Improvements in Machinery Employed in the Lasting of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Feb., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 27th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 28th Dec., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery Employed in the Lasting of Boots and
Shoes.
We, ALFRED POCHIN, trading as The Standard Engineering Company,
Welford Road, Leicester, and FRANK HOWARD POCHIN, Draughtsman, and
HENRY ADDISON, Foreman Machinist, of the same address, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to machinery employed in the lasting of boots and
shoes and embodies improvements relating to the pincers by which the boot or shoe
upper is drawn tightly over the last and also to the tack driving mechanism for
tacking the upper to the insole after the said upper has been pulled over the last
as mentioned.
The invention also embodies means for actuating the said pincers and tack driving
mechanism in the desired manner and at the desired times.
According to our invention the last with the insole and upper thereon is held in
the hands of the operator and for lasting purposes the edge of the upper is placed
between the jaws of the pincers.
One of the said jaws is fixed and the other is movable, the said jaws being kept
normally open by means of a spring.
The movable jaw is by preference furnished with an extended limb, which, upon
the operator depressing a treadle, may be actuated by a lever or levers or equivalent
device, to close the said movable jaw on the fixed jaw and so long as the treadle is
kept depressed, keep the edge of the upper gripped thereby. While the edge of
the upper
thus gripped the operator draws the last and upper away from the
pincers in such a manner as to stretch the upper over the last and when in this
condition, the tack driving mechanism is brought into requisition to drive tacks
through the upper into the insole. The tack driving mechanism consists of a
magnetic driver or plunger supplied with tacks from any of the well known forms
of tack feeding devices.
The driver is jointed to permit of bending to reach a tack from the feeding
device and of subsequently resuming its normal vertical position prior to driving
the tack through the upper, such movement of the driver being controlled by a cam
or other means.
The magnetic driver with tack attached thereto may be raised (prior to driving
a tack) by a cam, eccentric, or equivalent means on a shaft intermittently rotatel
by suitable clutch or equivalent mechanism placed in and out of action by the
treadle or means hereinafter mentioned.
The driver may be suddenly and forcibly depressed to drive the tack through the
upper and insole by a strong spring, counterweight, or other means.
The said tack driving mechanisin may be set in action by further depressing the
before-mentioned treadle or by mechanism actuated by the knee of the operator in
any other suitable manner.
In one form of construction the pincer jaws may be perforated near their ends
to form a passage for the driver to pass through to force the tack through the
upper.
Dated this 27th day of February 1895.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery Employed in the Lasting of Boots and
Shoes.
We, ALFRED POCHIN, trading as The Standard Engineering Co. Welford
Road, Leicester, and FRANK HOWARD POCHIN, Draughtsman, and HENRY
ADDISON, Foreman Machinist, of the same address, 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 machinery employed in the lasting of boots and
shoes and embodies improvements relating to the pincers by which the upper of a
boot or shoe is drawn tightly over the last; and also to the tack driving mechanism
for tacking the upper to the insole after the upper has been pulled over the last as
mentioned.
The invention is designed with the object of producing an improved arrange-
ment of parts and simplified construction of lasting machine in the operation of
which less skilled labour may be employed than in many of those machines at
present in use.
The invention comprises within its scope an improved arrangement of and
mechanism for operating the pincers and the tack driving mechanism.
The invention is chiefly applicable to the type of machine in which the tacks are
contained with a cylindrical or other shaped feeding device rotated or vibrated to
deliver the tacks to a chute which conducts them to a position under a vertical
driver which is suddenly and forcibly lowered on to the head of the tack to drive
it through the upper and insole of a boot or shoe while the said upper is held for
that purpose by the pincers.
The invention will be fully understood from the following further description in
reference to the accompanying drawing wherein
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a lasting or tacking machine constructed in
accordance with our invention.
Figure 2 is a front view of the mechanism of the upper part of the machine
Figure 3 is a face view of the driving clutch and engaging finger taken on the
line XX of Figure 1.
A represents the standard of the machine the upper end of which is provided
with bearings A' for the driving shaft A 2 having on its end a driving clutch
pulley B from which it derives its motion as follows:
The said pulley has on its face a series of recesses B' Fig. 3 into one of which
the blunt end of the finger Centers and engages the side thereof and thereby
revolves the driving shaft.
The said finger is pivotted to the side of a sleeve D fast on the driving shaft and
when held by the sliding rod E in the raised position indicated in Fig. 3 the clutch
pulley B revolves loosely on the driving shaft, but upon the said rod E being
withdrawn from under the said finger the spring C'elevates the blunt end in contact
therewith so that it enters one of the recesses 13 before mentioned and revolves the
driving shaft. So far the machine is of ordinary construction.
