US2407903A

US2407903A - Method and machine for making prewelt shoes

Info

Publication number: US2407903A
Application number: US483410A
Authority: US
Inventors: Quinn Edward; Israel I Hersey
Original assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Current assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1943-04-17
Filing date: 1943-04-17
Publication date: 1946-09-17
Anticipated expiration: 1963-09-17

Description

Sept. 17, 1946. m r AL 2,407,903

METHOD 'AND MACHINE FOR MAKING PREWELT SHOES.

' Filed April 17, 1943 :5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 17, 1946. E. QUINN m1 2,407,903

METHOD AND M CHINE FOR MAKING PRE'WELT SHOES Filed April 17, 1945 a Shets-Sheet 2 Sept. 1 7, 1946., E. QUINN ETAL METHOD AND ACHINE FOR MAKING PREWELT snofis Filed April 17, 1943 3 Sheets$heet "5 Patented Sept. 17, 1946 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING PREVVELT SHOES Edward Quinn, Saugus, and Israel I. Hersey, Beverly, Mass, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemingtcn, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 17, 1943, Serial No. 483,410

28 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a method for making shoes and to sewing machines contributing to the ease in which the improved method may be performed and more particularly to machines for sewing together the marginal portions of a sole and the unattached edge of a welt in a prewelt shoe assembled ofithe-last, that is, without the use of a rigid last.

In the manufacture of a prewelt shoe oiT-th'elast, the upper is first attached to the welt along one edge, leaving the other unattached edge lying along the side of the upper and diverging slightly therefrom. Before the welt can be connected to d the sole, it must be flexed both at an an le with the side of the upper to bend or straighten the welt about its lengthwise axis away from the upper and bring it into flattened position against the sole and also in a widthwise direction to draw the unattached edge of the welt into a configuration which will give a desirable shape to the finished shoe. A machine for bending the welt into flattened position to assist in connecting the outsole is disclosed in United States Letters Patent to Jalbert No. 2,298,384, granted October 13, 1942. l

I To provide the desired shape in the finished shoe constructed without a last, the sole is cut accurately to size and the unattached edge of the welt is brought into regitsry with the soleedge. Machines for connecting the welt of a prewelted upper with pressure activated cement to a sole cut to size have been used heretofore with some success and act to clamp and squeeze the shoe parts together in a progressive operation extending along the projecting edge' portions of the parts. In clamping the parts together, previously cemented surfaces on the welt and sole are brought into intimate contact so as to cause the surfaces to adhere in the exact relation in which they are clamped. Due to the nature .of. such a progressive cementing operation and to the inherent qualities of the leather materials making up the parts operated upon, particularly when a strongly resilient welt is employed with relatively thin soles, the clamping pressure not only brings the cemented surfaces into intimate contact, but also tends to squeeze out and elongate the welt. After the operation has been completed, a reverse tendency of contraction in the welt occurs, with the result that the cement bond between the parts may be broken if the contraction is unequal or the shoe may become distorted somewhat from unreleased strain, no readjustments in the materials operated upon being possible after the cementing pressure is released, so long as the cement bond holds.

The objects of' the present invention are to reduce substantially the diiflculties above enumerated while connecting the unattached edge portion of a welt on a prewelted upper to an outsole and to provide a method and a machine for manufacturing prewelt shoes without the use of a last in which all of the advantages of manufacture without the use of a last will be retained and by which relative strains will be eliminated as far as practicable in the parts operated upon while being connected.

A further object of the invention i to provide a method and a machine for the manufacture of prewelt shoes off-the-last in which there is no necessity for separate cementing operations, the welt being sewn to the sole directly after the welt is attached to the upper. A still further ob.- ject of the present. invention is to provide a machine in which certain steps of an improved prewelt shoe manufacturing method may be performed while the upper is unsupported on a last and by which a substantial simplification and reduction may be effected in expense of manufacturing shoes of this nature both by a better control and by elimination of operations.

