US1422060A - Looper mechanism for sewing machines - Google Patents

Description

R. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1920.

1,422,060. Patentfl July 4,1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R. R. HUGHES, J LOOPER MECHANISM FORYSEWING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16. 1920.

1,422,960, Pateilted July 4,1922.

6 SHEETSSHEET 2.

R. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES. APFLICATION FILED JUNE 1 6, 1920.

1,422,060, Patented 5111 4, 1922,

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W M m R. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1920.

Patented July 41, 1922.

GUM/n m; g

R.. R. HUGHES, In. LUOEER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES,

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16. 1920. 1,422,060, Patented July 4, 1922 6 SHEETS-YSYHEET 5.

Gum-Am; S

B. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

. APPLICATION FiLED JUNE I6. 1920. filQQgQSQ Patented July 4, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

anvawtoz atfozwm STAIES i A i hihii @FFLCE.

ROBERT R. HUGHES,,JR., OF UTICA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 UNION SPECIAL MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LOOPER IVIECHAN ISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

Original application filed October 17, 1919, Serial No. 331,312. Divided 16, 1920. Serial No. 389,328.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT E. HUoHns, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looper Mechanism for Sewing Machines, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in looper mechanisms for sewing machines, and more particularly to a sewing machine wherein the looper moves in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed as it moves into and out of the needle loop.

An object of the invention is to pro vide a looper mechanism of the above char acter wherein the looper is moved into and out of the needle loop by a tram of links and levers positively moved by an eccentric.

member on ,a rotating shaft and wherein said links and levers are so disposed as to cause an extended dwell in the movements of the looper, both at the front end of its stroke and at the rear end of its stroke, and during the time when said looper is given its normal needle avoiding movement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine having a looper moving in the line of feed and in the direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needle loop and a looper moving transversely of the line of feed as it enters its needle loop, wherein the loopers are operated from the same shaft and the devices for operating the loopers are so constructed as to give to the transverse looper the usual oscillating movements and the looper moving in the line of feed, an extended dwell both at the front end and rear end of its stroke.

A further object of the invention is'to provide a looper mechanism having the looper moving in a line of feed and in the direction of feed when entering the needle thread loop, and laterally for needle avoid ing movement, which looper is provided with a notch for the retaining finger which engages the looper thread and holds it away from the body of the looper to insure the needle passing between the thread and body of the looper;

These and other objects will in part be Specification of Letters Patent.

to the looper at each end the Patented July 4, 1922.

and this application filed June obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings which show illustration one tion:

Figure l is a view showing in longitudi nal vertical section a portion of a sewing machine having my improved looper mechanism embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section of the same; i

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the standard showing the looper operating mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section transverse of the work support at a point in front of the loopers;

Fig. 5 is a detail in section showing the rock lever for giving the loopers in the line of feed a needle avoiding movement;

Fig. 6 is a detail showing the mechanism for oscillating the loopers disposed in the line of feed;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view showing one of the loo ers moving in the line of feed in side elevation, and in section the work support, also showing a portion of one needle and the looper thread retainer;

Fig. 9 is a view showing the levers and links for giving a dwell to the looper, said parts being separated to better show their construction; and

Fig. 1.0 is a diagrammatic view showing the looper operating mechanism in various positions and the manner of giving a dwell of its stroke.

The invention is directed broadly to a looper mechanism for sewing machines wherein the looper is mounted so as to mo e back and forth in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed, and wherein the looper moves in a direction opposed to the feed when entering the needle thread loop. The looper is a thread carrying looper and is given a needle avoiding movement. A plurality of loopers are preferably used, but so far as the operating mechanism is conby way of embodiment of the invencerned, it may be used in connection with a the needle 6 beneath cillated by means of an eccentric strap and two links, one of which is pivoted to swing about a fixed center and serves as a guiding means for directing the path of movement of th end of the eccentric strap and the other link connects the end of the eccentric strap 7 with the rock lever for oscillating the same. These parts are so disposed that the rock lever is substantially at rest foran extended period when the looper is at the forward end of its stroke and is again substantially at rest for an extended period when the looper is at the rear end of its stroke. The machine in which my invention is embodied also preferably includes a transverse looper, that is, one moving at right angles to the line of feed as it enters and leaves the needle thread loop of the needle with which it is associated. This looper is oscillated by suitable connections with the main shaft, which means brings about the usual oscillations in the looper for causing it to enter and leave the needle thread loop. Both the transverse looper and the looper in the line of feed are moved laterally for their needle avoiding movements by one common means.

