US1260527A - Welt-sewing machine. - Google Patents

Description

A; EPPLER. WELT SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23. I915- Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

w m W A. EPPLER.

WELT SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1915.

l ,QEQEQY, Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

law?

A. EPPLER. WELT SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2a, 1915.

6@,52f'?. Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Jwm:

ANDREW EPPLER, OF LYNN, MAS$ACHUSETTE, ASSaIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, 0F PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A. CORPO- RATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

WELT-SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. as, .1918.

To a?! whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW EPPL'ER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Welt-Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to welt sewing machines for sewing inseams of wclted shoes. More particularly the invention relates to a welt feeding device for supplying slack welt to the shoe feeding mechanism of the sewing machine.

Welting used in the manufacture of welted shoes is usually in the form of a long continuous strip made by cementing short strips of leather together, which, when prepared for use in sewing machines, is wound in the form of a coil or on a reel. The coil or reel is ordinarily placed on the floor near the base of the sewing machine, and one end led to the shoe feeding mechanism which pulls the welt from the coil or reel during the sewing operation. l vith this method of handling the welt, considerable strain is put on the welt guide and shoe feeding mechanism in pulling the welt off the supply. The pull on the welt by the shoe feeding devices also puts a strain on the welt which not only tends to pull the welt apart at the butts or joints, but also interferes with the proper attachment of the welt to the shoe, especially at the toe portion, where it is desirable to have the welt attached so that it can readily be flattened out.

The primary object of this invention is to provide means which will supply welt to the shoe feeding mechanism so as to relieve the mechanism and the welt of the objectionable strain or pull above mentioned. To this end the invention contemplates the provision in a welt sewing machine of a welt feeder for feeding slack welt to the sewing point so that the welt will offer no objectionable resistance to the forward movement of the shoe feeding mechanism. a

Another object of this invention is to provide means for supplying to the stitch forming mechanism just the amount of welting used in making the stitch, regardless of the arying length of feeding stroke of the shoe feeding mechanism in making different lengths of stitch. In accordance with this object the invention contemplates the provision in a welt sewing machine of a welt feeding device for feeding a greater amount of welt to the shoe feeding mechanism than is used in making the stitch during the forward stroke of said mechanism and then re tracting the excess welt not used in making the stitch during the return stroke of said mechanism.

. A further object of this invention is to provide a mechanism for measuring or limiting the forward movement of the welt when the shoe is removed from the machine at the completion of the sewing operation, so that the welt may be severed with a minimum waste of material. In accordance with this object, a feature of the invention contemplates the provision of means whereby the welt feeding device may be utilized as a welt measurer to limit the forward movement of the welt when removing the shoe from the machine, and predetemine the welt severing point.

In addition to the above features, the invention includes certain further features of construction and arrangement referred to in the claims which contribute to the ei'iiciency and simplicity of the machine. I

The various features of the invention will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, and the following detailed description of the mechanism illustrated therein.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation showing a welt sewing machine embodying the invention in its preferred form; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the welt feeding dc vice; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the welt feeding device taken on the line 3-3 of Fig 2; and Fig. l is a side elevation of a portion of the sewing machine head showing the mounting of the welt feeding device thereon.

In the drawings the invention is shown as embodied in a welt sewing machine having the construction and mode of operation of the machine shown and described in the patent to Eppler, No. 1,108,560, dated August 25, 1914. This machine is provided with the usual stitch forming and shoe feeding devices including a looper 10, a

