Improvements in Heel Burnishing Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 8th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 14th Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Heel Burnishing Machines.
I, ALFRED BURKE FOWLER of Exeter in the County of Rockingham and
State of New Hampshire in the United States of America, Engineer and General
Manager of the Rockingham Machine Company of that town, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in heel burnishing machines and consists
of an oscillating and longitudinally movable and yielding spring pressed burnisher
tool, the shaft of which carries a roller or wheel held in contact with a non-
vibrating heel former or cam, and a single or duplex jack for holding the boot or
shoe in position and mechanism for automatically moving the burnishing tool from
breast to breast, and from top lift to heel seat of the heel and automatically with-
drawing the same from contact after the burnishing operation by foot treadle for
releasing the jack and stopping the feed motion to allow of the burnished shoe to
be removed and replaced by another one.
The operation of the appliances being effected in the following or equivalent
manner.
The frame or standard of the machine is constructed having a pillar or main
standard, and secured to its forward end is a bracket on which is arranged a
revolving jack frame having suitable devices therein for securing to it the boot or
shoe to be burnished and suitable clamping device and mechanism for securing the
shoe in position on the jack, a rear standard also being secured to the pillar, in
which is journaled the driving shaft provided with fast and loose pulleys also belt
fork of any ordinary kind for shifting the belt from one pulley to the other. Upon
the inner end of the driving shaft is secured an eccentric balanced disc provided
with a crank pin, to which is pivoted a connecting rod, its upper end linked to a
lever journaled on a short horizontal shaft inside the pillar carrying a toothed
segment which gears in the teeth of a pinion secured to a rock shaft carried in
stationary bearings secured preferably to the top of the pillar. By this arrange-
ment a rocking motion is imparted to the rock shaft from the driving shaft, and
causes the burnisher tool to be oscillated from breast to breast of the boot or shoe
heel. To the rock shaft are secured two forked arms to guide the jointed tool
carrying levers held in. a sleeve splined on the rock shaft which is longitudinally
adjustable thereon, to carry the burnisher tool secured to the forward end of the
jointed levers; from the top lift to the heel seat of the heel during the burnishing
operation.
To the aforesaid jointed levers is secured a flat or leaf spring by set screws or
their equivalents. Upon the rear end of the rock shaft is the heel former or
cam and against its curved surface is guided and made to bear a wheel or roller
fitted in the rear end of the jointed levers, attached to the sleeve on the rock
shaft is a spring of a suitable shape that it is capable of bearing against the upper
surface of the rear part of the jointed levers to hold the wheel or roller down on
to the convexed face of the heel former or cam. The curvature of the heel former
or cam in a longitudinal direction is the reverse of the longitudinal curvature of
the heel that is to say: where the heel is concave, the cam is convex, and vice
versa. In a lateral direction the curvature of the said cam corresponds inversely
to the curvature of the heel or thereabouts. The jointed levers are caused to move
longitudinally to guide the wheel or roller on the cam, and cause the burnisher
tool at the opposite end to be fed from the top lift to heel seat of the heel, and
held with a uniform pressure in contact with the latter by adjustment of the flat or
leaf spring before mentioned. For automatically feeding the said burnisher tool

page_text: from the top lift to the heel seat of the heel I arrange on the driving shaft a loosely
mounted worm gearing with a friction clutch adapted to be engaged with another
clutch splined on the said driving shaft and capable of longitudinal adjustment
thereon, the latter having an annular groove on its hub, to receive the upper end
of an arm secured to a horizontal rod to slide in suitable bearings, a spring being
coiled on its rear end by means of which the clutches are normally coupled
together. To disconnect the said clutches a treadle lever is used pivoted to a
bracket on the base of the pillar and connected to the lower end of a vertical rod
(which operates the coupling of the jack) on this rod is a projection or pin, which
comes in contact with a tipping lever pivoted to the side of the pillar and the
lower end of the lever connected to the front end of the shifting rod, by which
means the latter is caused to move forward when the foot treadle is depressed
thereby causing the clutches to be disconnected and stopping the rotation of the
worm. The said worm meshes in the teeth of a worm wheel the shaft of which is
journaled at right angles to the driving shaft in bearings attached to the rear part
