An Improved Machine for Cutting Leather into Soles for Boots and Shoes, Applicable also for Cutting Leather and other Materials for other Purposes.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 23rd Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 23rd Dec., 1887
An Improved Machine for Cutting Leather into Soles for Boots and
Shoes, Applicable also for Cutting Leather and other Materials
for other Purposes.
We JOHN CAVE, PAUL CAVE, AMOS CAVE, FREDERICK CAVE and ARTHUR CAVE,
Boot Manufacturers, of Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the construction of a machine whereby leather is rolled,
ranged and cut into soles for boots and shoes in a simple and expeditious manner
the usual waste of leather being considerably diminished.
The improved machine consists of a suitable framing in which is mounted a pair
of rollers to which motion is communicated in any suitable manner. The leather is
fed through these rollers and on one side of the said rollers is arranged a double edged
cutting knife of the proper size and shape for the purpose required. This knife is so
arranged that as the leather is fed forward through the rollers one edge of the knife
is brought down on the leather by any suitable arrangement and having cut through
the leather the knife is raised a certain distance and then is turned through half a
revolution and then moved downwards so as to bring the other cutting edge of the
knife onto the leather and divide it by which arrangement it will be obvious that
after the first two cuts each downward motion of the knife separates one sole.
It will be understood that the feeding forward of the leather is regulated according
to the width of the sole to be cut the leather remaining stationary while the cutting
operation takes place; the knives are also adjustable for the same purpose.
We have described our invention as applicable for cutting out boot and shoe soles
but it will be obvious that it may be used for cutting out other parts of soles such
as toes, middles and heels, also for cutting out boot and shoe uppers and for cutting
other materials.
It will also be understood that the knives may be formed in two parts in which
case the toe parts only of the knives would have to be revolved.
בד
Bab 1987
G. F. REDFERN,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine for Cutting Leather into Soles for Boots and
Shoes, Applicable also for Cutting Leather and other Materials
for other Purposes.
We, JOHN CAVE, PAUL CAVE, AMOS CAVE, FREDERICK CAVE, and ARTHUR CAVE,
Boot Manufacturers, of Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, 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 the construction of a machine whereby leather is
rolled, ranged and cut into soles for boots and shoes in a simple and expeditious
manner.
The improved machine comprises a suitable framing in which is mounted a pair of
rollers to which motion is communicated in any suitable manner. The leather is fed
through these rollers and on one side of the said rollers is arranged a double edged
cutting knife of the proper size and shape for the purpose required. This duplex
knife is so arranged that as the leather is fed forward through the rollers one edge of
the knife is brought down on the leather by any suitable arrangement, and, having
cut through the leather, the knife is raised a certain distance and at the same time is
turned through half a revolution and then moved downwards, so as to bring the other
cutting edge of the knife onto the leather and divide it, by which arrangement it
will be obvious that after the first cut each downward motion of the knife separates
one sole.
It will be understood that the feeding forward of the leather is regulated according
to the width of the sole to be cut, the leather remaining stationary, while the cutting
operation takes place; the knives are also adjustable to allow of slightly varying the
width of the toes and heels.
In order to enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe how it can
be carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figures 1 and 2 represent a front elevation and a plan respectively of a machine
constructed according to our invention, for cutting leather into soles for boots and
shoes applicable also for cutting leather and other materials for other purposes.
Figure 3 represents an elevation of the right hand side of the machine.
Figure 4 represents an elevation partly in section of the left-hand side of the same.
Figure 5 represents a section taken on the line A B of figure 4.
Figure 6 represents a vertical section drawn to a larger scale of the wheel for
driving the feed rollers.
Figures 7 and 8 represent a side elevation and a plan respectively of one form of
our duplex knife.
Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a portion of a butt or hide of leather

page_text: which has been cut by the knife shown in figures 7 and 8 into a series of boot or shoe
soles.
Figure 10 represents a plan of another form of duplex knife, and
Figure 11 is a similar view to figure 9 but illustrating the manner in which a series
of boot or shoe soles is cut by the knife shown in figure 10.
Similar reference letters indicate similar or corresponding parts throughout the
drawings.
