Improvements in Machines for Slitting Leather, for Use in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1896

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by THE BROCKTON FOLDING MACHINE COMPANY,
of Brockton, County of Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States of America.]
Improvements in Machines for Slitting Leather, for Use in the
Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
I HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
15 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 has for its chief object to provide a machine adapted to cut a
plurality of slits or incisions in one edge of a piece of leather, such as a boot or
shoe upper. It is a common practice to fold inwardly one edge of an upper, and
cement the inwardly turned portion against the inner side of the body of the piece
to conceal the raw edge of the piece. Said edge having a re-entrant curve, it is
customary to cut a plurality of siits from the edge a short distance into the body,
along said curve, in order that the fold may be evenly formed. My invention
relates to a machine for making the slits above mentioned, and it consists in the several
improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my improved slitting-machine, the presser-
foot being removed.
Figure 2 represents a perspective view of the knife-carrier.
Figure 3 represents a perspective view of the presser-foot.
Figure 4 represents a top plan view of the machine.
Figure 5 represents a section on line 5-5 of Figure 4.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings-
a represents a work-supporting bed having a flat upper surface adapted to
support a pile of pieces 6 of substantially the form shown in Figure 4, each
piece having an edge 2 which has a re-entrant curve. represents a knife-
carrier, which is movable in fixed guides attached to the frame of the machine
and is provided with a gang of slitting-knives e', which project from one edge of
the carrier and are arranged to form slits in the re-entrant curves of the pieces b,
the carrier c being movable crosswise of the bed a and at right angles with the
supporting surface thereof, so that when the carrier is depressed from the position
shown in Figure 5, the knives will move across the pile of pieces 6 and form a
corresponding number of slits therein, the depth of the slits depending upon the
projection of the blades from the carrier. The carrier is preferably guided by
ineans of vertical rods d d affixed to the frame of the machine and connected at
their upper ends by a cross-bar d', the carrier having sleeves c c which are
adapted to slide upon said guides, their upward movement being limited by the
cross-bar d'. The carrier is normally raised to hold the knives above the pile of
pieces on the bed, preferably by means of a spring e interposed between a fixed
bearing or support and a collar e affixed to a vertically movable rod e³ the upper
end of which is attached to the carrier c. The spring is arranged to normally
contract, and thus raise the rod 3, holding the sleeve of the carrier against the
cross-bar d'. The rod e³ may be connected with a treadle (not shown), whereby it

page_text: may be depressed to depress the carrier and cause the knives to act on the pieces b
The front side of the carrier c, from which the knives c' project, is curved to
correspond to the curvature of the edge of the upper on which the knives act, and
is provided "with downwardly projecting arms cc, which serve as gages or recesses
against which the edges 2 of the pieces bear. Said arms also serve to limit the
downward movement of the carrier and knives by striking a shoulder a' formed
on the supporting frame. The knives c are preferably inserted in transverse slots
formed in the upper surface of the carrier c, and are secured therein by a clamping
plate caffixed by bolts c to the carrier.
frepresents a presser-foot, which is adapted to bear upon the surface of the pile
of pieces band.to hold the same in close proximity to the points where the knives act
on said pieces, one edge of the presser-foot being curved to conform to the curvature
of the forward edge of the carrier, as indicated in Figures 3 and 4. The presser-
foot is affixed to a bar f, which has a limited sliding movement in a socket g
formed in a standard g' which is secured to the carrier c, preferably by.being formed
on or affixed to the clamp c. The presser-bar f¹ has a collar f affixed to its upper
end, which bears upon the upper end of the socket and limits the independent
downward movement of the presser-bar, a spring f³ being interposed between said
socket and the presser-bar and permitting the presser-foot to yield upwardly.
The operation is as follows: The carrier c and presser-foot are normally held by
the spring e in the position shown in Figure 5, the presser-foot and knives being,
raised sufficiently above the bed a to permit the insertion of the pieces between
the presser-foot and bed. The operator then depresses the carrier c, thereby causing
the presser-foot to bear upon the pile of pieces and securely hold them, the downward
movement of the presser-foot being thus arrested, while the carrier continues to
descend, the knives being thus caused to slit the edges of the pieces b. The arins e
are formed to arrest the downward movement of the carrier just as the knives have.
slitted the lowest piece in the pile, and before they can come in injurious contact with
the bed. The operator then releases the carrier, which is raised by the spring e, the
presser-foot being raised with it, thus releasing the pieces.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I.declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a work-supporting
bed, a knife-carrier movable at right angles thereto and across the end of the same,
and having a projection constituting a gage for the edges of the work to abut and
also a stop to limit the movement of the carrier; and knives fastened in said carrier.
and projecting over the bed.
2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a supporting bed,
a carrier movable on fixed guides, a gang of knives affixed to the carrier, a rod.
affixed to the carrier and projecting downwardly therefrom, a retractile spring.
surrounding said rod and fastened at the lower end to the same and at the upper
end to a fixed support, a guide affixed to the carrier and overhanging the supporting
bed, a presser-bar movable in said guide, a presser-foot affixed to said bar, and a spring.
interposed between the foot and guide.
3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a work-supporting.
bed, a carrier movable across the end of the said supporting bed and having transverse
slots in its upper side; knives engaging said slots and projecting over the bed; a
clamping plate arranged over said knives and having an upstanding arm with a
guide overbanging the bed; and a presser-foot whose stem engages said guide.
תנות
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.