Improvements in Boot and Shoe Trimming Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 20th Aug., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Boot and Shoe Trimming Machines.
We, GEORGE WHITEFIELD DAY, of 42 Summer Street, Haverhill, in the
County of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, Gentleman, and THE BOSTON
FOOTWEAR MACHINE COMPANY, of 6 Ashburton Place Boston, in the County of
Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, all in the United States of America, 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 :-
In the manufacture of boots and shoes the upper and upper lining as lasted and
secured to the sole at the toe are folded or plaited, forming thick bunches or folds
which are necessarily thicker toward the middle of the toe and very objectionable.
In turned boots or shoes, the upper being secured to the sole wrong side out, the
surplus portions of the folds of the upper edge beyond the stitches at the toe can be
easily cut away after the sole and upper are stitched, they being then outside and
easily reached, but in boots and shoes having a sole sewed to the upper right side
out it has heretofore been practically impossible after the upper has been stitched
to the sole to cut away or remove this surplus portion of the upper at the toe for
the reason that it cannot be easily reached in the boot to cut it without danger of
cutting and damaging more or less the upper, and the object of this invention is to
provide means to trim off or cut away and remove the surplus edge portion of the
folded upper at the toe inside of the stitches in boots and shoes other than turned
boots and shoes so that it can be easily and practically done and not injure in the
least the upper nor cut the stitches, and this invention consists of a machine
constructed and arranged for operation all substantially as hereinafter fully
described to cut the thick surplus folded or plaited portion of the upper at the toe
of a boot or shoe after it has been sewed to the sole and without injury to the boot
or shoe upper or the stitching, all substantially as hereinafter fully described and
shown.
In the accompanying drawing are represented several modifications of a machine
constructed and arranged for operation in accordance with this invention.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation with some of the parts in vertical cross-section. Fig. 2
a detail central sectional view and Fig. 3 a detail central sectional view on same
line as Fig. 2, but showing a change in some of the parts. Fig. 4 is a detail plan
view of the inside of a boot or shoe at the toe. Figs. 5 and 6 represent a rotating
horn.
In the drawing; A represents a stand or frame having a base B for supporting
and carrying the operating parts of the machine. C is a horizontal shaft adapted
to revolve in bearings in the frame A and portion D, of the frame and having a
driving pulley E which can be connected by a belt to any suitable power for
operation thereof.
The pulley is loose on the shaft but is connected thereto by a clutch F
constructed and arranged for operation as usual in clutches and it is connected by
a rod G to a treadle (not shown) so that in operation the pulley revolves constantly
and the shaft is turned when desired by moving the clutch to make operating
connection between the pulley and shaft.
The shaft carries a gear wheel H which engages with a gear wheel J on the end
of another horizontal shaft K turuing in bearings in the frame and having on its
other end a plate or disk L which has a wrist-pin M which engages and operates
with a pivotal link or arm N adapted to freely move therewith and connected at
ts end a, by a pivot b, to an arm P adapted to reciprocate vertically in bearings in

page_text: a casing which casing is the usual "horn" in machines for sewing boots and
shoes; it has a place or rest R on its upper end for the boot or shoe.
The arm P extends upward in the chamber in the horn and has on its upper end
a knife or cutter R' which is secured thereto by a screw f, its cutting edge g,
being arranged to extend up through an opening h, in the upper end of the horn
when operated.
S is an arm pivoted at m, to the upper end of the frame A and projecting down
therefrom through a closed guiding slot T in an arm U and it carries a vertical
roller pivoted within a bifurcated portion W, of the arm S to be over or
substantially over the upper end of the horn when desired.
The piece W is secured to the arm S by a screw », passing through a vertical
slot Z in an arm t, of the piece W and screwing into the side of the lower end of the
arm S.
A screw u, screws up into the lower end of the arm S above the piece W in
position for a shoulder von said piece to bear against the same, the screw having
holes, in its head y, for the insertion of a pin to turn it in or out by which the
height of the roller V from the top of the horn can be adjusted and when so
adjusted the piece is rigidly secured by tightening the screw r.
Attached to the side of the arm S is a spring a³ its free end bearing against the
outer shoulder or end of the guiding slot T, by which the arm when free to move
is swung on its pivot m, back into the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1.
A is an eccentric disk back of and in the same vertical plane as the swinging
arm S secured to an arm B' adapted to turn in bearings in the horizontal arm U
against which disk the arm S is held by the spring a', and to swing it forward into
its position shown in Fig. I, the eccentric A' is turned by its handle d' from its
position shown in dotted lines Fig. 1 into the position shown in full lines same
figure, where it is held against a screw C in the part of the closed slotted
guide T.
The turning of this screw in or out determines the forward limit of
movement of the arm S which is determined by the operator for the operation of
the machine.
The lower end of the part W has a downward projection D' for the purpose
hereinafter described.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The eccentric is turned into the position shown in dotted lines Fig. 1, which
allows the spring a to swing the arm S with the roller V into the position shown
in dotted lines Fig. 1, out of the way of the horn, and then the boot or shoe is
placed over the horn, bottom upward until the end of the horn bears at the toe end
of the boot against and under the edge of the upper where it is secured to the sole
as shown in Fig. 2 in detail section.
The arm S is then swung forward by swinging the eccentric A' which brings, the
roller V and the projecting arm D' into position against the sole and upper of the
boot or shoe at its toe end to firmly hold the same as shown in Fig. 2.
The shaft C is then revolved by connecting it by the clutch to the pulley which,
by its gear connection revolves the shaft K giving through the link connection Na
reciprocating motion to the cutter arm P and the cutting edge g, of the knife, which
is chisel-shaped, and in such movements said cutting edge passes out and back
through the opening h, at each revolution of the shaft K and in its outward
movements it cuts off the portions e¹ of the upper T' at the edges beyond the inner
line of the stitches and as the cutter is so operated the boot or shoe is guided along
and turned by hand so that the whole of this portion of the upper at the toe is
presented to the cutter and cut off and then the arm S is swung back and the boot
or shoe removed from the horn and another boot or shoe placed thereon and
operated as before.
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the portion of the upper is cut off at right angles, or
substantially so, to its sides but it is desirable sometimes, especially when the upper
is thick, to cut off such portion on a bevel or slant so as not to have the end of the
upper where cut, too abrupt and an arrangement for so cutting the upper is shown

