Improvements in Boot Lace Tagging Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 13th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1894
Improvements in Boot Lace Tagging Machines.
We, JOSEPH LOUIS FAIRE, JOHN EDWARD FAIRE and SAMUEL FAIRE,
trading as Faire Brothers & Co. of Southampton Street and Wimbledon Street,
Leicester, Boot Lace Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to machinery for tagging boot laces and is designed
with a view of constructing a machine by means of which, boot laces may have
connected thereto a peculiar formation of tag such as heretofore has been made by
hand labour.
The tag (such as the machine which forms the subject of the present invention,
is designed to produce) consists of a piece of wire passed through the lace at right
angles thereto, near the end of the same.
The portion of wire so passed through the lace is then bent so as to lie parallel
thereto and project slightly beyond the end thereof.
The opposite end of the wire is then wound or coiled round the lace and straight
portion of the wire, commencing at the point where it passes through the lace and
continuing until the end of the straight wire is reached when the wire is severed
and the complete tag thus formed.
A machine constructed according to this invention includes a cylindrical lace
carrying block or equivalent, slotted in the direction of its length so as to permit
the lace to lie therein with its ends projecting.
The said lace carrying block is carried in bearings located at the upper end of
suitable standards or framework and is provided at each end with gripping
mechanism to engage the ends of the lace and hold the latter in position while the
operation of tagging is being performed.
The gripping mechanism consists preferably of suitable clips or jaws adapted
normally to grip the ends of the lace and to be pressed apart or otherwise opened,
to permit of the lace being removed and a fresh lace inserted, by suitable inter-
mediate mechanism operated from a treadle lever or equivalent means.
The lace carrying block may be furnished at one end with preferably a grooved
pulley and driven by a band or strap in frictional contact with the under portion of
its periphery and passing also over two further pulleys in close proximity thereto
and thence to a pulley on the driving shaft.
One of the two pulleys beforementioned may be movable in relation to the lace
carrying block, so that the operator by lowering a treadle can raise the said
pulley and tighten the driving band or strap under the pulley on the lace carrying
block, thereby revolving the latter.
Upon the operator's foot being removed from the treadle the latter may be
raised by preferably a counterweight; this results in the lowering of the belt
tensioning pulley, thereby slackening the driving band and stopping the motion of
the lace carrying block.
Mechanism is also provided for arresting the motion of the lace carrying block
so that when the latter is brought to rest it may have the groove or slot therein
directed upwardly and in proper position for the operator to remove the newly
tagged lace therefrom and to place an untagged lace therein.
For this purpose a flange on the lace carrying block may be flattened at one
portion of its circumference.

page_text: As the tagging of the lace is nearing completion, a rod, bar or equivalent having
a flattened upper end is raised simultaneously with the lowering of the belt
tensioning pulley until it comes into contact with the flattened portion of the flange
before mentioned, when the motion of the lace carrying block is stopped.
The two members of the grips or jaws which grip the lace are opened or pressed
apart simultaneously at the desired times by the operator pressing on a treadle,
when a connecting rod attached thereto causes a bell-crank lever to impart a
lateral movement to a circumferentially grooved sleeve or equivalent carried on
the lace carrying block, when such movement through suitable link-plates opens
the jaws of the grippers at one end of the lace carrying block and pushes a rod or
plate between the jaws of the clips at the other end thereof to open the same.
A pair of cutting pliers or shears are also fixed in a convenient position near the
operator so as to sever or cut the wire after the tag is completed.
Tad this 11th der of April 1893
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Boot Lace Tagging Machines.
We JOSEPH LOUIS FAIRE, JOHN EDWARD FAIRE and SAMUEL FAIRE
trading as Faire Brothers & Co., of Southampton Street, and Wimbledon Street
Leicester, England, Boot Lace Manufacturers 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 :-
This invention has reference to the tagging of laces and is designed with a view
of constructing a machine by means of which laces may have connected thereto
a peculiar formation of tag such as heretofore has been made by hand.
The tag (such as the machine which forms the subject of the present invention,
is designed to produce) consists of a piece of wire passed through the lace at right
angles thereto near the end of the same.
The portion of wire so passed through the lace is then bent so as to lie parallel
thereto and project slightly beyond the end thereof.
The opposite end of the wire is then wound or coiled round the lace and straight
portion of the wire commencing at the point where it passes through the lace and
continuing until the end of the straight wire is reached when the wire is severed
and the complete tag thus formed.
