US655820A - Stitch-separating machine. - Google Patents

Description

No. 655,820. Patented Aug. I4, I900.- J. E. BERTRAND.

STITCH SEPARATING MACHINE.

(Application filed Nov. 13, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 0 0 l M m. u A d 8 t n e a P, a N H m D NM AG n nN R A .P EE 8 H c h T S 0 2 5 5 6 0 N (Application filed Nov. 13, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Jose 177015. Bertrand,

MNITED STATES PATENT Orrice.

JOSEPH ELI BERTRAND, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BAY STATE SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE AND PORT- LAND, MAINE.

STITCH-SEPARATING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,820, dated August 14, 1900. Application filed November 13, 1899. Serial No. 736,838- (No model.)

T on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH ELI BERTRAND, machinist, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Stitch-Separating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to to provide a simple economical machine which can be operated by unskilled persons for the purpose of indenting the leather between the stitches in the projecting soles of boots and shoes, such operation being known as stitch indenting, pricking, or separating. The stitches which are here exposed may be usefully employed to attach the outer (bottom) sole of the shoe to the inner sole and upper by connecting the outer sole to the welt, the latter being a strip of leather united to the inner sole and upper when said inner sole and upper are sewed together, or they may simply be fair-stitches, employed to imitate weltwork incheap shoes having projecting soles, which soles are sewed directly to the upper by througlrand-through stitches extending from the bottom of the sole through the same and inside of the shoe. In whichever of these ways the shoe is sewed 0 it presents a projecting sole with stitches exposed on its upper face, and it is the fashion at the present time to have the stitching emphasized by indenting the projecting edge of the sole at the stitch-holes in the leather, (or at the stitch-intervals, as now customarily denominated,) so as to make a marked and pronounced separation between the successive stitches. This work of separating the stitches or indenting the stitch intervals was formerly done by hand; but several machines have been brought out for doing it. Among such machines is the one described in the specification of United States Letters Patent No. 602,859, dated April 26, 1898, to Job Lee, and it is upon this machine that the present improvements have been made. The said Lee machine comprises as its operative instrumentalities a horizontal rest or support, upon which the bottom of the shoe-sole rests during the stitch-separating operation, and

a power-vibrated indenting-tool, which is elevated out of contact with the projecting edge of the sole by a rotary cam and is brought down upon said edge to make the indentation by springs, the rest or support holding the sole against the blow of the indentingtool, so that the effect of the tool is to make the desired indentations. The feed of the shoe beneath the tool from stitch-interval to stitch-interval is by hand, the shoe being held and moved by hand during the operation, the feeding being done when the tool is elevated by its actuatingcam. In the said Lee machine the tool reciprocates at an inclination to the rest upon which the shoe-sole is flatly held, thus enabling the tool to pass into the crease between the shoe-upper and the projecting sole edge, which isof material advantage, since it enables the entire visible Width of said projecting edge to be indented, and it "enables said edge to be indented in the shank or waist of the shoe, if desired, all of which is done without danger of thetool marring the upper by digging into it. The tool itself serves as a sufficient guide for the shoe-during the indenting operation by reason of the upper bearing against theouter face of the tool. In said Lee machine, however, the accuracy of the indentation depends wholly upon the skill of the operator, who must bring each stitch-interval exactly beneath the tool in order to secure perfection in the work. In said Lee machine the action of the tool-driving cam is controlled by a treadle, so that the tool ceases to work when the foot of the operator is withdrawn from the treadle. There is, however, no means for stopping the tool at any given point, so that it is liable to stop with the tool resting in an indentation, and it is then necessary to elevate the tool by hand against the tension of the tool-operating springs in order to withdraw the finished shoe and to place another shoe in the machine. Again, in said Lee machine the force of the indenting stroke is dependent upon the power applied to the treadle which controls the action of the indenting-tool, and since the driving-cam is always running when the machine is in use there is liability of the first indentations made on a shoe being insulificient, since they may be made before the treadle is fully depressed.

The object of the-presentimprovements, is to so arrange the indenting-tool that it will rest lightly on the surfaces of the stitches when the shoe is being fed by hand, whereby it willfeel for the stitch-interval, so that the operator can at once tell by the added resistance to the feed due to the position of the tool when in the interval that the shoe is in the proper place for the indentation, and by then ceasing the feeding movement the i11- dentation is made with accuracy. The accuracy of the indenting hence is not alone dependent upon the eye of the operator, but is due to the tool itself opposing an effectual resistance to the feed from one stitch to the next, which the operator quickly learns to appreciate and obey. A very little practice, therefore, enables a boy or girl to operate the machine with rapidity and with perfection of result.

One embodiment of the present improvements is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine, a guide-plate employed to externally guide the indenting-tool carrier being removed to show the tool-operating cam. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the tool, tool-carrier, and work-rest, showing a lasted shoe in section while being operated upon. a side view, and Fig. 4 a vertical section, of the tool, tool-carrier, and rest. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are diagrams illustrating the indenting operation. Fig. 8 is a detail of the stop mechanism.

