US2426487A - Machine for making wedge heels and the like - Google Patents

Description

Au 26, 1947. G. CLAUSING MACHINE FOR MAKING WEDGE HEELS AND THE LIKE Filed Au 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NM Ow 0a Va 00 N 7 nW I U J I wv J NH LP a UN I I I l I l l 5 mn vv g [mm 7 on G WHHHIWH: Q

L ww hm mm 9 mm 1 INVENTOR.

Geezer; CLAILSINCI Aug. 26, 1947- G, c usm 2,426,487

MACHINE FOR/MAKING WEDGE HEELS AND THE LIKE Filed A ug. 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet?v INVENTOR GEORGE CLAUSI N G ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 26, 1947 MACHINE FOR MAKING WEDGE HEELS AND THE LIKE George Clausing, Portsmouth, Ohio, assignor to Vulcan Corporation, Fortsmouth, Ohio, a cor.-

poration of Ohio Application August 22, 1944, S erialNo. 550,628

11 Claims.

1, This invention relates to a machine for cutting and turning wedge heels and other articles having sides with continually-changing angularity; from wood or other suitable material.

The shank or arch portions of wedge heels have side faces which converge relatively teeply downward and inward from their attaching faces.

Heretofore two machines have been required for the production of wooden heels of this type, one of which was used to cut the heel to its general shape and a second which cut or turned the converging side faces. After these two operations, it has also been necessary to sand the heels by hand in order to finish them to the desired shape.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a unitary apparatus by which a wedge heel or similar objects may be accurately formed from a wood heel blank or block, and completely finished without being transferred to another machine and without a hand-sanding operation. An important feature of the present invention i the provision of a wedge heel-turning machine-in which use is made of two substantially vertically mounted oppositely-rotating cutters each provided above and below With rub collars against which two cams or templates mounted on a clamp unit or jack, operate to determine the angularity and shape of the cut made on a heel blank mounted in the jack between the cams. The machine of the present invention is arranged and operated so that one side of the heel blank up to the middle of the back of the heel is cut on one of the cutters while the other side of the blank is cut on the other cutter up to the middle of the back of the heel.

Another important feature of the present invention is the provision of a jack or clamping unit which is rotatablymounted in a movable support or base on an axis parallel thereto and generally coincident with the longitudinal aXis of the blank. The movable base is connected by a pivoted linkage means to a fixed point midway and back of the cutters, so that the jack may be shifted from one cutter to the other, swung on an upright axis about each cutter, and rotated on an aXisparallelv to the top of a fiat-topped table on which the base of the jack slides. The jack is also provided with a lock or stop by means of which the jack may be quickly adjusted to an upright position and maintained in that position during the cuttin of the rear portion of the heel block.

The machine of the present invention includes other features and advantages which will be apparent from the following more detailedde scription thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: I

Fig. 1 is a side View of the apparatus with certain parts broken away. I

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view looking down on the apparatus, with certain parts broken away or removed, showing the position of the jack with respect to one of the cutters during the completion of the turning of the back portion of the heel block.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view looking down on the apparatus at the beginning of a side cut-. ting operation. Portions of the apparatus are broken away to clarify the illustration.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a finished wedge heel having side faces whichv converge downwardly and inwardly as produced by the apparatus of -the present invention.

The machine of the present invention as indicated in the drawings may be associated with or included as a part of a standard two-spindle shaper, a heel-turning machine, or any similar two vertical spindle machine, a portion ofthe frame or base of which is shown at H]. The apparatus includes two spaced vertically adjustable brackets |2' adjustably mounted. on the base H] bya bolt l3 for each bracket. The bolt l3 extends through a vertical slot in the bracket l2v so that vertical adjustment is possible. The brackets l2 carry a flat-surfaced table l4 pivoted to the brackets by pivots E6. The table M is adjustable with respect to the horizontal by means of adjusting screws lBprovided with hand wheels, which are mounted in the outer portions of the brackets I2. The machine includes two oppositely-driven vertically mounted spindles 29 carrying, straight- faced cutters 22 and 24. The spindles 20' are mounted. on the machine base 10 by means not shown, and driven by any suitable power means and connections, also not shown, The spindles 20 project through openings or notches in. the table I4, asindicated by their positions in Figs. 2 and 3. The direction of rota tion of the cutters is shown by arrows.

