Method and apparatus for forming a sole on an upper by dip-coating
An embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a last; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an open topped female mould for a sole unit; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the last mounted over the mould; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the assembly shown in FIG. 3 dipped into a bath of plastics material; 
     FIG. 5 is a somewhat schematic cross sectional elevation through the formed article of footwear with the mould and the last still in position; 
     FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 of a second article of footwear. 
    
    
     In FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings, there is shown a last 10 which is substantially identical to a conventional last for making a boot. An open topped female mould 12 is provided for use with the last. This mould is in essence a bath with a floor 14 which is an exact reverse impression of the sole unit of the boot, walls 16 arising all around from the periphery of the floor 14. Transverse and longitudinally extending webs 18 also arise from the floor, extending between the walls but not being as high as the walls. Three distance pieces 19 are set into the floor 14 or the mould. The height of the distance pieces is intermediate that of the webs 18 and walls 16. The function of the webs and distance pieces is discussed hereafter. 
     The upper edges of the walls 16 are tapered as at 20 for a purpose which will also be discussed later. 
     Fixed to the outer sides of the walls 16 are lugs 22 shown in FIG. 3 but not FIG. 2. These lugs carry vertically disposed rods 24, screw-threaded at their upper ends as at 26. These rods pass through the arms 30 of a bracket 32 from which the mould 12 and the last 10 are suspended in fixed position relative one to the other. The top of the last carries screw-threaded studs 34 by means of which the last is fixed on an arm 36 of the bracket 32. Wing nuts 37 mounted on the threaded upper ends of the rods and studs keep the mould and the last on the bracket 32. 
     As may be seen in FIG. 5, the lower part 40 of the last is located below the upper edges of the walls 16 of the mould with the bottom face 33 of the last seated on the distance pieces 19. A small but carefully controlled gap 42 is left between the last and the walls of the mould. This gap is left all round and in fact there is a clear space 44 between the last and the cavity of the mould. The width of the space is determined by the height of the distance pieces 19. As will be explained below the disposition of the upper edges of the walls above the bottom of the last and the width of the space between the bottom of the last and the floor 14 of the mould must be carefully controlled. 
     In the carrying out of the invention, two lasts and two moulds, one pair for a left hand boot and the other pair for a right hand boot, are invariably mounted on a bracket similar to the bracket 32, but since the two pairs are substantially similar, it is considered sufficient to describe only one pair. The last 10 and mould 12 mounted on the bracket 32 (all of which for convenience will be called the assembly 46) are suspended from a conventional conveying apparatus which is not shown in the drawings since this is a known item of equipment. The conveying apparatus is arranged to transport the assembly 46 over a bath 50 of molten polyvinylchloride (PVC) and to dip the assembly into the PVC for a controlled amount of time before withdrawing it. In this time, PVC solidifies on all the exposed surfaces of the last and the mould. Liquid PVC also flows through the gap 42 to fill the mould 12 and the space 44 and thereafter solidifies. 
     After the assembly 46, now including an integral boot, is removed from the bath by the conveying apparatus, the solidified material 52 around the outside of the mould is cut away along the tapered upper edges 20 of the mould walls 16 (see FIG. 5). The boot is now heat cured in the conventional manner. The mould is detached from the bracket 32 and the raw boot (still containing the last). The bracket is detached from the last and the boot is removed from the last in a conventional manner by blowing compressed air into the interior of the boot to drive the boot off the last. 
     The holes left in the sole unit by the distance pieces must be filled. If it is desired to provide more positive positioning of the mould relative to the last, set screws shown in dotted outline at 60, may be used to bolt the mould to the last. This method may supplement or replace the method described using the bracket 32 and rods 24. 
     The webs 18 break up the sole unit of the boot so that it has better non-slip properties. Furthermore the indentations in the sole unit formed by the webs 18 bring about full heat penetration in the sole unit during the curing of the boot. This is important since the thickness of the sole unit is much greater than that of the rest of the boot and the curing of the boot could otherwise be faulty. Indeed there is a limit to the thickness of the sole unit since, despite the provision of webs a sole unit which is too thick would not cure properly. Clearly the method has application to any suitable type of footwear and thus, for an article having a thin sole, the webs could be of different pattern or even be omitted altogether. Equally the mould could be used to form the heel of the article only, the sole proper being constituted simply by the material adhering to the last or by a separate element glued to the article in the conventional way. Raising the height of the walls 16 relative to the bottom 33 of the last results in a boot the lower portion of which immediately adjacent the sole unit is thicker than that shown. This might be desirable for heavy duty boots. 
     The method and apparatus may be employed to produce an article of footwear having a lining. As shown in FIG. 6 this lining 60 may be a knitted or machined sock or a lining made up of canvas. The lining may or may not have a tongue. The lining 60 is slipped over the last 62 prior to dipping in the liquid PVC. After completion of the curing, the article 64 is removed from the last as described. If the lining has eyelets these are cleaned out and the tongue sewn in if the tongue was not attached to the lining prior to dipping. The article 64 shown in FIG. 6 is provided with a preformed element 66 of any suitable material such as cork or wood. This element 66 constitutes in the finished article part of the sole unit. The element 66 is located under the last 62 prior to dipping and takes the place of the mould previously described since in the dipping process plastics material flows into the space 69 between the upper surface 70 of the element 66 and the bottom of the last 62 and is retained therein by walls 68 (shown in dotted outline). However, provided the width of the space (i.e. the distance between the upper surface 70 of the element and the bottom of the last 62) is not too great the walls may be omitted. The material which solidifies in the space 69 thus forms part of the sole unit of the finished article. 
     Since the quality of the adhesion between the plastics material and the element 66 may be doubtful, keying holes 72 may be drilled in the element 66, the plastics material flowing into these holes and mechanically keying the element 66 to the article. 
     Articles of footwear may where necessary be formed by hand dipping the assembly comprising the mould and last. 
     Of course any suitable plastics other than PVC may be employed.