit 62 is effected by means of a link 72 that is pivotally connected to a depending portion 74 of the slide 66, there being an opening 76 provided in the bracket 70 to accommodate the depending portion 74 of the slide 70. The heelwardly extending end of the link 72 has a pin 78 extending forwardly therefrom. Located below the pin 78 and mounted to the lower sub-frame 12 for rotary and axial movement is a forwardly earwardly extending shaft 80 (see FIGS. 8 and 13). A link 82 is secured to the shaft 80 and extends upwardly therefrom where a hole in the link 82 slidably engages the forwardly extending pin 78 of the link 72. Secured to the shaft 80 and located outwardly of the lower sub-frame 12 is a handle 84 to facilitate the rotation of the shaft 80. When the handle 84 has been rotated so as to effect a desired adjustment of the position of the toe operating unit 62 it may be locked in such position by means of a pin 86 that is supported by the shaft 80 for movement therewith and which is adapted to engage with any one of a number of detent holes 88 that are formed in the lower sub-frame 12, the holes 88 being circumferentially spaced and equi distant from the axis of the shaft 80. Thus when it is desired to adjust the position of the toe operating unit 62 the handle 84 is manipulated so as to slide the shaft 80 forwardly a distance such that the pin 86 may clear the holes 88, then rotate the handle 84 so as to bring the pin 86 to the hole 88 corresponding to the desired adjustment whereupon the shaft 80 may be urged rearwardly so as to engage the pin 86 with the desired hole 88. A compression spring 90 circumscribes the shaft 80 and is interposed between the link 82 and the lower sub-frame 12 and serves to urge the shaft 80 rearwardly so as to maintain the pin 86 in its corresponding hole.

As previously mentioned, after the last L has been placed on the last supporting unit 16 and the last 2 and heel slide 24 are urged toewardly by the operator until the toe of the last engages and actuating member 35 which determines the position of the last in the machine. Referring to FIG. 11 the actuating member 35 is pivotally mounted to a ledge 92 that is secured to and extends heelwardly of the base plate 64. A switch 94 is secured to the ledge 92 and has a plunger 96 thereof extending upwardly therefrom. A toewardly extending finger 98 is secured to the abutting member 35 and is adapted to bear against the plunger 96 of the switch 94 such that when the toe of the last is brought to bear against the actuating member 35 the switch 94 may be triggered. The switch 94 is interposed in the control circuit of the machine so as to cause actuation of the motor 46 to lock the last in place and to effect a swinging of the toe locaters 100 into engagement with the periphery of the forepart of the last as will be described below.

Referring to FIGS. 10, 11, 12 and 13 it may be seen that each of the toe locaters 100, includes a pair of heightwise extending bars 102 and 104 that are rigidly connected to frames 106, there being one such toe locator 100 on each side of the last L. Each of the toe locators 100 are movable between an open position wherein the toe locators are spaced from the last and an operative position wherein they are in engagement with the periphery of the forepart of the last (see FIG. 28). This movement of each toe looator is effected by means of a link-age that includes a bell crank 108 that is pivotally mounted to an extension 110 of the ledge 92 by a pin 109. The piston rod 112 of an air operated motor 114 is pivotally connected by a pin 116 to a toewardly extending portion 118 of the bell crank 108. The other end of the air motor 114 is pivotally mounted to the toew-ardmost end of the base plate 64 by means of a crossbar 1.20 that is secured to the base plate 64. Each frame 106 is pivotally mounted to a heelwardly extending portion 122 of the bell crank 108 by means of a heightwise extending pin 124 that is contained within a tubular portion 126 of the frame 106. From the foregoing it may be seen that actuation of the motors 114 may be effected to cause each bell crank 108 to swing about its pin 109 thereby carrying the toe locators 100 inwardly towards and into engagement with the periphery of the forepart of the last. The pivotal mounting of each frame 106 to its respective hell crank 108 is such that the bars 102 and 104 are self-aligning with respect to the periphery of the last. In order to prevent the toe locators 100 from swinging loosely on the bell cranks 108, the frame 106 is rotatably biased such that the outermost and heelwardmost toe locater 102 will be the first to contact the periphery of the last. Each such arrangement includes a bracket 128 that is secured to each of the bell cranks 108 and has an outwardly extending portion in which a slot 130 is formed. A rod 132 that is fastened to each of the outermost bars 102 extends towards the outwardly extending end of the bracket 128 and is contained within the slot 130. A compression spring 134 which circumscribes the rod 132 is disposed between the bracket 128 and the bar 102 thus rotatably biasing each frame 106 in such a manner that it may not swing loosely and so that its outermost and heelwardmost bar 102 will tend to engage the periphery of the forepart of the last first.

