IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Destouy, of 85, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES."
Sealed the 3rd August 1869, and dated the 16th June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Destouy
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with, his Petition,
on the 16th June 1869.
I, AUGUSTE DESTOUX, of 35, Southampton Buildings, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES," to be
as follows:-
For this purpose I employ an instrument in the form of a ring with
a portion of its circumference removed, one end of such instrument
being provided with a point so as to enable it to pierce the holes in the
material, whilst close to the other end is formed a barb or hook of a
similar character to a crochet hook to take the thread through the

page_text: work. This barbed and pointed instrument is held by two holders or
pincers, which are caused at the required times to grasp and move it a
certain distance around its axis and cause it to enter and pass through
the work, one of such holders or pincers having a firm grasp of the
hooked instrument, whilst the other is released therefrom and returns to
a position to again grasp the hooked or barbed instrument when
required, a step by step rotary motion being thus given to the hooked or
barbed instrument by such holders or pincers always in the same
direction. Each of these holders or pincers is formed with two jaws
carried by a lever which is operated by a suitable cam, one of such
pincers having a jaw pin jointed to the other, so as to enable it to turn
thereon as required, and being provided with a pin or projection which at
the required times is acted upon by a cam surface carried by a lever
operated by a suitable cam, such lever being also provided with an axis
or pin joint around which the holders or pincers and the hooked
instrument work, and having motion given thereto to facilitate the
releasing of the loop from the hooked instrument at the required time,
at which time an auxiliary needle or instrument is caused to enter and
hold the loop until a fresh stitch is taken. The other pineer is somewhat
similarly formed and operated. The thread is carried by a bobbin, from
which it passes by suitable guides over a chamber heated by hot water,
whence it passes to a guide, which has partial rotary motion given to it
at the required times so as to present the thread to the point of the
barbed instrument in a suitable position to be taken thereby. These
guides and the hot water chamber are mounted upon an axis of motion,
and have motion given thereto to bring the thread forward into the
required position to be taken by the point of the barbed and pointed
instrument. The bobbin is carried by a lever, which by means of a cam
is caused at a given time to rise, and thereby to slacken the thread when
it is about to be taken by the point of the hooked instrument to form a
fresh stitch. The boot or shoe to be sewn is supported at the upper end
of a lever which is by a universal joint connected to a lever which by a
pin joint is connected to a piece carried by a combination of links and
levers. forming a kind of parallel motion, which is acted upon by a
weight so as to carry the boot or shoe to be sewn, up against the guiding
and feeding instruments. The lever carrying the universal joint is so
formed that it can be turned upon its axis and supported in either of
two positions as required, one position being suitable for supporting
the boot or shoe when the insole and welt are being connected

page_text: to the upper, the other position being suitable for supporting the
boot or shoe when the outer sole is being sewn to the welt. The
lever carrying the boot or shoe is formed with a socket to slide on
a screw, and at its lower end it rests on a nut, by which means it is
rendered capable of minute adjustment. The boot or shoe is fed forward
for each stitch by means of a feed lever, which has a compound motion
given thereto at the times desired by means of cams acting thereon in
the following manner :-The feed lever is pin jointed to the outer end of
a lever the other end of which is operated by a cam to give it an up-
and-down motion, whilst the outer end of another lever operated by
another cam acts upon the feed lever to give it a sideway motion when
required. The feed lever is also acted upon by a screw in order to
regulate the length of stitch. A suitable fixed guide is employed to enter
the channel or groove formed for the stitches so as to aid in guiding
the work to the instruments. By these means facility is afforded for
sewing the inner and outer soles to the uppers of boots and shoes by the
same machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Auguste Destouy in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTE
DESTOUY, of 35, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Auguste Destouy, Her special licence
that I, the said Auguste Destouy, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others. as I, the said Auguste Destouy, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS

page_text: .
IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Auguste Destouy, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Auguste Destouy, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
For this purpose I employ an instrument in the form of a ring with a
portion of its circumference removed, one end of such instrument being
provided with a point so as to enable it to pierce the holes in the
material, whilst close to the other end is formed a barb or hook of a
similar character to a crotchet hook to take the thread through the work.
This barbed and pointed instrument is held by two holders or pincers,
which are caused at the required times to grasp and move it a certain
distance around its axis and cause it to enter and pass through the work,
one of such holders or pincers having a firm grasp of the hooked instru-
ment, whilst the other is released therefrom and returns to a position to
again grasp the hooked or barbed instrument when required, a step by step
rotary motion being thus given to the hooked or barbed instrument by
such holders or pincers always in the same direction. Each of these
'holders or pincers is formed with two jaws carried by a lever which is
operated by a suitable cam, one of such pincers having a jaw pin jointed
to the other, so as to enable it to turn thereon as required, and being
'provided with a pin or projection which at the required times is acted
upon by a cam surface carried by a lever operated by a suitable cam,
such lever being also provided with an axis or pin joint around which
'the holders or pincers and the hooked instrument work, and having
'motion given thereto to facilitate the releasing of the loop from the
hooked instrument at the required time, at which time. an auxiliary
needle or instrument is caused to enter and hold the loop until a fresh
stitch is taken. The other pincer is somewhat similarly formed and
operated. The thread is carried by a bobbin, from which it passes by

page_text: suitable guides over a chamber-heated by hot water, whence it
passes to
a guide which has partial rotary motion given to it at the required times,
so as to present the thread to the point of the barded instrument in a
suitable position to be taken thereby. These guides and the hot water
chamber are mounted upon an axis of motion, and have motion given:
thereto to bring the thread forward into the required position to be taken
by the point of the barbed and pointed instrument. The bobbin is
carried by a lever, which by means of a cam is caused at a given time to
rise,, and thereby to slacken the thread when. it is about to be taken by
the point of the-hooked instrument to form a fresh stitch. The boot or
shoe to be sewn is supported at the upper end of a lever which is by a
universal joint connected to a lever which by a pin joint is connected to a
piece carried by a combination of links and levers forming a kind of
parallel motion, which is acted upon by a weight so as to carry the boot
or shoe to be sewn up against, the guiding and feeding instruments..
The lever carrying the universal joint is so formed that it can be turned
upon its axis and supported in either of two positions as required, one
position being suitable for supporting the boot or shoe when the insole and
welt are being connected to the upper, the other position being suitable
for supporting the boot or shoe when the outer sole is being sewn to the
welt. The lever carrying the boot or shoe is formed with a socket to slide
on a screw, and at its lower end it rests on a nut, by which means it is
rendered capable of minute adjustment. The boot or shoe is fed forward
for each stitch by means of a feed lever, which has a compound motion.
given thereto at the times desired by means of cams acting thereon in
the following manner:-The feed lever is pin jointed to the outer end of
a lever the other end of which is operated by a cam to give it an up-
and-down motion, whilst the outer end of another lever operated by
another cam acts upon the feed lever to give it a sideway motion when
required. The feed lever is also acted upon by a screw in order to
regulate the length of stitch. A suitable fixed guide is employed to
enter the channel or groove formed for the stitches so as to aid in
guiding the work to the instruments. By these means facility is afforded
for sewing the inner and outer soles to the uppers of boots and shoes. by
the same machine.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 and 2 are two opposite side views of a machine for sewing
boots and shoes constructed according to my Invention; Figure 3 is a
plan; Figure 4 is a front view; Figures 5 and 6 are sectional side views
seen from opposite sides; and Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15
are detail views of some of the parts to a larger scale.
a is an instrument in the form of a ring with a portion of its circum-
ference removed, one end a¹ of such instrument being pointed, whilst
close to the other end is formed a barb or hook a, suitable indentations
or teeth as being formed on one side of such instrument in order that
as it is operated by the pincers or holders b, c, as herein-after described,
it shall be properly timed. This barbed and pointed instrument a by
its point a¹ is caused to pierce the material, and then as it is caused to.
rotate by the pincers b, c, the barb or hook a carries the thread through
the hole formed by the point a². The instrument a is held and operated
by the holders or pincers b and c, which are caused at the required times
to grasp and move it a certain distance around its axis and cause it
to enter and pass through the work, one of such pincers or holders
having a firm grasp of the instrument a, whilst the other is released
therefrom and returns to a position to again grasp the instrument a
when required; a step by step rotary motion is thus given to the instru-
ment a by such holders or pincers b and c always in the same direction.
Each of such holders or pincers b, c, is formed with two jaws, the holder
or pincer 6 having a jaw b¹ pin jointed at 6s to the jaw 6, and being
provided with a pin or projection 6, which at the required times is acted
upon by a cam surface d carried by a lever e, which is mounted upon
an axis of motion e¹, and at its rear end is operated by a eam e*. The
lever e is also provided with an axis or pin joint e, to which the holders
or pincers b and c are connected, and around which they and the
instrument a work. The lever e operated by its cam acts upon the
holders or pincers b and c at the times required to lower them, and
thereby facilitate the releasing of the loop of thread from the barb or
hook a of the instrument a, at which time such loop is entered and
held by an auxiliary needle or instrument f until a fresh stitch is taken,
such auxiliary needle or instrument f being formed on or fixed to a
lever operated by a cam f³. The pincer or holder c is similarly
formed to the pincer or holder b, having a jaw c¹ pin jointed at c³ to the
jaw c, and being provided with a pin or projection c³, which however in

