IMPROVEMENTS IN NAILING MACHINES FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1885

page_text: I HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN NAILING MACHINES FOR USE IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF 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:-
This invention relates to that class of boot and shoe nailing machines in which a
continuous wire, or equivalent fastening means, is automatically fed forward, cut
off and pointed, and inserted in the boot or shoe and secured therein.
The object of the said invention is to facilitate the manufacture of boots and
shoes and economize in the item of labor in their production.
The said invention comprises improved means for securing the horn or anvil
firmly while the awl is being inserted and the nail driven, and of releasing such
horn so that it may yield downwardly during other parts of the operation.
It also comprises a pair of tapered dovetail keys having flanged screws for
adjusting them, to provide for wear by the sliding of the head and the action of
the awl and driver.
It also comprises a new combination of devices for effecting and regulating the
feed of the wire.
It also comprises mechanism by which a horn, arranged to hold the stock being
operated upon firmly while a nail is being driven, may be freed from the operation
of the device for locking it in position and thus enable it to be lowered at any
time, instead of being rigidly held except during the feeding forward of the stock.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a front view of the upper part of the improved nailing machine, and
Figure 2 is a rear view thereof with the pulleys and fly-wheel cut away.
Figure 3 is a side view of the machine, showing the position of the horn; and
Figures 4 and 5 are views of the devices for securing the horn at the proper
time.

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Figure 6 is a sectional elevation drawn to an enlarged scale of part of the head
of the machine,
Figure 7 shows the front face of the head with the awl and driver raised.
Figure 8 is a vertical section of the foot of the machine, showing the treadle for
depressing the horn when the shoe is removed.
Figure 9 shows the treadle which operates the shipper.
Figures 10 and 11 are views of the nail carrier shown in Figures 6 and 7, and
Figure 12 shows, in perspective, some of the devices by which it may be
operated.
Figures 13 and 14.illustrate the double-tapered dovetail-keys on which the head
Blides.
Figure 15 shows part of the wire-feeding mechanism.
Figure 16 shows details of the cutting devices, and
Figure 17 shows the relation of the cutters to the carrier.
0
Figure 18 is a vertical section through a part of the standard of the nailing
machine, showing in elevation the mechanism whereby the horn may be lowered
at any time.
Figure 19 is a top view or plan of parts of the said mechanism.
A is the body or standard of the machine formed with an offset about midway
of its height, so as to throw the support of the head out of line with the axis of
the horn. B is the driving shaft, mounted horizontally in bearings, and furnished
with tight and loose pulleys C, and fly-wheel D, see Figure 3.
The horn or anvil E is of the usual bent and tapering form, and is mounted in a
base block or bracket F, which revolves upon a vertical shaft G located in the
lower half of the standard A. This shaft has the usual spring H surrounding it to
give support to the horn, and is provided with the pivotted treadle I to depress it,
as in Figure 8.
The horn E is supported rigidly while the awl is forming a perforation to
receive a nail and while the nail is being driven. I provide such support, as shown
in Figures 3, 4 and 5, by a pair of gripping jaws J, pivotted to each other by a
stud K, and arranged to seize the shaft G below the bracket F, at the required
moment. This grip is effected by a lever L, pivotted on a horizontal stud M and
nade wedge-shape, in cross-section, at one end, to enter between and move the
jaws. The other end of the lever is adjustably connected by a rod N, with a cam-
groove in a wheel O fixed on the driving shaft B. By reversing the position of
the wedges an edge-cam may be substituted for the grooved face-cam, shown in
Figure 3.
From this explanation it is apparent that during a part of each revolution of the
driving shaft the horn E is held rigidly and cannot be depressed. The mechanism
is so timed that during this interval the awl descends to perforate the leather, then
moves aside and the driver drives the nail and clinches it. The firm support
secured by my improvement, during these operations, is of great value.
In some cases it may be desirable to lower the horn at the time when it is auto-
matically locked and held rigidly by the locking device, for this purpose the rod N
is secured to the lever L by block N' Figure 18 and operated by cam mechanism
on the main shaft as described. To the block N¹ is secured the lever n Figure 19
by the pivot n¹³, which is provided with an eccentric pin o, which bears in the end
of lever L. To the outer end of lever n, I attach a connecting rod n³, the lower
end of which is connected with treadle mechanism attached to the lower part of
the standard (or frame of the machine) at a convenient point. If the operator puts
his foot on this treadle he will raise the rod n³and the rear end of lever n and
cause the lever to turn on pivot n', thus lowering eccentric o, and with it the rear
end of lever L, and raising the wedge end of said lever which operates as described
to release the jaws J. J. A spring is arranged between the ends of the jaws J ♫
as shown in dotted lines in Figure 19, in order to force the jaws apart when
released by the wedge.
11:

