IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TRIMMING OR PARING THE HEELS OF BOOTS AND SHOES.”
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Dorman, of Stafford, in the County of
Stafford, Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
TRIMMING OR PARING THE HEELS OF BOOTS AND SHOES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Dorman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd December 1880.
f
WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN, of Stafford, in the County of Stafford, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TRIMMING OR PARING THE HEELS OF BOOTS
AND SHOES."
My Invention relates to improvements in machinery for trimming or paring the
heels of boots and shoes.
In certain machines for trimming or paring heels, such, for instance, as the well
known "McKay" machine, a knife or cutter is employed which takes off a shaving,
but to produce what is ordinarily termed an
« ogee or "half Würtemburg" heel,
it is found necessary to cause the knife to assume an inclined position as it passes
around the heel, such inclination requiring to be varied when the knife is operating
upon different portions of the heel. In such machines the knife is carried on a
frame, plate, or lever piece, whose movements are controlled by cam-grooves formed
in a plate fixed in a suitable position, so that the knife is always presented to the
work at the proper angle in passing around the same. Although provision is made
for the knife to follow and produce the desired shape of top piece, and also at the
same time to follow the form of the seat or back of the boot or shoe, no efficient
means have been provided whereby the knife may be inclined in the direction of
its cut and be caused to assume a constantly varying inclination as it travels around
the heel.
My Invention consists in improved means for producing automatically or
mechanically a varying inclination of the knife, so as to effect the trimming of
such heels in an advantageous and expeditious manner.
In carrying my Invention into practice instead of supporting the knife in a fixed
and upright position on the plate, frame, or lever-piece, as heretofore, I secure the
Price 8d1

page_text: same in a block attached to a carriage, which is capable of a vertical movement in
a guide or slide, which I term the knife-carriage slide. The said carriage is attached
to a short shaft or spindle, which is supported in bearings attached to the plate or
frame, so that the knife, in addition to receiving motion from the latter, and
accomodating itself to the vertical contour of the heel to be trimmed, is free to
oscillate in the direction of its cut. The said plate or frame is attached to and
moves with a turntable or oscillating piece, which is provided with two rollers
adapted to enter separate suitably formed cam-grooves in a form-plate similar to
those heretofore employed. In order to impart the requisite oscillating movement
to the said knife I arrange on the end of the aforesaid shaft or spindle a quick-
threaded screw or worm with which a nut or toothed slide engages. The latter has
attached to it a pin or stud provided with a roller which enters a cam-groove in
the form-plate having the grooves for operating the aforesaid turn table. The said
groove is of such a contour that in trimming a heel the nut or slide is so moved
on the quick-threaded screw as to turn the same and cause the knife to assume a
more or less inclined position, as the roller upon the pin or stud of the said nut
follows the configuration of the said groove.
According to a modified form of my Invention, instead of turning the short shaft
or spindle which carries the knife-carriage by a nut or slide and screw, as above
described, I arrange upon the said shaft or spindle a bevel gear-wheel or segment
with which a toothed bevel segment engages. The latter is fixed upon a vertical
spindle which is provided with a lever, on whose end is arranged a pin or roller
running in the last mentioned cam-groove in the form plate. By this arrangement
the contour of the said groove causes the said lever to oscillate, and by means of
the bevel gearing to communicate an oscillating motion to the knife.
In either of the forms of machine above described I provide the knife-carriage
with suitable slides and screws or other devices for raising and lowering it and
adjusting it nearer to or farther from the heel-carrier, and for advancing the cutting
edge of the knife towards the work or withdrawing it from the same.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Henry Dorman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd June 1881.
WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN, of Stafford, in the County of Stafford, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TRIMMING OR PARING THE HEELS OF BOOTS
AND SHOES."
My Invention relates to improvements in machinery for paring or trimming the
heels of boots and shoes, and is designed for application to the well known
McKay heeling machine," to adapt the same to the production of what are called
ogee or half Wurtemburg heels.
"
"
"
It is only however when the pitch of the "ogee "heel (that is to say, the extent
to which the slope at the back of the heel exceeds that at the sides) is very great
that this appliance is necessary.
The said Invention consists in novel mechanism whereby when paring such
extremely pitched "ogee" heels the paring knife as it travels around the heel has
a continually varying inclination in the direction of the cut, according to the
desired shape of the heel.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which,-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of portions of a " McKay heeling machine" illustrating
the application of my Invention to the same, this Figure being drawn to a smaller
scale than the other Figures herein described.
Figure 2 is a plan shewing my improved mechanism and the adjacent parts of
the said machine.
Figure 3 is an elevation of the same.
Figure 4 is a plan, and Figure 5 an elevation illustrating a modified form of my
Invention.
In Figure 1 A is the frame of the said machine; B, the last carrier; C, a boot
whose heel is being pared in the said machine; D is a square bar which carries the
nailing device and moves vertically, but does not rotate in the bearings A¹, A², and
which is commonly known as the "die bed spindle."
The said die bed spindle has a circular plate or table E at its upper end. On
the said circular plate or table E is fixed the form plate c¹ furnished with
grooves c²; c, for directing or controlling the movement of the cutting or trimming
knife b. d is the nailing device; e is a frame fitting freely on the turned part of
the "die bed spindle," and provided with lugs e2 bearing against the edge of the
top plate E of the said spindle. This frame is held in its place by the ring es which
rests in a recess on the edge of the plate E. This frame is generally known as the
trimming lever carrier. The nailing device d is provided with a hollow post or
stem d' which is secured in the centre of the form-plate c'. This stem forms a
fulcrum for the trimming lever f, and assists in controlling the movement of the
said lever which rests on the form plate c', and has a slot through which the stem ď¹
passes; it also has two slotted arms f¹, f. The trimming lever carrier e is
furnished with two arms eo, e, provided with pins, whereon are fitted rollers e' that
work in the slots of the arms f¹, f, which thereby impart to the "trimming
lever" any revolving motion it may receive.
The said trimming lever carrier is caused to revolve to and fro partly around the
die bed spindle by means of a chain taking into the sprocket wheel e', and communi-
cating with mechanism operating as in the McKay heeler. The trimming lever fhas a
recess in which fits and works the boss of a lever g, known as the turntable. This
turntable is furnished with pins, preferably having rollers g¹, g², which fit in the
cam grooves.c², c³, of the form-plate. Consequently when the trimming lever

