IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE SEWING MACHINES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MILL STRAPS OR BANDS, HARNESS, HOSE PIPES, BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas White, of Leeds, in the County of York, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE SEWING MACHINES USED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF MILL STRAPS OR BANDS, HARNESS, HOSE PIPES, BOOTS
AND SHOES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES."
Sealed the 27th February 1880, and dated the 3rd September 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas White at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd September 1879.
"
THOMAS WHITE, of Leeds, in the County of York. IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE
SEWING MACHINES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MILL STRAPS OR BANDS,
HARNESS, HOSE PIPES, BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES."
This Invention relates to that class of machinery known as wire sewing machines,
and more particularly to such machines of that class as are described in the Specifica-
tions of Letters Patent granted to me bearing date the 12th day of February 1864,
No. 368, and the 12th day of October 1870, No. 2698, respectively; and the
improvements claimed by me consist in the method of cutting without waste the
wire used for the purpose of forming the rivet or stitches and holding the wire
whilst being driven into the leather or other substance to be operated upon. I use
wire from the coil, and feed it into the machine in a manner similar to that now in
use, but in feeding the wire into the cutters so as to be driven into the work I
deviate from the perpendicular line in an angle proportioned to the angle at which
the point of the wire is to be cut, which will be varied to suit the different kinds of
work required to be done.
The cutters are made of steel, and in the end of each a groove is cut, so that when
the two are opposite they form a hole corresponding in size and shape with the
wire to be used, and the direction of the groove corresponds with that in which the
wire is is fed into the cutters. On the side of the movable cutter holder is a plate
to hold the wire in the groove passing through the end of the cutter, and to guide
the wire into it, and which also, according to the distance it is fixed from the under-
side of the cutter determines the shape and length of the point to be given to the

page_text: wire. The groove in this cutter is tapered away from the full depth of the wire at
the edge of the aforesaid plate until it disappears at the underside of the cutter.
The groove in the fixed cutter is tapered in the contrary direction. The fixed
cutter is also cut away at the upper side to admit of the end carrying the groove
extending over the plate attached to the movable cutter, and be pushed close up to
the last mentioned cutter. I regulate the movement of tool or cutter holder to suit
the cutting edges of the cutter by means of a set screw or screws. I use a hole in
the fixed cutter as heretofore to form the curve, and bend the point of the wire
in the leather or other material being operated upon, but I find more than one hole
produces a better result, that is to say, I make the first holes deeper than the others,
so that the point of the wire is gradually curved as it is gradually driven into the
leather, and I do not confine myself to the number of holes,so used. A corre-
sponding hole (referred to in the Specification of the Letters Patent granted to me
on the 12th October 1870, No. 2198, termed an "incline shot hole") is cut in the
steel or iron bar or anvil under the cutter, but more than one hole may be used, or
a small movable steel die may be used when, any variety of hole may be used in
the same bar.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Thomas White in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd March
1880.
THOMAS WHITE, of Leeds, in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE
SEWING MACHINES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MILL STRAPS OR BANDS,
HARNESS, HOSE PIPES, BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES."
This Invention relates to that class of machinery known as wire sewing machines,
and more particularly to such nachines of that class as are described in the Specifica-
tions of Letters Patent granted to me bearing date the 12th day of February 1864,
No. 368, and the 12th day of October 1870, No. 2698, respectively, and the
improvements claimed by me consist in the method of cutting without wast the
wire used for the purpose of forming the rivet or stitches, and holding the wire
whilst being driven into the leather or other substance to be operated upon. I use
wire from the coil, and feed it into the machine in a manner similar to that now in
use, but in feeding the wire into the cutters so as to be driven into the work I
deviate from the perpendicular line in an angle proportioned to the angle at which
the point of the wire is to be cut, which will be varied to suit the different kinds
of work required to be done. The cutters are made of steel, and in the end of each
a groove is cut, so that when the two are opposite they form a hole corresponding in
size and shape with the wire to be used, and the direction of the groove corre-
sponds with that in which the wire is fed into the cutters. On the side of the
inoveable cutter holder is a plate to hold the wire in the groove passing through the
end of the cutter, and to guide the wire into it, and which also, according to
the distance it is fixed from the underside of the cutter, determines the shape and
length of the point to be given to the wire. The groove in this cutter is tapered
away from the full depth of the. wire at the edge of the aforesaid plate undil it
disappears at the underside of the cutter. The groove in the fixed cutter is tapered
in the contrary direction. The fixed cutter is also cut away at the upper side to
admit of the end carrying the groove extending over the plate attached to the
moveable cutter, and of being pushed close up to the last, mentioned cutter. I
regulate the movement of tool or cutter holder to suit the cutting edges of the
cutter by means of a set screw or screws.. I use a hole in the fixed cutter as here-
tofore to form the curve, and bend the point of the wire in the leather or other
material being operated upon, but I find more than one hole produces a better
result, that is to say, I make the first holes deeper than the others, so that the point
of the wire is gradually driven into the leather, and I do not confine myself to the
number of holes so used. A corresponding hole referred to in the Specification of
the Letters Patent granted to me on the 12th October 1870, No. 2698 (termed an
"incline slot hole") is cut in the steel or iron bar or anvil under the cutter, but
more than one hole may be used, or a small moveable steel die may be used when
any variety of hole may be used in the same bar.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same, and for this purpose shall refer to the
accompanying Drawings and to the letters and marks thereon, the same letters of
reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.

page_text: a is the head; b is the feed wheel; and c, the pressing wheel or roller; & is the
wire, which is fed into the machine from an ordinary coil. The pressing roller c is
carried by means of the stud e, on an adjustable arm f, and the feed wheel b is
carried on a stud g, also mounted on a head a. The feed wheel b is constructed in
the manner of the ordinary silent feed wheel as used in my previous Patents, and
all backlash of the same is prevented by means of the arm h, which grasps the
flange i, and locks it immediately there is any tendency to reverse the motion of
the feed wheel b. The arm is kept in the desired position by means of the
spring. In order to obtain the required pressure for the pressing roller c I employ
the spring. The use of the check motion on the feed wheel b is to hold the wire (
or prevent it being driven back by the force of the concussion on being driven into
the leather.
I use wire from the coil, and feed it into the machine in a manner similar to that
now in use; it then passes between the feed wheel band pressing roller c, and
afterwards enters into a groove l, which conducts it to the cutters 8 and 8¹. The
groove is made in a square piece of metal n, on the side of which a steel plate o is
screwed so that the wire d is completely boxed up in the groove, which is made as
near the size of the wire as possible, yet so as to allow it to work freely. The
piece of square metal n is of such a length as to reach down to the crown or top of
the moving tool holder p. The moving tool holder 2 has a groove cut in the side,
and covered with a steel plate p', forming a continuation of the groove in the
herein before mentioned piece of metal n. One end of the groove of the moveable
tool holder p increases in width, as shewn at q, Fig. 4, from the centre of the pin ",
on which it works, making thus the groove at that point of a V form; this is to
prevent the wire being bent by the repeated movement of the tool holder p, it being
caused to work radially backwards and forwards across the line of the groove in
the square piece of metal n.
In the arrangement shewn at Fig. 1 I deviate from the perpendicular line to an
angle proportioned to the angle at which the point of the wire d is to be cut, which
will be varied to suit the different kinds of work to be done, but in some cases the
wire d may be fed in a vertical direction.
The cutters are made of steel. One of these cutters s is fixed in a groove cut in
the end of the moveable tool holder p, and secured in its position by means of
screws, as in the case of the fixed cutter later described. At the end of this cutters,
which is shewn at Figs. 5 and 10, is a groovet (see Figs. 7, 9, and 12), which is a
continuation of the groove l. The steel plate p³, which is fixed to the side of the
moveable tool holder p, extends over the end of the cutters to about half its depth
(thus securing the wire in the cutters), leaving the other half to form the cutting
edge. The groove t in the end of the cutter is tapered away from the full depth of
the wire to be used at the underside of the plate p¹ until it disappears at the
bottom of the cutter. It will be understood that the wire d moves backward and
forward with the moveable tool holder p, and is never free from the cutter except
in its downward motion. The other cutter s' is fixed in a groove in a projection u,
on the head a, and is secured by means of a screw or screws v. The upper part of
this cutter s' is cut away (as shewn at w, Figs. 5, 10, and 13) to the thickness of
the steel plate p¹ on the moveable tool holder p, and the end of this cutter 8',
which is also grooved, as shewn at Figs. 6, 8, and 11, passes under the end of the steel
plate until it meets the other cutter 8. The groove in the end of this cutter is
tapered at the same angle as the moveable cutter from the full depth of the wire
at the bottom edge until it disappears at the upper edge, so that when the ends of the
two cutters are together the grooves in thein- form a box. The wire d passes
between the two cutters in the square box thus formed by the grooves, and the
depth of the groove in the fixed cutter leaves room for the end of the wire d to
repass after it has cut a length sufficient to form a stitch. The object of this groove
being formed partly in the moveable and partly in the fixed cutter is to prevent 5
the possibility of the wire which is left in the leather or other material being
disturbed by the backward movement of the moveable tool holder p. Instead of a

page_text: fixed cutter, as shewn at Fig. 6, I sometimes use one as described in side elevation,
Fig. 13, and end elevation, Fig. 14.
I regulate the movement of the tool or cutter holder p by means of a set screw
or screws y.
I use a hole or groove I in the fixed cutter s' as heretofore to form the curve and
bend the point of the wire in the leather, but find more than one hole produces in
some cases a better result, and in this case I make the first hole deeper than the
others so that the point of the wire d is gradually curved as it passes into
the leather. Any required number of these holes may be employed. A cor-
responding hole or holes 2 is or are cut in the steel or iron bar or anvil under the
cutter, but when more than one hole is required I fit a moveable steel die into the
anvil so that a greater variety of holes may be used.
The leather or material operated upon is shewn at 3.
Motion may be imparted to the moving parts by ordinary means, such as are
described in my earlier Patents for machinery of this description.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and described by the aid
of Drawings how the same may be carried into practice, I would have it under-
stood that I do not limit myself to the exact details or configuration of the parts
I have described and shewn, as the same may be varied or modified without
departing from the nature of my said Invention, but what I do claim and desire to
be secured to me by Letters Patent is,―
First. The arrangement and application of check lever or arm h and spring į in
combination with the feed wheel b and pressing roller c for holding the wire whilst
being driven into the leather or other substance, substantially as herein set forth.
Second. The arrangement and application of V shaped groove q and the plate pl
in combination with the moveable cutter holder p, substantially as and for purposes
herein set forth.
Third. The arrangement, construction, and application of cutters and parts con-
nected therewith for directing, cutting off, driving in, and bending the wire after
being cut off, all substantially as hereinbefore described.
Fourth. The combination of the herein before mentioned improvements applied
to wire sewing machines.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas White, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Second day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
Signed and sealed in the presence of
THO. DALTON,
Solicitor,
Leeds.
THOMAS WHITE. (L.S.)