To these ends. the method of the present in.-

vention includes the steps of flexing the welt on a prewelted upper to bend the welt away from the side of the upper and to draw the unattached edge progressively into registry with the edge of a cut sole while the upper is unsupported by a last and sewing continuously with the flexing ope erationto form a permanent line of stitching passing through the welt and sole outside the upper. During the sewing operation, the parts are alternately clamped and released, thus enabling any strains set up while clamping torbe distrib uted evenly in the shoe parts when released. Pressure activated cements now in common 1156 require a continuousapplication of pressure in the direction of the thickness of the work so that no release is possible. When connecting the welt to the sole with a line of stitches outside the line of attachment of the welt to the upper read- .lllstinent and relative movementmay take place urin rel ase b tween the edg o the We l; which is attached to the upper and the sole to an extent not possible where cement is employed.

Another advantage obtainable with a sewing operation is a better control of work food than in cementing with no release. As a result, a sewn shoe is constructed with a minimum in.- tensity of internal strains produced during manufacture and the shoe parts, therefore, are enabled to conform more easily with a predetermined shape either of a manufacturing last or the wearers foot. Also, by avoiding cementing operations, an entire step in the method of manufacture is eliminated with corresponding economies in cost.

An important feature of the invention also resides in a sewing machine having work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the work to enable relative strain adjusting movements between the welt and sole during each ewing cycle and a back gage for guiding the outer edges of the parts into registry, together with means acting to draw the welt uniformly against the back gage in advance of the point of operation of the needle, the sole being led against the back gage manually in the usual way. Whenthe presser foot releases the work, the shoe parts are enabled to redistribute the strains set up in them while clamped so that the only strains within the work operated upon are those produced by flexing the welt and upper into the desired shape,

' the degree of elongation and contraction while the parts are compressed and released being reduced to a minimum.

In a preferred form of this feature of the invention, the work feeding means includes a work penetrating awl and the welt drawing means comprises a pointed member or claw acting on an unsewed portion of the welt to draw it against the back gage before the awl enters the work in each sewing cycle. As herein disclosed, the claw acts'on. the welt a uniform distance from the Y outer, unattached welt edge at a location determined by a ga e cooperating with the claw. In order to obtain the best results with this form of the invention, mechanisms are provided for actuating the pointed member both to penetrate the welt and to cause the welt to be drawn against the back gage during each sewing cycle. To insure that the welt will be led into the machine under fully relaxed condition at the sewing point or with a predetermined tension or compression lengthwise of the welt, the pointed member is moved with the welt during work feed through a distance greater than the length of work feed in each sewing cycle.

In a simplified form of machine embodying this feature of the invention, the welt drawing means comprises a hooked member entering between the sole and welt in advance of the sewing point. In this simplified form, suitable means are provided for retracting the hook member just before the seam is completed to allow the insertion of the final stitch in overlapping relation to the first stitch of the seam.

These and other features of the invention including-certa n novel and improved constructions and arrangements of parts are hereinafter described in the following detailed specification and more particularly pointed out in the ap- "pended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of certain essential parts of a shoe sewing machine embodying features of the present invention according to its preferred form;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional ViBW' at the heel end of a prewelted shoe upper having an ordinary construction and indicating the nature of one type of fiexure imparted to the Welt during shoe manufacture;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a nearly completed shoe with the sole and other parts broken away to illustrate more clearly the nature of the construction in which the present method and machine are employed;

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away, of the machine parts illustrated in Fig, 1, including the shuttle with a prewelt shoe shown in section;

Fig. 5 is a front sectional detail view of certain parts. shown in Figs. 1 and 4, taken along the line V-V of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detail side sectional view on an enlarged scale illustrating the operationof the welt drawing claw at a time in each sewing cycle just before the feed takes place;

Fig. 7 is a detail plan sectional view of the same parts showing the position of the work before the feed takesplace;

Fig. 8 is a detail side view similar to Fig. 6 but illustrating the claw and parts operated upon at the end of'the work feeding operation;

Fig. 9 is a detail plan View, similar to Fig. '7, of the claw and shoe parts operated upon after the feed has taken place; j

