Improvements in Heel Compressing Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 21st June, 1899-Accepted, 21st Oct., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in Heel Compressing Machines.
A communication by WILLIAM J. YOUNG, of Lynn, in the State of Massachusetts,
one of the United States of America, Manufacturer.
I, ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES, of 55 and 56, Chancery Lane, in the County of
London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:
:-
The present invention relates to heel compressing machines and more particu-
larly to an improved heel feeding and heel removing device constructed and
arranged to feed the heel blank to the heel compressing dies, and simultaneously
to remove a compressed heel blank from between the dies."
The object of the present invention is to so construct the heel feeding and heel
removing device that in its operation it will positively and with certainty feed
an uncompressed heel blank between the heel compressing dies and remove
therefrom a heel blank which has been acted upon by the said dies; and further
to so organize the mechanism that there shall be no liability of the operator
having his fingers or hands caught in the mechanism, and greatly do away with
the liability of danger which has heretofore accompanied the operation of these
machines.
A further object of the present invention is to produce a heel blank feeding
and removing mechanism, so arranged and combined with the heel compressing
mechanism that the heel blank, from the time the operator places it in position
to be fed between the heel compressing dies, until the compressed heel is removed
from the machine, will be always held and positioned by some element of the
machine, and thereby render certain the proper guidance and presentation of
the heel blank to the dies.
To the above end, the present invention consists of the devices and combina-
tion of devices which will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out
in the claims.
The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 shows in front elevation a heel compressing machine embodying the
same, with a portion of the frame broken away to show the manner of operating
the side compressing dies.
Figure 2 shows a side elevation of the machine..
Figure 3 shows in plan a portion of the machine illustrating the construction
of the heel blank feeding and removing mechanism.
Similar letters of reference will be used to designate corresponding parts
throughout the specification and drawings.
In the drawing A represents the main frame which may be of any usual or
preferred construction, but which for strength is preferably formed of a front
section a formed in a single integral casting, to the back of which are secured,
as by bolts a', the rear frames a², (one only of which is shown in Figure 2 of the
drawing). In suitable bearings in the rear frame a², is arranged the main shaft a³,

page_text: to which power is communicated by a belt pulley a', which is splined (or secured
with capability of movement on a feather) to said shaft and capable of a
limited movement thereon for the purpose of being connected to and discon-
nected from a conical disk a5 fixedly secured to the shaft a³. The pulley a' is
arranged to be moved towards and from the disk a5 by means of a lever a
fulcrumed at a' and connected at its lower end by a link as with an arm a fixedly
secured to the rear end of a shaft a¹0, to the front end of which is secured a
treadle a The side compressing dies C are mounted upon a vertically recipro-
cating bed or table B arranged to reciprocate along suitable guides 6 on the
main frame a of the machine, which table or bed B is reciprocated vertically
by means of toggles b' and 62 which at one end are connected to the table B and
at the other end to the lower portion of the main frame a. The toggles 61 and 62
are alternately bent and straightened by means of a link 63 (see dotted lines
Fig. 2) which at one end is connected to the joint of the toggles b¹ and ba and
at its opposite end to a crank on the crank shaft 64, which is arranged to rotate
in suitable bearings in the rear frames a³, the crank shaft 6 being rotated from
the main shaft by means of a gear 65, which meshes with, and is driven by a
pinion 66 on the main shaft a³.
The side compressing dies C are arranged upon the upper surface of the bed or
table B to have a lateral sidewise sliding movement towards and from each other,
they being moved towards each other as the table B rises by means of pivoted
arms c which are fulcrumed at c¹ in recesses in the sides of the frame a and the
lower ends of which are connected to the die carriers which carry the side com-
pressing dies C, whereby as the bed or table rises and falls, the dies C will move
towards and away from each other.
Co-operating with the side compressing dies is a heel seat die D, which is con-
nected by any suitable adjustable means to the cross-head of the main frame a.