With the last L locked in position and the bars 102, 104 in engagement with the periphery of the forepart of the last, the last is in readiness to have the conditioned insole I applied to the bottom thereof. The conditioning of the insole I includes overmolding of the insole to a contour similar to but exaggerating that of the bottom of the last and also applying adhesive to the insole so that when the insole is brought to bear against the last bottom it may adhere thereto. For this purpose an insole overmolding unit 136 that includes a molding member 138 and a resilient pressing member 140 is incorporated into the machine. Referring to FIGS. 1, 8, and 9 it may be seen that the molding member 138 is normally located above the last supporting unit 16 and is mounted for forward-rearward movement so that it may be retracted rearwardly and away from the last for a purpose later described. The resilient molding pad 140 is located above the last supporting unit 16 and is mounted for heightwise movement that is towards and away from the last supporting unit 16 so that when the molding member 140 is in its forward position over the last L the molding pad 140 may 'be moved downwardly into engagement with the molding member 1 40 and when the molding member is in its rearward and out-of-the-way position, the pad 140 may move downwardly into engagement with the bottom of the last L. Inasmuch as the heel seat and forepart portion of the last are relatively flat, overmolding of the corresponding parts of the insole is unnecessary. For this reason the mold member 138 does not extend the full length of the insole but is only adapted to engage the insole between the breastline and ball-break portions thereof where the curvatures of the last are substantial. The degree of curvature of the various portions of the mold member 138 is generally greater than corresponding portions of the last and is such that when the pressing pad 140 forces the insole therebetween the continuity of fibers of the insole will become disrupted to a degree suflicient to substantially reduce the elasticity of the insole material.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 8 and 9 a channel-shaped support 142 is secured to the rearward portion and extends upwardly of the lower sub-frame 12 and a top plate 144 is affixed to the top of the support member 142. The top plate 144 has a forward-rearward T-shaped slot 146 formed therein. A mold slide 148 having a T-shaped section 150 depending therefrom is slidably mounted on the top plate 144 with the T-shaped section 150 thereof being slidably contained within the T-shaped slot 146 formed in the top plate 144 so that the mold slide 148 may be guided in forward-rearward movement. The movement of the mold slide 148 is effected by means of an air actuated motor 152 that is secured to the support member 142 by means of a bracket 154 and has a forwardly extending piston rod 156 that is connected to the depending T-shaped section 150 of the mold slide 148. The mold member 138 is slidably supported on a flat surface 158 that is formed at the forwardmost end of the mold slide 148. The mold member 138 is disposed in a generally heelward-toeward direction and is pivotally mounted at its heelward end to the mold slide at a pivot point 160. This pivotal mounting of the mold member 138 serves to permit adjustment thereof so as to permit operation on either right or left insoles. A drive mechanism is connected to the mold member 138 to effect the pivotal movement thereof and includes a slide 162 located on the upper surface of the mold slide 138. The slide 162 is held in place by means of a bracket 164 that is secured to the mold slide 148 and extends over the slide 162 to thu retain it in position. A bearing surface 163 may be provided (such as Teflon) between the slide 162 and mold slide 148. The forward end of the slide 162 is pivotally connected to the mold member .138 by means of a hollow ferrule 166 which also functions to dispense the adhesive to the insole in a manner that will be later described. A cut-out 168 is formed at the bottom of the mold member 138 so as to accommodate the forwardmost end of the slide 162. An air operated motor 170 is secured to the support member 142 and has a forwardly extending piston rod 172 that is connected to an extension 174 of the slide 162. Thus it may be seen that actuation of the motor 170 may effect forward or rearward movement of the slide 162 which in turn may effect pivotal movement of the mold member 138 so a to position the mold member in substantial longitudinal alignment with the last and insole for operation on either a right or a left insole. It should be noted that the pressing pad 140 should be wide enough so that when moved downwardly it may fully engage the molding member 138 in either its right or left position.

To briefly recapitulate, after the last has been locked on the last supporting unit 16, the toe locaters have been swung inwardly into engagement with the periphery of the forepart of the 'last and with the mold slide 148 in its forward position such that the mold member 138 is located above the last, the insole is introduced to the machine. The insole is placed onthe mold member 138 and is urged toewardly until the periphery of the forepart of the insole is brought to bear against upwardly protruding extensions 176 of the toe locaters 100 with the heel end of the insole being dropped within the heel retainer 178. The heel retainer 178 is a substantially U-shaped member that is adapted to embrace the heel end of the insole. It is mounted to the support member 142 by means of a pair of brackets 180 and 182. It may be noted that the extension 176 of the toe locating units 100 are eccentrically mounted to the frame 106 so as to permit minor adjustments to be made to correspond to the particular style of insole and last. The pressing mechanism may then be actuated to effect a pressing of the insole to the mold member 138 and thus cause the insole to be overmolded.

Referring to FIGS. 1, l4, l and 19, the pressing mechanism includes a pair of heightwise extending rarns 184 that are mounted to the upper sub-frame 14 above the mold member 138. The rams 184 are mounted for heightwise movement towards and away from the molding member 138 by means of rollers 186 that are rotatably mounted to the upper sub-frame and which engage tracks 188 formed in the edges of the rams 184. The resilient pressing member is mounted to the lower ends of the rams 184 in a manner later described in detail.

Heightwise movement of the rams 184 is effected by a drive mechanism that includes a pair of heelwardlytoewardly disposed levers 190 being pivotally connected at pins 192 to the rams 184. The other end of each of the levers 190 is pivotally connected by means of a block 194 and pin 196 to the piston rod 198 of an air operated motor 200. The other end of the air operated motor 200 is pivotally secured to the lower sub-frame 12, the piston rod 198 being movable in a heightwise direction. The levers 190 are fulcrumed at a point intermediate their ends and the fulcrum is movable between the ends of the levers 190 so as to vary the mechanical advantage of the levers 190 for a purpose later described. The construction of the movable fulcrum includes a bar 202 swingably suspended at a pivot 203, from the upper sub-frame 14 for movement in a heelward-toeward plane and being disposed between the levers 190. Mounted to the lower depending end of the bar 202 are a pair of forwardlyrearwardly extending pins 204 that are slidably contained within slots 206 that are formed in each of the levers 190. The slots 206 are disposed at a slight incline to the horizontal but in a substantially heelward-toeward direction so that as the bar 202 is swung heelwardly or toewardly the distance between the fulcrum and the pins 192 that connect the rams 184 to the levers 190 may be varied accordingly. The purpose for which the slots 206 are inclined will be explained later. It may be seen that when the bar 202 and fulcrum pins 204 mounted thereto are swung toewardly the mechanical advantage of the levers 190 will be increased. Conversely when the bar 202 is urged heelwardly the mechanical advantage of the levers 190 will be decreased. The movement of the bar 202 is effected by means of an air operated motor 208 that is pivotally mounted to the toeward end of the frame 10 and has a 'heelwardly extending piston rod 210 that is pivotally connected to the bar 202 by means of a clevis 212.

