Improvements in Machines for Levelling and Burnishing the Soles of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th June, 1894-Accepted, 1st Sept., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by EDWARD CHARLES JUDD, of No. 54, South
Street, in the City of Boston, in the County of Suffolk and State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman.]
Improvements in Machines for Levelling and Burnishing the Soles
of Boots and Shoes.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improvement in sole-levelling machines, such as
employed in levelling soles of boots and shoes after they leave the sewing machine.
One object of the present invention is to provide for using a plurality of levelling-
rolls supported by independent carriers, whereby all parts of the sole may be acted
upon more perfectly and more quickly than in the present machine where only one
roll is employed to do all the work. Another object of the invention is to provide
improved mechanism for adjusting the travel of the rolls. A further object is to
provide an improved construction of roll which will conform to different shapes of
soles. A still further object of the invention is to provide a machine in which both
the longitudinally-swinging member and the laterally-movable member of the jack
are oscillated by power, and not by hand as is now customary in machines of this
class. A still further object is to adapt the machine for burnishing as well as
levelling the sole. A still further object is to provide means for more effec-
A. still further
tively treating the marginal portions of the face of the sole.
object is to provide an improved construction of jack for supporting the work and
permitting the desired movements of the same.
In carrying out the above objects, 1 employ a suitably-constructed stationary
supporting-frame, in which is pivotally mounted a yoke, having slide-ways which
receive a slide, carrying standards for the last to rest upon, said standards being of
a suitable construction permitting adjustment as required. The parts above
enumerated constitute the jack, and movements of the pivoted yoke and slide
are brought about through suitable means, as a main driving-shaft, which is
connected by bevel-gears with a vertical shaft, carrying a worm which meshes
with a gear on a counter-shaft, the latter carrying a crank, which is connected
by a rod or pitman with an arm on the yoke. Through this means, the yoke
is oscillated on its pivot. The counter-shaft is connected through bevel-gears
with another shaft, which carries at its front end a disc, having a cam-groove
in its face, and engaged by a roller on a lever pivoted at its lower end to a
bearing on the yoke and engaging the slide at its upper end. Through these
means, the said slide is reciprocated in its ways.
The chief levelling-roll, whose levelling surface is preferably concaved, is
supported in a carrier, pivoted to a vertically-swinging frame. This levelling-
roll receives an oscillatory motion through suitable connections with the main
driving-shaft, as an eccentric, a pitman, a bell-crank lever, and a connection
between the latter and the roll-carrier.
may
also
In addition to supporting the chief levelling-roll, the swinging frame
support auxiliary rolls, of which there may be one or more, and which are designed
to act on the marginal portions of the face of the sole, and more effectively close
the thread-channel than would otherwise be done, and, in furtherance of this design,

page_text: are of substantially frusto-conical form, with flanged bases. These auxiliary rolls
are supported in such a manner as to permit angular adjustment, and produce an
inward and downward pressure on the sole.
Another eccentric mounted on the driving-shaft is connected with a second
bell-crank, which is pivoted to an arm of a sleeve, mounted on a shaft forming
the pivot of the first-named bell-crank, said sleeve having another arm extending
in the opposite direction to the first-named arm. The second bell-crank is
pivotally connected with a rod having a forked outer end, each of whose
branches has a flat head which presents a vertical surface. A plate or holder
is fastened on this surface of each head, and has a bearing in which a roll is
supported. The two rolls are arranged end to end, and their adjustment is effected
by means of slots in the plates and fastenings engaging the slots, the latter being
formed to permit independent axial adjustment of the rolls, so that each roll may
have its axis inclined at any desired angle.
These rolls are for acting on the shank of the sole, and are positioned accordingly.
Their adjustability, by the means described, permits their adaptation to different
shapes of shanks, i.e., shanks which are more or less crowning.
It will be understood that the mechanism described as being connected with said
rolls
produces their reciprocation during the operation of the machine.
It is evident two adjustable rolls might be used for levelling the ball-portion of
the sole, as well as for the shank. The construction and arrangement of these rolls
may be variously modified.
An arc-shaped adjustment-way is fixed on one of the journals of the jack, and
extends on each side of said journal, and receives a pin, carried by a rod, which is
pivotally connected with one of the arms of the sleeve with which the second
bell-crank is connected.
This construction is for the purpose of securing an adjustment of the travel of
the shank-rolls, controlled by the oscillation of the jack.
In order to secure a burnishing effect, the roll must be positively revolved, and
this is brought about at the same time that the oscillations take place, through
suitable means, as a gear supported concentrically with the pivot of the roll-carrier,
a pulley fixed to rotate with said gear, a belt connecting said pulley with a pulley
on the driving-shaft, and a gear on the roll and meshing with the first-named gear.