Referring to figures 1 to 8 the framing of the machine consists of a standard A,
frame B, and tables C and C¹. The part of the frame B above the tables is detached
from the lower part and connected thereto on one side only by means of the
standard A. This method of construction by means of which an opening is left on
one side of the machine between the upper and lower portions of the frame, allows of
a and b are
any required width of leather butt being placed between the feed rollers.
the rollers for feeding the leather to be cut into boot and shoe soles. The lower
roller a revolves in fixed bearings c, c while the upper roller brevolves in bearings d, d
which are capable of a slight vertical movement so that by lifting the said roller b the
feed of the leather will be stopped. The bearings d, d at each end of the roller bare
provided with upward extensions f, f connected by links g, g, to a bar h which is
connected by links i, i to a bar j. On the bar j presses a spring k the pressure of
which can be regulated by means of a hand-wheel 7 and a screw m working through
a screw-threaded opening a' in the cross-bar a³. The bar h is also connected by
links n, n to a bell cranked lever handle o attached to a vertical pivot shaft p. By
moving the lever handle o into the position shown by the dotted lines in figure 2, the
bar which together with the links g, g and i, i forms a toggle joint, will be moved
so as to raise the roller b. The bar normally rests on the bottom parts of slots 9, q
which receive its ends, but when a butt of leather to be operated upon is placed
between the rollers the thickness of the leather will cause the bar j to be lifted up a
corresponding distance thereby allowing the pressure from the spring k to be imparted
to the leather.
By means of the above arrangement the rollers can be separated and the feed
stopped, without altering the spring k.
In order to allow
The rollers a and b are geared together by toothed wheels r and s, the teeth of the
said wheels being sufficiently deep to allow of the upward movement of the roller b
without taking the wheels out of gear with the wheel 7. t is the pinion (of which a
detached section is shown at figure 6) for imparting movement to the rollers a and b,
and which is mounted on the pivot u at one end of the roller a.
the leather to remain stationary while the cutting operation takes place the motion
imparted to the rollers a and b is intermittent. For this purpose the pinion t is loose
upon the pivot u and the latter is provided with a spring key v (or spring keys)
bevelled on its upper edge and which engages with a correspondingly shaped key
way or notch (or key ways or notches) in the pinion t as shown clearly in figure 6.
By this arrangement if the pinion t be operated in the direction of the arrows
(figures 3 and 6) the pivot u and consequently the roller a will be eaused to turn with
it, but if the pinion be turned in the opposite direction it will press the key v into the
pivot and slide round on the same without turning it. For imparting these
movements in opposite directions to the pinion t we employ a toothed oscillating
quadrant w pivotted at and actuated by means of a roller y which is caused to
bear against a cam by means of a spring a¹ as clearly shown in figure 5. The
cam is mounted on a shaft to which movement is imparted from the main shaft c'
by means of spur wheels d¹, e¹ and a clutch m² hereinafter described. In order
to vary the feeding movement of the rollers a and b for the purpose of altering
the width of the soles to be cut we make the roller y adjustable by means of a
handwheel and screw g¹ working through a nut and form the leg w*,
the quadrant w as shown at so that it can bear or stop against the shaft b¹
when the roller is upon or over that part of the periphery of the cam z which is
nearest the shaft b¹. By this arrangement the position of the roller can be
of

page_text: adjusted so that more or less of the periphery of the cam z will act upon it'
thereby varying the movement imparted to the quadrant w and consequently to the
rollers a and b.
, is an index or pointer working in a guide k¹ and attached to the screw g¹ the
said index serving to indicate on a scale 71 attached to the standard A the width
of sole to be cut. D is the duplex knife pivotted to a sliding crosshead o¹, to which a
reciprocating movement is imparted by one end of a lever p¹ pivotted at q¹ to the
standard A the other end of the said lever being attached by means of a ball and
socket (or other) joint ¹ to a rod s¹ to which movement is imparted by and which
is attached by a knuckle joint t¹ to an eccentric strap on the shaft b¹. The
duplex knife D is formed of two blades m³, n¹ of suitable shape, as shown in figure 8,
fixed to plates v³, v² on each side of a plate w¹ which is pivotted to the crosshead o¹.
