Rocker platform edge binder
United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,874,015  
 Decoulos et al. Apr. 1, 1975 OC PLATFORM EDGE BINDER Primary E.\&#39;aminerl atrick D. Lawson [75] Inventors: John J. Decoulos, Peabody; Eugene Attorney Agent Altman Oates &amp;  
 E. Simpson, Lynn, both of Mass. Bell) [73] Assignee: Boston Machine Works Co., Lynn,  
 Mass. [57] ABSTRACT [22] Fil d; N 8, 1973 An apparatus for applying binding tape to a workpiece having a non-uniform edge profile comprises a tape feeding mechanism, a resilient pressing mechanism and a workpiece advancing mechanism. The tape is [21] Appl. No.: 413,861  
 [52] U5. Cl. 12/24.5 threaded through the feeding hanism and int the 51] lm. c1 A43d 43/06 p g mechanism which includes a P of Cooperat- [58] Field of Search 12/245, 1 B; 112/153, g j defining a guideway adapted to resiliently 112/130, 137; 156/438 ceive the workpiece and tape and to press the tape against the edge and margin of the workpiece. The workpiece is disposed within the guideway and is en- [5 References Cited gaged by the advancing mechanism. The tape is resiliently pressed against the workpiece in the guideway 7 415 085 233: PATENTS 12/24 5 and is drawn through the feeding mechanism as the 5 2 5/1954 cerium l2/24&#39;5 workpiece 1s rnovedby the advancing mechanism, the  
 330402347 6/1962 Paulseni: 12/245 cooperating JaWS ad usting for the varylng thickness of 3,261,045 7/1966 Vachon 12 245 the workpiece A Cutter is Provided for severing the tape at the completion of the binding operation.  
 11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures ROCKER PLATFORM EDGE BINDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying edge binding tape and. more particularly, is directed towards a rocker platform edge binding appara 2. Description of the Prior Art In making footwear in which some or all of the edges of the rocker platform are exposed, it is desirable that these exposed edges be finished by application of a binder tape. Machines of the type shown in US. Pat. No. 3,261,045 have been developed for applying binder tape to the edges of workpieces having a uniform thickness, for example insoles. The clog type shoes, presently in vogue, are characterized by rocker platforms having non-uniform edge profiles. A need has arisen for a machine for applying edge binding to rocker platforms.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for applying binding tape to the edge and marginal areas of a workpiece having a non-uniform profile in cross section which does not suffer from the heretofore limitations. The apparatus embodying the present invention comprises a tape feeding mechanism, a resilient pressing mechanism and a workpiece advancing mechanism. The pressing mechanism includes a pair of cooperating jaw members which define a guideway adapted to resiliently receive the binding tape and the workpiece. The binding tape is treated with a cementitious material and is threaded through the feeding mechanism into the guideway. A bias element associated with the cooperating jaw members opcrate to resiliently urge the jaws towards one another so that the binding tape is pressed against the workpiece. the tape being drawn through the guideway as the workpiece is moved by the advancing mechanism. A cutting mechanism is provided for severing the tape at the completion of the binding operation.  
  Other objects. features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after considering the following detailed disclosure.  
  The invention accordingly comprises the apparatus possessing the construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts that are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, the scope of which will be indicated in the appended claims.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be had to the FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the binder head of FIG. 4 showing the rocker platform advanced from the position shown in FIG. 5.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1, there is shown an edge binding apparatus 10 for applying a binding tape 12 to a workpiece 14 (FIG. 4) having a non-uniform edge profile such as a shoe rocker platform. Edge binding apparatus 10 comprises a cementer 16 for applying an adhesive coating to one side of an endless supply of binding tape 12, a dryer 18 for partially drying the adhesive coating to a sticky state, and an edge binder 20 for pressing the sticky tape into embracing contact with the edge of rocker platform 14.  
  In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2, edge binder 20 is pivotally mounted to a conventional stitching machine, only a few parts of which are illustrated, these being a post 24 which supports a feed foot 26 the upper end of which is partly surrounded by a feed foot plate 28 secured to the top of post 24, an upper feed member 30, and a presser foot 32. The latter two members are suitably supported above feed foot plate 28 in the customary manner and when the stitching machine is in operation they are lowered by connection to a pedal (not shown) to cooperate with feed foot 26 in feeding rocker platform 14 and tape 12 step by step and in pressing the tape against the margins of the rocker platforms as it is being fed.  
