Improvements in Boot and Shoe Sewing Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 30th May, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Boot and Shoe Sewing Machines.
I, ANDREW EPPLER, Jr., of 112 South Street, in the City of Boston, County of
Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Machinist, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to boot and shoe sewing machines employing a curved
needle reciprocating in the arc of a circle, and it has for its object to provide a
simple and effective machine of this class, in which a welt guide is combined with
the stitch-forming mechanism to hold a welt in the proper position on the upper,
and in which the needle is arranged to draw the welt against the upper and toward
the inner sole in forming the stitches, the interlocked portions of the stitches being
formed within the channel of the sole, while the single thread portions lie on the
welt, so that the welt is drawn to and held closely in its proper position by the
stitches, and is caused to support the single thread portions of the stitches and by
its superior strength and toughness prevent said portions from cutting and sinking
into their support, as they would be likely to do if they were supported by the
comparatively yielding and unsubstantial material of the inner sole.
The invention also has for its object to provide means for twisting the enchained
portions of the loops of a series of single thread chain stitches, and thereby
preventing the chain from ravelling in the event of the breakage of any part
thereof, and also preventing the enchained loops from cutting into the material in
which they are formed, said material, in a boot or shoe sole, being the comparatively
yielding and spongy leather at the bottom of the channel which is cut to receive
the chain.
These results I attain by the mechanism which I will now proceed to describe.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this Specification,
Figures 1 and 2 represent side elevations of my improved machine, taken from
opposite sides thereof.
Figure 3 represents a section on line 33 of Figure 1, looking to the right.
Figure 4 represents a section on line 4 4, Figure 3.
Figure 5 represents a section on line 5 5, Figure 1.
Figure 6 represents a section on line 6 6, Figure 1, looking toward the left.
Figure 7 represents a section on line 7 7, Figure 1, looking toward the left.
Figure 8 represents a section on line 8 8, Figure 2.
Fig. 9 represents a side view of the looper and a portion of the needle, showing
by dotted lines the course of the looper around the needle.
Fig. 10 represents a section on line 10 10, Fig. 2.
Fig. 11 represents a section on line 11 11, Fig. 1.
Fig. 12 represents a side view of the needle carrying arm and cast off.
Fig. 13 represents a section on line 13, 13, Figure 3, looking towards the left.
Fig. 14 represents a section on line 14 14, Fig. 13.
Fig. 15 represents a perspective view of the welt guide shown in Figs. 13 and 14.
Fig. 16 represents a perspective view of the awl and welt guide and their
operating levers and a portion of a boot or shoe on a last, the said parts being in
the relative positions they occupy when the awl is penetrating the work before
moving laterally to feed the same.
Fig. 17 represents a transverse section of a portion of the inner sole, upper, welt
and last, and a side view of a portion of the fixed channel guide, the latter being
omitted from Figure 16 to show the welt guide more clearly.
Fig. 18 represents a side view of a portion of the machine showing the movable

page_text: rest that supports the boot or shoe below the stitch-forming devices, and the means
for locking and releasing said rest.
Fig. 19 represents a section on line 19 19, Fig. 18.
Figs. 20 to 24, inclusive, represent perspective views, showing the manner of
twisting the enchained portions of the stitch loops.
Figure 25 represents a perspective view of a series of stitches the enchained loops
of which are twisted, said stitches being formed in the channel of a boot or shoe sole
which, with portions of the upper and welt, are shown in section, the section being
taken through the welt, the upper, and the "between substance" (or the part of the
inner sole between the upper and the bottom of the channel in said sole)."
Figs. 26, 26, 26, and 26° are detail views to illustrate the operation of the
looper in carrying a loop of thread one and a half times around the needle and then
returning to its initial position.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings :
a represents the supporting head or frame to which is rigidly attached the
downwardly projecting channel gauge or guide b, the latter being a curved and
pointed finger formed as shown in Fig. 17 to enter the channel c formed in the
inner sole d.
e represents the driving shaft which is journalled in bearings in the frame a.
represents the welt guide proper, which is composed of the sides of a slot
formed in the end of a lever f¹ which is provided with a hub f" (Fig. 4) fitted both
to oscillate and move endwise on a tubular or hollow stud y affixed to the frame a.
