US114294A - Improvement in sewing-machines - Google Patents

Description

4sheetsnsbeef1`f. J. A HOUSE &H. A. HOUSE.

Improvement in Sewing-Machines.,

No. 114,294. Patented May 2, m71.

4Sheets--Sheet2- 1. A. HOUSE & H. A. House. v.Improvement in Sewing-Machines. 114,294.

Patented May 2,1871.

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lmprovemnt in Sewing-Machines. NO. 114,294. X Patenied May 2,1871.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. HOUSE AND HENRY A. HOUSE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO WHEELER & WILSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF

SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification fomning part of Letters Patent No. 114,294, dated May 2, 1871.

To all rwhom 'it may concern Be it known that we, JAMES A. HOUSE and HENRY A. HOUSE, both of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield, in the State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewilig-hiacliines; and that the following, taken in connection with the drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

.In the drawings which represent a machine embodying our invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine on a scale one-half ot' that of the other figures. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through parts of the machine in the line y y of Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a vertical section oi the parts of the machine on the line a: a* of Fig. 4, and an elevation of other parts, with the face-plate, needle-carrier, and presser-foot carrier removed. Fig. 4 is a plan of parts of the machine with the plate which constitutes the supporting-table or platform removed.y

Fig. 5 contains two vertical sections at right angles to each other through the bobbin-container. Fig. 6 is a plan ot' the bobbin and bobbin-case. Fig. 7, a horizontal section through thev same. Fig. Sis an elevation ot' the bobbin-ease. Fig. 9 is a plan of the bobbin. Fig. 1l) is a plan ot' the hook and the bobbin-case supporter. Fig. 11 is an elevation ot' the hook. In Fig. 12 are shown two elevations of the take-up lever, one of them being partially in section, in order to exhibit the pin and shaft which actnate that lever. Fig. 12 is a partial section through the takeup lever and its driving-shaft in the line of the axis thereof'. Fig. 13 is a plan of the preferred kind of cog-gearing and of the shaft and cams which actuate the feed-bar. Fig. 14

- exhibits the thread-guides in plan and elevafounded with that other class ot' machines in which a shuttle revolving upon its own axis is employed, such shuttle acting, by means of a hook making part thereof, to draw out loops of needle-thread and pass them around itself, and consequently around the bobbin contained in the shuttle, and such shuttle and its hook being ot' necessity separate from and not connected with a shaft or any other means for causing it to revolve.

The class ot' machines upon which our improvements are based are usually known as N'Vheeler & Wilson machines, and our improvements have been invented chiefly with a view of enabling revolving-hook machines to sew heavy material, thick cloth, leather, &c., and also to permit the use of a bobbin containing a much greater quant-ity of thread than can be wound upon the bobbins of machines of that class.

Some of our improvements are applicable to sewing-machines of other classes or varieties, and we intend to use them in such machilies.

The machine shown in the drawings is one of the straight-needle variety; but a curved needle, mounted in an arm oscillating on a shaft or center, may be employed.

This machine has a bracket., a., for supporting the needle-carrier a1,presser-foot carrier b', Ste., and also a table or platform, c, beneath which the driving-shaft d may be arranged.

lhe needle a2 may be driven from the main shaft through the intervention ot' any suitable train of mechanical devices. We prefer an eccentric on the driving-shaft,actuating, by means of a connecting-rod, a lever inclosed in the bracket, one end of which lever in its vibrations causes the needle-carrier to reciprocate.

A presser-foot or contrivance for holding the material to be sewn down upon the feeding-surface and the table may be arranged in any usual manner. We prefer to mount the presser-foot b upon a vertical sliding bar, b', forced down by a spring, c, and lifted, when necessary, bya lever, c2, lying behind the bar b' and beneath the bracket. This lever may act either upon the spring or upon the bar itself.

The bobbin for the upper thread may be' mounted in any convenient place, as at c4, with a tension apparatus, as at c5, and an oilvessel, if desired, as at e6, the latter being useful When leather is sewn, and the thread being caused topass through the oil iriany usual. or proper manner.

