US1057358A - Leather evening and grading machine. - Google Patents

Description

E. P. NICHOLS.

LEATHER EVENING AND GRADING MACHINE.

" APPLICATION FILED FBB.27,1908..

Patented Mar. 25, 1913. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l E. P. NICHOLS. LEATHER `FVENING AND GRADING MACHINE.

v APPLICATION FILED FEB.27, 1908.

Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

,Pavan-'302m' EZNWLW E. P'. NICHOLS.

LEATHER BVENANG AND GRADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.27,1908`.

Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

5 SHEETS--SHBET 3.

, E. P. NIGHOLS. 1 LEATHER EVENING AND GRADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 27,v 1908 Patented Mar. `25, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

E. P. NICHOLS.

LEATHER EVENING AND GRADING MACHINE.

' APPLIOATLON FILED 11:13.27, 190s,

menta@ Mar. 25,1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

jaag/210%@ y iiniTTin Tae ieaTnnT onirica ELMER ll?. NICHOLS, 0F MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNGRO LCENE" MANUFACTURING- COMPANY, OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, .t COE'PBIA- TION 0F MAINE.

LEATHER EVENING .AND GRADING MACHINE.

Application led 'February 27, 419108., Serial No. el.

length in my Reissue' Patent No. 12,288 and later Patents No. 841,809 and No. 1,009,988.

4The Work required of this kind of machine is exceedingly enacting, as sole leather and the like is very costly and therefore it becomes particularly important that no more leather should be removed'than necessary and yet that all the uneven leather should be removed so far as necessary to produce' perfect results. In my previous machines it has been found that When run at high speed the momentum of the parts has occasioned a liability to make false moves to some extent, and the pressure and movement of certain parts of the machine have tended to compress soft stocl., resulting in skiving more leather from the stock than necessary or marking the stock to a thinner grade ythan it should be marked, and also imperfect skiving has occasionally resulted. Accordingly my present machine aims to obviaie all the above mentioned difficulties and to gain still greater precision of ,movement, accuracy ofresults and delicacy `of opciatioi'i` ln the iii-st place in my present machine the feeling mechanism or measuring devices operate against vthe underside of 'the stock, which is always the uneven side, c., the upper side of the stock on Which the grade mark is stamped is the grain side and isA usually smooth and flat, Whereas the underside or icsh side contains the ui'ieveniiesses and hence I have arri nged the feeling mechanisni to engage the 'under side of the stock.

A further reason tfor this, and resulting advatage, is that thereby the Weight of the.

feeler mechanism. istaken ofi' from the stock, so that in case the latter .isl soft stock there is no tendency to compress the. stockand hence much more delicate and accurate.- results are secured. As further conducing to this end, my present mechanism positively liold up very heavy stock and cause i3 feet results, and 'which in the machine of L applicatiori-ffaei'. No. 257,587 filed Japril 2'?, 1905, since become Patent No. 1,010,213, in the case of soft and light stocks, cause a hard d oi' frietional re "ance top of the stock, compressing tl' i thereby improperly reducing nach; the moment of feeling or measuring the same and roughening the flesh side of stock.

My invention'not-only includes the rangement of the feeler mechanism to en gage the under side of the stock, but' a further novel feature consists of a spring arranged to give perfect balance of feeler engagement. To secure still furti'ier delicacy and accuracy of nioveinenn invention provides that the movement of the mechanism at thefront of the machine shall be largely independent the nim/'e-` ment at the back of 'the machine, in that the feeler mechanism, i. c., the under roll, etc.,

are automatically restored to Work-receiving "position as'soon as the work has been meas-- ured, said restoring of these parts being independent of the movement of the grading mechanism at the rear end of the machine, i. e., the stamp, locking wheel, setting and skiving mechanisms, etc., which are left undisturbed until the work has been gradeinarked and skived, whereupon they also are restored to their original positions. By this means the nniveinents of the machine are sub-divided, vrelieving vthe rear part of the machine of the strains and Work caused in my previous machines byV the fact that all the parts iveie directly and continuously connected sothat they transmitted and received strains throughout the train of mechanisma Forinstance, the strain produced by the 'tension spring in my last mentioned patent isv done aivay with in my present machine,

and instead of said-arrangement of spring l have provided the centralbalancmg spring y"above mentioned, which is now independent .the mechanism.

in the sense tliatlit 'does not transmit any strainproducing movement to the rest of A further important feature of my present invention relates to the skiving mechanism. Bkiving knives (and this statement holds good for `all skiving machines), are apt to draw 'down.theleather and dig into' 1 the stock as the latter is held, against them,

especially'if the knife is set- `too vfar back,

- and accordingly Inhave obviated this tend1 ency by locating -the pressure springs directly under the Work instead of at the ends of the pres'sufrelf'frolla4 By setting these springs ,inl so that vthey come directly under the work insteadofunder the journal bear-l ing they ykeep the pressure rol'l invariably against the stock irrespective of varying Widths ,of stock, orin other vWords the, 'springs tend to t-ip the rolls on arshorter lfulcrum, one spring operating to rock thef roll on the Work against the iniuence ofl the vother spring With such a short interveni ingas ace that theI roll is necessarily main` taine in engagement With-the stock.

be moved by momentum farther than it should be, and sometimes to chatteror lmakey pact set of locking parts, whereby practi' callyall lost motion is avoided as compared with my previous machines'. A table is also provided with long feed guides for compelling successive pieces of stock .to feed in exactly the same path. The regulator which,

regulates the proportionate amount of skivings removed from the lstockfwitli relation tothe Vdeterminations ofthe feeler mechanism, is` located at the front end of the machine Where it is under the direct and instant control of the operator as he stands feeding the stock to thcmachine, and is made more positive 'than in my previous machines and of such a construction that there is no lost motion'or possibility of unsteadiness. y

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown a preferred embodiment of' my invention, but as I regard the latter as broadly novel in many of the individual' respect-s above pointed out, I Wish it understood that,this is la preferred construe tion only and-that the range of equivalents claims, taken in connection With the following description and said drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central,

.longitudinal vertical sectional view of the machine; Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical crosssectionalviews taken respectively ,on the l lilies 2-2 and 3-3 Fig. 1; Figfl is a right hand side elevation of 'the machine; Fig. 5 is a similar left-hand sideelevation of the 4machine; Fig. 5a is a fragnieiitary'view in front elevation of a detail of the clutch mechanism foi-'operating the marker; and

Fig. 'is'a topplan view thereof.