The rotary cutters 22. and 24 are associated with upper and lower rub collars 26 and 28.which are independently adjustable with respect to the cutters. The two rub collars for each cutter are mounted on horizontally adjustable bracket units 30 attached to the top of the base H] by means of bolts 32. The horizontal adjustment of the brackets is made by adjusting screws 34, while the rub collars 26 may be adjusted with respect to the brackets 30 and the cutters 22 and 2 by means of bolts 36 and the associated slots in the collar mounting 31. The lower rub collars 28 are adjustable with respect to cutters 22 and 24 and the brackets by means of bolts 33 (Fig, 1) and suitable slotted mountings. If the upper and lower rub collars are properly adjusted on the brackets 30 with respect to each other, they may be adjusted with respect to the cutters 22 and 24 by adjustment of the brackets 35.

The heel jack unit of the present invention which is operated in connection with the cutters 22 and 24 and the sets of rub collars associated therewith comprises a flat-bottomed base unit which rests on and is slidable on the top of the table l4. This base unit 40 is pivoted to a short link 42 which is pivoted to a long link 44, which in turn extends back between and midway of the cutters, and is connected by a fixed pivot at the end of an extension bar 46. This bar is fixed to the back edge of the table I4 by a pair of angle brackets, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The pivot point on the base 40 for the link 42 is the center of the arc of the back seat-portion of the heel. The upper surface of the extension bar 46 is flush with the top of the table l4 and provides a fixed pivot point between and back of cutters 22 and 24 which serves as a base for the swingin of the jack unit over the surface of the table S4. The base 40 includes two spaced bearings "48 in which is mounted a shaft 50 of a rotatable heel blank carrying-jack 52 which is mounted on an axis parallel to the bottom of the base 40 or to table I4.

The rotatable jack 52 includes upper and lower jaw-sections 54 and 55 extending from the head of the jack, and between which a heel block may be clamped by the mean illustrated. The lower jaw 56 which i rounded on the bottom and spaced from the base 45, carries a knurled heel blank rest plate 58 and a template or cam 55!. The cam 60 has a cut-out central section from the rear to a point near the front so that the cam slips into front and side grooves separated by a narrow section in the mid-portion of the jaw-section 56. The back portion of the cam 52 is held by studs to the lower ends of a pair of blocks 6| attached one on each side of the head of the jack 52. The upper jaw 54 mount a clamping means comprising a slide bracket 62, a slide block 64, to which is attached a link 65,

operated by a handle 58. The upper connection of the handle is fixed to a vertically adjustable clamp slide 10 mounted in the bracket 62. The upper portion of the block 64 and the clampslide 10 are preferably dove-tailed in section to correspond with a similar section in the bracket 62 in which they are slidable. The handle 68 is provided with a shoulder 12 which operates on the upper portion of the link 66 to force it and the slide block 64 down so as to clamp a heel blank 14 firmly upon the plate 58. It will be apparent that when the handle 68 is lifted, the upper portion of the link 66 is swung to the right in Fig. 1, and that the slide block 54 is raised to release the heel block 14. The clamping means may be adjusted for dilferent sizes of heel blocks by means of a threaded adjusting screw H3 attached to the clamp slide 16. The front and back positions of the block 14 are determined by 'means of a tapered breast gauge bar 11, the

stem of which i held at the desired position by means of a set screw as indicated.

The heel blanks from which the wedge heels are made are preferably oblong-shaped blocks, the tops and bottoms of which have been previously cut to the desired shape from the breast edge, such as indicated in Fig. 1.