Referring more in detail to the drawings. I have shown my invention as embodied in a sewing machine consisting of a supporting bed 1 having a standard 2 carrying an overhanging arm 3. Extending outwardly from the standard is a work sun iortiiw arm 4:. j 23 The material is fed on to this work supportlng arm'lengthwise thereof by feed dogs a: At the forward end of the overhanging arm there is the usual head in which reciprocates two laterally spaced needles 5 and 6. Between the two needles 5- and 6 there are two other needles 7 and 8 (see Fig. 2'). Coon crating with the needle 5 beneath the work support is a looper the work support is a looper 10. Cooperating with the needles 7 and 8 beneath the work support is a single looper 11.. This looper 11 is mounted rigidly on the forward end of the shaft 12 which ere. tends lengthwise of the work supporting arm, and into the standard 2. Said shaft 12 is moved cndwise by means of a lever 1.3

which is oscillated by an eccentric on the main shaft 1.5 through an eccentric strap 18; The lever 13 is connected by means of a link 1'? to a yoke 18 secured to the end of the shaft 12; The yoke 18 is oscillated by means of an eccentric 14 on the main shaft and an eccentric strap 19 (see Fig. Through these connections the shaft '12 is not only oscillated but is moved endwise. These parts ar of the usual construction and give to the looper 11 both its oscillating movement which carries it into and out of the needle thread loops of the two needles 7 and 8. and

its lateral or needle avoiding movement. The loopers 9 and lQare carried by a shaft 20 which is mounted so that the same may 9 and cooperating with oscillate and move endwise in bearings 21 and 22 carried by the work supporting arm. The shaft 20 is oscillated by a train of mechanism shown in detail in Figures 6; 7 and 9. A link 23 is pivoted to a pin 24 carried by a looper carrier 25 carrying the looper 10. The other end of this link 23 is pivoted to a ball stud 26 carried by a rock lever 27. The V stud 26 is mounted on an arm 28 of said rock lever. An arm 29 of said rock lever projects substantially at right angles to the arm 28. Mounted on the main shaft 15 is an ec- V centric 30. Cooperatingwith this eccentric 30 is an eccentric strap 31. The eccentric strap 31 is pivotedintermediate its ends at 32 to a swinging link 33. This swinging link is entirely free of the rock lever 27 but is mounted to swing about the same center an axis. A. link 3% is pivoted at 35 to the arm 29 of the rock lever 27. This link S-i is also pivoted at 36 to the outer end of the eccentric strap 31. The particular movements given the looper through this train of mechanism will be explained in detail. in connecti on with the operation of the machine.

