IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR STAMPING, SHAPING, OR FORMING CERTAIN KINDS OF GOODS MANUFACTURED OF INDIA-RUBBER, GUTTA PERCHA, AND LIKE SUBSTANCES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Egbert Reuben Burnham, of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, India-rubber Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR STAMPING, SHAPING, OR
FORMING CERTAIN KINDS OF GOODS MANUFACTURED OF INDIA-RUBBER, GUTTA
PERCHA, AND LIKE SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 21st June 1861, and dated the 29th December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Egbert Reuben Burnham,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th December 1860.
I, EGBERT REUBEN BURNHAM, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
India-rubber Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR STAMPING, SHAPING, OR
FORMING CERTAIN KINDS OF GOODS MANUFACTURED OF INDIA-RUBBER, GUTTA PERCHA,
AND LIKE SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates more particularly to stamping, shaping, forming,
roughening, or ornamenting the soles of boots, shoes, and other coverings for
the feet, manufactured of india-rubber, gutta percha, and like substances, and
consists of apparatus or machinery capable of being worked by hand or other
power.
The machine for use by hand is similar in construction and operation to a
hand punching machine or letter copying press with the addition of hollow

page_text: chambers above and below or on either side of the open space where the
material to be punched, or the letter copying book is placed, and in which cor-
responding space the india-rubber or other substance receives the roughening
or ornamenting by pressure from engraved or carved dies fastened to the
hollow chambers, the one of which is moveable, the other stationary. The
hollow chambers are made suitable for receiving steam or heating irons to
warm the dies so that the articles to be finished can be placed in the machine
in a cold state in lengths to be afterwards cut out, or in pieces, or the dies may
be used cold when the articles have been passed through heated rollers, and
in either case they may be carried forward or to and through the machine on a
band or plate having motion communicated from the machine and capable of
being regulated by set screws to any suitable travel.
The machine to be operated by steam or other power is similar to that last
described, the difference being in the mode of obtaining the pressure. On the
driving shaft I place cams or eccentrics which press against and give the neces
sary force at successive intervals to the die and hollow moveable chamber, both
of which-latter-are-returned-for-the-next-pressure_by_connections to the main
shaft or by springs.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Egbert Rueben Burnham in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EGBERT
REUBEN BURNHAM, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, India-rubber
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Egbert Reuben Burnham, Her special licence that I, the said Egbert Reuben
Burnham, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Egbert Reuben Burnham, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR STAMPING, SHAPING, OR FORMING

page_text: CERTAIN KINDS OF GOODS MANUFACTURED OF INDIA-RUBBER, GUTTA PERCHA, AND
LIKE SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Egbert
Reuben Burnham, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, 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 Egbert Reuben Burnham, do hereby de-
clare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates more particularly to stamping, shaping, forming,
roughening or ornamenting the soles of boots, shoes, and other coverings for
the feet manufactured of india-rubber, gutta percha, and like substances, and
consists of apparatus or machinery capable of being worked by hand or other
power.
The machine for use by hand is similar in construction and operation to a
hand punching machine or letter copying press, with the addition of hollow
chambers above and below or on either side of the open space where the
material to be punched, or the letter copying book is placed, and in which cor-
responding space the india-rubber or other substance receives the roughening
or ornamenting by pressure from engraved or carved dies fastened to the
hollow chambers, the one of which is moveable, the other stationary. The
hollow chambers are made suitable for receiving steam or heating irons to
warm the dies so that the articles to be finished can be placed in the machine
in a cold state in lengths, to be afterwards cut out, or in pieces, or the dies may
be used cold when the articles have been passed through heated rollers, and
in either case they may be carried forward or to and through the machine
on a band or plate having motion communicated from the machine and capable
of being regulated by set screws to any suitable travel.
The machine to be operated by steam or other power is similar to that last
described, the difference being in the mode of obtaining the pressure. On the
driving shaft I place cams or eccentrics which press against and give the neces-
sary force, at successive intervals to the die and hollow moveable chamber both
of which latter are returned for the next pressure by connections to the main
shaft or by springs.
That my Invention may be clearly understood, I have hereunto attached
four Sheets of Drawings which illustrate the construction and principle of the

