Improvements in Machines for Uniting the Soles and Uppers of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Uniting the Soles and Uppers of
Boots and Shoes.
I, WILLIAM CAREY, of the City of Montreal, in the District of Montreal and
Province of Quebec, Canada, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to machines for securing together the soles and uppers
of boots and shoes by a seam composed of loops of a thread or wire inserted
through the upper into the sole with nails or short lengths of wire inserted
transversely into the loops.
The objects of the invention are thus to produce a connection which does not
require complete perforation of the sole, to avoid preliminary bending or such
like preparation of the short lengths of wire, and to dispense with the turning
of the boot or shoe inside out, and of the channelling of the sole.
For this purpose, I employ in combination, a loop inserter and an awl, which
operates both as an awl and nail driver, moving at right angles or nearly so to
the loop inserter which forces loops of thread or wire entirely through the upper
or others of the pieces being secured and partially through the sole or remaining
piece, while the awl drives inwards from the edge of the sole, the nails or short
lengths of wire, placing them within the loops so as to form a kind of lock stitch.
I adopt for this stitching the known swinging horn used to carry the boot or
shoe, adjustments to suit various thicknesses; of the material operated on, and
means for severing the looping thread, when the work is completed, so as to allow
the boot or shoe to be removed from the horn.
I shall now describe the mechanism referring to the annexed drawings.
Figure 1 is a front view of the machine showing the swinging horn in middle
position.
Figure 2 is a vertical section partly in side elevation.
Figures 3,
and 5 detail views of the nose of the horn and mechanism therein
for introducing the thread loops.
Figure 6 is a horizontal section on the linea a of Figure 2.
Figure 7 a horizontal section on the line xx of Figure 3 looking upwards.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the loop inserter.
Figure 9 is a front view to an enlarged scale of the upper portion of the
machine.
Figure 10 is a vertical section partly in elevation of the same.
Figure 11 is a part section on the line x x of Figure 10.
Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 are sectional plans respectively on
the lines 5, 2, 3, 4, 8, 6, 7 and 1 of Figure 10.
Figures 20 and 21 are cross sections respectively on the lines xx and z z of
Figure 14.
Figure 22 is a vertical section on the line x x of Figure 12.
Figure 23 is a vertical section of the lower bearing for the horn.
Figure 24 is a sectional plan on the line z z of Figure 23.
Figure 25 is a vertical section on the line xx of Figure 23.
Figure 26 is a horizontal section on the line x x of Figure 25.
Figure 27 is a side elevation of part of the head.
Figures 28 and 29 are enlarged perspectives of the cutter for severing the
loop thread or wire when the work is completed.
Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.
A is the main frame of the machine in the form of a hollow tapering column,

page_text: At
having a front extension A', with an opening A2 in it, and a projecting arm A³.
the upper end of the column is a plate a¹ through which passes a vertical
shaft N, and above it is a head A, having an upper bearing for the shaft,
having parts cut away to accommodate cams on the shaft, and terminating in a
goose neck A³, and head.
B is the hollow horn, having a vertical sleeve B' which is fitted to revolve in
the upper part of A', and is prevented from rising by a nut B screwed on its
lower end. The horn has also an arm B2 pivotted to A³ in the same axial line,
as indicated in Figure 2, with the sleeve B' and the presser foot L above. In
the nose of the horn B is arranged the loop inserter also, in the axial line
of the sleeve B¹, the presser foot offering the necessary resistance to the action of
the loop inserter and of the awl.
C is the loop inserter, shown in detail in Figure 8, it is flat in cross section, grooved
at its upper end and partially down the sides to carry the loop of thread, and it
is screwed into a cross head C₁ which works in vertical guides inside the nose of
the horn. Vertical reciprocating movement is imparted to this cross head C¹ by a
toothed segment D³, connecting rods D2 and D³ bell cranks D and E and a vertical
sliding bar D¹ worked by a cam O.
Figure 3 shews in section the sole and upper as seen (viewed in the direction of
the arrow Figure 4) resting on the nose of the horn. As the loop inserter C must
always present the plane of the loop groove indicated by the dotted line in
Figure 5 at right angles to the line of the awl, however the horn B may be
turned round, the following mechanism is arranged for this purpose.
The plate b covering the nose of the horn is recessed to receive two toothed
disks which are geared together, has a central slot through which the
loop inserter C works and in line with the slot an eye through which the
thread is drawn; 62 has on its under face radial teeth gearing with a bevel
pinion on the end of a shaft 6 which runs down the horn and is connected by
another shaft 67 and other gears 68 69 610 611, with a stationary annular rack 6
on A partly encircling the sleeve B¹.
