IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS & SHOES AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Greenwood, of Leeds, in the County of York,
Machine Maker, and William Keats, of Leek, in the County of Stafford,
Boot & Shoe Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS & SHOES AND
OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET."
Sealed the 20th November 1866, and dated the 30th July 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Greenwood and
William Keats at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 30th July 1866.
We, THOMAS GREENWOOD, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Maker,
and WILLIAM KEATS, of Leek, in the County of Stafford, Boot & Shoe
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS
& SHOES AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET," to be as follow's -
This Invention of improvements in machinery and apparatus for the
manufacture of boots and shoes and other coverings for the feet, relates,
firstly, to an improved mode of communicating or transmitting motion from
the main shaft of machines used for securing the various parts of boots
and shoes together to the various working parts, the object of the
improvement being to transmit the motion in such a manner as will admit

page_text: of arresting the movement of the working parts instantaneously without
stopping the rotation of the main shaft; this is effected by the employment
of an intermediate shaft which is mounted on a stud fixed in the stationary
framing and carries a pulley which is placed within an internal pulley.
The object of the Invention is effected by means of a rocking shaft mounted
in bearings at the upper end of a bell-crank lever, which oscillates on journals
mounted in bearings on the main frame, and is moved by means of a treadle
or foot lever and spring; on this rocking shaft is keyed the fly wheel and
driving pulley which receives motion by means of a band from any prime
mover; on the end of this rocking shaft next the machine is keyed another
pulley, the periphery of which is covered with leather, india-rubber, or other
suitable substance for the purpose of causing adhesion to the internal flange
of another pulley which is mounted on or is geared to the main driving or
cam shaft of the machine. When the treadle lever is depressed by the foot
the covered pulley on the rocking shaft is brought into contact with the
internal flange of the pulley on the cam shaft of the machine, and thereby
communicates motion thereto. Upon relieving the treadle from the pressure
of the foot a strong spring will pull back the bell crank lever and withdraw
the covered pulley from contact with the internal flange of the pulley on
the cam shaft of the machine, the working parts of which will immediately
stop while the main driving shaft will continue to rotate.
The next improvement consists in the employment or adaptation of a
hollow post or standard to sewing machines used in the manufacture of boots
and shoes. This post is firmly fixed on the table of the machine under the
hook or awl, and within the post is arranged a mechanical device hereafter
described, whereby the thread may with certainty be lapped round or placed
on the beard or barb of the hook or awl, whereby the sewing operation is
performed. Up the centre of the post passes a vertical shaft to which a
partial rotary horizontal or axial motion is given by means of a horizontal
rack which acts on a toothed pinion on the lower end of the vertical shaft
This rack receives its motion from a cam on the main shaft of the sewing
machine. Another wheel or pinion on the upper end of the vertical shaf
drives another pinion through a side hole in which passes the thread required
for the sewing operation. The hook or awl passes through a hole made nea
the edge of a thin metal plate, which forms a cap or cover at the upper end
of the post and enters an eye or hole made in the centre of the pinion which
carries the thread. It will therefore be understood that if when the hook o
awl decends into the eye of the pinion the latter is made to make a partia
rotation it will lay the thread into the notch or barb of the hook or awl, which

