IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN SCREWING SOLES ON-BOOTS AND SHOES AND FOR UNITING OTHER THICKNESSES OF LEATHER
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isidore Silver, of Taverny, Saint Leu, Seine et Oise, France,
and at present of Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN SCREWING SOLES ON-BOOTS AND SHOES AND
FOR UNITING OTHER THICKNESSES OF LEATHER." A. communication from abroad
by Moise Mayer, of Paris, France.
Scaled the 30th June 1876, and dated the 21st April 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isidore Silver at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st April 1870.
ISIDORE SILVER, of Taverny, Saint Leu, Seine et Oise, France, and at present of
Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN
SCREWING SOLES ON BOOTS AND SHOES AND FOR UNITING OTHER THICKNESSES OF
LEATHER."
This Invention relates to apparatus for use in screwing soles to boots and shoes,
and uniting other articles of leather, such as hose and machine bands, and the In-
vention consists in an apparatus by which the screws are formed and simultaneously
driven into the sole or other article.
The apparatus comprises a kind of hollow reel provided with vertical axles
mounted to rotate in bearings in a bracket-shaped frame. The lower axle is tubular,
and immediately beneath and in line therewith is fixed a stationary screw die or dies,
below which again is mounted a pair of shears or cutters and an adjustable bracket
or other support for the boot or other article operated as hereafter mentioned.
The wire from which the screws are to be formed is coiled in one length within
the reel to which rotary motion is imparted by means of a crank handle and toothed
gear. The wire is led down through the tubular axle and through the screw dies
beneath. By the rotation of the wire within the die a thread is cut upon the wire
and it is forced through and screws itself into the sole or other article held up to it
by the support before mentioned. The portion of wire which has entered the
leather is now cut off by the shears, which are caused to advance beneath the die
and sever the wire by the agency of a treadle motion, which also operates the sup-
port for the work. This support is by a vertical sliding rod connected to a horizontal
rock lever at the base of the machine to which a treadle is attacked, this treadle
being also connected to the shears. By the movement of the rock lever in one
[Price 6d1

page_text: direction the work is brought up to the screwing apparatus, and by the reverse
inovement the work is lowered and the shears are brought into action to cut off
the wire.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Isidore Silver in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 21st October
1876.
ISIDORE SILVER, of Taverny, Saint Leu, Seine et Oise, France, and at present of
Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN
SCREWING SOLES ON BOOTS AND SHOES AND FOR UNITING OTHER THICKNESSES OF
LEATHER." A communication from abroad by Moise Mayer, of Paris, France.
This Invention relates to an improved machine for use in screwing soles to boots
and shoes, and uniting other articles of leather, such as fire hose and machine bands,
and the machine consists in a combination of mechanism whereby a continuous
length of wire has a screw thread cut upon it, and is simultaneously caused to
screw itself into the sole or other article, the portion which has entered the work
being then cut off from the length of wire. By means of the machine of this
Invention the foregoing operations may be repeated with great rapidity and
accuracy without requiring any holes to be previously made in the leather, the
screw making its own hole.
