Improvements in Sole-rounding Machines for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd June, 1897-Accepted, 31st July, 1897.
COME DIE DI LUITICATION,
Improvements in Sole-rounding Machines for 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 sole-rounding or trimming machines such as employed in
making soles for boots and shoes, and more particularly to that class einploying a
rotary table, a fixed pattern or form, a knife-holder adapted to move back and forth
on the table, a carrier on which said knife-holder is mounted, a pressure device such
as a weight or spring located below the table and connected with the knife-holder so
as to hold the same yieldingly against the fixed pattern, a flexible pressure-.
transmitting device such as a chain or cord connecting the pressure device with the
knife-holder, and means for starting and stopping the rotary table.
The invention has for its object to provide certain improvements relating to the
means for guiding the flexible pressure-transinitting device between the pressure
device and the knife-holder. In machines of this class as now constructed, a chain is
used which passes over two pulleys arranged at right angles to each other, both of
which are fixed to the carrier to which the knife-holder is pivotally connected, and
which is itself pivotally connected to the aforesaid table. This particular arrangement
of pulleys produces undue friction and binding of the chain, which is prejudicial to
the smooth working of the machine, and which my present invention overcomes in a
satisfactory manner.
The invention further has for its object to provide an improved mechanism for
starting and stopping the rotary table, while at the same time simplifying and
reducing the number of parts therein.
The invention consists in the novel features of construction and relative
arrangement of parts which I shall now proceed to describe and claim, reference
being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 represents in elevation a sole-rounding machine constructed according to
iny invention.
Figure 2 represents a top plan view of a portion of the table and the starting and
stopping mechanism.
Figure 3 represents a perspective view of that portion of the starting and stopping
mechanism embodying my improvements.
The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.
Referring to the drawings,-
The letter a designates the framework of the machine and a¹ designates a column
which supports a rotary table 6 having a bevel-gear 6' formed on its under side and
engaged by a driving-pinion c. A form or pattern d is fixedly supported above the
table centrally thereof, and the leather to be cut is held thereon by a clamp d', which
is operated by a lever d². The cutting knife e is suitably supported in a holder el,
which is pivoted at 2 to a segmental carrier f, the latter being pivoted at fl to the
table b. The holder is yieldingly actuated toward the pattern d through devices.
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page_text: hereinafter described, so as to hold the knife to the edge of the pattern, and the
rotation of the table carries the knife around the pattern, which properly guides it
through the work.
The knife-holder is confined and firmly guided in movement on its pivot by an
arc-shaped gib f2 fastened to the carrier f; and the latter is similarly confined by a
gib b fastened to the table.
It is found desirable in machines of this class to vary the rate of travel of the knife
in view of the shape of the product. The long sides offer opportunity for speeding
the knife, whereas in turning the abrupt corners of a square toe, so called, and in
rounding the heel, the cutter must be retarded, and in fact the cutter should dwell
momentarily in turning the corner of the square toe. The back-and-forth movement
of the carrier f, caused by the hereinafter-described independent oscillations of the
carrier on its pivot, is employed to effect the desired variation in speed.
A fixed gear a² is arranged below the table and concentric therewith, and a smaller
gear a meshes therewith and is supported in a bearing on a hub of the table, so as to
be carried around the fixed gear by the table. The stem or spindle of the small
gear a³ extends up through the table, and a crank a is affixed to it, which is
connected by a pitman a³ with the carrier f. It will be seen that the stroke of the
crank in one direction tends to move the carrier on its pivot in that direction, while
the stroke in the opposite direction tends to move the said carrier correspondingly. 2
The relative location of the pattern d and the knife-controlling parts is such that the
speed of the knife is accelerated when moving along the long sides of the pattern,
and is retarded when moving around the ends thereof.
The knife is held up to the pattern by the mechanism which will now be described :
A forked lever whose arms g g extend on opposite sides of the column is pivotally
connected at one end with a bearing on the under side of the table, and the ends of
said arms are connected by a rod g¹, which is embraced by a roller-provided
traveller g², the latter being connected with the knife-holder e by a chain k, which
passes over a pulley (Figure 2).