To prevent the tag becoming uncoiled the two ends thereof are twisted round
each other.
The invention will be understood from the following description in reference to
the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the lace tagging machine constructed according
to this invention.
Figure 2 is a plan partly in section and Figure 3 a side elevation (with the
cover removed) of such portion of the machine as is located on the supporting
table.
Figures 4 and 5 are elevations of respectively the right and left hand ends of
the machine above the table, the positions being determined when viewing the
front or treadle side of the machine.
Figure 6 is a transverse section taken on the line a x of Figure 2.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the machine above the supporting table
showing the end opposite to that shown in Figure 1.
Figures 8 and 9 are section and plan respectively of the plate U.
Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 are views of the lace and tag showing the latter in
different stages of formation.

page_text: Figure 14 is a view of a completed tag drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figure 15 is a similar view but with the two ends of the tag twisted round each
other.
The lace to be tagged is inserted in a through-slot A¹ formed in the direction of
the length of a preferably cylindrical lace carrying block or device A carried in
bearings B in the cover plate B b.
The cover plate Bb is formed in two parts the part B being formed integrally
with the bed plate B³ and the part is removable and to connect it to the former
it has two openings therein which pass over screwed pins B Fig. 3. fixed to the
part B and the whole is secured together by nuts B' thereon as shown in Figures 4
and 5.
The lace carrying block is furnished at each end with mechanism for gripping
the lace and holding it in position while the tag is being connected thereto.
This mechanism at one end preferably comprises as shown most clearly in
Figure 2, a clip consisting of two spring plates D D fixed by screws D' to the side
of the lace carrying block and at one end of the latter.
At the opposite end it consists of a fixed jaw A' formed integrally with the
enlarged portion A³ of the lace carrying device and a movable jaw E.
The latter is pivotted at A' between lugs A³ A" Figs. 3 and 7, formed at the end
of the lace carrying device A.
The lower lug A extends partly across the end of the lace carrying block and
underneath the end of the longitudinal slot therein, Figs. 2, 3, and 7, so that the
end portion of the lace may be supported thereon during the tagging operation.
In order to open the gripping mechanism to allow the operator to place therein
the lace to be tagged the movable jaw is formed with an extension or prolongation El
pivotted between two link plates F Figs. 2, 3, and 6, which are again pivotted to
a horizontal projection G¹ on a circumferentially grooved sliding sleeve or
device G slotted correspondingly with the block A, the said sleeve being connected
with A by a pin H or equivalent engaging with a slot A' Figs. 2 & 6 in the
underside of the lace carrying block.
The pin H also passes through a sliding plate J located within the lace carrying
block and whose forward end is between and against the inner faces of the spring
plates D forming the spring clip.
It is obvious that upon the sleeve being slid along the lace carrying block A
the link plates F will cause the movable jaw E to turn on its pivot A+ and move
away from the fixed jaw A2 and simultaneously the sleeve G will move forward
the sliding plate J so that the end of the latter is projected between the plates D
to press them open.
To slide the sleeve along the block A as mentioned it has located within its
groove G a short horizontal extension or nose K¹ formed on the end of each of
two levers K K² (the latter a bell-crank lever) fixed on opposite ends of a rock
shaft K³ Fig. 6 having a bearing in each side of the coverplate B b.
The bell crank lever K' has connected to its lower arm a connecting rod K+
Figs. 3 and 6 attached to a treadle K³ Fig. 1, under the machine.
Upon the operator depressing the said treadle the connecting rod K+ is lowered,
thereby causing the bell crank lever K2 to move the sleeve G on the carrying
block A and to open the gripping mechanism as before described.
When the gripping mechanism has been thus opened the lace to be tagged is
placed in the slot in the lace carrying block so as to admit of its ends passing
between the said gripping mechanism whereupon the operator's foot is removed
from the treadle and immediately the said gripping mechanism closes upon the ends
of the lace and holds the latter in position for tagging.
The closing of the gripping mechanism is automatically effected by the sliding
sleeve G being returned to its original position under the influence of a spiral
spring K Fig. 2, surrounding a rod K' secured at one end to the side of the
sleeve G while the opposite end is located in a preferably cylindrical cavity L² in
the boss. L' of the pulley L.

page_text: While the lace V is held in this position by the gripping mechanism the operator
pushes through near its end at a right angle thereto a piece of ordinary tagging
wire W as shown in Figure 10.