The machine operates on the saine gencral'plan as is more fully set 'forth in my above mentioned patents, and, therefore, I will confine myself herein more direct-ly to the constructional details thereof, Without entering upon al general explanation of t -evening and grading leather. ,I In my previous machines there has `been-f laftendency for the stamping mechanism .-to

My object is, as before, to classify the leather pieces automatically in response to the determinations of the feeler means, and'v accordingly these determinations are transmitted to leather-engaging means which acts upon the leather-pieces to render the grade subsequently recognizable in some deiinite Way, said Way preferably consisting, as before, of either stamping'a grade mark on the leather, "or skiving oli'` the surplus leather so as to reduce the piece to the given grad'esthickness, lor both.

The machine in general consists of muchA the saine parts and general organization as my above mentioned patents, particularly No. 1,046,213, said parts liovvevei, being arranged and cordinated quite differently, as previously explained.

in the frame, and the former roll 2 having. its Journals G normally stationary or fixed 'but adjustable at its opposite ends by any suitable means, as by threaded boltsl 7, 8,.

Afree lto rotate, butinimo Vable lengthwise, in a frame head 9, said adjusting bolts having Worm ends 10 their upper ends engaged 'by Worms 11 fast on the opposite ends of a transversel angular hand adjusting shaft 12 made angular -to be readily grasped for turning by hand. The top roll 2 is preferably plain or smooth, and the bottom roll slightly Mounted in the frame l at Athe ingoing l i at corrugated or scored. The vertically movable roll 3 which constitutes the main iieelcr heavy central equalizer spring 1li, capable 'of delicate adjustment by means of -a bolt 15 operating through a fixed portion 16 ot the main trame of the machine, whereby the roll 3 may be given exactly the right pressure, and no more, necessary for accomplishing the most effective thickness-detecting rcsults. As already pointed out, the arrangement and location of the teeler mechanism to lengage the flesh side or bottom side ot the stock instead ot engaging the top as heretofore, may be mentioned as the most important feature ot` my invention. rind the next important feature of my invention is ythe equalizer spring 14,located centrally for maintaining the feeler roll 3 in perfect balance as it engages the stock, said centrally mounted spring 14C being independent of Iallthe rest of the mechanism, t'. it is mounted directly on the trame of the machine and transmits'its pressure directly to the'roll 3, and therefore does not bring any strains orwear upon any portion ot the train ot. transmitting mechanism. The latter consists lof depending teeler-'posts or detectorrods 17, 18 having heads 19 delicately adjustable by nuts 2O on the ends of said posts, said posts passing through slots' or holes 21 in a relatively heavy transmission lever 22, herein shown aspivotally mounted at 23 in the frame ot the machine. Another species or' this headed feeler-post and lever `arrangement for enabling the vdetecting Inechanism to do its measuring by operating Y against the under side or fiesh side ot the .stock as distinguished fronifthe upper side or grain side ot' the stock is disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 325,224, liled July 9, 1906,'which, however, is restricted to grade marking and does not include the automatic evening or skiving teature oi" the grading, und hence the broad or generic claims to said two species are in the present. application. The lever 22 is apertured at 24 tor the `mirestricted passage of the .spring 11i and provided at its Jfree end see Fig. 1 with a pivoted depending arm 26 slotted 'at 27 and. normally'engaging at the upper end poi said slot a pin 28 ot' a rocker arm 29 fast on a shaft 30 journaled totreely rotate in the 'frame of the machine. lA spring 22S tends always to hold the arm i or crank 29 upward with the pin 28 in the Iupper end of the slot ot' the lever 22. F ast on said shaft 30 is a wheel 31 and pinion, or rather sector, 32, the former constitutingr part of4 the locking means for locking the gage adjuster mechanism and the latter engaging a rack 33 whose opposite end 34- serves to rotate a pinion 35 which operates the die or grade-marking mechanism and sets the skiving mechanism substantially shown and claimed in my above mentioned Patent No. 1,046,213. 'llie pinion 35 is fast on a shaft 36 provided with a pinion 37 engaging a rack bar 38 provided with wedges o-r inclines 39 cooperating with opposite inclines or wedges 40 on the upper sides of the journal boxes 41 ot' the gage roll or pressure device i2 and acting as stop-means for positively limiting the upward movement ot said pressure device a2. A spring 43 connected at one end to the bar 38 and at the other end to a stationary part prevents back play.

The marking roll or die 44 carries a pinion 45 in mesh with a toothed sector i6 mounted to swing` t'roin a. pivot l? in the cross bar 4S of the head 4:9 which carries the marking die or roll, said toothed sector being swung by an arm pivoted ,at 51 to the outer endfoi" the rack 38, and said head raised by a cam 52 engaging a plunger depending` from the cross bar a8., which is held under constant downward tendency by springs 54e,- all as in my above mentioned Patent No.. 1,046,213. This mechanism, however, as just described, has proved in practice .liable to error, `as the necessarily sudden movements due to the rapid passing ot a piece of stock in engagement. with the teeler mechanism has caused the swinging sector 46 and rotary die 4ta to tend to vibra-te or chatter and rebound more or less, so that it has been liable to make vfalse marks, and accordingly I have succeeded in entirely preventing this uncertainty and liability to error, and vet with-out decreasing the speed ot' the machine and the rapidity of its execution, simply by Fintroducing an oil check orl friction retarding device. Any oit' the well known 'liriction retard'ing` devices may be employed l'or this purpose, my invention. so iar as this detail is concerned, not residing in the kind ot' frictiondevice employed, but in providing means for insuring. that, notwithstuntt' ing the suddenness of positive movement and the resulting momentum ot the swinging and rotating parts olf the nnxrking mecha` nism, the latter shall stop precisely at the point correspondingto the determination ot the feeler mechanism and shall be accurate, definite and 4certain notwithstanding the delicacy and exceedingly small diii'erences of thickness determined and marked. The oil check 55 consists otra closed cylinder 56 containing a piston '57 and piston rod -58 whose upper end pivoted at) to the sector 32.