thread finger 12, a feed point or awl 14:, and a channel guide 16, the awl and channel guide being mounted on a horizontal reciprocating feed slide 18. The machine is also provided with a welt guide 20 for holding the welt adjacent the sewing point during the sewing operation. As is usual in this type of machines, the cam shaft 22 makes one revolution for each cycle of operations performed by the stitch forming and work feeding devices.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the welt 24 (Fig. 1) coming from the supply, which may be either in the form of a loose coil or wound upon a reel, passes over a guide 26 mounted in the machine head 28, then through the welt guide 20 to the sewing point. The guide 26 is in the form of a roll, but is normally locked in a stationary position and acts as a support for the welt, so that the welt slides over the guide while it is fed to the sewing point. The guide 26 forms one member of a welt feeding device the other member of which consists of a roll 30 having teeth on its periphery. The roll is rotatably mounted on a stud 84: which is fixed in the outer end of a clamping lever 86. The clamping lever is pivotally mounted at 38 to a feed arm 40 and the inner end of the lever is acted upon by a spring 12 held in a socket l4; in the feed arm 40-. The pivotal mounting of the lever 36 provides for an adjustment of the roll 30 for different thicknesses of welt, and the spring presses the roll against the welt so that the teeth 32 will grip the welt in feeding it forward. The welt passes between the guide 26 and roll 30 with grain side in contact with the guide and the flesh side in contact with the teeth on the periphery of the roll. The roll is locked from rotation during its forward or feed stroke by means of a ratchet 46 on the end of the roll, and a spring pressed pawl 48 mounted in the clamping lever 36 adjacent the ratchet. The teeth on the roll. are arranged to bite into the flesh side of the welt, so that a bodily movement of the roll in the direction of feedwill drag the grain side of the Welt over the guide 26. The forward troke of the feed arm is so adjusted that a greater amount of welt is fed forward to the stitch forming devices than is used in formingthe maximum length of stitch, so, that slack welt is supplied at the welt guide while the shoe feeding devices of the sewing machine pull the welt forward. With a slack welt held at the welt guide, no resistance is offered to the. movement of the shoe feeding devices. During the return stroke of the arm 36 the roll 30"still grips the welt, due to the tension of the spring 42, and the resistance of the ratchet pawl 48, so that it drags the welt back across the guide until enough strain has been put upon the welt between resistance of the pawl 48, when the wheel will roll over the welt back to the position shown in Fig. 3, in order to get a new grip on the work for the next feed stroke.

The forward and return strokes of the roll 30 are made during one revolution of the cam shaft 22, or while one stitch is being formed in the shoe. These movements of the roll are obtained by a connection with the shoe feeding mechanism. The feed arm 4-0 which carries the feed roll is integral with a feed shaft 50 that is held in a bore 52 of a measuring shaft 54; which supports the guide 26. A segment arm 56 is secured by a split hub and clamping bolt 58 to the end of the'feed shaft 50 and connccted by means of a bell crank lever 60 (Fig. to a lever 62 for reciprocating the feed slide 18 of the sewing machine. The bell crank lever 60 is mounted upon a bracket 64-, fastened on the end of a fulcrum rod 66, which carries the stopping mechanism for the cam shaft of the sewing machine. One end of the bell crank lever is provided with a toothed segment 68 which meshes with the teeth on the segment arm 56, and the other end of the lever has a sliding connection 70 with the stud 72 upon which the cam roll Tel for the feed slide lever mounted. The cam roll 745 is reciprocated in a line substantially parallel with the cam shaft22' by meansof the feed cam '26. This movement rotates the hell crank 60 about its axis and rocks the feed haft 50 which gives the feeding movement to the welt.

Welt and turn sewing machines are usually provided with a guide for the welt in order to hold the welt in proper position to go through the welt guide. The patent to Topha-m No. 1,099,326, dated June 9, 1914i, describes a guide for the welt that is used in measuring the amount of weltpulled forward when the shoe is removed from the machine, and the measuring mechanism also serves to actuate a clutch for operating the welt severing and holding devices. The guide 26 for the welt in applicants invention, in addition to its feeding function, also acts as a device measuring the amount of welt pulled forward at the completion of the sewing operation, and serves further to operate a clutch for actuating the welt sev'ernected with the guide 26 by means of an arm 88 keyed on the-end of the rock shaft, and a connecting link 90 which is pinned to a measuring arm 92 that is keyedto the measuring shaft 54 of the welt guide 26. When the rod 80 is pushed up through the slot in the arm 8%, the rock shaft 86, is free to oscil late and consequently the guide 526 is free to be turned by a forward pull on the welt as the shoe is removed from the machine. The turning movement of the guide and of the shaft 54- is determined by a pin 94 mounted in the machine frame so as to project into a slot 96 in the measuring arm 92. When the turning movement of the guide 26 is stopped by the pin 94: striking the end of the slot 96 a much greater resistance is offered to the pull which is being exerted on the welt by the operator so that the exact amount of welt to be pulled forward in removing the shoe can be accurately determined. To vary the amount of welt pulled forward when the shoe is removed from the machine in order that the welt may be severed at difierent distances from the end of the seam, the slot 96 in the measuring arm is provided with an adjusting screw. I