In Fig. 8 of the drawings, the work support is indicated at 37 The looper 1,0 is a thread carrying looper as are the other loopers in this machine. This looper 10 as above noted, moves baokand forth in a direction substantially parallel with the line of feed when entering and leaving the needle thread loop. Mounted on the under surface of the work support and in advance of the needle hole 38 is a retainer '39. The looper as clearly shown in Fig. 8 is provided witha notch 40 in its upper face. The purpose of thisretainer is to engage the looper thread loop when thelooper moves laterally and thus hold the looper thread strands well away from the body of the looper so as to insure that the needle will pass between the looper thread strand and the body of the loo.per.- The notch in the looper serves as a clearance for the retainer and permits the looper to be set well up close tothennder 7 surface of the throat plate thusavoiding the pulling off of an excessive amount of thread and also insures that the looper thread will be properly brought into contact with the retainer. The looper is given a. dwell at the forward end of its stroke, as will be hereinafter more fully'described and the notch has sufficient clearance to permit the looper to be moved laterally and thelooper thread engaged by the retainer with out the retainerin any way interfering with 41. Said rock leveris provided with forked arms whichengage studs 42.42 carried by a block l3 held from endwise movement on the shaft 20.'- On h end of the shaft 12 1 ,eeaoeo there is a collar 44: provided with a groove 45 which is adapted to engage a roller 46 on the rock lever 40. This groove lies in a plane at right angles to the axis of the shaft 12 and permits the shaft 12 to freely oscillate without imparting any movements to the rock lever 40 The endwise movements of the shaft 12 will, however, oscillate the rock lever lO and this will in turn, move the shaft 20 endwise. It will thus be seen that the endwise movements of the shaft 12 serve as a common means both for moving the looper 11 laterally for its needle avoiding movement and also the loopers 9 and 10 laterally for their needle avoiding movements. The oscillations of the looper 11 are of the usual type. Said looper moves forward into both needle loops, and is given a lateral needel avoiding movement, and then is retracted. The feed in this machine is lengthwise the arm of the machine, and on to the arm of the machine, and this feed, of course, will assist in the forming of the thread triangle in connection with the looper 11, so that the needles 7 and 8 will. enter said thread triangle in the usual manner. The lateral movements of the loopers 9 and 10 are also of the usual character. The oscillations of the loopers 9 and 10, that is, their move ments into and out of their respective needle thread loops is of a novel character and will be better understood by reference to the diagram in Fig. 10 of the drawings. In this drawing, the different positions of the center of the eccentric 30 are indicated at the left of the figure by the small letters a, b, 0, (Z, c, and 7. Corresponding movements of the pivotal centers 32, 36, 35 and 26 are indicated by similar letters in this figure. It will be noted that an eccentric turning in the direction of the arrow in this figure, when moving from a to 5 will cause the looper to move forward into the needle loop and to move forward very rapidly. As the eccentric continues its movement from Z; to c, the looper continues its movement in the needle thread loopand to the end of its stroke. When the eccentric is turning from c to (Z. the link 34 receives substantially no endwise movement. and as a result, the looper dwells, and this is apparent from the factthat the points 0 and (Z of the pivotal connection 26 of the link 23 are substantially one over the other. This dwell is' an extended dwell, and continues through substantially an arc movement of sixty-four degrees, while the entire forward movement.

of the looper is caused by the are movement of the eccentric through substantially one hundred and thirty-seven degrees. As the eccentric continues from (Z through c to f, the looper is quickly retracted, and as a matter of fact, is slightly more quickly retracted than it is advanced. From 7 to a, the link 34 receives substantially no endwise movement, and therefore the looper is again at an extended dwell, while the eccentric is passing through the arc of forty degrees. It will be understood of course, that the specific number of degrees indicated on this figure of the drawings may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention, which consists in the extremely quick movement of the looper forward into the needle loop followed by an extended dwell, then the quick return of the looper, which in turn is followed by an extended dwell. lVhile the looper is at a dwell at the forward end of its stroke, and at the rear end of its stroke, it is moved laterally through the endwise movements of the shaft 12. It will be apparent therefor that from the continuously uniformly rotating main shaft, I am able by positively operated trains of mechanisms, consisting of links and levers, to impart a uniform oscillation to one looper and an oscillation to another looper with an extended dwell at each end of its stroke.

The specific machine in which my double looper mechanism is used, is shown and is described more in detail in my co-pending application, Serial Number 331,312, filed October 17 1919, of which the present application is a division. While my improved looper mechanism is particularly adapted for a machine of this type, it will be obvious of course, that it may be used in connection with other types of sewing machines, and either in a multiple needle machine or in a single needle machine, but is of course particularly useful in connection with a looper which moves back and forth in a line parallel with the feed as it enters and leaves the needle thread loop and wherein said looper moves in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needle thread loop.

It is also obvious that minor changes in the details and the construction of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looper whereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needle thread loop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means for oscillating said looper including an eccentric, a lever mounted on a swinging fulcrum and connected to said eccentric, and devices operated by said lever and connected to said looper for giving said looper an extended dwell at each end of its stroke and during the lateral movement thereof.

2. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looper whereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed and in a direction opposed lever connected to the eccentric member, said connections being so disposed as to give to said looper an extended dwell at each end of its stroke and during the lateral movement of the looper.

3. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looper whereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needle loop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means for oscillating said looper including an eccentric, an eccentric strap cooperating there with, a link pivoted to said eccentric strap between its ends and serving as a swinging fulcrum therefor, a rock lever connected to said looper, and a link connecting the rock lever to the end of said eccentric strap, said rock lever being so disposed as to give said looper an extended dwell at each end of its stroke and during the lateral movement thereof.

4. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looper whereby the same moves in aline substantially parallel with the line of feed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needle loop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means 'for oscillating said looper including an eccentric, an eccentric strap cooperating therewith, a rock lever having one arm substantially parallel with the eccentricstrap and the other arm'at right angles thereto, alink pivoted to said eccentric strap between its ends and serving as a swinging fulcrum therefor, a second link connecting the end of the eccentric strap with the end of the arm of the rock lever which is parallel there to, and a link connecting the other end of the rock lever with said looper.

5. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looper whereby the same ends and serving as a swinging fulcrum therefor, a second link connecting the end of the eccentric strap with the end of the arm of the rock lever which is parallel thereto, and a link connecting the other end of the rock lever with said looper, the pivotal connection of'the swinging link fulcrum being in line with the axis of the rock lever, i

6.: In a sewing machine, a work supporting arm, a shaft extending lengthwise there of, a looper mounted on said shaft and lying in a plane substantially at right angles to the shaft, means for oscillating the shaft and for moving the shaft endwise, a second looper lying in a plane parallel with the axis of the shaft and substantiallyparallel with the line of feed of the machine, means operated by the endwise movement of the shaft for'moving said second looper laterally, andmeans for oscillating said second looper and giving a dwell thereto at each end of its stroke substantially during its lateral movement. 7

7. In a sewing machine, a work supporting arm, along which the material is fed during the stitching operation, a shaft extending-lengthwise of said arm, a pair of needles, a looper carried by said shaft and located in a plane at right angles to the shaft and adapted to enter the needle thread loops of both needles, means for oscillating the shaft, and means for moving it endwise to give a lateral movement to the looper,

spaced needles at opposite sides of said firstnamed needles, a looper cooperating with each of said spaced needles and moving in a direction parallel with the 'feed as they enter and leave their respective needle thread loops, a shaft carrying said looper, means for moving said shaft endwise from the endwise movements of the shaft extending lengthwise of the arm, and means for oscillating said last-named loopers and for giving a dwell thereto at each end of their strokeduring substantially the lateral movement thereof;

8. A sewing machine including in combination a standard, a work supporting arm projecting horizontally from said standard, a looper at the outer end of said work supporting arm, means for supporting said looperwhereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needle loop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means for oscillating said looper including an eccentric member located in said standard, alink extending lengthwise of the work supporting arm and connected to said looper and extending into said standard, devices interposed be tween said eccentric member and said link for giving an extended dwell to the looper at the forward end of its stroke and during the lateral movement thereof.

9. In a sewing machine,a looper, means for supporting said looper whereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed and in a direction opposed 1 ,azaoeo to the feed as it enters the needle loop, means for moving the looper laterally while in the needle loop, said looper having a notch in its upper face, a stationary retainer for engaging the looper thread to hold the same away from the body of the looper, said notch being formed for giving a clearance space for the retainer.

10. In a sewing machine, a work support, a stationary retainer secured to the work support and projecting downwardly therefrom, a needle, said retainer being disposed in front of the needle, a looper, means for supporting the looper whereby it is moved in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed as it enters the needle thread loop, means for oscillating the looper back and forth, means for oscillating the looper laterally for the needle avoiding movement, said looper having a notch formed therein giving a clearance for the retainer whereby the looper may be set close to the under side of the throat plate.

11. In a sewing machine, a work support, a stationary retainer secured to the work support and projecting downwardly there from, a needle, said retainer being disposed in front of the needle, a looper, means for supporting the looper whereby it is moved in a line substantially parallel with the line of feed as it enters the needle thread loop, means for oscillating the looper back and forth, means for oscillating the looper laterally for the needle avoiding movement, said looper having a notch formed therein giving a clearance for the retainer whereby the looper may be set close to the under side of the throat plate, said means for moving the looper back and forth including means for giving a dwell to the looper at the forward end of its stroke and substantially while it is moving laterally.

In testimony whereof, I allix my signature.

ROBERT E. HUGHES, JR.

Images