of the machine, to one side of the said worm wheel is secured, or made in one
piece ; a cam disc, the cam groove being shaped to receive a roller on pin in the
lower end of a vertical lever, the upper end of which is connected to a short rod
sliding in a bearing secured to the upper part of the pillar, the said rod having
a forked projection fitting into a portion of an annular groove in the sleeve on the
rock shaft to which the tool carrying levers are jointed. In a vertically grooved
portion of the rear standard is a lever adjustably pivoted for the purpose of
adjusting the feed of the burnisher tool according to the height or pitch of the
heel, and for this purpose a slot is made in the said lever in which is adjustable
a pivot bolt, the inner end of which is provided with a head adapted to be adjusted
up and down in the grooved block and secured in position by means of a nut or
handle. To automatically raise the burnisher tool from the heel of the boot or
shoe after it is burnished and to enable the jack to be moved I arrange on the
shaft of the worm wheel a circular disc, having a recess on its periphery. To
the rear standard or its block or upper portion is pivoted a lever having a pin
or pin and roller in its lower end, adapted to bear against the periphery of the
said disc by the influence of a spring one end of which is attached to the rear
standard and the other end to the lever, the upper end of this lever is pivoted to
a projecting eye on the heel former or cam, by which means the cam or heel former
is moved once during the revolution of the cam disc, at which time the roller or
pin is forced by the spring into the recess or lower portion of the cam disc, and
the wheel or roller on the jointed tool carrying levers is forced and held by the
spring on rock shaft against the reduced portion of the cam or former, or against
the rock shaft, thus tipping the jointed levers so as to raise the burnisher tool from
contact and above the boot or shoe heel.
The vertical rod for actuating the locking device of the jack frame when in its
normal position is adapted to lock and hold the said jack. The tool being with-
drawn a shoe is secured in position on the jack and the feed mechanism of the
burnisher tool is started by the operator relieving the pressure on the foot treadle
causing the cam on the worm wheel shaft to act on the lever connected to the heel
former or cam to move the same backwards and bringing the burnisher tool in
contact with the heel, the tool being oscillated and fed to the heel seat and back
to its starting point. By putting pressure on the foot treadle the jack is released
and the feed motion stopped so that the boot or shoe burnished may be removed
and another take its place.
Dated this 5th day of January 1891.
W. B. MAXFIELD,
Applicant's Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Heel Burnishing Machines.
I, ALFRED BURKE FOWLER of Exeter, in the County of Rockingham and
State of New Hampshire in the United States of America Engineer and General
Manager of the Rockingham Machine Company of that town 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 statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in heel burnishing machines, and consists
of an oscillating and longitudinally movable and yielding spring pressed burnishing
tool, the shaft of which carries a roller or wheel held in contact with a non-vibrating
heel former or cam, and a single or duplex jack for holding the boot or shoe in
position and mechanism for automatically moving the burnishing tool from breast
to breast, and from top lift to heel seat of the heel and automatically withdrawing
the same from contact after the burnishing operation by foot treadle for releasing
the jack and stopping the feed motion to allow of the burnished shoe to be removed
and replaced by another one. Reference being had to the accompanying drawings
forming part of this Specification wherein
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine partly in section.
Figure 2 an enlarged detail section on the line XX shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a top view of the former or cam L employed for regulating the
pressure of the burnishing tool upon the heel.
Figure 4 is a side view of the cam R by means of which the pressure regulating
cam is longitudinally moved.
Figure 5 illustrates a top plan view of the jointed pressure and tool carrying
levers, and
Figure 6 a side elevation of spring employed as an alternative to the one shown
in Figure 1 hereinafter described.
Similar letters of reference refer to like parts wherever they occur in the
drawings.
The operation of the appliances being effected in the following or equivalent
inanner. A is the frame or standard of the machine, having secured to its front
portion the bracket A', on which is arranged a revolving jack frame B, having
suitable devices therein for securing to it the boot or shoe C, the heel c, of which
is to be burnished and suitable device and mechanism for clamping and securing the
shoe in position on the jack may be made in any well known manner without
departing from my invention.
A is a rear standard secured to the main frame or standard A, shown in Figure 1.