After the insole I has been properly located on the molding member 138, the pressing mechanism is actuated to mold the insole to the contour of the molding member 138. Inasmuch as a greater force is required to properly overmold the insole than in pressing the insole into flush engagement with the bottom of the last, the motor 208 is initially actuated to swing the bar 202 toewardly, thus sliding the fulcrum pins 204 toewardly Within the slot 206 and consequently increasing the mechanical advantage of the levers 190 so that when the motor 200 is actuated the pad 140 may be urged downwardly with increased force. It may be noted that as the bar 202 and fulcrum pins 204 are swung toewardly the inclination of the slot 206 formed in each lever 190 will cause the toeward ends of the levers 190 to swing downwardly (counter-clockwise as seen in FIGS. 15 and 19) about the pin 196 the eifect of which is to carry the rams 184 and the pressing member 140 mounted thereto downwardly into proximity with the insole and mold member 138 so as to be in readiness for the subsequent actuation of the motor 200 to urge the rams 184 and pressing member 140 downwardly and thus overmold the insole (see FIG. 24).

While the insole is being pressed to the insole mold 138 adhensive dots are caused to be applied to the insole I and also to the last L. A dot D of adhensive is applied to the insole at the shank area and at a point just forward of the ball of the insole and a dot D of adhesive is also applied to the last bottom in the toe region thereof (see FIG. 26). Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8 the adhensive dots D are applied to the insole I by means of discharge orifices 214 and 216 that are located in the molding surface 139 of the molding member 138. The orifices 214 and 216 are formed in plugs 215 and 217 that are contained in the mold member 138. The plugs 215 and 217 may be slightly recessed below the surface 139 of the mold member so as to form a slight depression about each orifice. The depression defines a volume equal to that of the volume of the measured charge that is forced to the orifices. Conduits 218 and 220 are formed within the molding member and serve to communicate the discharge orifices 214 and 216 with a cylindrical bore 222 in which the hollow ferrule 166 is pivotally contained. The hollow of the ferrule 166 is in communication with a passageway 224 that is formed within and extends lengthwise of the slide 162. Mounted to the rearward end of the slide 162 is a fitting 226 which connects the passageway to a heated hose 228 which in turn is connected to a source of adhensive (not shown). It may thus be seen that adhesive may be forced through the hose 228 into the passageway 224, through the ferrule 166, into the bore 222, through the conduits 218 and 220 and to discharge orifices 214 and 216 wherefrom the adhesive may be deposited in dots D on the insole I. Inasmuch as the ferrule 166 cooperates with surface of the bore 222 to form a pivoting connection therebetween an O ring 230 is provided as a seal. Heaters 231 may be provided in the mold member 138 to maintain the adhensive at the desired temperature.

The depositing of the dot of adhesive at the toe end of the bottom of the last is effected by means of a toe depositing unit that is supported on and for movement with the toe operating unit 62 by means of a column 232 that is secured to and extends upwardly from the base plate 64, (see FIGS. 10 and 11). A block 234 that is fastened to the column 232 has a rearwardly extending projection 236 on which the toe depositing unit is mounted for forward-rearward adjustment by means of slots 238 formed in the projection 236. A bracket 240 is mounted to the projection 236 and has an air operated motor 242 secured to the upper end thereof. The piston rod 244 of the air motor 242 extends downwardly towards the toe of the last L and has secured to the end thereof a conduit block 246. The conduit block 246 has a surface thereof in sliding engagement with a surface 248 of the bracket 240 for the purpose of preventing rotary movement of the conduit block 246 and members mounted thereto. An applicating rod 250 is secured to the conduit block 246 and extends downwardly therefrom towards the toe end of the last L by means of a hollow fitting 252 the hollow of which is in communication with a hollow 254 formed in the conduit block 246 (see FIGS. 22 and 23). A passageway 256 is formed lengthwise of and within the applicating rod 250 and terminates in an outlet 258 at the lower end of the applicating rod. The passageway 256 is also in communication with the hollow of the fitting 252. An elongated electric heater 260 is contained within a longitudinal bore formed within the applicating rod, there being a slot 262 formed at the upper end of the applicating rod to facilitate insertion of the heater 260 into the applicating rod. A heated hose 264 is connected to the conduit block 246 and a passageway 266 is formed within the conduit block to communicate the interior of the hose 264 with the hollow 254 of the conduit block 246 so that adhesive may flow from the hose 264 through the passageway 266 through the fitting 252 and into the passageway 256 of the applicating rod 250 wherefrom it may be dispensed at the outlet end 258 thereof. The lower end of the applicating rod is guided within a bore 268 formed within the lower end of the bracket 240 and bearings 270 may be provided within the bore 268 to minimize the effects of friction.