That portion of the wire so passed through the end of the lace is then bent by
the operator so as to lie parallel to the lace and project a short distance beyond the
end thereof as indicated in Figure 11.
The lace carrying block and the lace carried thereby are then rotated and while
revolving the operator gradually guides the wire towards the end of the lace so
that it becomes coiled or wound both round the lace and the piece of wire parallel
therewith as indicated in Figure 12.
When the end of the wire is reached the operator severs it by means of the
cutting pliers M hereinafter referred to and the complete tag as shown in Figs. 13
and 14 is thus formed.
Just immediately prior to severing the wire the tag may be held between the
jaws of the pliers M while the lace carrying device makes several revolutions the
effect of which is to twist the two ends of the wire (viz. the end of the straight
wire and the end of the coiled wire) round each other as shown in Figure 15 thereby
preventing them from becoming disengaged.
The operator then opens the gripping mechanism as already described, removes
the lace from the lace carrying block and replaces it therein in a reversed position
and tags the opposite end by repeating the process herein before described.
For imparting rotary motion to the lace carrying block A the latter is provided
at one end with preferably a grooved pulley L which may be connected thereto by
a screw L³ Fig. 2, passing through the boss L' of the said pulley into the block A.
A driving band or belt N passes under the pulley L on the lace carrying block 2
and over two pullies Obone on each side thereof.
The pulley is carried in a fixed bearing 2 cast integrally with the cover
plate and the pulley O (hereinafter referred to as the belt tightening pulley) is
movable in a vertical direction and is mounted on the upper end of an upright rod P
kept in position by guides B B formed on the side of the cover plate B and by a 3
pin P² whose end passes through the guides B and into a groove P¹ Fig. 4, in
the rod P.
The driving belt passes through openings in the table C Fig. 1, and under a
pulley N¹ mounted on a shaft N carried in bearings C² connected to the legs C¹
of the table C and driven by a belt N' operated by any suitable motor and passing 3
over a pulley N₁ on the end of the shaft N.
To revolve the lace carrying block pulley L the driving band is tightened
underneath the latter by raising the rod P carrying the belt tightening pulley O
in its guides B B and for this purpose the lower end of the said rod P rests on
one end of a lever Q mounted on the end of a shaft Q₁ and pivotted at its other 4
end to a connecting rod Q attached to a treadle Q³ Fig. 1 under the machine.
The lowering of the treadle Q3 by the operator causes the lever Q to raise the
rod P and pulley O thereon to tighten the belt N against the underside of the
pulley L and drive it by frictional contact therewith.
Upon the operator's foot being lifted off the treadle Q³ a counterweight R,
connected by the strap or rod R' to the end of the lever Q which supports the
rod P, restores the said lever Q and treadle Q³ to their original positions and the
friction of the belt N on the belt tightening pulley O lowers the latter in relation
to the lace carrying block pulley L which is thereby allowed to come to rest.
In stopping the machine after each tagging operation it is desirable in order to 5
obtain the best results, that the lace carrying block A should always come to rest
with the slot Auppermost and immediately under the slot B* in the cover plate Bb
(i.e. in the position shown in the drawings) so that the lace may be at once laid in
proper position in the slot without it being necessary for the operator to adjust
the slot in the lace carrying block relatively to the slot in the cover plate for this 5
purpose.
its
To stop the lace carrying block in this position the flange A³ on the latter is

page_text: partly cut away or removed so as to leave a straight edge or flattened portion A*
Figs. 3 and 7, against which a straight edged plate S on the upper end of a rod or
bar S¹ is elevated at the required time to arrest the motion of the said lace carrying
block.
The rod or bar S¹ moves in a guideway or tubular socket B² formed integrally
with the bed plate B³ and its lower end rests on an arm S2 carried on the
shaft Q.
The rod S¹ is elevated for the purpose named at the same time as the operator's
foot is removed from the treadle Q to admit of the belt tightening pulley being
lowered as herein before described.
Upon this latter taking place the shaft Q makes a partial revolution so that the
arm S² thereon simultaneously raises the rod S as previously mentioned.
Upon the motion of the lace carrying block being arrested and the tagging of
the lace finished the operator places the wire close to the end of the tag between the
jaws M¹ of a pair of cutting pliers M or equivalent and severs the said wire after
which the lace is removed from the machine.