D is the driving shaft, journaled in bearings a, all and provided with fast and
loose pulleys d, d. A rotary motion is imparted to the shaft D by belt power as
usual and a belt fork (not shown) of any ordinary kind is used for shifting the
belt from one pulley to the other. Upon the inner end of the driving shaft D is
secured an eccentric balanced disc D', provided with a crank pin D", to which is
pivoted the lower end of a connecting rod E, having its upper end pivoted to the
lower arm or lever F' on a toothed segment F, that is journaled on the pin or
shaft,, as shown in Figure 1. The teeth of the segment gear F mesh in the teeth
of a pinion G, secured to the rock shaft g, that carries the burnishing tool, and by
this arrangement a rocking motion is imparted to said shaft g from the driving
shaft D for the purpose of oscillating the burnisher tool from breast to breast of
the boot or shoe heel.
The shaft "y" is journaled in stationary bearings a³, a, preferably secured to
the top of the pillar A. To the rock shaft "g are secured forked arms G¹
and G, in which are guided, respectively the pressure and tool carrying levers H

page_text: 66
and H', which are held in the tool carrying sleeve I at i, as shown in Figure 1
and 5. The sleeve I is splined upon the shaft "g" and is longitudinally adjustable
thereon for the purpose of carrying the burnisher tool h', (secured to the forward
end of the lever H₁₁) from the top lift to the heel seat of the heel during the
operation of burnishing the latter. To the jointed levers H and H' is secured a
flat or leaf spring K, or the coiled spring K* upon the rod K** Figure 6," by
means of the respective adjustable set screws K, K³, and nuts K2, or in any other
suitable or equivalent manner. The spring K or K* extends or spans over the
jointed portions of the levers, and since the ends of the spring connect, respectively,
with said levers H H', it will be obvious that the motion of one lever is yieldingly
imparted to the other."
Upon the rear end of the rock shaft "y" is loosely journaled the heel former
or cam L, and against its curved surface is guided and brought to bear the small
wheel or roller h, fitted on the rear end of the lever H see Figures 1 and 5.
Attached to the sleeve I on the rock shaft is a spring i¹ of any suitable shape
adapted to bear against the top of the lever H for the purpose of holding the wheel
or roller h, in contact with the heel former L, as shown in Figure 1. The curvature
of the former or cam L in a longitudinal direction is the reverse of the longitudinal
curvature of the heel, that is to say; where the heel is concave the former or
cam is convex, and vice versa. In a lateral direction the curvature of the said cam
corresponds inversely to the curvature of the heel to be burnished. By moving
the jointed levers H H in a longitudinal direction the wheel will be guided on
the cam L, and thus cause the burnisher tool ', to be fed from the top lift to heel
seat of the heel, and held in contact with the latter with a uniform pressure, which
may be regulated by adjusting the tension of the spring K or K*. During such
feed motion of the burnisher tool it is also oscillated from breast to breast of the
heel by the mechanism herein before described.
For automatically feeding the said burnisher tool from the top lift to the heel-
seat of the heel I arrange on the driving shaft D a loosely mounted worm M, to
which is secured preferably, one section N of a friction clutch, adapted to be
engaged by the other section N¹, which is splined on the shaft D, and capable of
longitudinal adjustment thereon, the latter has an annular groove n on its hub
adapted to receive the upper end of a shipper arm O, secured to a horizontal
rod O¹, sliding in stationary bearings and provided with a spring O₁, on its rear
end by means of which the clutch sections N, N₁, are normally coupled together as
shown in Figure 1. To disconnect the section N¹ from the section N a treadle
lever P is used pivoted at P' and has connected to its inner end a rod P", on
which is a pin or projection p, adapted to come in contact with the lever 0³,
pivoted to the side of the pillar A at O³, and having one of its ends connected to
the shipper rod O¹, by which arrangement the latter is caused to move forward in
the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 1, when the treadle lever is depressed,
thereby causing the section N' to be disconnected from the section N, and thus
stopping the rotation of the worm M. I may omit the above clutch arrangement
and shipper rod in any machine or in connecting two machines together as "Twin
Machines in double bearings operated from one set of driving pulleys. The said
worm M meshes in the teeth of a worm wheel M', the shaft of which is journaled
in a stationary bearing attached to the standard A", or other stationary part of
the machine. To one side of the said worm wheel M' is secured or made in one
piece a cam disc m, having a cum groove m', adapted to receive a pin or pin and
roll 9 on the lower end of the lever Q, the upper end of which is connected to a
rod Qadapted to slide in a bearing A³, secured to the upper end of the standard A
seen in Figure 1" the said rod has a projection Q", fitting into a portion of an
annular groove I', on the sleeve I, to which the levers H, H' are jointed.