The sliding rod E passes through the side of the bearing A' and for the purpose
of moving it to and fro, in and out of contact with the finger C according to this
invention the said rod is attached to a lever F fulcrummed at F¹ to an arm F2
projecting from the side of the standard.
The bottom of the lever is conuerted to a horizontal rod G passing through
the standard, between which and a collar G' screwed fast thereon is a spiral
spring G 2.
When the operator presses his knee in the curved plate G3 so as to withdraw
the rod E from under the finger C the said spring G2 as will be understood,

page_text: becomes compressed and upon the operator removing his knee the rod G and
lever F will resume their normal positions and thereby remove the rod E to its
former position as shown in Figure 1 and into the path of the finger C whose
motion it will arrest and simultaneously withdraw it from engagement with the
clutch B and bring the machine to rest.
Fast upon the opposite end of the driving shaft is a dise H provided with an
eccentric pin or antifriction roller H' which at each revolution gets under a collar J'
on the usual tack driver J and raises it as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
After the said eccentric pin passes out of contact with the collar J¹a spiral
spring J2 encircling the upper end of the driver forcibly depresses the
latter so that it sends a tack through the upper and insole as hereinafter
described.
The driver passes through sockets A3 A4 and the spring J2 from which it
obtains its driving force is located and compressible between a collar 3 fast
thereon and a similar collar J 4 forming the upper part of two arms K fixed by
screws K' to the bearing A 3.
Referring now to the pincers, L represents the fixed jaw thereof and M the
movable jaw.
The fixed jaw may be connected to or formed as an integral part of a vertical
plate L located in a recess in the side of the bearing A4 and firmly clamped
in position therein by a plate L2 which by screws L 3 is firmly fixed to the said
bearing.
To the lower end of the plate L' is fulcrummed by a screw M¹ the movable
jaw M which is provided with an extended limb M2 to which and a stud pro-
jecting from the standard is a spring M3 which maintains the said jaw in the
position shown so that the said jaws are normally open.
To close the movable jaw against the fixed jaw the extended limb of the former
may have attached thereto a lever or levers or equivalent means, but in the
preferred form of construction we employ a connecting rod N the lower end of
which is fastened to a treadle lever O fulcrummed at O inside the standard.
P, Figure 1 represents a tack-containing drun or device and P¹ a chute leading
therefrom, both of which may be constructed, arranged and operated in
any of
the well known ways to conduct the tacks down the said chute to the delivery
nozzle, one side of which, as is shown, is formed by the fixed jaw L and the other
side of the said nozzle by a plate R Fig. 2 forming the lower part of a depending
arm R screwed at R2 to a four sided bearing plate R3 open interiorly and
connected by a screw R4 to the fixed jaw plate L'.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The operator takes the last with insole and upper placed thercon in the usual
manner and places his foot upon the treadle lever O so as to lower the connecting
rod N and close the movable jaw M against the fixed jaw L thereby gripping the
upper between them. Now the operator by drawing the last and upper towards
bim may stretch the upper to the required degree, then by pressing his knee
against the plate G 3, the rod G, and fever F will withdraw the rod E from the
finger C so that the latter will engage the clutch B as before described and actuate
the driving shaft so that the driver J will be alternately raised and then suddenly
lowered on to a tack supported in the delivery nozzle M R to force it through the
upper and insole as before described.
The operator then removes his foot from the treadle so as to release the upper
and then repeats the operation as required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In a lasting machine of the character described the combination with the
driving shaft, of a clutch, B engaging finger C sliding rod E lever F spring-
controlled rod G constructed and operating substantially in the manner described.

page_text: 2. In a lasting machine of the character described the combination with the
tack driver of an eccentric and a spring for raising and lowering the said driver
substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In a lasting machine of the character described the combination with tack
feeding and driving apparatus of pincers having a fixed and a movable jaw, a
spring or equivalent for keeping the said jaws normally open and a connecting rod
or equivalent between the said movable jaw and a treadle lever for closing the said
jaws substantially as described.
4. The improved machine consisting of the parts constructed and arranged and
operating substantially in the manner described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 26th dex of November 1805
ALFRED POCHIN.
HENRY
FRANK HOWARD POCHIN.
ADDISON.
ALFRED POCHIN.
FRANK HOWARD POCHIN.
HENRY ADDISON.
Witness-
E. N. LEWIS,
Berridge Street Chambers, Leicester.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.