page_text: hand machine, and the construction and arrangement of a modification of
the power machine in combination or connection with rollers suitably geared to
deliver in a fit state the substances to be operated on for the production of soles
or soleing for boots, shoes, and other coverings for the feet, or for stamping
shaping, forming, roughening, or ornamenting the surfaces of materials of
the elastic class herein-before mentioned when the said materials are used in
the manufacture of boots and other coverings for the feet. The travelling die
in this latter machine is operated by eccentrics, and the substances or compounds
are carried forward to, or to and through between the said travelling die and
the lower or stationary bed or die on an endless band or apron. In connection
with this said power arrangement, I will describe the process by which the soles
or soleing or other parts are produced from the rough material, and whilst doing
so will make reference to the various parts of the machinery or apparatus by
letters which indicate the same parts in all the views.
Sheet No. 1 relates to the hand machine, and shews at Fig. 1 a side, and
at Fig. 2 an end elevation. A represents the framing; B, the operating lever
-attached-to-the-screw C, which works through part of the framing in a boss
at D; E, the travelling chamber; F, the stationary chamber; to either of
these chambers the die may be attached, or it may form part of the same.
The substance or compound to be operated upon may be passed between
heated rollers, as herein-before referred to, and fully described hereafter in
connection with the power machine, or the die may be heated by admitting
steam to the chambers by irons or any other means found most convenient.
Sheets No. 2, 3, and 4, relate to the power machine, and shew by Fig. 3 a
longitudinal elevation of the stamping or embossing machine, heating rollers,
and necessary connections; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the heating rollers;
Fig. 5. an end elevation of the stamping or embossing machine; Fig. 6, an
end elevation of the heating rollers; and Fig. 7, partly a plan view of the
stamping or embossing machine, rollers, and other connections.
a represents
the framework of the embossing machine; b, the framework of the rollers;
c, the main or driving shaft, on which are spur pinions d and e, respectively
gearing with the toothed wheels f and g, the first driving the embossing
machine and connections, and the latter transmitting motion to the rollers by
the pinions h. The caoutchouc, gutta percha, or other gum or compound, or
combinations of these with any other substances, such as leather, cork, woven
fabrics, and fibrous materials, I prefer heating in the ordinary way; I then
pass the said material or materials between the rollers i and j, and partly
round and through between the latter and the lower roller k, after running
on the periphery of the roller ja sufficient distance it is delivered on to the

page_text: endless band or apron 7. The intermediate roller j is geared to run faster
than the others, to obtain a slight friction or rubbing motion against the
materials, and thereby expel or force out any air confined therein. Any
number of rollers may be used, but I continue the rubbing motion at each
and every time the said material is passed between the same, taking care to
leave the sheet of a sufficient thickness for embossing by pressure, so that no
shrinking will take place. The rollers are here provided with connections to
admit steam to heat them, but they may be heated by other means. m, the
steam supply pipes with the necessary valves and stuffing boxes; n, the
exhaust pipes. After the sheet is delivered from the rollers on to the endless
band or apron herein-before mentioned, it is carried forward on the latter to
the stamping or embossing machine, where it receives the desired impress
from a die o, affixed by bolts or otherwise to the bottom of the moving
chamber p; q, the stationary chamber, bed, or die. The moving chamber p
receives motion by being attached to the rods r of the eccentrics s, actuated on
the shaft t of the toothed wheel u, which latter gears with the wheel ƒ.
I prefer having the die o embossed with a design suitable for producing the
heel, shank, and fore part of a sole of the largest size, and around each design
having deep V or other shaped grooves formed to receive the surplus material,
if any, as the most exact thickness can be secured by means of the set screws v
which raise or lower the under chamber or bed to the required position. The
chambers p and q are here shewn with means for heating by steam, but they
may be used cold.
w shews the steam supply pipe, with the necessary taps
and connections to the moving chamber p; x, the exhaust pipe from the same;
w and a stuffing boxes, through or into which the supply and exhaust pipies
work to allow for the travel of the chamber p; y, the steam supply pipe to
the stationary chamber q; z, the exhaust or waste steam pipe from the same.
a shews a roller to relieve the material or materials under process of manu-
facture from the die o; this roller is fitted with expansion bearings in a
strong bracket c¹. In some cases the stationary die could be used to give the
impression or design, and then it would only be necessary to bring the endless
band or apron up to but not through between the dies, the top or moving
one being plain unless designs are required on both sides; or when the apron
or band is only brought up to the dies, the bottom one q can be used plain
or in the same state as if the apron had been passed through. At the instant
of contact of the moving die o with the material resting on the apron 7 and
bottom plate q that part of the said apron and material must stop, whilst the
remaining portion continues in motion, the apron by the driving roller d
having a continuous motion imparted from the toothed wheel e' geared with

