Improvements in Sole-rounding Machines for Use in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Jan., 1894-Accepted, 10th Mar., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sole-rounding Machines for Use in the
Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
I, SAMUEL HEY of Keighley in the County of York, Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, as communicated to me from abroad by George
Henry Peck Flagg of Boston, Massachusetts United States of America, Gentleman,
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 for its object to provide an improved machine for trimming a
blank of leather, and giving it the form of a shoe-sole, by means of a knife, which
is caused to travel around a form or pattern upon which the leather blank is
clamped, the knife, trimming the surplus material from the leather in accordance
with the outline of the pattern.
The invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe
and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming part of this Specification,
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a sole-rounding machine embodying my
invention.
Figure 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1, and a top plan view of
the parts below said line.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both the figures.
In the drawings,
a represents the base of the supporting-frame upon which is mounted a fixed
bed a', having standards a² a², which support the sole pattern b.
c represents a clamp, which is moveable toward and from the pattern, and is
adapted to hold the blank d against the pattern, said clamp being affixed to a yoke c',
which is attached to a cross head c³, supported by vertical rods c³ c³, said rods being
adapted to slide in guides or ears a³ a³ on the supporting-frame.
Any suitable mechanism is provided whereby the clamp is pressed down to
hold the work at the desired intervals and released to release the work after the
rounding or trimming operation.
e represents the rounding or trimming knife, which is affixed to a holder e',
mounted upon a slide e², which is movable in guides on a carriage e³, said carriage
being movable upon the bed around the pattern b. The slide e³ is normally pressed
forward to hold the knife yieldingly against the edge of the pattern by means of
springs ee, which are placed upon rods ee, and bear at one end upon a yoke e
affixed to the carriage e³, and at the other end upon ears or projections on the
slide. The carriage e³ is provided at its forward end with ears e, which receive
studs e, attached to and projecting upwardly from a sprocket-chain e³, which runs
on sprocket-wheels 10 affixed to vertical shafts which are journalled in bearings
on the supporting-frame, the wheel e¹ being affixed to a shaft es, which is connected
by gearing es el to a driving-shaft e". The sprocket-wheel e¹² is affixed to a
loose shaft el. The studs that connect the chain with the carriage e project
upwardly through an opening in the bed a', and, when motion is imparted to the
chain from the driving-shaft through the intermediate mechanism above described,
the studs, moving with the chain, move the carriage horizontally along over the
bed a' and carry it around the pattern b, the knife being at the same time held
yieldingly against the pattern by the springs e, and caused to cut or shave away
the part of the blank that projects outside of the pattern.
f represents a lever, which is pivoted at f¹ to the carriage e³ and is adapted to

page_text: swing vertically. To said lever is pivoted at f³ a hooked arm 3, the hooked
outer end of which is adapted to engage a stud f, affixed to the slide e² and
projecting through a slot in the carriage e³. When it is desired to draw back
the knife from the pattern and lock it in a retracted position, the lever f is raised,
as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, and the arm 3 is engaged with the stud **.
The lever is then depressed to the position shown in full lines, and is locked in
said position by means of a locking-pin or latch f', which enters a socket in the
carriage. This movement causes the arm ³ to draw the slide and knife
backwardly and hold the same in a retracted position.
The operation of the machine is as follows:
The clamp c being raised, the operator places the blank d upon the pattern >,
and then depresses the clamp, thus firmly holding the blank. The knife-supporting
slide is then released from the arm f³, and the knife is then forced forward by
the springs toward the pattern. Motion is then imparted to the chain e, and the
carriage is caused to move along the bed a', the knife at the same time trimming
off the surplus material of the blank along the edge of the pattern.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1st. In a sole-rounding machine, the combination of a supporting-bed a', a
pattern babove the same, a carriage movable on said bed and having a trimming-
knife which is pressed yieldingly against or toward the pattern, a chain below the
bed and operatively connected with the carrier, and means for impelling the chain
to cause the carrier and knife to travel around the pattern.
2nd. In a sole-rounding machine, the combination with the bed and the pattern,
of the knife-carriage, a slide movable thereon and having a trimming-knife, springs
for pressing said slide and knife toward the pattern, and means for moving the
knife-carriage around the pattern.
3rd. In a sole-rounding machine, the combination of the pattern, the bed, the
knife-carriage, a knife-supporting slide on said carriage pressed toward the pattern
by springs, a lever pivoted to the carriage and having a hooked arm adapted to
engage a stud on said slide so that a depression of the lever may retract the knife,
and means for locking the lever in its depressed position.
Dated this 20th day of January 1894.