The upper jaw 54 of the jack 52 i provided with a template or cam 18, the cams Gil and 18 being mounted respectively below and above the position of the heel block 14 parallel to each other, and spaced so that they contact respectively the rub collars 28 and 26. The cam 18 is held in place by studs which secure it to the front of jaw 54 and to the upper ends of the blocks 61., The brackets [2 are vertically adjusted so that the cams properly contact the rub collars.

Both of the cams or templates 60 and f8 are removably attached to the rotatable jack 52 so that they may be replaced by other cams of different size and/or of different contour. The shaft 50 of the rotatable jack 52 i held from endwise movement in the bearings 48 by means of an end collar 86 attached to the shaft by means of a set screw. The rotation of the jack 52 on the axis of the shaft 50 is controlled by means of a collar 32 keyed to and slidable on the shaft 50 between the bearings 45 and which is provided with a stop pin 84 which operates alternately between two pairs of adjustable stop plates 85 and 85 mounted in a recess in and attached to the base 40.

The movement of the heel jack unit upon the table I 4 is confined to a rather limited area by the linkage members 42 and 44 which are connected to the end of the bar 46, by stop pins 88 each side of the link 44 and stop pins 90 which are engaged by the side of the base 40. The pins 88 and 99 are set in and project above the table l4. The operation of the heel turning-machine may be illustrated in connection with a particular heel block which i clamped in the jack, which in turn is. provided with the proper templates for making the particular Wedge heel desired. The operation is started by swinging the unit to the left to engage the stop pin 9!]. Th position of the jack unit, including the templates 60 and 13, in relation to the cutter 22 and the rub collars associated therewith shortly after the commencement of the heel-turning operation, is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. It will be noted that the lack has been rotated to the right on the shaft 59 because of the position of the stop pin 84 ad-- jacent the left stop plate 85. The turning operation commences at the breast edge of the heel block by bringing one side of the block in contact with the cutter 22 while holding the base 40 against the pin 90 and the templates firmly against the rub collars. The side cut is completed by sliding the jack unit past the cutter 22 as limited by the linkage members 42 and 44 while keeping the block as nearly as possible at a right angle to the cutter. As the templates l8 and 5!] move along the rub collars they act to move the jack unit in and out, and to partially rotate the jack in the bearings 48, thereby forming one converging side face of the wedge heel. As the end of the side out is approached, and the links 42 and 44 move close to cutter 22, with the link 44 against the pin 88 as in Fig. 2, the jack unit is rotated about its pivot with the small link 42, through approximately one-quarter turn to out half of the back portion of the heel up to the center of the back. In shaping the wedge heel it is necessary that the backline of the heel be perpendicular so that there will be no irregularity in the back portion of the heel. This result is obtained by rotating the jack 52 to an upright position on the shaft 50, which occurs when the pin 84 engages the right stop plate 84 engages the right stop plate 86, so that a per-- fectly straight andperpendicular back line-is produced;

Having in mind that the jack is mounted, by means of the-shaft 50, so asto be rotatable about the axis of the shaft which is held inzthe bearings 48-'-4'8, the steps involved in the cutting of one side of" a heelblock: may be summarized briefly as follows:

The jack unit, with theheel block in place, is

brought to the position shown iii-Figure 3 with the base 48 in contact with-the pin 90 so that,

the templates 60" and 18' are in contact. with the rollers 28 and 26- respectively. In. view of the shapes of the templates, the jack unit when in the position shown in Figure 3, will be in a position such that the stop pin'84 is incontact with the stop plate 85'. As the cutting operation proceeds and thejack is rotatedon the axis of the shaft *to present the edgeof the heelblock to the cutter, the templates and 18., by virtue of their shapes, will cause the jack to be rotated about the axis of the shaft 50 until-a line passing through the back of the block is in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 50. At this time the stop pin 84 will be in. engagement with the right hand stop plate 86' as shown in Figure 2, so' that further rotationof the jack about the axis ofthe shaft 50 will be prevented. Bythe time the jack unit reaches the position shown-in Figure 2 one side ofthe block willhave been cut to the desired shape.