A oularter-iron, halt-iron, and in tact ^even a whole iron or still coarser measurement of leather 1s nevertheless such a slight ditterence in thickness (an iron being one forty- -eighth of an inch) that, in order clearly to to such an extent that, notwithstanding the,

exceedingly slight movement at the feeler mechanism end of the machine, the grade marker will be compelled to move for each increment of measurement a sutliciently great-distance to make certain that the correct mark and "no other will be imparted to the leather and nota portion of two marks' or possibly of three marks, and this taken in connection with the p'racticalnecessity of running my machine atvhigh speed in order to accomplish 'the work which is required of it according tothe `usual shoe 'factory practice, and the necessarily strong and therefore somewhat heavy construction of the movable parts, originally made it exceedingly diliticult to obtain accuracy of marking, as incorrectnes's would result at times in apparently inexplicable ways, which proved practically insurmountable until @l discovered that these .errors` were due, not to incorrectness of mechanism, but mainly to the give or yield and spring or' the metal lunder the exceedingly sudden starting and stoppin0 movements to which the moving parts are subjected in the prac'li ':al ruiming of the nia-- chine l make this explanation because l wish it understood that my invention does not reside in providing a dash pot as such,

but,I in discovering theicause of the previous uncertainties and errors in the grade-marking results'v of the machine, and in discovering that said uncertainties andv errors 'could be Ventirely eliminated simply by interposing a strong friction de'vice in the train of transmission mecl'ianism adjacent the grading end of ,the machine, operating to absorb and take up the suddcn'shock and thereby prevent transmitting it to the 'marking wheel. As the ratchet wheel 3l is suddenly moved contra-clockwise by its pull in response tothechanging position of theI :teeler mechanism, the shaft 30 and sector 32 are given a corresponding sudden impulse which is received and held against modification by the firm frictional resistance oli the friction device*58 so that, notwithstanding the momentum oft' the swinging sector 46, rotary marking wheel o1- die 44, and the return inflnence of the spring 43 and influence of the spring 127, etc., thevarious parts of the grading mechanism simply move forward vthe exact distance required by said forward movement of the ratchet wheel il andnot the slightest distance more, so that when the marking die or wheelxis tripped, the required die number is in truly vertical position and not anl adjacent improper die number, and

what is of still greater consequence, the die wheel is still and not imperceptibly chattering or trembling with a rotary vibration as before.

The lower roll which servesto hold up the stock against the gage roll 42 to be skivedby the skiving knife 61 is also mounted in sliding bearings 62 and is yieldingly supported as in my previous machindbut instead of being supportedby springslocated at the ends of the roll under the journal bearings thereof, I secure to said journal bearings a yoke 63 which extends beneath the roll 60, and mount the supporting springs 65 much closer together .than before, as clearly'shown in Fig. 3, said springs engaging said yoke as nearly as practicable .be-

rolls, the lower ends of the springs -being supported adjustably in any suitable manner, as by bolts 66 adjustable in a cross bar 67 fast on the frame of the machine, and the opposite ends of the yoke and hence of the roll 60 being adjustably limited in their up-v ward movement by bolts or links 68 passingthrough said cross bar, beneath which are nuts 69. By having the 4springs 65 thus l0- cated under the work, they always keep the roll against the stock even though the variations in relative thickness between-the opposite edges of the 'stock should be extreme. The great importance and value'of this part of my invention will be better understood if it is borne in mind that by this means the liability of improperskiving and the frequent destruction of' the expensive sole leather by the skiving knife, 1s absolutely prevented. When the lea-ther is not held tightly at all places throughout its width against the gage roll 42 the skiving knife'Y tends', especially when it 'is set too far back,

to draw down the slack leather away from the i roll i-2 Vas. far as it can, thereby making false cuts or gouging out the leather. When the springs 65- are placed wide apart, as beneath Y`neath the path where the edges vof the work will pass when traveling .between the two the journal bearings 62, the entrance of stock with a. thick edge operates to depress that 'end ot' the `roll by swinging it on the remote spring support at the opposite end as a fulcrum. for center, with the result that the dii vergence orangle of the lower roll with reference to the u )er roll is eXceedinOl` sli L t 'inasmuch as it extend-s from the extreme journal end of spring support to thethick edge of the supposed piece of stock, whereas when the spring is brought inwardly accord-A ing` to my present invention, approximately beneath the opposite ed e of the stock, the

pivotal movement or de ection of the lower nal end, but from the nearer posit-ion of the -roll takes place, not from the extreme jour-v therefore cannot possibly draw down the leather at the thin edge and gouge it out as heretofore From a practical standpoint this change of location of the springs has beciijvden',onstrated to be an exceedingly important and valuable feat-ure of the present machine` as it etteetually prevents improper skiving. it is to be borne in mind that the object of this portion of my machine is not so much .simply to skivc the leather as it is io ski ve il even, a., its function as an evening machine is to make the leather absolutely i ci'cn with rciicrenee toa definite control, and hence the evening means or evening mechanism, where that term is used in the claims, is to be understood as rcquirii'ig not merely a knife or other form of cutter for cutting away the surplus leather` and means for holding thc leather against said knife or cutter. but means -for definitely controlling or limiting the position of the leather to an unchangtaible distance from the knife while it is being cut. ln the particular cmbodin'ient of tbc invention in the machine of the drawings, this definitely limiting holding mechanism therefore includes the cam stops or stepped wedges .'l), -l-0. These stepped wedgeor 'inclines are responsive to the feeler mechanism for their adjustment. I prefer to interposc` between these limiting elements of the evening mechanism and the cutting element of said evening mechanism, the pressure roll or gage roll, which, being freely movable within the limits set by the iiiniting wedges or linclines, applies a uniform pressure to the leather and accom- .,plishes the various additional functions of operating the gate. tripping the marking portion of the grading mechanism, and preventing the accidental escape of stock from the machine without being graded in some way, 'ihe evening mechanism which constitutesoiie form'of the grading mechanism, the other form being the marking mecha- 'iiisml therefore, in the preferred embodiniient ot' the machine of the drawings, includes the knife, gage roll, and limiting wedges or icam stops mentioned. To prevent the skivings following the roll 60 I have pro- 'videfl grooves70 in the roll 60, in which stripping iingers 71 extendv from therear face of the yoke 63 `to which they are damped by aybir 7 2. A