The machine consists essentially in the combination with a stationary screw die
or dies of mechanism for rotating the wire in the die or dies as hereafter described
for the purpose of screw threading it, and at same time without the aid of
any other mechanism driving it into the work held up to it by a suitable sup-
port. The machine also comprises a pair of cutters for cutting off the portion of
the wire which has entered the work, and a movable support for the work, both
of which are operated by the same treadle. The wire, which may be of indefinite
length, is in the form of a coil contained in a hollow drum or case mounted to
rotate on an axis or spindle in a suitable frame. The end of the wire drawn
from the coil passes through a central passage in the spindle, and its bearing
then through the screw die or dies, and between the cutters into the work. The
passages for the wire through the spindle and bearing, and through the dies, are all
in the axial line of the spindle, so that by the rotation of the case containing
the coil the part of the wire which is in the dies is rotated on its own axis, whereby
a screw thread is cut upon it by the dics at the same time that the part of the
wire which has passed through the dies and thus been screw threaded is by the
action of the dies themselves, without the aid of any other mechanism, forced to
screw itself into the work presented to it, after which the motion of the wire is
stopped, and the wire is severed by the cutters as before stated. Motion is imparted
to the case carrying the coil of wire by a crank handle and bevel gear suit-
ably constructed and arranged. The cutters are operated by a treadle at the
base of the machine frame through the agency of a rock shaft and lever connections,
the support for the work being movable vertically, and connected to the same rock
shaft, so that by the movement of the treadle in one direction the work is pressed
up to the screwing mechanism, and by the movement in the other direction the
cutters are brought into action to sever the wire.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood I will proceed to
describe it more fully with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the entire machine; Figure 2, a sectional
elevation (on a slightly larger scale) of part of the screw threading mechanism;
Figure 3, a corresponding end elevation; Figure 4, a device used for coiling the
wire within the case, and Figure 5 under side and sectional views of the screw dies.
The wire screwing mechanism is mounted in a suitable frame A, supported
a hollow pillar or standard B, standing on a pedestal or base C, also hollow
on

page_text: for the treadle connections with the cutters and work support; D is a crank
handle fixed on a shaft E mounted in the frame A; F is a bevel wheel keyed on
shaft E, and gearing with a pinion G keyed or fixed on the spindle H of the case I,
which by turning the crank D is rapidly rotated. The case I turns with its spindle
and has a cone centre above received in the upper arm of frame A, the spindle H
being supported in a suitable bearing in the lower arm of said frame, as shown. The
arms of wheel F are curved to a hemispherical form to allow sufficient room for the
rotation of the case I. K is the wire coiled within case I. I prefer to use brass
wire of No. 13 gauge for the purpose, the wire being of special make, being composed
of one-third zinc and two-thirds copper, and drawn first to No. 8 gauge, then made
red hot in an oven, cooled in water, and redrawn to No. 13 gauge. The wire is
led through an aperture in the circumference of the case I and guided by a roller a
down through the central passage b in the spindle H, thence through a conical throat
or guide c in the die holder L, which is gradually contracted to the exact size of
the wire. This die holder-is removable by loosening the set screw d in order to
substitute another when a wire of different gauge is used. M, M, are the screw dies
fixed in a frame or stock received in an aperture in the holder L, the passage
through them coinciding exactly with the holes in the latter above and below it.
The spindle H should be as short as possible, and the dies should be as near to the
end of the spindle as possible to ensure good work and avoid torsion and breakage
of the wire in passing from the coil to the dies. The aperture in holder I must be
perfectly true at the top side against which the screw dies press, and the apertures
must be rather wider than the frame holding the dies to allow the latter sufficient
play to accomodate themselves to the vibration of the wire. N, O, are two cutter
bars provided with removable steel cutters e, c. The upper cutter bar N has a
The cutters
hole for the passage of the wire between the cutters into the work.
c, e, are fitted in dovetailed grooves in the bars N, O, which are connected and held
in position by guide studs g, g, and are made to slide the one on the other in opposite
directions by a lever P, to which the cutter bars N, O, are jointed at h, h, above and
below its axis i. The latter is mounted in the machine frame, and the other ex-
tremity of the lever is connected to a rod Q passing down through the hollow
pillar B and through an eye in the end of a lever arin S fixed on a rock shaft R
imounted in the base C. Tis the treadle fixed to the rock shaft R. The rod Q
has a nut on it, upon which the arın S presses and draws the rod Q down when
the toe end of the treadle is pressed down in order to close the cutters, but
the rod is unaffected by the rising of arm S when the other end of the treadle is
depressed; U is a spring connected at one end to rod Q, and at the other to pillar B,
for returning the treadle and cutters to their first position after the latter have
been closed to sever the wire; is a stop for the edge of the work to be pressed
against to guide the operator. It is fixed adjustably by a slot and set screw to a
V is an
lever pivoted at m, and having a spring n pressing against its tail end.