page_text: the intermediate pinion ƒ¹ again geared to the pinion h of the roller k. The
tension roller g¹ is adapted to withdraw from the stamping or embossing press
that part of the material operated on and apron stopped by the engraved die o.
When the pressure is applied the lower part of the apron and the tension
roller g' are drawn up to the position indicated by dotted lines at 1* and g*,
and the top part of the said apron falls to the position also indicated by dotted
lines at ; but as soon as the moving die o is raised, the tension roller g', by
its own weight, draws the apron and material through the press until they
assume their original position and speed. The said tension roller g' is of
suitable size and weight for the purpose, and has sliding bearings fitted to
move in the slides of the standards j'.
In another modification of a power machine when embossing plates would
be used, I take the material and subject it to any of the processes of heating
or rolling herein-before mentioned, and finally pass it between rollers where
an engraved metallic plate is introduced to give the design required; one of
these said rollers has guides, ways, or grooves formed in its periphery, to keep
_the_plate in position, and prevent the rollers from coming too close together.
That a continuous sheet of material embossed on one side may be produced
from this arrangement, two or more plates may be used, so that while one is
passing through between the rollers, the others can be handed back, and be in
readiness to follow, the pressure on the material through the rollers being
regulated by set screws and springs, or by any other convenient arrangement.
In a third modification I take a plate of suitable size with the desired
design engraved thereon, and either make it stationary in frames or standards,
or cause it to be moved up and down, or backwards and forwards; screws,
eccentrics, cranks, or cams will be found most convenient for this purpose,
but many well known mechanical means can be used, and these will be
readily understood by workers in "rubber" machinery. I then pass a plain
roller (when the plate is stationary) over or under or at either side, but always
on the engraved side of the plate, between which and the roller the material
to receive the impression is placed after being heated or otherwise prepared,
as herein-before referred to. The said roller can be moved to and fro by
means of a connecting rod, cross head, and journal, and be provided with
guides, ways, or grooves, to carry sliding journal boxes, to cause it to move
parallel to the edges of the plate. After the plain roller has been passed over
the material, and during the return movement of the same, the engraved plate
and the material thereon can be removed, so that a new supply of material
can be placed on the same or a similar plate, and put in position to be
embossed during the next stroke. When the engraved plate is made to

page_text: travel backwards and forwards with the material to be embossed between it
and a roller running on a rigid spindle or centres, the motion may be com-
municated to the said plate by cranks, cams, eccentrics, or any other suitable
movement. Either the roller or the engraved plates (or a hollow chamber at
the back of the latter) or both may be heated by steam or otherwise, as found
most convenient, or they may be used cold, and in either case the pressure
required can be applied to one or the other by set screws and springs or other
apparatus found suitable.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and various means by which the same may be carried into effect, I would
have it distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the details herein
laid down, as apart from these many modifications of machines may be used
without departing from the nature of my said Invention, vide, the two
modifications with plates and rollers herein-before described, and which
I have not illustrated by Drawings, as manufacturers of goods of the class
mentioned will readily understand the construction and modes of action, and
be able to devise various modifications suitable for their particular manu-
factures; but what I claim as my Invention is, the combinations or arrange-
ments of machinery or apparatus herein described, and partly illustrated in
the accompanying four Sheets of Drawings, for the purposes herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Egbert Reuben Burnham, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
5
Witness,
JOHN T. KING.
EGBERT REUBEN BURNHAM. (L.S.)