IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Clark at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th December
1864. A communication from abroad by Charles Rhodes Goodwin,
Manufacturer, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND
SHOES," to be as follows:-
Up to the present time it has been usual to apply the different parts of
boots and shoes one by one to the sole by the aid of a last, and then fix
them together by nailing.
According to this Invention I obviate this difficult and tedious operation
by the use of machinery, by means of which I can mount any number of parts
of boots and shoes on the last at a time. For this purpose I employ small
grippers, herein-after described, which I arrange all round the boot or shoe,
each of the grippers being furnished with a groove or grooved pulley, on
which is a gut or other cord passing round the whole of the grippers, and by
a suitable arrangement of parts I produce the tension of this cord in such
manner as to effect the closing of the jaws or parts of the nippers simul-
taneously with the stretching of the leather on the last. The nails are then
applied in the sole, this operation being effected either in
the knees of the workman as usual.
the machine or on

page_text: This Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings of several
arrangements of apparatus for mounting boots and shoes on their lasts, the
principle being the same in all the arrangements, the minor parts alone
being varied.
Sheets 1 and 2 represent an apparatus for mounting any number of boots
and shoes on the lasts; Fig. 1, Sheet 2, shows an elevation and section of a
gripper for stretching the leather; Fig. 2, a plan of another arrangement of
gripper; Fig. 3 shows an elevation of a third arrangement; Fig. 4 shows
details of the application of the grippers to the boot and shoe; Fig. 5 shows a
vertical sectional elevation of a machine for mounting any number of boots
and shoes on their lasts, and Fig. 6 a partial plan of same; Fig. 7 shows a
lever arrangement and supporting frame suitable for application to the appa-
The same letters of reference indicate
ratus, and Fig. 8 end view of same.
the same parts in the several Figures seen in different positions.
a, gripper, consisting of a hollow cylinder, in which rises and falls a piston b
furnished with a stem c, the upper end having a screw thread, and the lower
end terminating in a disc d, which is roughened or grooved on its inner
surface; e, lower part of cylinder a, also roughened in a similar manner; f,
thumb nut for screwing disc d up to surface a, between which the leather is
gripped or held; g, spiral spring for counteracting the nut f; h, pulley,
round which the gut cord passes. I may dispense with the spiral spring g
by making a projection i on stem c rising and falling in a groovej made in
the body of the gripper, as seen in Fig. 2. I may also employ the arrange-
ment of gripper represented at Fig. 3, having two jaws k, l, connected
together in the manner of a pair of scissors at m, the extensions of which
form two arms k¹, 11; on arm k¹ a lever m¹ oscillates, through which passes
the arm; the traction produced by the cord n attached to this arm causing
the jaws k, l, to close together; o, foot plate of the machine, of cast iron,
wood, or other material. This may be supported by uprights or fixed to a
table by the aid of bolts or otherwise. p, driving shaft of the machine, turning
in bearings cast or fixed at each end of plate o; on this shaft are mounted
pins r for the purpose herein-after described; 8, s, supports fixed in suitable
positions on the foot plate; t, t, levers oscillating at the upper part of sup-
ports s, furnished with a sector v sliding in the same, and serving to regulate
their inclination, being fixed in the desired position by thumbscrew ; y,
holes or eyes made in levers t, through which pass the parts of the lasts on
which the boots and shoes are to be mounted. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
Fig. 4, represent the grippers shown separately at Fig. 1, as holding the
leather 10 of the boot or shoe to be mounted on the last; instead of there

