Improvements in Machinery for the Production of Welted Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 4th June, 1895-Accepted, 3rd Aug., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for the Production of Welted Boots
and Shoes.
We ZACHARY TAYLOR FRENCH of 10 Wabon Street Boston in the State of
Massachusetts one of the United States of America, and WILLIAM CRISTIAN
MEYER of Forest Hill Street, Boston aforesaid, Machinists 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 :-
In the production of welted boots and shoes, it is customary on the part of some
manufacturers to feather-edge the outer-sole at its inner-side, this being done
usually by the operator with a hand-operated knife.
Some manufacturers have employed a machine having a blade to feather-edge
the shank of the outer-sole while the outside of the outer-sole was supported on a
roller, but such machine was not adapted to automatically feather-edge the entire
outer-sole on the last.
We have devised a novel machine adapted for shanking and also feather-edging
the outer-sole while on the last, the feather-edging commencing at the breast end
of the shank and extending entirely about the sole to the breast end of the shank
at the other edge of the sole.
To do this practically and expeditiously our novel machine has been provided
with a peculiar feeding mechanism, one member of which is made as a dog adapted
to enter the space between the outer and inner soles while tacked on the last, said dog
engaging by its serrations or teeth the inner face of the outer sole, the other
member of the feed being a plate against which the outer-side of the outer-sole is
forced and clamped by the dog as the latter, in engagement with the inner face of
the outer sole, is being moved to draw the sole toward the feather-edge cutter.
A feature of our invention of very considerable importance, consists in the
combination with the two members of the clamping feeding mechanism, of an
edge gauge located and freely movable between said feeding members by or
through a treadle mechanism.
Fig. 1 is a right hand side elevation of a shanking and feather edging machine
embodying our invention.
Fig. 2, a front elevation thereof.
Fig. 3, a detail shewing the cutter and its holder.
Fig. 4 is a partial top or plan view of the plate d* and the gauge.
Fig. 4 is a detail shewing the face of the plate d and part of the gauge; and
Fig. 5 is a section through the shank D of the feed dog, said fig. shewing the
block upon which said bar slides back and forth, and the pin for supporting said
block loosely.
The frame-work A, of suitable shape to sustain the working parts, will have, in
practice, its base or foot A' supported on a suitable column or bench at the proper
height from the floor.
This frame-work has suitable bearing hubs A to support the cam shaft A³
provided with a belt pulley A* adapted to receive a belt driven from some suitable
source.
The shaft A³ has also fast upon it a hub B having a peripheral cam B₁ and at
its face a cam groove B³, best shewn in Fig. 2.
One portion of the frame-work A, has a bearing A which receives a stud C,
which is secured in said bearing by means of a suitable set screw C¹, said stud
serving as a pivot for a feed frame C2, it being shewn as having two arms with
D077

page_text: hubs to fit the said stud at opposite sides the bearing A, the said feed frame
having an arm C³ provided with a roller or other stud C which enters the cam
groove B² at the front of the cam hub B, said cam groove moving said feed frame
intermittingly backwards and forward in the direction of the feeding movement of
the shoe being acted upon, the latter being held in the hand of the operator with
the edge of the sole pressed against the edge of the gaugera.
The feed frame is provided at its upper end with a suitable horizontally arranged
guideway; the sides of which are marked c, between which sides is placed the
shank D connected to or forming part of the feed dog d attached thereto as herein
represented by a bolt d' and having its inner side toothed or serrated.
The shank D of the feed dog is retained in the guide by means of caps c' held
in place by suitable screws, and the inner end of said shank is slotted, as
represented byidotted lines c³, to embrace loosely three sides of a loose block c,
also shewn by dotted lines Fig 1 mounted on a stud carried by a lever E,
provided at its upper end with a roller or other stud E" and having at its lower end
a hub which embraces an eccentric e forming part of a short shaft provided with a
hand wheel E, so that by rotation of said. land wheel the lever E may have its
lower end adjusted to correctly adapt the position of the feed dog d to the thickness
of the material to be interposed between it. and the co-operating feed memberrd',
to be described, or to the thickness of the sole to be feather-edged.,
The cam.B for vibrating this lever E and consequently for reciprocating the
shank D of the feed dog to cause the feed dog to grasp and release the sole at the
proper times may be the same for all thicknesses of sole, because the cam/has only
to, move sufficiently to release. the work while the feed dog moves backward over
the work held by the operator and then to clamp the work and feed it while the
feather edge cutter f acts to cut into the leather.
The feeding surface. dis herein represented as a plate of metal having a smooth
face, the back. of the said plate being provided with a dove-tailed projection 2 to
enter, a suitable dove-tailed slot in the face of the feed frame C2, the framer being
suitably slotted or split so that it may, by or through, the action of a suitable set
screw. 3, be made to clamp.the dove-tailed portion of said plate d firmly in place.
In the operation of the feed mechanism the dog d is made to move laterally to
and from the plate.or member to grasp and release the material, and. during the
feeding operation and while the material is clamped firmly between the feed dog d
and the opposed member.d, the frame C is vibrated, as described, to feed the shoe
and.draw the.portion thereof which is to be acted upon by the cutter against the
edge of said cutter.
The feather-edge..cutter in practice has its shank clamped between a guide
composed of sides g, g¹, by means of a set screw g², and the clamp composed chiefly
of said sides is attached to an arm or upright portion g³ of a split hub g clamped
on a stud g by a set screw 96, the loosening of the set screw y permitting the
hub g to be moved backward. and forward on the stud g according to the thickness
of the material.to be acted upon, and the extent of the bevei represented by the
feather-edge cut is determined by loosening the set screw.carried by the guide
holding the feather-edge.cutter, thus enabling, said stud to be moved in the slot g8,
when it is desired to change the inclination of the cutter and place it in a more or
less upright position...
A. segmentali.spline 6, extended from the shank of the cutter guide, enters a
groove in the arm or upright g³, thus ensuring correct circular movement of the
said guide in its adjustments.
The edge gauge a, as herein shewn, is shaped to embrace the top of the feed
plate or member d', the shape being such as to enter the space between the said
member and the said feed dog d.
The edge gauge is attached to or forms part of an arm a', suitably connected t
a slide-rod a² having clamped upon it a hub a³ provided with an armia, with which
is suitably engaged one end of a connection a³, which in practice is extended down
to the floor and is at that point connected with a suitable treadle by which it is

page_text: possible to depress the rod a² and cause the acting end of the edge gauge, located
as before said between the member d' and the dog d, to keep the edge of the outer
sole at a greater or less distance, as desired, from the lower edge of the bevel edged
cutter, the lower the edge gauge the thicker the edge of the outer-sole left by
bevelling off a portion thereof at its inner face.
The rod a² is normally elevated by a spring a, shewn by full lines in Fig. 2, and
by dotted lines in Fig. 1.
We have provided the arm a referred to with a regulating stop b, shewn upon
a screw h, connected in adjustable manner with said arm, said screw / being made
to project through said arm for a greater or less distance according to the amount
of play desired for the edge gauge, or according to the difference desired in the
thickness of the edge of the sole along the shank and about the fore-part.
In practice, the edge gauge will occupy its highest position when the feed dog
is inserted between the inner and outer-soles to commence feather-edging the
shank next the breast of the heel, and the shoe having been fed sufficiently far
to feather-edge the shank, the operator, by his foot upon the treadle referred to,.
will lower the gauge to shorten the bevel cut and leave the edge of the outer
sole about the ball and toe thicker than at the edge of the shank.
Prior to our invention we are not aware that a machine for shanking an outer
sole when on the last has ever been so constructed as to also continue the cutting
to feather-edge the ball and toe of the outer sole, nor are we aware, prior to our
invention, that a shanking machine has ever been used having a four-motioned
clamping feed to grasp only the outer sole at its outer and inner faces, one member
of the said feeding mechanism playing freely between the inner and outer sole,
leaving the welt unclamped so that it is not pinched, stretched, or marred in any
way during the shanking or feather-edging, so this invention is not limited to the
particular shape of the feeding mechanism so long as it grasps and releases the
outer sole intermittingly, nor is our invention limited to the exact shape shewn for
the edge gange, as the said devices might be variously modified without departing
from the spirit and gist of our invention.
This invention is not limited to the particular means herein represented for
adjusting the throw of the dog d with relation to the feeding member to adapt
the material to different thicknesses, as instead of the particular means shewn, we
may employ other suitable equivalent mechanism, which might be done with the
exercise of only mechanical skill.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
In machinery for the production of welted boots and shoes.
1. The construction and use of a novel feeding mechanism, one member of which
is made as a dog adapted to enter the space between the outer and inner soles while
tacked on the last, said dog engaging by its serrations, or teeth the inner face of the
outer sole, the other member of the feed device being a plate against which the
outer-side of the outer sole is forced and clamped by the dog as the latter, in
engagement with the inner face of the outer sole, is being moved to draw the sole
toward the feather-edge cutter, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination and use with the two members of the clamping feeding
mechanism arranged as set forth, of an edge gauge located and freely movable
between said feeding members by or through a treadle mechanism, substantially as
set forth.
3. In a shanking and feather-edging machine, a cutter to feather-edge the outer
sole while on a last, a guide to hold the said cutter in a plane inclined with relation
to the plane of the face of the outer-sole, combined with a four-motioned clamping
feed, composed of a dog and an opposed member adapted to grasp said outer sole
between them, the said dog working in the space between the inner side of the
outer-sole and the outer-side of the inner-sole, substantially as described.

page_text: 4. A four motioned clamping feeding mechanism having a feed dog to enter the
space between the inner face of the outer-sole and the inner sole or welt, and
having a member d to act against the outer face of the outer-sole and move sub-
stantially in unison with the said dog while the sole is being moved to effect the
feather-edging thereof; and a suitable cutter f, combined with a freely movable
edge gauge having its acting face located in the space between the feed dog and
the feeding member d', to operate, substantially as described.
5. The feed frame, a feed dog having its shank mounted in a guide-way in said
frame, and an opposed feeding member carried by said frame, combined with devices
to move said frame and carry with it the said feeding dog and opposed feeding
member, and to reciprocate said feeding dog independently on said frame to grasp
and release the outer sole, and a cutter, to operate, substantially as described.
6. The feed frame, a feed dog having its shank mounted in a guide-way in sail
frame, and an opposed feeding member carried by said frame, combined with devices
to move said frame and carry with it the said feeding dog and opposed feeding
member, and to reciprocate said feeding dog independently on said frame to grasp
and release the outer-sole; a cutter; an interposed edge gauge; and a movable
spring-supported carrier therefor, whereby the said edge gauge may be moved to
vary the quantity of the material removed from the edge of the outer sole while
on the last, substantially as described.
7. The swing frame, and its attached feeding members; the shanking cutter, and
a guide in which it is clamped, combined with an arm 93, and devices to connect
said arm and guide adjustably, substantially as described.
8. The swing frame, its feeding members; devices to swing said frame and
reciprocate one of said feeding members in said frame; and the inclined cutter,
combined with a guide in which said cutter is clamped, an arm having a hub, a
stud on which said arm and hub are adjustable horizontally, and devices to adjust
said guide on said arm, to operate, substantially as described.
9. In a machine for shanking and feather-edging an outer sole while on a last,
the following instrumentalities, viz. :-a cutter; a swing frame, a feeding member d'
fixed thereto; a feed-dog adapted to slide in said frame toward and from said
teeding member; means for moving said swing frame; means for reciprocating the
said dog toward and from said feeding member d'; and devices to regulate the
extent of movement of the dog d according to the thickness of the material being
acted upon, substantially as described.
10. The blade holder provided with a blade f, and an edge gauge for the edge
of the sole to be acted upon, combined with a four motioned clamping feed
mechanism between which said edge gauge is interposed, substantially as described.
Dated the 1st day of June 1895.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56 Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicants.