US1417018A - Sole-grooving machine - Google Patents

Description

0. F. ARMSTRONG. SOLE snoovme MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, I921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- O. F. ARMSTRONG.

SOLE GROOVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, 1921.

' Patented Ma 22,1222.

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0. F. ARMSTRONG.

SOLE GROOVING MACHINE APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, 1921.

1 1 "Y, 105 1 m f O. F. ARMSTRONG. SOLE GROOVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1B. 1921.

Patented May 23, 1922.

4 SHYEETS-SHEET 4L HASELTI-NE 00., OF

CHUSETTS.

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' SOLE GROOVING- MAGHINE.

Application filed April 18, 1921. Serial No. 462,225.

T0 azz whom it mag panama Be it known that I, OSCAR F. ARMSTRONG,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Haverhill, in the county ofEssex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Sole-Grooving Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of ma chines which are designed to" operate on inner-soles used in the manufacture of welt and McKay-sewed shoes, for the purpose of making them more flexible.

Prior to my invention the machines of this type, which have been most generally used, are arranged to. slash the sole from.

one side edge to the other bya series of parallel cuts in theiflesh side. This operation does not, however, give the desired degree of flexibility and I have discovered that, in order to secure such desired degree of flexibility, portion of the leather must be actually removedfrom the flesh side, but that this must not be done in a manner to effect the serviceability of the sole, or by, in any way, weakening the edge portion of the sole in which the upper attaching stitches must be formed. I have further ascertained that the desired result will be secured by forming a series of narrow, suitably spaced, transverse, parallel grooves, in the ball por-; tion of the sole, said grooves being formed to terminate at a suitable distance from its side edges.

. accompanying drawings, in which an embodiment, of my invention is shown and 1n which,:- 7

Fig. 1 is a side elevation ofa machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view and Fig. 3 is a front elevatiouthereof.

Fig. 4. is a vertical sectional view at the line 0:-az of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View at the line y-y of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6. is a'detail porting plate.

.Fig. 71s a detail sectional View of one of the cutters.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of some of the cutter teeth.

Figs. 9 and 10 are plan and sectional views of a sole which has been operated on by the machine.

As shown in the drawing the base plate .1 of themachine has a pair of bearing brackets 2 mounted thereon,'in which a shaft 3 1s journaled, said shaft being adapted to be rotated continuously. Three pulleys 4i, 5 and 6 are mounted on said shaft, the pulleys 4 and 6 respectively adjacent said bearings and the pulley 5 midway therebetween. Four upright guide posts 7 are. mounted in the. base 1 and a guard plate 8 1s fixed on the upper ends thereof in a horizontal position, or parallel to the base, said plate bein secured thereon by any suitable means, asiy clamping it against shoulders on theposts by nuts9 threaded thereon. A series slots 10 are formed in the plate 8, which. extend from front to rear. A rectan ular shaped guide plate 11 is mounted to s ide vertically on said posts 7 and a rod 12 is connected to the under side thereof and extends downward through the base and plan view of thesole-supthrough a stirrup bracket 13, attached to the under side of the base, and in which said rod is adapted to reciprocate, vertically. A spring let is arranged between the bracket 13 and a collar 15, which is secured on the rod 12v andis normally held against the under side of the base by said spring. A treadle 16. is connected to the lower end of the rod 12, and arranged so that, when it is pressed, the rod will be pulled downward, against the action of spring .14, causing the plate 11 to be moved down'therewith. A sole-supporting plate 18 is mounted to slide forwardly and rearwardly on the plate 11., said plate 18 having guiding ribs'19, on its under side, arranged to engage the side edges and under side of the plate 11, as shown in Fig. 4. A projecting lug 20 is formed on the rear edges of the plate 18 and a link 21 is connected thereto, at one end, by a pivot 22, and at the opposite end said link is pivoted to an arm 23 on a shaft 24:, journaled osoAn r. ARMSTRONG, or HAVERCHILIl, ivmssaoirusnrrs, assrsnon 'IO Banner-n.

HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, A ooRronArIoNor Massa- Speeification of Letters 1?atent. Patented lw 23 1922 7 of Fig. 1.

