Improvements relating to Machines for Perforating Patterns in Leather and other Substances.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Machines for Perforating Patterns in
Leather and other Substances.
I THOMAS LEWIS of The Albert Implement Works, Kettering in the County
of Northampton, Engineer, 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 :-
The chief object of this invention is to provide a simple and cheap power
machine for producing a pattern in the leather used for the toe caps of boots and
shoes, by perforating the same by means of a series of punches arranged
according to the pattern, and fitted into a suitable holder or die; but the invention is
applicable also, in whole or in part, to perforating patterns generally in leather or
other material, and to hand machines.
The invention consists in the means for operating in the power machine, the
plunger which actuates the die, and also in the means for securing the die in
position in the machine, whether power or hand, and which will admit of the die
being readily changed when required.
and
In the accompanying drawing,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the improved power machine;
Fig.
2 is a front elevation, with the front plate of the plunger removed.
A is a bed-plate, formed in one with the standard B, which is provided with
bracket guides B¹ for the plunger C, and with a sleeve for the shaft D of the
fly-wheel E and of driving and loose pulleys.
The plunger consists of three parts, viz., a box C, with two spindle ends C³,
and a crosshead C2 at the bottom of the lower spindle end. These spindle ends
work in the guide brackets B'.
The shaft D is formed with a concentric boss, or an enlargement D¹ with which
is formed an excentric stud or axle D², for a loose roller D³. The shaft D is driven
continuously, and the roller D³, by reason of the excentricity of its axle, presses
alternately on the top and bottom faces of a slot or recess in the back of the
box C, and thus raises and lowers the plunger to produce the perforating effect, etc.
As, however, a continuous motion of the plunger is neither required nor desirable,
I provide means whereby its motion can be automatically arrested after each
stroke, notwithstanding the continuous rotation of the shaft.
In the lower part of the back of the box, and below the roller D³, I form a
cylindrical recess to receive a roller or solid cylinder G, which is free to move
axially in the recess. In the periphery of this cylinder G, I form a segmental
recess G', corresponding to the throw of the excentric, so that when the recess is
uppermost (the position shewn in the drawing), the excentric will rotate without
acting upon the plunger, but when a full portion of the cylinder G is presented to
the roller D³, the depression of the plunger will result.
In the end of the cylinder G are inserted two pins a b, to one of which, a,
is secured one end of a coiled spring, the other end being attached to the box.
The other pin 6 takes into a notch in a trigger H, and holds the cylinder in the
non-working position. The trigger is operated through a treadle by means of the
lever J, which raises the trigger and releases the pin b, thus allowing of the cylinder

page_text: being moved axially by the spring, which is at tension, and bringing a full portion
into the path of the roller D³. The trigger is returned to its normal position by a
spring H¹.
The pin 6 is raised, to be caught by the trigger H, by means of the bent lever K,
which has its fulcrum at c. As the excentric rotates, the roller D³ strikes against the
adjustable screw d of the lever K and rocks the lever, which, pressing against the
pin, axially moves the cylinder in the opposite direction, and causes the pin 6 to
catch in the notch of the trigger H, at the same time bringing the segmental recess
into the path of the roller D³.
In this way, the operating parts of the plunger, in their normal position, will be
non-working.
The die L is formed in the usual way with a plate L carrying the punches f, an
intermediate or guide plate L', and a base plate or die L³.
To the top of the punch plate L, I firmly secure an additional plate M, the end
edges of which are bevilled or undercut, as seen in Fig. 2.
In one end of the cross-head C², I may form a slot, into which I drop a slide N,
having a groove across its lower end, so as to form a catch to take under the
bevelled end of the plate M. To the other end of the cross-head, I hinge, in any
convenient manner, another plate N', having a similar catch to take under the
bevel on the other end of the plate M, thus forming a pair of jaws.
These jaws are caused to grip the plate M by a thumb nut, or by a screw N³, and
thus the punch plate is securely held to the cross-head C³, the movable jaw N'
being opened automatically by the spring N* when the screw N2 is released.
The front and back edges of the base plate or die L2 are also bevelled, and I
secure this base plate in position by means of the spring bolts o, o', o³, one in front,
and two at the rear. These bolts are fitted into recesses in the bed plate A, and
their lower ends rest on, or are in connection with, flat springs, so that the bolts
will yield to pressure (should the die, by any chance, get above them), and thus
obviate the fracture of the cross-head, or the breaking of other parts of the
machine, when the pressure is applied.
The upper ends of these bolts are undercut to fit over the bevelled edges of the
base plate or die L2, and the front bolt is capable also of a slight rocking motion,
under the influence of the screw P, to get it clear of the base plate L³, when it
is desired to replace one die by another.
The exact position of the die can thus be accurately set, the screw N² fixing it
in one direction, and the screw P in the other.
The leather or other material to be perforated, is placed between the guide
plate L' and the base plate L2, and the treadle being depressed, the working parts
are released, and brought into the operative position, and the plunger is actuated to
effect the punching out of the pattern. This part of the invention is also
applicable to hand presses in which the plunger is operated by a hand lever in any
convenient manner.
The plunger is fitted with a cross-head, to which the die is secured, and the base-
plate of the die is secured to the bed-plate of the machine by the spring bolts, etc.,
as above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A power machine for perforating leather and other materials, constructed,
arranged, and operating substantially as herein shewn and described.
2. In a machine for perforating leather and other materials, the means
substantially as shewn and described for operating the plunger.
3. In a machine for perforating leather and other materials, the means
substantially as berein shewn and described for throwing the operating mechanism
automatically out of action, after each stroke of the plunger.

page_text: 4. In a machine for perforating leather and other material, the means as herein
shewn and described, for adjusting the position of the die, and securing the same in
position in the machine.
Dated this 10th day of November 1901
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.