  Edge binder 20 comprises a bracket 34 having an extending stub 36 which is provided with a through hole adapted to receive an adjusting screw 38 having a spring 40 coiled thereabout between the head of screw 38 and stub 36. Screw 38 is provided for alignment of edge binder 20 with respect to the upper face of feed foot 28. Bracket 34 is mounted to post 24 and carries a binder head 42 and a tape feeding mechanism 44. As hereinafter described in connection with FIG. 3, binder head 42 and feedmechanism 44 operate to shape binding tape 12 as it is applied to the edge and margins of rocker platform 14 by engagement of the rocker platform and the binding tape in the binder head.  
  Referring now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that feeding mechanism 44 comprises a plate 46 which is pivotally mounted to the stitching machine. A pair of guide plates 48, 50 are mounted in spaced parallel relationship at opposite sides of plate 46 and are adapted to slidably receive a feed slide 52. At the right hand side of feed slide 52, as viewed in FIG. 2, there is provided a U-shaped bracket 53 to which is mounted a binding feed 54. Binding feed 54 is a horizontally disposed, substantially rectangular member tapered and bent inwardly at the left hand end portion at which there is provided a pair of extending fingers 56, 58 defining a substantially U-shaped channel 60. A feed lever 62 is mounted to the right hand side of binding feed 54 for moving feed slide 52 within guide plates 48, 50. A vertically disposed roller 64 which bulges slightly at its center portion is mounted to plate 46 by means of a bracket 65 and a shaft 67. Opposite ends of roller 64 are provided with collars 66 and 68 to which there is mounted a guide 70. As tape 12 exits from dryer 18, it is threaded about roller 64 and under bracket 53 and binding feed 54. At the discharge end of binding feed 54, tape 12 enters binder head 42 which has an opened groove 71 with a substantially U-shaped cross section.  
  As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, binder head 42 comprises a body 100 and a pair of folding members 102, 104. Body 100 has a substantially L-shaped profile in cross section and includes a block portion 101 and a shoulder 103. Folding member 102 includes a slide 105 and a jaw 107, and folding member 104 includes a slide 109 and a jaw 111. Block portion 101 is provided with guide posts 110, 112, 114 and 116. Guide posts 110 and 114 are disposed along a common axis and guide posts 112 and 116 are disposed along a common axis. Slide 105 is formed with a pair of through holes 118 and 120 which are adapted to slidably receive guide posts 110 and 112, respectively. Slide 109 is formed with a pair of through holes 122 and 124 which are adapted to slidably receive guide posts 114 and 116, respectively. Opened groove 71 is formed by working face 126 (FIG. 2) of shoulder 103 and interior working faces 128 and 130 of jaws 107 and 111, respectively. Jaws 107 and 111 are tapered outwardly from the entering end of opened groove 71 towards the discharge end of opened groove 71 and tapered inwardly from an end adjacent opened groove 71 towards an opposite end. Interior working faces 128 and 130 are in spaced parallel relationship and have substantially triangular profiles with rounded corners. Slide 105 is formed with a threaded through hole 136 which is adapted to receive a screw 138, hole 136 disposed between holes 118 and 120. Slide 109 is formed with a threaded through hole 140 which is adapted to receive a screw 142, hole 140 disposed between holes 122 and 124. It will be readily appreciated that screws 138 and 142 are adjusting means for controlling the opening of guide 71. Screw 138 is provided with a locking device 144, for example a nut, and a collar 146 to which there is attached one end ofa bias element 148. Screw 140 is provided with a locking device 150, for example a nut, and a collar 152 to which there is attached the other end of bias element 148. Bias element 148, for example a spring, operates to press working faces 128 and 130 against binding tape 12 and rocker platform 14 as they pass through opened groove 71.  
  To curl binding tape 12 progressively from its flat state in feeding mechanism 44 to the channel shape it acquires in opened groove 71 of binder head 42, a longitudinal axis of opened groove 71 is set at an angle to that of feeding mechanism 44 so that as binding tape 12 passes from the feeding mechanism to the binder head it turns an obtuse corner as is evident in FIG. 2. As hereinbefore described, the entering end of the binder head is beveled so that interior working faces 128, 130 and exterior working faces 132, 134 are tapered outwardly towards the discharge end of binder head 42. Screws 138 and 142 are adjusted so that opened groove 72 is adapted to receive the narrowest dimension of rocker platform 14. Binding tape 12 is transversely curved in opened groove 71 so as to embrace the edge of rocker platform 14 inserted in binder head 42, cooperating jaws 107 and 111 operate to resiliently press the binding tape against the varying thickness edge and margins of the rocker platform as it is fed through opened groove 71.  