After the dot of adhesive has been deposited on the last and the rams 184 have moved downwardly to press the insole I into conformity with the contour of the mold member 138, the adhesive dots being applied to the insole during the overmolding thereof, the pressing member 138 is retracted out of engagement with the insole I and mold member 138 and the mold slide 148 and mold member mounted thereto are retracted rearwardly to an out-of-theway position. As the mold member 138 is drawn rearwardly the overmolded insole is retained in its position above the last L by means of its engagement with the rearwardmost toe locater and the rearward portion of the heel retainer 178 so that when the mold member 138 progresses towards its rearward position it will be withdrawn from below the insole and the insole will fall directly onto the bottom of the last L. Inasmuch as the insole may not always fall on the last in perfect registry therewith, a heel locating unit 272 is provided to help locate the insole in registry on the bottom of the last and to aid in maintaining the insole in such registry while the insole I is being pressed into adhesion with the bottom of the last. Referring to FIGS 1, 2 and 9 the heel locating unit 272 is supported on the heelwardly extending portion of the bracket 44 and includes a pair of toewardly diverging gage plates 274 that are secured to the upper end of upwardly extending rods 276. The rods 276 are secured at their lower end to a pin 278 that is pivotally mounted to an upstanding lug 280 formed integrally with the bracket 44 thus permitting the gage plates 274 to be pivoted toewardly and downwardly to engage the periphery of the heel end of the last and insole. This pivoting movement of the gage plates 274 is effected by means of a heelwardly extending finger 282 that is secured to the pin 278 and an air operated motor 284 that is secured to the heelward end of the bracket 44 and has an upwardly extending piston rod 286 that is engageable with the heelwardly protruding finger 282. The gage plates 274 are maintained in a normally upward and out of the way position by means of a tension spring 288 that is connected between the heelwardly protruding finger 282 and the bracket 44. Thus, after the insole I falls onto the bottom of the last L the control circuit of the machine causes the motor 284 to be actuated thus rotating the gage plates 274 toewardly and downwardly into engagement with the periphery of the heel end of the insole I and last L and simultaneously urging the periphery of the toe end of the insole into, abutting engagement with the toe locaters 100. The heel gage unit 272 is maintained in this position during the remainder of the cycle of operation of the machine to insure that the insole I is maintained in registry on the bottom of the last L. It should be noted, however, that as a result of the overmolding operation the insole assumes relatively sharp curvatures of such degree that when the insole is initially located on the last bottom it may not extend fully between the toe and the heel ends of the last thus rendering the toe locaters 100 and heel locating unit 272 relatively ineffective in locating the insole in registry on the last bottom. It may be seen however that as the pressing member 140 is brought downwardly and engages the insole I to remold and press the insole to the last bottom, the insole will tend to flatten and spread out whereupon the periphery of the toe and heel end thereof will be urged towards engagement with the toe locaters 100 and the heel gauge 272. It is desirable to locate one of the ends of the insole in substantial registry on the last before the pressing member engages the insole. To this end and referring to FIGS 10 and 11 it may be seen that a forepart press 290 is incorporated in the machine which is effective to engage the bottom forepart of the insole to aid in the registering of the toe end of the insole on the last bottom and to press it to the last bottom. The forepart press 290 includes an L-shaped link 292 that is pivotally mounted to a clevis 294 formed integrally with the block 234 by means of the pin 296. Pivotally mounted to a heelwardly extending portion 298 of the link 292 is an upwardly extending arm 300 at the free end of which is supported a forepart pressing member 302. Another link 304 is pivotally connected at its end to a lower portion of the block 234 by means of the pin 306 and to an intermediate portion of the arm 300 by means of the pin 308. This linkage is driven by means of an air operated motor 310 which is supported on a toewardly extending bracket 312 that is secured to the post 232. The motor 310 has a heelwardly extending piston rod 314 that is pivotally connected to the L shaped link 300 by means of the clevis 316 and pin 318. It may thus be seen that when the motor 310 is actuated to draw the piston rod 314 toewardly, the arm 300 may simutaneously swing downwardly and rotate clockwise as viewed in FIG. 11. The forepart pressing pad 302 is mounted to the free end of the arm 300 by means of a spring 320 that is secured to a cup-shaped member 322 formed integrally with the pad 302. The other end of the spring 320 is contained within a bore 324 formed within the arm 300 and is secured Within the bore by means of a retainer 326. In operating the forepart press 290 the aforesaid movement of the arm 300 to move the pad 302 downwardly and in clockwise rotation (as seen in FIG. 11) until the pad 302 engages the bottom of the fore part of the insole whereupon continued actuation of the motor 310 will cause the pad 302 to be simultaneously dragged toewardly along the bottom of the insole (to a position as shown in FIG. 25) and press the insole to the last bottom, the spring being of such resilience as to permit this movement. The toeward movement of the pad 302 insures that the periphery of the forepart of the insole will be brought into abutting engagement with the toe locaters 100 and the actuating member 35. Thus when the pressing member 140 thereafter engages the insole and causes it to flatten and spread out it will do so in a heelward direction so that as the peripherly of the heel end of the insole moves towards the heel gauge 272 the plates 274 thereof may guide the heel end of the insole into registry with the heel end of the last.

When the insole is so located on the last bottom it is ready to be pressed into adhesion therewith. To this end the control circuit of the machine causes actuation of the motor 200 thus pivoting the levers 190 and causing downward movement of the rams 184 and molding unit mounted thereto.

