Machinery for the Manufacture of Heel-irons for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 20th Mar., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Machinery for the Manufacture of Heel-irons for Boots and Shoes.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to me
from abroad by F. Bulius Söhne, of Vienna, Austria) 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 machinery for producing from rolled iron bars having the
required section, and by means of a series of automatically effected operations, heel-
irons for boots and shoes, which leave the machine in a perfectly finished condition,
with the necessary holes and with the size numbers and factory marks marked thereon,
and without requiring any subsequent trimming by hand.
The method of operating consists essentially in causing the rolled iron rods, having
the required profile section, and after having been passed through a suitable
straightening device, to be fed by a feed mechanism to a cutter which cuts off a
definite length for forming a blank; this is then bent into a semicircle by a projecting
tongue and is brought between dies by means of which the bending process is
completed, so as to give the iron heel the requisite configuration; this remains in
the die until by the downward motion of a punching press, the perforation, and the
marking with the size number and the factory mark, and also the trimming of the
two ends has been effected. At the same time a fresh blank is cut off from the rod
which, simultaneously with the discharge of the finished heel-iron, and the opening of
the bending device, is brought before the latter.
I will describe the construction of a macbine for carrying out the above described
method of operating with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figures 1 and 2 shew respectively a side and front elevation;
Figures 3 and 34 shew plans, respectively of the opened and closed bending
devices; Figure 3 also shews the straightening and feed mechanism.
Figures 4 and 44 shew longitudinal sections respectively of the open and closed
positions Figures 3 and 34.
Figures 5 and 5 shew side views corresponding to Figures 4 and 4*.
Figures 6 and 6A shew cross sections of the bending device,
Figures 7 and 8 shew to a larger scale parts of the bending and stamping
mechanism during different stages of their operation.
Figure 9 shews a heel-iron in underside plan and section;
Figure 10 shews a plan, edge view and cross section of one of the blanks for the
heel-iron shewn at Figure 9.
As shewn in Figures 2 and 3, the rolled iron rod a, having the cross section shewn
in Figure 10, is led from a reel A to a straightening device, consisting of two sets
of rollers arranged with their axes at right angles to each other, between which the
straightening of the iron rod before its introduction between the feed mechanism is
effected. The feed mechanism consists of two arms CC rotatable on eccentric pivots, c
in each of which is mounted a chisel c¹ these being pressed against the rod a by
means of springs acting on the carriers CC, while the rod passes between the
chisels c' and the guides c².
The arm C is stationary while the arm is mounted on a sliding support c³
which is moved to and fro by a lever device d d' d d actuated by the driving
gear D.
When the support c³ moves in the direction of the arrow a, Figure 3, the rolled

page_text: iron rod is seized by the chisel of the arm C₁ and is pushed forward thereby, the
chisel carrier C allowing of such motion. At the backward motion of the support c³
the iron rod is held by the chisel carrier C while the chisel of C" slides back
along the rod, in order to seize this again as soon as the support moves forward.
The length of rod fed forward is pushed between guide rollers Figure 3 into
a die or groove e Figures 3, 4, 4, and 64, which is provided with lateral guides.
The rod a enters a stop piece e situated opposite the die e and having at its
upper part a moveable abutment e2 Figure 64 which prevents the rising up of the
end of the rod. When the forward feed of the iron rod is completed, the cutting off
of a length or blank a¹ Figures 3 and 6A from the rod is effected by means of a
cutter sliding down close against the groove e. This cutter ea is attached to a
vertical thrust slide E Figure 1 which is actuated in the usual manner by the driving
gear D D', crank disc F and connecting rod f.
The cut blank a falls, (the bending device being open as at Figures
and 4) on
to inclined surfaces 1, 1, slides over these against two fixed curved stops e¹, and is
thereby brought under the action of the bending device, while at the same time the
thrust slide E is raised. By the downward motion of the latter the bending device
is put in action, for which purpose the links G Figures 1 and 2 pivoted to E, bring
the toggle levers gg into the stretched position; the one lever g is pivotted to an
adjustable stationary support g' and the other is pivotted at g2 to a sliding frame H
which is pushed forward when the toggle is stretched.
To the frame H is fixed a tongue & Figures 3 and 4 which carries on its underside
a plate having a configuration corresponding to the inner curved surface of the
finished heel iron Figure 9, and which during the forward motion of the frame enters
between the curved stops e and thereby presses against and bends the blank lying
in front of these. The underside of the tongue h or of plate moves closely over a
recess or die i adjustably fixed to the base plate J.
On the farther advance of the frame H, the tongue together with the partially
bent blank passes between two cheeks having the curved and sloped configuration
of the outer surface of the finished heel iron, that lie upon the recess i, and that can
· be closed together.
These cheeks I are fixed to arms that are pivotted to studs fixed the base
plate, and which carry at their ends rollers ³, on which act the inner inclined faces h
of the frame H, so that in the end position of the tongue h, the cheeks I are pressed
with great force against the heel iron and plate / as at Figure 3A, thereby completing
the bending process.
When the bending device is closed as at Figure 7, the cheeks I have their operative
surfaces covered by the tongue h; the toggles are then in the stretched position
Figure 4 and the thrust slide E has moved down to such an extent that the
cutting off of a fresh blank a which is situated over the tongue h, has already
been effected by the cutter e³.
For forming the holes in the heel iron, and in pressing the size, number and
factory mark, as also for trimming off the ends of the iron while the bending
device is closed, on the completion of the bending process, the thrust slide E is
provided on its underside with perforating punches 2, stamping punches 3, and
cutting punches 4, which enter corresponding holes in the tongue h, as at
Figures 7 and 8 similar holes being of course formed in the recess i as shewn.
The holes in the recess i for the entrance of the punches 4 are sloped off at r on
the upper edge, Figure 8, so that on the cutting off of the ends of the iron, a
projecting edger Figure 9 is formed.
After the holes &c. have been formed as above described, the slide E rises,
thereby drawing together the toggle levers, and the bending device is opened again
and is brought back to its original position at Figure 3.
In order that, on the opening of the bending device and withdrawal of the
tongue, the heel iron may not adhere with the fins produced at the punched
holes to the recess i and be thus drawn away from the tongue plate, /', a stripper
is provided, which when the bending cheeks I are closed enters between them as