As shown in the drawings, the heel seat die D is connected to the lower end
of a threaded stem d which is tapped into a threaded bearing in a sleeve d', which
sleeve is supported by means of a suitable brace d², provided with a bearing d³
in which the enlarged head of the sleeve d¹ is received, and said sleeve d' is con-
nected at its upper end to a suitable handwheel d, whereby it may be rotated,
and by means of the threaded connection between it and the stem d vertically
adjust the heel seat D with relation to the table B and the side compression
dies C. The lower end of the stem d is preferably square or polygonal in section
as shown at d5 and engages a similarly shaped opening in the brace d³, whereby
the stem d will be prevented from turning with the sleeve d¹.
Secured to the bed B are tables E and E' which have their upper surfaces in
substantially the same horizontal plane and which are secured to the cross-head B
in such a position that their upper surfaces will be in substantially the same
horizontal plane as the upper surfaces of the side compressing dies C when the
dies are in their lowermost position. The tables E and E' are provided with
suitable guides e in which is arranged to reciprocate the carrier e¹, said carrier
being open or cut out at its central portion as shown at ea and provided at its
forward end with a heel blank feeding device and at its rear end with a heel
blank removing device.
The heel blank feeding device consists of two resilient spring jaws made of
some suitable sheet spring material which are arranged to receive the heel blank
with its heel seat uppermost and its tread face resting upon the upper surface
of the table E when the carrier e¹ is in its forward position; the spring jaws c*
being preferably curved at their free ends as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings,
and arranged to embrace the back of the heel, the breast of the heel being posi-
tioned against a suitable projection e3 which is carried by the carrier e¹. The
spring jaws e are preferably so constructed that they may be adjusted toward
and from each other in order to accommodate heels of various widths, and they are
also preferably mounted to have an adjustment longitudinally so as to move
their curved free ends toward and from the projection e³, and for this purpose

page_text: they are preferably arranged as follows:-Each arm e* is secured at its rear end
to an arm which at its inner end is provided with a laterally projecting
shank e, which shank is received in a slot or groove e of a carrier e', the
shanke being free to move along the slot e in order to adjust the spring jaws e*
toward and from each other. The shanks are held in their adjusted position in
the slot e by means of set screws es which are tapped into the side walls of the
slot e and by means of which the side walls of the slot e are compressed against
the shanks e. To facilitate such compression, the base of the carrier e
may be slotted or divided by short slots 9 (see doted lines Fig. 3) projecting
inwardly towards each other from each end of the slot e. In order to provide for
a longitudinal adjustment of the spring arms e* for heels of different lengths,
from their rear portion to their breast portion, the carrier e is adjustably secured
on the carrier e which is slotted at its forward end as shown at elo, by means
of a set screw which passes through said slot and is tapped into a threaded bearing
in the carrier e². By the above described construction the spring arms e* may
be adjusted toward and from each other, or in a longitudinal direction in order
to adjust their curved free ends towards and from the projection e³.
The carrier e is reciprocated along the guide way e of the tables E and E¹
by means of a cam O which is mounted on the crank shaft 64, and the lever o¹
fulcrumed at 2 which at its lower end carries a suitable roll (not shown) which
engages a cam path in the cam O and which at its upper end is connected by
means of an adjustable rod o to the carrier e¹, the arrangement being such that
the carrier et has imparted to it one complete reciprocation during each cycle of
movement of the machine.
In feeding the heel blank to the heel compressing dies C the operator places
the blank between the spring arms e* with the tread face of the heel blank rest-
ing on the upper surface of the table E, while the parts are in the position shown
in the drawing, that is, with the bed B lowered and the side compressing dies C
open and as the bed B begins its upward movement, the carrier el is drawn back-
ward in order to place the heel blank upon the tread plate in line with the heel
seat die. At the opposite end of the carrier e¹ is the heel blank removing device
which comprises two jaws mounted in swinging levers, which levers are auto-
matically opened and closed by the reciprocations of the carrier e', they being
opened as the carrier is moved backward and closed as the carrier reaches its
forward position, at which time the jaws will be positioned to engage the sides
of the heel blank when they shall have been closed.
