IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HEELS FOR BOOTS OR SHOES, AND APPARATUS THEREFOR.
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Stevens, of St. Giles Street, Northamp-
ton, in the County of Northampton, for the Invention of
“IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HEELS FOR BOOTS OR SHOES, AND
APPARATUS THEREFOR.
"
Sealed the 18th November 1873, and dated the 27th September 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Stevens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th September 1873.
I, WILLIAM STEVENS, of St. Giles Street, Northampton, in the County
3 of Northampton, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HEELS FOR BOOTS OR SHOES, AND
APPARATUS THEREFOR," to be as follows:-
The heels of boots or shoes are usually made of a number of slabs or
** lifts" of leather or other material, secured together by pins, nails, or
rivets..

page_text: provide a mould open at top and bottom, and shaped like the outline of
the heel, that is to say, nearly semicircular, but tapering in its length,
being larger at the end corresponding to that side of the heel which
comes next to the foot of the wearer. This mould is hinged to a base
piece in such a manner that it can be folded back, presenting its large
side upwards. When so presented the slabs or lifts which are to compose
the heel are laid into it, the smallest underneath, and the larger pieces
one above the other.
The base piece presents a convex surface curved to the hollow which
the heel is intended to present towards the foot, and in this surface are
three, five, or more holes, the lower portions of which are bored larger
to receive plungers, which are fixed to the foundation of the apparatus.
Besides the hinged mould above described there is also hinged to the
base piece a die corresponding in shape to the smaller face of the heel,
and in this die there are numerous holes bored in a row near the curved
circumference of the die. Each of these holes at its back part receives
a plunger, and all the plungers are attached to an upper die, which is
kept away from the lower die by a spring. The base piece already
described is also kept up from the foundation by a spring. The mould,
being charged with slabs or lifts, nails, rivets, or pins are placed in the
holes in the base piece, so that their ends rest on the plungers, while
their points project little or not at all above the face of the base piece.
Nails, rivets, or pins are also introduced into the holes in the die, such
rivets or pins in like manner resting on the plungers, and not projecting
from the face of the die. The mould containing the slabs or lifts is now
turned on its hinge over the base piece, also the die with the upper die
and plungers is turned on its hinge over the mould, and in so turning
the die it is usual to place a thin plate of metal in front of it to prevent
the nails, rivets, or pins from dropping out, such plate being withdrawn
when the die is turned over the mould. The apparatus is then subjected
to pressure in a screw, hydraulic, or other press, which pressure has the
effect of pushing the die down on the heel in the mould, and squeezing
the slabs or lifts forcibly together, at the same time shaping the lower
part of the heel to the curvature of the base piece. Also the nails, pins,
or rivets in the base piece being held up by the fixed plungers, while the
basc piece itself is forced down, are driven into the heel from the under
side, and the nails, rivets, or pins are in like manner driven into the
heel from the upper side. The pressure being relieved the base picce

page_text: and the top die with its plungers are returned to their positions by
their springs, the die can be folded back on its hinge so as to expose the
mould, the latter can also be folded back, and the shaped and pinned
or rivetted heel can be removed from it.
nied by the said William Stevens in the Great Seal Patent Umice on
the 13th March 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
STEVENS, of St. Giles Street, Northampton, in the County of North-
ampton, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three,
in the thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Stevens, Her
special license that I, the said William Stevens, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Stevens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with,. and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term-therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HEELS FOR BOOTS AND
SHOES, AND APPARATUS THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Stevens, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.

page_text: .
•
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Stevens, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say :-
"
The heels of boots and shoes are usually made of a number of slabs or
"lifts" of leather or other material, secured together by pins, nails, or
rivets.
I
My Invention relates to a method of securing these slabs or lifts, and 1
to the construction and operation of apparatus for that. purpose.
provide a mould open at top and bottom, and shaped like the outline of
the heel, that is to say, nearly semicircular, but tapering in its length,
being larger at the end corresponding to that side of the heel which
-comes next to the foot of the wearer. This mould is hinged to a base 1
piece in such a manner that it can be folded back, presenting its large
side upwards. When so presented the slabs or lifts which are to compose
the heel are laid into it, the smallest underneath and the larger pieces
one above the other.
The base piece presents a convex surface curved to the hollow which 2
the heel is intended to present towards the foot, and in this surface are
three, five, or more holes, the lower portions of which are bored larger to
receive plungers, which are fixed to the foundation of the apparatus.
Besides the hinged mould above described there is also hinged to the
base piece a die corresponding in shape to the smaller face of the heel, 2
and in this die there are numerous holes bored in a row near the curved
circumference of the dic. Each of these holes at its back part receives a
plunger, and all the plungers are attached to an upper die, which is kept
away from the lower die by a spring. The base piece already described
is also kept up from the foundation by a spring. The mould, being 3
charged with slabs or lifts, nails, rivets, or pins are placed in the holes
in the base piece so that their ends rest on the plungers, while their
points project little or not at all above the face of the base piece. Nails,
rivets, or pins are also introduced into the holes in the die, such rivets or
pins in like manner resting on the plungers, and not projecting from the 3
face of the die. The mould containing the slabs or lifts is now turned
on its hinge over the base piece, also the die with the upper die and

page_text: plungers is turned on its hinge over the mould, and in so turning the die
it is usual to place a thin plate of metal in front of it to prevent the
nails, rivets, or pins from dropping out, such plate being withdrawn
when the die is turned over the mould. The apparatus is then subjected
to pressure in a screw, hydraulic, or other press, which pressure has the
effect of pushing the die down on the heel in the mould, and squeezing
the slabs or lifts forcibly together, at the same time shaping the lower
part of the heel to the curvature of the base piece. Also the nails, pins,
or rivets in the base piece being held up by the fixed plungers while the
base piece itself is forced down are driven into the heel from the under
side, and the nails, rivets, or pins are in like manner driven into the heel
from the upper side. The pressure being relieved the base piece and the
top dio with its plungers are returned to their positions by their springs.
The die can be folded back on its hinge so as to expose the mould; the
latter can also be folded back, and the shaped and pinned or rivetted
heel can be removed from it.
VE THE
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a plan of apparatus
constructed according to my Invention for manufacturing heels for boots
and shoes.
a is the mould having a taper hole through it of heel shape, hinged at
a to the base piece b, so that it can be folded back, as shewn in Fig. 2
and by the dotted lines a¹ in Fig. 1, to receive the separate lifts A, which
are laid into it, and then can be turned over, bringing the lifts to the
position 1, Fig. 1, immediately over the convex part 6' of the base piece b.
Through this part of the base piece are three, five, or more holes h,
fitted with plungers p, which are fixed to or rest on the foundation
piece f. The base piece 6 is fitted to slide on the foundation piece f, and
is kept up by a helical spring & encircling the boss of the latter. d is
the die fitted to slide in its frame D, which is hinged at d to the base
piece so that it can be folded back, as shewn in Fig. 2 and by the dotted
lines D¹ in Fig. 1. In the die are numerous holes i, each of which
receives a plunger j, and these plungers are attached to or bear against
an upper die or disc e fitted to slide in the frame D, and kept, up by a
helical spring t. The bearings or joint a³, d³, consist of pins projecting

page_text: from lugs of the mould and die frame respectively, which pins enter
vertical slots in brackets a³ and d³, projecting upwards from the base
piece b. The pins are free to turn in those slots which permit them, also
to move upwards or downwards, and which being open at top allow of
the mould and die frame being taken off the base piece. The mould a
and die frame D being folded back (as shewn by the dotted lines a¹
and D' in Fig. 1), the mould is charged with the lifts P, and nails or
rivets are inserted in the holes h and i. The mould is then turned over
so as to bring the lifts to the position l, and the die frame is turned over
upon it, the nails in the holes i being kept in by a thin piece of metal
held on the face of the die d till it is turned over, when this metal is
withdrawn. The apparatus is then introduced into a press, and sub-
jected to pressure applied between f¹, the lower face of the foundation,
and e', the top of the stem of the second die or disc e. By this pressure
the nails or rivets in the holes and i are by the plungers p and j
respectively pushed into and through the pile of lifts 2, and the farther
pressure of the die into the mould compresses and consolidates the said
pile, forcing its lower surface to the concave shape determined by the
rounded projection 6' of the base, and burring over or rivetting the nails
or rivets h and i. On the pressure being relieved the basc piece b and
upper die or disc e are returned to their first positions by the springs s
and t; the die frame D and mould a are folded back, and the consolidated
heel is removed from the latter, when the apparatus is ready for being
operated with again.
By making the base 6 in one piece with the foundation f, dispensing
with the springs and plungers p, or by introducing a blocking piece in
lieu of the plungers p to prevent the base piece from sliding down or
simply by omitting to charge the holes with nails or rivets the
apparatus can be employed for manufacturing heels without the intro-
duction of nails or rivets from the under side, that is to say, the side:
which is intended to be presented towards the heel of the wearer.
Having thus, described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I
make no claim generally for compressing or consolidating together the
lifts constituting a heel, nor for forcing nails or rivets thereinto by means
of plungers pushing them out of holes into which they have been.
previously charged, but I claim,-
First. Effecting the fixing together of the lifts constituting a heel

page_text: and the consolidation or compression and the hollowing of the under
side of the heel at one operation by the application of pressure by means
of apparatus so arranged that the nails or rivets for fixing together the
lifts are driven into the heel before the compression or consolidation and
hollowing of the heel are effected.
Second. The use of apparatus for effecting the operation above referred
to, in which apparatus a mould for receiving the lifts and a die contain-
ing nails or rivets are hinged or jointed to a base piece in such a manner
that they can be folded back to be charged, substantially as herein
described.
Third. In apparatus such as is referred to above fitting the base piece b
and the top die or disc e, or the latter only, to slide against springs of
moderate resistance, so that when the apparatus is subjected to pressure
the nails or rivets are forced into the heel before the full consolidating
pressure is applied thereto, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof I, the said William Stevens, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
WILLIAM STEVENS. (LS)