IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES FOR THE MANU- ⚫FACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
.
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES FOR THE MANU-
⚫FACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES." A communication from abroad by
Lyman Reed Blake, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States of
America.
-
Sealed the 18th March 1873, and dated the 18th January 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 18th January 1873.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES," a communication, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to the construction and organization of a
I " hunt or choos in the..

page_text: manufacture of which each boot or shoe is made without an inner sole
(fastened to the outer sole), the edges of the vamp or upper and the outer
sole being united by stitches, and the parts in the process of effecting the
union being wrong side out, the boot or shoe being turned when the
union of the sole and upper is completed.
The said machine is designed to stand upon a suitable supporting
pedestal to bring the sewing mechanism to the proper height for the
manipulations of the operator who stands before it, the boot or shoo
being supported, held, and fed by the mechanism, guided to a greater or
less extent by the operator. A base plate stands upon the said pedestal.
From this plate extend two vertical housing stands, at the top of
which is a horizontal head piece. Upon the main driving shaft is an
eccentric connected by an eccentric strap and a link to an arm on one
end of a rocker shaft; at the opposite end of the latter is a crank wheel
connected by a link with the awl bar, carrying at its foot the awl that
punctures the work for and preparatory to the entrance of the needle,
the needle bar reciprocating vertically in a suitable bearing formed in an
extension of the head.
The driving shaft also carries a cam wheel in which is a cam groove
having extending into it a pin, projecting from an arm of a rocker sleeve
mounted on a stationary shaft or bolt. The latter extends through the
said housing plates, one part of this sleeve being at the inner side of the
front housing plate, and the other part at the outer side thereof; an arm
extending from the sleeve is connected by a link to the needle bar, from
the top of which extends the needle. The said needle bar reciprocates
vertically in a vertical plate, which plate is an arm extending from a
horizontal slide plate; the latter reciprocates laterally upon a guide
piece to effect the lateral or feed movement of the needle.
I employ a hook needle, and in connection with it a cast off that
closes the eye or hook of the needle at proper times. This cast-off is
fixed in the top of a bar that slides vertically on the said needle bar.
The conjoint operations of the awl, needle, and cast off, to form thic
successive stitches, are the same as in ordinary wax thread sewing
machines, the part of this Invention immediately relating to them being
confined to the construction or arrangement of the mechanism that
actuates them; one of the novel features thereof consists in the con-

page_text: struction of the rocker sleeve, with two parts that embrace the front
housing stand, and thereby keep the arms in correct position, and
another feature consists in the method of actuating the cast off..
From the front of the cast-off bar extends a pin, to which one end of a
spring is fastened, the opposite end of the said spring being fastened to a
pin projecting from the needle bar. As the said needle bar commences
to rise the stress of the spring causes the cast-off bar to rise with it, the
cast off being kept in proper position with reference to the needle by an
arm extending from a lever. In such position the cast off is just below
the needle hook; it remains there until the pin strikes a stop, and the
needle point and hook then pass up through the work, the point of the
cast off being just above the top of the work support. The neodle
having, completed its risc, and the thread having been thrown into its
hook, the needle descends and the cast off remains stationary with
relation to it, until the hook reaches and passes the point of the cast
off, when they descend together, the said arm striking against the pin.
ހ
As the needle bar rises, the lever is swung laterally on its fulcrum,
by reason of its arm striking a pin, thus permitting the needle bar to
descend at the side of the cast-off bar until the hook reaches the point
of the cast off, and just before the needle bar reaclics its lowest position.
the arm strikes an adjustable stop thereby throwing the arm again over
the pin, so that the needle bar and cast-off bar will rise together..
The slide plate is moved to effect the lateral movement of the needle
and consequent feed of the work, by means of a link and a cam on the
driving shaft.
The thread guide extends from the foot of a vertical shaft turning in
stationary bearings, the said shaft having an arm to which a link is
jointed. The said link connects the arm to one arm of a rocker lever.
from whose other arm a pin or roll extends into a peripheral cam groove
of a cam wheel on the driving shaft..
The outer sole of the boot or shoe to be sewed has a picce cut from the
inner face at the edge, and an inclined slit or channel cut from said face
toward such edge; the "upper" and sole are temporarily united upon a
suitable last, the edge cut and the slit thus formed. The "upper" at.
the needle entering point rests upon an arm or throat piece; extending,