The connections of the measuring arm 92 with the rock shaft 86 are so adjusted that the movement of the guide 26 due tothe forward pull on the welt will oscillate a latch 100 on the rock shaft 86 (Fig. 1) to release a driving clutch for operating the welt severing device 102. Through the operation of the driving clutch a toothed arm 104; is

oscillated which rotates the bevel gear 106 for manipulating the welt severing device 102. The clutch operating and locking mechanism and rock shaft 86 with its connections to the measuring arm 92, as well as the welt severing device, have substantially the same construction and are operated in the same manner as the welt measuring and severing device referred to in the Topham patent above mentioned, and reference is hereby made to said patent for a detailed description of the construction and operations of parts for said mechanism. After the welt has been severed it is held in position ready to be attached to the next shoe. Upon starting the sewing operation the latch 78 is oscillated by the rotation of thecam shaft 22 to draw down the rod 80 and lock the rock shaft 86 from rotation. By this movement of the shaft 86 the guide 26 is moved back into position ready to measure the welt for the next severing operation.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention, and specifically described one of the forms of the machine in which it may be embodied, what is claimed is l. A welt sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, and means between the shoe feeding mechanism and the welt supply for gripping the welt and feeding it forward to supply slack welt to said mechanism.

2. A weltsewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, and intermittently operated means for gripping the welt and for feeding forward to the said feeding mechanism a length of welt greater than the'length of a stitch.

3. A welt sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, and a welt feeder for feeding forward to said mechanism an amount of welt greater than the length of a stitch and then retracting the slack of the welt while each stitch is being formed.

4. A welt-sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, and a welt feeder for feeding varying amounts of welt to the stitch forming mechanism to correspond to the varying amount of welt used in forming different lengths of stitch.

5. A welt sewing machine, having in combination, stitch forming and shoe feeding mechanism, a welt feeding mechanism for feeding forward welt to the stitch forming mechanism, and means for controlling the welt feeding mechanism to measure the amount of welt pulled forward in removing a shoe from the machine.

6. A welt sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, a welt feeder for advancing the welt to the stitch forming mechanism, devices to limit the movement of said feeder to limit the forward movement of the welt upon the withdrawalof the shoe.

7. A welt sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, welt severing mechanism, a welt feeder for advancing the welt to the stitch-forming mechanism, and means connected with the feeder to operate the welt severing mechanism upon a forward pull on the welt.

8. A welt sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, a welt feeder, and means for moving the welt feeder toward the stitchforming mechanism to give slack welt during the forward stroke of said feeding mechanism and away from said stitch-forming mechanism to draw back the slack welt not used in the stitch-forming operation during the return stroke of said feeding mechamsm.

9. A welt sewing machine, having, in combmation, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, a rotatable welt guide for supporting the welt, welt feeding means to feed the welt over said guide, means to operate said feeding means, and mechanism to hold the welt guide from movement during the welt feeding operation.

10. A welt sewing machine, having, in.

combination, stitch-forming and shoe feeding mechanism, a welt guide, a welt feeder for moving the welt over the. guide comprising; a toothed wheel to grip the Welt, means formoving the wheel bodily back and forth, andmeans for locking the wheel. from rotation in one direction.

11. A welt sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming and shoe feed:- ing mechanism including a. feed slide lever, a welt guide, a welt feeding rollto grip the welt on said guide, a pawl and ratchet. controlling the rotation of the roll and means connected. with said feed lever to move the roll. bodily to feed the. welt: across. the guide during the feed" stroke of the lever and cause the roll toroll over the welt during the return strokevof the lever.

12. A, welt sewing machine, having in combination, stitch forming and shoe feed- 1.1:

ing mechanism, a Welt guide engaging the Welt close to the; sewing point, a guide for the welt remote from the sewing point, and means for gripping therwelt and feeding it forward. over said last. mentioned guide to supply slack welt to. said mechanism;

7 ANDREW EPPLER. Witnesses:

(lnns'rnn- E. ROGERS, LAURA M. GooDRIneE.

floppies of. this patent may be. ohtainedror five cents each, by addressing the commissloner of Patents,

Washington, D. G."

Images