Referring r inmto 'the grade-marking mechanisifn, the caiii is positively rotated by a train of gears 73, 74, 75, 7th-the latter being in the form of a spring clutch norforward by a spring mally impelled by a spring i7 to engage the clutch end 78 of a pinion 79 directly driven by the main shaft 80, said clutch gear 7G being normally restrained by a pivoted cam plate or combined stop device and restraining device Sl held by a spring S2, all as in my last mentioned patent., but in the machine of my said patent, I have found in practice that there is a tendency of Jdie die to repeatits grade marking on the same piece of stockr` due to the failure ofthe cam plate 8l to retract the clutch gear 7 6 at the proper moment, and accordingly in my present machine I have arranged a diii'erent mechanism for ctiectually stopping or preventing the die from improperly repeating its gradingu rThe cam plate S1 has a forward portion S3 in which slides a latch 84 normally held downward by a spring 85 in position to be engaged by a dog 86 pivoted at 87 to the frame and actuated by a link 8S extending upward` from a bar 89 pivoted at to the side of the frame and. connected at 91 to a rod 92 having a strap J3 around the journal end of the upper 'oll 12. The latch Si is outwardly bent at its upper end to overhang the projecting end or finger 0G of a lever 97 pivoted at 9S and extending in position to be tripped by a pin 09 projecting from the pinion 7 3 which operates the dic-actuating cam 52. By this mechanism, whenever the gage roll Li2 is raised by the passage of a piece of stock, the dog So instantly swings the cam plate S1 out of restraining engagement with the. radially projecting roll a; of the clutch gear 76, thereby permitting the spring 77 to throw in the clutch and hence permitting the train of gears 76, 74, 73 to actuate the marking die for one marking, but as the gear 73 makes one revolution, as required for said one marking, its pin 99 .causes the lever 97 to raise the latch 84 out of engagement with the dog SG, with the result that instantly the cam plate or stop device 8l is retracted by its spring 82, and the clutch gear is restored. to inoperative position so that the die wheel 44 'cannot operate a second time for the same piece of stock. The marker per se has been divided out, to be claimed in a divisional application.

The bar 89 is normally counterbalanced by a spring 100 and its forward end carries a pivoted-lifting rod '101 normally held 102 in lifting engagement beneath a crank 103 for holding the gate 104 raised or open which controls the feeding of the stock to the machine. This Said gate is lifted' to permit the entrance of a fresh piece of stock eachtime that the graded piece of stock passes from beneath the roll e2, the previous raisinguof the roll 42 by the outgoing lstock having rocked lever 39 iso as to lower rod 101 whose spring izo .' 102 has thereupon pulled the rod 101 for V ward beneath the end of crank 103, ready Gli that the latter is depressed each time a piece of stock enters thev machine and ymoves downward the roll 3 and feeler posts or detector rods 17, 18 away from the roll 2. In front of the gate. I have placed a longer feed table than before, as herein indicated a't 107. and'have provided opposite length vguides 108 simultaneously adjusted toward and'from each other by a right. and left threaded screw 109 in order that the stock may always be entered straight into the machine and all the pieces in the same path.

1 ly this means uniformity of grading with .mOVe

relation to the edgesof the stock is secured by passmg the edges of successive pieces always over the feeler mechanism in precisely the same 'relation to the center thereof.

In my before mentioned Patent No. 1,046,213, means for centering the stock was provided, but in spite of said means the stock could swing around and vary its position, and hence vary the 'grading to some extent, whereas by havingthe 'elongated parallel guides andexten'ded table the feeding is compelled to be central over theentire length of each piece of stock. Pivoted to the `gate 104 is a link 110 for operating a locking dog 111 normally held down by a spring-112', and operating, when the gate 104 falls, to engage the teeth 113 and thereby lock the locking wheel 31 so as to prevent further transmission of thinness measurement as determined by the feeler mechanism. The oppositely extending teeth 114 of the ratchet wheel 31 are located to be'engaged by a pawl 1 15 pivoted at 116and normally into engaging position by a spring 117 when released by a rod 1118 extending from' an arm 119 projecting rigidly ,from a shaft 120 at whose opposite end is a rod .121 on which is adjustably mounted a foot or shoe 122 to be engaged by the forward end of the stock as it is fed throughythe machine, said engagement with the forward end of the stock serving to rock the 'shaft 120, raising the rod 118 so as to release the pawl 115 and cause its lower end to engage the teeth 114 of the ratchet 4wheel 31 and thereafter permit -said locking wheel to be moved by the transmission lever 22 only in a direction corresponding to successive increments of thinness detected by the feeler mechanism. The position of'said shoe or foot 122 thus determines the given point in the length of the stockv from which the feeler Aates with a feed' chain 1.24 in facilitating the feeding of the stock from the feeler feed rolls to. the gage rolland skiving mecha"- nism, heilig held yieldingly by springs 125' and bolts 120 at its opposite .ends. The transmission plate 22 is delicately adjusted. by a spring 127 and thumb screw 128 in the end ofv a bracket 129 mounted for conve`nience on the lower endof the screw 15. Because of the slotted construction 27 and the arrangement of the ,adjacent parts of the transmission mechanism, it will he seen that as soon as a piece of stock has passed out of engagementwith the lower feed roll or feeler 'device 3, said roll and its vconnected 'parts are at once automatically restored by the spring 14 to work-receiving position, but the grade-settmg mechanism is maintained set by the ratchet Wheel 31 acting as a lock- I 'ing wheel until the Work has 'bee1rg1ademarked and .skived, whereupon these parts are automatically restored to normal 'position. In other words, as soon as the stock has been measured or its relative thickness and thinnessA determined y by the feeler mechanism, said feeler .mechanism is -au'- tomatically restored to normal `position independently of the grademarking and skiving mechanisms. which remain set until they in turn have performed their functions. By thus rendering, to a degrec, these various mechanisms independent of eachother, and sub-dividing the mover' ments of the machine, the gagev roll and the rest of the grading mechanism at the rear end of the machine is relievfed of the strain or undue work brought upon it by the mechanism of my former machines, and particularly of my before mentionedPatent No. 1,046,213, in which the tension spring at the front end of the machine' held all the parts under continuoustens'ionfrom the entrance of the stock into the machine until it left the machine. In my present invention, the corresponding spring- 14 is-independent of the rest of the mechanism, so far as transmitting thereto any strains is`concerned, and

