Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left; 3rd Aug., 1893-Accepted, 9th Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
I, HERMANN CARL GROS of Oberursel near Francfort on the Main, in the
Province of Hesse-Nassau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of welt-boots and shoes,
and consists in a novel manner of securing the welt and upper to the inner sole, and
the outer sole to the welt.
Hitherto the inner sole, welt, upper, and outer sole were secured together by
means of strings, and a chain-stitch seam was employed almost exclusively. This
seam was very inconvenient, as the strings protruded from the sole either on the
inner or on the outer side. Moreover the holes pierced by means of the awl were
unnecessarily widened by drawing through them the double string held on the hook
of the needle; owing to this unfavorable circumstance, the durability of the seam
was considerably impaired.
In order to avoid this defect, wire staples have been employed for securing the
upper, welt, and soles together. The ends of the staples were allowed to project
both on the same side of the sole, and were hereafter bent down close to the same;
for instance both ends of the staples protruded from the outer sole and were bent
so as to lie parallel to the same and to each other. The defects of the old
method, though reduced by the employment of staples, are not entirely overcome
thereby.
My improved method consists in bending one end of the staples on the innermost
of the parts to be united, for instance the inner sole, and the other end of the staples
on the outer part, for instance the welt. The method is employed for securing
together first the inner sole, upper and welt, and then the welt and outer sole. The
method may be performed by hand, or a suitable machine may be constructed for
this purpose.
As very thin wire may be used for forming the staples, the ends of the same
protrude but very slightly on the outer and on the inner side.
My invention will be fully understood by the aid of the accompanying drawings,
in which
Fig. 1 illustrates the application of my improved method for uniting the inner
sole, upper, and welt, and represents these three parts as seen from below.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of the same parts.
Like letters refer to corresponding parts in both views.
In carrying my invention into effect, I prefer to employ an inner sole A split at
its edge so as to form a rim or ledge A¹. B designates the upper, and C the welt.
These three parts are pierced by means of an awl in the usual manner, the holes
may however be of smaller diameter, owing to the reduced diameter of the wire D.
This wire may be made of brass or of any other suitable metal. The wire is cut
into pieces of such a length, that the protruding ends are about equal in length to
the distance between two stitches. One end of the wire is allowed to project on
the inside, and the other on the outside. The ends are hereafter bent at right
angles by means of special pliers or by the machine, so that one end lies close to
the inner sole and the other close to the welt. In order that the staples formed in
this manner may be prevented from getting loose they are preferably formed with
small hooks at the ends, and these hooks are pressed into the leather.
Both ends of the wire may be bent in the same direction, as shown, so that the

page_text: ends are exactly opposite each other, or the ends may be bent in opposite directions;
the method illustrated by the drawings is however preferred.
Dated this 14th day of November 1892.
HERMANN CARL GROS,
By Geo. Thos. Hyde,
4, Moorfields, Fore Street, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
I, HERMANN CARL GROS, of Oberursel, near Francfort on the Main, in the
Province of Hesse-Nassau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of welt-shoes, and
consists in a novel manner of securing the welt and upper to the inner sole, and the
outer sole to the welt.
Hitherto the inner sole, welt, upper, and outer sole were secured together by
means of strings, and a chain stitch seam was employed almost exclusively. This
seam was very inconvenient, as the strings protruded from the sole either on the
inner or on the outer side. Moreover, the holes pierced by means of the awl were
unnecessarily widened by drawing through them the double string held on the hook
of the needle; owing to this unfavorable circumstance, the durability of the seam
was considerably impaired.
In order to avoid this defect, wire staples have been employed for securing the
upper, welt, and soles together. The ends of the staples were allowed to project
both on the same side of the sole, and were afterwards bent down close to the
same; for instance both ends of the staples protruded from the outer sole and were
bent so as to lic parallel to the same and to each other. The defects of the old
method, though reduced by the employment of staples, are not entirely overcome
thereby.
My improved method consists in bending one end of the staples on the innermost
of the parts to be united, for instance the inner sole, and the other end of the
staples on the outer part, for instance the welt. The method is employed for
securing together first the inner sole, upper and welt, and then the welt and outer
sole. The method may be performed by hand, or a suitable machine may be
constructed for this purpose.
As very thin wire may be used for forming the staples, the bent ends of the same
protrude but very slightly on the outer and on the inner side.
My invention will be fully understood by the aid of the drawings sent in with
provisional application, in which :
Fig. 1 illustrates the application of my improved method for uniting the inner
sole, upper, and welt, and represents these three parts as seen from below.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of the same parts.
Like letters refer to corresponding parts in both views.
In carrying my invention into effect, I prefer to employ an inner sole A
split at its edge so as to form a rim or ledge A¹. B designates the upper,
and C the welt. These three parts are pierced by means of an awl in the usual
manner, the holes may be, however, of a smaller diameter owing to the reduced
diameter of the wire D. This wire may be made of brass or of any other suitable
metal. The wire is cut into pieces of such a length, that the protruding ends are
about equal in length to the distance between two stitches. One end of the wire is
allowed to project on the inside, and the other on the outside. The ends are
hereafter bent at right angles by means of special pliers or by a machine, so that
one end lies close to the inner sole and the other close to the welt. In order that

page_text: the staples formed in this manner may be prevented from getting loose they are
preferably formed with small hooks at the ends, and these hooks are pressed into
the leather.
Both ends of the wire may be bent in the same direction, as shown, so that the
ends are exactly opposite to each other, or the ends may be bent in opposite
directions; the method illustrated by the drawings is, however, preferred.
I wish it to be understood, that I do not confine myself to the employment of my
method for welt-shoes only, but that also the soles of turned shoes may be fastened
by the same.
Having now particularly described the nature of my said invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A method of uniting a sole with the upper or with the welt or with upper and
welt, consisting in passing pieces of wire through the parts to be united, and
bending the protruding ends of said pieces of wire close to said parts, for the
purpose as described.
2. A method of uniting the inner sole with the upper or with the upper and welt,
or the outer sole with the welt, consisting in passing pieces of wire through the
parts to be united, and bending the protruding ends of said pieces of wire parallel
to each other and close to said parts, for the purpose as described.
3. A method of uniting the inner sole A with the upper B or with the upper
and welt C, or the outer sole with the welt, consisting in passing pieces D of wire
horizontally or nearly horizontally through the parts to be united, and bending the
protruding ends of said pieces of wire horizontally or nearly horizontally close to
said parts, for the purpose as described.
4. A method as characterized by Claim 1, 2 or 3, in which the extremities of the
protruding wire-ends are bent to the same side as said ends, and are pressed into
the respective parts of the leather, for the purpose as described.
5. A welt-shoe or turned shoe, in which the soles are fastened by a method as
characterized by Claim 1, 2, 3, or 4.
D11"
1009
HERMANN CARL GROS,
By Geo. Thos. Hyde,
4, Moorfields, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicant.