IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET, AND IN APPLIANCES CONNECTED THERE- WITH
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47,. Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, AND
OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET, AND IN APPLIANCES CONNECTED THERE-
WITH." A communication from abroad by Heinrich Schlatter, of Reutlingen,
in the Kingdom of Wurtemberg. in the Empire of Germany
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th April 1879.
"
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET, AND IN
APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH." A communication from abroad by Heinrich
Schlatter, of Reutlingen, in the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, in the Empire of
Germany.
-
This Invention relates to that description of machines employed in the manu-
facture of boots and shoes for sewing the "welts to the soles and sewing "sew
rounds," as well as stitching the outer soles to the welts, in which a circular awl and
needle working around a common axis or a circular needle alone are or is employed,
and the Invention is particularly applicable to that special class of machinery.
for which Letters Patent were granted to H. C. Gros, dated the 6th day of October.
1877, No. 3720.
"
It is desirable that the feeding of the work to be sewn should be as positive and
regular as possible, especially when a short fair" stitch is made in stitching the
soles on to the welts. Various means have been used to accomplish this object, as,
for instance, feeding the work with the awl itself when the same has pierced and
is in the material. But the point of the awl being always of necessity very
thin and weak, the feeding is not accomplished with so much accuracy as is
desirable. Also it is necessary in this case that the feed gauge, working on the
opposite side from which the awl enters, should press hard upon the material during
Price 6d1

page_text: the time of feeding, whereas it is desirable that the material should be fed in a
loose state with no pressure whatever upon it.
According to this Invention the objects before mentioned are accomplished by
causing the feeding of the material to be effected by the needle itself in such a
manner that when the same has fully pierced the material it receives a lateral
motion, thus feeding the material with the full body of the needle in the same, such
lateral sliding motion being directly imparted to the axis upon which the needle-
stock is mounted, and, around which it is allowed an oscillating but no lateral
motion, so that when a lateral sliding motion is imparted to the axis it carries the
needlestock along with itself; the needle then withdraws from the material after
having received the thread, and just when it has cleared the material travels
sidewise back into its orignal position, thereby performing exactly the function of
a feed dog.
It is proposed to employ in combination with this feeding needle a simple presser-
foot, which only serves to press upon the material while the needle retires with
the thread, but gives play to the material during the time the needle is feeding the
work along.
Upon the same axis with the needle stock, and in a similar manner are also
mounted the oscillating needle and barb shield lever and the awlstock, so that all
three, viz., the needle stock, needle and barb shield lever, and the awlstock receive
simultaneously a lateral to and fro sliding motion.
It is also desirable that the welt should be fed to the work, to be sewn in such a
manner that the welt gauge employed should be so constructed as to permit the
welt to lie immediately in contact with the uppers of the boots to be sewn in such
a manner that no metal is interposed between the upper and the welt. According
to this Invention this object is effected by cutting a channel in the welt and con-
structing a welt gauge with a projection, forming with the body of the gauge a
recess in such a manner that the welt is placed therein.
For the purpose of cutting or skiving down the welt to a level substance after
the channel has been cut therein it is proposed to employ a peculiar welt skiver,
consisting of a cast iron frame, in which is formed a channel or groove of the
ordinary size of a welt; across this channel is placed a knife, which does not extend
entirely to the opposite edge of the groove, and in the same direction and position
with the knife are placed two guides, one at each side, which serve to hold the
welt in position.
In
A channel is first cut in the welt, and the latter is then placed in the groove of
the weltskiver with the point of the knife extending inside the said channel.
order to place the welt in the groove with facility a block is provided, which is
carried by a lever and extends from beneath the weltskiver in the groove which is
to receive the welt, the said block forming the bottom of the said groove. The
block is first depressed and the welt is then inserted, after which the block is
raised to a certain height, in which position it is held firmly by a catch spring.
The distance at which the knife is placed in relation to the said block can be
varied by means of a set screw, and thereby more or less thickness for the welt to
be skived is obtained. After the welt has been placed in the groove in the manner
above described it is simply drawn through the groove, the knife thereby skiving
only that portion of the welt which lies beyond the channel previously cut in the
same.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th
October 1879.
"
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET, AND IN
APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH." A communication from abroad by Heinrich
Schlatter, of Reutlingen, in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, in the Empire of
Germany.
"
The said Invention relates to the manufacture of boots, shoes, and other coverings
for the feet, and has reference to that description of machinery or apparatus
employed in the said manufacture for sewing the welts to the soles and sewing
sew rounds" as well as stitching the outer soles to the welts, in which a circular
awl and needle working around a common axis or a circular needle alone are or is
employed, and the Invention is particularly applicable to that special class of
machinery in respect of which Letters Patent were granted to Hermann Charles
Gros, dated the Sixth day of October, One thousand eight hundred and seventy
seven, No. 3720.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a front sectional elevation
of an improved feeding mechanism constructed in accordance with the present
Invention.
Figure 2 represents a sectional view of the welt as used in the welt guage herein-
after described, constructed in accordance with this Invention.
Figure 3 is a side sectional elevation of the said welt gauge, and Figure 4 is a
front view of the same; Figure 5 is a side sectional elevation of a welt skiver con-
structed in accordance with this Invention, and Figure 6 is a plan of the same.
It is desirable that the feeding of the work to be sewn should be as positive and
regular as possible, especially when a short "fair" stitch is made in stitching the
soles on to the welts. Various means have been used to accomplish this object,
such, for example, as feeding the work with the awl itself when the same has
pierced and is in the material. But the point of the awl being always of necessity
very thin and weak the feeding is not accomplished with so much accuracy as is
desirable. Also it is necessary in this case that the feed gauge, working on the
opposite side from which the awl enters, should press hard upon the material during
the time of feeding, whereas it is desirable that the inaterial should be fed in a
loose state with no pressure whatever upon it.
In carrying out this Invention in order to accomplish the before mentioned
objects there are employed an oscillating needle stock P, an oscillating needle shield
lever U, and, if desired, also an oscillating awl stock Q, such as are commonly used
in sewing machines for sewing the welts on to boots and shoes and stitching the
soles on to the latter, and in particular such as are described in the Specification
to the said Letters Patent granted to the said Hermann Charles Gros, dated the
Sixth day of October, One thousand eight hundred and seventy seven, No. 3720.
The needle stock P, the needle shield lever U, and the awl stock Q are all
mounted upon one common axis X in such a manner as to be capable of inde-
pendent oscillating motions, but of no lateral sliding motion upon the said axis, a
shoulder being provided on the axis X, against which the needle stock P, the
needle shield lever U, and the awl stock Q are held by the nut x', so that these
three levers are prevented from moving laterally except as moved bodily with the
axis X. The needle n is secured to the needle stoke P in any
known manner,
and

