US17679A - Improvement in sewing-machines - Google Patents

Description

`2 Sheets-#Sheet 1. HOWE. 6L BLISS.

Sewing Machine.

Patented y.lune 30, 1857.

'2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

HOWE & BLISS.

Sewing Machine. i

Patented June 30, 1857.

UNITED STATES i PATENT GFEICE.

HowE, JE., or CAMBRIDGE, AND w. n. BLISS, oF EoSroN, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-M'ACHIfN-ES.

Specification forming part ci" Letters Patent No. 17,679, dated .lune 30, 1857.

struction and operation thereof. taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which make a part ot this specification.

The subject-matter of our invention consists of certainimprovements upon Vthe sewing-Inachine patented to Elias Howe, Jr., September l0, 1846, by means of which improvements thel Inachine is better adapted to the sewing of leather and other similar hard substances, and

to the sewing ot' a certain class of objects to which the machine of the said Howe, as it was formerly arranged, is not applicable. The seam formed by this machine is of the same kind and is produced by the same general Inode of operation as that described in said Howes specification of September 10, A. D. 1846.

The iirst part of our invention relates to an improvement in the manner in which the needle and shuttle are made to co-operate to interlock the threads; and it consists in so modifying the mechanism and movements of them, respectively, as that the needle may be entirely withdrawn from the material to be sewed after it has inserted the loop,`before the shuttle has passed through it. ln the operation of said I-Iowes machine the shuttle is passed through the loop of the needle-thread while the needle is inserted, which sustains the loop under the operation of the shuttle and enables it to draw through so much of the needlethread as is requisite to permit its passage. In that case the threadis drawn through the material, while the needle also occupies the hole that is formed by it. In the sewing of elastic bodies, like cloth, this is not very objectionable; but in the sewing of leather it becomes necessary to use a comparatively large needle with deep grooves in the sides and a comparatively small thread, so that it can move past the needle when it is inserted, and in this case, when the sewing is completed, the thread will be found not to fill the holes, which gives work a loose and inrm appearance; but in our machine a short and Small needle is used, which passes the loop but a short distance through the material, and the shuttle is formed with a slim pointed nose of a peculiar shape, which, in connection with a certain device to be hereinafter described, seizes the loop and holds it until the needle is withdrawn to the surface. The shuttle is then thrust through the loop, and as the thread alone occupies the hole made by the needle it can be drawn freely through the same, and at the same time be large enough to till it. The stitch is then drawn up in the usual manner.

The second part of our invention consists in a peculiar manner in which we have combined and arranged the baster and the mechanism which operates the shuttle and its thread, so that they may be contained and worked within the compass of a Small standard of a cylindrical or other convenient form, by means of which the Inachine is adapted to sew through the sides of objects of a tubular form-suchV as the legs of boots, hose, and other things of a similar nature-,provided that the aperture is of suiiicient size to receive the standard.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a side elevation of the improved machine with the casing that surrounds the shuttle-standard removed to show its internal Structure. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the machine, showing the arrangement of the cams and driving-shaft. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the opposite end of the machine. Fig. 4 is a plan of the outer end of the shuttle-standard, showing the construction of the shuttle, shuttlerace, and subordinate mechanism. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through the middle of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line .fr of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of the shuttle.- standard and a part of the machine, showing a modification of the mechanism by which the loop of the needle-thread is caught and held while the shuttle passes through it. Fig. 8 is aside elevation of the end of the shuttle-standard modified as in Fig. 7, with the casing removed. Fig. 9 is a plan of the same, and Fig. 10 shows the shuttle in three views drawn to full size. v

The letters refer to the saine parts in all the figures.

A is the foundation-plate of the machine, from which are projected horizontally two cylindrical standards, B and C. The standard B carries a rocking shaft, D, extending longi- Judinally through the center, upon one end of which is an arm, D, by which it receives a vibrating.v motion from the cam R, and'upon the other end is an arm, D, which carries the needle E. The needle is made with an eye near its point, and of a curvature corresponding to the arm D as a radius, and passes a loop of thread through the material to be sewed in the usual manner. The needle-thread is wound upon the bobbin F, and is prevented from unwinding by friction applied by any convenient device. l

Gr is a small lever, upon the lower end of which are fixed a pair of light blades or fore ceps, g, slightly pressed together, which are operated. It is made with a skeleton framing within, of such form as to receive conveniently the internal mechanism, and is inclosed by acylindrical metallic casing, as is shown in the drawings.

II is an annular baster-plate, which is made with teeth upon one edge, which engage with the pinion L, and with asperities uponits external surface to seizethe material to be sewed and carry it forward. t

I is a wheel, which rests upon the material in sewing and presses it against the baster. It is attached to the arm J, which is hung upon the standard B, and is pressed downward by the flat spring K. It performs the function of the guardplate marked X in the specification of said Howe before mentioned, and holds the material rm against the draft of the needle-thread when the stitch is drawn up. The wheel I may also be used as a baster in certain cases to' sew lengthwise or diagonally with the standard C, and I intend so to-use it; and in this case it must be attached to the arm whichsupports it by a swivel, so that it can stand at any angle with the axis of the cylinder, and have its surface roughened to seize the material, and the cylinder beneath it must be made smooth, and must also be connected by proper mechanism with the other movements of the machine, so as to have a proper intermittent motion.

