IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS POR ATTACHING THE SOLES AND HEELS OF BOOTS AND SHOES TO. TO THE UPPER LEATHERS, AND IN THE FASTENINGS -EMPLOYED FOR THAT. PURPOSE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Arthur Henry, of Sheffield, in the County of
York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS POR ATTACHING THE SOLES AND HEELS OF BOOTS AND SHOES TO
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Arthur Henry
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th November 1858..
I, WILLIAM ARTHUR HENRY, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Engineer,,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING THE. SOLES AND HEELS OF BOOTS AND,
SHOES TO THE UPPER LEATHERS, AND IN THE FASTENINGS -EMPLOYED FOR THAT.
PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and combi-
nation of apparatus or mechanism for inserting the screws employed. in some
cases for attaching the soles and heels of boots and shoes to the upper,
leathers, and relates also to a novel form or construction of fastening to be
employed for such purpose. The screw-inserting machine which I propose to

page_text: employ consists, according to my present Invention, of a horizontal or vertical
rotating spindle, fitted with a driving pulley, and capable of sliding freely in
a longitudinal direction within its bearings during its rotation. The front or
lower extremity of this spindle is fitted or formed with suitable nipping or
gripping mechanism, for holding the fastening to be inserted into the sole,
such nippers being actuated by a pair of double-headed slotted plyers, which
grip two collars carried by the spindle, one collar being fast thereon, and
enabling the spindle to be slid to and fro in its bearings by hand, whilst the
other collar is loose and capable of sliding freely along, and revolving round
the spindle. To this loose collar is connected, by a link, one jaw of the nippers,
which hold the fastening, the connection being so arranged that, on sliding the
loose collar in one direction or the other, it will cause the nippers to open or
shut accordingly. A slotted bracket serves as a guide to the double-headed
plyers during its traverse by hand to and fro in following up the screw as it
enters the sole, and in drawing back the spindle again to receive a fresh
fastening. The boot or shoe under treatment is held firmly by set screws in
a tubular support, which affords facility for receiving the leg of a boot when
Wellingtons or other boots of that class are to be operated upon. This tubular
support turns freely in a collar formed in a slide, which slide works in a
second slide, the direction of motion of the two slides being at right angles to
each other. A rotatory motion is imparted to the tubular support by means of
suitable bevel gearing and a stationary antifriction pulley formed with a
flange, which flange bears upon the face of the sole; the pulley traversing
horizontally on its spindle is forced against the sole by a lever or spring, so as
to bring in close contact with each other the outer and inner sole and upper
leather at the point, where the screw is being inserted. This arrangement
also enables the sole, when rotated in conjunction with the slides above referred
to, to present always the proper part to the action of the screw-inserting
machine. When the ordinary screws used in making screwed soles are
employed, holes will require to be previously made in the soles to receive
them; but by using my improved fastening, which I shall now proceed to
describe, the fastening itself will make its own hole without the necessity for
a previous operation.
This improved fastening consists simply of a short length of wire twisted or
coiled into a helical form, so as to resemble the worm of a corkscrew, and has
one end sharpened so as to enter freely the leather of the sole. It is obvious
that such a fastening could not possibly be accidentally loosened or removed,
like the present screws, and it also offers the great advantage of a spring or
yielding action when under the pressure of the foot, by reason of its helical

page_text: form, thus obviating entirely the unpleasantness of the ordinary screws, which,
from their unyielding nature, impart a disagreeable rigidity to the sole when
under the influence of a downward pressure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,. filed
by the said William Arthur Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARTHUR HENRY, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Arthur Henry, Her special license that I, the said
William Arthur Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Arthur Henry, my executors, administrators, or 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 OR APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING THE
SOLES AND HEELS OF BOOTS AND SHOES TO THE UPPER LEATHERS, AND IN THE
FASTENINGS EMPLOYED FOR THAT PURPOSE," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Arthur Henry, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, 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 William Arthur Henry, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-'
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and:
combination of apparatus or mechanism for inserting the screws employed in
some cases for attaching the soles and heels of boots and shoes to the upper:
leathers, and relates also to a novel form or construction of fastenings to be