page_text: carrier e is caused to revolve, the trimming lever f is carried with it by the
arms ff, but the motion of the trimming lever f is not a simple circular one,
because the pins or rollers of the said turntable force the said lever out of a circular
path, and impart to it a movement in conformity with the shape of the cam
grooves c², c³. The apparatus above described constitutes part of the aforementioned
McKay heeler or heeling machine.
I will now proceed to explain the manner in which my improvements are
applied to the same. For this purpose the form-plate c' is made larger than
heretofore, and an additional cam groove c' is cut therein. Upon the turntable g is
fixed a slide which serves the same purpose as the knife carriage slide on the
said McKay heeler, and is very similar thereto in form, but my slide is larger than
that of the McKay heeler, and is provided with a lug'at one side to carry an
adjusting screw and nut h². In the slide h a block h³ fits, and is adjusted to any
desired position by the screw and nut h². The block h³ is bored out, and a
spindle h is fitted to it; on one end of this spindle is formed or fixed a slide h³
which has a sliding carriage he fitted thereon, and so arranged that it may be
moved or adjusted by the adjusting screw and nut h. This slide occupies a
generally horizontal position, although in course of working its position is somewhat
varied from time to time. The carriage he is provided with a slide 8 which works
in a direction at right angles to that of the carriage h6, and is moved or adjusted by
the screw h. The slide he is formed with two jaws, between which the knife
block works; the said block is pivoted at j¹, and carries the knife b. The effect
of these three slides and adjustments is, that the knife b may be adjusted by the
screw and nut h² to the required distance from the centre of the nailing device to
suit a heel of any size; the edge of the said knife may be more or less advanced in
the direction of the cut by the screw and nut h', and the said knife may be raised
bodily by the screw h³, to suit the form of heel required to be produced.
Upon the outer end of the spindle ht I fit a cylinder k, which has one or more
spiral grooves or threads at k'. The cylinder k is free to revolve upon the spindle h*
except when made fast upon it by the screws through the washer plate /³, which
is secured on the extremity of the spindle h. The slide h is provided with a
sliding plate upon which there are as many teeth or pins as there are spiral
grooves or threads in or on the cylinder k. These teeth or pins engage with the
said grooves or threads. In the Drawings only one spiral groove is shewn, and
the pin is fitted with a roller . The sliding plate is also provided with a long
pin 2 fitted with a roller ³, which enters the cam groove c¹ in the form plate.
The operation of this mechanism is as follows:-The trimming lever being
caused to make a partial revolution around the die-bed spindle D by the action of
the machine, as above described, the knife bis caused, by the co-operation of the
trimming lever f, the turntable g, and the cam-grooves c² and c³, to accurately
describe the form of heel required, and to present itself at all times to the heel at
a suitable angle for paring the same. As the slide h is carried round with the
turn table the roller 13 is acted upon by the cam groove c¹, and the sliding plate Z
is thereby moved relatively to the slide h and cylinder k to an extent depending
upon the excentricity of the cam groove c', and by the action of the pin or roller
in spiral groove k', the spindle h is caused to turn in its bearing in h³, the result
being that the knife, instead of maintaining an upright position while passing
around the heel, inclines sometimes slightly backward and sometimes slightly
forward according to the form of the cam groove c'. The precise form of the cam
groove c¹ must be determined according to the desired form of the heels, but in all
cases the apparatus should be so arranged that the knife will be upright when
paring the centre of the back of the heel, and its greatest inclination forward
should be as it passes the point y, and backward as it passes the point z.
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a modification of this. Invention in which, instead of
the cylinder and the slide 7, with its rollers and 13, I employ, in combination
with the plate and spindle on the end of the said spindle a bevel segment m,
.which gears with another bevel segment m² mounted on a spindle m³; the latter is

page_text: carried in a boss on the slide h, and is provided with an arm m fitted with a
roller m³ which runs in the cam groove c. The said groove in this case must be
of a form somewhat different from that shewn in Figure 2. The operation of the
parts in this modification, and their effect upon the action of the knife, will be
the same as above described.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how the same may
be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I wish it understood that
I do not claim broadly or generally in machines for paring or trimming the heels
of boots or shoes the employment of mechanism for imparting to a knife a varying
inclination according to the desired shape of the heel, as I am aware that heel
paring or trimming machines of a class or construction different from that
above described have been provided with mechanism for this purpose, but I
claim,―
The combination of my improved apparatus or mechanism consisting of the
parts constructed as shewn in the Drawings, and operating to impart the peculiar
imovements to the paring knife, as above described, with the die-bed spindle, the
trimming-lever and its carrier, and the form plate of the said heeling machine, or
with substantially similar parts in other machines for paring or trimming the heels
of boots or shoes as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Dorman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.
WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN. (L.S.)