Fi 10 is a detail view in side elevation, and partly in section, illustrating a modified form of construction and its manner of operation on the work, adapted for use in the sewing machine ing to the usual practice, after assembling the parts of an upper 2, a Welt strip similar to that indicated in the drawings at 4 is attached along one edge by a line of stitching 6 to the bottom edge of the upper, When the prewelted upper is to be connected to an outsole 8 by anoff-thelast method of manufacture, the outsole is cut accurately to the exact size required by the finished shoe. The welt which, when originally attached to the upper, lies along the outer surface of the upper with its unattached edge diverging slightly from the upper, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, is then flexed to bend the welt outwardly along a lengthwise axis to bring it .into the full line straightened position where it will lie more nearly in parallel relation with the sole 8 and to draw the unattached edge in a direction widthwise of the welt into registry with the edge of the sole. Ordinarily the parts are temporarily connected in this relation by pressure activated cement, such as semi-cured rubber or latex. Thereafter, the parts are permanently connected by an outseam Hi passing through the projecting portions of the sole and the unattached edge portions of the welt with a continuous seam extending entirely around the shoe and terminating "with the final stitch overlapping the first stitch The machine ordinarily employed for inserting the stitches connecting the sole and welt of a prewelt shoe is of the lockstitch type, and as illustrated in the drawings, includes a curved hook needle i2, acurved awl M, a shuttle !6 (Fig. 4), a work support 18, a presser foot 29. a looper 2|, and other stitch forming devices similar to those disclosed in United States Letters Patent to Ashworth No. 1,169,909, granted February 1, 1916, and to Ashworth and Whitaker No. 2,271,611, granted February 3, 1942. In such a machine, the work is clamped and compressed in the direction of its thickness by the operation of th work support and presser foot. The work is released during the back feeding movement of the work support and presser foot relatively to the work or while the awl l4 engages the work. In'the machine of Patent No. 1,169,909, the work is fed by the awl while the awl is moving in the direction of the seam line from a position a stitch length away from the needle into alignment with the needle, and in the machine of Patent No. 2,271,- 611, the awl and needle remain in alignment at all times and the work is fed while clamped by the work support and presser foot, the work support and presser foot being back fed while the awl is in engagement with the work.

When pressure activated cement is employed to connect the flattened welt to the sole of a prewelt shoe progressively around the edge of the sole by compressing the parts in the direction of their thickness to bring the cemented surfaces into intimate contact, a progressive wave of elongation and contraction in those parts is set up, as above explained, with the result that as the cementing operation continues without release of the strains thus produced, the parts may cause an occasional break in the cement bond connecting them or may become distorted from their intended finished shapes. These difliculties are particularly troublesome when a relatively soft,

thick welt is employed and if the shoe is completed directly after the cementing operation by sewing the welt to the outsole with a permanent seam, there is little or no possibility of re-establishing the proper shape or relations in the parts without further treatment. The usual procedure is to insert a last within the completed shoe and to process the shoe by tempering or heatingthe parts to an extent which will release the strains.

In order to practise the method of the present invention by the use of the illustrated sewing machine, the sole is not temporarily connected by cement to the flattened edge of welt before sewing, but these parts in unconnected relation are presented to the sewing machine and the presser foot lowered to clamp the parts against the work support, the presser foot compressing the parts and holding them firmly while th first and subsequent stitches are being inserted. Between the times the stitches are inserted, the clamping pressure on the parts is intermittently released to enable feeding movement to take place and the welt and sole are progressively flexed and guided into registry with each other against a back gage 22.

To insure that accurate registry of the edges throughout the length of the seam can be accomplished uniformly on a manufacturing basis, after the unattached edge of the welt has been bent outwardly to bring the welt into flattened condition, the machine embodying the present invention is provided with a U-shaped claw 24 mounted on a supporting arm 26 and formed with a welt penetrating point 28 acting to engage the grain surface of the welt between the unattached edge and the line of stitching 6 which connects the shoe upper 2 to the welt. The claw is actuated during each sewing cycle to penetrate the welt just in front of the line of the seam inserted by the stitch forming devices (see Fig. '7), to flex the welt rearwardly with widthwise pressure against the back gage 22 until the claw point is in line with the seam and also to move with the welt during feeding movements of the shoe. The claw engages the welt at a location substantially an even multiple of a stitch length in advance of the sewing point lengthwise of the seam and disengages the welt during formation of each stitch, the parts operated upon being clamped only adjacent th sewing point. The a-wl then penetrates the welt by entering the indentation formed by the claw. By disengaging the claw from the welt while each stitch is being inserted and while'the work is clamped, the strains in the welt set up by the claw are released intermittently. The claw engages the welt just before the presser foot releases the work so that the strains set up by the clamping'pressure of the presser foot on the welt also are released after each stitch has been inserted and during feeding movements. During feeding movements, the claw necessarily engages the welt and imparts to it only that amount of strain required to flex the welt into conformity with the configuration of the sole edge, which amount of strain is maintained in the welt by the stitches. The point of engagement of the claw with the welt being in front of the line of the seam, and in advance of the sewing point, causes the same strains to be setup in thewelt as are maintained by the stitches and no others. Also, where a welt of strongly resilient material is employedwhich is longated by the pressure of the presser foot, the claw is moved a distance slightly greater than the length of feed imparted by the work feeding means so that the clamping pressure of the presser foot will cause less temporary elongation in the welt.