page_text: The lever n may if desired be pivotted to a projection on the standard, or in
any other convenient manner, instead of to the block N¹.
The horn E stands normally with its tip coincident with the axis of the vertical
shaft G about which it may be revolved. It is at times desirable to swing the tip
out of position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3, I therefore provide a
tapering pin P, to enter a corresponding hole in the horn and its bracket F. This
pin secures said parts in their working position, but it is detachable by a slight
blow on its small end, after which the horn may be swung out of line as desired.
The tapering character of the pin permits its ready return, and ensures the correct
position of the parts.
Figures 3, 6, 18 and 14 illustrate another feature of the invention by which
wear, incident to the lateral movement of the tool-carrying head on its ways, is
compensated for.
The overhanging frame Q at the top of the machine has, at its front, a stationary
head R, formed with the projecting, dovetail ways S, on which the sliding head T
travels, to bring the awl and driver successively into position. Between these
ways S and the corresponding part of the sliding head T, I introduce two reversely
tapered keys U, preferably of composition metal. These keys are adjustable in
the direction of their length, by screw-bolts V each having a radial collar W which
enters a transverse slot formed in the side of one of the keys. By this construction
the most delicate adjustment is obtained and maintained, since several revolutions
of the adjusting screw are required to take up the thirty second part of an inch of
play between the parts, and also because no direct strain comes upon the threads
of the screw&
The continuous wire a, from which the fastening devices are cut, is held on a
spool or reel from which it is uncoiled as required. It is fed forward a given
length, at a specified time, by the movement of the two rollers b, c, shown in
dotted lines in Figures 1 and 15. The roller b has a permanent bearing, but the
roller c is mounted at the end of a pivotted lever d, provided with an adjusting
screwe by means of which the pressure upon the wire a may be readily regulated.
The roller 6 has fixed upon its front or outer end, a gear or ratchet wheel f; and
a movable collar g, adjacent thereto and arranged to oscillate about the axis of said
roller as in Figures 1 and 15, serves to govern the extent of movement of the feed
roller b. This collar is a metallic ring, and carries two or more pivotted pawls h,
of differing length or pivotted at different distances from the said wheel. Three
pawls are shown in Figure 15, and the object of furnishing more than one is that,
when the collar g is oscillated about its centre, one of the pawls will always be
ready to engage with one of the teeth, and thus the roller b will move and feed
the wire forward without any lost motion.
.
The collar g is oscillated in a short arc by means of a pivotted arm i, Figure 1,
slotted to receive a stud or pin j, on the collar g. This arm is raised by a spring k .
at its pivot (see Figure 3), and is depressed by the downward movement of the
sliding plate which carries a lug m coming into contact with said arm at the
instant more wire is required.
The extent to which the arm i rises determines the length of the are through
which the collar g oscillates, and consequently governs the feed of the wire, by
determining how much it shall be carried forward at any given stroke by the
action of the collar and its pawls on the ratchet wheel fand feeding-roller b.
When, therefore, the vertically sliding plate which carries the awl n, is raised
for another stroke, the arm i is raised by its spring k until it strikes the tip of
another arm p, pivotted on a rock-shaft q, Figures 1 and 3. This shaft has a
slotted crank-arm r to receive a link or rod 8 which is adjustably connected by
a pivotted branch arm t, with the vertical rod u, extending up from the
prolongation of the treadle L The pivotting of the arm t may be dispensed with
by extending the arm r inwardly instead of outwardly, as shown.
Since the horn is pressed upwardly by the spring H and shaft G, as far as the
thickness of the stock in the shoe sole will admit, varying according to its thickness,

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it follows that, with thin stock, the horn will rise nearly to the head while the
outer end of the treadle and the rod u, connected thereto, will be depressed, raising
the outer ends of the lever t and r, and lowering the tip of the arm p. This
arrests the arm i at the proper point in its rising and ensures the feeding forward
of just so much wire as is required.
The sliding head T is moved horizontally on its ways S, by means of a cam
i
on the end of the driving-shaft B, working in a recess in said head, as indicated in
dotted and full lines in Figure 7. This horizontal movement is only equal to the
distance from the awl n to the driver o so as to bring these tools successively into
working position.
The cam 1 has on, its front face a cylindrical stud or pin 2, upon which is
mounted a rectangular block 3 which, at each revolution, traverses a horizontál
recess 4 in the sliding plate 7 thus giving to said plate the vertical reciprocation
required to actuate the awl, the plate moving up and down in dovetail ways
formed in the front of the head T.
This movement of the block 3 also raises the driver o, since the driver-bar 5 has
a projecting shoulder 6 beneath which the block 3 comes at each revolution to lift
it to the position shown in Figure 7, where the block is just releasing the shoulder,
to permit the descent of the driver under the impulse of the spring 7, Figure 1.
The horizontal movement of the head T on its ways S serves to cut off the
length of the wire which has been fed forward, and to point the next length; one
member 8 of the cutting apparatus being held fast on a projection 9 from the
stationary head, and the other member 10 carried on the sliding head in position
to shear off a length of wire at each reciprocation and, at the same operation, to
point the next length. I do not claim the specific cutters shown in Figures 16
and 17, since equivalent devices might be operated by the sliding head.
The length of the wire fed forward and cut off is received in a vertical position
by a suitable carrier, and transferred to a point immediately beneath the driver
and over the hole formed in the sole by the awl. so that it may be inserted therein
by the descent of the driver.
The carrying device shown in the drawings has a receiver 15, having two or
more (and by preference three) vertical apertures through it into which wire is fed
downwardly, as in Figure 17. After it is cut off a partial rotation of the receiver
carries the length of wire to its position over the awl-hole in the sole. The
perforation forms a solid wall all around the nail to support it while being driven
and it is guided from the bottom of the receiver to the sole by a divided
throat, 16 (see Figure 11). This throat is formed by affixing a metal plate
detachably to the head of the machine and forming a vertical recess between the
two and partly in each, to conduct the nail to the sole. Should the nail become
bent or battered so as not to drive well, it may be removed by detaching the
throat plate, thus saving taking the machine apart.
The receiver 15 is partially rotated by any suitable mechanism, Figure 12
showing for this purpose a cam 18 on the shaft B, with a pivotted lever 19
engaging therewith. This lever is connected by a link or pitman 20 with an
adjustable lever 21, which, at its free end, engages the receiver and turns it 120°
on its axis. I do not claim this specific arrangement of parts, nor limit myself
thereto, as a much simpler apparatus may be used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
First. The curved horn E, mounted for rotation on the shaft G in combination
with the gripping-jaws J, actuated from the driving shaft and adapted to
alternately support and release the horn, substantially as set forth.
-
Second: The combination with the horn-supporting rod and grippers of the
gripper operating lever L, block N¹, and lever n pivotted to said block and

page_text: provided with eccentric o, and having suitable operating mechanism, substantially
as shown and described.
Third. In a nailing-machine, the frame and the sliding head carrying the awl
and driver, in combination with the tapered keys U U and the flanged adjusting
screws VW, or equivalent devices, for the purposes set forth.
Fourth. The wire-feeding apparatus herein described, consisting of the roller o
mounted in the lever d and provided with the adjusting screw e, in combination
with the roller b, toothed wheel f, oscillation collar g and two or more pawls h,
arranged substantially as set forth.
HASELTINE LAKE, & Co.,
For the Applicant.