US1355118A - Thread-waxing device for sewing-machines - Google Patents

Description

F. ASHWORTH.

THREAD WAXING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES.

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1,355,1 18. Panted oet 12, 1920.

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UNITED STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

FRED ASHWORTH, 0F BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0, UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW ."rEnsEY.

THBEAD-WAXING DEVICE FOR SEWING-MACHINES,

Specication of Letter-s Patent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

Application led September 11, 1918. Serial No. 253,625.

To all whom it may cof/wem:

Be it known that I, FRED AsHWoRTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and btate of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thread-Waxing Devices for Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declarethefollowing 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.

This invention relates to thread waxing devices for sewing machines.

The objects of the invention are to improve the construction and arrangement of parts of thread waxing devices and to produce a thread waxing device which is simple in construction and eiicient in operation, which may be cheaply manufactured and the parts of which may be easily and quickly assembled. x

In making shoes it is desirable, in certain classes of work to use white thread for stitching the outsole and welt so that the stitches will stand out clearly in contrast to ,the rest of the shoe. Inasmuch as Vthe hot wax which is ordinarily used as the thread lubricant has a tendency to discolor the thread, more or less, a preparation known as cold gum or liquid wax, which is in liquid form at normal temperatures, is commonly used for waxing the white thread. The use of hot wax however is preferred for the usual class of work and in order that a single machine may be adapted for both classes of work, independent waxing means must be provided. The invention as illustrated and described in the present application is embodied in an auxiliary thread waxing device which is particularly adapted for the use of cold gum and which may be readily attached to a machine provided with a thread waxing device of one of the usual forms for applying heated wax to the thread. The main features of the invention, however, are not limited to an auxiliary device nor to a device for the use of any particular kind of wax, but are generally applicable to thread waxing devices.

The invention will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,

which illustrate the invention in its preerred form, and to the following description of the .construction therein.

In the'drawings Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation of a portion of an outsole shoe sewing machine with a thread waxing device embodying the invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of said thread waxing device; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the cover for the wax receptacle with the thread eye removed; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fi 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of ig. 2; and Fig. 6 is a detail view, in perspective, of the thread stri per. v

Referring to ig.l1 of the drawings the head of the sewing machine is indicated at 2, thev upper portion of the pedestal at 4, the usual wax pot at 6 and the auxiliary waxing device at 8. The auxiliary device, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and '5, comprises a pot or receptacle 10 for the wax, a cover 12, removably mounted on the top of the receptacle, a dry thread tension device v14:, .a thread guide 16, and a thread stripper 18, all of which are mounted on the cover. The receptacle is provided with means for attaching it to the main wax pot 6, this means consisting of a hooked arm 20 which projects from the side of the receptacle 10, at the top thereof, and 'is shaped to fit over the top edge of the rear wall of the main wax pot. The receptacle 10 is held in an upright position by the engagement of a` lug 22, formed thereon, below the arm 20, with the rear of the main wax pot.

When cold gum is used it is important, in

order to preserve its liquidity that it shall not be exposed to heat. Inasmuch as the receptacle is located at the rear of the main wax pot it will be unaffected by the heat from the other' parts of the machine and since it is held away from the main wax. pot by the lug 22 so that it is exposed to the air on all sides and is in contact with the main pot only at the under surface of the hook 20 and at the end of the lug 22 it will not become heated therefrom. The capacity of the auxiliary pot is relatively small but as it is vertically elongated and provided with a thread guide located near the bottom, the thread will be thoroughly coatedwith the wax as it is led from the top of the pot down through the guide and back again to the top.

The cover 12 consists' of an elliptical plate rovided with apertures 24 and 26 throug which the thread enters and leaves the receptacle, respectively. The thread guide or eye 16 is made of porcelain and is mounted in a support consisting of spring wire bent into hair pin shape, one of its arms 28 being fixed at its upper end to the cover by a'nut 30 on a bolt 31 while the other arm 32 is free. The upper portion 34 of the fixed arm is bent substantially at right angles to the plane of the arms 28 and 32 and terminates in an eye 36 which receives the bolt 31. A lug 38 depending from the under side of the cover engages the fixed arm and serves to prevent it from twisting about the bolt 31 when the free arm is being flexed during the process of positioning the cover as will be hereinafter explained. The porcelain thread eye 16 is inserted between the two arms of the wire support at its lowermost extremity where the bend of the wire conforms foi slightly more than half a turn to the bottom of a peripheral groove in the thread eye. After being pressed into position the thread eye is held against upward displacement by the spring action of the free arm of the support and against lateral displacement by the engagement of the opposite walls of the groove with the bent portion of the wire. When the cover is in place, the thread eye is located centrally between the sides of the pot,

Vnear the bottom and serves to guide the thread through the wax. The thread eye may be readily. removed and replaced by another by spreading the arms of the support.

The necessary tension is maintained on the thread by an ordinary form` of dry thread tension device 14 which engages the thread just before it enters the aperture 24 in the cover. The device comprises two tension disks 40 and 42 mounted on a stud 44 and held together by a s ring 46. AThe stud 44 is fixed in a lug 48 w ich rises from the'top of the cover.

