Improved Machinery for Sewing Leather.
Year: 1891

page_text: The decision of the Comptroller-General," of the 10th day of April 1893, allowed,
under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883, an Amendment of this
Specification.
Date of Application, 20th July, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 20th Apr., 1892-Accepted, 21st May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by BENNO FISCHER, Engineer, of No. 194, Neckar-
strasse, Stuttgart, in the Empire of Germany, on behalf of Keats Maschinen
Gesellschaft, of No. 10, Schäfergasse, Frankfort-on-Main, in the Empire of
Germany, aforesaid.]
Improved Machinery for Sewing Leather.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a novel arrangement of machinery for sewing leather,
applicable chiefly to the sewing on of the soles of boots and shoes, the locking
thread being drawn from a bobbin situate below the work, whereas it is usual, in
this class of machinery, to place the locking thread and its shuttle above the
work.
A main object of this invention is to render the shuttle thread visible on the
welt, at the same time placing the seam in the crease close to the upper, and that
without risking the marking of the upper by the needle.
In this machine, a curved awl is used for piercing the work, and an eye-pointed
curved needle is used for presenting the needle thread loop to the locking thread
bobbin. The work is placed in the machine with the sole uppermost, in order that
the locking thread, when it is drawn into the work, may appear upon the welt.
The awl and needle are carried by bosses loose upon a horizontal shaft, and they
are so arranged as to work in the same vertical plane. The shaft which carries
these instruments has no axial motion, but it receives an endway motion, through
which the feed of the work is obtained. The bosses, carrying respectively the
needle and awl, are mounted on a common shaft, in such a manner that these
instruments will receive a lateral motion when an endway movement is imparted to
the shaft. The reciprocations of the needle and awl are obtained from grooved
face cams on the cam shaft, which receive bowls from a pair of levers pivotted to
the bed plate of the machine. These levers, at their upper end, are connected
loosely by means of rods, the one with the radius arm on the boss of the needle,
and the other with the like arm on the boss of the awl. The cut of these cams is
such, that when the awl pierces the work, the needle stands above the work, and
when the awl is withdrawn, the needle descends into the hole last pierced by the
awl. The feed of the work is effected by the awl, which, when it has pierced
the work, is moved laterally by its fulcrum shaft a distance corresponding to the
length of stitch desired. The endway movement of the shaft is obtained from a
peripherical cam on the cam shaft, through a horizontal rock shaft which has its
bearings on the bed of the machine, and lies at right angles to the shaft which it is
intended to actuate. One arm of this rock shaft carries a bowl which enters into
the groove of the cam, and another arm of the rock shaft is connected adjustably

page_text: with a pendant arm of the shaft carrying the awl. The movement, therefore, of
the rock shaft, will give an end way movement to the shaft carrying the awl, and
that to the extent determined by the position of the adjustable connection. The
bobbin carrying the locking thread is embraced by two cup-shaped supports, one of
which is fixed and the other movable. This bobbin is situated in the plane
of motion of the needle, but in rear of the needle. The looper for passing the loop
of the needle thread over the bobbin is carried by a boss which is loose on the stem of
the movable cup-shaped support. This boss is fitted with a spur pinion which gears
with a segment rack fitted to one end of a lever carried by a fulcrum pin (near the
middle of its length) projecting from the framing of the machine. The other end
of this lever carries a bowl which enters the groove of a face cam on the cam shaft.
The rotation, therefore, of this shaft causes the lever to rock, and, through its
segment rack, impart a reciprocating motion to the looper, which, advancing towards
the open loop of the needle thread, lays it over the bobbin, and then retires, leaving
the needle to draw up its loop into the work, and with it the locking thread drawn
from the bobbin. In providing a presser which shall adjust itself to the varying
thicknesses of the work the following contrivance is adopted.
The presser is carried by a boss loose on the awl and needle shaft, and it is bent
laterally to bring it into or near the plane of movement of the awl. Pivotted to
a lug on the boss, is an arm which carries two sets of ratchet teeth standing
opposed, or in opposite directions, the one set to the other. This arm is free to
slide on a supporting guide, and into the racks, takes alternately one of a pair of
pawls. These pawls are carried by a rock lever fulcrummed on the bed plate, and
are pendent from opposite sides of the lever. The lever stands up between two
pins carried by a bracket from the framing, and underlying the pawis. A bowl on
the rock lever takes into the groove of a face cam on the cam shaft, and as the
shaft rotates, the rock lever will receive a slight oscillating motion. The effect of
this motion will be to trip the pendent pawls alternately out of contact with their
respective racks, and at the same time either to traverse the rack forward, to
thrust the presser into contact with the work, or backward against the pressure of
a spring, to lift it from the work.
This arrangement of presser, it will be understood, readily adapts itself to any
thickness of material, the yielding of the spring permitting it to take up any
required position, and the adjustment, of the pawls and ratchet ensuring an equable
pressure, whatever may be the position which the presser has been caused to
take.
In adapting this machine to the closing of the joints of portmanteaux and other
articles, the sides and ends of which are composed of stiff leather, it will only be
necessary to substitute for the ordinary work support, one having an inclination
downwards 45 degrees from the horizontal, and to apply a presser foot with a
corresponding inclination upwards. The pieces of leather to be joined up are
chamfered at their edges to an angle of 45 degrees, and these inclined surfaces are
brought together and held firmly between the inclined support and the inclined
presser, under the action of the sewing instruments.
The curved awl and needle will then alternately pierce and sew the fitted pieces
together, entering into the leather as far from the edge or outer angle as may be
desired to ensure a good and firm seam.
ليوم
T..1 1001
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
5

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improved Machinery for Sewing Leather.
I ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, 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 state-
ment:-
This invention relates to a novel construction of sole-sewing machine, in which a
curved eyed needle works in conjunction with an awl, these parts being loosely
mounted on a common shaft, the needle entering the leather from above and the
awl from below, and in which a loop holder plays in a circular path around a
bobbin beneath the throat plate, to throw the loop of needle thread around and
over the bobbin.
This novel combination of a curved eyed needle above the throat plate, and an
awl arranged beneath it, in conjunction with a bobbin and an oscillating loop
holder in a sole sewing machine, renders it possible to place the stitches, by means
of the curved needle, right against the upper, and, at the same time, to provide a
good seam on the welt, by means of the bobbin or locking thread.
In the working of this machine, the needle thread, which forms part of the seam
in the welt, and the sole, is protected from unnecessary friction in the needle hole,
as the needle, while the loop is being thrown by the looper, over the thread case,
remains withdrawn and stationary over the throat plate, and consequently the needle
thread is not drawn down through the needle hole by the looper when the needle is
in the neodle hole.
This machine is further distinguished by a spring pressed presser foot adapting
itself to any thickness of leather, which foot when brought down upon the work, is
rigidly held against it, for the moment, by an automatic locking gear coming into
ection at the time when the awl rises to pierce the leather from beneath. The
When the awl having has pierced the leather, the common shaft carrying the arms
of both awl and needle is moved end wise a stitch's length thereby shifting the work
that distance, the shaft returning to its former position when awl and needle have
quitted the leather.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is an elevation of one side, and
Fig. 2 an elevation of the other side of the machine.
Fig. 3 is a view from the operator's position ;
Fig. 4 a plan view, and
Figs. 5, 6, 7 detached views of details. In these latter figures, the operations of
the essential parts are visible.
Figs. 8 & 9 shew a presser foot and throat plate suitable for sewing together the
edges of boxes, cases &c.
When a curved needle is used for leather sewing, the leather must first be
pierced to 'allow of its entrance, although, when sewing calico or other soft material,
where a curved needle operates in conjunction with a bobbin beneath the stitch-
plate, the piercing by an awl is not necessary. In this latter arrangement, of
course, the looper or "taker hook" is placed in such a position with respect to the
needle's path, that it can readily enter the loop thrown out by the needle.
The arrangement of the "taker hook"" or looper in such position with respect to
the needle thread loop will, however, be impossible in the present case, because the
awl must operate under the throat plate i in the needle's path, and in this path,
therefore, there is no place for the underthread bobbin.