page_text: between the edge of the outer sole and the "upper" is the shank of a
hook, the point of the said hook being bent to come against the sole
opposite to the bottom of the said slit; the edge part of the sole beyond
this slit being bent into the hollow of the hook by the point of a bender
preparatory to each descent of the awl and rise of the needle, and the
channel formed by the slit being always kept open at the needle
entering point by a channel foot.
The throat piece is at the end of an arm extending from a two part
rocker sleeve, the said sleeve being cut out to embrace the front housing
stand, and turning on a shaft or bolt connecting the two housing stands.
An arm extending from this sleeve has a roll against which runs the
periphery of a wheel on the driving shaft, and the contact of this wheel
and the roll holds the throat plate at all times firmly up to the hook
shank to gripe the "upper" between the shank and the throat plate.
The shank of the channel foot or opener extends from an arm which
projects from a rocker sleeve that also has two parts united by a strut;
these two parts turn upon a stationary bolt or shaft that connects the
housing stands, the said two parts embracing another two part sleeve which
embraces the stand. The arm of the channel foot sleeve is jointed to a
lever which is connected by a link with an arm extending from a sleeve
mounted on a shaft or bolt and held in place by a suitable collar.
The said lever is drawn back by a strong spring; it has a slot concentric
with its pivot, and a stationary pin extending through said slot, so that
to whatever position the spring may draw the channel foot in such
position the foot will be locked. When the work is to be fed this gripe.
needs to be relaxed, and for this purpose a cam piece on the side of the
cam wheel strikes the arm or a roll connected therewith just before the
work is to be fed.
The shank or bar at the end of which is the hook and the shank or bar
whose front end constitutes the bender point are both mounted in a frame
piece or plate at the end of an arm that extends from the rocker sleeve,
the bender and hook having a capability of free up-and-down movement,
to some extent independent of the channel foot, but being raised with
the foot. The bender bar slides forward and back on the frame, but at
its end it is bent forward, and one of the bender points rests and slides
upon the shank of the hook. The hook shank rests upon a shoulder,

page_text: and the hook is set in position by a gauge pin. The shank is held by a
spring latch. The shoulder piece is fastened by bolts, on one of which
is a wheel carrying a pin extending into the shoulder piece. By
loosening the bolts and turning the wheel the pin will move the hook
forward or back. The hook is set in accordance with the distance from
the finished surface of the sole at which the stitches are to enter.
The rear end of the bender bar is jointed to an arm extending from a
rocker sleeve, which is made with a fork or opening, whose two ends aro
mounted on the opposite ends of a bolt or stud pin, the two parts of the
sleeve embracing part of the rear housing stand, and being thereby held
in position.
The bender bar is thrown forward by a strong spring, and
is forced back by a cam piece on the cam wheel. To prevent the rise of
the needle when necessary its link is made as a hook, the hooked end
hooking upon a connecting pin. On the top of the slide plate is a slidė
which is moved forward by a wire. The end of this slide extends to or
nearly to the said link, and when the needle bar is to be thrown out of
connection the said wire is pressed forward and throws the link hook
from the pin. While so held the needle will not rise, but upon releasing
the slide the spring throws it back, and as the arm which connects with
the needle bar link descends its pin will strike the incline, and slide
down upon and press back the link until it slips into the link hook.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in tho
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-

page_text: trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
my exccutors, administrators, and 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 SEWING MACHINES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND
SHOES," a communication to me from abroad by Lyman Reed Blake,
of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, forming a part of this Specification :--
This Invention relates to the construction and organisation of a
machine for sewing what are known as "turned shoes," in the manu-
facture of which each shoe is made without an inner sole (fastened to
the outer sole), the edges of the vamp or upper and the outer sole being
united by stitches, and the parts in the process of effecting the union
being wrong side out, the shoc being turned when the union of the sole
and upper is completed.

page_text: The said machine is designed to stand upon a suitable supporting
pedestal to bring the sewing mechanism to the proper height for the
manipulations of the operator, who stands before it, the shoe being
supported, held, and fed by the mechanism, guided to a greater or less.
extent by the operator. a is a base plate which stands upon the
pedestal. From this plate extend two vertical housing stands b, at the
top of which is a horizontal head piece c; d is the main driving shaft.
Upon this shaft is an eccentric e, connected by an eccentric strap and a
link to an arm g on one end of a rocker shaft h, at whose opposite
end is a crank wheel i connected by a link k with the awl bar 1,
carrying at its foot the awl n that punctures the work for and preparatory
to the entrance of the needle. The needle bar reciprocates vertically in a
suitable bearing formed in an extension of the head c.
The driving shaft also carries a cam wheel m, in which is a cam
groove having extending into it a pin projecting from an armj of a
rocker sleeve o mounted on a stationary shaft or bolt p. The latter
connects and extends through the housing plates b, one part of this
sleeve being at the inner side of the front housing plate, and the other
part at the outer side thereof (thereby embracing the stand and keeping
the sleeve in position). An arm q extending from the sleeve is con-
nected by a link to the needle bar s, from the top of which extends the
needle t. The said needlo bar reciprocates vertically in a vertical
plate u, which plate is an arm extending from a horizontal slide plate.
The latter reciprocates laterally upon a guide piece w (on the top of the
base plate a), to effect the lateral or feed movement of the needle.
r
I employ a hook needle, and in connection with it a cast off x that
closes the eye or hook of the said needle at proper times. This cast off
is fixed in the top of a bar y that slides vertically on the needle bar s.
The conjoint operations of the awl, needle, and cast off to form the
successive stitches are the same as in ordinary wax thread sewing
machines, the part of this Invention immediately relating to them being
confined to the construction or arrangement of the mechanism that
actuates them. One of the novel features thereof consists in the
construction of the rocker sleeve o with two parts that embrace the .
front housing stand b, and thereby keep the arms j, q, in correct
position, and another feature consists in the method of actuating the
cast off.

page_text: From the front of the cast-off bar extends a pin z, to which one end
of a spring a² is fastened, the opposite end of the said spring being
fastened to a pin b³ projecting from the needle bar. As the said needle
bar commences to rise, the stress of the spring ensures the cast off bar
being kept in proper position with reference to the needle by an arm c
extending from a lever d³. In such position the cast off is just below
the needle hook; it remains there until the pin z strikes a stop e³, and
the needle point and hook then pass up through the work, the point of
the cast off being just above the top of the work support. The needle
having completed its rise and the thread having been thrown into its
hook, the needle descends, and the cast off remains stationary with
relation to it, until the hook reaches and passes the point of the cast off,
when they descend together, the arm c striking against the pin z.
As the needle bar rises the lever is swung laterally on its fulcrum
by reason of its arm striking a pin 2, thus permitting the needle bar
to descend at the side of the cast-off bar until the hook reaches the point
of the cast off (which it could not do were the lever arm c¹ over the
pin z), and just before the needle bar reaches its lowest position the
arm h² strikes an adjustable stop k³, thereby throwing the arm c³ again
over the pin z, so that the needle bar and cast-off bar will rise together.
The slide plate is moved to effect the lateral movement of the
needle and consequent feed of the work, by means of a link &, a
lever n*, and a cam o³. The cam o³ is on the driving shaft, and has a pin
extending from one arm of the lever into its peripheral cam groove, the
other arm of the said lever being jointed to one end of the link, whose
other end is jointed to the slide plate. p³ is the thread guide that carries'
the thread against the needle, and into position to be caught by the
descending hook. This guide extends from the foot of a vertical
shaft q' turning in stationary bearings, said shaft having an arm 7³ to
which a link &² is jointed. The said link connects the arm to one arm
of a rocker lever t, from whose other arm a pin or roll extends into a
peripheral cam groove of a cam wheel u² on the driving shaft. This cam
effects the forward throw of the thread guide at each rise of the needle,
and its back throw when the needle descends.
The outer sole of the shoe to be sewed has a piece cut from its inner
face at the edge, and an inclined slit or channel cut from the said face
toward such edge. The "upper" and sole are temporarily united upon

page_text: The shank of the channel foot or opener 2² extends from an arm 2³,
which projects from a rocker sleeve that also has two parts k³, P, united
by a strut m³. These two parts are mounted and turn upon a stationary
bolt or shaft n³ that connects the housing stands b, the two parts k³, 1³,
extending by the opposite sides of the housing stands, but immediately
embracing another two part sleeve os which embraces the stand. The
arm of the channel foot sleeve is jointed to a lever p³ which is
connected by a link q³ with an arm extending from a sleeve
mounted on the shaft or bolt n³, and held in place by a suitable collar t³.
The lever p³ is drawn back by a strong spring ³, and forces down the
channel foot, causing it to clamp the roll tightly upon the throat plate,
and it has a slot concentric with its pivot v³, and a stationary pin 20³
extending through the said slot, so that to whatever position the spring
may draw the channel foot the foot will be locked. The foot is thus
permitted to gripe in accordance with the varying thickness of the sole
between the bottom of the channel and the top of the channel foot, the
stress of the spring being sufficient to draw the foot down to tightly
compress the leather, and the slot locking the foot in its position.
When the work is to be fed, this gripe needs to be relaxed, and for
this purpose a cam piece a³ on the side of the cam wheel m strikcs
the arm or a roll connected therewith just before the work is to
be fed, this cam throwing forward the lever p³ and raising the channel
foot, the cam passing the roll and the spring again throwing down the
channel foot as soon as the feed of the shoe is effected.
The shank or bar w³, at the end of which is the hook x, and the shank
or bar whose front end consitutes the bender point, are both mounted
in a frame picce or plate 6' at the end of an arm of that extends from
the rocker sleeve o³ which turns on the shaft or bolt n³, and is cut away
to extend over and embrace the opposite sides of the housing stands b.
The hook shank and the bender bar pass between the throat plate v³ and
the channel foot, and the arm o³ is raised with and by the arm m³, or the
rocker sleeve from which it extends, the bender and hook having
however a capability of free up-and-down movement to some extent
independent of the channel foot, but being raised with the said foot.
The bender bar d' slides forward and back on the frame *, but at its
end it is bent forward, and one of the bender points rests and sli
upon the shank of the hook. The hook shank rests upon a shoul**

page_text: and the hook is set in position by a gauge pin f* that extends through a
hole in the hook shank. This shank is held by a spring latch g', by
drawing back which the hook may be instantly removed to place the
shoe in position or to remove it. The shoulder piece et is made movable
for adjusting the position of the set pin f* and of the hook, it being
fastened by bolts *. On one of these bolts is a wheel carrying a
pin extending into the shoulder piece. By loosening the bolts and
turning the wheel the said pin will move the hook forward. or back.
The said hook is set in accordance with the distance from the finished
surface of the sole at which the stitches are to enter, or the position of
the foot of the channel once set it is only altered when soles of different
thicknesses are to be sewed, but the set pin always brings the hook to
a correct position for successive soles of the same kind, and the shoulder
picce has rarely to be moved, except in setting up the machine or in
changing the class of work.
Prior to the feed of the shoe the bender is always drawn back, and
when the shoe has been fed the bender is thrown forward preparatory to
the descent of the needle, its forward movement bending the edge part of
the sole into the hollow of the hook, or from the position shewn in
Figure 5 to the position shewn in Figure 4, the bender (in connection
with the channel foot and hook) bringing the parts into position for the
descent and puncturing movement of the awl, and the rise of the needle
through the puncture as the awl recedes, or for the passage of the thread
in the formation of the stitch.
The bender is moved as follows:-The rear end of the bender bar d'
is jointed to an arm extending from a rocker sleeve m*, which sleeve is
made with a fork or opening, whose two ends are mounted on the
opposite ends of a bolt or stud pin n', the two parts of the sleeve
embracing part of the rear housing stand, and being thereby held in
position. The bender bar is thrown forward by a strong spring of, and
is held in this forward position by the said spring, except during the
feed of the work, when it is forced back by a cam piece on the cam
wheel u², this cam piece striking an arm q* extending from the rocker
sleeve. It will thus be seen that the hook a is immovable (forward or
back), and the forward movement of the bender being produced by the
spring the hook forms a gauge for the path of the needle in relation to
the finished surface of the sole. The bender presses with sufficient force

page_text: Seventh. The mechanism for adjusting the position of the hook, as
herein described.
Eighth. The various parts of the mechanism combined and operating
together, as herein described and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
HENRY J. NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
•
London.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)