  As best shown in FIG. 2, binder head 42 is located in proximity to the feeding and the pressing mechanism of the stitching machine so that the feeding and pressing mechanism operate on the edge of the rocker platform at a point close to the portion of the edge which is in opened groove 71 of binder head 42 where it is being embraced by binder tape 12. Feeding elements 26 and 30 hitch the rocker platform edge and tape thereon along step by step. Between successive feeding movements, the presser foot strikes down to press the tape and rocker platform margins against the feed foot plate 28. The tape is thus pulled along by the feeding mechanism in step with the edge of the rocker platform to which it is being applied as a binder. When the feeding mechanism approaches the end of the edge portion to which the tape is being applied, the operator severs the tape by a quick movement of the blade 74. For this purpose blade 74 is clamped on a suitable holder 76 which is mounted to a lever 78 pivoted about a pin 80. Lever 78 is readily swung down against the restoring force of a spring connected thereto by pressing on a handle 84. When lever 78 swings down, blade 74 enters a narrow slot 86 (FIG. 3) between binder head 42 and feeding mechanism 44 and makes a draw cut to the tape. The blade is promptly restored to its former position by spring 82 which rocks lever 78 upwards when released. After blade 74 has been operated to sever tape 12 and the remaining inch of the severed piece has been applied to the rocker platform, the presser foot and upper feed are lifted and the rocker platform is removed from the binder head.  
  Since the binding tape has been severed at slot 86, the new end must be advanced far enough to extend beyond binder head 42 before the next operation can be started. To accomplish this, feed lever 62 is pushed towards the left and the tape is advanced a sufficient distance to extend beyond binder head 42, fingers 56 and 58 operate as a grip to push tape 12 toward the binder head. Thereafter, feed lever 62 returns to its normal position at the right and the operation of putting a new binding tape on a rocker platform can begin.  
  When the end of the tape extends beyond binder head 42, the operator takes a rocker platform and presses the edge of the channel of the binder head 42 at a point where the binding on the rocker platform is to begin. The entry of the edge of the rocker platform into the binder channel transversely curls the tape at that point. The presser foot and upper feed mechanism of the stitching machine are then moved down by the operator into operative contact with the rocker platform and the end of the binder tape so that the edge of the rocker platform with the binder tape thereon is fed along, the operator handling the rocker platform in such a manner as to keep the edge pressing the tape in the binding head channel until the end of the edge portion to be bound approaches. The tape is then cut as heretofore described, and the presser foot and upper feed mechanism are lifted after the last of the severed piece of tape has been applied to the rocker platform.  
  Since certain changes may be made in the foregoing disclosure without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and depicted in the accompanying drawings be construed in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.  
 What is claimed is:  
  1. A device for applying a tape to the edge of a workpiece and the margins on opposite faces of the workpiece for workpieces having uniform as well as nonuniform edge profiles said device comprising:  
 a. a body having aworking face;  
 b. a first holding member having a working face, said first folding member operatively connected to said body;  
 C. a second folding member having a working face, said second folding member operatively connected to said body, said first and second folding members relatively movable with respect to one another;  
 d. said working face of said first folding member being disposed in a plane that is substantially in spaced parallel relationship with a plane in which said working face of said second folding member is disposed, said working face of said body being disposed in a plane that is substantially in perpendicular relationship with said planes in which said working faces of said first and second folding members are disposed;  
 . a guideway formed between said working faces of said body and said first and second folding members, said guideway having a substantially U- shaped profile, the distance between said working faces of said first and second folding members defining a guideway channel that is adapted to receive the tape and the workpiece;  
 f. said working face of said body that is disposed within said guideway channel being operative to press the tape against the edge of the workpiece as the tape and the workpiece are fed through said guideway, said working faces of said first and second folding members operative to press the tape against the margins of the workpiece on opposite faces thereof as the tape and the workpiece are fed through said guideway, said working faces of said first and second folding members relatively movable towards and away from each other for varying the size of said guideway channel as a function of the edge profile dimension of the workpiece passing through said guideway for accomodating uniform and non-uniform workpiece edge profiles.  
  2. The device as claimed in claim 1 including biasing means operatively connected to said first and second folding members for biasing said first and second folding members towards each other.  
  3. The device as claimed in claim 2 including adjustment means operatively connected to said first folding member for engagement with said body, said adjustment means operative to establish a minimum distance of said guideway channel between said working faces of said first and second folding members.  
