Untitled record

Application filed October 12,1891. Serial No. 408,523. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, Allison Morris Stickney, of Medford, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented 5 an Improved Machine for Cutting Soles and other Forms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which— .Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in secio tion of the upper portion of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view partly in section on a line 2—2 of Figs. 1 and 3 but with the knife block in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view partly in section on line 3—3 of 15 Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are details in plan and edge view of the clamping pattern plates. Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are details illustrating the best form of knife-block.

In my Patents No. 443,123, dated December 20 23, 1890, and No. 446,555, dated February 17, 1891, I have described machines for cutting soles and other forms; and my present machine is an improvement on these of my former patents.

One feature of my invention consists in the combination of a chain or its equivalent with a knife carrier by means of three arms, (as in Patent No. 446,555) a fourth arm, and a form or pattern plate by which the outer 30 end of the third arm is guided in an endless path of such a shape as to give the desired thrust to the third arm. In my Patent No. 446,555 this third arm was connected to a chain which was made sinuous by pulleys in 35 order to give the proper thrust; but by the use of a fourth arm and an extra pattern plate I do away with the need of moving the driving chain or its equivalent in a sinuous endless path.

A second feature of my invention is the combination of a knife carrier one part of which moves in a path adapted to a considerable number of sizes or styles of soles or the like; a second part of which moves in a 45 path varying only slightly from the outline of the sole, while a third part and the knife moves in a path corresponding to the outline of the sole, with three forms each controlling the path of its part of the knife carrier, and 50 suitable mechanism for traveling the knife carrier about the forms.

In my Patent No. 443,123 I describe two forms each corresponding to the outline of the sole or other article to be cut, and in my Patent No. 446,555 I describe a form which 55 rests upon the stock and has a ledge upon its upper surface whose inner wall corresponds in outline to the sole; but in my present invention I use that form in connection with a sheet metal form secured to it; and this com- 60 pound form is also a feature of my invention.

In the drawings the parts not lettered are in all substantial respects the same as in my Patent No. 446,555, as are also the parts lettered with the same letters as in that pat- 65 ent, and these parts are not described in full, as they will be clearly understood from that patent.

In cutting rubber soles the sheet material is clamped between the compound form a a¹¹ 70 and the bed B, the jog in the sheet metal form a¹¹ taking the thicker portion of the sheet which forms the tread of the heel; of course with stock of substantially uniform thickness this jog is unnecessary, as would 75 also be the projection across the form a and the spring between a and a¹¹; the form a in that case having a flat undersurface and the form a¹¹ being a flat sheet of tin plate, flat against the flat under surface of form a, but 80 it may be of an outline varying considerably from the outline of form a, and somewhat larger than form a, for the reason that form a guides only the axis of the knife block K; while form a¹¹ guides the knife itself; for in 85 my present invention the knife k is guided by the form a¹¹, the knife block K by form a, and the outer end of arm/² by form a¹².

The chain D, is driven as usual in this class of machines; and its function is to pull 90 upon oneendof thefourth arm/³. Theother end of arm /³ is guided by form a¹², which also guides one end of the third arm /²; that is form a¹² guides the axis which connects arms/² and/³. This form a¹² is of peculiar 95 construction and wholly new with me; and is so laid out to give the proper thrust to arm /² for the smallest sole to be cut on the machine. The same rule will apply to other articles than soles; but after being so laid out 100 the slot may be varied for smoother working. The two plates forming the outer and inner

S 606,801 walls of the slot of form a¹²are secured to the cap a¹⁰ and the inner plate of form a¹² is secured to sleeve, a⁹, which is fast to the frame of the machine. The two studs connecting 5 the inner plate of form a¹² with cap a¹⁰ serve , as bearings for the sprocket wheels of the chain.

The arms//'/² operate as in my Patent 446,555, but as the thrust of arm /² is conio trolled by the form a¹² the operation is smoother and better.

The axis of knife block K is guided by the form a, as before; but the knife k is held in a holder k' which can be adjusted on screw 15 k²to give the proper bevel, and after adjustment be held in place by set screw k³. This holder 7c' is fast in the jaws 7c⁴, which are secured by screw k⁵ to the arm of the knife block K, and block K can move about its 20 axis to give-proper freedom of motion to the knife; but as the knife is guided by form a¹¹, which may, and in practice does, vary somewhat from form a, the knife block is made in two parts connected by spring 7c⁶, see Fig. 2; 25 the lower part carries the roll which is guided by the inner wall of form a but the upper part carries the knife holder 7c' so that when form a¹¹ differs in outline from form a the knife 7c which is held against the edge of form 30 a¹¹ by spring k⁶ may follow the outline of form a¹¹, instead of being controlled wholly bj⁷form a, as before. This compound form a a¹¹is wholly new with me; and its great advantage is that the casting which constitutes 35 form a, need not be made with that extreme accuracy heretofore required in machines of this class. Obviously this casting cannot be made, practically, in the factories where the machines are used, while it has long been the 40 custom in such factories to manufacture forms of tin plate or thin sheet metal identical with form a¹¹. It is highly objectionable, in practice, for the factories to depend upon the manufacturer of the machines for forms 45 which require to be varied slightly, such as form a^u; and it is to meet this that I have devised my compound form a a¹¹; in which a^umay be readily filed off to the exact shape desired, and it is sufficient if form a corresponds generally with form a^u. 5°