Improvements in and relating to Machinery for Rubbing or Sole Edges or Seams Finishing the in Boot and Shoe Manufacture and other such like work.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Apr., 1899--Accepted, 1st July, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Machinery for Rubbing or
Sole Edges or Seams
Finishing the
in Boot and Shoe
Manufacture and other such like work.
A communication by THE INTERNATIONAL GOODYEAR SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, of
100 to 104, Bedford Street, Boston, State of Massachusetts, United States of
America.
I, ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES, of 55 and 56, Chancery Lane, in the County of
London, Chartered Patent Agent, 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 present invention relates to sole edge finishing machines and more particularly
to a machine for rubbing down the stitches and cleaning the stitched surface of the
projecting edge of a shoe sole.
It is well known that the stitches formed by the usual outsole stitching machines
which are employed in uniting the outsole and the welt of boots and shoes vary
greatly in heighth; that is the crowns of some stitches project further beyond the
surface of the welt than others.
It is very essential in order to secure a perfectly finished edge that the stitches be
This must be
rubbed down even with the surface of the welt, and made uniform.
done in order that the gauge which guides the trimming cutter which finishes the
sole edge may have a uniform and sinooth surface against which to bear, and thus
enable the trimmer to produce an evenly trimmed edge.
Futhermore, the thread used to unite the outsole to the welt of a welted boot
or shoe is thoroughly saturated with wax, and as the thread passes through the welt
and the outsole a considerable amount of wax will be rubbed or scraped from the
thread and appear on the upper surface of the welt along the line of stitches.
It is therefore necessary before the presentation of the shoe to the stitch separator
for the purpose of separating the stitches and indenting the stitched surface of a
welt, to clean off the surplus wax which has been deposited along the line of
stitches, and this cleaning of the stitched surface of the welt is now almost universally
performed by means of a hand tool.
The object of the present invention is therefore to produce a machine for rubbing
down the stitches and removing the surplus wax from stitched surfaces of boots
and shoes and other work.
To the above end the present invention consists of the devices and combinations of
devices which will be hereinafter described and claimed.
The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:
Figure 1 shows in side elevation a machine embodying the present invention,
Figure 2 shows a front elevation of the machine,
Figure 3 represents a vertical sectional view of a portion of the mechanism for
advancing the presser or work rest,

page_text: Figures 4 to 12 represent details of mechanism which will be hereinafter
referred to.
Figure 13 represents in perspective the tool carrying sleeve and the tool secured
thereto.
Similar letters of reference will be used throughout the specification and drawings
to designate corresponding parts of the machine.
In the drawing A represents the supporting frame which is of suitable size and
shape to support the working parts of the machine. The frame A comprises a vertical
standard a which rises from a base a¹, the said base a¹ being arranged to be mounted
upon a suitable supporting column or upon a bench or table as desired.
The standard a at its upper end is cut out as shown at a² and a³, and carries suitable
bearings a in which is mounted a driving shaft B. The driving shaft B has upon
one end fast and loose pulleys b and b¹, by means of which power is communicated to
the shaft B to rotate it from any suitable source of power.
Between the openings a² and as the frame A carries a tubular bearing a which may
be formed or cast integrally with the frame and in the bearing as is fitted a cylindrical
stud or shaft having at its outer end a head a8 and said shaft is secured in said
bearing by means of set screws a', the stud or shaft a projecting some distance
beyond the front of the machine as clearly shown in Fig. 1, forming a fulcrum or
bearing about which the seam rubbing tool oscillates.
The seam rubbing and cleaning tool C is fastened by means of a bolt c to an arm c¹
which projects downwardly from a tubular sleeves c2 fitted to oscillate upon the projecting
end of the shaft a", and an oscillating movement is imparted to the sleeve c² and the
tool C by means of a crank 62 on the forward end of the shaft B, which crank carries
a block b³ arranged to have a free sliding movement in a fork c3 which is carried by
an arm c projecting upwardly from the sleeve c². The tool C preferably has a
substantially vertical front face c and an inclined rear working face co (see Fig. 1),
and the working face c" is provided with grooves c7, (see Figs. 8 to 12 inclusive) which
grooves may be formed upon curved lines extending from the sides of the tool
downward towards the medial line as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, or as shown in Figs. 10
to 12, the grooves may be formed substantially vertical.
In order to fixedly hold the tool C on the arm c¹ against any possible independent
lateral movement, I prefer to form on the rear face of the shank of the tool a rib es
which is arranged to engage a groove c° formed in the front face of the arm c¹.
In operation the tool Centers the crease between the upper and welt of the shoe
and the stitched surface of the welt is pressed closely in contact with the inclined
working face of the tool C and said tool is rapidly oscillated whereby the grooved
surface will effectually rub down and clean the wax from the crowns of the stitches
and from the welt.
In order that the rapid movement of the tool will take place without liability of
injuring the upper of the shoe, I provide a guard I) which as shown is formed in the
shape of a disk or wheel (see Figs. 6 and 7) and which is secured by means of a
screw d to the end of a plate d, the said plate having a substantially vertical face
upon its inner side, or the side adjacent to the tool C, and at its lower end being
inclined, (see Figs. 4 and 5) and at such end the plate d' is provided with a circular
boss upon which the guard D is mounted and arranged to freely turn. The
guard D is beveled around its periphery upon its outer surface as shown at d³, and
when in position, the beveled surface 3 of the guard and the inclined working
face c of the tool C form a substantially wedge shaped end to enter the crease
between the upper and welt.
As shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the guard D had an annular recess d on its rear face,
and around its periphery a flange d³, into which recess the lower curved end of the
tool C fits and is thus prevented from coming in contact with the upper of the boot
or shoe.
The plate dat its upper end is provided with a slot do through which passes a
set screw d tapped into the end of the shaft as, thus clamping the plate d' against
the head as whereby the guard D will be held in position in front of the tool C and