,the forward portion of said remaining mechanism is not required to remain.under strain after the performance of its functions,but is restored to normalpositionvbe I. fore that portion of said remainingmechanis'm which is at vthe rear end of the machine has finished performing its functions. This provision conduces materially to the delicacy 80 from which a train-of gears 132, 13` 'l 134, 135,136, 137 positivelyfdriy es the feed incassa rolls 2, 3, the gears 136, 137 having specially formed long teeth, see liig. 1, in order to permit of the relative vertical movementI of said rolls without interfering with the positive and even driving movement. rl`he under roll is positively driven by a gear 138 in mesh with the gear 132, and the gage roll a2 is driven by a gear 139 in mesh with the gear 79, and the driving` chain 1211 is driven by a sprocket chain 140 passing over a sprocket Wheel 141 on the rear driving shaft 142 of said sprocket chain 124, and over a sprocket wheel 143 on the shaft of the lower roll 60.

A further feature of importance resides in providing additional means for materially decreasing the pressure on the stock when it is first put into the machine and for decreasing the resistance of the initial movements of the grading mechanism, said means, although capable ot' various embodiments, being herein shown as consisting ot' a bolt 1424 held by a check nut 1915 adjustable in a cross piece 146 at ythe rear end of the machine in line with the rear end ot the rack bar 34 so that the head 147 ol" said bolt positively limits the rearward niovementtof said rack bar, see Fig. 4. By this means, in addition to the other functions just mentioned, the parts of the machine may be set so as to prevent grading below any desired minimum measurement. By screwing the bolt outward or forward the rack bar is prevent ed from moving suiliciently rearward when the machine is at rest tovpermit the cam stops or stepped inclines, 39, 40, coming in contact, and hence, the latter being ont of contact when the stock is put in the machine, the initial starting movement is free and without the drag and tendency to stick or cling to each other which. would be the case if said inclines were lett in contact with each other.

The operation of the machine has already been quite fully set forth, and may be briefly summarized as follows: The gate 104 being in its normal upraised position, the operator inserts the leather piece between the positioning devices or length guides 103 so that its leading end will engage between the rollsv 2, 3. This operates to separate the rolls, z'. c. to lower the feeler roll 3 and thereby permit the-lever 22, under the influence of its spring `127, to rotate the ratchet wheel 31 clockwise a distance corresponding with the extent to which the leather piece has thus separated the rolls 2 and 3. The leather piece is fed rearward in the machine by the rolls 2, 3, and as its leading end strikes the trip or foot 122, the latterI is raised, 1and thereby, through the parts 121, 120, 119, 118, 115, and 117, brings the pawl' 115 into enagement with the teeth 114 of the ratchet wheel 31 (whicli,as just pointed out, has already, been turned sufficientlyv there-tor by engagement of the lifter cam lment with the dog 86 so -as the entrance or tne stock between the rolls 2, 3). As the leather piece now continues to travel rearward between said rolls, 1f a thicker spot is met with, the rolls separate but without influencing the ratchet wheel 31, inasmuch as the pawl 115 and teeth 114C prevent any movementin this direction, z'. e. in response to increases in thickness. If, on the other hand, a thin spot is met with, the lever 22'is instantly pulled upwardly by whichever feeler post 17, 18 is vertically beneath said thin spot, and the ratchet wheel 31 is correspondingly rotated contra-clockwise the distance of one or more teeth as required for properly measuring said thin spot. When the leather piece has traveled niitting 4the gate 104. to tall, the latter, through the connection 110, causes the pawl 111 to engage the locking teeth 113 of theA ratchet wheel 31 in opposition to the engagement ot the teeth 114 by the pawl 115, so that said ratchet wheel cannot thereafter move. in either direction until after 'the leather 'piece has been marked. Meanwhile -the contraclockwise turning of the ratchet wheel 31, as it has successively taken up or measured the successive increments of thinness oi the leather piece, has correspondingly set. the evening and marking mechanisms through the train of parts 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 50, Z16, and lVhen the leading end of the leather piece reaches the rolls 42, 60, it enters between them and instantly raises the roll 42, thereby, through the parts 93, 92, 39, 3S, and 86, disengaging the cam plate 31 trom the roll ai of the clutch gear whose spring 77 then instantly slides said gear to the left, Fig, 5a, into driven engage:4 ment with the member 78 of the gear '79.` This causes the train of gearsI 70,75, 741, and 73 to rotate, the latter serving to rotate the lifter cam 52 over to the left Fig. 1, thereby releasing the plunger 53 of the head 49, which instantly falls under the influence-of, the springs 51, and is instantly raised bythe;