The gripping jaws are shown at H and they are preferably constructed with
angularly arranged fingers hand h¹, the fingers h being arranged to engage the
curved side of the heel blank at a point removed from the breast of the heel,
and the fingers h¹ to engage the breast of the heel.
The jaws are adjustably mounted in suitable carriers 2, each carrier having a
clamping eye 3 which receives a stud ht of the jaws H, the stud h being clamped
in the eye by means of a screw engaging lugs projecting from the eye h³,
whereby the jaws H may be adjusted in their carriers h². The carriers 2 are each
provided with a stem or shank which is adjustably mounted in hearings 6 of the
forward ends of the levers h. The levers are fulcrumed at 18 upon the
carrier e¹ and arranged to be rocked in order to open and close the jaws H. For
the purpose of rocking the levers h, they are extended beyond their fulerums 78
and at their rear ends are connected by means of suitable springs h9 with screws
or studs upon the carrier e¹, whereby the levers will be rocked upon their
fulcrum to cause the jaws H to engage the heel blank. For the purpose of
opening the jaws H to release the heel blank and to place the jaws in position
to engage another blank the rear ends of the levers h are provided with cam
rolls, which are arranged to be engaged by suitable cams 2 carried by a
rock shaft 3 which is mounted in suitable bearings h¹ on the carrier e¹, the rock
shaft being rocked in one direction to cause the cams 412 to engage the cam
rolls hand move them toward each other against the tension of the springs h³

page_text: to open the jaws H as the carrier e¹ reaches its backward position and to be rocked
in the opposite direction to permit the springs to draw the rear ends of the
levers outwardly away from each other to close the jaws H as the carrier el
reaches its forward position. Any suitable mechanism may be provided for
the purpose of rocking the rock shaft h13 and as shown in the drawing, I have
arranged suitable trips 15 and h¹, the trip being arranged upon the rear face
of the frame a and the trip h¹ projecting upwardly from the upper surface of
the table E. These trips are positioned to engage suitable arms or lugs.h"
and 18 carried by the opposite ends of the rock shaft 3, the trip being
-arranged to engage the arin 17 as the carrier el is rétracted and rock the shaft B.
to throw the cams 2 to cause them to move the rear ends of the levers towards
each other to open the jaws H to release the heel; and the cams 12 remain in
contact with the rolls and hold the jaws open while the carrier el is being
advanced and until the bed B descends, and upon the descent of the bed B the
arm 18 of the shaft 3 will be engaged by the trip h to thus rock the shaft 13
to remove the cams, and permit the springs to close the jaw H against the
heel.
In order to insure the accurate presentation of the heel to the heel compressing
dies and the positive removal of the heel blank which has been acted upon by
the dies, and to insure the heel against any displacement during its feeding
movement, I have so arranged the heel blank feeding and removing mechanism,
and the heel compressing mechanism that the heel blank as it is passing through
the machine will always be held or retained by some instrumentality and will
at no time be left free and liable to shift and become displaced with relation to
the heel compressing mechanism, that is, as the heel blank is placed in position
to be fed it will be engaged by the resilient arms e* of the heel blank feeding
device, which carries the blank in line with the hicel compressing dies, and before
the resilient arms e* are retracted to release the heel blank, suitable means which
.will be more fully described hereinafter engage the heel blank and maintain it in
proper position before the heel compressing dies act thereupon, and before the
heel blank is released by the dies, after having been compressed, the jaws 1 of
the heel blank removing device are closed and grip the heel blank.
I secure the above suggested result in the machine of the drawing by providing
a yielding pin p which is arranged to have a vertical movement through the heel
seat die 1 and in a bearing p¹ in the stem d, the said pin being acted upon by
a coiled spring pin the bearing p' whereby said pin p when the bed B is moved
downward will be normally projected below the face of the heel seat, die D,
suitable means being provided to prevent the pin p from dropping out of its
bearing.
