Year: 1899

page_text: Invention IS to provide a machine for applying pressure to the
soles of boots and shoes after the same have been placed in position on the lasted shoe
with an adhesive solution intervening, applied either to the shoe, the sole, or to
both.
The machine is intended to be used for "sole laying" which is an operation
preceding that of "rough rounding and channelling" in the preparation of shoes
for the "sole stitching" machines.
The machine consists of a suitable framework carrying at its upper part a
mould, which is an inverted dish-like vessel having a sheet of indiarubber fastened by
its outer edge around the edge of the dish so as to make a water-tight joint and form
a bottom to the vessel. Between the indiarubber and the dish, water under pressure
is introduced so as to press down the central portion of the indiarubber upon the
shoe sole suitably carried beneath.
The water pressure is derived from a force pump and an air vessel is placed between
the pump and the above described mould to prevent shock from the pump and
maintain a reserve of water under pressure. Between the air vessel and the mould
is placed a suitable valve under the control of the operator by means of which he can
alternately open communication between the water in the air vessel and the mould
so as to press upon the shoe or close the same and release the water from the mould
so that it may return to the pump tank. A suitable safety valve and pressure gauge
are applied to the air vessel.
The shoe upon its last is carried upon a suitable jack which may be raised by
means of a treadle and toggle connections so as to bring the sole of the shoe
against the indiarubber mould preparatory to the pressing operation, another
treadle being provided to release the toggle and drop the shoe after the water
has been released from the mould. A hand wheel and screw are introduced for
raising and lowering the jack to suit variations in the lasts or sole thicknesses.
For convenience in taking off and putting on the shoes the jack is made to
swing forward in a guide and to regulate the position of the shoe beneath the
mould an adjustable stop and cramp are provided.
So that the shoes may remain under pressure some little time several of the
machines may be arranged in proximity to one another in which case one pump
or set of pumps and air vessel will suffice for several machines.
If desired one framework may be made to carry several jacks and moulds
conveniently arranged upon it.
Dated this 20th day of March 1000

page_text: Improvements in Machines for Laying or Attaching Soles to Boots
and Shoes.
I, WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN, of the Green Hall, Stafford, Engineer, 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:-
The object of this invention is to provide a machine for applying pressure
to the soles of boots and shoes after the same have been placed in position on
the lasted shoe with an adhesive solution intervening applied either to the shoe, the
sole or to both.
The machine is intended to be used for "sole laying" which is an operation
preceding that of rough rounding and channelling in the preparation of shoes for
the sole stitching machines.
According to the invention the machine comprises a framework provided at its
upper part with a mould consisting of an inverted inetal dish having an oval shaped
sheet of india-rubber fastened around the edge of the dish so as to form a watertight
joint and means whereby water can be forced into the mould between the dish and
the india-rubber cover so as to press the central portion of the latter down upon and
around the edges of the shoe sole which is held against it by a jack. The water is
forced into the mould by a pump from a tank suitably placed, and an air vessel is
provided into which air is injected as described in the specification of my prior
Patent No. 17142 of 1896 for obtaining a regular pressure, a reserve of water being
maintained in the lower part of the vessel. A valve is also furnished whereby the
water can be alternately admitted to and allowed to escape from the mould.
For convenience in taking off and putting on the shoes the jack is made to swing
forward in a guide and to enable the position of the shoe beneath the mould to be
regulated an adjustable stop and cramp are provided.
In the accompanying drawings,-
Figure 1 is a sectional frout elevation of a machine made according to the
invention:
Figure 2 is a plan thereof; and
Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation of the machine:
Figure 4 is a view of a detail.
a is the base of the machine. b is the mould which consists of an inverted metal
dish carried on standards a¹, a¹ secured to the base a. 61 is the india-rubber sheet or
bottom secured all round its outer edge to the edge of the dish 6 by a metal ring b²
and a number of bolts 68, the said bottom b' being made larger than the soles to be
attached thereby enabling pressure to be applied over the whole surface of the said
sole and around the edges thereof as hereinafter more particularly described.
c is the tank for containing the water, the said tank being arranged in the base a
and c, care force pumps for pumping the water from the tank to the dish bas
hereinafter inore particularly described. The plungers of these pumps c¹, c¹ are
operated by connecting rods c, c from cranks c³ formed upon a shaft ct mounted
in bearings c carried upon the base a and having the fast and loose pulleys c, c
respectively for receiving the belt for driving the said shaft.
d is the air vessel which is fitted upon the tank c and is in communication
with the pumps at its lower part. The pumps c¹, cl force the water in the tank
into the said air vessel d from which it passes through the pipe d¹ to a valve
box e.
d2 is a safety valve for regulating the pressure at which the water is
discharged from the air vessel d, and d³ is a pressure gauge fitted to the pipe d¹

page_text: for indicating the pressure at which the water is being forced into the dish-shaped
mould b.
The valve box e contains a valve operated by a spindle e¹ having at its upper
end a bevel pinion e2 which gears with a bevel wheel e pon a spindle et mounted
5 in a bearing es fixed upon one of the standards a¹ and having a handle which
can be raised or lowered; in one position of the handle the valve admits water to
the mould through the pipe e and in the other position it allows the water to be
discharged from the said mould back into the tank.
fis the jack upon which the boot A, Figure 3, is placed as clearly shewn, the
said jack f having a toe rest f¹, adjustable upon the jack and secured in the position
to which it is adjusted by the set screw *; f2 is the last heel-pin which is provided
upon the jack. The jack may be set up and down to suit requirements through the
medium of a hand-wheel f³ which works upon a screw f4 on the inverted Y or fork
piece f; the lower ends of the limbs of the fork are carried upon a shaft fo
which is mounted in guides f³, f7 free to slide up and down upon the
standards a¹, a¹. Links js, f³ depend from the shaft fe and are jointed at their
lower ends to other links f, fo by means of a transverse shaft f°. These two
links fare formed in one with a treadle f11 and a stump f12 and are pivoted upon
a cross shaft f10. The treadle fll is designed to straighten the links f and f⁹ so
as to raise the jack and boot, whilst the stump f¹ is designed to break the toggle
joint and drop the jack and boot, this being effected by the treadle 18 pivoted
at f1 and provided with a toe f15 which, when the said treadle is depressed, acts
upon the aforesaid stump f 12 thereby breaking the toggle links.
9, 9, 9, g are lugs or stops for controlling the extent of movement of the
toggle links.
When the links drop back into their rear or broken position (shewn in Figure 4)
the jack falls away from the mould b and can then be swung forward upon the
shaft fe to which the lower end of the inverted Y or fork shaped piece f³ is
pivoted, the movement of the jack being guided by the curved guide h and arrested
at the closed end of the said guide which is provided with an india-rubber
buffer h to break the force of the blow. In this forward position (shewn in dotted
lines Figure 3) the boot is just clear of the mould and may be reinoved and another
boot placed in position.
To ensure that succeeding boots or shoes shall occupy a correct position beneath
the mould an adjustable hook stop is provided behind the jack, the said hook
arresting the same when pushed back into its upright position by the operator. ¿¹is
a hand wheel for adjusting the said hook stop by means of the pinion and rack 1³
which are carried in the guide h. j is a handle having a nut 1 working upon a
screw pin so that by tightening the said nut upon the screw the pinion 2 and the
racks are rigidly held in the position to which they are adjusted; by slackening
the nut the hand wheel and the pinion 2 can turn freely upon the screw
pin j².
The operation of the machine is as follows, that is to say, assuming the jack fis in
its lowermost position and swung forwards towards the operator so as to be clear of
the mould b as shewn in broken lines in Figure 3 a last and boot or shoe A are
placed in position in the manner above described. A prepared sole A¹ is then laid
upon the boot with an adhesive solution between the sole and the boot. The jack f
is then pushed back into its upright position and the operator places his foot
upon the
treadle f¹ and raises the jack funtil the sole A¹ of the boot is in contact with the
india-rubber bottom b¹, that is to say, until the parts are in the position indicated in
full lines in the drawing. The handle e is then operated so as to allow the water
under pressure to be admitted into the space between the dish b and the india-
rubber 61, which latter is, therefore, forced down upon the sole A¹ so as to press the
same tightly against the boot A. The flexible bottom b¹ is made larger than the
sole of the shoe so that in addition to making contact with the whole surface of
the sole it bulges downwards all around the edges thereof thereby ensuring that

page_text: the latter is pressed to the boot or shoe at all points and particularly around the edge
of the sole.
In cases where several machines are arranged in series the operator then places a
boot in the next machine and so on, finally returning to remove the boot which he
first placed in position. This he does by manipulating the handle e so as to allow
the water in the mould to be returned to the tank; the treadle /13 is then depressed
this action lifting the treadle fl so as to break the toggle links and allow the jack f
and boot A to drop. The jack is then pulled forward and the boot or shoe removed
and replaced by a fresh one.
Where several machines are employed, one set of pumps, air vessel and tank can
be utilised for them all, the said pumps, air vessel and tank not necessarily forming
a part of the machine but being placed, if desired, in any suitable position which is
convenient for driving purposes, the connection with the machines being made by
lengths of pipes.
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 machine for laying or attaching soles to boots and shoes, the combination
of a mould having a flexible bottom, of means for supplying water under pressure to
and discharging it from the mould and of a jack for receiving the boot or shoe to
which the sole is to be affixed which jack is made to move in and out from under the
mould, has a facile vertical adjustment, can be raised by a treadle or lever movement
to bring the boot or shoe sole into contact with the mould and has an easily adjust-
able stop to enable the shoe to be placed approximately centrally with the mould,
substantially as described.
2. In a machine for laying or attaching soles to boots and shoes the employment
of a mould having a flexible bottom sufficiently larger than the boot sole so that
when forced down by pressure within the mould the said bottom shall conform to the
shape of the last bottom and also bulge downwards all around the sole edge so
as to press every part of the sole into close contact with the shoe, as described.
3. In a machine of the kind described in Claim 1 for laying or attaching soles to
boots and shoes the employment of an air vessel to act as an air pressure spring
and maintain a reserve of water between the pumps and the mould, as described.
4. In a machine of the kind described in Claim 2 for laying or attaching soles to
boots and shoes the employment of an air vessel to act as an air pressure spring and
maintain a reserve of water between the pumps and the mould, as described.
5. A machine for laying or attaching soles to boots and shoes consisting of the
parts constructed, arranged and operating, substantially as herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 21st der of
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.