Through these means, a positive rotation is imparted to the roll, and its oscillations
do not effect the transmission of rotary motion.
It will now be seen that the roll is oscillated or reciprocated and rotated positively,
at the same time, and thereby the sole is both levelled and burnished.
Dated this 21st day of October 1893
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Levelling and Burnishing the Soles
of Boots and Shoes.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 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 relates to an improvement in sole levelling machines, such as
employed in levelling soles of boots and shoes after they leave the sewing machine.
The object of the present invention is to provide for using a plurality of levelling-
rolls supported by independent carriers, whereby all parts of the sole may be acted
upon more perfectly and more quickly than in the present machine where only one

page_text: oll is employed to do all the work. Another object of the invention is to provide
mproved mechanism for adjusting the travel of the rolls. A further object is, to
imavide novel means for onerating on soles which vary in contour or shape. A
till further object of the invention is to provide a machine in which both the
ongitudinally-swinging member and the laterally-swinging member of the jack are
scillated by power, and not by hand, as is now customary in machines of this class.
The invention has in view other minor improvements, all of which will be described
and claimed hereinafter.
The accompanying drawings illustrate a construction by which the invention may
till further object of the invention is to provide a machine in which both the
ongitudinally-swinging member and the laterally-swinging member of the jack are
scillated by power, and not by hand, as is now customary in machines of this class.
The invention has in view other minor improvements, all of which will be described
and claimed hereinafter.
The accompanying drawings illustrate a construction by which the invention may
De carried out.
Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the machine, some parts appearing in section.
Fig. 2 shows a top plan view.
Fig. 3 shows a front elevation.
Fig. 4 shows a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 shows a diagram illustrating the operation of adjusting mechanism.
Fig. 6 shows a detail sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 7 shows a detail of the shank-rolls.
Fig. 8 shows a detail of mechanism for oscillating the laterally-movable member
of the jack.
Fig. 9 shows a diagram illustrative of the operation of this mechanism.
Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate modifications in the construction of the shank-rolls.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings :
The letter, a, designates the supporting-frame of the machine; b, a yoke or tree,
pivoted at, 61, to the said frame, so as to oscillate longitudinally of the machine;
and, c, another yoke, pivotally supported in the yoke, b, and having a centrally-
located standard, c'. The yokes, and c, and standard, c', constitute a jack, and as
here shown, the standard, c', is designed to carry the last on which the shoe is
held.
The letter, d, designates the driving-shaft, supported in bearings on the frame, a,
and carrying a bevel-gear, d', which meshes with a similar gear, d³, on a vertical
shaft, d. Said vertical shaft carries a worm, d', which engages a gear, d³, mounted
on a horizontal shaft, d, said shaft carrying a slotted adjusting-arm, d', to which is
connected one end of a rod, d³, the opposite end of which is connected with an
arm, d, fastened to one of the journals of the jack-tree, b. It will be understood
that the latter is oscillated through the media described.
The shaft, de, carries a bevel-gear, e, which meshes with a similar gear, e', on a
shaft, e, which is supported in bearings on the frame, a, and extends at right angles
to the said shaft, d. A disc, e, is fixed on the end of the shaft, e', and has a
cam-groove, e, in its outer face. This cam-groove is partly in a plane which
includes the centre of oscillation or axis of the tree, b. A rock-shaft, e, is supported
in a bearing on the under side of the tree, b, and has an arm, e, on one end, which
arm is a roller, e, in engagement with the cam-groove, e. Said rock-shaft has
Through
an arm, e, on the opposite end, which is connected with the yoke, c.
these instrumentalities, the said yoke is oscillated, and it will be observed that the
connection of parts is not disturbed by the oscillations of the tree, b; by reason of
the fact that the cam-groove is brought into the plane of the axis of the tree,
whereby the roll, e', engaging it will have a very slight movement. The sides of
this roller are rounded to prevent it from binding in the groove.
An eccentric, f, on the driving-shaft, d, is connected by a rod, f', with one arm
of a bell-crank, f, which is pivoted by means of a shaft, , supported on 'the
frame, a. Said bell-crank has a vertically-extending arm, which is jointed 'to a
rod, f, and the latter has a forked outer end whose branches are jointed to cross-
heads, f. Said cross-heads are supported by arms, ƒ, pivoted to the frame, a, and
they form bearings for a roll,, which they carry between them. Said roll has
position over the ball of the sole, and through the parts described an oscillatory
motion is imparted to it as it acts on the sole.

