IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
and Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES."
-A communication from abroad by Nathan Adolphus Baldwin, of
Milford, in the County of New Haven, and State of Connecticut,
United States of America.
Sealed the 23rd August 1872, and dated the 23rd February 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd February 1872.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING BOOTS AND
SHOES," a communication to me from abroad by Nathan Adolphus
Baldwin, of Milford, in the County of New Haven, and State of Con-
necticut, United States of America, to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention relates to improvements in machines
for sewing boots and shoes, for turned work, or to secure the welt and

page_text: Fig. 6, a transverse central section.
Fig. 7, a front view of the work plate detached.
The last four views are full size.
A represents the bed of the machine; B the frame, upon which at O
the shuttle carrier is hung, this forming the centre of the segmental
shuttle race, the shuttle carrier E being operated by a connecting rod E¹
from a cam E³ on the driving shaft E³, as seen in Fig. 2.
F, Fig. 1, is the support upon which the shoe G is placed, this support
having universal movement, substantially such as shewn in the Patent
before referred to. The vertical axis of this support is in a line at right
angles to a central radial line X, X, through the centre of the shuttle
race, as denoted in Fig. 1, thus practically making the path of the
shuttle parallel to the work. On the part B' of the frame the needle bar
H is arranged in suitable guides, and operated substantially as in the
Patent before referred to, the said needle bar carrying the needle h, the
path of the said needle being in a line diagonally across the shuttle race
or central line X, X, before referred to. L is a plate or bearing upon
the outside of the shuttle race, between that and the needle, and forms
what may be termed the work plate against which the side of the shoe
bears.
The shoe is placed in position relatively to the needle, substantially
as in my Patent before referred to, and as seen in Fig. 1, having the
sole M temporarily attached to the upper, and a channel a formed
around its edge, so that the needle may strike upon the inside of the
channel, pass through the ridge on the sole formed by the channel,
thence through the upper and welt, if in welted work, thence into
the shuttle race, where the thread which the needle carries is engaged
by the shuttle N in the usual manner of common shuttle sewing
machines.
As it is necessary that the needle in order to pass through the ridge of
the sole as before described should run in a path diagonal to the shoe,
because of the curvature of the sole, it follows that the path of the
needle must be diagonal to the path of the shuttle, which latter is prac-
tically parallel as before described with the work, and this is necessitated
because the body and peculiar shape of the shoe prevents the con-
struction of the shuttle race so as to be at right angles to the path

page_text: of the needle, and always maintain the same relative position to the
edge of the sole.
I have represented the shuttle race as of segmental form, and this
construction I prefer for its convenience; it may however be straight, but
if so must maintain substantially the same diagonal position relative
to the path of the needle.
•
In order to insure a proper drawing up of the stitch, I construct the
cam F³, so that the extreme throw 6 occurs immediately before the full
return of the needle, that is, so that the shuttle thread is drawn taut, as
denoted in Fig. 3 (8 denoting the shuttle thread), the needle thread n
extending entirely through the work, and if the shuttle were there to
remain the shuttle thread would lie straight upon that side of the work;
but in order that the shuttle thread may be drawn into the work and
positively always to the same point, I drop back on the shuttle cam F*
just before the needle completes its throw, this drop back releasing the
shuttle thread slightly but only so fast as the needle recedes, so that the
two threads being held at their greatest tension the needle thread draws
the shuttle thread into the work as at t, Fig. 3, thus positively insuring
the perfect drawing up of the stitch and the same relative position.
regardless of the nature of the leather, whether it be hard or soft, and
giving to the stitch upon both sides precisely the appearance of hand
work.
One of the greatest difficulties in the use of shuttle machines for
sewing with waxed thread arises from the gumming of the shuttle by
the wax of the thread, but as the wax will not adhere to a greasy
surface, I provide against this difficulty in the following manner :-
I arrange in the shuttle race a lubricating material P, as seen in Fig. 1,
into which the point of the shuttle strikes at each operation, this lubri
cating material being something of a greasy nature, so that the shuttle
receives therefrom upon its point a slight amount of oil which is carried
over the body of the shuttle by the thread, thus keeping the surface of
the shuttle constantly greased. I prefer for this purpose felt or other
fibrous material saturated with oil, but other lubricators may be applied,
it only being essential that the point of the shuttle should receive the
lubrication.
The second part of my Invention, which is illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 5,
Natron immunoante in mechings for stitching the soles of