To actuate the claw, a spindle 35, best shown in Figs. 4 and 6, is secured at one end to the claw and rotates along its central portion in a bearing in the upper end of the arm 26; At the other end of the spindle, there is secured an arm 32 pivotally connected to the upper end of a push rod 3s slidingly mounted in a perforated lug on a block 36 to which the arm 25 is connected. The block 33 is hingedly mounted on a second block 38 corresponding to that described in Patent No. 1,169,909, as supporting the channeling knife of the patented machine.

To cause the point 23 of the claw to penetrate to disengage the work, the lower end of the rod 34, is acted upon by an elongated cam bar slidable a correspondingly shaped opening in the supporting block One end of the cam bar 4%} is reduced and surrounded by a sleeve M to which it is so fastened as to permit partial rotation of the sleeve. The sleeve is pivotally connected to a swivel block d2 also pivotally connected to an a m 24 forming the central member of a universal joint. The lower end of the rod 36 is held against the cam surface on the bar 43 by a coil s ring stretched between a projection on the rod 3d and a pin on the block 35. The arm M is in turn secured to the forward end of a laterally moving lever d? (referred to in Patent No. 1,169,999 by the reference 9'2), which lever is a part of the mechanism for actuating the looper 2!. The movements of the looper actuating lever 4's and the shape of the cam surface on the bar '40 in moving from the solid to the dot-dash position of Fig. 5, cause the claw 24 to penetrate thewelt a short distance just before the presser foot releases the work in each sewing cycle. Movement in the reverse direction causes the claw to disengage the welt after the presser foot has again clamped the work.

For bringing the welt after being engaged by the claw into registry with the sole edge and against the back gage 22, the block 36 is;rocked on its hinge mounting which consists of a shculdered screw 48 passing loosely through the block 38 into threaded engagement with the block 36. A step is cut in the forward face of the block 38 and engaged by the rounded upper end of an arm 56 having an integral shaft portion rotatably mounted in a projection of the main machine frame indicated at 52. The end of the shaft portion of the arm 55 is suitably shaped to receive ,an an. clamped thereto by a bolt 56. Pivotally connected with the arm as i a bent link connecting the arm 54 with the arm of a lever 56 which, in the machine of Patent No. 1,169,909, comprises a part of the mechanism for actuating the presser foot to cause the pressure of the foot on the work to be relieved and to clam the work during each sewing cycle. The lower end of the lever 5G is slotted and the link 58 is adjustably connected to the lever by a pivot bolt 52 clamped in the slot to enable the welt drawing movement of the claw to be regulated according to the nature of the work and quality of the welt operated upon.

To keep the block 35 in engagement with the arm.

' trate the welt just after a stitch has inserted and to draw the welt rearwardly simulaneously with the release of the work by the presscr foot. During feeding movement of the work, the welt is held against the back gage by the claw, the parts remaining in this position until the presser foot again clamps the work and holds the welt with its unattached projecting edge registering with the sole edge. With this timing of the parts, the only restraint on the welt after release of the work the .pressure of the back gage. The welt, therefore, is otherwise free toexpand or contract in any direction about the last inserted stitch as a center and to adjust itself so that a minimum number of strains are set up relatively to the shoe sole. I

In the machine of Patent No. 1,169,999, a channeling knife supporting block corresponding to the block 38 is moved in the direction of feed during feeding movements of the awl and against the l position of the welt, the welt tending to swing forwardly away from the back gage either due to the shape of the shoe operated upon or to the elongation in the projecting unattached edge of the welt under the pressure of the presser foot.

In order to determine the certainty the distance from the edge at which the claw penetrates the welt, regardless of the position of the welt in advance of the sewing point, the supporting arm 25 on which the claw is pivoted leprovided with a gage shoulder El acting on theunatunattached edge of the welt into line with theback gage, as in Figs. 8 and 9. At the same time that the penetrating and rearward movements of the claw are occurring, the claw is moved with the, welt in the direction of feed from the position of Fig. 7 to that of Fig. 9, after which the claw is disengaged during the insertion of the succeeding stitch.