Thus, whether the horn B be turned to right or left, the movement of the
gear rotated by travelling along the rack 612 is transmitted to the disc b²
causing it to revolve relatively to the horn in the opposite direction and so to
retain the loop inserter always in substantially the same position.
618 the cutter, for severing the continuous thread when the work is completed,
consists of a plate with an inwardly projecting knife edge 616 held by a screw b
in a recess in the vertical front of the nose of the horn. The knife edge fits
close up to the disc b¹ and projects inwards sufficiently far to pass the eye b₁
and so cut the thread or wire passing through 64 when the horn is swung beyond
half a revolution, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7.
In an
oblong recess a in the top plate a¹ as shewn in Figs. 10 and 12 is
arranged a sliding plate F to which is hinged by a fixed part G' and pin ga
plate G which projects towards the nose of the horn B and is normally held in
an inclined position, with its end higher than the top of the horn. This position
is determined by a vertical pin G³, (see Fig. 27) above it adjusted by a cam
lever G and by a spring G (see Fig. 10) below it.
The awl H, as shewn in Figs. 13, 14, 15 and 20 is fixed by
a screw in a
cross head H¹ fitted in a longitudinal slot G³in the plate G to receive a reciprocating
motion from mechanism to be hereafter described. The front of G has a hole,
Fig. 14 for the passage of the awl, and in a groove g¹ there is a transverse
slide J having two holes jj' through it, as shewn in Fig. 21.
9
K K¹ are two horizontal disc rollers with serrated peripheral grooves for
feeding the continuous wire k, from which short strips are cut, into a curved
channel leading to the hole j of the slide J.
As shewn in Fig. 20 the channel and recesses for the discs K K' are
formed in the upper surface of a portion G7 of the carrier, and plates k³ k
form dovetail guides for the cross-head H'. The disc K is keyed on a spindle kⓇ

page_text: passing through G and having on its upper end a ratchet wheel K*, operated
as will hereafter be described, and the disc K' is pivotted in a spring holder k
by which the discs are pressed together with sufficient force for feeding various
sizes of wire and allowing for wear.
Referring now to Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 17, L is the presser foot bar fitted to
slide in a vertical channel in the goose-head A' behind a face plate a³ in
which is a slot a. In the bar L is a longitudinal slot L' in which is adjustably
fitted a slide L². This slide has a slot into which project the end of the
lever L³ and an adjusting wedge piece M, and the end of a vertical adjusting
screw L working in the upper portion of the bar L, is connected to the
slide L² so that it can be moved up or down to suit various thicknesses of
material operated on. Another adjusting screw L6 works in a bracket " pro-
jecting from the back of the bar L, over the front of G.
The wedge piece M is pivotted at m to a slide M¹ containing a spring m³, as
shewn in Fig. 17, one end of which spring is secured to a stud m² passed through
a hole m³ in the face of the slide and a slot m¹ in its back. The spring presses
the surface M2, at the end of the slide M' against cam W.
A rack M³ on the face of the slide M¹ gears with a pinion M₁ fixed on a
vertical shaft M which extends down through apertures m³ in G F and a¹ to
a bearing m³, as shewn in Figs. 23 and 24, and has an arm M* fixed on its
lower end.
The vertically sliding bar D' has its upper portion, which works in the
sleeve B', of the horn, hollow and screw threaded to receive the screw M', having
a head m² and a neck m³, (as shewn in Fig. 26) partially encircled by a pair
of segments E jointed to the forked bell crank lever E which is pivotted in the
horn.
A pin m10 projecting from M' is linked to the arm M by a rod M³, the
adjusting mechanism of the presser bar being thus connected with that of the
loop inserter.
The mechanism for operating the parts just described consists of the following
parts.
N is a driving shaft carried in bearings horizontally through the frame A and
having on its front a disc O for working the loop inserter, by a cam groove O¹ in
its face acting on a roller 02 carried by the sliding bar D¹. On N is a
bevel wheel N¹ gearing with N2 on a vertical shaft N³ which extends up
through a bearing N to an upper bearing in the head A³.
On the shaft N³ is a roller cam P having a peripheral groove p formed with
a high "rise" p₁ and a lower rise p² in which groove runs the roller P₁ of a
bell-crank lever P2 pivotted at P¹. The vertical arm of the bell crank terminates
with a swivel P' to allow for a little lateral play and is connected by a
link P jointed to downwardly projecting lugs of the cross head H¹.
The next cam Q (Figs. 16 and 22) on the shaft N³ gives a backward throw
to the slide F above which a cam R (Fig. 12) gives F a forward movement.