A is the indenting-tool, and its several positions in relation to the work are shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. Fig. 7 shows the tool in the position which it occupies after it has performed its indenting stroke, being then forced down in the interval between two adjacent stitches. The tool is then moved away from the work to the position indicated in Fig. 5, where it is entirely out of contact with the work. The work is then free to be moved laterally by hand, so that when the tool again operates it will not be thrust into the same stitch-intervalI The tool occupies the position shown in Fig. 5 momentarily only, giving just sufficient time for the operator to move the work by hand, and it then drops to the position shown in Fig. 6, where it lightly rests upon the work. Vhen occupying this position, the work can readily be moved by hand beneath the tool, the tool being so lightly held that it readily rises and falls in accordance with the configuration of the stitch. \Vhen, however, its point drops into a stitchinterval, it opposes an appreciable resistance to the movement of the work, so that the operator then knows by the feel that the tool is located in a stitch-interval ready to make an indentation. Fig. (3 shows the tool in proper position to make an indentation. The tool then receives its indenting blow, being forced into the material between two stitches. .As shown in Fig. 5, the point of the tool is Fig. 3 is rounded, sothat it readily rides over the surfaces of the stitches. From these figures it will be noted that the tool having performed its indenting stroke is first raised clear from the work. It then moves toward the work, resting yieldingly on the stitches during the final feed of the work by hand, being then free to move to and from the stitches, thrusting itself into a stitch-interval when presented, and thereby affording resistance to further feed of the work, and finally it is moved forcibly toward the work to make an indentation.

During the operation of the indenting-tool the work rests upon a work-support or workrest B. Fig. 2 shows the relation of the indenting-tool and the work-rest to each other and to the stitched. article operated upon, a lasted welted shoe being illustrated. The work support or rest B is a stationary one, and the tool has no lateral or feeding movement, the feed of the work being effected solely by hand.

The indenting-tool moves to and from the work-rest and is mounted in a reciprocating tool-carrier O, the tool being also independently movable on said tool-carrier. The toolcarrier is mounted to slide in the head D of the machine, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is provided with an inclined guide-groove in which the said carrier slides. The carrier is retained in this groove by means of an external supporting-plate, which is not shown in Fig. 1, being removed to exhibit the operating-cam. This plate is indicated at E in Fig. 2, and Fig. 1 shows the bolt-holes Ct, which receive its attaching-screws. The tool-carrier is moved upwardly away from the work-rest by means of a rotary cam F, carried by the driveshaft G, which cam acts upon an inwardly-projecting stud w, carried by thetoolcarrier, and it is moved toward the work-rest by means of a spring H. Said spring is shown as connected with the carrier 0 by means of a link I), and it is adjustably connected to the framework of the machine by adjusting-nuts c c. The spring, it will be noted, moves the tool-carrier toward the work, and the cam retracts the tool-carrier, so that the force of the indenting blow depends upon the force of the spring. The force of the spring is adjustable at will, so as to suit the requirements of dif ferent classes of work; but it remains constant during the indenting of a single shoe or single class of shoes.

The purpose of the inclination of the toolcarrier is to enable the indenting-tool to enter into the crease between the shoe upper and the sole in order to effectively indent the entire surface of the projecting edge of the sole without liability of injuring or defacing the upper.

The indenting-tool A partakes of the reciprocating movement of the tool-carrier and it also has an independent movement on said tool-carrier. gitudinally to afford a guideway for the in- The tool-carrier is grooved londenting-tool, said tool being maintained in place on the carrier by means of plate I. The carrier and tool are adapted to be yieldingly coupled together, so as to move in unison by means of a spring-catch (Z on the carrier, which engages a notch e on the tool, and the tool and carrier are arranged to be uncoupled from each other by means of an abutment J, which is adjustably attached to the head D of the machine by a slot fand bolt g, which abutment is in the path of a stud K, carried by the indenting-tool. Fig. 2 shows the tool and its carrier in the position which they occupy just after the indentation has been made. In this position the tool and carrier are coupled together by means of the springlatch (Z and the notch e. The carrier is then elevated away from the work by means of the cam F, and the indenting-tool moves upwardly with the carrier away from the work, thus leaving the work free to be moved by hand. During the ascent of the carrier the tool remains coupled with it until the stud K, carried by the tool, encounters the fixed abutment J, whereupon the yielding coupling between the tool and carrier yields, thus disconnecting the tool and carrier as the carrier continues its upward movement. This uncoupling leaves the indenting-tool free to drop down by gravity upon the stitches. Fig. 3 illustrates the position of the tool and carrier during the upward movement of the carrier and just as the tool is about to be uncoupled from the carrier. As shown-in this figure, the tool is now entirely free from the work, so that the work is free to be moved by hand. The position of the tool as shown in Fig. 3 corresponds with its position shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 4 illustrates the position of the tool and carrier just after they have been uncoupled. The uncoupling leaves the tool free to drop by gravity upon the work. In this position the tool rests lightly and yieldingly upon the work. The amount of pressure then exerted by the tool upon the work in the illustrated construction depends solely upon the weight of the tool and its shank. This weight is sufficient to cause the tool to give a light pressure upon the work, but is efficient to cause it to thrust itself into a stitch-interval and to then present an appreciable resistance to the further feed of the work by hand. The position of the tool shown in Fig. 4 corresponds with its position as shown in Fig. 6. After the tool and carrier are uncoupled the carrier is elevated to a distance determined by the operating-cam F, and when the highest point of the cam is reached and passes from beneath the carrier the spring I-I forces the carrier down toward the work. In this descending movement the carrier acts as a hammer to strike a forcible blow upon the head of the indenting-tool, and thereby drives the said tool into the leather in the interval between two stitches, thus effecting the indentation. A yielding cushion L, preferably of leather, is interposed between the tool and carrier (see Fig. 4) to cushion the indenting-blow. Fig. 2 shows the tool and carrier just after the indenting-blow has been made, the position of the tool here shown corresponding with its position shown in Fig. 7.