Any proper guides or eyes may be used between the tension and the needle-eye,A :Vi/'e prefer to use such lguides asv are shownrspecially in Fig. 14. These' guides are the usual oyes, with a diagonal slit, f, cut from the eye*A proper or orificejto the outside. :.ltis c ut into that side ofthe oriii'ce against which the thread does-not usually bear, and it furnishes a convenient means ibrthreading the eye, while at bobbimand a depression and bevel at g4,

which facilitate the slipping off of the loop. In the operation of this hook the lower part of the bight of needle-thread passes under the bobbin, and the upper part ofthe same bight over the bobbin 5' and as this lower part leads from the needle-eye, and the upperpart from the under side of the `cloth,and the seizing part of the hook lies some distance below the cloth, (see Fig. 2,) it will be perceived that the loop has a wide throat or base, and that it is well suited for surrounding a thick bobbin. Owing to this peculiar conformation, and consequent peculiar action of the hook, the apex ofthe loop, Ior that part of it held on the hook proper, forms a round turn of needle-thread around ythe seizing part of the hook j ust prior to the time when the loop is cast oi' from the hook; butwe find, in practice, that this turn slips freely off of the point of the hook when the hook and needle areabout in the relative position shown in Fig. l0, and that the formation of this round turn is in no way objectionable. v

The seizing, expanding, and casting off `functions and operationsot' the hook are the same as in `former known rotary hooks of the machines of the Wheeler 8U Vilson system. So long as the hook is so formed' asv to pass the loop of needle-thread, as described, and seize, expand, and cast off such loops, its pre cise shape is immaterial.

` This hook also differs in arrangement, with respect to the needle, from ordinary Wheeler di Wilson machines, inspectionof the drawings showing that its shaft and axis of revolution are in a plane parallel with that in which the needle reciprocates, or nearly so, whereas in former' machines the shaft of the hook lies in a plane perpendicular to that in which'tlie needle reciprocates.

This arrangement of the hook causes the loop to be drawnout in planes nearly parallel with the lower surface ot' the material being sewn, and with a side draft from the needle, instead of a .downward one, as usual, and thus,

'as before described, much facilitates the forlnation of a wide loop, or one that will surround a thick bobbin.

uwThe bobbin may lie upon the metal forming vthe rhook and revolving with it, as would be the case vif the piece h, which we call the bob- "bin-supporter, were made in one piece with the hook or so attached thereto as to rotate with it 5 but we prefer to use a hollow tube for the hook-shaft, and to place within it a rod, hl, to

which isattached the bobbin-supporter h.

This rod tends to revolve by the friction of the hook-shaft upon it and the friction of the h ook upon the bottom ofthe bobbin-supporter, and is prevented from revolving by means of a set-screw, h2, or other proper device; and we' prefer to permit the set-screw to bear in such way upon the rod that the latter will be i'ree to slide up and down.

i By applying theiinger, to the button h3 th Ybin-supporter may be shaped as aiiat or dished or irregular surface; but the best plan is to form itas a ring or annular elevation, h4, the bobbin resting upon the ring, and thus affording free space for the needlethread to pass under the bobbin, the thread being hampered only where the bobbin rests upon the ring; and we further prefer to cut away a part of the periphery of this ring, as at if', (see Fig. 10,) and to arrange the gap in such relation to the needle that the loop at the time when itis cast voff lby the hook is not nipped at all between the bobbin and thering, and it thereforeopposes no resistance when drawn up.

Upon the supporter or the center part of the hook any of the usual circular bobbins of this class of machines may be placed, and

these bobbins may be made much thicker than usual at and near the centers thereof, so as to contain more thread 3 but wel prefer to employ a bobbin, i, inclosed in a case, f1.

When a case is used, one of its special offices is to shut upthe slit between the upper and lower heads of the b obbins, and thus prevent loops ol' needle-thread from entering and being caught in this slit, and a mere ring will serve this purpose, provided it be slightly flanged inward at bottom, so that the bobbin may rest in it; but we prefer to make the case with a bottom, and to round the bottom so as to present as little obstacle as possible to the passage of one part of the loop beneath it,

and also to bevel the top on one side thereof,

(see i2, Figs. l, 6, and 8,) so as to permit the other part of the loop to slip freely over its edge.

Another special oftice of the bobbin is that it aords a support for a tension device for putting tension upon the lower thread, and we intend to use any proper usual device, such as holes, through which the thread is passed as in shuttles, but we prefer a spring-ring, i3. (See specially Fig. 7.) This spring tends to expand and bears against the inside of the bobbin-case, and a part of it projects through a slit in the periphery of the case.

The bobbin-thread is passed through a hole in the case, such as i4, and the spring is then, by means of the projection, revolved in the direction of arrow, Fig. 7. This turning ot' the spring' nips the thread between the spring and the case, and a greater or lesser degree of tension may be attained by turning the end of the spring to a greater or lesser distance past the hole.