Still higher, a cam S (Fig. 13) moves the carrier G laterally, and another T (Fig. 14)
works the slide J which cuts the pieces of wire from the continuous length and feeds
them to the awl. Again a cam U (Fig. 15) operates the feed for the continuous
wire.
Above these is a roller cam V having a peripheral groove V' with a
"rise" V³, acting on roller L' on the lever L³ which is pivotted at 13 and works
the presser foot bar L.
The uppermost cam W (Fig. 17) works the slide M'.
In order that the working of the machine may be understood, I may explain
that Fig. 10 is drawn about half full size shewing on the horn B an upper and
sole of ordinary thickness.
Before introducing the loop inserter or the awl the presser foot is brought down
on the sole and the nose of carrier G is brought in contact with its edge as indicated

page_text: by dotted lines in Fig. 10, and after each stitch is completed the material has to
be fed onwards.
For convenience of placing the work on the horn the cam lever G* (which when
depressed lets the carrier G stand at the elevation required for the greatest
thickness of material) is turned up and the nose of the carrier G is raised by the
spring G* to the height shewn by the dotted lines Fig. 27 so as to leave sufficient
room.
To suit a less or greater projection of the edge of the material beyond the nose
of the horn the forward throw of the carrier G is regulated by hand before the
machine is started, by the means shewn in Figs. 12 and 22. In the front portion of
the slide F, to which the carrier G is pivotted is fitted in a dovetail a slide F¹
against the inner end of which the cam R acts, causing a greater forward throw of
the carrier the nearer is to R. The screw F2 effects the required adjustment.
To suit greater or less vertical thickness of sole and upper the depression of the
presser foot has to be adjusted, also the elevation of the carrier G in which the awl
is carried and the movement of the loop inserter. To effect these adjustments the
wedge piece M, screw L rack slide M', pinion M4, vertical shaft M5 and screw M'
and their connections are employed.
The maximum height of the awl is shown by the position of the carrier G in
Figs. 10 and 27. In order that the awl may be inserted at lower points the
adjusting screw L' is used to depress the carrier G, as for instance to the position
indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 10.
In order that the relative operations of the working parts may be understood, a
single rotation of the horizontal and vertical shafts may be supposed to be divided
into sixteen equal parts, which may be termed degrees.
The first degree as shown in Fig. 13 allows the hook ends of the curved lever
pivotted at s¹ to the slide F, to be pressed into the recess of the cam S by a spring
pin S2 and a nut S³ pivotted on the opposite end of the lever and working in a
slot S₁ in the carrier moves the carrier sidewise in the direction of arrow 1, to the
position shown by dotted lines, as determined by the adjusting screw S. By means
of this screw S and a similar one Se opposite to it the feed of the material on the
horn, to give a long or short space between successive stitches, is regulated.
By two degrees of rotation, as seen in Fig. 12 the cam R advances the slide F
and carrier G in the direction of arrow 2 (Fig. 13) to the position shown by
dotted lines in Figs. 13 and 10 in contact with the edge of the material on the
horn.
By three degrees the cam T (Fig. 14) throws the forked end of a lever T',
pivotted at t to carrier G, into the position shown by dotted lines, and the opposite
end of this lever gearing with teeth on an end of another lever T2, also pivotted to
the carrier, causes the forked end of T2, in which works a pin t¹ projecting up from
the slide J, to move that slide into a position that brings its hole; in line with the
channel and the hole j in line with g through which the awl H works.
By three to five degrees the cam U (Fig. 15) moves the forked end of a lever U¹
pivotted at u to the carrier, to the dotted position, and a spring bolt U2, projecting
from its end, moves the ratchet K one tooth causing the disc K to feed the wire
held between it and K' along channel k² into hole in the slide J.
About the same time, during the fifth degree of rotation, the cam S (Fig. 13)
presses the end of lever S₁ back to its original position thus moving the carrier G
in the direction of arrow 3 and so feeding the material a step, the nose of the
carrier being serrated to give a hold.
By adjusting the screw S³ nearer to or farther from the side of the carrier, the
length of the space between successive stitches can be varied; the other screw S
always arrests the table at the same place relatively to the horn, with the axis of
the horizontal awl in line with that of the loop inserter.
Half a degree more of revolution of the cam roller V elevates the roller L* on
the lever L³ depressing the front of L³ which enters the slot in the adjustable

page_text: portion of the presser foot bar. A quarter of a degree's rotation beyond this
suffices to free the slide M¹ from the action of the cam W (Fig. 17) which until
this moment has been pressing it forwards until the wedge M has its narrower
portion between the front of the lever L³ and the bottom of the slot l, as shewn by
dotted lines Fig. 10; at this moment however the slide is driven back by the spring m¹
as far as permitted by the thickness of the material under operation on the horn.
This adjustment of the awl and presser foot to suit different thicknesses of
material involves a corresponding adjustment in the throw of the loop inserter; and
this is transmitted through the rack M³, pinion M' shaft M³ and arm M° to the
screw M' in the sliding bar D', the stroke of which does not vary.
The vertical movement of the loop inserter takes place on the sixth degree of
rotation of the shafts, the sliding bar D' and its connections to the loop inserter
being in the positions shewn by Figs. 4 and 23.
The horizontal arms of the bell crank lever E in Fig. 23 are raised by the top of
the sliding bar bearing against the segments E', but the head m² of the screw
which is to depress these arms is at some distance above them.
Before the rise of the loop inserter takes place, the proper adjustment is
communicated to the screw M', diminishing the distance between the head m' and
the segments E' by rotating the screw M' in the direction to lower it, as the
material is the thicker and a longer stroke of the loop inserter C is required.
Between the seventh and eleventh degrees of rotation, the cam Pacting with
its full rise on the lever P2, causes its vertical arm to be thrown forward to the
position indicated by the dotted radial line 1 Fig. 10 so driving the cross head H¹
forward and pushing the awl through the loop formed by the loop inserter and
then withdraws it. At the eleventh degree of rotation the cam T moves the slide J
back to its original position with channel in line with the hole thus severing
the length of wire that had been fed into channel ; and placing it in the path of the
awl which, between the 13th and 15th degrees of rotation, is, by means of the lower
rise p² of the cam P throwing the vertical arm of lever P2 to the position indicated
by the dotted line 2, Fig. 10 caused to push the piece of wire in front of it into the
loop thus locking the loop.
g
The last degree of rotation causes the cam Q (Fig. 16) to move the slide F back
and the carrier G to the original position, thus completing an entire operation.
Although I have shewn on the horn Fig. 10 a thin piete and a thick piece of
material representing an upper and a sole, obviously there might be several thin
pieces all fastened together to one thick piece by loops passing through them, as
described, into the thick piece and locked therein by wire.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim,
in respect of a machine for uniting the soles and uppers of boots and shoes, is :-
1. The combination of a loop inserter and an awl the one adapted to force loops
of thread through the upper and into the sole, and the other to puncture the sole
and drive short pieces of wire into the loops, with means of holding and feeding
the material operated on and moving the loop inserter and awl, substantially as
described.
2. In combination with the horn supporting the boot or shoe, and the loop
inserter at the nose of the horn, a slotted disc, through which the inserter works
and gearing by which the disc is kept stationary while the horn is rotated, substan-
tially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. In combination with the disc having slot and thread eye a cutter for severing
the thread at the completion of the stitching, substantially as described.
4. The hinged carrier for the awl with its spring support and means of adjusting
its inclination and varying its lateral movements, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
5. In combination with the loop inserter, and the awl and its carrier the swinging

page_text: horn, the presser foot, and the means for supporting connecting and operating and
adjusting these, substantially as described.
6. The combination of the horn B the loop inserter C, the geared segment D¹,
the connecting rods D2 D3; the bell crank levers D and E, and the means for
operating these levers from the cam O substantially as described.
7. The combination of the horn B; the loop inserter C, the disc b', the disc b²
gearing with and the mechanism whereby, when the horn revolves the disc 62
also revolves so preventing movement of disc 6' with the horn, substantially as and
for the purpose set forth.
8. The combination of the slide F, the carrier G, hinged thereto, and means for
imparting reciprocating motion to the slide, substantially as described.
9. In combination with the hinged carrier G, the awl H and its crosshead H³,
and the means for giving a reciprocating movement to the crosshead, substantially
as described.
10. The combination of the carrier G having channel k²; the awl H, the
slide J, means for giving a reciprocating movement to such slide; the discs K K¹,
ratchet K, and means for rotating it, substantially as described.
11. The combination of the presser foot, the wedge M, slide M¹, and means for
operating the same, the sliding bar D', screw M', connections between it and the
loop inserter and connections between the slide M¹ and screw M', substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
12. The combination of the shaft N³, cam P, bell crank lever P2; crosshead H',
and awl H, substantially as described.
13. In combination with the shafts N N³ and their connecting gear, the
cams O P Q R S T U, and V substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Sixth day of January 1891.
ABEL & IMKA1,
Agents for the Applicant.