IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES FOR FACILITATING THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Jefferys, of 40, Southampton Buildings, in the
County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
OR APPLIANCES FOR FACILITATING THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND
SHOES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Jefferys at the Offico
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th August 1880.
EDWARD JEFFERYS, of 40, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES FOR FACILITATING THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
My Invention relates to boots and shoes, the separate parts of which are sewn or
stitched together by hand, and it has for its object improved methods of constructing
and arranging moveable supports or standards in which the boot or shoe is held
whilst being sewn, in such manner that its position can be readily and quickly
altered as desired, so that every part of it is brought successively into the most
convenient position to be operated upon by the workman.
I take a fixed standard or support of wood, cast iron, or other suitable material,
upon the upper part of which I fix a vertical frame or bracket, preferably of iron.
I sometimes make the bracket with a vertical pin or bar below fitting into a
corresponding socket in the top of the standard or support, and provided with a set
screw and pin so that its height can be altered and adjusted.
At the upper part of the bracket I make a jaw or joint, through which is fitted a
transverse pin or bolt. In this jaw is fitted and works a corresponding bracket
formed upon or attached to the centre of the lower side of a disc or plate, preferably
of metal, which also has formed upon or attached to it below a semicircular guide
bar or plate concentric with the bolt, which guide passes through a corresponding
opening in the lower part of the vertical bracket in such manner that the circular
disc can be turned round the bolt to any angle between the horizontal and
perpendicular, and can be fixed in any position by a set screw, pin, or bolt in the
lower part of the bracket. Upon the upper surface of the circular disc I fit a second
corresponding disc, which turns upon a central vertical pin or bolt in the former,
but can be fixed in any desired position by a nut or key upon the upper end of
such central pin. Upon the upper disc I form or fix at a distance from its edge,

page_text: which can be varied as required, a vertical standard of metal, wood, or other
suitable material, the upper end of which is formed to carry and hold one end
(preferably the heel) of the boot or shoe into which a last is fitted, and which is
placed in an inverted position upon it. At or near the opposite edge of the upper
disc I form or fix a second corresponding standard which receives and holds the
other end of the inverted boot or shoe, and I hold the latter when adjusted in its
position by means of a strap or band passing round it and round a transverse bar
which extends between the lower part of the two standards.
Or I attach the heel end of the boot or shoe to its standard by means of an
adjustable screw or pin connected to the standard, and also to the last in the boot
or shoe; and I make the second standard moveable upon the disc to or from the
first standard, and capable of being adjusted and fixed in any desired position, so
that when the heel end of the last has been fixed as described the second standard
can be moved toward it, forcing up the toe of the boot or shoe until the latter is
sufficiently firmly supported, the standard being then fixed in its position. Linings
or pads of leather, india rubber, or other sufficiently soft material may be fitted
between the boot or shoe and the supports.
The boot or shoe being adjusted and fixed as described, it can be moved round
into any desired position by turning the upper disc upon the lower one, and the
two discs together can be turned to any angle round the lower transverse pin or
bolt. In this way, whilst the workman can conveniently stand to his work instead
of sitting, he can readily and quickly stitch and finish every part of the boot or
shoe, and great economy of time and labour is in this way effected. The height of
the standards may be varied to suit that of the boot or shoe which they support.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edward Jefferys in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th February
1881.
EDWARD JEFFERYS, of 40, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES FOR FACILITATING THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
My Invention has for its object improved methods of constructing and arranging
moveable supports or standards in which boots or shoes are held whilst being made
in such manner that the position of the boot or shoe can be readily and quickly
altered as desired, so that every part of it is brought successively into the most
convenient position to be operated upon by the workman. It is especially applicable
to boots or shoes, the separate parts of which are sewn or stitched together by
hand.
In order to put my Invention in operation I take a fixed standard or support of
wood, cast iron, or other suitable material, upon the upper part of which I arrange
a vertical frame or bracket attached to the standard, preferably by means of a
vertical pin or bar formed upon or attached to it and fitting into a corresponding
socket fixed upon the standard, and having a set screw or other device by which
the pin can be fixed when adjusted at any desired height or position.
At the upper part of the bracket arranged as described I make a jaw or joint,
through which is fitted a transverse pin or bolt, and upon this joint is fitted and
works a corresponding bracket formed upon or attached to the lower side of a disc
or plate, preferably of metal, which also has attached to it below a semi-circular
guide bar, concentric with the bolt, and passing through a corresponding opening
in the lower part of the vertical bracket in such manner that the circular disc can
be moved round the bolt upon which it turns to any desired angle between the
horizontal and perpendicular, and can be fixed in any position by means of a set
screw, pin, or bolt in the lower part of the bracket.