The upper end of the lever f¹ carries a trundle roll (Figs. 13 and 14) which is
held by the pressure of a spring i against an inclined rib or flange j on a vertically
reciprocating slide k. Said slide, which is fitted to move between vertical guides or
ways (Fig. 13) on the frame a, is normally raised by a spring m (Fig. 14) and
depressed by a cam n (Figs. 1 and 13) on the driving shaft e, said cam bearing on a
trundle roll o on the upper end of the slide k.
p represents the curved awl which is attached to one end of a lever p', the latter
having two arms or branches on which are sockets or hubs pp", one of which is
fitted to oscillate on the hub f¹¹ of the welt guide lever, and the other on the hollow
stud g, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 16, the awl lever being thus adapted to
oscillate on said stud 9.
The awl lever plis provided with a slot which receives a block (Figs. 1,4 and 16)
which is pivoted to a slider adapted to slide vertically between suitable fixed
guides on the frame a, and is provided at its upper end with a trundle roll s
(Figs. 1 and 6) which enters a cam groove t (Fig. 6) in the back of the disc on
which the cam n is formed.
The downward movement of the slide k causes the inclined rib j thereon to move
the welt guide f away from the fixed channel guide b, while the upward movement
of said slide, caused by the spring m, moves the welt guide toward the fixed channel
guide, said spring enabling the slide to be stopped in its upward movement by the
contact of the welt guide with the shoe upper so that the welt guide conforms
automatically to the thickness of material between the outer surface of the upper
and the bottom of the channel c in the inner sole. The downward movement of the
slider moves the awl lever p³ to throw the awl forward in the arc of a circle
toward the channel guide b, while the upward movement of said slide moves the
awl lever to retract the awl.
The welt guide lever f¹ and the awl lever p¹ are movable together laterally on
the stud g to enable the awl to feed the work and return to its starting position, and
to this end said levers are moved on said stud in the direction required to give the
awl its work-feeding movement by a lever u (Figs. 3 and 4) pivoted at v to the
frame and a cam w on the driving shaft bearing on a trundle roll .c on said lever u,
the latter having at its lower end an adjustable stud y bearing on a cap f¹¹¹ secured
upon the hub fil on the welt guide lever, see Figs. 3, 4 and 16.
a,
111
The said awl and welt guide levers are moved in the opposite direction when

page_text: 111
permitted by the recessation of the cam w by a spring plunger z (Fig. 4) which is
fitted to slide in the stud g and is pressed against the cap by a spring =¹ which is
supported by an adjustable plug screwed into one end of the stud g.
When the awl is in its work-perforating position (in which position it is held by
the plunger 2) its point is directly opposite the point of the channel guide b, so that
when the awl advances to penetrate the work it moves directly toward the point of
said guide, the latter being arranged in the path of the awl. The result of this
arrangement is that the channel guide supports the material against the pressure of
the awl, so that there is no tendency on the part of the awl to displace the work or
cause it to swing or turn on the channel guide as there would be if the awl and
guide were not at this time in line with each other. The forward movement of the
awl is stopped just before its point reaches the channel guide, so that there is no
actual contact of the awl with said guide.
A represents the needle which is attached to an arm or lever B mounted to
oscillate on a fixed tubular stud C (Figs. 10 and 12), said stud being suitably
affixed to the supporting frame. The needle is oscillated by means of a cam D on
the driving shaft, a lever E pivoted to the frame a and engaged at one end with
said cam, and a rod F connecting said lever with the needle arm or lever B.
It will be observed, by reference to Figs. 1 and 2, that the needle and guard are
arranged at one side of the channel guide b, and the awl and welt guide and looper
at the opposite side, so that the needle in drawing the loops of thread and forming
the stitches pulls or draws the welt inwardly against the upper and toward the
inner sole. It will also be observed, by reference to Fig. 3, that the plane in which
the needle oscillates is at the left of the point of the channel guide, so that the
needle in entering the work passes by the channel guide without interference
therewith.
The needle guard G is attached to an arm G³ on a rod or rock shaft H, the
latter being journalled in the tubular stud C and provided at one end with an arm I
(Figs. 2 and 10) which is connected by a rod J with a slide K which is recipro-
cated vertically in ways in the frame a by means of a cam groove L (Fig. 3), said
groove receiving a trundle roll M on the slide K. A positive oscillating motion is
imparted to the needle guard by means of the cam groove L and the described
intermediate devices. The positive operation of the needle guard in contradistinc-
tion to the yielding movement of the guard by a spring, as heretofore, is a feature
of my invention; its advantage being entire freedom from liability of the needle
guard to be accidentally displaced.
N represents the looper or thread carrier, which is a bent or curved finger having
a thread guiding eye N' in its lower end and attached at its upper end to a lever O.
Said lever is pivoted at P to an arm Q formed on a three armed lever Q which in
turn is pivoted at R to the supporting frame. The upper arm of the lever Q¹ has a
trundle roll Q which is held by a spring S (Fig. 3) against a cam T on the driving
shaft, and the upper end of the lever Ŏ is engaged by means of a trundle roll U₁
thereon with a cam groove U on one side of the cam T. It will be seen therefore
that the lever O has a compound movement, one caused by its own oscillations on
the pivot P, and the other by the oscillations of the lever Q' on its pivot R, the result
of the two movements being a revolving movement of the thread-guiding eye N' around
the needle, as indicated by the dotted arrow in Fig. 9, and by Figs. 20 to 23,
inclusive, said movement twisting the chain portions of the stitches as presently
described.
b
V represents a rest for the side of the lasted upper, located below the channel
gauge 6 and the stitch-forming devices, and arranged to bear on the upper imme-
diately below the point where the stitches are formed. Said rest is a head or
enlargement formed on a shank V' which is fitted to slide horizontally in a way
formed in a casing V' attached to the frame a. The shank is provided with rack
teeth V³ meshing with a pinion V on a shaft V5 which is journalled in the casing V2.
The rest V is normally pressed outwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow
in Fig. 18, by a spring 713 which is affixed at one end to the frame a (Fig. 1) and

page_text: bears at its free end against a rod V12 affixed to the shank V', so that when the shank
is free to move, the rest is kept pressed against the upper and is adapted to stand at
various distances from the fixed channel gauge b, the rest being thus adapted to
The
conform to the varying projection of the side of the upper from the channel c.
shank Vis left free to move endwise, as above described, when the needle is
outside of the work, but is locked and made rigid during the portion of the forward
movement of the needle which occurs when the needle is penetrating the work and
during the withdrawal of the needle from the work, so that the rest firmly supports
the boot or shoe while the needle is in contact with it. The locking of the shank
and rest is accomplished by means of a dog V' on a lever V8 which is pivoted at V'
to the casing V, a ratchet V attached to the shaft V, the pinion Von said shaft,
and an arm V" on the rod F which connects the needle arm B with the lever E
that operates the needle arm. When the needle is retracted and outside of the work
the connecting rod F is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 18, its arm V"
bearing on the lever V8 and holding dog V7 out of engagement with the ratchet V6.
When the connecting rod F is moved outwardly in the direction required to force
the needle into the work the arm V₁ leaves the lever V8, as shown in dotted
lines in Fig. 18, whereupon a spring V10 moves said lever sufficiently to engage the
dog V with the ratchet and thus lock the latter, and, through the shaft V and
pinion V, the shank V₁ and rest V, said parts remaining locked while the needle is
entering and leaving the work. When the needle has withdrawn from the work
the rod F resumes the position shown in full lines in Fig. 18 and raises the dog from
the pawl, so that the rest is free to move in and out.
The operation of the machine is as follows-
The welt a being placed in the welt guide, the lasted boot or shoe is held by the
operator in the position shown in Figs. 16 and 17 with the channel guide b in the
channel e of the inner sole. The awl and welt guide at one side of the channel
guide and the needle at the opposite side are now separated or at their farthest
positions from the channel guide, the awl being at this time directly opposite the
point of the channel guide so that when the awl advances it presses directly
toward the channel guide, as above stated. The machine being started the welt
guide first moves forward until it bears against the upper and holds the welt in
The awl
the proper position with relation to the upper, as shown in Fig. 16.
then moves toward the channel guide until it penetrates the welt, upper and
"between substance." The awl and welt guide then move laterally until the awl
is in line with the needle, the awl being thus caused to feed the work.
The needle then advances and at the same time the awl retreats, the needle
being thus caused to enter the hole made by the awl. After the needle has moved
forward its full stroke, and while it holds the work, the looper, which when the
needle first enters the work stands in the position shown in Fig. 20 at the left of
the needle, commences to revolve about the needle in the direction indicated by
the arrows in Figs. 20, 21, 22 and 23, passing first under the needle in a direction
opposite that in which the work is fed by the awl and then upwardly over the
needle in the opposite direction and then again uuder the needle, in the same
direction as before, stopping in the position shown in Fig. 23 at the right of the
needle after having made a complete revolution and a part of a second revolution
around the needle.
The above described operation of the looper is illustrated in detail in
Figs. 26, 26, 26, and 26, in which the position of the needle is denoted by
the point of intersection of the broken lines near the looper N.
In these
figures 1, Fig. 26, indicates the initial position of the eye of the looper which
advances successively to the positions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 as the cams T and U advance,
said looper eye thus moving from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 26
through the positions shown in dotted and full lines in said figure and Figures 26
and 26, and stopping at or near position 6, Fig. 26, (at which time it has passed
once and a half times around the needle) until the needle has been retracted to
draw the twisted loop held thereon into the work. From position 6 the looper

page_text: moves to position 7 while the portion of the cam groove U from point 9 to
point 10, is moving past the roll U₁, and from the point 7 the looper eye moves in
nearly a straight line through position 8 to its first position while the cam groove
advances from point 10 to point 11, and beyond, past the roll U¹.
The
This movement of the looper twists the thread around the needle above the
barb thereof, as shown in Figure 23, so that when the needle is retracted the twist
will pass off from the needle and remain in the loop, as shown in Fig. 24, the result
being that when the loop is interlocked or enchained with the succeeding loop and
properly taken up the enchained portion will remain twisted so that the chain of
stitches will be composed of a series of twisted loops, as shown in Fig. 25.
described movement of the looper first under the needle from the side toward
which the work is moved by the feed or other words from the back side of the
needle, then over the needle in the opposite direction, and finally again under the
needle stopping at the front side thereof is essential to the productions of the twisted
loop, and is the result of a long series of experiments.
Before the revolution of the looper about the needle the welt guide is moved
away from the needle to afford room for the described movement of the looper
around the needle. The awl and welt guide are at the same time given their
back feed, or, in other words, are moved back to their original or starting
position.
After the back feed the welt guide moves forward to hold the work against the
channel guide, and then the needle withdraws and pulls the loop of thread
surrounding it through the welt, upper, and between substance, and through the
loop previously made, the needle disengaging the last loop from the barb of the
needle as usual.
The provision of mears, as above described, for twisting the loops forming the
chain portions of the stitches is a very important feature of my invention, one
advantage conferred by the twisted loops being the prevention of ravelling or giving
away of the series of stitches when the thread breaks at any single point, the
twisted loops making each stitch, in a great measure, independent of the others.
Another advantage of the twisted loops is the greater resistance they present to
the surface on which they bear than two parallel strands laid side by side without
a twist, said resistance preventing them from sinking into or indenting the com-
paratively soft and spongy material found in the inner sole at the bottom of the
channel cut therein. The strong tension to which the thread is subjected in taking
up the loops renders the chain portions of the loops liable to cut into this
material or between substance" when the strands of the loops lie side by side, as
usual, this liability being obviated by twisting the loops,
The described relative arrangement of the awl, welt guide, looper, channel guide,
needle and needle guard, the awl, welt guide, and looper being at one side of the
channel guide, and the needle and guard at the opposite side, confers the following
important advantages on the machine, viz. :
First, the needle pulls the loops of the thread inwardly from the outer surface of
the welt, as shown in Figs. 24 and 25, and thereby draws the welt closely to its
place. Heretofore in attaching welts to uppers and inner soles by machine stitching
the needle has usually been arranged to pull the loops of thread outwardly from
the bottom of the channel and therefore has had a tendency to pull the welt and the
between substance outwardly, or away from the body of the inner sole. The inner
sole is always damp, or "in temper." during the stitching operation, so that the
between substance is in yielding condition and therefore easily pulled out of place
by the tension of the thread. The welt is liable therefore to be displaced out-
wardly by the stitching operation as heretofore usually performed, but this liability
is avoided in the operation of my improved machine.
Secondly, the interlocked or chain portions of the stitches are, formed in the
channel of the inner sole, and the single thread portions are laid upon the welt.
The single thread portions having a narrow bearing on the surface on which they
rest are more liable to cut or sink into said surface than the interlocked or chain

page_text: portions, hence if said single thread portions were formed in the channel e, as they
are by the operation of most welt attaching machines heretofore used, they would
be supported only by the comparatively spongy and yielding material of the inner
sole, which as already stated, is more easily cut into or indented by the stitches
than the welt, the latter being made of the best leather obtainable. It will be seen,
therefore, that I utilize the superior strength and toughness of the welt to support
the single thread portions of the stitches, and prevent the loosening of the stitches
which would be occasioned by the cutting or sinking of the single thread portions
into the surface on which they rest.
The levers fp which carry the welt guide and awl are oscillated on a centre
common to both, viz. the stud a, hence the welt guide always moves in the same
are with the awl, and always holds the welt in the same position with relation to
the needle, so that the awl will enter the welt at the same distance from the edge
thereof in any position that the welt guide can assume.
It will be remembered
that the movement of the welt guide toward the channel guide depends upon the
thickness of the between substance, and that the welt guide does not always come to
a bearing on the upper at the said distance from the point of the awl when the latter
is fully projected: hence, if the awl and welt guide were mounted on different
centres the awl would not always enter the welt at the same distance from
its edge.
J
It will be observed that the welt guide is supported or held against the work
with a yielding pressure by the spring m and the slide k and the rib controlled by
said spring when the needle is penetrating and withdrawing from the work and
while the work is being fed by the awl, the welt guide moving with the awl. After
the feed movement and while the awl and welt guide are returning to their
starting position, the slide k is depressed and the spring i which is relatively weaker
than the spring m tends to move the welt guide away from the work, but the force
of said spring is not sufficient to separate the welt guide from the work, the
welt guide being retained in light contact with the work by the last stitch and its
predecessors, said stitch being in close proximity to the welt guide. The spring?
therefore relieves the pressure of the welt guide against the work while the
welt guide and awl are moving back to their starting point without straming the
seam by pulling the welt outwardly, a result which might be accomplished if
the welt guide were positively operated.
It will also be observed that the pressure of the welt guide against the work
while the needle is penetrating and withdrawing from the work, enables the
welt guide to compress the material interposed between it and the fixed channel
guide, and thus press the upper closely against its seat on the sole.
The pressure
thus exerted ensures a tight seam or joint between the upper and sole, without
requiring as strong a tension on the thread as would be required if the thread were
relied upon to draw the upper to a close bearing on its seat, hence the thread and
the stitch forming devices are relieved of much of the strain that they would
be subjected to if the welt guide were not adapted to exert the described
pressure.
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. In a sole sewing machine, the combination with a fixed channel guide, of a
laterally movable work-feeding and puncturing awl which is so located relative to
said channel guide, when making its work puncturing movement, that a continua-
tion of the line of movement of the said awl will intersect said channel guide near
its point; whereby the "between substance" of the work will be directly supported
by said channel guide against the thrust of the said awl.
2. In a sole sewing machine, the combination with a fixed channel guide, of
a laterally movable, work-feeding and puncturing awl so located relative to said
channel guide, when making its work puncturing movement, that a continuation of

page_text: the line of movement of said awl will intersect the said channel guide near its point,
and means for so reciprocating said awl in the direction of its length that the
forward movement thereof will be arrested before the point of said awl quite
reaches the channel guide; whereby a channel guide which will not be impinged
against by the awl may be employed to support the "between substance" directly
against the thrust of the said awl.
3. The combination in a sole sewing machine, with a fixed channel guide, and a
curved oscillating needle located, when retracted, at one side of said channel guide,
of a welt guide, a curved reciprocating awl, a looper and a horizontally movable
rest, said welt guide, awl looper and rest being all located at the opposite side of
said channel guide from the said needle, and the said channel guide being located
directly in the line of the path of the awl when the latter is making its puncturing
movement.
4. The combination with a fixed channel guide, of a welt guide, a curved
reciprocating awl, a looper and a horizontally movable rest all located at one side
of said channel guide, a curved oscillating needle located, when retracted, at the
opposite side of said channel guide, a guard co-operating with said needle, two
oscillating levers supporting said awl and welt guide and both mounted on a
common centre; whereby the awl and welt guide are enabled to work in the
same arc and to move laterally together when the work is fed, substantially as
set forth.
5. The combination with a fixed channel guide, of a welt guide, a curved
reciprocating awl, and a looper, all located at one side of the said channel guide, two
oscillating levers supporting said awl and welt guide and mounted to oscillate on a
centre common to both whereby the awl and welt guide are enabled to move in the
same arc, a laterally movable rest for the side of the boot or shoe, a curved
oscillating needle arranged, when retracted, at the opposite side of said channel
guide, and a guard co-operating with said needle, as set forth.
6. The combination with the fixed channel guide, the oscillating needle and the
needle guard, relatively arranged as described, of a welt guide, a curved
reciprocating awl and a looper, all located at one side of the channel guide,
two oscillating levers supporting said awl and welt guide and mounted on a centre
common to both, and means for laterally reciprocating said levers to give the awl
its feeding and its return or back-feed movements, as set forth.
7. The combination of the fixed channel guide, the awl, the welt guide, the
levers pf respectively supporting the awl and welt guide, a fixed centre or stud
on which said levers are mounted to oscillate and move laterally, independent
means for oscillating said levers, and the lever u, cam w, and spring whereby said
levers are reciprocated laterally, as set forth.
8. The combination with the fixed channel guide of the welt guide, the
oscillatory lever f¹ supporting the same, the spring-supported slide k having
an incline adapted to normally support said lever and thereby hold the welt guide
against the work, a cam n whereby said slide is depressed to release the lever f³,
and a spring i whereby said lever is held against the incline, as set forth.
9. The combination with the fixed channel guide and the stitch-forming
mechanisin, of the movable rest V, the toothed shank supporting said rest, the shaft
having a pinion engaging the teeth of said shank, a ratchet on said shaft, a dog
arranged to normally engage said ratchet and lock the rest, and means, sub-
stantially as described, for displacing said dog to release the rest, as set forth.
10. In a sole sewing machine, the combination with a curved reciprocating needle
having a hook or barb, and means for guiding a welted boot or shoe in suitable
relation to the path of the said needle, of a work feeding device to move the work
at right angles to the path of movement of the needle, a looper, and mechanism to
give said looper a complete revolution and an additional half revolution around the
needle, the said looper passing first under the needle in a direction opposite the
feeding movement of the work, then over the needle in a reverse direction and then
again under the needle in the same direction as before, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 11. The combination with the fixed channel guide, the work feeding awl and
the stitch forming mechanism, of the welt guide, movable with the awl, a spring
and devices co-operating therewith for pressing the welt guide yieldingly against the
upper during the insertion and withdrawal of the needle and the feeding of the
work, and a relatively weaker spring which acts on the welt guide during
the backward or return movement of the awl and welt guide to relieve the said
pressure without straining the seam, as set forth.
12. The combination with a fixed channel guide, a work feeding or laterally
movable awl and stitch forming mechanism, of a welt guide movable laterally with
the awl, and means for pressing the welt guide against the material at a point
opposite the channel guide, during the insertion and removal of the needle, whereby
the parts being united are compressed independently of the thread and of the stitch
forming mechanism, as set forth.
ANDREW EPPLER, JR
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.