Two-station injection sole molding machines

1,150,601. Injection moulding footwear. BRITISH UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CO. Ltd. 29 April, 1966 [30 April, 1965], No. 18808/66. Heading B5A. A machine for injection moulding shoe bottoms on to uppers comprises (a) a sole mould assembly 17 comprising two side mould members 20, 22 movable relative to a sole mould member 18 between open and closed positions, (b) a foot form assembly 23 comprising two foot forms 24 mounted on a rotatable carrier member 38, (c) first means adapted to move the carrier member 38 towards and away from the sole mould assembly 17, (d) second means adapted to move the side mould members 20, 22 between their open and closed positions and (e) selection means which, in a first condition, causes operation of the second means before the first means (top closing), and, in a second condition, causes operation of the first means before the second means (side closing). As shown, the machine has two similar operating stations (A) and (B), Fig. 1 (not shown), fed with plastics material from a central plasticizer 4 through two transverse and upwardly inclined feed tubes 8 connected to nozzles 12 (Fig. 4) located in the sole mould member 18. Operation.-Initially an electric motor E is started and a mains air circuit (Figs. 8a, 8b, not shown) is pressurized. Contaminated material left in the plasticizer 4 or tubes 8 is purged therefrom by actuation of purge valves (234), Fig. 8b (not shown), and then reset valves (228), Fig. 8a (not shown), are actuated to ensure that the side mould members 20, 22 are open and that the pneumatic circuit is ready for a cycle of operations. At the first station an upper is placed on a last 24 in its retracted position, whereupon a heater 100 pivotally attached by linkages 126, 128 to the frame 2 of the machine is pulled by a handle 130 from a retracted position (shown in dotted lines) to a position wherein a heat radiating surface thereof faces downwardly over the forepart of the lasted upper, the downward movement of the heater being halted by an adjustable stop 310 on a slide portion 312 of the last carrier 40. In its retracted position the radiant surface of the heater faces upwardly and during downward movement the heater is rotated through 135 degrees by an internal rack and pinion (116, 140), Figs. 5, 7 (not shown), which rotates a spindle (112) on which the heater is mounted. An upper is then lasted on a retracted last at the second station, the heating device thereof then being pulled downwardly. At the first