Pivoted between the forked lever-arms g g, and surrounding the column a', is a 3
sliding column g³, whose upper edge is formed as an undulating cam-surface g* upon
which rest rollers g' g' carried at the ends of a cross-bar g. The said bar extends
through slots in the column a¹, and is attached below to a weight or spring whose
tension tends to keep the knife-holder in contact with the pattern d.
The undulations of the cam-surface o correspond to the irregularities of the 3
pattern, and the co-action of the weight or spring with the rotating cam effects a
prompt and positive adaptation of the knife to the contour of the pattern.
The guiding pulley i is journalled in fixed bearings on the carrier f, and moves
therewith back-and-forth relatively to the table, a suitable opening being provided in
said table beneath the carrier, through which the chain h passes.
As hereinbefore 4
stated, in machines of this class as now constructed, there is an undesirable amount
of friction and binding of the chain as it passes over the two pulleys commonly
provided, whose arrangement compels the chain to make a double turn and whose
peripheries are constructed with a narrow groove in which the chain is confined. To
obviate this objectionable feature, I dispense with one of the pulleys, and provide a 4
single pulley having provisions for permitting lateral movements of that portion of
the cord which passes over said pulley. As will be observed in Figure 2, the pulley i
is constructed with a long cylindrical body ¹, over which the chain is free to move
laterally, and end-flanges 2 2 which prevent it from slipping off. The said chain
may therefore move freely over the pulley in all the changes of direction of its 5
horizontal portion due to the to-and-fro movement of the knife-holder. It is obvious
that I may use a cord 'or narrow belt in place of the chain h.
The mechanism for rotating and for starting and stopping the table 6 is constructed
and operates as follows:-The pinion c which meshes with the gear-teeth 6' on the
under side of the table is affixed to the end of a shaft c', upon which is loosely '5
mounted a pulley having a clutch member adapted to be moved into engagement
with a corresponding clutch member or spider 1 affixed to the shaft c¹. The clutch

page_text: members are normally held out of engagement by means of a spring which tends to
separate the spider and the pulley.
For moving the pulley into contact with the spider, a movable collar k is employed,
which is loosely mounted on the shaft between the hub of the pulley and a fixed
abutment or bearing m in which the shaft is journalled. A strut is interposed
between the said collar and abutment, its ends fitting in sockets in the said two
members, and is mounted diagonally, so that when the collar k is turned in one
direction the strut forces the collar against the hub of the pulley j, and thereby moves
the pulley so as to engage the clutch members, which are disengaged by turning the
collar back in the other direction.
The collar is connected by a yoke with a gear-segment k³ loosely mounted on
the shaft c', and the teeth of said segment mesh with those of another gear-segment n'
affixed to a sleeve n which is mounted to rock on a shaft o. A collar p affixed to raid
shaft is provided with means for engaging the sleeve n, consisting of an arm plon
the collar p, and two lugs n on the sleeve n, so that the collar and sleeve may be
turned together. The collar is further provided with an arm or handle p². By
depressing said handle, the operator may engage the clutch members of the pulley j
and the spider j', and thus cause said shaft and the table / to rotate.
Automatically acting means are provided for releasing the clutch members and
arresting the shaft i, the said means consisting of a band-brake q surrounding the
shaft, a link q' connecting one end of said band with an arm p³ on the collar p, a
standard p on said collar, a stop-member or bolt p mounted in said standard, and a
complementary stop-member or abutment 63 underneath the edge of the table b.