After the first few stitches are inserted in the shoe parts presented to the machine, the operation of the claw causes the welt to be drawn against the back gage 22 without further atten-,

tion bythe operator. If the sole is held. against the back gage, the unattached Welt edge and the sole edge will be brought into accurate registry throughout the sewing operation.

The machine is useful not only to assemble prewelt shoe parts Without'the necessity of connecting them in a preliminary cementing operation, but also may be employed to advantage in other types of Work or where a prewelted upper and sole are already temporarily connected. Where the parts operated upon are already connected, the operation of the claw causes both parts to be directed in the right relation-to the back gage at all times so that after the first few stitches, the seam may be completed with little or no atten= tion by the operator in guiding the work.

A second simpler form of the'machine for performing the same steps of the method is illustrated in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. In this form'of machine, a hooked welt engaging finger 68 passes 7 between the sole 8 and welt i on the pre-Welted upper 2 while the grain surface of. the welt is moving along the work support i8 of the stitcher.

to the upper in advance of the sewing point towards the back gage 22 and to hold the unattached edge of the welt against the back gage. The location of the finger is such that the welt may pass without restraint towards the sewing point of the machine between the hooked end of the finger and the back gage except for the guiding and drawing action. of the finger on the welt. If the sole 8 of the shoe is held by the operator at all times against the back gage, accurate registry of the unattached welt edge with the sole edge will be insured. V

The finger 68 has a shank passing transversely to the line of work feed and loosely through a; sleeve ill clamped within a lug 72 extending from a stationary arin M forming a portion of the Inachine frame, as in Patent No. 1,169,909. During sewing operations. the hooked finger is held locked connecting the parts is completed, the shank of the finger is surrounded by a compression spring 16 acting at one end on the sleeve Ill and at the other end on a knurled collar 18 secured to the end of the finger shank. When the finger is rotated to cause the hooked end to lie parallel to the surface of the sole, the spring 16 acts to retract the finger to the position of Fig. 12. To lock the finger in forward position during sewing against the force of the spring 16, the shank of the finger has projecting from one side a pin 8!] and the sleeve H! has a bayonet slot 82 in which the pin 86 slides. The locking portion of the bayonet slot is at the forward end of the sleeve so that when the shank is rotated to bring the pin into the locking portion of the slot, the hooked end will be swung downwardly to engage the inner edge of the welt which is attached to the upper. When the hooked finger is rotated manually in the opposite direction, the pin moves out of the locking portion of the bayonet slot, and the finger is moved into parallel relation with the sole and quickly retracted by the action of the spring 16. With skillful manipulation, retraction of the finger may be accomplished'without stopping the machine,

As has been stated, the practice of the present method comprises flexin the welt to bend the edge not attached to the upper away from the side of the upper from the broken line position of Fig. 2 into the solid line position and to draw the unattached edge in a direction widthwise of the welt progressively into registry with the edge of the sole 8. It is possible to flex the welt in the present sewing machine both to bend the unattached edge by the wedging action of the work support away from the upper and to draw the edge of the welt widthwise into registry with the sole edge but a more uniform result is obtainable if a machine such as that disclosed in the patent to J albert No. 2,298,384, granted October 13, 1942, is employed to bend the welt away from the side of the upper before the sewing operation is undertaken. When the J albert machine is employed, the principal flexure of the welt required in the practice of the present method is in drawing the unattached edge widthwise of the welt into registry with the sole edge but in some instances, the Welt may be bent or flattened still further during sewing. When a continuous strip of welt is attached along its edge to an upper and is bent into the position illustrated in the solid line of Fig. 2, the provision of a sole of the appropriate size to be sewed to the welt may be facilitated by bringing the welted upper and a selected cut sole together. If the sole is selected which has a slightly larger peripheral edge than the length of unattached edge on the welt, after bein bent outwardly, the assembling operation may be completed with the sole and welt edges in accurate registry.

