US10975A - Improvement in sewing-machines - Google Patents

Description

l. M. SINGER.)

Sewing Machine.

No. 10975. l Patented May 3o, 1854..'

UNITED STATES I'sAAe-M. SINGER, o F NEWYORK, n.31.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES'.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. lhgdafed May 30, 185.4.

To all whom it may concer-n.-

Be it vknown that l, ISAAC-M. SINGER, of N ew York city, New York, have` invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing- Machines; and I do hereby declare. that the following is `a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making Apart of .this specification, in which- -V y Figures 1 is a front elevation of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a side elevation.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The ist part of my invention relates to the method of feeding the cloth or other material to be sewedwith a view to render this part of the operation practically efficient, cheap', and not liable to derangement, While at the same time it can be readily adjusted; to regulate'the length of stitches. The cloth, Etc., isV

held by a pressure-pad onto the periphery of the .feeding-wheel, which: is roughened or formed 4with minute teeth to bite sufficiently to move the cloth. The nature of this vpart of my invention consists in giving an intermittent feeding motion to the said wheel by means of a cord of catgut or its equivalent fitted to lgroove in the periphery of the said wheel, one endof the said cord being attached toa spring connected with the arm of a rock-shaft, with a set-screw'interposed to regulate the length of stitches, and the other end of. the

'sad'cord attached to a reaction spring at# tached to the frame or'to a permanent bracket, and resting thereon at a given and positive tension after drawing back the cord, so that when the cord is pulled by the4 arm of the rock-shaft to give the feed motion the said cord shall bedrawn`to a tension equal to that of the reaetingspring when resting on the bracket before the said reaction spring willyield to ,permit the feed -motion.` When this method 'of imparting the feed motion is combined with fa friction-brake in or on the said wheel,which 'jmakes a friction in one direction to resistthe feedmotion equal to the tension o'rf the reactionspring when at rest that the time of starting thewheel shall be positive, and a greater .friction or resistance in the reverse direction to prevent the wheel from being turned back by thetension of the cord.

1".. The secondpart of my invention relates to 'the method of regulating the tension on the needle-thread, The methods heretofore practiced are to make tension on the body of the spool. or bobbin, or by passing the thread under a spring-clip or between spring forceps or fingers. The former of these methods is 'objectionable in practica-for the reason that as the thread is-reduced on the body of the bobbin or" spool the leverage is gradually reduced, while' the leverage of the frictionlbrake remains the same, and hence the tension on the thread. will constantly vary as the diameter of the bulk of thread 'on the spool is diminished; and, besides, the spools or bobbins are generally made in a very imperfect manner, and when a friction-brake is applied to them these imperfections induce an irregular tension on the thread, and the other method is objectionable for the reason that any irregularity in the diameter ofthe thread will induce a variation The object of my invention is toavoidthese defects and produce a method of making .ten-

practically uniform notwithstanding the varywhich shall admit -of accurate and easy adjustpart of my inventionl consists in providing `a wire with guides and witha turning wing, and passing the vthread on its way from the spool, bobbin, or reel to the needle around the said wing, so that by turning the said wing on the Wire the thread v,shall be wound :around the body of the wire more or less, and thus increase 4or decrease the friction of the said thread in proportion to the number of turns which it makes around 'the body of the wire, andas the thread does not pass between any .two'surfaces it will be obvious that the fricvaried by the varying sizeof the thread. v

. The lastpart of my invention relates to the lubrication of the needle-thread.- during like 'operation of sewing leather. Great dficulty has been experienced in sewing leather, and particularly what is termed patent-leather, 2 by machinery. The friction of the needle and `thread when passing through the leather is very great, and if the inachine be operated at or near the same speed as in sewing cloth, the

needle and thread become highly heated, and

in the tension, for the spring clip orforcepsY must produce a greater resistance tot the motion of the thread when thick than when thin. Y

sion on the thread, which, when set, shall be.

ing size of the thread or of the bobbin, and

ment; and to these ends the'nat u re of this tion which produces the tension win not be in sewing ,patent-leather the enamel abrades the needle, and in a very short time roughens 'it to such an extent as to seriously impede the ,shallnot only be itself lubricated, but also keep lthe needle lubricated, and when drawn into the leather and locked with the shuttlethread in the form of a seam when the oil dries it shall form a cement to bind the threads together in the seam, and thoroughly close up the holes to exclude moisture.

The machine in its general structure, as represented in the accompanying drawings, is similar to the machine described in Letters Patent granted to me and bearing date the 12th day of August, 1851, and the 13th of April, 1852, andA therefore it will not` be neeessary to give a descriptionl of the general structure and operation, except so far as it may be necessary to a clear understanding of my present improvements.

