Apparatus and process for trimming a sole of a shoe

An apparatus for trimming a sole of a shoe having a shoe upper, said sole being attached to the shoe upper, said apparatus having members that are movable in at least three directions of movement along an x axis, a y axis and a z axis, said apparatus comprising:

• a support structure;
• a shoe carriage mounted on said support structure, said shoe carriage being constructed and arranged for mounting a shoe thereon and being movable back and forth along the x axis and up-and-down along the z axis;
• a sensing station mounted on said support structure, said sensing station comprising means for detecting the exact outline of the shoe upper with respect to the sole;
• a cutting station mounted on said support structure for trimming the sole of the shoe with a first cutter, the first cutter being movable side-to-side along the y axis;
• and
• means for controlling the movement of the carriage between a starting position, the sensing station, the cutting station and back to the starting position and for controlling the operation and movement of the first cutter for trimming the sole of the shoe when the shoe is in the cutting station in accordance with the information as detected at the sensing station.