page_text: employed for such purpose. The screw-inserting machine which I
propose to
employ consists, according to my present Invention, of a horizontal or vertical
rotating spindle, fitted with a driving. pulley, and.capable of sliding freely in a
longitudinal direction within its bearings during its rotation. The front or
lower extremity of this spindle (according as it is placed horizontally or
vertically) is fitted or formed with suitable nipping or gripping mechanism for
holding the fastening to be inserted into the sole, such nipping mechanism
being actuated by a pair of double-headed slotted plyers which grip two collars
carried by the spindle, one collar being fast thereon, and enabling the spindle
to be slid to and fro in its bearings by hand, whilst the other collar is loose, and
capable of sliding freely along and revolving round the spindle. To this loose
collar, according to one arrangement, is connected by a link one jaw of the
nippers, which hold the fastenings, the connection being so arranged that, on
sliding the loose collar, in one direction. or the other, it will cause the nippers
to open or shut accordingly; or, in lieu of the above, an inclined or bevelled
sliding collar may be used, worked by plyers, for the purpose of acting upon
the nippers. A slotted bracket serves as a guide to the plyers during its
traverse by hand to and fro in following up the screw as it enters the sole, and
in drawing back the spindle again to receive a fresh fastening. The last of
the boot or shoe under treatment is held firmly by means of a screw spindle
in a tubular support, capable of receiving the leg of a boot when Wellingtons
or other boots of that class are to be operated upon. This tubular support
turns freely in a collar formed in a sliding frame, which frame works in a
second sliding frame, the direction of motion of the two slides being at right
angles to each other.
A rotatory motion is imparted to the tubular support by band direct, or by
the aid of suitable gearing, and a stationary antifriction pulley or fixed rest
formed with a flange, which flange bears upon the face of the sole, and is forced
against the sole by a lever, spring, or weight, so as to bring in close, contact
with each other the outer and inner sole and upper leather at the point where
the screw is being inserted. This arrangement also enables the sole when
rotated in conjunction with the slides above referred to, to present always the
proper part to the action of the screw-inserting machine.
When the ordinary screws used in making screwed soles are employed,
holes are required to be previously made in the soles to receive them, but by
using my improved fastenings, which I shall now proceed to describe, the
fastenings themselves will make their own hole without the necessity of a
previous operation.
.:
The first of these improved fastenings consists, simply of a short length of

page_text: wire twisted or coiled into a helical form, so as to resemble the worm of a cork-
screw, and has one end sharpened so as to enter freely the leather of the sole.
It is obvious that such a fastening cannot possibly be accidentally loosened or
removed like the present screws, and it also offers the great advantage of a
spring or yielding action when under the pressure of the foot, by reason of
its helical form, thus obviating entirely the unpleasantness of the ordinary
screws, which from their unyielding nature impart a disagreeable rigidity to
the sole when under the influence of a downward pressure. The second form
of fastening consists of a screw formed of wire slightly tapering with a gimblet
point.
And in order that my said Invention may be .fully understood, I shall now.
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a side elevation of my boot and shoe
screwing apparatus complete; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same;
and Figure 3 is an end elevation of the holding frame. The rest of the
Figures are details which I shall herein-after more particularly describe and
refér to. My apparatus is divided into two main parts, namely, the shoe
holding and actuating franie and the screw-inserting mechanism.
A is a table or foundation similar to an ordinary lathe bed, upon which the
various parts of my apparatus are fixed by means of bolts and nuts, as shewn
at B; C is the boot or shoe holding frame; it consists of a base plate D,
having a vertical column E secured to each extremity, the upper ends of
which columns are connected by the cross bar F. The columns E, E, form
the two guides for the vertically sliding frame G fitted at each corner with a
sliding brass or bearing g, and provided with adjusting nuts h, h, for. the
purpose of regulating to a nicety the width of the frame G, and to allow of its.
sliding freely and steadily between its two guiding columns E, E. Within:
the frame G is fitted to slide freely in a horizontal direction, the hollow.
cylindrical holder H, shewn more clearly in the longitudinal sectional detail at:
Figure 4. On the upper and under surfaces of this cylindrical holder are fitted,
the sliding blocks i, , which are grooved or channelled to fit on to the-
horizontal rods or bars of the frame G, and so admit of the holder being slid
to and fro therein in a lateral direction. Within this holder. His inserted a
second holder I, which is also of a tubular or hollow cylindrical form, as
shewn at Figure 4, and in the end view thereof at Figure 5. This inner
holder, as I will term it for the sake of distinction, fits accurately inside the