It will thus be noted that as the bed B moves upward the pin p will come, in
contact with the heel seat of the heel blank and exert a clamping action on the
heel blank and hold it against the tread plate C2, and the carrier c¹ will not
be moved forward to release the heel blank from the spring jaws e* until the
heel blank is held between the pin and the tread plate C2, it being understood that
as the bed B continues its upward movement in order to cause the heel compressing
dies to act on the heel blank the pin p will be moved upward in its bearing
against the tension of the spring, and will thus not interfere with the action
of the heel scat die D, and it will be further noted that as the bed B commences
to descend the heel blank will be held between the pin p and the tread plate C³
until the trip has engaged the arm 18 and rocked the shaft h¹³ to permit the
springs to close the jaws H on the heel.
In order to insure the gripping action of the pin p and the tread plate C2 upon
the heel blank, and further to insure that the heel blank will be fed unto proper
position upon the tread plate and not dropped within the opening between the
dies C, I have arranged the tread plate C2 to be vertically movable in the bed B
in order that its upper surface may be brought into substantial horizontal align-
ment with the upper surface of the tables E and E¹, when the bed B is in its

page_text: ..lowermost position, to secure which result the tread plate is carried by a vertically
reciprocating block which is arranged to have a reciprocating movement in the
bearing and which at its lower end carries a stud engaged by the forked
end of the lever which is carried by one end of a shaft mounted in bear-
ings in brackets upon the rear face of the bed 13 and the shaft at its opposite
end carries a lever which engages a cam 6 mounted upon the rear face of
the frame. A coiled spring surrounding the shaft acts to hold the lever
in contact with the cam and to rock the shaft and lower the tread plate
when the bed B rises. The above arrangement is such that the tread plate C
will be raised and lowered as the bed B rises and falls, the cam being so
constructed that it will maintain the tread plate in its elevated position for
a considerable portion of the stroke of the bed B. It will thus be seen that in
feeding a heel blank to the heel compressing dies and removing it therefrom, the
heel blank moves over a surface which is practically an unbroken plane.
In order to accommodate the dies for different thicknesses of heels, and also
to insure that the tread plate C will have its upper surface when the bed B is
in its lowermost position, in substantially the plane of the tables E and E' and
the upper surfaces of the side compressing dies C, I propose to provide for the
use of various thicknesses of tread plate, that is, in operating upon a
high heel
a comparatively thin tread plate will be used, and in operating upon a low or thin
heel a relatively thicker tread plate will be used.
As shown in the drawing the tread plate C2 is provided with a depending
stem which is received in a bearing in the upper end of the block k, and in order
to adjust the throw of the block k for various thicknesses of tread plate, I have
provided the cam with radial cam surfaces, there being four such cam surfaces
illustrated in the drawing, and said cam is arranged to turn in suitable bear-
ings * formed in brackets projecting from the rear face of the frame a whereby
said cam may be turned to bring into operative position the particular cam sur-
face which it is designed to operate with any particular thickness of tread plate,
any suitable means being provided to maintain the cam in position with any
particular cam surface in operative position.
The operation of the machine of the drawings is as follows:-
-
With the parts in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, of the drawings, that is,
with the heel feeding device projected toward the front end of the table E and
the tread plate C3 in its elevated position, assuming that the machine has acted
upon and compressed a heel, the jaws H will be closed on the compressed heel,
Upon a rotation of the main shaft the bed B will be elevated and simultaneously
with the upward movement of the bed B, the carrier e¹ will be moved backward
to bring the heel blank in the heel blank feeding device in line with the heel
seat die and the tread plate, at the same time the jaws H will remove the com-
pressed heel from the tread plate and as the bed B continues to rise, the heel
seat of the heel blank which has been fed into position will be gripped between
the pin p and the tread plate, and as the carrier el arrives at its rearmost position,
or in a position to place the heel blank which was placed between the jaws of the
heel feeding device in line with the heel seat die and the tread plate, the trip ¹
engages the arm 17 and rocks the shaft 13 thus releasing the heel blank which
has been acted upon by the heel compressing dies, permitting it to drop into a
suitable chute or other device which may be provided to convey the compressed
heel blank from the machine into a suitable receptacle placed to receive the same.