52 with the.` lower end .of the plunger But in the instant A that the head 119 tell,J it thereby caused the markingwheel tito mark the top side ot the leather piece with the grade mark to which said marking wheel had been set (just prior to the skiving of the leather piece b v the knife 61); The marker is instantly raised and stopped by its actuating mechanism, including the roll. or pin'99, which engages the lett hand end of the lever 97, Fig. 5, and 4thereby raises the overhangingvend 95 ot' the latch 3l out ot engage-l to permit the spring 82 to swing the cam plate 81 back into engaging relation with member 70, which cam plate\serves to retract the clutch `member 'and Stop further movement ot' the actuating mechthe clutch its length into the machine, thereby peranisin of thev marker. The leather piece,

"The weight of the feeler mechanismis rel movements of the machine and the strains of moved from the stock and extreme delicacy provided by the' counterbalancing mechanism. The two rolls 2, 3 also coperate to feed the stock by direct engagement and positive rotation on its top and bottom sides coincident with the point of feeling engage- ,ment And by having those portions of the transmitting. mechanism which are at the fron*U of the machine capable of operating separately from those portions at the .back of the machine, greater delicacy is secured, the former being automatically restored to work-receiving position as soon as the work has been measured and prior to the stamping and skiving of the same, whereby the their Weight and momentum, etc., are subdivided so that no one part has to bear the entire strain. ,Besidesthe foregoing features of advantage, I regard as likewise important the provision of the pressure springs directly under the work at the point of skiving and the provision of means for preventing chattering and false movements and means lfor preventing Jlost motion or uncertainty ,of transmission, and so likewise the provision of the regulator 12 at the extreme front 'of the machine.

-Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is: i

1. In a machine of the" kind described,

selectiveumeansefor determining the thinnest ofa, numberA of thin spots in a given area of a lleatherl piece, including feeler mecha- 'nism located .to engagel said piece/on its un'der side. s

2. r-In a machine of the kind described,- grading mechanism containing means capable of.being set, including means engaging .the top side of a piece-of stock, thinness determining'mechanism, including feeler means movab'ly mounted to engage the under side of said piece of stock, and intervening mechanism for getting said grading mechanism in accordance with the determination selected from among a number of the feeling operationsgof'said feeler mechanism.

' 3. A machine of the kind described, com-J prising mechanism for grading the leather,

,said mechanism including a part Ahaving aregulated movement, autoi'iiaticv means for regulating the movement of said part-acnoszsca cording to the thickness of the leather being graded, said automatic means including a stepped Wedge whose inclined surface is movable into position between said part and the supporting frame thereof, and means in po sition beneath the plane of the leather when being graded to engage the under side of said' leather, 4responsive to unevennesses in the leather, for governing the position of said wedge.

4. In a machine of 'the' kind described, positively driven upper and lower feed rolls, one of said rolls being independently'movable at its opposite ends toward and from the other to constitute a feeler device, and feeler determination transmission ,means connected to said movable rollat a plurality of separated places v.and responsive to said independent movements of the opi'- posite ends of said roll to transmit the feeling determinations of said feeler device.

5. In a machine of the kind described,l

positively driven upper and lower feed rolls, the lower of said rolls being independent-ly movable. atits opposite ends toward and from the other to constitute a feeler device and feelcr-deterin-inationtransmission means connected to said movable rolf at a plurality of separated plafces and responsive to'said independent vmovements of the opposite ends ofsaid roll to transmit the feeling determina-tions of said feeler device.

G. In a machine of the kind described, grading mechanism located at the rear end of the machine, feeier mechanism located at the frontend of the machine, and interven` ingmechanism for connecting the other tivo Amechanisms and feeding the stock, the mechanism at. the front end including positively driven upper andlower feed rolls for positively feeding the stock by direct feeding engagement'with both its top and bottom, said rolls being located to engage the stock at the critical point where the feeling or measuring is taking place.

7. in a machine of the kind described, grading mechanism located at the rear. end of the machine, feeler mechanism located at the front end of the machine, 4and intervening mechanism for connecting the other two mechanisms and feeding the stock, the mechanism at the front end including positively driven upper and .lower feed rolls for positively feeding the stock by direct.

feeding engagement with both its top and bottom, said rolls being located to engage the .stock at the critical point, where the feeling ormeasuring is taking place, and

said intervening mechanism including a.

longitudinally movable feed device operatingto engage the stock as it passes from bc- I' tween said feed rolls and to move said stock vrearwardlj," toivaid the grading mechanism.

8. gli'i' a machine the kind described,

selective means for determining the thiniiol so for a useful purpose,l and a pressure balanc- A nest of a number of thin s pots in a given area of a leather piece, including engaging means to ,engage the top side of said leather piece, means for supporting said engaging means positively independently of the leather piece, whereby the weight thereof is prevented from comingv on the leather` piece when the leather is in the machine, movable means located to engage said leather piece on its under side, said movable means being responsive to the varying thicknesses of lthe leather piece, grading mechanism, 'and means to set said grading vmechanism to grade the leather piece in accordance with said thinnest -spot felt of 'by the rfeeler mechanism, p

9. In a machine of the kind described, selective means for determining ,the thinnest lof a number of thin spots in a. given area of a leather piece, grading mechanism responsive to said selective means 'for grad- Y ing the stock, and means to prevent the grading of the stock below'a. predetermined minimum measurement. y 10. In a machine of the kind described,

means toengage one side of a piece of stock,.

transversely extending feeler means to engage the opposite side ofthe piece ofstock;

transmitting mechanism to transmit the feeling deterniinationsv of said feeler means iiig spring engaging the center of said feeler means to pressl the same toward the stock, said spring being mounted independently of said transmitting ,niech'anisni. 4,

11. In a machine of the kind described, feeler mechanism'located to engage and feel of the under side of a pieceof stock, includ-v ing upwardly pressing spring counterbal ancing means, and transmitting mechanism to transmit the feeling determinations of said feeler mechanism for a useful purpose.