One side only of the heel blank iscut or turned' on the cutter 22. When that side is finished the other side of'the heel blank is brought into contact with the cutter 24 in the same cycleof operations as that described above in connection with the use of the cutter being slid to the rightin Fig. 1 so that the pin 84 operates between left plate 86 and the right plate 85. The cycle of operations carried out with respect to the cutter 24 will be in the opposite direction to those carried'out with respect to the cutter 22, the back of the heel'being completed with the pin 84 against the left plate 86 and with: the jack that shown. in. Fig. 2.. Both. right and left heels may be formed by the use of the proper templates or cams. In fact. the cams 60 and T8 may be made. so that the leftheel is produced as shown, with the. cams in the present position, while the right heel may be produced by simply turning the cams over. When this change is made the plates 85 are adjusted accordingly since a greater swing. of. the pin 84' is necessary for turning the inner side of the wedge heel.

The cam 18, as shown in Fig. 3, is made with a long central slot which fits the oblong base of the bracket 62 on the jaw 54 and which permits the ready removal of the cam. The cam 60 is parallel to the cam 18 and constructed in a similar way so that it fits in a groove along the sides and front of the lower portion of the jaw 56. The cams may be made of ply wood or other suitable material and secured to the jack by means other than that shown.

The pitch of the wedge heel is sometimes expressed as the angle formed between a vertical plane and a straight line through the extreme 22', the stop-collar 82- in upright position similar to a 6 back points of the top and seat of the heel. Sometimes the pitch is expressed as the horizontal' distance in inches from the extreme back point of the seat. ofthe heel'to a point vertically below the extreme back point of the top of the heel; In the present instance the pitch of the heel is obtained by'the adjustment of the angle of the table 14, as will be apparent from the angular relationships shown in Fig. l of the drawings. The -pitch may be obtained in other ways, as, for example, by attaching an angular plate to the lower jaw of the jack, on or in place of the heel rest 58'. The Wedge heel-turning machine of the present invention is a relatively simple arrangement by which wedge heels may be produced on a large scale, since the desired quantity of right orleft heels for a given size may 'bemade without any change whatever, after which the opposite heel may be produced in the same quantity by simple changes in the machine.

The spaced vertically mounted cutters 24 are shown diagrammatically as straight faced cutters which are particularly adapted for turning the converging surfaces of wedge heels. The cutters may be of the two blade type or of other suitablecuttin units, and theymay be mounted and driven in the manner shown in the applicants Patent No. 1,694A65. The templates or cams 6E] and 18- may be attached to brackets on the head 52 which may be used in place of blocks (ii. If desired,- the jack unit may be partially tinually changing angularity can be produced byproviding the proper templates or. cams 60 and T3 and cutters of the desired contour, suitably adjusting the angle and height of the table l4, and the position of the rub collars 2G and 28. Such changes are contemplated within-the scope of the present invention.

Having described the invention in its preferred.

form what is .cl'aimed'as new is:

1. In a wedge heel-turning machine a vertically mounted cutter, a flat-topped table mounted adjacent said cutter and adjustable with respect thereto, a jack unit having a flat-bottomed base on saidtable, said jack unit including a jack for holdingv a wedge heel blank,.said jack being rotatably mounted in a bearing on said base on an axisparallel'to the top of the tablewhereby said jack may present the side of to the cutter at the desired cutting angle.

2. In. a wedge heel-turning machine, a vertically mounted cutter, a flat-toppedtable adjustabl'y mounted with respect to said cutter with the cutter projecting above the table, means for adjusting the angle of the top of the table with respect to the cutter, a jack unit including a flatbottomed bass slidably mounted on said table adjacent to said cutter, said jack unit including a jack for holding a heel bank, said jack being rotatably mounted on said base on an axis parallel to the top of the table, and means associated with said jack and cutter for controlling the contour of the out made on said heel blank.