The clothl or other material to be sewed is held down onto the periphery of the feedingwheel a by means of a' pad, b', on the lower 'end of a sliding rod, "c, which is forced down by the tension of la coiled spring, d. The feedf ing-wheel a turns freely ori a stud-pin, e. 4On its outer peri'pheryfit'is formed 'with a groove,

f, near one edge, to' receive a cord, g, made of catgut or other equivalent substance. One end of this cord is attached to the lower .end

'of a spring, h, secured at its upper end to an arm, i, of aroek-shaft', j', provided with another arm, k, actuated by acam, l, on the shaft m to give a vibrato'ry motion to the armv i and springl attachedfthereto, .The spring Vh is provided with .a setfscrew,n, which bears against the arm i, by thel turning of which the operator canset the spring relatively to the arm toincrease or shorten the feed motion to be imparted tothe wheel a. The other end of thel cordg'isjlseeured to the outer end of a reaction L* spring, o, l which is secured to a bracket, 'p', so thatl the end of it to which the cord 'is attached shall resten the bracket with asufficient tension to resist the motion of the arm t until theord is drawn sufficiently tight to insure the turning of the wheel before it.-` 'AIhe-.reaction spring yields to permit thefeed motion;I and from this it will be seen that on the return motion of the arm the reactionI of this spring ywill draw back the cord preparatory to another operation.

To the inner periphery of the wheel a is fit- -ted a'friction-brake, q,made o f wood, notched at r to fit loosely on a bracket-piece, s, with a spring, t, interposed, and between the upper surface of this brake and the hub of the wheel there isan S-formed spring, u, interposed, one. 'end of which bears on the surface ofthe brake at o, near to the connection of the brake withA the bracket, and the other end at w, near to greater distance from the point of SuppOlfi 0f the said brake on the brake. lhe effect of this arrangement is' to cause this brake to make .greater resistance to the motion of the .wheel in the direction of the feed indicated by the cause the brake to present a resistance to the feeding motion of the wheel about equal to on the bracket, so that the wheel shall not be turned while the cord is drawn tight, and not until the reaction spring begins to move, and as the brake makes a greater resistance inthe reversed direction it follows that the wheel will be moved in one direction, when set, with a regular motion, although not so positive as to endanger the parts of the mechanism in case of accidents, while at the same time 1t will be prevented from being turned back by -boX or reservoir, c', supplied with linseed-oil or its equivalent, mixed with litharge or other drier, where it is saturated with oil, and thence it passes through cloth d in a guide to wipey ofi' tlie surplus oil'. This guide is on 011e end of a smooth wire, e', attached tothe frame at to the needle,'andon' th-iswire is placed a turning wing, h', which isheld thereto by a spring, i', so-as to permit it to be turned, and yet hold it with sufficient firmness in any desiredposition. )The thread, in passing frdm' the greater will be the friction of the thread, and vice versa, so thatl the tension on the thread can be regulated with the utmost accuracy without reference to the varying size of the thread. As thespool, vbobbin, or reel tension. n l

1 do not wish tolimit myself tothe precise construction and arrangement of the brake, or to the manner of connecting 4the cord which imparts the feed vmotion with the ar-In of the rock-shaft, nor to the special manner of con. structing the turning wing to regulate the tension of the thread, as these may be varied within the range of my invention by the substitution of equivalent-sl,

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1; The method of imparting; the feed motion to the feed-wheel by means of the cord the' other end'of the said brake, at a much.

in the direction the reverse of the arrow than v arrow, and the ltension must be such as to..

the tension of the reaction spring' when at rest v the return motion of the cord. The needle. thread a', from a loose spool, bobbin, or reel, l passes through an eye, b', in the bottom of a.

and provided with another eye o rguide,l g', through which thekthread passes on its way vone eye or guideto the other, passes by`thiS-- turning wing, and'hence by turning ,wing` on thewire the thread will be woundarou'nd the wire on each side of the wing in opposite,.. v ldirections,.and "the moreit is wound around".

from which the threadl is drawn turns freely on its bearings, it will not materially affect the connected at oneend with the adjustable arm of the rocklshaft and the other withk the reaction' spring, substantially as specified, when this is combined with the friction-brakes, operating substantially as specified, and for the purpose set forth. i Y

2. Governing and regulating-the-tension of the needle-thread by means of the w'irewith 'its eyes or guides, substantialIy as specified, in jeombination with the turning wing, by which the coilingor winding ofthe thread-around die-thread, on its way to the needle, to pass 4through linseed-oil or its. equivalent, mixed.-

WithaJ drier, substantially as and for the purposespecied.

ISAAC M. SNGER. Witnesses:

' WM. H. BISHOP,

CHAS. N. BAMBURGH.

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