Bottoms of Rubber Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1885

page_text: Bottoms of Rubber Boots and Shoes.
I, MOSES WARREN WHITNEY, of Bristol, in the county of Bristol, State of Rhode
Island, one of the United States of America, Rubber-Boot Maker, do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
FORMING THE BOTTOMS OF RUBBER BOOTS AND SHOES, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, referenco being had to the accompanying drawings
forming a part of this Specification :-
:-
Previous to my invention the heels and soles of rubber boots and shoes were
formed by distinct and different processes and were united to the bottom or smooth
sole of the boot or shoe by a further process.
The heels were first formed in molds,
then partially vulcanized, and finally united to the shoe by a final vulcanization which
united a marginal flap, formed upon the heel during the molding-process, to the
upper, so as to firmly join the heel to the shoe or boot. The tap-soles were first cut
out by hand and then cemented to the smooth sole by vulcanization. The
formation of the smooth soles has also heretofore involved a separate step in the
manufacture of rubber boots or shoes; such soles being first cut out by hand with
a marginal flap or extension and the latter being then cemented to the upper, and,
finally, the smooth sole being united to the upper by vulcanization. This vul-
canizing step was the only combined step, so to speak, which was practicable, in
this part of rubber shoe manufacture, and by it the two soles and the heel were
permanently united to the shoe or boot. Thus it will be seen that, as heretofore
conducted, the manufacture of this class of articles was tedious, complicated, and
expensive, involving a large amount of hand labor, a great expenditure of time, and
the waste of much material, besides not producing uniform results.
The object of my invention is to simplify and cheapen the manufacture of rubber
boots and shoes by dispensing with certain of the separate operations heretofore
employed and by substituting in lieu thereof a single step which shall produce the
combined results of the former steps.
To the above purposes my invention consists, first, in forming the smooth sole,"
the outer or tap-sole, and the heel simultaneously out of a single piece of rubber

page_text: by rolling, and secondly, in a novel apparatus for accomplishing this purpose, all as
hereinafter described and claimed.
In order that my invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to describe it
with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved apparatus for forming the heels.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same.
Figure 3 is a side view, partly in section, of the heel-forming rack.
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the contiguous segments of the two rolls with an
improved attachment applied to the upper roll.
Figure 5 is a plan view of a rubber sheet with the soles and heels formed
thereon.
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Figure 6 is a sectional view of the same, on the line 6 - 6 of figure 5.
Figure 7 is a plan view of a sheet with the heels alone formed thereon.
Figure 8 is a sectional view of the same on the line 8-
Figure 9 is a front elevation of the roll for forming the heels and soles simul-
taneously.
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8 of figure 7.
Figure 10 is an end elevation of the upper or calendering roll.
· According to my new method, I take a mass of unvulcanized rubber and run it
through a pair of rolls one of which is plain while the other has formed upon its
surface a series of depressions corresponding in form to the shape of rubber heels,
or soles, or both. The result of this operation is that the rubber is drawn out into
a sheet upon one side of which are embossed the heels, or soles, or both. The rolls
are set far enough apart to form the sheet by their plane surfaces, and after the
rolling the sheet is cut around the heels, or soles, or both, so as to separate them
from the sheet and form a marginal flap or extension upon their edges, after which
the heels, or soles, or both are laid upon a rack having raised forms corresponding
to the form of the heel, or sole, or both, upon which the rubber settles down into
the proper shape. The heels, or soles, or both are then applied to the uppers by
cementing the flaps to the latter and then permanently united thereto by vulcaniza-
tion. The sheet with its marginal Haps or extensions constitutes the smooth sole of
the boot or shoe and the heels, or soles, or both, are formed integrally thereon.
A strip or sheet of cloth is preferably fed between the rolls with the rubber so as
to lie between the under roll and the mass of rubber, whereby the cloth forms a
backing for the rubber and prevents it from stretching during the action of the
rolls. As the rubber becomes embedded in the meshes of the cloth the latter
adheres permanently to the former and becomes the lining of the sole.
In figures 1, 2, and 9, I have illustrated the arrangement for rolling the rubber
and embossing it with the heels and soles ;-figure 1 showing the arrangement for
forming the heels alone and figure 9 that for forming both the heels and solcs
simultaneously. In the said figures A, A¹, designate two parallel upright frames
and B, B¹, two rolls having bearings in said frames. The roll B turns in fixed
bearings b in the frames A, A', while the roll B₁ turns in movable or adjustable
bearings b¹ also in said frames. The adjustment of the movable bearings is accom-
plished by means of adjusting-screws C, C¹, which extend downward into the
frames A, A¹, and work through threaded sockets a, a¹, upon said frames. The
movable bearings 61 are permanently secured to the lower ends of these screws and
they are turned by means of hand-wheels c, c', at their upper ends.
The spindle of the roll B extends considerably outward beyond its bearing, at
one end, and carries a gear G while the corresponding spindle of the roll B' extends
similarly beyond its bearing and carries a gear G¹, which meshes into the gear G.
A similar arrangement of gears may be arranged upon the opposite ends of the
rolls also, if desired; the arrangement being such that power applied to one roll
shall be transmitted by its gear or gears to the other roll. The two frames are
securely bolted to the floor and are braced and connected together by the tie-
pieces b².
As shown in figure 1 the surface of the roll B is formed with a series of depres-
sions or cavities ƒ of such depth and shape as to form each the mold for a rubber