We sometimes intend to form a groove on the outside of the bobbin-case and locate in it a spring-ring, tending to diminish its diameter. By sliding this ring the nippingA of the thread is produced in the saine way and substantially by the same means.

The thread may lead directly from the exterior of the bobbin-case to the under side ot' the cloth when the machine is in operation, and good sewing effected, but as the bobbincase tends to tip and oscillate under the action of the loop passing around it, thus disturbing the efticient tension on the bobbin-thread, and as we desire to attain as near as possible to perfection, we lead the thread back again toward the center of the bobbin through another hole just above it, and hook it under a little hook, i5, attached to a spindle projecting upward from the center of the bobbin-piece. The thread then lies as in Fig. 6, and always leads from the center of the bobbin, and is not at't'ectcd by any oscillation or tipping thereof.

The bobbin is made with a hollow axis as usual, and the spindle supporting the little hook i5 passes up through this axis.

The bobbin or bobbin-case when used is held in place by the bobbin-container, which is the inner surface or bore i6 ot' a short cylinder or ring; this ring may be supported and held in place vin any proper or convenient manner so long as it surrounds the bobbn or bobbin-case, substantially as shown in the drawing.

which (see specially Fig. 4) enters into a recess cut into the bore of the restraining-ring i6, and as the bobbin or bobbin-case sometimes, while the loop is being put over it,

knocks noisily against one part of the ring, there is applied to the ring and making part of it a piece of rawhide, hard leather, indiarubber, or substance of similar cushioning properties, i, against which the bobbin-pin strikes at such times.

Neither the nose nor the cushion-piece is essential, but they tend to perfect the machine.

The rotating hook may be caused to revolve in any usual or proper manner, care being taken as usual that the hooked part thereof shall at the proper time seize the loop ot` needle-thread. vWe prefer to drive it from the main shaft by means of any proper gearing, and have essayed with success common miter or bevel gear, especially where the hook is so geared that it makes two complete revolutions to each stroke of the needle instead of one revolution at each stroke, as usual in revolving-hook machines.

The hook when thus geared up seizes a loop at each alternate revolution only, and the object of giving it this double speed is that it may draw ont and cast oft' the loop quickly, thus giving more time in proportion for the pulling up ot' the loop by the take-up than when the hook makes only one revolution for each stroke of the needle.

rI he pulling up of the loop is accomplished ehiey during the time occupied by those revolutions ot' the hook during which no needle-thread is seized.

The plan, however, which we prefer is to drive the hook with a differential or varying velocity during each revolution, and we intend to effectthis by any means known to mechanics, suitable for the purpose, but propose usually to employ a kind ot' gearing which we believe to be new, viz., two irregular oval or eccentric screw gear-wheels whose axes lie in planes at right angles to each other.

By reference to the drawings it will be perceived that one of these gear-wheels la is mounted upon the main shaft, ,and the other, 7c', upon the shat't or axis of the revolving hook.

rlhis shaft rests upon a hollow cone, g3, which is free to slide in the stationary arm g4, and is held in place by a set-screw, g5, the gist of the construction being that the support which carries the hook, and consequently the hook itself, shall be adjustable.

The cogs on these gear-wheels are cut according to well-known rules for cutting screwgear, and the contour ot' the wheels themselves is substantially such as is shown in the drawings, and they are so arranged in reference to each other, to the hook, and the needle that the hook moves with greater velocity during the time of seizing and expanding or drawing out the loop and with less velocity during the time that the loop is being drawn up or pulled up by the thread-controller or take-u p.

The loop which surrounds the bobbin must be asl wide open as the thickness of the bobbin, and as the hook pulls out or opens the loop in planes substantially at right angles to the plane in which the needle vibrates, and as the bobbin lies above the hook, it is well to prevent as much as possible side'strainupon the needle, and to hold down that part of the loop which goes under the bobbin.

ln order to accomplish these results there is applied near the needle a2, which is contained when below the cloth in the groove a3, a small stationary hook, j, (see special Fig. 5;) this hook is so shaped and located, substantially as shown, that therotating hook revolving in the direction of the arrows, Figs. 4t and 10, draws the lower part of the seized loop behind the hook j, so that it rests in the gap j. As the revolving hook continues to expand the loop the draw or pull of the thread, in Aconsequence of its being caught behind the stationary hook, tends to pull the needle downward instead of sidewise, and the lower Apart of the loop is prevented from being drawn up by the needle. At or about the time that the loop is fully formed the lower part of it is carried in such direction by the seizing part of the rotating hook, and is so held down by the bobbin, that this lower part 'pulls on the stationary hook in a direction somewhat in reverse to that in which it pulled at the commencement of the drawing-out operation, and therefore slips off the stationary hook under its rounded point. This stationary hook may be used or not used, but the machine works better when it is furnished with a stationary hook.