By this arrangement, when the lever 26 is pushed downward the plate 18 will-be pushed. forward on plate 11 to the dotted.

line position of Fig. 1. Adjustable stop screws 28 and 29 are mounted in lugs "on the plate 11, at the front and rear ends. thereof, respectively, to limit the forward and rearward movements of the plate 18, the spring 27 normally acting to hold the plate against the screw 29. i

' A curved U-shaped bracket 30 is mounted V on the upper side of the plate 8, at the rear thereof, and a shaft 31 is journaled in'the arms of said bracket. A'gan'g of equally spaced, rotary. cutters 32 are mounted on the shaft 31, fourof said cutters beingpreferably provided, and a pulley33 is mounted on the shaft 31 at the middle thereof, and is adapted to be drivenfrom the-middle pulley 5, by a belt 34. A pair of'bearing brackets 35 and 36 are mounted on the plate 8 at opposite sides thereof and shafts 3'7 and 38, respectively, are journaled therein. Pulleys 39 and 40, are mounted on the shafts 37 and 38, at their opposite ends, and are. driven by belts 41 and 42 from the pulleys 4 and 6, respectively. A rotary cutter 43 is mounted on the opposite end of the shaft 37 from the" pulley 39, at-a distance from the next adjacent cutter 32 approximately equal to the spaces between the cutters 32, and a rotary cutter '44 is'mounted on the adj acent end of shaft 38, in similar relation to the cutters 32. In construction the cutters 32, 32 and 44 are all somewhat similar to ordinaryeircular saws, and have hook-shaped teeth, as shown in Fig. 8, which are adapted to make a cut of a width corresponding to their thickness. The diameters of the intermediate cutters 32 are the same, and substantially greater than the diameters of either cutter 43 or 44, and the diameter of the cutter 43 is substantially less than that of the cutter 44. The cuttersoperate in the slots 10 of the guard plate 8 andeach cutter extends the same distance beneath the undersurface of the plate, as shown in 4. The collar 15 is so located that it will prevent contact of the plate 18 with the cutter teeth when raised to its fullest extent by the spring 14.' v

a The axes of the shafts 31, 37 and 38 all lie in the same vertical plane and the relative sizes of the pulleys 39, 33 and 40 are preferably such that the peripheral speed of each cutter will be approximately the same. The cutters are driven in the direction of the arrow in Figs. 1 and 8, so that the teeth move rearwardly beneath their respective shafts.

A toe gage 45 is mounted on the plate 18, at the left hand end thereof, said gage being mounted for adjustment longitudinally of the plate between guide ways 46 thereon and a pointer 47 is preferably connectedto said gage and suitable graduations are brovided so that the may be quickly set according to the length of sole to be operated on. A side gage 48 is also mounted on the plate 18 at the rear thereof in position to engage the edge of the shank or heel portion of a sole supported on the plate with its toe end engaged with the toe gate 45.

In practice the soles will be sorted, so that all lefts, or all rights, of one size may be operated on without changing the adj ustment of the machine. Vhen the gages have been properly adjusted for one lot of soles, the operator depresses the treadle 16, drawing down the plate 18, so that the sole may be placed in position thereon, in contact with the gages 45 and 48, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 6. The treadle will then he released permitting the spring 14 to lift the sole up into engagement with the cutters and press its upper side against the under side of the plate 8, so that the cutters will cut into the sole to a depth equal to the extent which they dip below the surface of the plate 8. In this connection it is to be noted that the sole is pressed against the plate 8 by the spring 14, and not by the action of the operator in pressing on the treadle. This is important, as the soles will always be pressed against the plate by the same force and the depth of the cut cannot be increased by pressing the sole against the plate with unnecessary force. The position of the plate. 8 with relation of the saws thus always determines the depth of the grooves which are cut, so that, to increase the depth tlmreof, the plate 8 would be adjusted upward on the posts 7, and to decrease it the plate would be adjusted downward, thereon. As soon as the operator releases the treadle, so that the sole'is pressed against the plate 8, be depresses the hand lever 26, causing the sole support to be moved forward to the dotted line position of Fig. 1. The sole gages are so set that when the sole is first moved into contact with the cutters the grooves cut thereby will extend from points at distance from the front edge of the sole, as it lies on the support, somewhat greater than the width of the sole-edge portion which receives the upper attaching stitcher, so that, as the sole support is moved forward, by the hand lever, the grooves in the sole will he extended towards its opposite edge. The adjustment of the stop screw 28 will be such that, when further forward movement of the sole support is prevented by said screw, the

grooves will be cut to within the sameproximity of the sole edge at the rear as at the front. A, seriesof transverse grooves will thus beformed in the sole fore-part, as illustrated in Figs. 9 ancllO. lVhen the lever 26 isreleased,the sole-support 18 will be moved back to its initial position and the treadle will be depressed to permit the removal of the sole and the insertion of another, sole.

As the toe gage is not designed to be adjusted laterally, the position as well as the length of the grooves which will be formed in the sole, will be determined by the ad justment of the stop screws 28 and 29, except that the position will be also affected by the adjustment of the edge gage 48, the position of which determines the angular position of the grooves with relation to the sole edge and to some extent the points at which the grooves terminate.

It will be noted that, as all the cutters dip below the plate 8 to the same extent, the length of groove cut by each cutter will depend on the cutters diameter. For this reason the four intermediate cutters of greatest diameter are arranged to operate on the widest portion of the sole, and, as the sole tapers rapidly from the ball to the shank, the cutter 43, of least diameter, is arranged to operate at this point, and, as the sole tapers less rapidly in front of the ball, the cutter 4A, which operates nearest the toe, is made of an intermediate diameter.

It will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the number, size or location ofthe cutters, as these will be varied somewhat according to the size of soles tobe operated, the present embodiment shown being especially designed for use in connection with soles for womens shoes, although it may be used in connection with soles for mens shoes also.

I claim:

1. A sole'grooving machine comprising a "gang of rotary grooving cutters, a guard plate through which said cutters extend a distance corresponding to the depth of groove to be cut, a sole-support, spring actuated means for moving said support perpendicularly of its face, to press a sole thereon against said plate and in position to be engaged by said cutters, manually operated means for withdrawing said support from said plate, and manually operated means for moving said support transversely.

2. A sole-grooving machine comprising a series of rotary grooving cutters arranged to rotate about axes which lie in approximately the same vertical plane and spaced apart at approximately uniform distances, a slotted guard plate in which said cutters are arranged to operate, the diameter of the cutter at one the end of said series being substantially less than that of the other cutters and all of said cuttersbeing arranged to project to auniform extent beyond said plate, a sole support and means to move the same to press a sole against said plate in position to be engaged by said cutters. i r

'3, A sole grooving machine comprising a series of rotary grooving cutters arranged to rotate about axes which lie in approximately the same vertical plane and spaced apart at approximately uniform distances,' a slotted guard plate in which said cutters are arranged to operate, the diameter of the cutters at each end of said series being substantially less than that of the intermediate cutters and all of said cutters being arranged to project to a uniform extent beyond said plate, a sole support and means to move the same to press a sole against said plate in position to be engaged by said cutters.

4. A sole-grooving machine comprising a series of rotary grooving cutters, a shaft on which said cutters are mounted, a shaft at each end of said series of cutters each having a rotary cutter thereon of smaller diameter than that of said series of cutters and arranged to rotate in proximity to the end cutters, respectively, of said series and in parallel thereto, a slotted guard plate in the slots of which said cutters are arranged to rotate and to extend to approximately the same extent beyond the opposite side of the plate from that at which they are mounted, a sole-support and means to move the same to press a sole against said plate, and

separate means for driving each cutter shaft.

5. A sole-grooving machine comprising a horizontally fixed guard plate having a parallel series of slots extending therethrough, a series of rotary cutters mounted above said plate and arranged in said slots to extend below the underside of said plate, a vertically movable guide having a solesupport mounted to slide horizontally thereon beneath said plate, to hold a sole against said plate in position to be engaged by said cutters, a spring arranged to lift said guide and soleesupport, a stop arranged to limit the upward movement of said support at a point at which its sole-supporting face is in close proximity to, and out of contact with said cutters, and manually operated means for moving said support downwardly and horizontally.

6. A sole-grooving machine comprising a horizontally fixed guard plate having parallel series of slots extending there through, a series of rotary cutters mounted above said plate and arranged in said slots to extend below the under side of said plate, a vertically movable guide having a sole-support mounted to slide horizontally thereon beneath said plate tohold a dependent means under the control of the operator for moving said guide downwardly and for moving said support horizontally against the action of said springs.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

OSCAR F. ARMSTRONG.

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