Automatic heel covering machine and process

A device for automatically applying heel covers to women's heels comprising:

• (a) an indexible rotating work table,
• (b) jig means positioned around the periphery of the table for locating women's heels in a predetermined fixed position beyond the periphery of the table,
• (c) means for applying a cover to heels held in the jig means,
• (d) means for trimming excess cover material from the top of the heel,
• (e) means for automatically adjusting the trimming means to accommodate the style and size of heel being trimmed,
• (f) means for rolling the covers over the heel seat,
• (g) means for slitting excess material at the edges of the breast area of the heel,
• (h) means for automatically positioning and activating the slitting means to accommodate the specific size and style of heel being slit,
• (i) means for applying the slit edges to the heel breast and forming ears at the top and seat of the heel,
• (j) cutting means for trimming the ears,
• (k) means for automatically positioning and activating the cutting means to accommodate the specific size and style of heel being slit,
• (l) means for automatically selecting a dowel and lift to be inserted in a heel, orienting said dowel and lift to a predetermined position aligning said dowel and lift to the heel, and inserting the dowel and lift into an opening in the top of the heel,
• (m) means for seating the dowel and lift in the heel opening with the lift in engagement with the heel top, and
• (n) means for automatically limiting the depth of movement of the dowel in the heel opening to accommodate the size and style of heel being held.

A holding jig working on a women's shoe heel comprising:

• (a) a support,
• (b) a body attached to the support, provided with an interior slide track, and having an outwardly depending lip on the working end thereof,
• (c) slide means movable through the slide track and extending past both ends of the body,
• (d) spike means on the working end of the slide aligned with the dowel opening in the seat of a women's heel and adapted to engage said opening,
• (e) a head on the opposite end of the slide,
• (f) resilient means interposed between the head and the body urging the slide in a direction such that the spike is urged toward the body whereby the shoe heel is trapped between the depending lip and the slide, and
• (g) adjustment means for changing the effective distance between the spike and the depending lip to accommodate heels of different styles and sizes.

Means for trimming the excess cover material from the top of a women's heel comprising:

• (a) a rotatable cutter,
• (b) a back-up brush aligned with the cutter on the breast side of the heel,
• (c) means to hold the heel in a fixed predetermined position,
• (d) means for automatically positioning the cutter in a vertical direction to compensate for the style and size heel being trimmed,
• (e) means for simultaneously moving the brush toward the heel to back up the cutter,
• (f) motor means for driving the cutter, and
• (g) means for moving the cutter in a longitudinal direction towards the brush to effect cutting.

A device for rolling the excess cover material over the heel seat of a women's heel comprising:

• (a) means for holding the heel in a fixed predetermined position,
• (b) a base,
• (c) means for moving the base toward and away from the heel seat,
• (d) opposed freely rotatable cylinders mounted on the base with a space therebetween to accommodate the heel,
• (e) a pad having an outwardly extending lip aligned with the heel seat edge fastened to the cylinders, the pad and lip being deformable and resilient and of sufficient Durometer to roll the excess material over the heel seat when the roller means is moved into the engagement with the heel, the cylinders turning toward each other as the heel moves between the rollers,
• (f) return spring means attached to the cylinders to rotate the cylinders in opposite directions when the base is moved away from the heel seat and to return the pad to its undeformed condition.

A device for automatically selecting, orienting and positioning a dowel and lift in a women's heel comprising:

• (a) a pair of aligned vibrating feeders connected to opposed feed tracks which terminate in a common track connected to an outlet track,
• (b) means for selectively blocking said feed tracks and for positioning a randomly orientated dowel and lift in alignment with the outlet track,
• (c) means for moving a dowel and lift along the outlet track,
• (d) means for moving the dowel and lift away from the outlet track,
• (e) means for orientating the dowel and lift into a predetermined position,
• (f) means for positioning a women's shoe heel in a predetermined fixed position with respect to the dowel and lift, and
• (g) means for engaging the dowel and lift on the end opening in the women's shoe heel.

A device for simultaneously automatically clipping the ears in the heel cover at the top and seat areas a women's heel comprising:

• (a) means for positioning a women's heel in a predetermined fixed position,
• (b) a base,
• (c) means for moving the base toward and away from the heel,
• (d) a pair of angularly inclined converging lower clippers fixed to the base and aligned with the heel seat ears,
• (e) an upper clipper movably positioning on the base,
• (f) means for automatically positioning the upper clipper in response to the size and style of women's heel being worked on, and
• (g) means for activating the upper and lower clippers.

A device for selecting and inserting a dowel and lift into a woman's heel comprising

• (a) multiple bowls having different styles of dowels and lifts in each,
• (b) vibrating parallel feed tracks from each bowl to a dowel gripper,
• (c) inturned ends on the feed tracks terminating in an exit,
• (d) pusher means on each inturned track for moving the dowel to the exit and for blocking the track,
• (e) means for moving the dowels out of the exit into a dowel gripper,
• (f) means for moving the dowel gripper toward and away from the exit and into juxtaposition with a die for engaging the lift, and
• (g) means for rotating the die to align the lift in a predetermined position for insertion of the dowel into a heel.

A device for slitting the excess cover material at the breast of a women's shoe heel comprising:

• (a) means for holding a women's shoe heel in a predetermined fixed position,
• (b) vertically spaced knife edge cutters angularly aligned with the heel breast, the lower cutter being larger in diameter than the upper cutter,
• (c) motor means for simultaneously rotating the cutters, and
• (d) means for automatically positioning the cutters in angular, vertical and longitudinal directions toward and away from the heel breast to accommodate the size and style of women's shoe being worked on.

A device for slitting the excess cover material at the breast of a women's shoe heel comprising:

• (a) means for holding a women's shoe heel in a predetermined fixed position,
• (b) vertically spaced knife edge cutters angularly aligned with the heel breast,
• (c) motor means for simultaneously rotating the cutters, and
• (d) means for automatically positioning the cutters in angular, vertical and longitudinal directions toward and away from the heel breast to accommodate the size and style of women's shoe being worked on, said positioning means being gear reduction motors and screw drives, and including linear potentiometer sensing means for determining the position of the said cutters.