When the apparatus is to be used in securing an insole to a last of the high heeled type, it may be seen that the pressing pad 140 may not fully engage the last bottom but will tend to engage it only at the toeward portions thereof due to the differences in height between the forepart and the heel portion of the high heel last. In order to cause the pad 140 to properly engage the bottom of the last the pad 140 is mounted to the rams 184 for pivotal movement in a manner described below such that before the pad 140 is brought into pressing engagement with the bottom of the last it may have been pivoted to a position such that the contoured pressing surface of the pressing pad 140 substantially parallels the bottom contour of the last. Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19 the molding unit includes the pressing pad 140, formed from a resilient compressible material such as rubber and which is secured to a plate 328 by means of clips 330 that are secured to the plate 328 and extend into slots 332 formed in the upper portion of the pad 140 (see FIG. 17). A lug 331 is secured to and extends upwardly from the toeward end of the plate 328 and is pivotally connected by means of a pin 334 to a clevis 336 that is mounted on a bridge plate 337 that is secured to the lower ends of and spans the rams 184 so that the plate 328 and pad 140 supported therefrom may pivot about the pin 334 in a clockwise direction seen in FIGS. 15 and 19. The pivotal movement of the plate 328 and pad 140 is effected by a shaft 338 that is rotatably mounted to the rams 184 and has a radially extending lever 340 secured to the rearwardly protruding end thereof. A roller 342 is rotatably mounted to the end of the lever 340 and is contained within a cam slot 344 that is formed by a pair of contoured plates 346 and 348 that are secured to and depend from the rear portion of the upper sub-frame 14. Secured to the shaft 338 intermediate the rams is a bifurcated lug 350 at the outer bifurcated ends of which a pin 352 is secured (see FIG. 18). The pin 352 is contained within a slot 354 formed by the plate 328 and an angle member 356 that is secured to the heelward end of the plate 328, there being a cutout 358 formed in the bridge plate 337 to permit the lug 350 to extend therethrough. Thus it may be seen that as the rams 184 are moved downwardly, carrying the molding unit downwardly therewith, the roller 342 will be retarded in its downward movement when it engages the portion 360 of the cam slot 344 the effect of which being that the shaft 338 will be caused to rotate in a clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 19. Rotation of the shaft 338 in such a clockwise direction will cause the pin 352 to rotate therewith thereby urging the heelward end of the plate 328 and pressing pad downwardly in clockwise pivotal movement about the pin 334. Rotation of the pressing pad 140 will terminate when the roller 352 engages the portion 362 of the cam slot 344 and the molding pad will be maintained in its pivoted position.

As mentioned above, when the last is of a relatively high heeled style it may be seen that if the pad 140 is moved downwardly towards the last L the toeward end of the pad 140 would engage the forepart region of the last and insole well before the shank and breastline portion of the last and insole have been so engaged, with the result that when the pad 140 has been compressed and fully engages the last and insole the forepart region will be under a considerably greater pressure than the more heelward region of the last insole. The above described pivoting movement of the pressing pad 140 before it engages the last is effective to cause the pad 140 to be in a position such that when it does engage the insole, it will do so completely so as to be in full flush engagement therewith. It is also essential to equal distribution of pressure to the last bottom that the pad 140 be closely contoured to that of the last bottom. As shown in the illustrative embodiment of the invention the pressing surface of the pad 140 is a cylindrical surface and of a contour paralleling the last bottom along the lengthwise dimension thereof. This contour need not necessarily define a cylindrical surface but could define the exact contour of the last bottom both lengthwise and widthwise without departing from the spirit of the invention. The amount of rotation imparted to the pad 140' may be varied to suit any particular style of last by changing the contoured plates 346, 348 to plates having a ditferently shaped cam slot 362. When a substantial change in style is to be effected, a pad 140 having the desired contour should be substituted.

The timing of the actuation of the various motors incorporated in the machine is controlled by means of a cam arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 17, 20 and 21. As may be seen therefrom, a cam cage 364 that includes a number of parallel cams 366, 368, 370 and 372 and a pair of end plates 374 and 376 that are secured to the ends of the cams, is mounted for slidable movement to the upper sub-frame 14 in a heelward-toeward direction by means of a dovetail tongue 360 that is secured to the upper sub-frame 14 and on which the end plates 374, 376 are slidably mounted. Movement of the cam cage 364 is effected by means of an air operated motor 382 that is mounted to the upper sub-frame 14 and has a toewardly extending piston rod 384 that is connected to the end plate 376. The control valves 386, 388, 390, 392, and 394 are mounted to a housing 396 that is secured to the upper sub-frame 14. Each of the valves has an actuating memher that is engageable with the cam that is associated with that particular valve. It may thus [be seen that as the motor is actuated to draw the cam cage along the tongue 380 the cams may engage their respective actuating members thus actuating the valves and the motors associated with each of the valves in the desired sequence.

Summarizing the operation of the machine the operator places a last L on the last supporting unit 16 with the back B of the last L resting on the heel slide 24 and the last pin 30 extending upwardly into the last pin hole H, the vamp of the last being placed on the toe rest 20. The last L and the heel slide 24 are then urged toewardly so as to bring the toe end of the last into engagement with the actuating member 35 thus properly locating the last in the machine and causing actuation of the valve 94. It should be noted that the slides 18 and 66 should be adjusted (by means of the handle 84) to a position such that when the last L is in its forwar-dmost position against the actuating member 35, the ball of the last L is in alignment with the corresponding ball portion of the mold member 138 and pressing pad 190. The valve 94 is interposed in the control circuit of the machine so as to cause the motors 114, 114' and 46 to be actuated. Actuation of the motor 46 is effective to urge the driven wedge 38 forwardly toward the last L and to press the last between the last pin 30 and the driven wedge 38 thereby clamping the heel end of the shoe rigidly in place. Actuation of the motors 114 and 114 causes the bell cranks 108 to swing inwardly thereby bringing the toe locating members 102 and '104 into abutting engagement with the periphery of the forepart of the last L as illustrated in FIG. 28. The control circuit then causes the machine to come to rest to permit the operator to introduce the unformed insole thereto. The operator places the insole I on the mold member 138 and urges the insole toewardly to bring the periphery of the forepart thereof into engagement with the upwardly extending portions 176 of the toe locaters 102 while placing the heel end of the insole in the heel retainer 178. The insole is then properly located with respect to the mold member 138 and is also oriented in general but spaced alignment with the bottom of the last L.