page_text: welted work, the object being the employment of a shuttle carrying a
second thread to make what is known as the "lock stitch;" and this part
of my Invention consists in the peculiar construction of what may be
termed the work plate, whereby I am enabled to employ a shuttle or
lock stitch in welted work.
A is the shuttle race; B, B, the shuttle carrier; O, the needle bar ;
a, the needle; D, the part which I term the work plate, shewn detached
in Fig. 7, and is formed to be secured upon the under side of the shuttle
race, as seen in Fig. 6. From the needle hole d downward the work
plate is curved back, as seen in Fig. 6, and also curved upon its face or
vertical plane, as seen in Figs. 5 and 7; thus the work passing over the
work plate will bear as it were upon but a single point, and that point in
the immediate vicinity of the path of the needle through the plate;
on the said plate a projection 6 is formed to set into the groove on the
sole of the shoe, as seen in Fig. 3, E representing a section of the shoe.
F is a guard which extends down in front of the work plate, as seen
in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, and sets upon the shoe above the edge of the sole
and welt, as seen in Fig. 3, the needle entering the welt above the said
guard. This guard, while it prevents the needle from coming in contact
with the upper, also serves as a guide in holding the shoe, it being
desirable that the path of the needle should be through the welt and
upper, as close to the upper as possible, and through the groove upon the
outside of the sole, and this is insured by the guard F upon the upper,
and the projection 6 in the groove upon the outside of the sole; there-
fore while on the ball and around the toe the sole would stand nearly
perpendicular or at right angles to the path of the needle, as it
approaches the shank the shoe turns, inclining the sole, as denoted in
Fig. 3, hence the necessity of curving or inclining the work plate
downward from the needle hole; and the curvature which is given to
the sole at the shank portion also requires that a transverse curvature
be given to this plate, as denoted in Fig. 7. By this construction of the
work plate the shoe may be turned in any direction to give the required
inclination to the sole, in order that the needle may pass through the
welt and sole in the path, as before described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Thomas Hughes in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd August 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent Agents, 123,
Chancery Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special
licence that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Thomas
Hughes, my executors, 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 MACHINES FOR SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES," a communication
to me from abroad by Nathan Adolphus Baldwin, of Milford, in the
County of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward
Thomas Hughes, 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 Edward Thomas Hughes, 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 (that is to say):
The first part of this Invention relates to improvements in machines
for sewing boots and shoes, for turned work, or to secure the welt and
upper to the sole for welted work, the object being to perform this work

page_text: with what is known as the lock stitch, to overcome the difficulties which
exist in the use of the chain stitch, it being well known that the
elasticity which is unavoidable in the chain stitch prevents that close
or firm work which is desirable in boots and shoes, and which is attained
by hand stitching, which latter or non-elastic stitch the shuttle stitch
more nearly approaches.
This Invention is an improvement upon and embodying some of the
elements in the machine for which Letters Patent were granted to me in
England, and dated August 18th, 1869, No. 2465.
To accomplish the desired object, and in order that the shuttle which
carries one thread and the needle which carries another may always
be in proper relative position to each other and to the work, that is to
say, to properly present the boot or shoe around the entire edge of
the sole, the Invention consists, first, in combining the needle arm and
shuttle race in such relative position to each other that the path of the
needle shall be diagonally across the path of the shuttle, as more fully
herein-after described.
In order to ensure the lock of the two threads being drawn into
the work, my Invention consists, secondly, in imparting to the shuttle
a retreating movement after the two threads have been drawn taut and
at the extreme back movement of the needle to such an extent that
while holding the two threads taut the needle in its last movement will
by a short retreat of the shuttle draw the shuttle thread into the work,
causing the lock to be securely within the work to the extent of the
retreat of the shuttle.
In order to prevent the wax from the thread adhering to the shuttle,
my Invention consists, thirdly, in the arrangement of a lubricating
device in connection with the shuttle race, so that the point of the
shuttle will receive a slight amount of lubrication at each throw.
In the Drawings Fig. 1 represents a side view of the needle, shuttle
race, and mechanism in immediate connection therewith, full size.
Fig. 2, a side view of the machine on a reduced scale.
Fig. 3, a side view of that part of the machine to which the second
part of the Invention relates.
Fig. 4, a top view of the shuttle race; Fig. 5, a front view of the
same; Fig. 6, a transverse central section.

