Improvements in Lasting Machines for use in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lasting Machines for use in the Manufacture of
Boots and Shoes.
I, ALBERT ANDRES, of Nieder-Walluf, in the Empire of Germany, Machine
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a machine by means of which the upper leather of a
shoe or a boot is stretched over the last and fastened to the insole.
In most of the machines at present constructed for this purpose a great number
of clips are employed and by means of these the leather is seized and drawn over
the last. This arrangement is, however, attended by the disadvantage that the
leather is not equally stretched at every point.
By my improvements this disadvantage is overcome by employing, instead of
single clips, a single frame of india-rubber or other clastic material, such for
example, as metal springs, which frame embraces the lateral surface of the last
near the sole surface thereof on all sides exactly. Opposite movements are given
to this frame and to the last with the upper leather upon it, whereby the upper
leather becomes evenly stretched, and is pushed into such a position that its edge
rests upon the insole as the latter lies upon the sole-surface of the last. I find it
advantageous to secure the upper leather to the insole by some adhesive material,
which is spread upon the latter before the application of the upper leather to it is
fully accomplished, the upper leather may, however, be fastened to the sole by
means of tacks.
In the former case I employ two casings, one surrounding the other for securely
holding the insole during the stretching and for facilitating the stretching, the
inner casing holding the insole tightly and the outer casing embracing the last,
the two casings being so connected to each other that when one is pushed
downwards the other is raised.
Dated the 24th day of January 1801
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lasting Machines for use in the Manufacture of
Boots and Shoes.
I, ALBERT ANDRES, of Nieder-Walluf, in the Empire of Germany, Machine
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a machine by means of which the upper leather of a shoe
or a boot is stretched over the last and fastened to the insole.
In most of the machines at present constructed for this purpose, a great number
of clips are employed, and by means of these the leather is seized, and drawn over
the last. This arrangement is however attended by the disadvantage that the
leather is not equally stretched at every point.
By my improvements this disadvantage is overcome by employing, instead of
single clips, a single frame of india-rubber or other elastic material, or an elastic
frame made for example, of metal springs, which frame embraces the lateral surface
of the last near the sole surface thereof on all sides exactly. Opposite movements
are given to this frame and to the last with the upper leather upon it, whereby
the upper leather becomes evenly stretched, and is pushed into such a position that
its edge rests upon the insole as the latter lies upon the sole-surface of the last.
Price 8d 1

page_text: I find it advantageous to secure the upper leather to the insole by some adhesive
material, which is spread upon the latter before the application of the upper
leather to it is fully accomplished, the upper leather may however be fastened to
the sole by means of tacks.
In the former case I employ two casings one surrounding the other for securely
holding the insole during the stretching and for facilitating the stretching, the
inner casing holding the insole tightly and the outer casing embracing the last,
the two casings being so connected to each other that when one is pushed downwards
the other is raised.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings in which :-
Figures 1 to 5 are sectional views illustrating the various stages of operation
when lasting a boot or shoe by a machine constructed according to my invention.
Figures 6 and 7 are a plan and an elevation respectively of my elastic frame.
Figures 8 and 9 are an elevation and a plan respectively of my double
casing, and
.
Figure 10 is a side elevation partly in section of the complete machine.
A is the elastic frame made to correspond approximately in shape with the
periphery of the last near the sole-surface thereof. The frame is preferably made
of india-rubber so that it has a strong tendency to contract, and as shewn in
Figure to press the upper leather E' against the last D. In order to allow of
stretching the frame A equally in all directions (whereby its central opening is
enlarged) a number of clamps X Figure 6, are placed round its circumference, and
these are attached by means of universal joints to bent levers K, Figure 10, the
latter being pivotted to the machine-frame J. To these bent levers, of which, for
the sake of greater clearness, only two are shewn in Figure 10, are attached
connecting rods L, jointed to a frame M. This frame M can, by means of the
treadle N, be moved downwards, by which movement the frame A is stretched
open. To the table of the machine-frame is attached a vertically movable sliding
piece Q, which is provided with a standard R which enters a corresponding opening
in the last D, and a support S for the front part of the last D. Beneath the said
table the sliding piece is connected with a pivotted lever T, on the free end of
which a weight Y is adjusted, so that the sliding piece is necessarily constantly
pressed upward. In order to be able to regulate the vertical movement of the
sliding piece exactly, two adjustable screws U and V work in brackets fixed to
the frame, and serve to regulate the vertical movement of the lever T, and the
sliding piece Q respectively. In order to hold the insole securely during the
working of the machine and also in order to be able to apply the adhesive material
to the welt, before the edge of the upper leather E', Figure 1, is pushed over the
welt, two frames or casings B and C are employed one of which embraces the
other, which frames or casings follow the shape of the sole-surface of the last.
The size of the outer casing B is such that it can embrace the lateral surface of
the last, as shewn in Figure 1. In order that these casings may be moved in
opposite directions two bridge pieces F Fare arranged on their inner sides, and
are united by bars as shewn in Figure 8, the bridge pieces being movably connected
to the inner casing C by pivots G. These bridge pieces are furnished with slots
in which move studs H, attached to the outer casing B. The pivots G and studs H
are so arranged with reference to each other that by moving the bridge pieces in
the direction of the arrow shewn in Figure 8, by means of the handle which is
attached to one of the bridge-pieces the casings are moved in opposite directions.
The manner of using the machine is illustrated in Figures 1 to 5.
The insole is first laid within the casings B and C the bridge pieces F being
meanwhile kept down; then the last D is applied and the upper leather E' is
drawn tightly over the last, so that the former extends over the outer casing B
as shewn in Figure 1. The treadle N Figure 10, is now moved downwards whereby
the elastic frame A will be stretched out by the levers K so far that the last with
the upper leather upon it can be easily placed inside the opening of the frame A,

page_text: and be supported by the standard R, when the front part of the last will rest upon
the support S. The treadle N is now released so that the frame A. contracts again,
and by its elasticity presses the upper leather against the casing B. The workman
then grasps the lever P, Figure 10. carrying the weight Z, which lever is connected
to the frame M by a rod O and joints and presses it downwards, whereby the
levers K are caused to press the frame A. still more tightly towards the casing and
last. In place of this arrangement I can employ any other suitable arrangement
for the same purpose. During the latter operation the last D, with the casings B
and C, is only held to the upper leather by the action of the weight Y in a proper
position with respect to the frame A, see Figure 1. The workman now turns the
bridge pieces F by means of the handle in the direction of the arrow, Figure 8, so
that as before described a movement of the two casings B and C upon one another
takes place. As the outer casing B (by reason of the friction upon the upper
leather E which is now firmly pressed by the frame A against the casing B)
cannot move either outwards, or downwards, the last D must yield, in such a
manner that, under the action of the inner casing C it presses in a direction
contrary to the action of the weight on the lever T, Figure 10, as indicated by
the arrows in Figure 1. As soon as the last D with the upper leather E' has been
lowered so far that the outer surface of the insole E is level with the lower edge
of the frame A, the piece Q comes against the screw V, so that the last I can
descend no farther. A farther movement of the bridge piece F causes the outer
casing B to move and the upper leather E is still more firmly pressed against the
last D, whilst the inner casing C remains fixed, whereupon the upper edge of the
upper leather begins to be pressed inwards by the still contracting frame A, as
shewn in Figure 2. By the continued movement of the bridge piece F, the outer
casing B is finally pushed clear of the frame A as shewn in Figure 3, so that the
frame presses the edge of the upper leather against the inner casing C. In this
position the margin of the insole E is supplied with the adhesive material, which is
applied to it at a Figure 3 by the workman. The bridge piece F is now moved
back again, so that the outer casing B rests upon the frame A as shewn in Figure 4
and the inner casing C is lifted. When the inner casing C has been completely
raised as shewn in Figure 5, the frame A slips under the edge of the casing C, and
presses the margin of the upper leather E firmly over the part of the insole E,
which was previously covered with adhesive material. The downward movement
of the last through the frame A, by reason of the friction causes the upper leather
to be evenly stretched over the last, so that when the edge of the upper leather is
finally cemented to the insole, the upper leather properly embraces the last. In
order to be able to adapt the frame A, within certain limits, to different shapes of
lasts, the under surfaces of which are more or less curved, the bent levers K are
provided with screw threads at their upper ends, so that the vertical position of
the clamps which hold the frame may be adjusted by means of nuts W. Instead
of the clamps which are shewn in the drawings being so arranged that they grip
the frame on both sides, a dovetail shaped clamp or a clamp of a somewhat similar
shape, may be inserted in the frame itself, and vulcanized thereto, by which means
a secure union is effected between the holder and the india rubber frame. Inasmuch
as only a relative movement between the frame A and the last D is required for
the laying round of the edge of the upper leather, the last D might be placed in a
fixed position, and the levers K moveably attached to the frame in such a manner
that the frame A could be raised. The casings B and C cause a smooth laying
round of the edge of the upper leather, but they may be dispensed with, and the
upper leather may, for instance, be stretched by ordinary pincers, and attached to
the insole by tacks or by adhesive material.
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. A machine for stretching the upper leather of a boot or shoe unon a last and

page_text: for fastening the upper leather to the insole in which a frame is employed of elastic
material embracing the last, and in which the last and frame are moved in opposite
directions so as to draw the upper leather over the last and lay it over the insole,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. In a machine such as is referred to in Claim 1 the arrangement of two casings
one surrounding the other, for securely holding the insole during the stretching
and for facilitating the stretching itself, the inner casing holding the insole tightly,
and the outer casing embracing the last; and the two casings being so connected
with each other that when one is pushed downwards the other is raised, and
vice versa, substantially as set forth.
3. The improved lasting machine for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes
as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 16th day of September 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.