Upon the upper surface of the disc pivotted and supported as described I fit a
second corresponding disc, plate, or bar which turns upon a central vertical pin,
bolt, or screw in the former, but can be fixed in any position by such central screw
or by means of a nut or key. Upon the upper disc I form or fix at a distance from
its edge and centre, which can be varied as required, a vertical standard of metal,
wood, or other suitable material, the upper end of which is formed to carry and
hold the heel end of the boot or shoe, into which a last is fitted, and which is placed
in an inverted position upon it, and at or near the opposite edge of the upper disc
or plate I fix a second corresponding standard or support which receives and holds
the other end of the inverted boot or shoe. I prefer to attach the heel end of the
last, which carries the boot or shoe, to its standard by means of an adjustable pin
or screw fitted into the top of the standard and also into the last, and I make the
second standard or support moveable upon the disc or plate which carries it to or
froin the first standard, and capable of being adjusted and fixed in any desired
position, so that when the heel end of the last has been fixed, as described, the
second standard can be moved toward it, forcing up the toe of the boot or shoe
until the latter is sufficiently firmly supported, the standard being then fixed in its
position. Linings or pads of leather, india rubber, or other sufficiently soft
material may be fitted between the boot or shoe and the supports.
The accompanying Drawing is in illustration of my Invention, Figure 1 being
an elevation of the entire apparatus in its normal position; and Figures 2 and 3
showing the upper part adjusted in different positions for conveniently stitching
and finishing the different parts of the shoe, which is shewn supported upon it.
a is the fixed standard which carries the apparatus, and to the upper end of which is
fixed the socket b, into which fits a cylindrical bar c upon the bracket d.
A disc or plate e is provided with a joint fitting into the bracket d and turning
upon the central pin or bolt f; and g is a semi-circular guide passing through an

page_text: opening in the bracket d, and capable of being fixed in any position by the set
screw h. Upon the disc or plate e the upper plate i is fixed by the central screw k,
round which it can be turned into any position; 7 is a vertical standard, which can
be screwed into one of the holes provided for it in the plate i, its upper end having
a vertical pin which fits into a corresponding hole in the last m, upon which the
shoe or boot n is supported; o is a second standard supporting the toe of the shoc
or boot, and capable of being adjusted and fixed at any desired distance from the
centre k. The bar c can be raised or lowered as desired in the socket b, so that the
work may be fixed at the most convenient height for the workman, and is fixed by
the set screw p. Additional standards instead of land o may be provided of
different lengths to suit boots of different lengths in the leg.
The boot or shoc being adjusted and fixed upon its supports as described and
shewn can be moved into any desired position by turning the upper plate i upon
the lower one e, and the two plates together can be turned to any angle to the right
or left upon the transverse pin f, whilst at the same time the entire apparatus can
be adjusted to any height, and turned round horizontally and fixed in any position
by means of the bar c and set screw p.
For
Instead of the method described and shewn in the Drawing other equivalent
means may be employed for the purpose of allowing a universal movement in any
required direction to the shoe or boot which is supported in the apparatus.
instance, I sometimes use a ball and socket or universal joint constructed in the
ordinary well known manner, by which I connect the plate which carries the
standards or supports for the shoe or boot to the socket upon the fixed vertical
standard.
Or I fix upon the fixed vertical standard a support or stand, through which is
fitted and works a vertical bar, upon the upper end of which is fixed by a nut or
key a horizontal disc or plate which carries the standards or supports for the shoe
or boot. The upper part of the support is made of considerable diameter so that
the horizontal plate rests firmly upon it. I make a transverse joint in the bar
which carries the plate or disc, so that when the bar is raised the plate can be
turned to any angle round the transverse joint, and then fixed in its position by a
nut or screw. At the same time the plate can be turned round upon the bar by
loosening the nut or key which fixes it upon the upper end of the latter.
By the methods of construction and arrangement described and shewn the
workman can conveniently stand to his work instead of sitting, whilst he can
readily and quickly stitch and finish every part of the boot or shoe, great economy
of time and labour being in this way effected.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which it is to be
performed, I claim the plate e carried and turning on the joint f, and adjusted by
the guide g and screw in combination with the upper plate i turning upon the
screw, substantially as described and shewn in the Drawing; also the combination
with the adjustable plates e and i and the joint f of the adjustable standards
and o and supports for the shoe or boot, substantially as described and shewn in
the Drawing; also the combination with the adjustable plates e and i and the
joint and bracket d, of the bar c fitting the socket b and adjusted and held by
the screw p, substantially as described and shewn in the Drawing; also the
general arrangement of apparatus by which the shoe or boot can be adjusted and
fixed in any desired position, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Jefferys, have hereunto set my hand
and cool this Wighth day of February in the year of our Lord 1881.