Abstract: A machine is disclosed for assembling box sole footwear semiautomatically. The machine provides for carrying out a number of operations through a completely new method of footwear assembly, thus affording significant labor savings and low investment costs. Specifically, this machine for semiautomatically assembling footwear having so-called box soles comprises, in essence, a former provided, at the sides, with a plurality of perforations connected to a suction pump and mounted on an arm adapted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. The machine further comprises a rubber plate and members cooperating with it which are adapted to press the sole edge against the sides of the former.

Abstract: A gluing press for shoes or other similarly shaped workpieces having a pressure-medium operated pressure cushion whose highly resilient diaphragm fixes the sole to be attached during the gluing operation on the shoe upper placed on a last and retained in a shoe-receiving device, a feed movement taking place between the pressure cushion and the shoe-receiving device before the gluing operation. A switch is disposed on the shoe-receiving device the switch being constrainedly operated by the introduction of the upper shoe and switches on the drive for the closure movement of the operative parts of the gluing press formed on the pressure cushion and the shoe-receiving device. A safety device is connected to one of the operative parts of the gluing press which, when deflected by an obstacle in the path of movement of the movable part of the gluing press, switches off or reverses the drive.