12. In a machine of the kind described, a

l yieldingly mounted feeler roll engaging the under side of apiece of stock, transmitting mechanism for transmitting the determinations of said roll, and a pressure spring mounted independently of said transmitting mechanism pressing upwardly on said roll.

13. In a machine of the Akind described, a yieldiiigly mounted feeler roll, a bridge eX- 'teiiding lengthwise of said roll and bearing on the opposite ends thereof, a pressure spring bearing against Athe middle of said bridge to holdlsaid roll againstthe stock, and means for usefully transmitting the feeling determinations of the feeler roll.

14.. In a machine of the kind described, feeler mechanism, grading mechanism,and means actuated by the feeler mechanism for transmitting the determinations of the feeler mechanism to a part of the grading-mecha# nism and .correspondingly moving said part,

-including mtz'hanism permit-ting the auto-1 matic restoration of the feeler mechanism to normal position while still maintainingv the grading mechanism set4 to operate on the stock. i Y

15. In a machine of the kind described,

mechanism to detect a 'thin place iii a leather piece, grading mechanism, connecting inec'hanisin between the detecting mechanism and grading mechanism responsive to .the detecting mechanism and actuated thereby,

and means permitting the dissimultaneous e restoration of the detecting mechanism and the grading mechanism to their normal operative positions.

16. In a machine of the kind described, means to detect a thin place' in4 a leather piece, grading mechanism, setting means for .setting said grading mechanism in `accordance with the determinations of said detect-- ing means and actuated by and in connection with said detecting means, including means for locking said grading mechanism as set but permitting the autnmatic restoration of the detecting .means to normal position.

17. In a machine of the kind described, means to feel a thin place in a leather piece, grading mechanism, and intervening mechanisin for 'transmitting to the grading mech- V means, and momentuni-retarding means to' prevent the rebound of said grading mechanism when set by said setting mechanism.

,19. In a machine of the kind described, means to detect a thin place in a leather piece, grading mechanism', setting means to .set said grading mechanism in accordance with 'the determinations of said detecting meansl, and a dash pot to prevent falsevmoyes of said setting mechanism and grading mechanism. a

20. In a machine of the kind described, grading mechanism, feeler mechanism .for

'controlling said grading mechanism with 'reference to the stock felt of, and a regu-v lator, located at the front ofthe machinein position for direct and instant control by the operator when heis in positioirto feed -the stock to the machine, for 4regulating-at the front of the machine the predetermined difference ldesired iii actual thickness of stock from .that `determined by the grading .mechanism under the mechanism.

.said control-,of thenteeler 21. In a machine of thc kind described, grading mechanism, teeler mechanism for controlling said gradingmechanism with reference to the stock felt ot, and a reguL later, located at the front ot the machine, including' an angular hand adjusting shaft extending transversely across the front of the machine in position to be grasped by the operator when he is in position to -teed the stock to the machine, for regulating at "the front of the machine the predetermined difference desired in actual thickness `of stock from that determined by'the grading mechanism under the said control of the feeler mechanism. 1

22. In a machine of the kind described, grading mechanism, including a skiving knife, feeler 4mechanism for controlling said grading mechanism with reference to the stock felt ot', and a regulator, located at the front of the machine, for regulating the proportionate amount of skivings removed. from the stock with relation to the determinations ofthe feeler mechanism. y

23. InV a machine of the kind described, means to engage one side of a piece ot' stock, feeler mechanism to engage the vopposite side of the piece of stock, grading mecha nism responsive to said feeler mechanism including means to select one only of a num ber of feeling movements, and a regulator operating directly on said engagingmeans to adjust said engaging means to vary the thickness of the stock with reference to which the feeler mechanism operates.

2li. In a machine of the kind described, opposite feed rolls to receive between them a piece of stock, one of said feed rolls be- .ing freely movableindependently at its op posite ends to constitute a feeler device, grading mechanismresponsive to said :move-A ments to grade the piece, and regulatingr means operating directly on the other. of

said t'eed rolls to adjust it at will toward and from the feeler roll for varying the thickness of the stock with reference to which the feeling takes place.

25. In a machine of the kind described, opposite feed rolls to receive between them a piece of stock, one of said feed rolls being freely 'movable independently at its opposite ends to constitute a feeler device, grading mechanism lresponsive to said movements, and adjusting screws located respectively at the opposite ends o't the other o't said vtecd rolls :tor moving said roll bodily in parallelism'to itself, said screws bein;` provided with Worm wheels, and a 4regulator bar iixedly mounted in the frame of the. ina- ,chine and provided at its opposite ends with worms for simultaneously rotating said -worm wheel.

26. In a machine ol the kind described,l

thinness determining means, grading mechanism responsive thereto, and intervening transmitting. mechanism, including a locking wheel, paavls to engage and lock said wheelon its opposite sides, tripping means at the ingoing end of the machine actuated by the passage of the rear end of a piece of stock to said thinness determining means to actuate one of said pawls, and tripping means inthe path of the front end of said stock to actuate the other of said pawls.

27. In a machine of the kind described, 'thinness determining means, grading mechanism responsive thereto, andv intervening transmitting mechanism, including a lock ing wheel, tripping meansto lock the same, a segmental rack movable with said wheel, a rack bar engaging said rack, and setting means operated by said rack to set said grading means.

28. In a machine of the kind described, feeler mechanism to 4engage a piece of stock and determine its thin places with reference l to its longitudinal edges, and guiding means commensurate with the length ot the Stock for supporting yand guiding the stock at its edges and directing it in actual alinement with and at the center of said feeler mechas nism.l

29. In a machine of the kind described,

grading mechanism, including a skiving` knife, a gage member for determining the thickness to which the stock is to be skived, an opposite pressure member for holding the stock irmly against said gage member, and opposite pressure springs 4located inwardly from the opposite ends of said pressure member respectively 'between the middie thereotI and the adjacent end substantially the distance apart of the width4 of a usual shoe-sole and in approximately vertical alincment with the edges of the stock being skived.