The plates v¹, v¹ are attached to one another by a circular block passing through the
plate w. This block also acts as a pivot as it allows the plates to be adjusted sideways
so as to slightly vary the width of the toes and heels of the soles cut by the knives.
The plates when so adjusted are clamped by studs passing through slots ³ in the
same. kis a pointer or index on one of the plates which pointer, when the said
plates are being moved on their pivot 12, works over a scale 1/2 to allow of indicating
when the knives have been accurately adjusted. One of the pivots a¹ of the plate w¹ is
extended through into the standard Å and carries a pinion y which gears with a fixed
rack (figure 4) so that as the knife D is moved upwards by the lever p¹ it is caused
to turn half round. In order to prevent the knife D from turning when moving
downwards to cut the leather, the pinion y¹ and pivot are provided with a spring
key similarly to the pinion t and pivot u of the feed roller a. Underneath the
knife D and level with the top of the table C is arranged a wooden block b² on which
the cutting operation takes place. The surface of this block gradually becomes worn
away by the action of the knife, and in order to compensate for this wear we mount
the said block in a frame c³ provided with inclined planes d³, d² on its under side as
shown clearly in figure 4. These inclined planes d' rest on other inclined planes e³ e²
attached to a frame f" to which a sliding movement in the direction of the arrow
(figure 4) can be imparted by a handwheel g² and screw h², thereby raising the
block 62 as required. In order to stop the reciprocating action of the knife D (for
the purpose of preventing the leather from being cut when the feeding movement of
the latter is stopped by the feed roller 6 being raised by the lever handle o) we
provide the clutch m² hereinbefore referred to, which slides on a spline n' on the
shaft b¹ and is caused to engage with the clutch teeth on the boss of the spur-wheel e¹
(which runs loose on the shaft) by means of the forked end of a lever o² pivotted at p²,
the other end of the said lever being connected by a link q² to a lever attached
to the lower end of the pivot shaft p as shown clearly in figures 2 and 4. By this
arrangement the two operations just mentioned can be effected by the one movement of
the lever handle o.
is a fly-wheel for ensuring a uniform motion of the machine and t², t² are fast and
loose pulleys for enabling the machine to be started and stopped as required.
To operate the machine the lever handle o must first be placed in the position
shown by the dotted lines in figure 2, the knife D being then in the raised position
shown in figures 1, 3, and 4, with the blade m' uppermost. The leather to be operated
upon is then placed on the table C and between the feed rollers a and b so that one
end of it rests on the block 6 under the knife D. The machine being now started
and the lever handle o placed in the position shown by the full lines in figure 2, the
feed roller b will be caused to move down onto the leather which will remain stationary
while the kuife D moves down and causes its blade n' to cut into the leather thereby
producing a cut like that shown by the full lines at E in the range of soles marked 1 in
figure 9. The knife will then move upwards at the same time making a half
revolution as hereinbefore described so as to bring the blade m' underneath. The
feed rollers will also at the same time be caused to feed the leather so that when the
knife D moves down onto the leather again its blade m¹ will make a cut like that

page_text: represented by the dotted lines at F in figure 9. By this arrangement it will be seen
that after the first cut each downward movement of the knife D separates one sole
which is pushed forward onto the table C₁ by the remaining leather. The cutting
action is continued to the end of the butt of leather thereby completing the range of
soles marked 1. The lever handle o is then again moved into the dotted position so
as to lift the top feed roller 6 and stop the knife D and the butt of leather is again
placed in position so as to cut the range of soles marked 2, the toes and heels of the
soles at the juncture of the two ranges being cut so as to fit one another as shown,
thereby reducing the waste of leather to a minimum.
In figure 10 we have shown a modified form of cutting knife, a series of soles cut
thereby being illustrated at figure 11; the cut represented by the full lines at E is
made by the blade n' and the cut represented by the dotted lines at F is made by the
blade m' when the knife is turned over.