Any proper feed-motion may be used in c0n nection with the stitching mechanism, but the ordinary four-motion feed, consisting of a notched or roughened bar acting in combination with a smooth surface pressing the cloth down upon the roughened surf ace,is preferred.

As this machine is intended specially for use in heavy work a strong feed is needed, and it is better to arrange the rough surface p on both sides of the needle, (see specially Fig. 4;) when this surface is thus arranged and the feed-bar lies directly over the gearwheel upon the main shaft it is impossible to arrange the cams which lift and push it in the direction of the f'eed directly under the bar, and if these cams are arranged on one side only of the cog-wheels they tend to shog the bar sidewise when resisted by a force equal to that needed to feed the cloth or leather.

In order to obviate this difficulty two han gers or pendants, 121191, are attached to and depend from the feed-bar; these hangers straddle the gear-wheel, and apply themselves against cams p2 p2 p4 p", arranged on each side of the wheel.

Two of these camslift the hangers, and consequently the feeding surface, `and the other two force the bar forward to feed the cloth while the bar is lifted.

' The bar isretracted and forced downward by the spring p5. (See Fig. 4.)

Thefeed-bar is supported in place in any usual or proper manner, and its end or a piece, 196, attached to its end farthest from the feeding surface, strikes when thrown back against a wedge-formed stop, p7. v

This stop is supported in a slot in the edge of the platform (see p, Fig. 9) in such manner that it can be moved or slid to and fro to regulate the distance of retraction of the bar, and consequently the length of stitches.

There is attached to this bar a handle, p, outside of the machine, and also a graduated plate or scale, p10, and there is engraved upon or attached to the platform of the machine an index line or hand; or the graduations may` be marked upon the platform and the hand be attached to the wedge. v

The wedge is so shaped and the plate so graduated that the length of the stitch may be regulated prior to the commencement of any sewing, and this facility feed-bar to any predetermined length of stitch is useful.v

1n ordinary rotating-hook machines the castloff loop is pulled up tight by the drawing out of a succeeding loop, and the machine hereinbefore described will sew in that manner.

This method of drawing up the loop involves the pulling ot' the thread in opposite directions through two thicknesses of the whole pile of material being sewn, and consequently there is great resistance, owing to friction, arising from the fact that the thread is pulled upward through the material by a downward pull upon the same thread passing down again through the material.

In sewing leather and very heavy cloth it is important to avoid this resistance, and in order to do so there is combined with the needle and hook a take-up or thread-controller, located above the cloth, and commencing to draw up the loop at or about the time it is cast off by the revolving hook, and finishing the drawing up before the revolving hook seizes a succeeding loop.

There are many take-ups'patented, described,

l and in common use, especially on sewing-ma'- chines of the shuttle variety, which will answer the purpose; but we prefer to use a lever, I, mounted upon a shaft, 1.1, and tending to rcmain at rest, this tendency resulting from the employment of a friction-spring or pad or pads, Z3 Z3, pressing upon the lever by preference -near its center of oscillation.

The hub of the lever has a slotcut in it, (see Figs. 3 and 12,) and a pin or arm, m, attached to the shaft upon which the lever is mounted, enters the slot.

of setting the The shaft Z has an arm, m2, upon it, and this arm and consequently the shaft and piu are caused .to oscillate by means of any proper train of mechanical motions; the cam m3, acting by means of a bent lever (mounted and concealed in the bracket) upon the arm m2, is

the mechanical means employed in the ma-A chine shown in the drawings.

The needle-thread leading from the guide f2 is passed through an eye or hook in the end of the take-up lever; thence through the guide f3,- thence again through an eye or hook in the end of the take-up lever; thence through an eye, f4 and thence downward and through the eye of the needle.

Vhen the rotating hook spreads the loop the take-up lever is drawn forward by the thread overcoming the friction of the pads, thus furnishing thread for the loop; and after the loop is cast off the pin in, in its oscillation, (see Fig. 12,) strikes against the end of the slot in which it plays, and throws the lever back, thus drawing up the castei' loop above l the cloth.