iron horn for supporting the boot to be screwed, but any other form of support may
be substituted, according to the nature of the work to be done. It is fixed on an
upright spindle W fitted in a hollow pillar W rising from pedestal C, and provided
with an internal collar wat the upper end fitting loosely in the pillar, and fixed in
position by adjusting screws w¹ whereby the point of the horn V may be brought
directly beneath the place where the screw enters the work. The spindle Wis
supported by and revolves upon the pointed end of a rod X, which is connected to
another lever arm Y on the rock shaft R, so that by pressing on the heel end of
the treadle the support V is raised into position to press the work up to the screwing
mechanism.
I enclose the coil of wire K in a hollow drum or case I to prevent the wire
uncoiling itself by its own elasticity faster than it is drawn out, which it other-
wise would do if coiled on a solid reel; o, o, are two pins to keep the coil of wire
in its place in the case I. In order to coil the wire into the case I, I employ a
drum Z, Figure 4, which I insert through the corresponding circular apertures in
the sides of the case 1. This drum has a crank handle and a flange p at one end,

page_text: and when inserted in drum. I is secured by a split pin passed across it at the
other. The end of the wire is then inserted in a slot s in the edge of drum, and by
turning the crank handle the drum Z is rotated within the case I until the whole of
the wire is wound on the drum, as shown in Figure 4, in which the outline of case I
is shown in dotted lines. The pin is now removed and the drum withdrawn, leaving
the coil of wire in the case I.
The construction of the screw dies is shown in Figure 5. The dies M, M, are
fitted between two guide rods t, t, forming part of a small frame or stock, in which
the dies are held together by a screw was in an ordinary die stock; V is a lock
nut on the screw u. The aperture between the dies is of slightly conical form, the
larger end being uppermost so that the thread is cut gradually deeper on the wire
as the latter passes through the dies. The dies should be made, that is to say,
tapped in the stock in which they are used, perfect accuracy being necessary in the
relative positions of the two dies.
In starting the machine the dies are loosened in order to introduce the wire, and
then closed tightly upon it by means of screw u. The work is held up firmly
against the cutters by the pressure of the heel of the treadle raising the support V,
as shown, and the wire screws itself into and completely through the work, and may
be caused to rivet or clench itself on the under side by coming against the iron
surface of the horn or other support V. By pressing on the toe end of the treadle the
cutters are then closed together and sever the wire close to the surface of the work,
and the horn V is lowered, as shown in dotted lines, to enable the work to be shifted
for repeating the operation.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is-
1stly. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
improved machine, substantially as shown and described for screwing soles to boots
and shoes and uniting other thicknesses of leather.
2ndly. In a screwing machine in which a continuous wire drawn from a coil is
used as described, I claim the employment in combination of the stationary screw
die or dies as set forth, and the mechanism for rotating and guiding the wire in the
dies as specified, whereby the wire is both screw threaded and screwed into the
work presented to it as described without the use of any other mechanism between
the coil and the work.
3rdly. The employment in a screwing machine, constructed and operating as
herein described, of screw dies which have a conical aperture as specified, and cut a
screw thread of gradually increasing depth, and at same time cause the wire to
advance and penetrate the work without having holes previously pierced therein, as
described.
4thly. In a screwing machine, as above described, the use of the hollow case to
contain the wire and prevent it uncoiling, mounted on a tubular spindle, as set
forth.
5thly. The combination with the screw dies, revolving case, and spindle, arranged
and operating as described, of the cutters and work support, both operated by the
samme treadle, as and for the purposes specified.
To witness whereof, I, the said Isidore Silver, have hereunto set my hand
and scal, this Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
1. SILVER.
(L.S.)