The bobbin must therefore be placed backward far enough from the needle 6*
and the awl d', to allow to these instruments full and uninterrupted freedom of

page_text: A looper is placed on the same axis as the bobbin, and is provided with a
hook h, which enters the loop thrown out by the needle beneath the throat plate
(see Fig. 6), and travels sufficiently far with the loop on it around the bobbin, as is
necessary to allow the bobbin to pass through the loop, and the looper then recedes.
It will be thus seen that the looper makes a partial, and not a complete
rotation.
The object to be attained by the operation, in concert, of the curved needle b₁
and the curved awl d (located respectively over and under the throat plate, and
operating independently of each other in a common curve) with the locking thread
bobbin and the oscillating looper ³ ³ under the throat plate, is,-to sew a scam in
the welt of the boot, which is, for the purpose, placed on the throat plate i, sole
uppermost, and which seam is to be as close as possible to the upper, and shew the
clean locking thread on the welt.
For driving these parts, to effect the feeding of the work, and the automatic
temporary pressure of the presser foot on the leather at the time of entry of the
awl from below, the hereinafter described mechanism is employed.
Located near the back of the machine, in bearings, is a driving shaft a, having
mounted on it the cams bed; the cam b is provided on its inner side with a cam
groove, into which the bowle near the end of the aim ¹ mounted loosely on the
shaft e, takes (see Fig. 4). The upper end of this lever b¹ is connected, through a
rod, to the needle bar head 6³, mounted loosely on the shaft, and carrying the
curved needle (see Figs. 5, 6, and 9).
Into a groove in the cam d, takes the bowle of a lever d', mounted loosely on
the shaft e, and connected by a rod d with the awl bar head on the axle f, and
carrying the bent or curved awl d'.
By means of the above described aggregation or combination of parts, víz. :-
needle and awl and the cams on the shaft a the needle and awl will be made to
alternately rise and fall in the same curved path.
The connecting rods and d are provided, as shewn, with ball and socket
'joints at their ends, to allow of the endway movement of the shaft for feeding
the work. In the groove upon one side of the cam c works the bowle of a lever c
pivotted on the axle e, the upper end of which lever is connected by a rod c* with
the well-known needle-thread tension arrangement c³.
In the groove on the other side of the disc cam b, works the bowle on the end of
a double-armed lever g¹, pivotted to the base of the machine, and carrying at its
end a toothed segment . This segment engages with a spur wheel h, mounted
on the hollow axle ¹ of the looper situated beneath the throat plate i. This
looper operates in the following manner :-)
-When the needle, in ascending, throws
out the loop, the looper seizes the loop (see Fig. 1), and throws it over the
bobbin (Fig. 7),. after which it returns for a fresh one (Fig. 6), the motion of the
looper being an oscillatory one.
The movable portion of the bobbin or shuttle holder is (to provide for the
necessary tension of the locking thread) pressed inwards by means of the pin k,
acted on by a spring-pressed lever k³, pivotted at . Connected also with the
lever is a pressure pin k³, which is held against the cam face on the boss of the
looper. Thus, as the looper is driven, the lever is pressed back against its
spring, and thereby the bobbin is free from pressure while the loop is being
thrown over it.
The presser foot l, which, as arranged in the drawings, forms no part of this invention,
is carried on a bent arm ', mounted loosely on the shaft f. and having A spring,
which serves to press the foot onto the work. Pivotted to the arm l', is a ratchet P³,
guided in its movements by a pin passing through a slot therein, and projecting
from a bracket of the machine.
A lever m, carrying a bowle entering the groove in the outer side of the disc
cam d, carries on its upper end two spring-pressed pawls m¹, m², which can, through
two pins n' n² in an adjustable plate n on the part a, be so adjusted as not to engage
the ratchet F, and consequently the presser foot is only under the pressure of the

page_text: spring. The plate n can also be so adjusted as to guide the pawle m' over the
pin n, on the forward movement of the lever m, by means of the disc cam d, and
(as shewn at Fig. 2) take into a tooth of the ratchet 1, thereby preventing a with-
drawal of the presser foot, and thus making a slip of the work, during the piercing
operation, impossible.
'
On the return of the lever m, by means of the disc cam d, the pawl m' is again
lifted by the pin n', while the other pawl m² slides over the pin n², and takes into
a tooth of the ratchet, so that on a further rearward movement of the lever m;
the ratchet also travels backwards, and the presser foot is raised from the work,
to allow of the further feeding taking place.