The seam according to the present method is started at a point indicated by the reference numeral a l just in advance of one end of the sole. After matching the welted upper with a slightly larger sole, as well as practicable by eye, the sewing operation is carried around the adjacent curved end 81, which is the heel end for the shoe illustrated, and continued along the side 86 of the shoe sole shank. The seam begins to curve at the other end 88 of the sole until that end is finished. After sewing around the second end 855 of the sole, which is the toe end for the illustrated shoe, the length of welt between the point 84 and a point 96 between the second end of the sole and the relatively straight portionalong the other side 92 is stretched to make up the deficiency resulting from selecting a sole of slightly greater peripheral edge length. The deficiency is absorbed readily by the relatively long, straight unsewed length of welt remaining, whereas if it were necessary to take up the deficiency about either end of the shoe, a relatively short length of welt would remain unsewed which would be insufficient to enable the welt to stretch to the extent of the deficiency. For the best results, the last sewed side 92 of the shoe shank should be the outside of the shank which is relatively straighter than the inside edge portion.

When sewing the sole and welt in the machines embodying the present invention, it is not necessary that they be previously connected by cement, and in the form of machine employing a hooked finger entering between the parts, they obviously should not be cemented. However, the full advantage of a cemented and sewed connection can be obtained with the illustrated method and machines if green uncured cement only is used and the cement allowed to cure after the seam is completed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The method of making a prewelt shoe which comprises flexing the welt on a prewelted upper in a manner to bring the unattached edge away from the side of the upper and to cause the unattached welt edge to be drawn progressively into registry with the edge of a SOle while the upper is unsupported by a last, and sewing continuously with the flexing operation to form a permanent line of stitching passing through the welt and sole outside the upper.

2. The method of making a prewelt shoe which comprises flexing the welt on a prewelted upper in a manner to bring the unattached edge away from the side of the upper and to cause the unattached welt'edge to be drawn progressively into registry with the edge of a sole while the upper is unsupported by a last, compressing the welt in the direction of its thickness to clamp it against the sole with the welt in flexed condition, intermittently inserting stitches connecting the welt and sole while the parts are compressed, and releasing the parts between stitch inserting operations to sew the parts together inrelati'vely unrestrained condition with a continuous seam.

3. The method of making a prewelt shoe which comprises flexing the welt on a prewelted upper to bring the unattached edge away from the side of the upper and to cause the unattached welt edge to be drawn progressively into registry with the edge of a sole while the upper is unsupported by a last, compressing the welt in the direction of its thickness to clamp it against the sole with the welt in flexed condition, intermittently inserting stitches connecting the welt and sole While the parts are compressed, and releasing the compression of the welt between stitch inserting operations and applying a widthwise pressure to the welt at a point between the unattache edge and the line of attachment with the upper w'hilethe thickness compression is released to urge the unattached edge against a sole guiding back gage whereby the parts may be connected together in relatively unrestrained condition with a continuous seam.

4. The method of making a. prewelt shoe which comprises flexing a continuous welt of a prewelted upper to bendthe unattached edge away from the side of the upper, and to cause the unattached welt edge to be drawn progressivelyinto registry with the edge of a sole having a periphery larger than the length of the welt while the upper is unsupported by a last, starting a seam in advance of one end of the sole, sewing around that end and along a first side edge of the sole while drawing the unattached welt edge progressively into registry with the sole edge, sewing around the other end of the sole to cause the entire length of welt extending along the second side edge of the sole to be stretched before the stitches are inserted along said second side edge, and sewing along said second side edge to complete the seam with the first and final stitches overlapping,

' 5. The method of making a prewelt shoe which comprises flexing a continuous welt of aprewelted upper in a manner to bend th unattached edge away from the side of the upper, and to cause the unattached welt edge to be drawn progressively into registry with the edge of a sole which is concave along one side of the shank and substantially straight along the other side of the shank, starting a seam near one end of the straight side, sewing around one end of the sole and along the concave side, sewing around the other end of the sole to cause the entire length of welt extending along the substantially straight side to be stretched before the stitches are inserted, and sewing along the straight side of the sole edge lastly tobring the first and final stitches of the seam into overlapping relation.

6. The method of sewing progressively the projecting marginal portions of a cut sole to a con- 0 tinuous welt on a prewelted shoe upper with the first and final stitches of a seam overlapping while the upper is unsupported on a last which coniprises providing a sole having a periphery greater than that of the unattached edge of the welt,

starting a seam in advance of one end of the shoe, sewing around that end and along one side of the shoe while drawing the welt edge progressively into registry with the sole edge and sew ing around the other end of the shoe to cause the entire length of welt extending along the other side of the shoe to be stretched before the stitches are inserted.