L is a pinion upon the shaft M, which carries the baster-plate and receives an Iintermittent motion from the ratchet N upon `the other end of the shaft by means of the pawl and-lever O,worked by the cam Pupon the drivin gshaft in a-sufficiently obvious manner.`

Q is a friction-spring to hold the ratchet N firm in feeding.

It is the main cam of the machine. It has two grooves in its periphery, one of which actuates the needle through the needlearm D', and the other the shuttle through the rocker S and 'shuttle-driver Swithin the standard C. These grooves have such aform and relation -to each other as to give the needle and shut tlc, respectively, the movements to be hereinafter described.

'I is the shuttle, the body of which'is of cylindrical form, and contains the bobbin t, upon which the thread is wound. The point is made of a peculiar form, as is ,shown at c in the drawings, and is thus made to enable it to enter the loop ofthe needle-thraead, and in connecti on with the nger c to hold the bight of it until the needleis withdrawn to the surfaceW of the material. The shuttle has upon its under side a shallow groove, e, extending from the point through its entire length, in whichthe point of the finger 'v works as the shuttle moves back and forth, and by which the action of the finger V is insured in catching the loop of the needle-thread and preventing it from being carried forward by the motion of the shuttle. rlhis linger V is inserted into an axis, W, which permits it to vibrate, and about which a helical spring, fw, is coiled, which holds the finger up against the shuttle as it moves back and forth. IVhen the shuttle is thrown entirely back, or at the opposite end of the race from what is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the finger and shuttle are not in contact, but a small space is left between them, into which the needle passes when it inserts the loop.

Upon the upper side of the shuttle is placed the tongue d, in the free end of which is a hole, through which the thread passes as it leaves the shuttle. The tongue acts as a light spring, andproduces s ufiicientfriction upon the thread to prevent it from being delivered from the shuttle so freely as to entangle it when in rapid operation. When the shuttle goes forward to the end of its stroke, the clipping-piece U is pressed down upon the tongue d by its cam U', and the thread is held firm, and the distance that it shall be drawn in by the needle-thread is thus definitely determined.

Fig. 7 shows a manner of arranging the nger V so that it seizes the loop of itself and is made to work by cams, instead of deriving its motion from' the shuttle, as in the manner be fore described. In this case'the finger V is made in the form of a long lever, hung near the middle,y upon a vibrating arm, h. It has a vibratory motion in a lateral direction that it receives from a cam, Y, upon the main shaft,

and a longitudinal movement that it receives from the cam Z, acting upon the arm z, at-v tached to the lever. By the joint action of the cams Y and'Z the point o of the finger has a movement indicated by the dotted line-that is to say, immediately after the needle is inserted and is retracted sufficiently to open the loop the point c of the finger is thrust forward into the loop. The needle is then withdrawn to the surface and the finger then depressed, so as to draw the loop through the moterial a suflicient distance to permit the passage of the shuttle. The shuttle is then passed and the finger drawn horizontally back to release the loop and permit it to be drawn up by the retraction of the needle-arm in the usual manner. The shuttle-thread is held by the clipping-piece U, which in this case is made of alunette" form and hung upon the spring u,- which raises it, and its lower end passes below the ingerVand is drawn down, when the finger V is depressed and retracted to release the loop, as before described.

In arranging the needle and shuttle to work in the manner first described the motions required to be given by the cam R are substantially as follows: The needle is first inserted and retracted sufficiently to open the loop. The shuttle is then advanced sufficiently to insert the point thereof into the loop and for the finger V to enter the groove e in the shuttle. The needle is then withdrawn to the surface and the shuttle is thrust forward through the loop, enlarging it sufficiently to permit its passage by chewing through the needle-thread. The shuttle-thread is then held and the stitch is drawn up by the retraction of the needle arm in the usual manner.

lis an adjustable stop, by means of which the extent of vibration of the lever O is determined and the length of the stitch regulated.

Many of the minor details of the machine are not particularly described, as they are not essential to our improvements.

p The standard C need not necessarily be of a cylindrical form, as any form that will contain the mechanism for working the shuttle-thread and for feeding the material along, and is sufficiently elongated to reach into a tubular object the requisite distance, will answer the pur pose; but the cylindrical form here represented is the one we have tried with success, and is believed to be the most convenient.

Having thus set forth our invention, what we claim as new, and for which we ask Letters Patent, isi 1. In connection with the mode of forming a seam by means of two threads,ias described, the seizing and holding of the loop of the needle-thread after it is inserted by means of the point c of the shuttle and finger V or their equivalent, and the withdrawing of the needle from the material to be sewed before the shuttlc-thread is passed through the loop, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

2. rIhe coinbiningand arranging of the mechanisni which works the shuttle-threadand the baster, or its equivalent, with the standard C, and in connection therewith so arranging the mechanism which works the needle-thread as that they shall co-operate and form the seam when the standard is inserted in objects of a tubular form, as is hereinbefore described.

Boston, August 23, 1553.

ELIAS IIOVE, JR. NVM. R. BLISS.

Witnesses:

XVM. C. HIBBARD, H. A. PEELER.

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