page_text: free to turn around its bearing d² as the boot or shoe is moved along in contact
therewith.
G represents a gas pipe which is provided with a suitable stop cock y and to which
gas may be conducted by a pipe g¹, the pipe G having at its end disposed adjacent
to the tool C and provided with a suitable burner whereby the tool C may be
heated during its operation.
In operation the stitched surface of the welt is pressed against the face ce and the
tool C, and for this purpose I have provided a work rest and presser which may
conveniently consist of a disk or wheel E mounted to turn freely on a stud e
secured in a threaded bearing e¹ in the end of a sliding shaft 2. The shaft e²
is arranged to reciprocate in bearings e³ formed in the standard a.
The shaft is moved longitudinally in its bearings to project and retract the work
rest and presser E by means of a bell crank lever F which is fulcrumed at f on a stud
which is secured in a bearing f¹ by means of a set screw ft. One arm f³ of the
bell crank lever is provided with a slot f which engages a stud f projecting from
a collar f surrounding the shaft e² and to which it is secured by means of a
screw fi.
In order to insure the correct positioning of the shaft e² and to prevent its turning
in its bearings e, the collar f is provided with an arm projecting upwardly and
carrying at its upper end a fork f which engages a short rib or a guide fio formed on
the under surface of the bearing a whereby the shaft e² is prevented from turning
and yet is free to have a sliding motion to project and retract the work support and
presser E.
The work rest and presser E is normally held in a retracted position as shown in
Fig. 1 by means of a coiled spring 8, one end of which engages a stud s¹ on the fixed
frame of the machine, and the other end of which engages the screw f which secures
the collar to the shaft e².
s2 represents a stop screw tapped in a threaded bearing in the forward end of the
shaft e, in order to limit the backward movement thereof as shown in Fig. 1. The
shaft e2 is adjusted to bring the work rest and presser E in contact with the bottom
of the shoe sole to press the stitched surface of the welt against the grooved face of
the rubbing and cleaning tool C, by means of a rod r, which is connected at its lower
end to a suitable treadle (not shown) and which at its upper end is connected by
means of a coiled spring to the arm fll of the bell crank lever F.
In the operation of the machine the tool C is properly heated by means of the
flame of the burner and is rapidly oscillated by the rotation of the driving
shaft B.
The shoe is positioned with the bottom surface of the sole turned inward towards
the work rest and presser E and the lower edge of the guard D and the tool C inserted
between the upper and the welt.
The operator by means of the treadle advances the work rest and presser E and
causes it to yieldingly hold the stitched surface of the welt against the grooved working
face c of the rubbing and cleaning tool C. When thus positioned the operator moves
the shoe rapidly along holding the shoe up against the periphery of the guard D and
the rapidly oscillating tool will rub and smooth out the stitches, and clean off the
surplus wax along the stitches of the seam and from the surface of the welt, thus
cleaning the stitched surface of the welt.
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. The combination with an oscillating seam rubbing tool arranged to act in the
crease between the upper and sole, of a guard carried by a fixed support adjacent to
the tool in position to prevent the upper from coming in contact with the said tool,
substantially as described.
2. The combination with a movable seam rubbing tool arranged to act in the crease
between the upper and sole, of a guard mounted to turn freely on the fixed support

page_text: adjacent to the tool in position to prevent the upper from coming in contact with said
tool, substantially as described.
3. The combination with an oscillating tool arranged to act in the crease between the
upper and sole, of a guard carried by a fixed support adjacent to the tool and provided
upon its rear face with an annular recess and a peripheral flange arranged to receive and
cover the lower end of the tool, substantially as described.
4. The combination with a movable seam rubbing tool arranged to act in the crease
between the upper and sole, of a work rest and presser, and yielding means under the
control of the operator to cause said rest and presser to engage the bottom of the shoe
sole, and force the projecting edge of the sole against the working face of the tool, sub-
stantially as described.
5. The combination with a movable seam rubbing tool having a grooved working
face, of a work rest and presser arranged to hold the work in contact with the grooved
working face of the tool, substantially as described.
6. The combination with a movable seam rubbing tool having a grooved working
face, of a guard disk having an annular beveled surface near its periphery, mounted
to turn freely on a fixed support adjacent to the tool, and means to adjust the support
to position the periphery of the guard disk with relation to the lower end of the tool,
substantially as described.
7. The combination with a seam rubbing tool, of a work rest and presser movable
towards and from the tool, means to normally retract said work rest and presser away
from the tool, and yielding means under the control of the operator to advance the
work rest and presser towards the tool, substantially as described.
8. The combination with a movable seam rubbing tool having a grooved working
face, of a work rest and presser comprising a roller arranged to engage the bottom of
a shoe sole to hold the projecting edge of the sole or welt against the working face
of the tool, a slide shaft carrying the work rest and presser and a treadle and yielding
connections arranged to advance the slide shaft and the work rest and presser, sub-
stantially as described.
Dated the 20th day of April 1899.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.