7. The method of sewing progressively the projecting marginal portions of a cut sole to a continuous welt on a prewelted shoe upper with the first and final stitches of the resulting seam overlapping while the upper is unsupported on a last which comprises providing a sole having a periphery greater than that of the unattached edge of the welt, starting the seam between the outside of the shoe shank and the adjacent end of a shoe, sewing next around said adjacent end and along the insideof the shoe shank while drawing the welt edge progressively into registry 4 with the sole edge and sewing around the other end of the shoe to cause the entire length of welt extending along the outside of. the shoe shank to be stretched before the stitches are inserted.

8. The method of sewing progressively the projecting marginal portions of a, cut sole having a curved side and a relatively straight side to the projecting edge of a continuous welt on a prewelt shoe upper with the first and final stitches of the resulting seam overlapping while the upper is'unsupported on a last which comprises providing a sole having a periphery greater than that of the unattached edge of thewelt, starting the seam between the relatively straight side of the sole edge and the adjacent end of the sole, sewing next around the adjacent end and along the curved side of the sole edge while drawing the welt edge progressively into registry with the sole edge, and sewing around the other end of the sole to cause the entire length of welt extend- 12 7 in along the relatively straight side edge of the sole to be stretched before the stitches are inserted.

9. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while'un supported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of means acting to draw the welt uniformly against the back gage.

10, In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge pcrtions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, 2. work feed ing awl, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt engaging pointed member located along the line of feed inadvance of the needle and actuated to draw an unsewed portion the welt only uniformly against the back gage before the awl penetrates the work in each sewing cycle.

ll. In machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shapedto enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support, and a back gage opposite the point of needle operation for guiding the outer edges of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt engaging member located in advance of the point of needle operation to draw an unsewed portion of the welt only uniformly against the back gage.

12. In a machine for sewing the marginal portion of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts tobecome connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt penetrating pointed member located in advance of the needle to draw an unse'wed portion of the welt only uniformly against the back gage during each sewing cycle, and means for gaging the distance from the outer welt edge at which the pointed member penetrates the welt.

13. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unbetween the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the Work on the Work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt penetrating pointed memberlocated in advance of the needle to draw an unsewed portion of the welt only uniformly against the back gage during each sewing cycle, and a gage for causing the pointed member to penetrate the grain surface of the Welt inline with the seam inserted by the needle.

14. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease 1 between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into. registry, of a welt penetrating claw located in advance of the point of needle operation, an arm on which the claw is mounted to enable the claw to be moved bodily while engaging the welt, and mechanisms for actuating the claw to penetrate the welt and for actuating the arm to cause the welt to be drawn against the back gage during each sewing cycle.

15. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge'portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a claw acting in advance of the point of needle operation to penetrate the grain surface of the welt, an arm on which the claw is mounted to enable the claw to be moved bodily in each sewing cycle while engaging the welt in a direction to draw the welt against the back gage. and a shoulder on the arm engaging the outer welt edge to cause the claw to penetrate the welt in line with the seam inserted by the needle.

16. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsup-' ported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a Work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a claw acting in advance of the point of needle operation to penetrate the grain surface of the welt, an arm on which the claw is mounted to enable the claw to be moved bodily in each sewing cycle while engaging the welt in a direction to draw the welt against the back gage, a shoulder on the arm engaging the outer welt edge to cause the claw to penetrate the welt in 14 line with th seam inserted by the needle, and yielding means for urging the arm in a direction to cause the shoulder to follow the unattached edge of the welt.

17. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt penetrating claw located in advance of the point of needle operation, an arm on which the claw is pivotally mounted, an actuating rod connected with the claw and arranged parallel to the arm, mechanism for moving the rod to cause the claw to penetrate the welt, and mechanism for actuating the arm while the claw engages the welt to draw the welt against the back gage.

18. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle and a needle looper, mechanisms for actuating the stitch forming devices, a work support, a presser foot, mechanism for actuating the presser foot to clamp and release the sole and welt, and a back gage for guiding the outer edges of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt penetrating claw located in advance of the point of needle operation, an arm on which the claw is mounted, connections between the looper mechanism and the claw for actuating the claw towards and from the welt, and connections between the presser foot mechanism and the arm upon which the claw is mounted for moving the arm to draw the welt against the back gage during each sewing cycle.