With the insole I and the last L so disposed in the machine the operator reactivates the control circuit to cause the machine to resume and complete its operations. The sequence and duration of operation of the various mechanisms is controlled by means of the movable cam cage 364 and the various valves associated therewith. When the operator causes the cycle of operation to be resumed the motor 382 is actuated to move the cam cage 364 in a heelward direction. The motor 382 may be controlled by a regulator valve, so that the duration of operation of the various motors may be varied to suit the particular type of shoe being made. The actuating members of the valves 386, 388, 390, 392, 394 are of such construction as to be actuable in response to movement of its assocated cam in one direction only. Such valves are commercially available from the Clippard Instrument Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. The came cage 364 is so arranged that upon actuation of the motor 382 to draw the cam cage heelwardly the cam 368 will engage the actuating member 388' of the valve 388. The valve 388 controls the actuation of the motor 208 to swing the bar 202 toewardly thereby moving each fulcrum pin 204 to its toewardmost position in the slot 206 of the lever 190. As mentioned earlier, this movement of the fulcrum pins 204 serves to increase the mechanical advantages of each lever 1'90 and also moves each ram 184 downwardly so as to bring the pressing pad 140 into proximity with the mold member 138 and insole supported thereon as illustrated in FIG. 24. As shown in FIG. 24 the dimension of the pressing pad 140 and mold member 138 are such that when the fulcrum pins 204 are urged toewardly with the pad 140 moving downwardly the insole may be lightly gripped therebetween prior to the actual pressing of the insole to the overmolded condition, the advantage of this procedure being that when the overmolding operation is "commenced the pad 140 may not abruptly engage the insole so as to displace it from its generally aligned position.

The valve 388 also controls the activation of the motor 242 so as to urge the outlet end 258 of the applicating rod 250 downwardly into engagement with the forepart of the last L so as to be in readiness to apply adhesive thereto.

The cam cage 364 is so constructed that just after the fulcrum pins 204 have moved to their aforesaid toewardmost position, the cam 370 engages the actuating member 390' of the valve 390, the valve 390 being associated with the motor 200 to effect actuation thereof. When the motor 200 is thus actuated the levers 190 pivot about the fulcrum pins 204 (counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 19) thereby drawing the rams 184 and pressing pad depending therefrom into pressing engagement with the in'sole I and the mold member 138 thus overmolding insole to the contour of the mold member 138.

While the pressing member 140 presses the insole to its overmolded condition the adhesive is applied to the insole and to the forepart of the last bottom. The timing of the adhesive application is effected by means of a valve 398 (see FIGS. 8 and 17) that is mounted to the mold slide 148. The valve 398 controls: the operation of a cement pumping device (not shown), the particular construction of the cement pump not being of particular importance to an understanding of instant invention, it being sufficient to note that the cement pump is adapted to pump a measured charge of adhesive each time it is activated. By way of example, a cement pump such as that disclosed in United States application Ser. No. 472,525 filed July 16, 1965 may be incorporated into the machine and having its outlet or dispensing end connected to the slide 162 by means of the hose 228 and fitting 226, the aforementioned passageways and conduits serving to direct the flow of adhesive to the orifices 214 and 216 of the mold member 138. The valve 398 is actuated by means of a lug 400 (see FIG. 17) that is secured to the plate 328 so as to be in alignment with the valve 398 when the mold slide 148 is in its forward position. The lug 400 and valve 398 are so arranged that when the rams 184 are moved downwardly toward the mold member 138 the valve 398 may be actuated just as the pressing pad 140 fully engages the insole I so that when the adhesive is extruded through the orifices 214 and 216 the insole I may be pressed against the orifices under a force sufficient to preclude the flow of adhesive beyond the confines of the orifices 214 and 216. Extrusion of adhesive onto the forepart of the last L 15 effected by an identical but separate adhesive pump (not shown) which is also actuated by the valve 398.

After the measured charges of adhesive have been extruded against the last and insole and as the machine continues through its cycle, the continued heelward movement of the cam cage 364 causes the actuating members 388 and 390' of the valves 388 and 390 respectively to become disengaged from the cams 368 and 370 which deactivates the valves 388 and 390 to cause the motors 208 and 200 to return to their normal idle position wherein the fulcrum pins 204 are urged to their heelwardmost position in the slots 206 and the motor 200 is deactuated so as to raise the rams 184 and pressing pad 140 supported therefrom upwardly from the insole T and mold member 138. Deactuation of the valve 388 is also effective to actuate the motor 242 so as to raise the applicating rod 250 upwardly to its out-of-the-way position. As the rams 184 move upwardly, the lug 400 becomes disengaged from the valve 398 to cause the adhesive pumping devices to return to their normal, unactuated condition so as to be in readiness to discharge another measured charge of adhesive during the next complete cycle of the machine.