page_text: The letter, g, designates another eccentric, mounted on the shaft, d, which
eccentric is connected by a rod, g³, with an arm of a bell-crank, 9. This bell-
crank is pivoted to an arm, g³, of a sleeve, g, mounted on the shaft, f, and having
another arm, g', extending in the opposite direction to the arm, 9. The bell-
crank, g, has a vertically-extending arm, which is pivotally connected with a
rod, g, having a forked outer end, each of whose branches has a flat head, g²,
which presents a vertical surface, by which means a head or carrier is provided for
supporting or carrying the independent bearings of two rolls, 9', suitably arranged
relatively to each other to operate in a part of the sole of a shoe supported by the
jack herein before alluded to. The bearings of the rolls, 9, are mounted on the
head or carrier, g', which is arranged to be reciprocated in a plane above the shoe-
jack, and the bearings of the rolls are provided with means whereby they can be
adjusted into various positions and rigidly clamped or held in the position to which
adjusted, whereby the axes of the rolls are adjustable to varying angles relatively
to one another. To accomplish this adjustment I provide each bearing with a
plate, go, having a curved or segmental slot, g, Fig. 7, through which a clamping
bolt passes into the head or carrier, g'. By loosening the clamping bolts the
roll bearings can be moved in the arcs of circles to adjust the axes of the
rolls, 9, into the position desired, after which the bolts can be tightened to rigidly
clamp or hold the roll bearings in fixed positions on the head or carrier, g².
The devices described enable the rolls, gº, to be adjusted to suit the conditions
required according to the varying contour or shape of shoe soles, thus rendering it
possible to practically use the same rolls on soles which greatly vary in shape,
particularly the shanks of soles which vary in contour from a slight curve to an
approximately V-shape in cross-section. In the present instance the rolls, g°, are
designed to operate on the shanks of the soles, and obviously, the rolls can be
independently and quickly adjusted to varying angles for adapting the rolls to
shanks which are more or less crowning.
It will be understood that the mechanism described as being connected with saiḍ
rolls produces their reciprocation during the operation of the machine.
The rod, g, is made extensible, as indicated at h, to allow for an adjustment of
the shank-rolls with relation to the ball-roll.
It is evident two adjustable rolls might be used for levelling the ball-portion of
the sole, as well as for the shank.
An arc-shaped adjustment-way, i, is fixed on one of the journals of the jack-tree,
and extends on each side of said journal, and receives a pin, carried by a rod, i,
which is pivotally connected with the arm, g, the pivot being the centre on which
the arc of the adjustment extends.
This construction is for the purpose of securing an adjustment of the travel of
the shank-rolls, controlled by the oscillation of the jack-tree.
By reference to the diagram, Fig. 5, it will be seen that by moving the pin of
the rod,, to a point on the upper side of the centre of oscillation of the tree, the
rearward movement of the tree moves the pivot of the bell-crank, g², forward, and
the travel of the rolls, 9', is correspondingly increased toward the heel. By
connecting the rod, , on the lower side of the centre of oscillation of the tree,
the opposite effect is produced, i.e. the travel of the rolls toward the ball is
increased.
By means of a treadle, j, and rods, j, connecting the same with the rods,,
and 9, the rolls are brought down upon the sole, and said treadle is held down by
a pivoted latch, j. Spring, j, on the rods and a counterbalancing weight, j*, on the
treadle, tend to raise the rolls from the sole.
While the shank-rolls, 9, are shown and described as supported so as to be
adjusted axially with the point of their meeting edges at the lower side as a centre,
this is not an essential feature, the rolls may be constructed as illustrated in Figure 10,
where two rolle, k, with convex exterior contours and egg-shaped confronting ends,
are shown. In this case, the centre of the adjustment arc would not be at the
lower side, as in the former case, but in a central longitudinal line of the rolls.

page_text: In Fig. 11, rolls, m, are shown as overlapping, and supported in holders, m', whereby
they may be adjusted axially. With either of these constructions scoring of the
shank would be prevented.
Where two rolls or two sets of rolls are employed, one to act on the shank and the
other on the ball of the sole, a convex roll such as shown in Fig. 10 may be
employed, and in some cases will be found of special advantage, as for instance in a
shoe where it is desired to roll the ball-portion of the sole perfectly flat, while the
bhank is rounded. In such a case as this, a concaved roll such as is ordinarily
employed would round the ball-portion of the sole under oscillation of the jack,.
whereas with a convex roll the ball could be made flat.
It is evident numerous variations might be made in the construction of the
various parts of the machine without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention, and it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the
construction shown.
The drawing illustrates a single roll for operating upon the sole of a boot or
shoc, but two or duplicate rolls mounted on independent shafts could be substituted.
for the single roll and they should be mounted, operated and adjusted in the same
manner as the two rolls for operating on the shank.
With reference to the burnishing arrangement described in my Provisional
Specification I wish it understood that I do not desire to include the same as part
of my present invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven--
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me.
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a sole-levelling machine, & roll or rolls for acting on the ball of the sole, a
roll or rolls for acting on the shank, independent carriers supporting the rolls, and
independent means for operating said carriers.
2. In a sole-levelling machine, a roll or rolls for acting on the ball of the sole, a
roll or rolls for acting on the shank, independent carriers supporting the rolls, and
means for adjusting the distance between the carriers.
3. In an organized sole-levelling machine, the combination with a jack for
supporting a shoe, and a carrier arranged above the jack, of roll bearings adjustably
mounted on the carrier, rolls arranged in the roll-bearings and having the angularity
of their axes varied by the adjustment of said bearings, and devices for rigidly
securing the roll bearings directly to the carrier in the desired position of
adjustment.
4. In an organized sole-levelling machine, the combination with a jack for
supporting a shoe, and a reciprocating carrier arranged above the jack, of roll-
bearings mounted on the carrier and adjustable independently of one another, rolls
mounted in said independently adjustable bearings and having the angularity of
their axes varied by the adjustment of the said bearings, and devices for rigidly
securing the roll-bearings to the carrier in the desired position of adjustment.
5. In an organized sole-levelling machine, the combination with a jack for
supporting a shoe, and a carrier arranged above the jack, of independently
adjustable roll-bearings provided with curved or segmental slots, rolls mounted in
said independently adjustable bearings and having the angularity of their axes
varied by the adjustment of the roll-bearings, and screws passing through the slots
of the roll-bearings into the carrier for rigidly securing the said bearings to the
carrier in the desired position of adjustment.
6. In an organized sole-levelling machine, the combination with a jack for
supporting a shoe, a reciprocating levelling-roll for acting on the ball or fore part
of the sole, and a reciprocating carrier of shank rolls having bearings independently
adjustable on the said carrier to vary the angularity of the axes of the shank rolls.
and adapt the latter to sole shanks which vary in contour, devices for rigidly
holding the bearings of the shauk rolls in their positions of adjustment, and means.
for reciprocating the levelling-roll and the carrier.

page_text: 7. In a sole-levelling machine, rolls supported end to end and axially adjustable-
and having their confronting ends rounded or convexed.
8. In a sole-levelling machine, the combination of a reciprocating levelling-roll
and a jack mounted to oscillate longitudinally, with mechanism for imparting
movement simultaneously to both roll and jack and adjustable connections between
said roll and jack whereby the longitudinal inclination of the jack and the relative
position of the roll are automatically varied, and the travel of the latter may be
regulated for the purpose set forth.
9. In a sole-levelling machine, a jack for supporting the shoe, the same com-
prising a yoke or tree pivotally supported and arranged to move on the pivot in the
direction of length of the shoe, a yoke pivotally supported in said tree and arranged to
move on its pivot in a direction transverse to the movement of the same, means for
oscillating the tree, a cam-disc having a groove at the centre of oscillation of said
yoke, and a rock-shaft supported in a bearing on said tree and having an arm
which carries a roll engaging said cam-groove and an arm connecting it with the
yoke.
10. In a sole-levelling machine, the combination of an oscillating jack, a
reciprocating levelling-roll and means of connection between the jack and roll
whereby the travel of the latter may be regulated.
11. In a sole-levelling machine, the combination of an oscillating jack having an
adjusting-way at its centre of oscillation, a reciprocating levelling-roll, a lever
which reciprocates said roll, and a rod connecting the pivot of said lever with the
adjusting-way on the jack, as and for the purpose described.
12. In a sole-levelling machine, the combination of an oscillating jack having an
arc-shaped adjusting way at its centre of oscillation, a levelling roll or rolls for
acting on the ball of the sole, a roll or rolls for acting on the shank, a bell-crank
connected with the ball-roll or rolls, a shaft supporting said lever, means for
actuating the lever, a sleeve mounted on said shaft and having oppositely-extending
arms, a bell-crank lever supported by one of said arms and connected with the shank-
roll or rolls, means for vibrating said lever, and a rod connecting the other arm of
the sleeve with the adjustment-way on the jack-tree.
Dated this 15th day of June 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.