Before the thread leaves the receptacle the .surplus Wax is removed therefrom by means of the thread stripper 18 which is mounted on the under side of the cover adjacent the outlet aperture. The thread 'stri per consists of-a rectangular wooden It has been found that a wooden stripper block has advantages which render its use desirable. It may e more cheaply and conveniently formed and it acts more thoroughly tostrip the wax from the thread than strippers made of such other material as has been used heretofore. This is because of a tendency of the wooden stripper to grip or cling to the thread due to certain inherent qualities of the woo and probably most of all'to the fact that wood, being of a fibrous tex ure, is not of uniform hardness and will not wear down to a perfectl smooth surface. In other words, although the continuous assing of the thread through the notch of t e stripper block will wear away the wood and deepen the notch, there will still be a somewhat rough or uneven surface, due to the grain of the wood, which will be in contact with the thread, while in the case of a metallic block the surface would quickly become smooth and polished and its effective stripping action eatly decreased. The maintaining of an e ective stripping surface is further facilitated b l cutting the notch in the stripper block with the grain of the wood.

adapted to engage a portion 60 of the cover on the opposite side thereof from the hook 54. In order to attach the cover it is first placed at the top of the receptacle with the portion 60 temporarily restlng on the top of the hooked lug .58 and the hook 54 of the cover temporarily resting on the to edge of the receptacle. The thread gui e support will then extend into the receptacle with its resilient free. arm 32 ressing against the inner wall thereof. hen by moving the cover slightly toward the left, in Fig. 5, and at the same time pressing downward thereon, the free arm of the thread guide support will yield and the\ cover will be brought against the top edge of the receptacle with the portion 60 1n position to be slip ed under the hooked lug 58 and with the ook 54 projecting below the rim 56. Upon the release of the cover the spring action of the free arm of the threa guide support will force the engaging members into interlockingrelation and the cover will be maintained against upward and forward displacement. earward displacement of the cover is prevented by the contact of the yielding free arm 32 of the thread guide support with the wall ofthe receptacle and endwise displacement is prevented by two depending lugs 62 and 64 which are arran ed to extend within the receptacle when te cover is in place and to engage the wall of the receptacle at the top thereof. The lug 62 also serves as an abutment for the outermost end of the upper portion 34 of the thread guide support thereby insuring engagement of the portion 34 with the stripper block throughout the width thereof, so that the block will be `securely held in position.

It will be seen that an effective wax applying device of very simple construction has been provided as well as one which may be cheaply manufactured and readily attached to a machine. Obviously, the device may be adapted for attachment to some other part of a sewing machine than the regular wax pot or if desired it may be itself adapted for use as an ordinary wax pot by applying a heating unit thereto.

As implied in the foregoing description the invention is not limited to the specific construction of the illustrated embodiment thereof but -`may be variously modified in form and in minor details without departing from the, spirit and scope of the appended claims.'

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

l. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, a wax receptacle, a removable cover therefor, intergaging locking members, one on the receptacle and one on the cover, a thread guide and a resilient thread guide supportacting yieldingly to maintain said locking members in relative interlocking positions.

2. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, a wax receptacle, a laterally slidable cover therefor, interengaging locking members, one on the receptacle and one on the c over arranged to be carried into and out of relative interlocking positions by the lateral movement of the cover, a thread guide, and a resilient thread guide support acting yieldingly on the cover to hold the saine in position with said locking members interlocked.

3. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having. in combination, a wax receptacle, a removable cover therefor, intercnoaging lof-king members, one on the receptacle and one on the cover, a thread guide, a resilient. thread guide support arranged to hold yieldingly the thread guide in place so that the guide may be readily removed therefrom and to hold yieldingly the cover in position with aid locking members interlocked.

4. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, a wax receptacle. a removable cover therefor, interengaging locking members, one on the receptacle and one on the cover, a thread guide, a thread guide support consisting of a hair pin shaped spring in the loop in which the thread guide is held having one arm 'Xed and the other arm free and acting yieldingly to hold the thread guide in the loop and to hold the locking members in relative interlocking positions.

, 5. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, a wax receptacle, a thread guide, a thread guide support, a member to which said support is secured and a thread stripper block located between said member and said support and held in place against said member by the clamping action of said support.

6. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, a wax receptacle, a thread guide, a thread guide support, a member to which said support is secured, a thread stripper block located be# tween said member and said support and engaging in a recess in said member constructed to allow adjustment of the stripper block therein, and means for securing the support to the member and thereby clamping the stripper block between the support and the member, arranged to permit the unclamping of the stripper block so that it can be adjusted.

7. In an auxiliary thread waxing device for sewing machines provided with a main wax pot., a wax receptacle having a hook and a lug constructed and arranged to engage the main wax Dot so as to removably attach the receptacle thereto and support it in upright position.

8. In a thread waxing device, a thread stripper consisting of a wooden block having a notch therein to receive the thread.

9. In a thread waxing device, a thread stripper consisting of a wooden block having a V-shaped notch cut therein in the direction of the grain of the wood.

l0. In a thread waxing device, a thread guide, and a thread guide support consistingr of a hair pin shaped spring, in thc loop of which the thread guide is held, ha ving one arm fixed and the other arm free and acting yieldingly to hold the thread guide in the loop.

11. A thread waxing device having, in combination, a wax receptacle, a removable cover therefor, interengaging locking members, one on the receptacle and one on the cover, and means for holding the cover yieldingly in position with said locking members interlocked.

FRED ASHVVORTI-l.

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