19.121 a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, a work feeding awl, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt engaging pointed member located along the line of feed in advance of the needle and actuated to draw an unsewed portion of the welt only uniformly against the back gage before the awl penetrates the work in each sewing cycle and to move with the welt during feeding movements of the awl.

20. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting ed e portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last. th combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become co nected together in relatively unrestrained condition. and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt penetrating claw located in advance of the point of needle operation, an arm on which the claw is mounted to enable the claw to be moved bodily while engaging the welt in the direction of the feed and transversely of the feed, and mechanisms for actuating the claw to penetrate the welt and the arm to cause the Welt to be drawn by the claw against the back gage before the awl penetrates the welt in each sewing cycle, and means for actuating the arm to move the claw in the direction of feed after the awl penetrates the work.

21. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted shoe upper, "the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, a needle looper, a work penetrating and feeding awl, mechanisms for actuating the stitch forming devices, a Work support,

mechanism for actuating the presser foot to clamp and release the sole and welt and a back gage for guiding the outer edge faces of the welt and sole into registry, of a welt penetrating claw located in advance of the point of needle operation, an arm on which the claw is mounted, connections between the looper mechanism and the claw for actuating the claw towards and from the welt, connections between the presser foot mechanism and the arm upon which the claw is mounted for moving the claw to draw the welt against the back gage, and other connections between the awl feeding mechanism and the arm to move the claw in the directionof feed while engaging the welt during each sewing cycle.

22. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and Welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected to ether in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a hook ended finger passing between unsewed portions of the shoe sole and the welt with its hook end engaging the inner edge of the welt in advance of the point of needle operation to draw the outer edge of the welt uniformly against the back gage.

23. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a, last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped. to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt sole and into registry, of a hook ended finger passingbetween unsewed portions of the shoe sole and the welt with its hook end engaging the inner edge of the welt in advance of the point of needle operation to draw the outer edge of the welt uniformly against the back gage, and means for retracting the finger from between the shoe sole and welt to enable the seam to be completed with its ends overlapping. 24.111. a machine for sewing the marginal i6 portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a hook endedfinger passing between unsewed portions of the shoe sole and the welt with its hook end engaging the inner edge of the welt in advance of the point of needle operation to draw theouter edge of the welt uniformly against the back gage, manually operated means for locking the finger, and means acting when the finger is unlocked to withdraw it from between the sole and welt.

25. In a machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe sole to the projecting edge portions of the welt on a prewelted upper while,

together in relatively unrestrained condition,

and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a hook ended finger passing between unsewed portions of the shoe sole and the welt with its hook end engaging the inner edge of the welt in advance of the point of needle operation to draw the outer edge of the welt uniformly against the back gage, manually operated means for swinging the finger towards the sole to enable the hook end to be withportions of the welt on a prewelted upper while unsupported by a last, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, work feeding means, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and the upper, a presser foot for clamping and releasing the sole and welt to enable movement of the work on the 'work support and the parts to become connected together in relatively unrestrained condition, and a back gage for guiding the outer edge of the welt and sole into registry, of a hook ended finger passing'between unsewed portions of the shoe sole and the welt with its hook end engaging the inner edge of the welt in advance of the point of needle operation to draw the outer edge of the welt uniformly against the back gage, manually operated means for swinging the finger towards the sole to enable the hook end to be withdrawn from between the sole and welt, yielding means forwithdrawing the finger, and a pin and bayonet slot device for locking the finger against withdrawalfrom between the sole and welt while the hook end is in a position to engage the inner edge of the welt and for releasin the finger when the hook end is disengaged from the inner edge of the welt and swung towards the sole.

27. In a machine for sewing a sole to the welt of a preweited upper in which the outer edge of the sole is greater in length than the outer edge of the flattened welt before attachment thereto, the combination of work supporting, guiding and feeding means and stitch forming devices, said guiding means including devices for bringing the 18 outer edges of the welt and sole into registry.

28. In a, machine for sewing a sole to the welt of a prewelted upper, the combination of work supporting, guiding and feeding means, stitch forming devices, and means for shifting the welt widthwise along the sole during the sewing.

EDWARD QUINN. ISRAEL I. HERSEY.