The lower member of the cutting pliers rests on two projections T T² Figs. 1, 2,.
and 7, on the upward extension T3 of a plate T bolted at T to the bed plate B³ and
is secured in position by a finger M2 gripping the said member and tightened against
the opposite side of the plate T3 by a nut M³ on the screwed end thereof.
The end of the lace while being tagged rests in a groove U¹ in the upper end of
a plate U Figs. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9, attached by means of a screw bolt U2 to the
arm T
The block U may be adjusted relatively to the lace carrying device for varying
lengths of tags and for different thicknesses of laces.
For longer or shorter tags the block U is moved farther from or nearer to the
lace carrying device for which purpose the plate T is furnished with a slot To which
when the nut T is released admits of the plate T arm To and block U being moved
en masse to or fro as desired.
To raise or lower the block U in relation to the lace carrying device for varying
thicknesses of laces the said block U has a slot U³ therein through which the
bolt U passes and by releasing the nut U on the bolt, the block can be raised or
lowered as desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion & in what manner the same may be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A machine made tag for laces in which the wire to form the tag is passed.
through the lace near the end thereof then bent parallel thereto and wound or coiled.
round the wire and lace substantially as described.
'
2. A machine made tag for laces in which the wire to form the tag is passed.
through the lace near the end thereof then bent parallel thereto and wound or coiled
round the wire and lace and the two ends of the wire twisted round each other
substantially as described.
3. A lace provided at one or each of its ends with a machine made tag consisting
of a piece of wire passed through near the end of the lace then bent parallel thereto
and wound or coiled round the wire and lace substantially as described.
4. A lace provided with a machine made tag consisting of a piece of wire passed
through near the end of the lace then bent parallel thereto and wound or coiled
round the wire and lace and the two ends of the wire twisted round each other
substantially as described.
5. A lace tagging machine in which the lace is held by a revolving lace carrying
device while the wire is wound or coiled round the end of the lace and a portion
of the wire parallel thereto substantially as described.
6. In a lace tagging machine a revolving lace carrying device slotted in the
direction of its length for the reception of the lace substantially as described.
7. In a lace tagging machine the combination with a revolving lace carrying

page_text: device of gripping mechanism for holding the lace in position during the tagging
operation.
8. In a lace tagging machine the combination with a revolving lace carrying
device provided at one end with fixed and movable jaws and at the opposite end
with spring clip plates for holding the lace in position while the tag is being formed
thereon of mechanism to open the said gripping mechanism to permit of the lace
being removed.
9. In a lace tagging machine the combination with the revolving lace carrying
device and gripping mechanism thereof of a spring-controlled sliding sleeve, rocking
shaft, levers thereon and connecting rod and treadle for operating said sleeve
substantially as and for the purpose described.
10. In a lace tagging machine the combination with the revolving lace carrying
device and pulley thereon of a non-adjustable pulley and an adjustable pulley the
latter adapted to tighten the driving belt against the lace carrying device pulley
and to slacken the said belt in relation to the latter substantially as and for the
purpose described.
11. In a lace tagging machine the combination with the revolving lace carrying
device and pulley thereon a non-adjustable pulley and a belt tightening pulley of a
counterweighted lever and connecting rod attached thereto and treadle for
actuating the belt tightening pulley substantially as for the purpose described.
12. In a lace tagging machine the combination with the revolving lace carrying
device slotted in the direction of its length of means for always arresting the
motion of the said device with the slot uppermost substantially as and for the.
purpose described.
13. In a lace tagging machine the combination with a revolving lace carrying
device slotted in the direction of its length and a flange thereon provided with a
straight edge of a rod or bar with a corresponding edge and rocking arm for
operating the said rod or bar substantially as and for the purpose described.
14. In a lace tagging machine the combination with a revolving lace carrying
device provided with gripping mechanism for holding the lace in position during
the tagging operation of mechanism for cutting the wire when the tag is completed
substantially as described.
15. In a lace tagging machine the combination of a revolving lace carrying
block or device, longitudinal slot or groove therein, cover plate correspondingly
slotted, pulley and lace gripping mechanism on the block, sliding sleeve, links, bell
crank lever, lever, arm, shaft, connecting rod and treadle for releasing the gripping
mechanism, adjustable belt tightening pulley, rod, lever, arms, and shaft for
operating it, lever arm, adjustable bar and stop shoulder on revolving lace carrying
block, adjustable tag supporting block and cutting device.
16. The complete lace tagging machine consisting of the parts constructed
arranged and operating substantially in the manner described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 13th day of January 1894.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.