page_text: The last four views are full size.
A, represents the bed of the machine; B, the frame upon which
at C the shuttle carrier is hung, this forming the centre of the
segmental shuttle race, the shuttle carrier E being operated by a
connecting rod E¹ from a cam Es on the driving shaft E³, as seen in
Fig. 2.
F, Fig. 1 is the support upon which the shoe G is placed, this support
having universal movement, substantially such as shewn in the Patent
before referred to. The vertical axis of this support is in a line at right
angles to a central radial line X, X, through the centre of the shuttle
race, as denoted in Fig. 1, thus practically making the path of the
shuttle parallel to the work. On the part B₁ of the frame the needle
bar H is arranged in suitable guides and operated substantially as in the
Patent before referred to, the said needle bar carrying the needle h, the
path of the said needle being in a line diagonally across the shuttle race
or central line X, X, before referred to. L is a plate or bearing upon
the outside of the shuttle race, between that and the needle, and forms
what may be termed the work plate against which the side of the shoe
bears.
The shoe is placed in position relatively to the needle, substantially
as in the Patent before referred to, and as seen in Fig. 1, having the
sole M. temporarily attached to the upper, and a channel a formed
around its edge, so that the needle may strike upon the inside of the
channel, pass through the ridge on the sole formed by the channel,
thence through the upper and welt, if in welted work, thence into
the shuttle race, where the thread which the needle carries is engaged
by the shuttle N in the usual manner of common shuttle sewing
machines.
As it is necessary that the needle in order to pass through the ridge of
the sole as before described, should run in a path diagonal to the shoe,
because of the curvature of the sole, it follows that the path of the
needle must be diagonal to the path of the shuttle, which latter is
practically parallel as before described with the work, and this is neces-
sitated because the body and peculiar shape of the shoo prevents the

page_text: The second part of my invention, which is illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 5,
6, and 7, relates to improvements in machines for stitching the soles of
welted work, the object being the employment of a shuttle carrying a
second thread to make what is known as the "lock stitch;" and this
part of my Invention consists in the peculiar construction of what may
be termed the work plate, whereby I am enabled to employ a shuttle or
lock stitch in welted work.
A. is the shuttle race; B, B, the shuttle carrier; O, the needle bar;
a, the needle; D, the part which I term the work plate, shewn detached
in Fig. 7, and is formed to be secured upon the under side of the shuttle
race, as seen in Fig. 6. From the needle hole d downward the work
plate is curved back, as seen in Fig. 6, and also curved upon its face or
vertical plane, as seen in Figs. 5 and 7; thus the work passing over the
work plate will bear as it were upon but a single point, and that point
in the immediate vicinity of the path of the needle through the
plate on the said plate a projection 6 is formed to set into the groove
on the sole of the shoe, as seen in Fig. 3, E representing a section of
the shoe.
F is a guard which extends down in front of the work plate, as seen in
Figs. 3, 4, and 5, and sets upon the shoe above the edge of the sole and
welt, as seen in Fig. 3, the needle entering the welt above the said
guard. This guard, while it prevents the needle from coming in contact
with the upper, also serves as a guide in holding the shoe, it being
desirable that the path of the needle should be through the welt and
upper, as close to the upper as possible, and through the groove upon the
outside of the sole, and this is ensured by the guard F upon the upper
and the projection 6 in the groove upon the outside of the sole; therefore
while on the ball and around the toe the sole would stand nearly per-
pendicular or at right angles to the path of the needle, as it approaches
the shank the shoe turns, inclining the sole, as denoted in Fig. 3, hence
the necessity of curving or inclining the work plate downward from the
needle hole; and the curvature which is given to the sole at the shank
portion also requires that a transverse curvature be given to this plate,
as denoted in Fig. 7. By this construction of the work plate the shoe
may be turned in any direction to give the required inclination to the
sole, in order that the needle may pass through the welt and sole in the
path, as before described.

page_text: Having now described the said Invention, I claim,―
First. In a sewing mechanism, the combination of a needle carrying
one thread and a shuttle carrying a second thread, when arranged
and operating in paths diagonal to each other, substantially as herein
described.
Second. In a sewing mechanism consisting of a needle carrying one
thread and a shuttle carrying a second thread, I claim the cam F* or its
equivalent which operates the said shuttle, when constructed so as to
impart to the said shuttle a retreating movement at the return of the
needle, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Third. The arrangement of a lubricating device in connection with
the shuttle race, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth. The work plate B, of the form substantially as described in
the second part of this Specification, combined with an eye-pointed
needle and shuttle race, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Fifth. In combination with the subject matter of the fourth clause of
claim, I claim the guide F, constructed to form a guard between the
leather and shoe, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of August
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.