a is an exploded perspective view showing a portion of the apparatus of
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The high pressure flocking fixture 11 has a hollow substantially rectangular housing 13 with an upper surface 15 forming a table having one or more openings over which the trays 9 are placed. The trays 9 preferably have openings substantially congruent to the shapes of the outsoles.
The tray openings may be provided with supports for the outsoles to prevent them from falling through the openings or bending. Screens or grids 12 are preferably mounted as supports within the openings in the trays 9. The screens or grids 12 have openings large enough to permit the flocking fibers to pass therethrough for impacting upon the glue which has been sprayed onto the now downward facing outer surfaces of the outsoles. The trays 9 are placed onto the table with the openings in the trays in registration with the openings in the table so that the flocking fibers can be propelled from the chamber 17 through the openings in the table and the openings in the tray 9 to collide with the adhesive on the surfaces of the outsoles 3.
Beneath the table surface 15 of the high pressure flocking fixture 11 is a substantially rectangular air-tight chamber 17 formed within the housing 13. The flocking fibers to be applied to the outsole are inserted into the chamber 17.
High pressure piping 19 leads from a source 23 of gas having a pressure greater than the atmospheric pressure surrounding the fixture 11. The gas may be air or any other substantially insert gas such as nitrogen. The gas source 23 may include a tank which has been filled with the gas under pressure or, preferably, an air compressor. The pressurized gas is conveyed into the chamber 17 for pressurizing the chamber 17. Valve 21 mounted in series with the piping 19 enables gas under pressure to enter the chamber under manual or automatic control. The valve 21 can be connected to a switch 27 for electromechanically opening the valve 21 when energized and enabling the valve 21 to close when not energized.
An actuator 25 for enabling an operator to operate the switch 27 for selectively opening and closing the valves 21 can be provided in the form of a floor pedal for foot control, or a lever placed at an elevation below the table top suitable for actuation by the operator's knee or above the table top for hand use.
Upon actuation of the switch 27, high pressure air jets enter the high pressure chamber starting from the inlet. After hitting a deflector in the form of a pressure plate on the underside of the table top inside of the chamber, the jet of air is deflected downwardly. The resulting increase in pressure within the chamber forces the flocking fibers to exit the openings in the table top and travel through the screens or grates in the trays on which the outsoles are supported with great force whereby the flocking fibers collide with and impact upon, and become embedded in, the layer of glue or adhesive previously applied to each outsole 3. The outsoles may be manually held down by the operator to prevent them from moving as the flocking fibers are propelled against the outsoles by the increase in pressure. Alternatively, weights or covers may be placed over the outsoles to prevent them from movement during the application of flocking.
After the flocking fibers have been applied to the outsoles as described above, the outsoles are removed from the outsole trays on the fixture at which time the paper covers or masks previously applied to shield one or more sections of the outsole surface from the application of flocking are removed.
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The flocked and trimmed soles are then attached to uppers in a conventional manner to form a finished shoe.
It is to be appreciated that other and further modifications and variations may be made to the embodiments herein disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although two openings are provided in the housing for applying flocking fibers to two outsoles at a time, one, three or more openings may be provided for treating a corresponding number of outsoles with flocking in a single operation. Moreover, each tray may have a single opening for a single outsole, or may have several openings to accommodate a plurality of outsoles.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60825985 | Sep 2006 | US |