The continued heelward movement of the cam cage 364 then causes the cam 372 to engage the actuating member of the valve 392 which is interposed in the control circuit 50 as to govern the operation of the motor 152. It should be noted that before the cam 172 engages the actuating member of the valve 392, it engages the actuating member 394' of the valve 394. The actuating member 394, however, is only responsive to toeward movement of the cam 172 so that it remains ineffective to trigger the valve 394 at this time. Upon actuation of the valve 392 the motor 152 is caused to draw the mold slide 148 rearwardly thus carrying the mold member 138 from its supporting position of said insole, the insole being retained above the last by means of engagement of the toe locaters 102, 104 and the heel retainer 178 therewith, so that the insole may fall onto the last bottom when the mold slide 148 and mold member 138 mounted thereto are so withdrawn.

When the insole has fallen onto the last bottom the control circuit causes actuation of the motors 310 and 284 to cause the forepart pressing member 302 to move downwardly into engagement with the insole bottom and to thereafter urge the insole I toewardly into engagement with the actuating member and toe locaters 102, 104 and to swing the heel locater 272 toewardly and downwardly into engagement with the periphery of the heel seat of the last as sown in FIG. 28. Referring to FIG. 8 the actuation of the motors 310 and 284 is controlled by means of a valve 402 that is mounted to the mold support 154 and is actuable by a lug 404 mounted on the mold slide 148 in alignment with an actuating member 402' of the valve. It may thus be seen that the forepart pressing unit 290 and the heel locating unit 272 will not be actuated until the mold slide 148 and mold member 138 mounted thereto are completely out of the way thus insuring that the insole will have already fallen onto the last bottom. The valve 402 is also incorporated into the control circuit of the machine so as to cause actuation of the motor 200 to commence the pressing of the insole I to the bottom of the last L. It is essential that the toe locating members 102, 104, heel locating unit 272, and forepart pressing unit 290 have been actuated to cooperatively and properly locate the insole on the last before the motor 200 is actuated to cause the pad 140 to be moved downwardly to press the insole to the last bottom. This result is achieved by reason of the fact that the motor 200 is of considerably greater volume than that of the motors 284 and 310 and will thus take a longer time to become fully actuated.

As mentioned earlier the forepart pressing unit 290 is effective both to press the forepart of the insole to the last bottom and to urge the toe end of the insole into substantial registry with the toe end of the last. Due to the pronounced curvature of the insole after it has been subjected to the overmolding process, the heel end of the insole may not fully extend towards, so as to be in registry with, the heel seat of the last (see FIG. 26). When the pressing pad 140 moves downwardly towards and initially engages the overmolded insole it tends to flatten the insole and thus remold it to the contour of the bottom of the last. During this remolding operation, the forepart pressing unit 290 is effective to maintain the toe end of the insole in substantial alignment with the toe end of the last such that as the curvatures of the insole are urged into a less pronounced configuration by the downward movement of the pad 140 the heel end of the insole is caused to spread heelwardly so as to move into engagement with the gage plates 274, the gage plates 274 being effective to guide the heel end of the insole into registry with the heel seat of the last.

Inasmuch as the force required to overmold the insole is considerably greater than that required to remold and ,press the insole to the bottom of the last, means are provided in the control circuit for introducing air at a lower pressure to the motor 200 than had been heretofore employed. Referring to FIGS. 14, 15 and 19 a valve 406 having an actuating member 406' is mounted to the upper frame 14. The actuating member 406' is disposed in alignment with a lug 408 that is mounted to the piston rod 198 of the motor 200 and is located so as to engage the 1 6 actuating member 406' just before the pressing pad 140 fully presses the insole to the last bottom. Actuation of the valve 406 causes lower pressure air to be introduced to the motor 200.

While the insole is being pressed to the last bottom the continued heelward movement of the cam cage 364 causes the cam 366 to engage the actuating member 410' of a valve 410 that is mounted to the upper sub-frame 14. The valve 410 is interposed in the control circuit so as to reverse the operation of the motor 382 thus causing the cam cage 364 to reverse its movement to a toeward direction. It should be noted that during the heelward movement of the cam cage 364 the engagement of the cam 366 with the actuating member 386 was ineffective to actuate the valve 386, the valve 386 being responsive only to heelward movement of the cam 366. Similarly it should further be noted that as the cam cage 364 moves in a toeward direction the valves 388, 390 and 392 being responsive only to heelward movement of their associated cams, will remain unactuated. As the clam cage 364 moves toewardly the cam 372 engages the actuating member 394 of the valve 394. The valve 394 is interposed in the control circuit of the machine as to actuate the motors 310, 284, 114, 114, 200 and 46 which respectively withdraws the forepart pressing member 302 upwardly and out of engagement with the insole, swings the heel locating unit heelwardly and upwardly to an out-of-the-way position, causes the toe locaters to swing away from and out of engagement with the periphery of the forepart of the last, raises the rams 184 and pressing pad upwardly from the shoe, and releases the wedge 38 from its locking position against the last L. As the clam cage 374 continues its toeward returning movement the cam 366 engages the actuating member 386' of the valve 386. The valve 386 controls the operation of the motors 26 and 29 to cause the last pin 30 to be retracted downwardly out of the last pin hole of the last to a level below the heel slide 24 and to urge the plunger 31 forwardly into engagement with the last L to push the assembled last and insole from the last supporting unit 16. The assembled last and insole may then be subjected to further shoe making and finishing operation such as lasting an upper thereto, bottom roughing, outsole attaching, etc. The adhesive is so constituted that, after completion of the shoe finishing operation, the finished shoe may be easily removed from the last.