page_text: being nine grippers any other number may be employed; 11, sole of the boot
or shoe; 12, first cord passing round gripper 1, its end being fixed to a screw
13 turning in a bearing 14 cast or fixed on the end of lever t; 15, second
cord passing round grippers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, in the manner shown at
Fig. 4, one end of said cord being fixed to a hook 16 on bearing 14, and the
other end to one of the pins r before mentioned.. The whole being arranged
as described, the action of the apparatus is as follows:-I commence by
turning screw 13, which first stretches the front part of the boot or shoe, then
by imparting rotary motion to shaft p by the aid of hand wheel 17, furnished
with an escape movement 18, all the cords 15 become stretched, and bring the
grippers 2, 3, 4, 5, and the rest towards the central line of the sole, together
with the sole leather held thereby; the nails may then be applied while the
last is in the machine.
In cases where it is desired to produce continuous action the nailing may be
subsequently effected on the knee, for which purpose I employ by preference
the form of support 19, represented in Fig. 7, for carrying the last on which
the boot or shoe is to be mounted; the screw 13 serves for stretching the
cords, the whole being mounted on lever t by means of a stem 20 fixed to
support 19. The tension of the cord is regulated by means of a small metal
plate 21 rising and falling on two guides 22, 22, through which plate also
passes a screw 23, on which is a nut 24. By turning nut 24 the cords 15
may be gripped between plate 21, and the india-rubber or leather 25 suffi-
ciently to hold the cords in tension, the support 19 is then removed in order
to put in the nails on the knee, which support is replaced by others in order
to effect a further stretching of the leather, and so on. Instead of the
sectors I may employ the lever arrangement represented at Fig. 7, where
may be seen an arm s, terminating in a ratchet 26, the lever t having a
fork 27, carrying a pawl 28 gearing with ratchet 26. In either case the
levers produce the stretching of the leather by giving them a certain degree
of inclination, or a partial stretching may be effected by acting on one or other
of the levers. From the foregoing it will be seen that I employ two cords for
the purpose of first stretching the leather forming the front part of the shoe,
(which is necessary for obtaining a good manufacture ;) these two cords may
both be fixed to screw 13, in which case the hook 16 is not required. I may
also use one cord instead of two, which is first passed round the grippers 1, 2, 3,
and then round 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4, and thence to the driving shaft.
Sheet 3 of the Drawings represents an apparatus for mounting boots and
shoes in the last, in which the levers are arranged on a circular plate; this
apparatus is furnished with similar stretching parts as those before described,

page_text: but offers the additional advantage that after each stretching the workman
may turn the plate round back to the front, and separately examine each shoe,
and see if the mounting has been properly effected.
Fig. 1, Sheet 3, shows a vertical elevation of this apparatus; Fig. 2, plan
of same; Fig. 3 shows another form of support and lever arrangement; and
Fig. 4, end view of same. The letters of reference serve for all four
Figures.
a, circular metal plate, having lugs or ear pieces 6 on its periphery, on
which are mounted the ends of the levers carrying the lasts. This plate is
mounted on pivots c, c, turning in bearings d, d, cast or fixed on the upper
part of frame e.
One of the pivots c is made hollow for the reception of a
shaft f. g, rectangular frame or support, fixed at the back of the plate, and
carrying a shaft h, passing through the plate; h', pins mounted on the end of
shaft h, on which are secured the cords to be put in tension by the rotation of
the shaft; i, fly wheel keyed on the end of driving shaft f, serving to impart
rotary motion thereto; j, j, bevil pinions, transmitting rotary motion from
shaft to shaft h; k, escape movement of driving shaft f, for holding the cords
at any degree of tension; 7, escape movement of the plate for fixing it in
position while the operation is in progress, and which is effected in a similar
manner to that previously described; m, support of the last on which the shoe
is to be stretched, and furnished with a hook n, to which the cords are
connected. This support is made to slide in a dovetail groove o in lever t,
its backward and forward motion being imparted by a screw p turning in a
bearing on lever t. By this means the support itself is made to produce the
stretching instead of screw 13, as in Sheet 1; one of the sides r of the dovetail
is hinged, being fixed in position by a screw n, on releasing which the part r
may be raised, so as to permit of the removal of support m.
This system of
support may be adopted in either of the machines previously described.
In Sheet 4 I have represented an example of apparatus for mounting one
pair of boots or shoes on a last. In this arrangement the parts for stretching
the leather are similar to the preceding, the whole being mounted on a fly
wheel turning in a bearing forming a suitable support. It will be readily
understood that by imparting rotary motion to the fly wheel the whole
apparatus may be turned, and thus enable the attendant to examine if the
mounting has been properly effected or not.
Fig. shows a front elevation of the apparatus, the levers carrying the
lasts being omitted, in order the better to show their connection with the fly
wheel; Fig. 2 shows a side view of the same machine, with the lever mounted
on the fly wheel. The letters serve for both Figures.

page_text: The parts for stretching the leather being also the same as in the preceding
macbines, are indicated by similar letters or figures of reference. a, fly
wheel carrying all the parts of the machine, turning in bearing or support 6,
which may be bolted to a table or carried on uprights forming the feet of a
frame. c, c, lugs, cast on arms d, d, of the fly wheel, and serving as oscillating
centres for levers t, t; e, e, lugs, also cast on fly wheel a, serving as guides for
sectors s¹ of levers t. The shaft p for producing the stretching of the leather
turns in bearings f, f, mounted on fly wheel a. Instead of two levers t, I may
employ one only, which may be forked and jointed to lugs c, c.
In all the machines herein described I may employ either of the arrange-
ments of levers or supports previously described with reference to Sheets 2
and 8.
The Invention thus consists in mounting boots and shoes on the lasts by the
aid of grippers and cords, in the manner described, as also in the machinery
for effecting the same, which apparatus, however, may be varied in form and
in the arrangement of the parts for transmitting motion thereto.