page_text: will then draw it up and operate with it in the usual manner to make the
stitch.
The next improvement relates to a mechanical arrangement for skirving
the welts and channelling the soles of boots and shoes. In this arrangement
the leather to be operated upon is placed by the workman on a narrow table
or ledge, behind which is mounted a horizontal guide wheel or pulley against
which the edge of the leather is pressed so as to keep it always in its proper
place to be operated on by the channelling and skirving tools. A slit or
opening is made in the table or ledge (on which the leather is placed) for
the purpose of allowing the pins or points of the rotating feed wheel to pass
through and catch hold of the under side of the leather and carry it forward.
This feed wheel and the guide wheel are geared together by bevilled toothed
wheels, so that they rotate together and at the same speed. The leather is
held down tightly on the table or ledge by means of a slightly fluted pressing
wheel or roller which is driven by an internal toothed wheel mounted at the
end of the arm which carries the skirving tool and drives a small pinion keyed
on the shaft of the pressing wheel or roller. The pressing wheel as it rotates
draws the leather away from the cutter blade and at the same time holds it
tightly down. The skirving knife is firmly secured to the under side of the
arm which carries it, and this latter is mounted on a horizontal centre pin
so that by means of a treadle and connecting rod or other suitable device
the cutting tool and pressing roller may be brought into work when required.
A spring adapted to the arm will lift the tool out of work when the pressure
of the foot is taken off the treadle. In channelling round the sole the edge
of the leather is (as in the skirving machine) kept up against the vertical
guide roller by the workman and is pressed down on the table by ineans
of the periphery of the internal toothed wheel, which is, as in the skirving
machine depressed by means of the treadle or foot lever. It will now be
understood that all the workman will have to do will be to place the leather
on the table or ledge and by means of his foot or otherwise bring down the
cutting tool and pressing roller on to the top surface, taking care that as the
leather is carried forward by the feed wheel the edge of the leather is kept
well up against the guide wheel.
The last improvement relates to an improved mode of constructing the
last for the purpose of facilitating its introduction into the boot or shoe. To
this end, when the last has been cut or formed into the right shape in the
ordinary way, a wedge shaped piece slightly curved is cut out of it by means
of a narrow saw blade, and the instep part is hinged to the other part at a
poiut just behind the insertion of the toes. When it is required to place the

page_text: last in a boot or shoe the wedge-shaped piece is withdrawn so as to allow
the instep piece to fall back and facilitate the introduction of the last; when
the latter is in its place in the boot or shoe the wedge may be replaced and
the leating anamation will be thereby completed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Greenwood and William Keats in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 30th January 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wе, THOMAS
GREENWOOD, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Maker, and WILLIAM
KEATS, of Leek, in the County of Stafford, Boot and Shoe Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Thomas Greenwood and William Keats, Her special licence that we, the said
Thomas Greenwood and William Keats, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Greenwood and William Keats,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND
APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR
THE FEET," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas
Greenwood and William Keats, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
'same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Keats, on behalf of myself
and of the said Thomas Greenwood, do hereby declare the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-

page_text: This Invention of "Improvements in Machinery and Apparatus for the Manu-
facture of Boots and Shoes and other Coverings for the Feet" relates, firstly,
to an improved mode of communicating or transmitting motion from the main
shaft of machines used for securing the various parts of boots and shoes
together to the various working parts, the object of the improvement being to
transmit the motion in such a manner as will admit of arresting the move-
meut of the working parts instantaneously without stopping the rotation of the
main shaft.
The mode of effecting this object is shewn in the accompanying Drawings
in Figures 1 and 2, Sheet I., in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of so
much of a sewing machine as is necessary to show the manner of applying
the improvement; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.
The improvement consists in the employment of an intermediate shaft a,
which is mounted in bearings in a forked arm or framing b, which is capable
of rocking in its bearings on the stationary framing of the sewing machine.
The intermediate shaft a carries a pulley c, which is placed within an internal
pulley d on the driving shaft of the sewing machine, a part of the framing of
which is shewn at A in Fig. 1. The working parts are thrown in or out of
gear by rocking the forked arm or framing b, which forins one arm of a bell-
crank lever 6', which is moved by means of a treadle or foot lever connected
to the bell-crank lever 6¹ by means of the rod 62. On the intermediate shaft a
is keyed the fly wheel a¹ and driving pulley a², which receives motion by means
of a band from any prime mover; on the end of this rocking shaft a, next the
machine, is keyed the pulley c, the periphery of which is covered with leather,
india-rubber, or other suitable substance for the purpose of causing adhesion
to the internal flange of the pulley d, which is mounted on or is geared to the
main driving or cam shaft of the sewing machine. When the treadle lever is
depressed by the foot the framing or forked arm 6 is rocked, and the covered
pulley c on the intermediate shaft a is brought into contact with the internal
flange of the pulley d on the cam shaft of the sewing machine, and thereby
communicates motion thereto. Upon relieving the treadle from the pressure
of the foot a strong spring will pull back the bell-crank lever 6', and
forked arm or framing b, and will withdraw the covered pulley c from contact
with the internal flange of the pulley d on the cam shaft of the sewing
machine, the working parts of which will immediately stop, while the driving
and intermediate shaft a will continue to rotate.
The next improvement consists in the employment or adaptation of a
hollow post or standard to sewing machines used in the manufacture of boots
aud shoes. This part of the Invention is shown in Sheet II of the Drawings,