30. In a machine of the kind described, a vertically movable gage roll, a coperating skivingknife, an .opposite pressure roll,

intermediate compression springs locatedrespectively between the middle and the adjacent end oi said pressure roll,feeler mechanism, and automatically adjustable means for said gage roll controlled by said feeler mechanism.

3l. In a machine of the kind described, a

trip at its other end for opening said gate,

Lost/,eas

and connections with said feeler mechanism for effecting the closing of said gate.

32. In a machine ot the class described,

33. In a machineof the class described,

the combination' of adjustable receiving rollers, a cutter, adjustableregulating rollers cooperating with the cutter, an adjustable stop, and means whereby the insertion ot the material to be cut between the receiving rollers will set the stop to limit the adjustment of one ot" the regulating rollers.

34. A machine of the kind described, comprising mechanism tor. grading the leather, said mechanism including a part having a regulated movement, automatic means for regulating the movement of said part according to the thickness of the leather being ited, and including coperating stepped wedges relatively movable into cooperative position between said part and the supporting frame, and means correlated with the frame and the wedges Afor preventing said wedges from coming together when at rest .and stcck is not being graded.

, 35. In'a machine of the class described, the combination of gradingmechanism, iiicluding an ,adjustable stop for regulating said grading, means responsive to the thickness of the material to be graded for setting 4said stop, and means for maintaining said stop out of contact with the stopped part of the machine when at rest, whereby the starting adjustment of said stop is not hindered by such' contact. l

36. In a machine of the class described, the `combination of grading mechanism, includingan adjustable stop and movable means stopped thereby for regulating said grading, means responsive to the thickness of the material to be graded for setting said stop, and adjustable means for maintaining said stop and said movable means normally out of contact with each other.

37. In a machine of the class described, the combination of pressure-applying feeler mechanism for engaging the stock under pressure, grading mechanism for grading the stock according to the thinnest portion so pressed, and means coperating with said feeler mechanism for increasing the pressure fon the stock after the stock is irst engaged.

vby the eeler mechanism.

' 38. A machine of the, class described, hav- 'ing, in combination, a support against which a piece of stock may be pressed, a plurality o detectors, means for causing said stock to be gripped between said detectors and support with an increasing pressure, and grading means tor grading the stock according to the thickness of the thinnest portion so gripped. I

8S). In a machine of the class described, the combination of'pressure-applying feeler mechanism for engaging the stock under pressure, grading mechanism, mechanism for transmitting the determinations of said leeler mechanism to said grading mechanism, said transmitting mechanism operating to increase said pressure on the stock when a leather piece is being JJtelt of by said feeler mechanism, and means for relieving said feele'r mechanism of said increased pressure when the stock is first engaged by the feeler mechanism.

40; In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of receiving rollers, one ot' which is movably supported, a cutter, a pair of regulating rollers, one of which is movably supported, a stop, an operative connection between the stop andthe movably -supported receiving roller, whereby tlie insertion' ot the material between the receiving rollers will set the stop, and means operatively related to the movably supported regulating roller and adapted to engage the stop as the material passes between the regulating rollers to limit the movement of said regulating roller.v

v 4l. In a machine of the class described,

the combination of a pair of receiving rollers, one of -which is movably supported, a cutter, a pair of regulating rollers, one'of which is movably supported, a graduated stop, an operative connection' between the stop and the movably supported receiving roller whereby the insertion of the material between the receiving rollers will set the stop, and means operatively related to the movably supported regulating roller and adapted to engage the stop as the material passes between the regulating rollers to limit tne movement of said regulating roller.

42. In a machine of the class described, the combination of receiving rollers, one ot' which is adjustable, a cutter, movably supported regulating rollers cooperating with the cutter, said receiving and regulating rollers being spaced trom each other, means tor directing the material from the receiving to the regulating rollersf-and means' independent of the regulating rollers whereby the thickness of the materiaal inserted between the receiving rollers will, (by means of the said adjustment of the receiving roller) correspondingly limit the adjustment of oneof the regulating rollers.

43. In a machine of the class described,A the combination of apair of receiving rollers, one of which.is movably supported a cutter',\ regulating rollers coperating with the cutter, one `of which is movably sup-' )orted a sto a ie'ldin'ff connection between Q a y m the movably supported receiving roller and the stop, said stop being adapted to be set by the insertion of the material between the receivingrollers, and means operatively related to the movably supportedregulating roller adapted to engage the stop when said roller is adj usted by the passage of theV material between said regula-ting rollers.

44. In a machine ,of the class described` the combination of receiving'rollers, one of which is movably sl'xj. ported, a cutter, reguating rollers, one oli which is also movably supported, the adjustmentot said receiving.

roller being regulated by the thickness ot' the material insert-ed, and means operated by said adjustment for coi-respondugly limitingv the adjustment of 'the movably snpported regulating roller.

45. In a machine ol the class described, the combination of receiving rollers, one of which is a'djustably supported, a cutter, regulating rollers, one ot` which is also adjustably supported, a gradiilated stop, means opera-tively relatedv to the adjustable `regulating roller adapted to engage the stop i'or limiting the adjustment oaf said roller, means operatively related to the stop and theadjustable receiving roller for automatically 46. In a maehineof the kind-described,v

means against. which a piece of stock may be gripped, opposite detecting means coperating therewith to grip apiece of stock Which is to be graded, including a plurality `of eeier posts having separate individual Vmovement in the direction of said first-inen-4 tioned means, grading means, and eonnec tions between said grading means and said posts for setting said grading means With reference to the latter, including a device in which the Lvests are freely movable in a direction away from said first mentioned said iirst mentionedw means. 1

ln testimony Wliereot, I have signed my name to this specification, 1n the presence of I two subscribing Witnesses.

ELMER P. NICHOLS. lVi t-nesses Pnnorjlll. BmDoEs, Snsmy A. FRANCIS.

CII

4means and'whose position is controlled and determined by that 'post which 1s nearest f

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