  4. A device for applying a binding tape to the edge and margin of a workpiece having a non-uniform edge profile, said device comprising:  
 a. a body;  
 b. a first folding member mounted to said body;  
 c. a second folding member mounted to said body,  
 said first folding member resiliently movable relative to said body and said second folding member;  
 d. a guideway adapted to receive the binding tape and the workpiece formed by said body and said first and second folding members;  
 c. said first and second folding members cooperating to press the binding tape against the edge and margins of the workpiece as the binding tape and workpiece are fed through said guideway, said first and second folding members slidably mounted to said body. said first folding member being formed with a threaded hole, a screw threaded into said hole contacting said body. said screw operating as a stop to set the minimum distance between said first and second folding members; and  
 f. a bias element operatively connected between said first and second folding members, said bias element 5 operating to pull said first folding member towards said second folding member, whereby the binding tape is pressed against the edge and margins of the workpiece.  
  5. The device as claimed in claim 4 wherein said body includes a block having a integral shoulder, said body having a substantially L-shaped profile in cross section, and wherein each said first and second folding members includes a slide and a jaw, said first folding member slide and jaw relatively movable with respect to said second folding member slide and jaw along a sliding axis.  
  6. A device for applying a tape to the edge and margin of a workpiece having a non-uniform edge profile, said device comprising.  
 a. a body including a block having an integral shoulder, said body having a substantially L-shaped profile in cross section;  
 b. a first folding member mounted to said body;  
 c. a second folding member mounted to said body,  
 said first folding member resiliently movable relative to said body and said second folding member; and  
 d. a guideway adapted to receive the binding tape and the workpiece formed by said body and said first and second folding members;  
 e. said first and second folding members cooperating to press the binding tape against the edge and margin of the workpiece as the binding tape and workpiece are fed through said guideway, each said first and second folding members including a slide and a jaw, said first folding member slide and jaw relatively movable with respect to said second folding member slide and jaw along a sliding axis;  
 . each said jaw having working interior and exterior faces, said interior working faces are in spaced parallel relationship and define sidewalls of said guideway, each said jaw tapered outwardly from an entering end of said guideway towards a discharge end of said guideway and tapered inwardly from an end adjacent said guideway towards an opposite end.  
  7. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein a longitudinal axis of said guideway intersects a longitudinal axis of said block which is in perpendicular relationship to said sliding axis at an obtuse angle.  
  8. An apparatus for applying binding tape to the edge and margins of a workpiece having a non-uniform edge profile, said apparatus comprising:  
 a. a tape feeding mechanism for advancing the binding tape;  
 b. resilient pressing means mounted adjacent said tape feeding mechanism. said resilient pressing means including a pair of cooperating folding members, a guideway adapted to receive the binding tape from a discharge end of said tape feeding mechanism formed between said cooperating folding members. opposite sidewalls of said guideway defined by interior working faces of said folding members, one of said folding members relatively movable with respect to the other of said folding members, said folding members cooperating to press the binding tape against the edge and margins of the workpiece as the binding tape and workpiece are fed through said guideway;  
 . a cementer for applying an adhesive coating to one side of the binding tape; and  
 . a dryer for receiving the coated binding tape and drying said adhesive coating to a sticky state;  
 . said binding tape threaded from said dryer to said tape feeding mechanism for advancement to said resilient pressing means;  
 . said resilient pressing means including a body portion and a bias element, one of said folding members being a first folding member and the other of said folding members being a second folding memher. said first folding member resiliently movable relative to said body and said second folding member, said first and second folding members slidably mounted to said body portion, said bias element operatively connected between said first and second folding members, said bias element operating to pull said first folding member towards said second folding member, whereby the binding tape is pressed against the edge and margins of the workpiece.  
 LII  
  9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said tape feeding mechanism and resilient pressing means are mounted with respect to each other so that a line drawn from a discharge end of said guideway to an entering end of said guideway intersects a line drawn from an entering end of said tape feeding mechanism to a discharge end of said tape feeding mechanism at an obtuse angle.  
  10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said tape feeding means includes a plate and a slide feed, said slide feed slidably mounted to said plate, the binding tape threaded between said plate and slide feed, said slide feed movable along an axis extending between an entering end and a discharge end of said tape feeding mechanism.  
  11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 including a pivotally mounted cutter, a slot adapted to receive said cutter formed between said tape feeding mechanism and said resilient pressing means, said cutter operating to sever the binding tape threaded from said tape feeding mechanism to said resilient pressing means when said cutter is received within said slot.