As the bed B continues to rise and carries the heel blank towards the heel seat
die, the bell crank lever will ride off of the high part of the cam and thus
permit the tread plate C to be depressed, thus forcing the heel blank down-
ward between the side compressing dies C which as the bed B reaches its upper-
most position will be moved inward to compress the sides of the heel blank and
during this upward movement, as before explained, the carrier el has been moved
forward or towards the left as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, thus placing the
open jaws H in position to engage the compressed heel blank upon the downward

page_text: movement of the bed B and placing the heel feeding device in position to receive
an uncompressed blank.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with suitable compressing
dies, of mechanism arranged to feed a heel blank into position to be acted upon
by said dies, and to remove the compressed heel blank therefrom, and means
co-operating with the heel blank feeding and removing mechanism, arranged
to engage the heel before it is released by the heel feeding device, and remain
in engagement therewith until said heel is engaged by the heel removing device,
substantially as described.
2. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with heel compressing
dies, comprising a heel seat die and a tread plate, of a heel blank feeding device
and a heel blank removing device and mechanism for alternately advancing and
retracting said heel blank feeding and removing devices in opposite directions
toward and from a position in line with said heel seat die and tread plate, sub-
stantially as described.
3. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with suitable heel com-
pressing dies, comprising a heel seat die, a tread plate and side compressing dies,
of a heel blank feeding device and a heel blank removing device movable in a
plane parallel with the upper surface of the side compressing dies and alternately
in opposite directions towards and from a position in line with the heel seat
die and tread plate, means to raise the tread plate to place it in substantially
the same plane as the plane of movement of the heel blank feeding and removing
devices during the operation of such devices, substantially as described.
4. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with a heel feeding device
comprising resilient spring arms, of heel compressing dies, and means carried
by the heel seat. die to engage the heel when placed in alignment with the heel
compressing dies, to remove the heel from the heel feeding device, substantially
as described.
5. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with the heel compressing
dies, of a heel blank removing device comprising suitable gripping jaws, means
to move said jaws toward and from the heel compressing dies, means to close the
jaws while in position to grip the heel blank, and means to open the jaws to
release the heel as the jaws are retracted, substantially as described.
6. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with a heel seat die and a
tread plate, of a reciprocating slide, a heel feeding device arranged upon one
end of the slide and a heel removing device arranged at the opposite end of the
slide, and mechanism to alternately place the heel feding device and the heel
removing device in line with the heel seat die and tread plate, substantially as
described.
7. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with a vertically recipro-
cating bed or table, of a slide arranged for horizontal reciprocation on said bed
or table, gripping jaws carried by said slide, yielding devices arranged to close
said jaws, of a rock shaft carrying suitable cams arranged to open said jaws and
suitable tripping mechanism arranged. to actuate the rock shaft as the bed or
table moves up or down, substantially as described.
8. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with a slide provided with
an abutment against which the breast of the heel is adapted to be placed, of
yielding spring arms, arranged to embrace the sides of the heel, means for adjust-
ing the spring arms toward and from each other and an adjustable carrier
arranged to adjust the spring arms with relation to the abutment, substantially
as described.
9. In a heel compressing machine, the combination with a heel seat die, of
heel blank feeding and heel blank removing mechanism; said heel seat die having

page_text: means to engage the heel before it is released by the heel feeding mechanism and
to remain in engagement with the heel after it has been engaged by the heel
removing mechanism, substantially as described.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicant.