(57) A machine (101) to apply adhesive to the toe and ball region of a footwear upper
assembly (103,103A,103B) that includes a last (104), an upper (105) draped about the
last (104) and an insole (102) at the last bottom. The machine (101) includes a pair
of adhesive nozzles (5,5A) to apply the adhesive (109) onto the footwear upper assembly
(103) near the edge of the insole (102), a pair of nozzle arms (17, 17A) one nozzle
arm of the pair of nozzle arms (17, 17A) being secured to each nozzle of the pair
of adhesive nozzles (5, 5A) and adapted to move the nozzle secured thereto; and a
mechanical structure (107) operable to guide the nozzles (5, 5A) along respective
paths adjacent each edge of the insole to deposit a ribbon of adhesive (109) onto
the upper assembly (103) from the toe of the upper assembly to the ball region of
the upper assembly. The mechanical structure (107) includes a nozzle guide template
(2) that is configured to an outline that, together with other mechanical structures,
matches the outline of the insole (102) between the toe and the ball region of the
smallest upper assembly (103) of the style to be lasted. The nozzle-guide template
(2) has a guide surface and is shiftable to accommodate, for example, right footwear
upper assemblies and left footwear upper assemblies of the style to be lasted; The
nozzle-guide template is composed of a plurality of segments, 6, 7, 6A, 7A) at the
toe region thereof to permit angular adjustment of one segment relative to the other
to match the shape of the insole (102) for footwear sizes larger than the smallest
footwear upper assembly (103). A template follower (8, 8A) is connected to each nozzle
arm (17, 17A), one follower being positioned to ride along the guide surface of each
nozzle-guide segment (6, 7, 6A, 7A). A drive mechanism (28,29) is provided to move
the template followr (8, 8A) from the toe region of its associated nozzle-guide template
(2) to the ball region thereof.
|
|