page_text: outer holder H, and is capable of turning round therein, as in a bearing. For
this purpose a toothed wheel K is secured on to the end which protrudes
through the outer holder, and is driven by the pinion L worked by the winch
handle M. The object of this rotatory motion of the inner holder will be
herein-after explained. The opposite end of the inner holder I is formed to
receive a block of wood N, which pivots between the two screw centre pins
n; n, so as to assume any angle required, as herein-after described. Within a
recess in the block N is placed the last O of the boot or shoe requiring to be
screwed. The last is held firmly fixed in its place in the block by means of
the spindle P passed inside the tubular holders, and having its point screwed
after the fashion of a gimblet. The point is then inserted well into the body
of the last, and the latter tightened up in its recess by turning the band nut Q,
working over a screw thread cut on the spindle and bearing against a cross
bar R (through which the spindle passes), placed across the mouth of the
holders, as will be more readily seen on referring to Figure 4. The weight of
the vertically sliding frame G, and of the sliding holders H and I contained
therein, is ba'anced by a counterweight attached to the cord T, which is secured
to the upper bar of the frame G, as shewn at Figure 3. From the Drawings
and description already given, it will be clearly understood that the last is
carried in a block pivotted in a tubular holder, which latter is capable of being
rotated, whilst the block is capable also of receiving an angular adjusting
motion between its two centre pins. The holder is also free to be slid to and
fro laterally in the frame G, and finally the frame G has a vertical motion
imparted to it as required between its guiding columns E, E. An angular
adjusting movement of the outer holder H is also allowed for by having one or
other of the sliding blocks i, i, connected therewith by. a slotted lug and screw
pin, as shewn at in the Drawings;.the screw pin is screwed into the holder H,
and is free to move along the slot in the lug. By raising or depressing one
end of the holder H, the screw pin will move along the slot in the lug at i,
and will thereby admit of the holder being placed at a slight vertical angle, as
shewn at Figures 1 and 2 of my Drawings. These several movements or
adjustments of the boot or shoe holder, whether brought into play singly or in
combination, admit of the boot or shoe assuming any angle required, so as to
allow for the curvature of the sole, and admit of the fastenings being inserted
therein as nearly as practicable in a radiating direction to the curve of that
particular portion of the sole into which such fastenings are being introduced.
A metal plate is laid upon the bottom of the last to prevent the entrance of
the screw fastenings into the wood of the last. Upon this metal plate is placed
the inner sole, and over that again the outer sole, the edges of the uppers being

page_text: folded in in the usual manner between the inner and outer soles. The last
thus prepared is now placed in the block in the holder and secured firmly
therein, as herein-before described, in readiness for the operation of the
screwing mechanism.
In order that the parts of the sole and upper be well pressed together at the
point of insertion of the fastening, I propose to employ a rest U (Figure 1),
and shewn also detached full size at Figure 6, which consists of a tool having
a shoulder or projection u formed thereon, upon which rests and moves the
edge of the sole of the boot or shoe, whilst the vertical projection or limb v
presses against the face of the sole at the point of insertion of the fastening,
and thereby keeps the parts well together. This rest is fitted into a suitable
socket in the end of the horizontal bar V, which is carried by the headstock
W, and is formed into a toothed rack on its under side, the teeth of which
gear into the toothed segment X. This segment is fast on a spindle Y, which
carries a winch handle Z at one end, and a grooved pulley 1 at the other;
over the periphery of the latter is passed a cord 2, with a counterweight, which.
by actuating the segment X causes the bar V to advance and press the rest U
firmly against the sole. This pressure is removed when requisite by partially
turning the winch handle Z, which is convenient to the hand of the attendant.
The actual screw inserted consists of a spindle 3, capable of sliding freely in
its bearings 4, 4, in a longitudinal direction, and fitted with a driving pulley 5.
and nippers 6. The construction of these nippers will be better understood on
referring to the enlarged detail sectional views of the same at Figures 7 and 8.
It will be here seen that the end of the sliding spindle is slotted, or cut away
sufficiently to admit the two arms 6 of the nippers, the fulcrum pin of which
is shewn at 7. The jaws of the nippers are curved in such a manner as to
enable them to pass over and work in front of the transverse piece of metal 8,
allowed to remain in the spindle for the purpose of forming a bearing, against
which the end of the fastening is brought when placing it in the nippers, and
for assisting in pushing the same forward into the sole; the simple office of
the nipper jaws being to hold the fastening sufficiently firm to screw it into
the sole, but not to exert any end pressure thereon, the whole of which is
exerted by the transverse piece 8, before referred to. The point of insertion
of fastening is regulated by the notch in the vertical projection v in the rest U,
the fastening being always directed by the spindle 3, through the centre of the
lower portion of the notch. The gripping action or closing of the nippers is
effected by the wedge-shaped or bevelled sliding collar 9, which, by being slid
towards the end or nozzle of the spindle, expands the arms: 6, 6, of the nippers,
and causes their jaws to close and grip the end of the fastening. This bevelled

page_text: collar is fitted on to, the spindle in such a manner as to revolve with the
spindle and nippers, whilst at the same time it is free to slide, longitudinally on
the spindle. This sliding motion may be obtained, by various mechanical
contrivances, as will be obvious to the practical man; but the means which.
I prefer adopting are illustrated by the enlarged details, Figures.7. and 8. In
the first arrangement, which is shewn also, applied to the complete machine,
I have a fixed collar 10, fitted or formed on to the spindle behind the bevelled:
collar, and both these collars are grooved to receive the semicircular brasses:
or bearings 11. These brasses are each provided with a stud pin, which pins
are inserted into the slots of the forked or double jawed, plyers 12. These
plyers slide along, and are guided by the slotted guide bracket 13, screwed to
the screwing headstock. As the collar 10 is stationary as regards longitudinal
motion, it follows that when the jaws of the plyers are, opened or expanded by
the workman compressing the arms or handles, 14 of the same, tlie bevelled
collar will be slid forward slightly, according to the amount of opening of the
plyer jaws, and will consequently-close or tighten the nippers, and thereby
firmly hold the head of the fastening; the workman then carefully brings the
point of the fastening through the notch in the rest, and against the sole, by
sliding the plyers (and with it the screwing spindle,, the collar 10 being fast
thereon,) along the slotted bracket, the spindle being rotated by a belt passed
round the driving pulley; during the whole operation the rotation of the
spindle speedily effects the insertion of the fastening, and when accomplished
the shoe is moved forward by the attendant a distance corresponding to the
intervals to be left between the fastenings. The screwing spindle, with its
nippers; is then pushed back by returning the plyers along their slotted guide
bracket, and the nippers are allowed to open by the aid of the india-rubber or
other spring 15 connected with their arms 6, which are released by the with-
drawal of the bevelled collar therefrom. At Figure 8 a simple method of
working the bevelled collar is shewn; in this case the jaws of the plyers are
wedge-shaped as at 16, and by closing them between the fast collar 10 and
the bevelled collar 9, the latter will be slid forward, and thereby close the
nippers as before; this is a much more simple plan than either of those
previously referred to, and will be found most serviceable in practise: Figure 9
represents, on an enlarged scale, my improved self-entering helical or twisted
shoe fastening; this fastening may be made either parallel or tapered, a
specimen of each being given, but I prefer to make them tapered; that is to
say, the coils gradually diminishing in diameter towards the point of the
fastening. Figure 10 represents my second form of shoe fastening; it consists
of a tapered screw having a sharp or gimblet point, whereby it enters the

page_text: leather of the sole without the necessity of previous perforation. It is obvious
that the heels of boots or shoes may also be secured to the soles by the
machinery and fastenings herein-before described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as variations may be made therefrom without deviating
from the principles or main features of my said Invention; but what I con-
sider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters, Patent, is,-
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for inserting fastenings into the soles and heels of boots or shoes,
and for suitably holding boots or shoes when so operated upon, as herein-
before described.
Second, the peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of
apparatus for holding a boot or shoe, and presenting it in the proper angle
and position to the screw-inserting mechanism, as herein-before described and
illustrated by my Drawings.
Third, the peculiar construction, arrangement, and mode of working or
actuating the nippers of a boot and shoe screw inserting machine, as herein-
before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Fourth, the application and use (the "rest" or supporting and pressing
tool, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
Fifth, the application and use of the peculiar forms and constructions of
belical and tapered gimblet-pointed fastenings for boots and shoes, as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Arthur Henry, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.
WILLIAM ARTHUR HENRY. (L.S.)