AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FASTENING THE TAGS TO SHOE OR BOOT LACES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, OTTO HOPPE, of Barmen, in the Rhenish Province, Prussia, German Empire,
do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for AN IMPROVED METHOD OF
AND APPARATUS FOR FASTENING THE TAGS TO SHOE OR BOOT LACES AND SIMILAR
ARTICLES, to be as follows.
This invention relates to an improved method of and apparatus for fastening the
tags to shoe or boot laces and similar articles.
For this purpose I prepare a long string of lace having the required width in the
following manner:
Thin pieces or plates of sheet metal of double the length of a tag, are rolled
round the lace by means of suitable mechanism, at distances corresponding to the
length of an ordinary shoe or boot lace or string.
The string thus prepared is then divided into equal parts (forming the boot
or shoe lace) by cutting through the middle of each section of lace surrounded by
the metallic tube by means of apparatus operated by hand or by a treadle or other
suitable driving mechanism.
The apparatus to be operated by hand resembles in shape a pair of tongs, the
cheeks of which are provided with recesses adapted to receive the string to be cut.
The recesses are provided at the lower end with semi-circular grooves of sufficient
diameter to receive the sections to be cut.
It will be seen that if the string is placed in the tongs the section to be cut
will be firmly held during the operation of cutting, and prevented from being
pressed flat or shifted on one side.
In order to assist the operation of the tongs the same are provided with a
spring.
The apparatus operated by a treadle or other mechanism comprises a base plate
adapted to be secured to a table.
The apparatus is provided with a bracket serving to support a bell crank lever.
The base plate is recessed at its upper side and adapted to receive a slide
carrying one half of the cutting tool, while the other half is fixed to the bed of
the slide, made fast in the recess of the base plate. The faces of the two halves
of the cutting tool are parallel to each other and oblique to the upper and lower
Burfaces.

page_text: The oblique faces are provided below with a semi circular groove tapered towards
the centre and of sufficient diameter to receive the sections of the string surrounded
by the metal tube and designed to be cut into equal parts.
Each half of the cutting tool comprises two parts, one of which is placed about
1/4 of an inch in advance of the other.
The halves forming the cutting tool are secured to the slide and bed of the slide
by means of bolts and nuts, while the parts forming each half are held together
by pins passing through the same..
That half of the cutting tool which moves with the slide is provided with points
projecting from the semi circular groove. These points serve to provide the tags
with impressions so as to secure the same more firmly to the ends of the string
or lace.
When the bell crank lever is depressed the slide with the movable cutters is
caused to advance towards the fixed cutters, whereby the sections of lace surrounded
with metal is cut and simultaneously provided with impressions.

page_text: I, OTTO HOPPE, of Barmen, in the Rhenish province, Prussia, German Empire,
do hereby declare the nature of said, invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF
AND APPARATUS FOR FASTENING THE TAGS TO SHOE OR BOOT LACES AND SIMILAR
ARTICLES," and in what manner. the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
The ordinary manner of fastening the tags to the end of boot and shoe laces,
is to roll round the end of the lace a little plate of brass or iron, forming a tube
of about 1/2 to 3/8 inch in length These tags have several disadvantages: They
do not hold very fast on the lace, and the ends of the tags are often very sharp
and present a cutting edge.
In order to fasten them more securely to the laces, the little tubes are provided
with two or three impressions on the side, which grasp the lace and so give a firm
hold between the lace and pin. The sharp edges are removed by grinding. By
this old method each end of a lace must be provided with its tag by a separate
operation.
Now by my new method of forming and fastening the tags to the laces, I use
a piece or plate of sheet iron or brass of double the length of one tag, and this
I roll round the lace or string in the middle of a piece having double the length,
which the finished boot laces shall have. Such a piece of unarmed lace or string
is preferably as long as it can be obtained, so that a great number of tubes or pins
of double length can be fixed in proper distances to the string or piece of lace to be
divided or cut afterwards in proper lengths of shoe-laces. Across the middle of
each double tube or pin I cut the so prepared long piece of lace and so obtain the
finished shoe laces in proper length, armed at both ends with tags of the required
length. By this manner of manufacture I can do more than double the amount
of work in a given time as compared with the former process of fixing each pin
separately. But besides this, my new method of fixing the pins to the laces has
other advantages.
The edges of the pins are not sharp, because the stuff of the laces will always -
project a little beyond the edge of the metal, and so the sharpness of that edge
will not be felt in holding the pin; by cutting the double pin, the metal will be
very firmly pressed together and take a strong hold of the lace in it. The fastening
of the tubes to the laces is effected in the usual manner, and for cutting off the.
single lace from the whole string or piece of lace, I use the appliances described
hereafter.
Figures 1 to 4 show a pair of cutting tongs adapted to be worked by hand.
Figs 5 to 10 represent a contrivance for the same purpose, similar to a horizontal
shearing machine, and intended to be worked by a treadle or by power.
The tongs Figs. 1 to 4 differ from ordinary tongs by the shape of the cutting
pieces.
A, A¹ are the shanks or handles of the tongs, turning round the central pin B;
C, C are the cheeks of the same. Into the cheeks are cut the receiving grooves
or gaps D D¹, into which the lace to be cut can be conveniently laid, if the tongs
are quite open, as shown in Fig. 1, a and b.
Quite at the bottom of these gaps and on opposite sides thereof, namely on the
left for cheek C and on the right for C', are formed the half round grooves E and E¹,
just large enough in diameter to receive therein a tag or tube.
It will thus be seen, that if a lace with its double tube is put in the tongs when
open, (Fig. 1) the tube will be held tight on all sides, when the tongs are closed,

page_text: as at Fig. 2, so that the tube cannot be shifted on one side or pressed flat by the
closing of the tongs until the cut is completed, as shown by Fig. 3. A round and
clean edge will therefore always be cut by this tool.
In order to assist the opening of the tongs or render this motion automatic, a
spring F is provided.
The apparatus shown by the Figs. 5 to 10 serves the same purpose; but it is
arranged for working by a treadle or by power.
It consists of a sole plate G to be bolted to a table; from the bottom extends
downward a bracket H serving as support for the bellcrank lever I, K. At the top
the sole plate G has a dove-tailed groove, to receive the pieces L and L', the first
of which is bolted fast to G, while the latter is free to slide in longitudinal direction
under the influence of the lever I K. On the pieces L are fixed the shearing tools
or cutters M, M, N, N¹, as shown in Fig. 6, the half cutters M¹, N' being about
1/4 of an inch in advance of the other halves.
The Figs 8, 9 and 10 (a, b and c) represent the three main positions of this
apparatus, namely
Fig. 8. open to receive the lace,
Fig. 9. ready to cut, and
Fig. 10. after the cut.
n
The two halves M, M¹ are secured to L and G by the bolt O, and held together
laterally by the bolt P; N and N¹ are held together by the bolt Q and secured
to L' by the bolts R.
The pieces N, N₁ are provided with the pins S, which project out of the groove T
into which the tube or tag comes to lie for being cut, so that at the same time
with the cutting operation the tubes also receive the little impressions, by which
they are further held and joined to the stuff of the lace.
The figures clearly indicate the action of this apparatus: The lever K being
pulled down, the arm I forces the piece L with its cutters to advance towards the
cutters M, whereby the cutting is effected and the impressions are made; the
grooves T taper towards the middle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The method of fastening tags to shoe laces and similar strings, which consists
in fixing to a piece of lace or string, and at distances corresponding to the length
of the finished lace, a series of metallic tubes, of double the length of a tag, and
cutting this piece of lace across the middle of each tube, so as to obtain a series
of laces or strings provided at each end with a tag, substantially as described.
2. The hand tool or pair of tongs, substantially as and for the purpose described
and illustrated by Figs. 1 and 4.
3. The shearing appliance substantially as and for the purpose described and
illustrated by Figs 5 to 10.
Dated this 22nd day of October 1884.