We have described our invention as applicable for cutting out boot and shoe soles
but it will be obvious that by modifying the shape of the knives the machine may be
used for cutting out other parts of soles, such as toes, middles, and heels, also for
cutting out boot and shoe uppers and for cutting other articles from leather or other
materials.
One important advantage which results from the use of the duplex knife as compared
with a knife or punch which punches out a complete blank at one cut is that for a
given duplex knife the size of the blank can be varied.
It will be obvious that the particular form of the corresponding knives constituting
the duplex or double-edged knife will have to be set out in any given case according
to the shape of the blanks required to be cut, so as to cause as little waste of
material as possible.
With reference to the particular arrangement of blanks shown in figure 9 we wish
it to be understood that we are aware that this arrangement is not new, although
we believe that the method of cutting out the blanks by means of the duplex knife
with two half cuts instead of one whole cut is new.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. A cutting machine constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore
described.
And in a machine for cutting leather and other materials the following subordinate
features mentioned in clauses 2 to 10:-
2. The use of a duplex knife suitably shaped and actuated by means of which at
every stroke of the knife the cutting of a partially cut blank is completed and the
cutting of the next blank is partially effected ready for the subsequent stroke of the
knife, substantially as described.
3. The use of a duplex knife such as is herein before described in combination with
automatic feed mechanism substantially as setforth.
4. The combination of the upper and lower portions of the frame connected by a
standard at one side thereof with the feed rollers and knife leaving the frame open
on one side so that a sheet of any width may be introduced between the feed rolls
and operated on by the knife, substantially as herein before described.
5. The arrangement whereby the feed rollers can be separated so as to stop the feed
without altering the spring, substantially as hereinbefore described.
6. The arrangement whereby the motion of the knives and the feed can be
simultaneously thrown out of action by one movement of a hand lever, substantially
as herein before described.
7. Mounting the knives which constitute the duplex knife upon pivotted blocks
for the purpose of adjustment, substantially as hereinbefore described.
8. The rotating duplex knife substantially as herein before described.

page_text: 9. The arrangement whereby the wear of the cutting block can be taken up,
substantially as described.
10. The arrangement of mechanism for giving an adjustable intermittent motion
to the feed rollers substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated the 23rd day of November 1887.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 23rd Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 23rd Dec., 1887
An Improved Machine for Cutting Leather into Soles for Boots and
Shoes, Applicable also for Cutting Leather and other Materials
for other Purposes.
We JOHN CAVE, PAUL CAVE, AMOS CAVE, FREDERICK CAVE and ARTHUR CAVE,
Boot Manufacturers, of Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the construction of a machine whereby leather is rolled,
ranged and cut into soles for boots and shoes in a simple and expeditious manner
the usual waste of leather being considerably diminished.
The improved machine consists of a suitable framing in which is mounted a pair
The leather is
of rollers to which motion is communicated in any suitable manner.
fed through these rollers and on one side of the said rollers is arranged a double edged
cutting knife of the proper size and shape for the purpose required. This knife is so
arranged that as the leather is fed forward through the rollers one edge of the knife
is brought down on the leather by any suitable arrangement and having cut through
the leather the knife is raised a certain distance and then is turned through half a
revolution and then moved downwards so as to bring the other cutting edge of the
knife onto the leather and divide it by which arrangement it will be obvious that
after the first two cuts each downward motion of the knife separates one sole.
It will be understood that the feeding forward of the leather is regulated according
to the width of the sole to be cut the leather remaining stationary while the cutting
operation takes place; the knives are also adjustable for the same purpose.
We have described our invention as applicable for cutting out boot and shoe soles
but it will be obvious that it may be used for cutting out other parts of soles such
as toes, middles and heels, also for cutting out boot and shoe uppers and for cutting
other materials.
It will also be understood that the knives may be formed in two parts in which
case the toe parts only of the knives would have to be revolved.
1004

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine for Cutting Leather into Soles for Boots and
Shoes, Applicable also for Cutting Leather and other Materials
for other Purposes.
We, JOHN CAVE, PAUL CAVE, AMOS CAVE, FREDERICK CAVE, and ARTHUR CAVE,
Boot Manufacturers, of Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, 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 the construction of a machine whereby leather is
rolled, ranged and cut into soles for boots and shoes in a simple and expeditious
manner.
The improved machine comprises a suitable framing in which is mounted a pair of
rollers to which motion is communicated in any suitable manner. The leather is fed
through these rollers and on one side of the said rollers is arranged a double edged
cutting knife of the proper size and shape for the purpose required. This duplex
knife is so arranged that as the leather is fed forward through the rollers one edge of
the knife is brought down on the leather by any suitable arrangement, and, having
cut through the leather, the knife is raised a certain distance and at the same time is
turned through half a revolution and then moved downwards, so as to bring the other
cutting edge of the knife onto the leather and divide it, by which arrangement it
will be obvious that after the first cut each downward motion of the knife separates
one sole.
It will be understood that the feeding forward of the leather is regulated according
to the width of the sole to be cut, the leather remaining stationary, while the cutting
operation takes place; the knives are also adjustable to allow of slightly varying the
width of the toes and heels.
In order to enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe how it can
be carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figures 1 and 2 represent a front elevation and a plan respectively of a machine
constructed according to our invention, for cutting leather into soles for boots and
shoes applicable also for cutting leather and other materials for other purposes.
Figure 3 represents an elevation of the right hand side of the machine.
Figure 4 represents an elevation partly in section of the left-hand side of the same.
Figure 5 represents a section taken on the line A B of figure 4.
Figure 6 represents a vertical section drawn to a larger scale of the wheel for
driving the feed rollers.
Figures 7 and 8 represent a side elevation and a plan respectively of one form of
our duplex knife.
Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a portion of a butt or hide of leather

page_text: which has been cut by the knife shown in figures 7 and 8 into a series of boot of smoo
soles.
Figure 10 represents a plan of another form of duplex knife, and
Figure 11 is a similar view to figure 9 but illustrating the manner in which a series
of boot or shoe soles is cut by the knife shown in figure 10.
Similar reference letters indicate similar or corresponding parts throughout the
drawings.
Referring to figures 1 to 8 the framing of the machine consists of a standard A,
frame B, and tables C and C². The part of the frame B above the tables is detached
from the lower part and connected thereto on one side only by means of the
standard A. This method of construction by means of which an opening is left on
one side of the machine between the upper and lower portions of the frame, allows of
a and b are
any required width of leather butt being placed between the feed rollers.
the rollers for feeding the leather to be cut into boot and shoe soles. The lower
roller a revolves in fixed bearings c, c while the upper roller brevolves in bearings d, d
which are capable of a slight vertical movement so that by lifting the said roller & the
feed of the leather will be stopped. The bearings d, d at each end of the roller bare
provided with upward extensions f, f connected by links g, g, to a bar h which is
connected by links i, i to a bar j. On the bar j presses a spring k the pressure of
which can be regulated by means of a hand-wheel 7 and a screw m. working through
a screw-threaded opening a² in the cross-bar a³. The bar is also connected by
links n, n to a bell cranked lever handle o attached to a vertical pivot shaft p. By
moving the lever handle o into the position shown by the dotted lines in figure 2, the
bar which together with the links g, g and i, i forms a toggle joint, will be moved
so as to raise the roller b. The bar ; normally rests on the bottom parts of slots q, q
which receive its ends, but when a butt of leather to be operated upon is placed
between the rollers the thickness of the leather will cause the bar j to be lifted up a
corresponding distance thereby allowing the pressure from the spring & to be imparted
to the leather.
By means of the above arrangement the rollers can be separated and the feed
stopped, without altering the spring k.
The rollers a and b are geared together by toothed wheels and s, the teeth of the
said wheels being sufficiently deep to allow of the upward movement of the roller
without taking the wheels out of gear with the wheel 1. t is the pinion (of which a
detached section is shown at figure 6) for imparting movement to the rollers a and b,
In order to allow
and which is mounted on the pivot u at one end of the roller a.
the leather to remain stationary while the cutting operation takes place the motion
imparted to the rollers a and b is intermittent. For this purpose the pinion t is loose
upon the pivot u and the latter is provided with a spring key v (or spring keys)
bevelled on its upper edge and which engages with a correspondingly shaped key
way or notch (or key ways or notches) in the pinion t as shown clearly in figure 6.
By this arrangement if the pinion t be operated in the direction of the arrows
(figures 3 and 6) the pivot u and consequently the roller a will be eaused to turn with
but if the pinion be turned in the opposite direction it will press the key v into the
pivot u and slide round on the same without turning it. For imparting these
movements in opposite directions to the pinion t we employ a toothed oscillating
quadrant pivotted at x and actuated by means of a roller y which is caused to
bear against a cam by means of a spring a¹ as clearly shown in figure 5. The
cam is mounted on a shaft b' to which movement is imparted from the main shaft c¹
by means of spur wheels d', e¹ and a clutch m² hereinafter described. In order
to vary the feeding movement of the rollers a and b for the purpose of altering
the width of the soles to be cut we make the roller y adjustable by means of a
handwheel and screw 'g' working through a nut u and form the leg w*, of
the quadrant was shown at so that it can bear or stop against the shaft b¹
when the roller is upon or over that part of the periphery of the cam which is
nearest the shaft b. By this arrangement the position of the roller can be
it,

page_text: adjusted so that more or less of the periphery of the cam will act upon it'
thereby varying the movement imparted to the quadrant w and consequently to tho
rollers a and b.
, is an index or pointer working in a guide ¹ and attached to the screw g¹ the
said index serving to indicate on a scale attached to the standard A the width
of sole to be cut. D is the duplex knife pivotted to a sliding crosshead o¹, to which a
reciprocating movement is imparted by one end of a lever p² pivotted at 1 to the
standard A the other end of the said lever being attached by means of a ball and
socket (or other) joint to a rod s to which movement is imparted by and which
is attached by a knuckle joint to an eccentric strap u' on the shaft . The
duplex knife D is formed of two blades m³, n¹ of suitable shape, as shown in figure 8,
fixed to plates v¹, v¹ on each side of a plate w¹ which is pivotted to the crosshead o'.
Tho plates v, v are attached to one another by a circular block passing through the
plate w. This block also acts as a pivot as it allows the plates to be adjusted sideways
so as to slightly vary the width of the toes and heels of the soles cut by the knives.
The plates when so adjusted are clamped by studs passing through slots 3 in the
same. 2 is a pointer or index on one of the plates v. which pointer, whon the said
plates are being moved on their pivot 2, works over a scale to allow of indicating
when the knives have been accurately adjusted. One of the pivots of the plate w¹ is
extended through into the standard A and carries a pinion y' which gears with a fixed
rack (figure 4) so that as the knife D is moved upwards by the lever p¹ it is caused
to turn half round. In order to prevent the knife D from turning when moving
downwards to cut the leather, the pinion y' and pivot are provided with a spring
Underneath the
key similarly to the pinion t and pivot u of the feed roller a.
knife D and level with the top of the table C is arranged a wooden block 62 on which
the cutting operation takes place. The surface of this block gradually becomes worn
away by the action of the knife, and in order to compensate for this wear we mount
the said block in a frame c² provided with inclined planes d², d² on its under side as
shown clearly in figure 4. These inclined planes de il rest on other inclined planes e e
attached to a frame to which a sliding movement in the direction of the arrow
(figure 4) can be imparted by a handwheel g² and screw 2, thereby raising the
block b as required. In order to stop the reciprocating action of the knife D (for
the purpose of preventing the leather from being cut when the feeding movement of
tho latter is stopped by the feed roller b being raised by the lover handle o) we
provide the clutch m² herein before referred to, which slides on a spline n² on the
shaft and is caused to engage with the clutch teeth on the boss of the spur-wheel e¹
(which runs loose on the shaft) by means of the forked end of a lever o pivotted at p²,
the other end of the said lever being connected by a link q² to a lever attached
to the lower end of the pivot shaft p as shown clearly in figures 2 and 4.
arrangement the two operations just mentioned can be effected by the one movement of
the lever handle o.
By this
is a fly-wheel for ensuring a uniform motion of the machine and t, t² are fast and
loose pulleys for enabling the machine to be started and stopped as required.
To operate the machine the lever handle o must first be placed in the position
shown by the dotted lines in figuro 2, the knifo D being then in the raised position
shown in figures 1, 3, and 4, with the blade m' uppermost. The leather to be operated
upon is then placed on the table Cand beiween the feed rollers a and b so that one
end of it rests on the block 62 under the knife D. The machine being now started
and the lever handle o placed in the position shown by the full lines in figure 2, thé
feed roller b will be caused to move down onto the leather which will remain stationary
while the knife D moves down and causes its blade n' to cut into the leather thereby
producing a cut like that shown by the full lines at E in the rango of soles marked 1 in
figure 9. The knife will then move upwards at the same time making a half
revolution as hereinbefore described so as to bring the blade m' underneath. The
fo od rollers will also at the same time be caused to feed the leather so that when the
knife D moves down onto the leather again its blade m¹ will make a cut like that

page_text: represented by the dotted lines at F in figure 9. By this arrangement it will be seen
that after the first cut each downward movement of the knife D separates one sole
which is pushed forward onto the table C₁ by the remaining leather. The cutting
action is continued to the end of the butt of leather thereby completing the range of
soles marked 1. The lever handle o is then again moved into the dotted position so
as to lift the top feed roller b and stop the knife D and the butt of leather is again
placed in position so as to cut the range of soles marked 2, the toes and heels of the
soles at the juncture of the two ranges being cut so as to fit one another as shown,
thereby reducing the waste of leather to a minimum.
In figure 10 we have shown a modified form of cutting knife, a series of soles cut
thereby being illustrated at figure 11; the cut represented by the full lines at E is
made by the blade n' and the cut represented by the dotted lines at F is made by the
blade m when the knife is turned over.
We have described our invention as applicable for cutting out boot and shoe soles
but it will be obvious that by modifying the shape of the knives the machine may be
used for cutting out other parts of soles, such as toes, middles, and heels, also for
cutting out boot and shoe uppers and for cutting other articles from leather or other
materials.
One important advantage which results from the use of the duplex knife as compared
with a knife or punch which punches out a complete blank at one cut is that for a
given duplex knife the size of the blank can be varied.
It will be obvious that the particular form of the corresponding knives constituting
the duplex or double-edged knife will have to be set out in any given case according
to the shape of the blanks required to be cut, so as to cause as little waste of
material as possible.
With reference to the particular arrangement of blanks shown in figure 9 we wish
it to be understood that we are aware that this arrangement is not new, although
we believe that the method of cutting out the blanks by means of the duplex knife
with two half cuts instead of one whole cut is new.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A cutting machine constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore
described.
And in a machine for cutting leather and other materials the following subordinate
features mentioned in clauses 2 to 10 :-
2. The use of a duplex knife suitably shaped and actuated by means of which at
every stroke of the knife the cutting of a partially cut blank is completed and the
cutting of the next blank is partially effected ready for the subsequent stroke of the
knife, substantially as described.
3. The use of a duplex knife such as is hereinbefore described in combination with
automatic feed mechanism substantially as setforth.
4. The combination of the upper and lower portions of the frame connected by a
standard at one side thereof with the feed rollers and knife leaving the fraine open
on one side so that a sheet of any width may be introduced between the feed rolls
and operated on by the knife, substantially as hereinbefore described.
5. The arrangement whereby the feed rollers can be separated so as to stop the feed
without altering the spring, substantially as hereinbefore described.
6. The arrangement whereby the motion of the knives and the feed can be
simultaneously thrown out of action by one movement of a hand lever, substantially
as herein before described.
7. Mounting the knives which constitute the duplex knife upon pivotted blocks
for the purpose of adjustment, substantially as herein before described.
8. The rotating duplex knife substantially as herein before described.

page_text: 9. The arrangement whereby the wear of the cutting block can be taken up,
substantially as described.
10. The arrangement of mechanism for giving an adjustable intermittent motion
to the feed rollers substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated the 23rd day of November 1887
G. F. REDFERN. & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicants.