IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE MACHINERY
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Julian Bernard, of Club Chambers, Regent Street,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE MACHINERY
Sealed the 13th October 1854, and dated the 18th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Julian Bernard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
April 1854.
I, JULIAN BERNARD, of Club Chambers, Regent Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
The first part of my improvements consist of a novel mode of rounding,
paring, or finishing the heels and soles of boots and shoes, whether such
operation be performed before the different parts are united or after, and the
manner in which I perform this operation is as follows:-I place and secure the
shoe or part to be operated upon in a moveable slide or holding frame, which
frame is placed upon a centre placed upon or attached to a compound slide,
and I place a cutter or other cutting or reducing or polishing tool upon a
shaft, to which I impart a rotary motion by a band or other convenient means;
I then place a suitable cam or fac-simile of the desired shape of heel or sole
upon the centres or moveable part carrying the shoe, which cam or design is

page_text: caused to come in contact with a stud fixed in the framing, which carries the
revolving shaft or other stationary part of the machine on which the cutter or
finishing instrument is placed. The cam and the frame containing the shoe
being held up to the stud by means of strong springs, it will appear evident
that the distance the part of the boot or shoe to be operated upon is from the
cutter will be regulated by the cam or design referred to as the frame travels
or turns round and presents the part to the cutter, such parts being in this
manner reduced, ornamented, or polished. to. any desired design or substance,
and I cut or shape the cutter or cutters employed for reducing the heel of the
shoe to the desired curve or hollow of such heel.
Another portion of my Invention consists of placing rims or borders round
the dies employed for shaping the soles of boots and shoes, and which is for
the purpose of insuring the sole. to be pressed or shaped to be retained in its
proper place during the operation of pressing or ornamenting.
ויי!
..
Another portion of .my Invention consists of a novel mode of-stitching the
soles to the uppers; of, boots and shoes, and stitching various other parts of
boots and, shoes, and which I perform by means of two needles, working
from the outside or on one side of the boot or shoe. The shoe to be
operated upon is placed in a moveable frame, which is actuated upon by
means of cams, so as to present the sole of the boot or shoe at the proper
place or angle to the needles; and where each stitch is to be made. The
needles are fixed in or secured to moveable. rods or slides in a convenient
framing over the boot or shoe; and for this operation I employ two threads, and
which are passed through an eye a short distance from the point of the needle,
each thread or filament being secured alternately by a loop of the other, in
the manner herein after. more fully described. The mechanism for actuating
the needles is connected to or with the mechanism for moving the boot or shoe,
and is in gear with it. The two. needles referred to are so arranged in the
machine as to cause their points to pass each other, and between each needle
and its respective thread alternately, so that when one needle and its thread is
inserted into the material, before it is withdrawn the other needle is caused to
descend, and in its course inserts its point with a part of its thread in the
form of a loop between the needle first inserted, and a portion of its thread
also in the form of a loop; the first needle is now withdrawn, a loop of its
thread being held by the second needle, as described, and is again inserted,
passing in its descent between the second needle and a part of its thread, the
loop of the first thread and needle being still over or round the second needle,
which at this part of the operation is withdrawn, and the operation-repeated
until the part is stitched. The rods or slides in which the needles are secured

page_text: and actuated by suitable cams through the medium of levers, such cams being
placed upon a suitable shaft at any convenient part of the machine; and I
would remark, that when soles are attached to the uppers of boots and shoes
in this manner, that the boot or-shoe is held during the operation on a peculiar
kind of last, such last having a channel in or around its sole opposite where
the seam is to be placed, the object of such seam being to allow the points of
the needles already described to operate in a proper manner. It will appear
evident that this mode of stitching is applicable to other articles as well as
boots and shoes where a strong and firm stitch is desirable.'
Another portion of my said Invention 'relates to an improved "mode of
holding the edges of the uppers of boots and shoes upon the bottom of the
lasts, and inner soles during the process of lasting or mounting the upper
upon the last and consists in employing a series of projections round the boot
or shoe, and which are forced against it by means of springs or pieces of
india-rubber forced against or held to the material, which may be stretched
by plyers, and held or retained in its place by the said springs or pieces until
further secured; and said springs may be placed upon centres or in slides, or
formed of steel, so that the inherent spring in the metal will be a sufficient
provision for the distance which they are required to move.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Julian Bernard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
.October 1854.
:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JULIAN
BERNARD, of Club Chambers, Regent Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Julian Bernard, Her special license that I, the said Julian Bernard, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Julian
Bernard, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUPAC-

page_text: TURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED.
THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Julian
Bernard, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe-and-ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next-and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Julian Bernard, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The Invention relates to, firstly, a novel mode of paring, rounding, or
finishing the heels and soles of boots and shoes by machinery instead of hand
labour; and, secondly, to placing round the dies for shaping soles a border,
for keeping such soles in their proper place; and, thirdly, to a novel kind of
last; and, fourthly, to a novel machine employed in mounting the upper upon
the last and inner soles. But the nature of my improvements and the mode
of working them may be fully understood, I will proceed to describe the
Drawings hereunto annexed, the various Figures of which the same letters are
used to indicate corresponding parts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 on Sheet 1 of my Drawings represents a side elevation of the upper
portion of my machine for cutting or rounding the edges of the soles and heels
of boots and shoes; Fig. 2 is a corresponding front view of the same; Fig. 3
is a plan of the upper side of the machine; and Figs. 4 and 5 represent
respectively a plan and side elevation of the revolving cutter on an enlarged
scale. A is the bed plate of the machine, and B the cutter shaft, which works
in the collar bearings C, C, and adjustable footstep D; a grooved cone driving
pulley E is keyed on to the lower end of the cutter shaft, which is actuated by
the driving band F. This band is passed under a pair of guide pulleys G,
which run loose upon the fixed rod H. The cutter 1 is composed of a series
of knives or cutters J (Figs. 4 and 5), which are fitted on to grooves or slots
cut in the periphery of the metal disc K. These knives are slightly rounded
or curved at their cutting edges, in order to give the required curve to the
edge of the boot or shoe heel when completed. Below the cutter and working
loose upon the cutter shaft is a roller or dise L, against which the shaping
cam or template M is kept pressed by the vulcanized india-rubber spring N.

page_text: The cam or template M is formed in one piece with or secured to the socket O,
which supports the boot or shoe to be operated upon. This template is made
to correspond in size and shape to the sole and heel to be rounded, and with the
socket O is fixed to a pin P to revolve, shewn in dotted lines in Figure 1.
The overhanging bracket is fixed to the slide R, in the upper part of which
bracket is placed the retaining screw S, for holding the shoe. On the stud P
is placed a worm wheel, to which circular motion is imparted by the worm T,
and serves to give the circular motion to the toe and heel during the process
of rounding or cutting such parts. The slide R slides upon U, and is for the
purpose of presenting the shoe to the cutter lengthwise the crank handle V
and screw W, and for the purpose of giving the necessary mode to the slide R.
The slide R travels on X, and is for the purpose of giving the irregular trave!
of the shoe. The lever a is for the purpose of drawing the slides on which the
shoe is placed entirely from the cutter during the process of removing the shoe
from the frame, and also placing it a notch and spring b, serves to retain the
slides when pulled out, more clearly shewn in Fig. 1. The operation of this
machine is as follows:-Assuming a shoe to be placed in the frame as exhibited,
and the templet M placed against the loose roller L, and the machine in
motion, the cutter I will cut the part with which it comes in contact as far as
the templet M will allow it to approach it; the shoe being further travelled by
the screw W in the direction of the arrow's flight until the toe of the shoe
comes near or about the centre of the cutter, when the fly wheel C is turned
round, and by means of the worm T acting upon the worm wheel, the frame
and the shoe in it are turned round in the direction of the curved arrow, until
the opposite side of the shoe comes in contact with the cutter, when the slide
R is again travelled in a contrary direction until the heel part of the shoe is
opposite the centre of the cutters, when the circular motion is again repeated,
and the shoc further travelled until the operation is completed, the sole and
heel having been pared or rounded, as described, the slide Rand other parts
placed upon it, if pulled back by means of the lever a, and the shoe removed;
and in this manner and by these means I effect or perform the paring or
bevilling the edges of the soles and heels of boots and shoes.
I would observe, in concluding the description of this portion of my Inven-
tion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to any particular arrangement of
mechanism or apparatus for working revolving cutters employed in cutting,
shaping, rounding, or finishing the soles and heels of boots and shoes; but
what 1 distinctly claim is, the application and use of a revolving cutter, for the
purpose of rounding, pairing, or finishing the heels and soles of boots and
shoes, whether such operation be performed before the different parts are

page_text: united or after; also the application and use of a cam or template correspond-
ing to the contour to be cut, for the purpose of regulating the form of the sole
and heel; and also compound slides for providing for the irregularity of the
curve-of-the-boot-or-shoc,-as oxhibited, -together-with-a-frame for securely
holding the boot or shoe while being travelled or presented to the cutting or
reducing -instrument, whether such parts be employed separately or in com-
bination:
Fig. 6 on the same Sheet of Drawing represents in vertical section my
improved dies for shaping the soles of boots and shoes; and Fig. 7 is a corre-
sponding plan of the lower die. I fix a rim A round the lower die, which
rim projects upwards sufficiently above the highest part of the die to serve as a
guide for the purpose of retaining the sole or heel (which has been already cut
into shape) in its place during the descent of the upper die. The pressed and
shaped heel or sole is ejected from the lower die by the pin B, which is pushed
upwards by the lever C. In this portion of my Invention I claim the applica-
tion of the rim A, as shown and described.
At Sheet 2. of the Drawings, Fig. 1 marks a top plan of a machine
for lasting or mounting the uppers on the last and inner soles of boots and
shoes; and Fig. 2 marks a longitudinal elevation in section X, X, and steel
spring rods fixed as shewn to the plate. A, which plate is free to move on
the centre pin, or bolt B. The plate C with the part D are connected
together and placed upon a table. When a shoe is to be mounted by this
machine, the operator places, the last with an upper and inner sole upon it,
but which upper and inner are not shown, bottom upwards, as shewn in the
machine, and brings the plate A, to which the steel springs are secured, down
upon the sole of the last, and secures it so by means of the
proceeds by means of plyers to pull up and over the last and inner sole the
edges of the uppers, and as he does so, the sheet rods will hold the edges of the
uppers in the position in which he pulls them, until he further secures them;
and what I claim in this part of my Invention is, the holding of the edges-of
the uppers by the means described and illustrated.
F; he then
Figures 3 and 4 exhibit plan and sectional elevation of a machine I employ
for the same purpose; but the means I employ is india-rubber vulcanized, and
it is the forcing or pressing this material latterally, and placing between plates
or surfaces during or in the operation of receiving the pressure, that constitutes
the peculiar novelty of this part of my Invention. The lower part of the machine
is similar to that shown at Fig. 1 and 2; but on the top plate A are secure
4 other plates B, and on the top of these again is placed and secured another
plate B, for holding down the vulcanized india-rubber during the operation

page_text: of forcing or pressing it latterally by the slides B towards the last, and against
the edges of the uppers. The pieces of india-rubber C are cut at the edges that
come in contact with the upper, to suit the outline of the boot or shoe sole. The
rubber is held by means of pins, not shewn in the Drawing of the slides; its
operation is as follows:-When the upper is properly pulled up, the slides B
are forced inward towards the shoe by means of the linings D acting upon
the pins E, which are fixed in the slides B, and pass thereto through slots
in the plate B; the liners are are when forced retained in their position by the
notched spring G, as clearly shown in the plan. A is free to work on the
pin H, so that when the operation is performed with the slide and other parts
fixed to it, it can be raised and the shoe withdrawn, the collar I being removed
for that purpose. And I would remark that I do not limit or confine myself to
the details that I have shewn to illustrate this part of my Invention, but what
I do claim is, imparting lateral pressure to rubber, and holding such rubber
between two surfaces while being pressed towards the uppers in the process of
lasting, as herein-before described and illustrated.
Fig. 5 exhibits an elevation of a last, and Figure 6 a plan of the same, the
novelty of which is a grooved *, as shewn, and is for the purpose of passing or
forcing needles or other instruments employed in the manufacture of boots
and shoes through the soles or bottoms, without such instruments coming in
contact with said last.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is or may be used or. carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to
the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from
the principles or main feature of my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Julian Bernard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four.
JULIAN BERNARD. (L.S.)