page_text: at Figure 3 and is pressed against the heel iron or the plate until it has been
removed from the recess i by the tongue h, whereupon the stripper is raised off
from the heel iron in order to enable this to be removed. For this purpose the
stripper kis adjustably attached to a carrier K, which can be slid transversely
across the bending device in longitudinal slots of supports which are mounted
on the frame H, which carries pivotted spring hooks m which, when the bending
device is closed as at Figures 3 and 5, hook onto the ends of the carrier K,
whereby the stripper is maintained coupled with the tongue h.
When the frame H moves back, the stripper k is carried with it in its fixed relative
position.
As soon as the heel iron is drawn off from the recess i, the armis m¹ of the hooks m
run up on inclines n on the frame guides, as at Figures 3 and 5, whereby the
hooks m are disengaged from the carrier K; at the same time, the ends of the latter
bear against stops n', whereby the carrier K is held stationary while the frame H
continues its motion, and by this motion the tongue h is remove from the stripper k,
as at Figures 3 and 4. The freed heel iron then falls off from the tongue h and passes
away from the machine through an opening o Figures 4 and 4* in the base plate.
The removal of any heel irons that may adhere to the plate h¹ can be effected
automatically by means of a stripping device p Figure 3A on which, at the backward
motion of the frame H, a stud p₁ acts so as to move p into the position Figure 3
in which the short chisel edged arın of p enters between the tongue and the
heel iron.
On the forward motion of the frame the stripper bearer K moves away from the
stops and the hook arms m¹ slide down the inclines n; at the same time the
bearer K is held by the spring q Figure 3A while the frame H continues its forward
motion. By this means the bearer K arrives at the ends of the slots of the
supports that move with the frame, whereupon the hooks m engage with the bearer
again and thus effect the coupling of the stripper with the tongue again as at
Figure 5*.
In order to enable various sizes of heel irons to be produced, the bending cheeks I,
the recess or die i and the tongue h are made changeable, and the parts of the machine
that control the motion of the bending device are made adjustable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. Machinery for automatically producing heel irons for boots and shoes, wherein
a length of rolled iron rod of the requisite section is bent by the combined action of
a sliding tongue h entering between stops e, and of cheeks I closing over a recess or
die i, the iron being perforated, stamped, and cut by means of the punches, and cutters
of a slide E, after which a stripper k mounted on a sliding bearer K, while holding
the heel iron against the tongue is made to travel backwards with the latter so as to
remove the heel iron from the recess or die i, substantially as described.
2. In a machine for automatically producing heel-irons such as is referred to in the
first claim, mounting the stripper k adjustably upon a transverse bearer K the ends
of which slide in slots of supports on a frame H carrying the tongue h, which
bearer is held by hooks m when the bending device h, I, is closed, the said hooks being
disengaged on the opening of the bending device by means of inclines n acting on
arms of the hooks, whereby the stripper after moving backward with the tongue, is
released so as to separate from the latter in order to allow the heel iron to be removed
therefrom, substantially as described.
3. In combination with the stripper device and carrier referred to in the second
claim, the use of stops n' that limit the motion of the carrier K in the one direction,
and a spring g that limits its motion in the other direction, such spring being made,
on the closing of the bending device to again couple the stripper with the tongue,
substantially as described.
4. In combination with a machine for making heel irons such as is referred to in

page_text: the preceding claims, a device for detaching the formed heel-irons from the tongue h,
consisting of a stripping device p which on the opening of the bending device / I is
moved by a stud p₁ so as to penetrate between the heel iron and the tongue,
substantially as described.
1->
T
1907
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.