Improvements in or relating to shoe upper conforming machines

1,040,882. Shoe lasting machines. BRITISH UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CO. Ltd. March 7, 1963 [March 10, 1962], No. 9295/62. Heading A3B. A shoe upper conforming machine has a work support presenting a shoe in an operative position in the machine with respect to a wiping arrangement comprising a pair of heel-end wipers, and a pair of waist-wiping devices which are adjusted automatically to take up curvature to suit the heightwise curvature of the waist region of the shoe. The waist wiping arrangement is provided as an extension of the heel seat wiper and pivotally connected thereto, the machine having means for automatically varying the angular relationship between the wiping arrangement and the heel seat wiper. The heel seat wipers 4 (Fig. 1) adjustably mounted in wiper carrying plates 6 are similar to the arrangement disclosed in Specification 391,451. The wiping device 10 (Figs. 1 and 2) comprises a bracket 12 carried on the lower end portion of pin 14 projecting upwardly through bracket 16 fixed to a forward heightwise extending face of heel wiper 4 and receiving one arm of three armed member 18, a second arm of which is secured to a forward end portion of bracket 12, so that member 18 and bracket 12 may swing as a unit about pin 14. The angular relationship between the wiping device and heel seat wipers is automatically varied by means of two stationary cam tracks 22 connected to device 10 through the third arm of member 18 which carries cam follower roll 20. Disposed in a clearance provided by bracket 12 is the wiping arrangement comprising a plurality of shaped wiping fingers 24 connecteed together for movement heightwise of the shoe and relative longitudinal movement. Ball ends 26 of fingers 24 are received in channel 30 in finger carrier 32 connected to bracket 12 through pivot pin 34 so that the finger carrier 32 may swing in a heightwise direction about pin 34 on bracket 12. Alternate fingers 24 (Fig. 3) have pins 42 extending therethrough, the rounded ends of which engage in scooped grooves 36 of adjacent fingers. The outside edges of the end fingers have grooves 36 which engage respectively a ball 38 contained in bracket 12 and a screw 44, contained in an arm 46 the other end of which carries a spring plunger 50 which maintains the fingers in channel 30. The disposition of the wiping surfaces 28 of fingers 26 is determined by the disposition of a mechanical linkage (constituting a curvature controlling arrangement) provided by arms 58 and 62 (Fig. 2)