Improvements relating to the Buffing, Scouring, or Cleaning of Leather and the like, and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 11th May, 1895
..
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by CHARLES S. JOHNSON, of 493-497, Union
Street, Lynn, Massachusetts, United States of America, Manufacturer of
Shoe Machinery.]
Improvements relating to the Buffing, Scouring, or Cleaning of
Leather and the like, and to Apparatus therefor.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in methods of and machines for performing
the operation known as buffing, scouring or cleaning leather, and its object is to
obtain certain advantages over previous machines and methods of treatment
hereinafter more fully set forth.
In the treatment of leather, especially in the course of the manufacture of
boots and shoes, it has long been customary to submit it to the action of a roll,
dise or other rapidly moving mechanical device provided with a suitable abrasive
surface, commonly formed of sand-paper or emery-paper. Heretofore, so far as
I am aware, in all the machines employed for this purpose the abrasive material
while performing its function has been given but one motion, usually a revolving
motion, with the result that the abrasive particles or teeth of the abrasive
surface, having but one or a single motion, tend to give to the surface treated
a streaked or striated appearance which is undesirable. It has heretofore been
sought to remedy this by again treating the surface with abrasive material
applied in a different direction. For example, it is customary to first submit
the surface to the action of abrasive material carried upon a roll or cylinder
and afterward to that of similar material carried upon a disk. This method,
however, involves, as is obvious, an undesirable multiplication of machines and
parts.
According to my improvement I perform the desired operation by employing a
suitable abrasive surface, to which is mechanically and preferably automatically
imparted what I term a compound motion, as for example a rotating cylinder,
which also moves longitudinally upon its axis of rotation. The effect of this
compound motion is to remove or prevent the occurrence of any streaked appearance
and to give to the surface operated upon the uniformity both of texture and
appearance which is desired. I prefer, as stated, to obtain the modification of the
simple rotary motion by self-acting machinery, as in this way greater regularity
and certainty of operation is obtained.
My experience indicates that when the compound motion is given to the part
which carries abrasive material, it has a tendency to become self-cleaning and
therefore retains its abrasive property to a greater extent and lasts longer in
effective use.
It is found, moreover, in practice that the articles to be buffed, particularly
the soles of shoes, usually present certain irregularities of surface, especially at their
edges, which are apt to be slightly raised by previous operations on the shoe, such
as stitching; and it is also found that the compound motion of the buffing roll

page_text: above described is unsuitable for reducing such irregularities of surface without
unduly abrading the contiguous parts of the sole, owing to the rapid variations of
the direction of motion of the surface of the roll. I have overcome this objection
in my machine by combining with a buffing surface having a compound motion such
as above described, a clutch mechanism or its equivalent under the control of the
operator, whereby the shaft reciprocating mechanism may be rendered operative or
inoperative as may be desired, without interfering with or, affecting the rotary
motion of said surface.
When rotary motion only is thus imparted to the buffer, the abrading surface
brought into contact with the work may be as narrow or limited in area as is
desirable. Consequently the irregularities previously referred to may be acted on
without the danger of the adjacent parts being touched by the buffer, as would be
the case if it were reciprocating as well as rotating. For example, it is often
desirable to treat certain portions of the work with the edge of the roll alone.
This cannot be done satisfactorily if the roll is reciprocating and therefore the
position of the edge constantly changing sidewise.
In the accompanying drawings I have represented a machine in which the
abrasive surface or material is carried upon a rotating cylinder, which is recipro-
cated automatically in the line of its axis. It will be obvious, however, that my
improvement could as well be applied to any device having a buffer in which a
rotary motion is compounded with any other desired motion.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a front elevation,
Figure 2 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention, and
Figure 3 is a plan view, partly in section of the pulley and the clutch mechanism
whereby it is rendered operative or inoperative.
A represents the usual revolving shaft of a buffing machine shown as provided
with two buffing rolls B, B, of any well known construction. In order that the
shaft A may be automatically reciprocated during its revolution I attach to it a
rocking lever C to which reciprocating motion is imparted by a pin d on an
eccentric D working in a slot d of the lever C. The shaft of this eccentric is
connected by bevel gearing D1 (see Figure 2) to a driving shaft E, whereon is
mounted a pulley G, which is belted to and takes its power from the main
shaft F by which the buffer shaft is driven. In this way by appropriately
regulating the dimensions of the various driving pulleys, any desired ratio of
rate of reciprocation to rate of rotation may be obtained with the advantage of
simplicity and compactness arising from the use of a single main driving shaft for
the machine.
The pulley G is loose on the shaft and is normally forced against the loose
collar a by means of a spring b, which bears at one end against a clutch fixed to the
shaft E, and at the other end against the pulley G. The bearing d in which the
shaft E is journalled is provided with a V-shaped notch e, and a projection ƒ of
corresponding shape and size is formed on the collar a. Consequently when the
notch e and projection fare opposite each other, the collar a may be forced up
against the bearing d, thus allowing the pulley G to separate from its clutch
and causing the shaft E to remain stationary. When, however, the collar a is
partially rotated by means of the lever g, the projection fis thrown out of the
notch e and thus causes the pulley G to slide towards the clutch, and engage there-
with, thus causing the shaft E to rotate and the buffer rolls to reciprocate. The
engaging parts of the clutch mechanism consist simply of a pin secured to the
clutch c and a pink secured to the pulley G. These pins are of such length that
when the pulley G is pushed away from the clutch c by the spring b, said pins will
pass each other without touching, but when the pulley G is pushed towards the
clutch e as above described, the ends of the pins will not pass by each other, but
will engage and the motion of the pulley will consequently be imparted to the
shaft E. The lever y may be provided with an operating haudle l, or with a
treadle p, or with both as may be preferred.
!

page_text: While this form of clutch mechanism is found to be simple and efficient in
practice for the purpose set forth, yet I do not desire to be confined strictly
thereto, as it may be replaced by various mechanical equivalents, such for example
as a fast and loose pulley.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The improvement in the art of treating the surface of leather which consists
in submitting the surface to be treated to the action of abrasive material formed or
applied upon a suitable mechanical device having a compound, rotating and
reciprocating motion, for the purpose described.
2. The improvement in the art of treating the surface of leather which consists
in submitting the surface to be treated to the action of abrasive material formed or
applied upon a suitable mechanical device having a compound rotating and
automatically reciprocating motion for the purpose described.
3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a buffing roll
shaft and means substantially as described for rotating and simultaneously
reciprocating the said shaft for the purpose set forth.
4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a buffing roll
shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means for reciprocating said shaft, and a
clutch mechanism under the control of the operator whereby the shaft reciprocating
mechanism may be rendered operative or inoperative as desired, for the purpose
set forth.
5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a buffing roll
shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means for automatically reciprocating said
shaft, while it is rotating, a clutch mechanism whereby the shaft reciprocating
mechanism may be rendered operative or inoperative as desired, and means for
operating said clutch mechanism without stopping or interfering with the rotation
of the roll, for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 19th day of March 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.