page_text: in detail section in Fig. 3, where the roller V is bevelled as shown, at an angle and
with a single boot or shoe the sole is bent up as shown in said figure and rests.
against the bevelled side of the roller which presents that portion of the upper
secured to the toe at an angle to the line of movement of the cutter, which will,
as is plain, cut the edge of the upper off on a corresponding bevel or slanting
line.
The knife is caused to move rapidly and its length of movement is so adjusted
that it will only project above the upper end of the horn sufficiently to cut through
the boot or shoe upper and not any of the thickness of the sole, so as not to thereby
injure it.
This invention is especially intended for cutting the upper at the toe where it
has heretofore been practically impossible to reach with cutting mechanism to
properly cut and remove the edge of the upper and the other parts of the edge of
the upper along the sides back from the toe are cut in any of the usual ways.
In Figs. 5 and 6 we have shown a modification of the invention, wherein the
horn is adapted to rotate. The lower tubular end Q₁ of the horn has a bearing in
a casing secured to the frame, and within said tubular portion Q₁ loosely fits
and
adapted for vertical reciprocation the link N to the upper end of which is
revolubly secured the lower end of arm P. The portion Q¹ of the horn is provided
with a recess 9, into which may be made to take the blocks q', held by screws q² in
threaded holes in the casing Q, and thereby prevent the vertical movement of the
horn within the casing Q².
In Fig. 4 is shown a plan view of the inside of a boot or shoe at the toe after
the upper T' has been trimmed by the present machine, G₁ designating the sole ;
g, the line of stitching; gl the surplus edge; "the line of cut, and the surplus
portion of the upper which is cut off.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a boot and shoe machine, a support having a cutter and having an upper
bearing surface adapted to bear against the inside of the shoe, said cutter adapted
to cut the edge of the upper from the inside as described, whereby the upper of the
shoe may be trimmed off after it has been secured to the sole of the shoe, as
set forth.
2. In a boot and shoe machine, a support having a reciprocating cutter and
having an upper bearing surface adapted to bear against the inside of the shoe,
said cutter adapted to be reciprocated to and from the plane of the said bearing
surface, substantially as described, whereby the upper of the shoe may be trimmed
off after it has been secured to the sole of the shoe, as set forth.
3. In a boot and shoe machine, a support having a reciprocating cutter and an
upper bearing surface adapted to bear against the inside of the shoe, said bearing
surface having an opening for the cutter which is adapted to reciprocate through
the opening in the bearing surface, the outer limit of the outer stroke of the cutter
extending beyond the outer plane of the surface of the bearing surface, substantially
as described, whereby the cutter is adapted to cut and sever the edge of the upper
of the shoe from the main part of the upper after the latter has been secured to the
sole, as set forth.
4. In a boot and shoe machine, a reciprocating cutter and its horn provided with
a bearing surface for the inside of the shoe and an opening through said bearing
surface said cutter adapted to reciprocate through said opening to a point beyond
the plane of the surface of the support, in combination with an eccentric actuating
device for operating the cutter and connected therewith, substantially as and for the
purposes specified.
5. In a boot and shoe machine, a support having an opening and guides and a
bearing surface and a reciprocating cutter extending beyond the line of the face of
said bearing surface, in combination with a tilting pressure guide carrying a friction

page_text: roller and adapted to hold the shoe from the outside with respect to its position on
the support, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
6. In a boot and shoe machine, a support having a slotted bearing surface for the
inside of the shoe and a reciprocating knife adapted to reciprocate through the
opening in bearing surface of the support in combination with a pressure guide
having a bevelled surface adapted to hold the shoe against the bearing surface of
the support and at an angle to the line of the face of the same to secure a bevelled
cut edge of the upper of the shoe, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
7. The combination with a support suitably constructed and adapted to be
placed in a boot or shoe and support the same at the toe and a roller bearing having
a bevel circumference or periphery, of a cutter or knife secured to an arm arranged
to be guided by said support and connected to mechanism for giving a reciprocating
movement to said arm and knife, for the purpose specified.
Dated this 5th day of November 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.