page_text: in which Fig. 3 is an elevation of the hollow post, and Fig. 4 is a vertical
section of the same, shewing the interior working parts; the hollow post is
firmly fixed on the table of the sewing machine under the hook or awl 9, and
within the post is arranged a mechanical device hereafter described, whereby
the thread may with certainty be lapping round or placed on the beard or barb
of the hook or awl g, whereby the sewing operation is performed. Up the
centre of the post passes a vertical shaft h, to which a partial rotary, horizontal
or axial motion is given by means of a horizontal rack i, which acts on a
toothed pinion on the lower end of the vertical shaft h; this racki receives
its motion from a cam not shewn in the Drawing on the main shaft of the
sewing machine. Another wheel or pinion k on the upper end of the vertical
shaft h drives another pinion through a side hole ', in which passes the
thread required for the sewing operation, and is therefore called the thread
pinion; the hook or awl g passes through a hole or opening made near the
edge of a metal plate f¹(which forms a cap or cover at the upper end of the
post f) and enters an eye or hole made in the centre of the thread pinion l
It will therefore be understood that if when the hook or awl g descends into
the eye of the pinion the latter is made to make a partial rotation it will
lay the thread into the notch or barb of the hook or awl 7, which will then
draw it up and operate with it in the usual manner to make the stitch.
We would observe that the cap or cover f¹ of the hollow post requires to
be modified in shape according to the particular kind of work or the seam
which it is required to sew. Fig. 5 is a plan view and side elevation of
the cap or cover which will be required when the machine is to be used for
sewing on the welts of boots and shoes. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the
cap to be employed when sewing on the soles, and Fig. 7 is a plan view
and side elevation of the cap required when the heels of boots and shoes are
to be sewn on.
The last improvement relates to an improved mode of constructing the last
for the purpose of facilitating its introduction into the boot or shoe. This
improvement is shewn in Sheet III., in which Fig 8 is a plan view, and
Fig. 9 a side view of one of the improved lasts. When the last has been cut
or formed into the right shape in the ordinary, way a wedge-shaped piece m
slightly curved, as shewn at m, Fig. 9, is cut out of it by means of a narrow
saw blade, and the instep part n of the last is hinged to the other part o at a
When it is required to place
poiut just behind the insertion of the toes.
the last in a boot or shoe the wedge-shaped piece m is withdrawn so as to
allow the instep piece n to fall back and facilitate the introduction of the last.
When the latter is in its place in the boot or shoe the wedge m may

page_text: be replaced and driven home, and the lasting operation will be thereby
completed.
Having now described our Invention of "Improvements in Machinery and
Apparatus for the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes and otherCoverings for the
Feet," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we
claim as the Invention secured to us by Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
First, communicating motion to the working parts of the sewing machine
by means of a pulley or wheel on an intermediate shaft mounted in bearings
in a framing which is capable of recking or moving, so that the periphery of
the pulley or wheel may when required be brought into contact with a wheel
on the main shaft of the sewing machine, as and for the purpose herein set
forth.
Second, we claim the mode herein set forth of arranging and operating,
the parts whereby the thread is supplied to and lapped round the hook of
the awl.
Lastly, we claim the mode herein shewn and described of constructing
jointed lasts for boots and shoes.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Keats, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILLIAM KEATS. (Ls.)