Improvements in or relating to apparatus for the manufacture of footwear

848,079. Securing golosh strips to shoes. DUNLOP RUBBER CO. Ltd. March 13, 1957 [March 15, 1956], No. 8058/56. Class 17(1) An apparatus for securing golosh strips to shoes &c. comprises a support 3 for a shoe mounted on a last and having an adhesive golosh strip wrapped around its base, means 8 to hold the shoe on the support, means to move the support along a predetermined path, a pair of pivoted members located one on each side of the path and each carrying a rotatable resilient roller 14, means 17 acting on the members to urge the rollers into the path and to resist movement in the reverse direction, and means to return the support to a position before the rollers, the arrangement being such that as the support advances the base portion of the shoe engages the rollers and forces them outwardly. Support 3 has toe and heel supports 4, 5, and an arm 6 which carries a heel engaging extension 9 and to which is pivoted a lever 7 having a last engaging pad 8 and an extension 11. Lever 7 is normally urged downwardly by a spring so that pad 8 engages the last, but is swung upwardly to release the shoe when extension 11 engages stop 10 or cross-bar 19. The support is advanced by the ram 27 of a double acting air cylinder when valve 12 is operated by means of handle 13. After passing between rollers 14 the support enters the space between walls 18, bar 19 engages extension 11 to release the shoe, and the support then engages arm 26 which via arm 22 and against spring 23 causes plunger 20 to move inwardly into the return path of the shoe, and arm 24 which via rod 25 reverses valve 12 so that return movement of the support commences. During this movement the shoe engages abutment 20 and is thus removed from the support, and the latter returns to the position shown in Fig. 1. The apparatus may have one, two (as shown) or more pairs of rollers, which may have their axes at angles other than 90 degrees to the table I or the rollers may be other than cylindrical. The ejection mechanism may be hydraulic or pneumatic. The support instead of reciprocating may return to its initial position via a circular path, along which other shoe building operations may be carried out.