page_text: this case is operated by a fixed cam surface 9. The holder or pincer
b is formed on or fixed to a link b*, which is pin jointed at b³ to one
end of a link 6º, the other end of which is pin jointed to the upper end
of a lever 67 operated by a cam 68, whilst the holder or pincer c is formed
on or fixed to a link pin jointed at c to one end of a link co,
the other end of which is pin jointed to the upper end of a lever c'
operated by a cam c³, the levers 67 and c' being both mounted on
an axis of motion at 6°. The holders or pincers b and o are
respectively provided with spring teeth 610, co, to act against the teeth
a formed on the instrument a, and thereby insure the instrument a
always being moved the desired distance. The thread is carried by a
bobbin h, from which it passes by suitable guides over a chamber i,
which is heated by hot water supplied thereto from any convenient
supply by tubes connected to the short tubes 2, 2, by which means a
circulation of the water is obtained in such chamber. The thread passes
from the top of such chamber i to a guide, which has a partial rotary
motion given thereto in the following manner at the times required,
so as to present the thread in a suitable position to be taken by the
point of the instrument a when about to form a fresh stitch:-The
guide is mounted on one end of an axis of motion, on the other end
of which is fixed a bevilled pinion, which is taken into by and receives
motion from a bevilled pinion fixed on one end of the shaft or axis ?",
to the other end of which is fixed a star wheel 7, which at the required
times is acted upon by the teeth or projections 2 formed on or fixed
to one of the cams. Thus when upon the completion of a stitch the
thread has been cast off from the instruments it is received into the
notches formed in the guide 3, and lies therein in a direction parallel
or nearly so to the direction in which the point a¹ of the instrument a
is travelling when about to take a fresh loop, and would not therefore
be in a suitable position to be taken thereby, but in order to insure
its being properly taken by the point a' the guide has a partial rotary
motion given thereto in the manner before described, so as to place the
thread at right angles to its former position and to the path of the
point a', and at the same time a projection from the chamber i which is
mounted on a vertical axis at * is acted upon by the cam 2 to bring
the guide forward in such position as to allow the instrument a to
pass through the channel in the guide ³, and on the inside of the thread,
when the guide and parts connected therewith are caused to retiro

page_text: out of the way of the instruments and leave the thread around the
point of the instrument a. The bobbin is carried by one end of a lever
A mounted on a centre of motion h³, the other end of which lever is
acted upon by means of a cam ³ at the required time to raise the
bobbin h, and thereby to slacken the thread when it is about to be
taken by the point a¹ of the instrument a to form a fresh stitch. The
boot or shoe to be sewn is supported on the upper end of a lever j
which by a universal joint is connected to one end of a lever k which
by a pin joint is connected to a piece / carried by a combination of
links and levers forming a kind of parallel motion, which is acted
upon by a weight so as to carry the boot or shoe to be sewn up
against the guiding and feeding instruments. The lever k is so. formed.
that it may be turned upon its axis of motion, and supported in
either of the two positions shown at Figures 1 and 2, that shown at
Figure 1 being the position it would assume when supporting a boot
or shoe in position for the insole and welt to be sewn to the upper;
whilst the position shown at Figure 2 is that which the levers and k
would assume when the outer sole is being sewn to the welt. The lever
j is formed in two parts, the upper part being formed with a socket j
to pass over a screw and rest at its lower end up a nut j*, by
which means it is rendered capable of minutely adjusting the hoot
or shoe carried thereby to the sewing and feeding instruments. In the
Drawings I have shown the lever to be provided with an endless screw
taking into a rack for further adjustment, but this forms no part of my
present Invention. The soles of the boot or shoe are formed with suitable
channels or grooves for the stitches, as is well understood, and is guided
to the instrument a by means of a single fixed guide 6, which enters, each
of such channels or grooves as desired. The feed lever m is pin jointed
at m¹ to the outer end of a lever m³ mounted on an axis of motion m³,
the other end of such lever m² being operated by a cam m to give it an
up-and-down motion, whilst the outer end of another lever n, the other
end of which is operated by a cam n³, acts upon the feed lever m to give
it a side-way motion. Thus a suitable compound motion is given to the
feed lever m, the lower end of which acts within the channel or groove
in the sole, when required, to enable it to feed the work to the
instrument a, a screw m³ being employed to regulate the length of
stitch, as is well understood. At Figure 16 I have shown a boot or shoe,
one-half of such Figure showing the insole o and welt p as they would

page_text: 8.
appear when united to the upper by the stitches q, the other half showing
the outer sole united to the welt by the stitches 8. Figure 17th shows
a cross section of a boot or shoe showing the insole o and welt p united
to the upper by the stitches q. Figure 18 shows a cross section of a
boot or shoe with the outer sole r connected to the welt p by the stitches
Figure 19 is a diagram showing the course of the thread in the
completed stitches, by which it will be seen that the stitches, which are
of the character of a chain stitch, are crossed at the point marked x, as
shown. Figure 20 is a side view of a shoe showing some of the
stitches & in dotted lines. I would here remark that although I have
shewn one form of holders or pincers b, c, I do not confine myself
thereto, as various other forms of holders or pincers may be employed
to operate the instrument a, whilst if desired additional holders or
pincers may be employed to support and hold the instrument a firmly.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the mode
in which I carry the same into effect, I would have it understood that I
do not confine myself to the precise details herein shown and described,
as such may be varied without departing from the peculiar character of
my Invention; but what I do claim is,-
First. The novel combination and arrangement of means or apparatus
for sewing boots and shoes, substantially as herein shown and described.
Secondly. I claim the employment of an instrument a operated in
manner substantially as herein described, and acting by its point a¹ as
an awl or piercing instrument and by its barb or hook a as a needle to
carry the thread through the work, in manner substantially as herein
shewn and described.
Thirdly. I claim the employment of holders or pincers b and c, and
instruments acting therewith, to operate the instrument a, in manner
substantially as herein shown and described.
Fourthly. I claim the employment of a single fixed guide acting
within a channel groove formed in the inner or outer sole of a boot or
shoe to ensure the work being correctly guided to the instrument a, in
manner substantially as herein shown and described, whereby facility is
afforded for sewing various thicknesses of soles.
Fifthly. I claim the employment of a chamber i or its equivalent
supplied with hot water to heat the thread and the working instruments,

page_text: the thread being caused to travel over the top thereof by suitable guides,
substantially as herein shown and described.
Sixthly. I claim the employment of a guide or its equivalent acting
to receive the thread, and then to turn on its axis and pass into a position
to enable the point of the instrument a to take the thread, in manner
substantially as herein shown and described.
Seventhly. I claim the peculiar arrangement and combination of parts
for feeding the work to the instrument a, substantially as herein shown
and described.
Eighthly. I claim the peculiar arrangement and combination of parts
for supporting the work and pressing it up against the guiding instrument 1,
in manner substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the use
of a table is rendered unnecessary, and the work is capable of being
held in the various positions required for sewing the inner and outer
soles.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Destouy, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.