At the
The bolt p' is normally in position to be engaged by the abutment 63, and when
said abutment strikes against the hook it moves the collar p and the sleeve n in the
direction indicated by the arrow win Figure 2, thereby moving the gear-segments
and the collar k so as to permit the disengagement of the clutch members.
same time, the link q' forces the brake-band q into engagement with the driving-
shaft c¹, and arrests the rotation of the same, the action of the brake being cushioned,
if desired, by a suitably arranged spring or springs. Upon depressing the arm p² to
engage the clutch mechanism again and start the table bin rotation, it is necessary
to disengage the bolt p from the abutment 6, this being accomplished in the
following manner: The bolt p is mounted to slide longitudinally in a suitable guide
in the standard p', and is provided with a stud 2 adapted to travel in a diagonal
slot formed in a sliding plate 1. The said plate is mounted to slide on top of the
standard in a direction at right angles to the bolt p³, and is guided by means of
headed pins p p attached to said standard and occupying slots in the plate. A
links connects the plate with a lever t, which is pivoted at t¹ to the arm p² and is
provided with a spring t². It will readily be seen that by depressing the lever, the
cam action of the slot 1 on the stud p" will retract the bolt p' so as to release the
abutment b. The arm p² may then be depressed to start the table in rotation, and
when the lever is released, the spring 2 returns the bolt to its normal position.
The clutch members remain in engagement until the table has completed a
rotation, when the abutment again strikes against the bolt and releases the clutch.
The table may of course be stopped by the operator at any desired point, by raising
the arm p². The abutment 63 is bolted in a slot extending around the edge of the
table, and is adjustable therein to any desired position along said edge.
I do not confine myself to the exact construction herein described, but reserve the
right to a proper amount of variation in details thereof, to an extent consistent with
the scope of my invention.
Having now particularly described and, ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:
1. A sole-rounding machine, comprising a rotary table, a movable carrier mounted
thereon, a knife-holder adapted to move back and forth on said carrier, a flexible
pressure-transmitting cord or chain connected with the knife-holder, and a guiding

page_text: pulley for said cord having provisions for permitting lateral movements of the portion
of the cord that passes over said pulley.
2. A sole-rounding machine, comprising a rotary table, a movable carrier mounted
thereon, a knife-holder adapted to move back and forth on said carrier, a flexible
pressure-transinitting cord or chain connected with the knife-holder, and a guiding
pulley for said cord having end flanges separated by a cylindrical body which is
considerably longer than the thickness of the cord, whereby the cord is enabled to
slip laterally between said flanges.
3. In a sole-rounding machine, the combination with a rotary table carrying a
knife-holder and provided with gear-teeth, of a shaft, a pinion on said shaft meshing
with said gear-teeth, a clutch-pulley loosely mounted on said shaft, members on said
shaft adapted by their partial rotation to move said pulley longitudinally into
engagement with the shaft, and mechanism for automatically turning said members
in a clutch-releasing direction, consisting of a sleeve mounted on an auxiliary shaft
and having gear-teeth which mesh with corresponding gear-teeth on one of the
before-mentioned members, a collar mounted on said auxiliary shaft and adapted to
turn said sleeve, a stop-member on said collar, and a complementary stop-member on
the rotary table adapted to engage the first-mentioned stop-member and thereby
rotate the said collar and sleeve.
4. In a sole-rounding machine, the combination with a rotary table carrying a
knife-holder and provided with gear-teeth of a shaft; a pinion on said shaft meshing
with said gear-teeth; a clutch-pulley loosely mounted on said shaft and adapted to
be moved longitudinally into or out of engagement with a complementary clutch
member affixed to the shaft; a clutch-operating mechanism, including a collar
mounted on an auxiliary shaft and having an arm or handle, and connecting devices
between said collar and the clutch-pulley whereby opposite movements of the collar
are caused to connect and disconnect the clutch-pulley and the clutch member on the
shaft; a shaft-arresting mechanismn connected with the collar and operated thereby;
a sliding bolt carried by said collar and adapted to act as a stop-member; a stop-
member on the rotary table adapted to engage the bolt and thereby turn the collar in
its clutch-disengaging direction; and means for disengaging said stop-members, the
said means consisting of a lever pivoted to the before-mentioned arm or handle, and
a sliding plate connected with said lever and having a diagonal slot engaging a stud
on the sliding bolt, the said plate being moved by the lever in a direction transverse
to the said slot, so as to retract the same.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.