page_text: the needle stock P, needle shield lever U, and awl stock Q receive their oscillating
motion as described in the Specification of the said Hermann Charles Gros, berein-
before referred to, by means of a roller R secured upon a toothed wheel S, or in any
other suitable manner.
The axis X has its bearing in two arms B³ and B³, and is secured at its two ends
respectively to vertical connecting rods y¹ and y², receiving a reciprocating sliding
motion by means of a roller z working in the slot of the diagonal piece Z,
as shewn in the Drawings of the said Specification of the said Hermann Charles
Gros.
The needle n is caused to pierce the material to be sewn, and as soon as this is
effected the axis X receives its lateral sliding motion, carrying with itself the needle
stock, the needle as well as the needle shield, and awl stock; by these means the
material to be sewn is carried along or fed forward by the needle itself, the needle
now receives the thread by means of a looper retires with the same, and as soon as
it is about completing its backward oscillating motion the axis X receives by the
means hereinbefore described its backward sliding motion, carrying again with
itself the needle stock, needle-shield lever, and awl stock, thus restoring these levers
to their original position for making a new stitch. The material is held to the
needle or awl (if the latter is used) by any of the well known devices.
I do not confine myself to the precise mode herein described of imparting the
lateral sliding motion to the needle stock with the needle and its appurtenances,
since various methods of imparting the said motion may be devised, as, for example,
such motion may be communicated to the bracket itself which carries the axis X, on
which are mounted the three levers P, U, and Q.
It is also desirable that the welt should be fed to the work, to be sewn in such
a manner, and that the welt gauge employed should be so constructed that the welt
may lie immediately in contact with the uppers of the boots to be sewn, no metal
being interposed between the upper and the welt. According to this Invention
this object is effected by cutting a channel in the welt 2, Figure 2, and pro-
viding a projection in the welt gauge a, Figures 3 and 4, which projection fits
into the channel 3 cut in the welt. In feeding the welt along the same is held
in position with reference to the needle by means of the said projection 2 and a
shoulder provided on the stop of the welt gauge a.
For the purpose of cutting or skiving down the welt to a level substance after
the channel has been cut therein a peculiar welt skiver is employed, consisting of
a frame M' (by preference of cast iron) in which is formed a channel or recess m¹
of the ordinary size of a welt; across this recess is placed a knife M³ which does
not extend entirely to the opposite edge of the recess, and in the same direction
and position with the knife are placed two guides m* and m³, one at each side,
which serve to hold the welt in position.
The channel is first cut in the welt, and the latter is then placed in the recess
of the welt skiver, as shewn, with the point of the knife extending inside the said
recess.
In order to place the welt in the recess with facility a block M² is provided,
which is carried by a lever M³ and extends from beneath the welt skiver in the
recess which is to receive the welt, such block forming the bottom of the said recess.
The block is first depressed and the welt is then inserted, after which the block
is raised to a certain height, in which position it is held firmly by a catch
spring m³.
After the welt has been placed in the recess in the manner above described it is
simply drawn through the said recess, the knife thereby skiving only that
portion of the welt which lies beyond the channel previously cut in the same.
The distance at which the knife is placed in relation to the said block can be
varied by means of a set screw M, and thereby more or less thickness in the skived
welt is obtained.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said In-
vention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect,

page_text: I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein before in part recited
Letters Patent is,―
sew
First. In sewing machines for sewing the welts to boots, shoes, and other
coverings for the feet and stitching the soles thereto, and also for sewing
rounds," the imparting to an oscillating needle stock of a reciprocating sliding
motion, by means of which the needle secured to the oscillating needle stock carries
or feeds the material along while being in the said material, substantially as and
for the purpose hereinbefore described.
Second. The employment of a welt gauge provided with a projection in combi-
nation with a welt, having a channel formed therein in which the said projection
fits for the purpose of guiding the welt while being fed to the machine, substantially
as and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
Third. The welt skiver, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my Specifica-
tion set my hand and seal, the Twenty seventh day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)