c
The lever is adjustably pivoted to a vertically grooved portion A₁ of the
standard A for the purpose of adjusting the feed of the burnisher tool according
to the height of the heel, and for this purpose a slot Q³ is made in the lever Q, in

page_text: which is adjustable_the_pivot bolt q', the inner end of which is provided with a
head adapted to be adjusted up and down in the grooved block A, and secured
in position by means of a nut or handle q³, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
To automatically raise the burnisher-tool h¹ above the heel of the boot or shoe
after it is burnished, so as to enable the shoe to be removed from the jack and
replaced by another, I arrange on the shaft of the worm wheel M¹, a circular
disc R, "shown in Figures 2 and 4," having a recess R' on its periphery. To the
standard A or its block or portion A is pivoted at R" a lever R³, having a pin
or pin and roll, in its lower end, adapted to bear against the periphery of the
disc R by the influence of the spring R, one end of which is attached to the
standard A" and the other end to the lever R³. The upper end of the said
lever R³ is pivoted to the heel former or cam L at 1, Figure 2, by which arrange-
ment the heel former or cam L is moved once during the revolution of the disc R
to the position shown in Figure 1, at which time the pin r, is forced by the
spring R into the recess R', and the wheel or roller is forced and held by the
spring against a reduced portion of the former I, or against the shaft g, thus
tipping the levers H, H¹ so as to raise the burnisher tool above the boot or shoe
heel for the purpose as above stated.
The rod P, when in its normal position locks the jack in a stationary position
as is usual in machines of this kind. may of course dispense with the lever R³
and cam disc R, and attach the shank of the former or cam L to the standard A",
when desired. The operation of the machine is effected by the tool being with-
drawn in the manner described a boot or shoe is secured in position in the jack
and the feed mechanism of the burnisher-tool is started by the operator relieving
the pressure on the foot treadle, or treadle lever P, causing the cam m, m³, on the
worm-wheel shaft to act on the lever Q connected to the heel former or cam L
and move the same backward, and thereby bringing the tool h¹ in contact with the
heel, preferably at its top lift portion, and the tool is oscillated and fed to the
heel-seat and back to its starting point, when it is automatically withdrawn from
contact by the action of the lever R³ and its spring Rt. Pressure upon the treadle
lever P releases the jack and stops the feed motion, when the shoe may be removed
and another one put in its place.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
:-
1. In a burnishing machine, the combination of an oscillating shaft, a sleeve
movable along the length of the shaft and oscillating therewith, a former or cam,
and spring-pressed levers pivoted to the sleeve and oscillating with the shaft, one
of the said levers having a roller or wheel acting upon the periphery of the former
or cam, the other carrying the burnishing tool.
2. In a burnishing machine the automatic regulation of the pressure of the
burnishing tool by means of a former or cam such as L Figures 1, 2 and 3 or its
equivalent, substantially as described.
3. In combination with a pressure regulating device such as L, a pair of jointed
spring-pressed levers oscillated in unison with the shaft and movable longitudinally
independently of the said shaft.
4. In a burnishing machine the controlling of the levers carrying the burnisher
tool and wheel for contact with the former or cam L by spring such as K
or K Figures 1, 5 and 6, spanning the same and adjustable in the manner herein-
before described.
5. Improvements in burnishing machines for equalizing the pressure of the
burnisher tool upon all parts of the heel regularly and automatically by the
combination of an oscillating shaft, a former or cam, a sleeve turning with and
movable along the length of the shaft, a pair of spring pressed levers jointed to
the sleeve one provided with a roller or wheel acting on the former or cam and
the other the burnisher tool, a main driving shaft, and devices actuated by the

page_text: shaft for oscillating the sleeve-carrying shaft and moving the sleeve along the
length thereof, substantially in the manner and for the purpose hereinbefore
described and set forth.
Dated this 5th day of October 1891.
WILLIAM BESTWICK MAXFIELD,
"The Central" Office for Patents,
No. 19, Bowling Green Street, Leicester, England,
Applicant's Agent.