The pin m oscillates back again in the direction the reverse of the arrow at or before the time that the hook seizes a new loop, thus leaving the take-u p lever free to be pulled forward by the thread, as before.

The cam and connections to drive the lever must be so constructed as to perform the drawing-up and permit the spreading at the proper times..

The hook on the end ofthe take-up lever is formed by punching a hole in the end of it so as to leave a tongue, l2, extending into the hole. The punched end of the lever is then bent over on itself, substantially as shown in the drawings, and when thread is passed through the hook the tongue prevents it from escaping, somewhat in the same manner as the snap of a snap-hook.

When the bobbin is wound and pnt in the case and the thread subjected to the tension and led from the center of the bobbin, as before described, it is to be put into place in its containing-ring upon the bobbin-supporter, and a door-shutter or coveringplate, n, is shut over it.

This plate is pivoted at al, (see Fig. 4,) and a spring, a2, tends to throw it open.

1t is prevented from swingingopen by means of a springcatch, n3, Fig. 3.

The needle is then to be threaded with the thread led through the tension eyes, take-np lever, &c., and the cloth is to be put in the usual place and pressed down by the presserfoot.

A revolving motion imparted to the main shaft will cause the needle to descend, pierce the cloth, and rise a little; then the hook in its rotation will seize a loop, expand it, and

pass it around the bobbin-case and bobbin and.

cast the loop off, all during a further ascent, or an ascent and partial descent of the needle.

When the loop is cast oft' it will be drawn up by the take-up, thus inelosing or surrounding the bobbin-thread; and a subsequent descent of the needle, seizing, expanding, casting ofi', and drawing up of a loop of needle-thread varound the bobbin-thread, will `complete a stitch, provided the, feeding apparatus acts as usual to advance the cloth while the needle is out of it.

We claim as of our invention- 1. A rotating hook, so formed, substantiallyr as described, as to seize,expand, and cast olf loops of needle-thread, as specified, and in its action causing a round turn of thread around the seizing part of the hook.

2. The relative arrangement of a reciproeatin g eye, pointed needle, and a revolving hook, substantially such as specified, so that the seizing portion of the latter revolves in planes perpendicular to that in which the former reciprocates, the arrangement being substantially such as specified, and both the needle and hook operatin g substantially as de scribed.

3. The combination of a reciprocating eye- Vpointed needle with a revolving hook, substantially such as is specified, and a bobbin, when the a-Xes of the two latter are in planes parallel t0 that in which the needle reciprocates, the relative arrangement being as described.

4. In combination with a revolving hook,- a nonrevol vin g bobbin-supporter, provided with a ring or annular elevation, substantiallysuch as described, on which a bobbin or a bobbincase may rest, as described.

5. A non-revolving bobbin-supporter, provided with a ring or annular elevation having' a gap or opening in the periphery thereof, the construction being substantially such as described, when arranged and operating in com bination with a revolving hook, substantially as described.

6. A bobbin, in combination with a bobbincase and a horizontally-revolving hook, all constructed and operating substantially as described. A

7.A bobbin, in combination with a bobbincase, having peripheral eyes or holes, and a central standard with a guide-eye or hook located at the axis of the bobbin, through which bobbin-thread may be led, as described.

8. A take-up lever, mounted upon a shaft and operated in one direction by a pin or arm upon the shaft, and in the other by the pull or draft of the thread, the combination of lever, pin, and shaft being substantially such as set forth.

9. The take-up lever, provided at its end with the double hook and tongue between the two parts thereof, the construction and coinbination being as set forth.

10. The combination of two irregular eccentric or oval screw-gears, the one mounted upon a shaft lying in a plane at right angles to the' plane in which the shaft of the other gear is located, the combination being substantially such as set forth.

l1. The combination of two sets of cams,

one set upon each side of a cog-Wheol, with substantially such fisdeseribed, for the lower two legs or pendants attached to a feed-har, end of' the hookshaft.

whereby the feeding surface may be properly In testimony whereof we have hereunto subaetuated when located above the cog-wheel, scribed' our names.

substantially as set forth. JAMES A. HOUSE.

l2. In combination with a, revolving hook, Witnesses: HENRY A. HOUSE. substantially-such as specified, and mounted G. C. BISHOP,

upon a vertical exis, an adjustable support, C. H. DIMOND.

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