page_text: heel. The bottom of each of these depressions or cavities may be provided with
indented lines to form the friction surfaces of the heels.
In figure 9 the roll B₁ is shown as being formed with a series of depressions or
cavities f¹, (in addition to the cavities f), which are of such depth and shape as to
mold the soles and which may also have indented lines on their bottoms to form
the friction-surfaces of the soles. I have shown the roll B' as formed with a series
of heel molds alone and also with a series of heel and sole molds, but it is evident
that the roll may have the sole molds alone, or that there may be separate molds
of both kinds upon the roll. These molds may be of any desired number and
form and may be disposed in various ways upon the surface of the roll.
In order to provide for the formation of heels, or soles, or both of different sizes,
I prefer to employ the construction shown in figure 10 in which the molds are,
formed in the outer surface of a hollow cylinder x which is open at both ends so as
to be slipped upon the roll B¹ and which is keyed thereon. Thus when a certain
size of stock is to be formed the cylinder of that size placed upon the roll and
when a different size is to be made this cylinder is removed and another having
molds of the required size is substituted therefor. However, the molds may be
formed directly in the body of the roll, if preferred.
In figure 4 I have illustrated an attachment for automatically discharging the
molded heels, or soles, or both, from the molds. This attachment consists of a
block h which works in the mold and is held therein by a toggle-link h¹, h', the
member h¹ being secured at one end to the block and the member h³ being secured
to the roll. This link is surrounded by a stout spring h³ which acts expansively
upon the block. The sides of the mold are flared and the sides of the block are
similarly formed. When the sheet of rubber is fed between the rolls it will press
the block inward and as the mold is carried around past the lower roll the spring
will force the block outward and with it the molded heel, or sole, or both.
The lower roll is preferably formed or provided with end-flanges b³, b³, which
serve to confine the rubber in its passage between the rolls so as to preserve its
sheet form.
In figure 3 I designates a rack upon the upper side of which is formed or secured
any suitable number of projections or formers i which are of the shape of a rubber
heel or sole. This rack and its projections are of metal, or wood, or of any other
material suitable to the purpose for which said rack is intended, as hereinafter
described.
The
The manner of using this apparatus is as follows; a mass of unvulcanized rubber
is passed between the rolls by which it is drawn out into a sheet J of proper
thickness; a sheet J¹ of cloth being preferably fed in beneath the rubber.
cavities of the upper roll form the embossed heels and soles, or either of them,
upon the upper side of the sheet. The embossed forms are then cut out of the
sheet on the lines j so as to leave a margin, the heels, or soles, or both are then
laid upon the projections of the rack I and are allowed to remain thereon long
enough for the rubber forms to settle down in proper shape. The forms are now
applied to the uppers by cementing the margins to the same, after which the
boots or shoes are submitted to the vulcanizing process.
The heels alone may be thus formed and applied to shoes or boots having the
ordinary separate smooth soles, and the tap-soles may also be formed and applied
to such boots or shoes. As before stated the process is rapid and inexpensive, and
produces a cheaper and more durable bottom for boots and shoes than has
heretofore been attained.
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 An improved method of forming the bottoms of rubber boots and shoes, the
same consisting in passing the rubber between rolls, so as to form a sheet and
emboss the heel or tap-sole or both thereon, as described,

page_text: 2nd The method herein described consisting in forming a mass of rubber into a
sheet and embossing the heel or tap-sole or both thereon, all by rolling, and then
cutting the forms out of the sheet so as to form the joining flaps, as set forth.
3rd The method herein described consisting in forming a mass of rubber into a
sheet and embossing the heel and tap-sole, or either of them thereon, all by rolling,
then cutting said forms out of the sheet so as to form the joining flaps, and then
placing said forms upon a rack having projections for the purpose of settling the
rubber into proper shape, as specified.
4th An improved apparatus for forming the bottoms of boots and shoes,
consisting of a pair of rolls set in a suitable frame; one of said rolls being plane
and the other roll having one or more cavities, depressions, or molds, for forming
the heel, or tap-sole, or both, as described.
5th An improved apparatus for forming the bottoms of rubber boots or shoes,
consisting of a plane roll and a roll having molds for the heel, or tap-sole, or
both, said rolls being mounted in a suitable frame, and a rack having projections to
receive the forms for settling, as set forth.
6th The combination with the frames A, A¹, having the adjusting screws C, C,
of the roll B having fixed bearings in said frames, and the roll B¹ having the
molds for for both and set in movable bearings in said fraines, as specified.
7th The rack I, having the projections i, as described.
8th The roll B¹ having the molds or cavities, in combination with the blocks h,
the toggle-links h¹, h², and the springs h³, all located within said cavities, as set
forth.
9th The combination with the roll B', of the cylinder x having the molds formed
in its outer surface, as specified.
In witness whereof I, the said Moses Warren Whitney have hereunto set my
hand and affixed my seal at Providence, in the County of Providence, State
of Rhode Island, United States of America, this 29th day of July, A.D. 1885.
In presence of
JOSEPH A. MILLER, Jr., Patent Solicitor,
Providence, R.I., U.S.A.
MOSES WARREN
WHITNEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
Agents.