By regulating the fineness of the teeth of the ratchet, the operation of this
automatic mechanism can be perfectly controlled, as the pawls, according to the
size of teeth, will adapt their movements to the thickness of the material.
The feeding of the work follows the piercing operation, for which purpose the
awl, as well as the needle, is loosely mounted on the shaft between the fast
collar and the removable collar f³, as shewn in Fig. 5.
From the shaft f. extends downwards an arm f³, provided with a longitudinal
slot, into which takes a bolt o. This bolt is secured adjustably in a slot in the
lever arin of a rock shaft o', which is carried in bearings, of on the bed plate!
Another arm, o², of the rock shaft has a bowle taking into a groove cut in the
disc cam b, so that the rotation of the disc will, at the proper time, effect
the feeding of the work, by means of the awl, shortly before its withdrawal is.
effected.
By simply adjusting the bolt o in the arm o², the axle f, with its awl and needle
bars, can have a shorter or longer endway movement imparted to it, thus placing
the regulation of length of stitch completely under the control of the operator.
The above described arrangement is also capable of sewing angular seams,
i.e., sewing two pieces of material together at the edges so as to secure them at
any desired angle to each other. For this purpose, the horizontal throat plate is
replaced by an angular plate, and the presser foot by a plate inclined at a reverse
angle to the throat plate. and the locking mechanism for the presser foot is thrown
out of action.
Fig. 8 shews the fore part of the machine provided with this arrangement for
sewing an angular seam. Here the straight throat plate is replaced by an angular
one, while the arm / carries another plate /* in place of the presser foot.
In sewing an angular seam, the plate n-(Fig. 2) is raised so as to prevent the
pawls from engaging the teeth of the ratchet, and the arm on the shaft fcarrying
the part is locked by the screw collar 1. thus providing for a firm hold of
the work.
The two of pieces material to be sewn, preferably first united by cement or glue,
are held against the throat plate, and the feed automatically takes place by means
of the awl.
By adjusting the arm on the shaft, and consequently altering the position of
the part 1, relatively to the throat plate i*, the distance of the seam from the edge of
the work can be determined (see Fig. 9). The adjustment must be made, however,
to correspond with the thickness of the work.
The chief object of this angular stitching is to stitch boxes, cases, and port-
manteaus, at their angles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A. boot and shoe sewing machine constructed as described, by the use of which
the sole seam is brought close up to the upper, and the lower thread made visible
on the welt, such results being obtained by the combined operations of a curved
needle bª above the throat plate i and an awl dª working in the same circular path

page_text: as the needle; a lower thread bobbin removed from the path of the needle's opera-
tion, and a looper h³ ³ oscillating around said bobbin beneath the throat plate, the
arms of the needle and awl (mounted loosely on a common shaft) being
operated by the swivel jointed rods 6 and d³, which allow of the awl and needle
moving with the shaft to feed the work when pierced by the awl.
2. In the machine-embodied-in-Claim 1, a presser foot-l-automationlly-adjusting
itself to the thickness of the material to be sewn, the arm of which is mounted on
the awl and needle shaft, and is spring pressed, such presser foot, before the entry
of the awl-into-the-lenther, being automatically pressed against it by the pawl-m²,
brought into engagement with the-teeth of a ratchet /³ connected to the presser
foot arm ', thereby moving the ratchet in the direction of the awl, whereupon,
after the awl has pierced the leather, said pawl is retracted, and a second-one-m³
engages oppositely-arranged teeth of the ratchet, to shift the ratchet in the reverse
direction for raising the presser foot.
3. 2. In the machine claimed in Claim 1 and 2, the substitution for the horizontal
throat plate, of an inclined throat plate i*, and the substitution for the presser
foot, of an oppositely inclined plate *, to allow of sewing seams angular to the
work, said parts being adjustable to the angle desired, or according to the thickness
of the material under treatment.
Dotad this 20th
of Amil 1900
Dosad his 20th
ith day of April 1909,
1000
A. V. NEWTON.
Newton & Son,
Agents for the Applicant.