It should be further noted that the instant invention may be utilized in attaching an outsole to a lasted shoe upper or in other manufactures where one workpiece is to be molded to the contour of a second workpiece and then attached thereto, whether temporarily or permanently.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for molding a shoe sole and thereafter pressing it against the bottom of a shoe form comprising:

a frame;

means for supporting said shoe form in a bottom-up position and being mounted to said frame;

a pressing unit supported on said frame, said pressing unit including a mold adapted to support said shoe sole and a press that is cooperative with said mold to defrom said shoe sole to shoe bottom-like contour;

said pressing unit being normally disposed above said shoe form supporting means;

means mounting said mold for movement from said normal position thereof to a remote position that is spaced laterally of said shoe form supporting means;

shoe sole retaining means supported on said frame and being so constructed and arranged as to reta'm said shoe sole in position above said shoe form supporting means while said mold is moved to said remote position whereby as said mold is so moved it is withdrawn from a position supportive of said shoe sole whereupon said shOe sole may descend onto the bottom of said shoe form; and

means so movably mounting the press above the shoe form supporting means and the mold as to enable it to press the shoe sole against the mold when the mold is in its normal position and to press the shoe sole against the bottom of the shoe form when the mold is in its remote position.

2. An apparatus for molding a shoe sole and thereafter pressing it against the bottom of a shoe form comprising:

a frame;

means for supporting said shoe form in a bottom-up position and being mounted to said frame;

a molding member having a molding surface formed thereon of a shoe bottom-like contour, said molding member being supported on said frame so as to be normally disposed above said shoe form supporting means;

pressing means mounted to said frame above said shoe sole supporting means and said molding member for movement that is towards and away from said molding surface so that when said shoe sole is located on said molding surface said pressing means may press said shoe sole to the mold surface to thus mold the sole;

means mounting said molding member for movement from said normal position thereof to a remote position that is spaced laterally of said shoe form supporting means;

shoe sole retaining means supported on said frame and being so constructed and arranged as to retain said shoe sole in position above said shoe fonm supporting means while said molding member is moved to said remote position thereof whereby as said mold member moves to its remote position it may be withdrawn from a position supportive of said shoe sole whereupon said shoe sole may descend onto the bottom of said shoe form; and

means so movably mounting the pressing means to the frame so as to enable it to press the shoe sole against the bottom of said shoe form after the shoe sole has descended onto the bottom of said shoe form.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 2 further comprising:

guide means for guiding said shoe sole, during its descent, into general registry with said bottom of said shoe form.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein said shoe sole retaining means comprises:

a first toe locating member supported on said frame at the level of said shoe sole when said shoe sole is supported by said molding member, said toe locating member being so disposed as to be adjacent the toe end of said shoe sole and tothat side of said shoe sole to which said molding member moves when withdrawn to its remote position; and

a heel engaging member supported on said frame at the level of said shoe sole when said shoe sole is supported by said molding member, said heel engaging member being so disposed as to be adjacent the heel end of said shoe sole and having at least a first portion thereof located on that side of said shoe sole to which said molding member moves when withdrawn to its remote position whereby said toe locating member and said heel engaging member may preclude movement of said shoe sole with said molding member.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 4 further comprising means for locating said shoe sole in a desired predetermined position with respect to said molding member, said locating means comprising:

a second toe locating member supported on said frame at the level of said shoe sole when said shoe sole is supported by said mold member, said second toe locating member being disposed adjacent the toe end of said shoe sole and on the other side thereof than said first toe locating member such that the toe end of said shoe sole may be urged between said first and second toe locating members;

the spacing between said toe locating members being of a distance such that when said shoe sole is placed on said molding member and urged toewardly, said shoe sole may engage said toe locating members and thus be precluded from toeward movement beyond said desired predetermined position.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 4 further comprising:

guide means for guiding said shoe sole, during its descent into general registry with said bottom of said shoe form.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein said first toe locating member extends downwardly to the level of said shoe form and is engageable with the forepart periphery of said shoe form and wherein said means for guiding said shoe sole, during its descent into general registry with said bottom of said shoe form comprises:

a second toe locating member supported on said frame and disposed at said level of said shoe sole and at the lforep art and at the other side of said shoe sole, said second toe locating member extending downwardly to the level of said shoe form so as to be engageable with the forepart periphery of said shoe form on the other side thereof such that said toe locating members may embracingly engage the forepart of said shoe form with the upper ends of said toe locating members embracing the forepart periphery of said insole; and

wherein said heel engaging member has a further sec- 0nd portion thereof disposed on the opposite side of the heel of said shoe sole so that said first and second portion of said heel engaging member may embrace the heel end of said shoe sole, said first and second portions of said heel engaging member extending downwardly towards the periphery of the heel of said shoe form whereby when said shoe sole is caused to descend onto the bottom of said shoe form, said first and second toe locating members and said first and second portions of said heel engaging member may cooperate to preclude the shoe sole from movement beyond the periphery of the bottom of the shoe lfOl'IIl and thus guide the shoe sole into general registry therewith.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 2 further comprising:

means for locating said shoe sole in registry on the bottom of said shoe form; and

means for attaching said shoe sole to said bottom of said shoe form.

9. An apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein said means for attaching said shoe sole to said bottom of said shoe form comprises:

means for interposing adhesive between said sole and the bottom of said shoe form prior to engagement of said shoe sole therewith.

10. An apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein said means for interposing adhesive between said insole and said form bottom comprises:

at least one conduit formed within said molding member and having an outlet located at and intersecting said molding surface of said molding member;

means for introducing said adhesive into said conduit;

and

means for forcing adhesive through said conduit when said insole is being pressed to said molding surface by said pressing member whereby adhesive may be applied to said insole.

11. An apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein said means for interposing adhesive between said insole and said form bottom comprises:

at least one adhesive applicator mounted to said machine and having .a dispensing end movable between a position that is remote from the bottom of said

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