3. In a heel-turning machine, a flat-topped table and a vertically mounted cutter projecting above the table, means for adjusting the angle of 22 and" heels, it'may be used a wedge heel blank the top of the table with respect to the axis of the cutter, a jack unit having a flat-bottomed base on said table, said jack unit including a jack for holding a heel blank, two rub collars associated with said cutter one above and one below the cutter, two templates mounted on said jack one above and one below the position of said blank, the upper and lower templates being adapted to engage respectively the upper and lower rub collars associated with the cutter, said jack being rotatably mounted on a shaft and bearing on said base on an axis parallel to the top of the table whereby said jack may present the side of a heel blank to the cutter at the desired cutting angle.

4. In a wedge heel-turning machine, a vertically-mounted cutter, a flat-topped table of substantial area mounted adjacent to said cutter with the cutter projecting above the table top, means for adjusting the angle of the top of the table with respect to the axis of the cutter, a jack unit including a flat-bottomed base mounted on said table adjacent said cutter, said jack unit being pivoted by a connecting linkage means to a fixed pivot member substantially back of and to one side of said cutter, said jack unit including a jack for holding a wedge heel blank, said jack unit being rotatably mounted on said flat-bottomed base on an axis parallel to the bottom of said base, and means associated with said jack and cutter adapted to cooperate for controlling the contour of the cut made on said heel blank.

5. In a turning machine, a pair of vertically mounted cutters spaced substantially with respect to each other, a fiat-topped table of substantial area mounted adjacent to said cutters with the latter projecting above the table, a jack unit including a flat-bottomed base slidably mounted on said table and pivoted by a linkage means from a point midway and substantially back of said cutters from the table, said jack unit including a jack for holding the blank to be cut, and means associated with said jack and cutters for controlling the contour of the cut made on said blank.

6. In a turning machine as defined by claim in which said linkage means includes a relatively long link extending from said point to a position between said cutters and a relatively short link connecting the end of the long link with the base of the jack unit directly below the position of said blank.

7. In a turning machine as defined by claim 5, a stop pin in the table surface adjacent each cutter to be engaged by said linkage means, and a stop pin in the table surface substantially on the remote side of each cutter to be engaged by said base.

8. In a turning machine, a pair of verticallymounted cutters spaced substantially with respect to each other, a table mounted adjacent to said cutters with the latter projecting above the table,

connected to said table.

a jack unit including a base, mounted on and movable on said table, said base being pivoted by a linkage means from a pivot point midway and substantially back of said cutters, said jack unit including a clamping member for holding the blank to be turned, and a stop means on the surface of the table adjacent each cutter for engagement by said linkage means.

9. In a turning machine, a pair of verticallymounted cutters spaced substantially with respect to each other, a table adjacent to said cutters with the latter projecting above the table, a jack unit including a ,base member slidably mounted on said table and pivoted with respect to said cutters by a linkage means, said jack unit including a jack for holding the blank to be cut and mounted on a shaft of substantial length extending through a pair of spaced bearings on said base, said shaft being substantially parallel to the bottom of the base, and means on said shaft for limiting the extent of its rotation in said bearings.

10. In a turning machine, a pair of verticallymounted cutters spaced apart laterally with respect to each other, a table mounted adjacent to said cutter with the latter projecting above the table top, said table being pivoted on a horizontal pivot substantially in a vertical plane through the axes of said cutters, means for tilting said table to change the angle of the top of the table with respect to the axes of the cutters, a jack unit including a base member slidably mounted on said table and pivoted with respect to said cutters by a linkage means, said jack unit includin a jack for holding a blank to be cut, the jack being mounted on a shaft of substantial length through a pair of spaced bearings on said base, and said shaft being substantially parallel to the bottom of the base.

11. In a turning machine as defined by claim 9 in which said linkage means is connected to a pivot member positioned between and in back of said cutters, and in which said pivot member is GEORGE CLAUSING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name Date 230,157 Sutherland July 20, 1880 1,687,576 MacDonald Oct. 16, 1928 1,409,565 Munson Mar. 16, 1922 1,753,425 MacDonald Apr. 8, 1930 2,311,904 Hoza Feb. 23, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 600,271 Germany July 18, 1936

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