The abutment J is rendered adjustable, so as to regulate the height at which the tool will be uncoupled from its carrier, so as to accommodate soles of varying thicknesses.

During the indenting operation the work is held in the hands of the operator and the feed is solely by hand. The tool itself constitutes a sufficient guide for the work, since the tool is in contact with the work except during the brief interval when the tool is coupled to its carrier during a portion of the upward stroke of the carrier and while it is dropping back to the work after being uncoupled.

The operation of the tool-actuating cam F is controlled by a stop mechanism which in turn is controlled bya treadle M. (See Fig. 1.) The drive-shaft G has fast to it sleeve N, in which is mounted slide clutch-pin O, which is thrust outwardly by a spring .P, as shown in Fig. 8. \Vhen thrust outwardly, said clutch-pin O is in the path of abutment Q, carried by driving-pulley R, which is loosely mounted on the shaft G and is driven by a belt from any suitable source of power. As long therefore as the clutch-pin O occupies its outward position the actuating-cam F is rotated. The clutch-pin O is moved inwardly to disconnect the driving-pulley R by means of a cam S, which is pivotally connected att' to the frame of the machine and which is moved in one direction by the treadle M, with which it is connected by a link T, and in the opposite direction bya spring U. When the foot of the operator is removed from the treadle, the spring U moves the cam S inwardly and into the path of a projectingstud W, carried by the clutch-pin O, and consequently, when said stud encounters said cam the stud is moved inwardly, thus unclutching the driving-pulley. When, however, the foot of the operator is placed upon the treadle, the cam S is swung outwardly away from the stud W, and thereupon the spring P (see Fig. 8) thrusts the clutch-pin O outwardly, thus clutching the driving-pulley R to the shaft G, and hence operating the machine. The starting and stopping of the machine is thus within the control of the operator.

In order to stop the machine always at a definite point, which is when the tool-carrier is away from the work, the cam S carries a stop X, which is directly in the path of the stud W when said cam is in its stopping position, so that the shaft G and actuating-cam F are stopped positively and definitely in the proper position.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is-- 1. A stitch separating machine, wherein the stitched article operated upon is fed by IIO hand, having, in combination, a stationary work-rest; an indenting-tool which rests yieldingly on the stitches during the completion of the feed of the article by hand, is then free to move to and from the stitches, and thrusts itself into a stitch-interval when presented,

thus affording resistance to the further feed of the stitched article; and means for forcibly moving said tool to make an indentation, substantially as set forth.

2. A stitch -separating machine, wherein the stitched article operated upon is fed by hand, having, in combination, a stationary work-rest; an indenting-tool which is movable to and from the work-rest, said tool moving away from the work-rest so as to clear the article operated upon, then moving toward said work-rest so as to rest yieldingly upon said article during the completion of the feed of the article by hand, and then moving forcibly toward the work-rest to make an indentation; and means for so moving said tool, substantially as set forth.

3. A stitch-separating machine having, in combination, a work-rest; an indenting-tool;

a carrier movable to and from the Work-rest, in which carrier said tool is movably mounted; means for connecting said carrier and tool so that they move in unison away from the work-rest; means for automatically disconnecting said tool and carrier so that the tool then moves toward the work-rest independently of its carrier; and means for forcibly thrusting the tool toward the Work-rest to effect the indentation, substantially as set forth.

4. A stitch-separating machine having, in combination,an indenting-tool carrier; means for reciprocating said carrier; and an indenting-tool supported and moved by said carrier and independently movable thereon, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH ELI BERTRAND.

Witnesses:

ANDREW J. REYNOLDS, WILLARD B. HOSMER.

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