US1952387A - Upholstery sewing machine - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1934. F. N'. Ross ET AL UPHOLSTERY SEWING MACHINE" 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 21 March 27, 1934. F. N Ross ET AL 1,952,387

UPHOLSTERY SEWING MACHINE Filed June 21, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 13g Mdrm March 27, 1934. F, N, R055 ET AL 1,952,387

UPHOLSTERY SEWING MACHINE Filed June 21, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Zzgl? March 27, 1934. F. N. Ross Er Al.

UPHOLSTERY SEWING MACHINE Eiled June 21, 1932 5 eats-Sheet 4 Z6 Z5 7J .galvzeyy March 27, 1934. F, N Ross ET AL 1,952,387

UPHOLSTERY SEWING MACHINE y /nmmlI im? #LM 1,952,387 PATENT oFFlcE UPHOLSTERY SEWING MACHINE Frederick N. Ross, Grosse Pointe Park, and Horace L. Johnson, Detroit, Mich., assignors to Briggs Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application June v21, 1932, Serial No. 618,508

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of upholstery for seat cushions formed by feeding simultaneously through machines of the general type described in our prior application Serial No.

578,630, filed December 3, 1931, finish and lining fabrics and a plurality of strips of padding, such as cotton bat, and uniting the fabrics by lines of stitching between the strips of cotton bat. If the thread supplied to one or more of the sewing heads breaks, the machine must be stopped and the ends of the broken thread united. The materials of which the upholstery is formed continue to travel through the machine an appreciable distance before the machine can be brought to a complete stop. Consequently, when operation of the machine is continued, one or more of the lines of stitching will be incomplete and a portion of the upholstery will be defective and must be repaired satisfactorily or otherwise it will be a total loss. The repair of such defective portions presents a difficult problem on account of the diculty in handling.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an eiiicient machine for repairing defect portions of upholstery by completing defective lines of stitching therein.

Before explaining in detail the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims hereto appendedA as considered in view of the prior art and the requirements thereof.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings: in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of a machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the same with the top cover of the ange removed;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail elevational views of a portion of the machine showing the parts in different positions;

Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are detail perspective views illustrating the operation of the needle and looper and Work feed and supporting mechanism; f

Fig. 11 is a detail View of a portion of the work support;

Fig. 12 is a detail view of a portion of the machine;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a piece of upholstery having a defective line of stitching;

Fig. 14 is a similar View showing the defective line of stitching completed by the apparatus of the invention; and,

Fig. l5 is a sectional view taken upon the line 15-15 of Fig. 14.

An apparatus illustrating one embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and comprises a frame having suitable bearings in which a shaft 9 carrying a feed roll 1i is rotatably mounted. An arm 12 is suitably secured upon slides 13 and 14 mounted in suitable ways formed in the frame 10. The free end of the arm 12 is provided with a spindle upon which afeed roll is freely rotatable. A bell crank 16 is fixed upon a shaft 17 mounted for rotation in suitable bearings in the frame 10. One arm 18 of the bell crank extends into a slot 20 in the slide 14 and the other arm 21 is connected to one end of the rod 22, the other end of which is operatively connected with a foot treadle 23. A spring 24 surrounds the shaft 17 and is secured at one end to the frame 10 and at its other end to the shaft 17 so as normally to hold the freed roll 15 in position to cooperate with the roll 11, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4.

A needle 25 is suitably mounted on a shaft 26 which is slidably mounted in suitable bearings in the frame 10. A looper 27 is secured upon one end of a shaft 28 which is mounted to cooperate with the needle 25, as described hereinafter, to form a line of stitching. The needle shaft 26 and the looper shaft 28 may be actuated by a suitable mechanism comprising a shaft 29 mounted for rotation in suitable bearings in the frame 10. A cam 30 is xed upon the shaft 29 and is adapted to engage a cam slot 31 in a block 32 xed upon the needle shaft 26. The looper shaft 28 is rotatably mounted in a member 33 movably guiding in guides 34 and 35 in the frame. One end of the member 33 is provided with an inclined slot 36 adapted to engage a pin 37 eX- tending between the guides 34. The member 33 is also provided with an extension 38 pivotally connected at its end to the end of a crank arm 39 carried by a shaft 40 which is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings in the frame. An arm 41 fixed upon the looper shaft 28 extends through an opening in the member 33 and is arranged to extend laterally therefrom into a cam groove 42 in a wheel 43 fixed upon the shaft 29. A cam 85 xed upon the shaft 29 engages a slot 86 in the member 33.

An arm e5 is provided near one end with an eccentric ring 46 engaging an eccentric 47 fixed upon the shaft 29. The other end of the arm is pivotally connected to one end of a lever 48, the other end of which is pivotally connected to one end of an arm 49. The lever 48 is provided with a slot 50 embracing a stud 51 ixed in the frame. The other end of the arm 49 is provided with a forked projection 52 embracing an annular rib 53 on a gear 5 4 fixed on a shaft 55 rotatably mounted in the frame. The gear 54 meshes with a gear 56 xed on a shaft 57 rotatably mounted in the frame and carrying a pinion 58. An idler pinion 59 meshes with the pinion 58 and a pinion 66 fixed upon the shaft 9.

The shaft 29 carries a pulley 44 which is connected by a belt 77 with a pulley 78 carried by one element of a clutch and which may be operatively connected with the armature shaft of a motor by actuation of a clutch lever 8l operatively connected with a foot treadle 82.

In accordance with the invention, an arm 61 is suitably secured upon the frame 10, as by bolts 62. A blade o1 work support 63 is hinged upon the upper end of the arm 61 and extends upwardly between the feed rolls 11 and i5. If desired, the work support 63 may be provided with a longitudinal extending slot 75 and a transverse slot 76 extending from the slot 75 to the top edge of the support 63. A work guide, such as a roll 64, is carried by an arm 65 suitably secured to the frame 10. A guide roll 66 is carried by an arm 67 which is secured to a plate 68 as by screws 69. The plate 68 is secured upon the free end of the arm 12, as by a screw 71. The plate 68 is provided with a guide passage 72 for the needle 25 and with a passage 73 through which the looper 27 may pass. Preferably, the guide rolls 64 and 66 are provided with an operative surface of curved cross section adapted to engage the Work and hold the same against the top edge of the work support 63 and against the side surfaces of the latter.

In the operation of the apparatus the operator steps on the treadle 23, causing the bell crank 16 to turn in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, which in turn moves the slide 14 and arm 12 to the right, from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 5, against the action of the spring 24. This permits the work support 63 to be moved away from the feed roll 11 so that the work W may be placed upon the work support 63 with the defective line of stitchings against the upper edge of the work support. The treadle 23 is then released, thereby permitting the spring 24 to return the arm 12 from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, to cause the feed roll 15 to engage the work and move it together with the work support toward the feed roll 11 to bring the work in engagement with the latter. The operator then steps upon the foot treadle 82, thereby con' necting the motor 30 with the shaft 29.

Rotation of the shaft 29 causes reoiprocation of the needle shaft 26, desired movement of the looper 27 and intermittent rotation of the feed roll 11 in predetermined timed relation to feed the work W and complete the defective line of stitching. Rotation of the shaft 29 causes rotation of the eccentric 47, cam v3i) and wheel 43. The cam 30 produces reoiprocation of the needle shaft 26. The wheel 43 causes turning of the loopei` shaft 28 while the cam 85 reciprocates the member 33 and looper shaft. The pin 37 and the slot 36 in one end of member 33 cooperate to cause that end of the member 33 to rise and fall while the crank arm 39 causes the other end of the member 33 to rise and fall during reoiprocation of the latter. Rotation of the eccentric 47 causes reoiprocation of the arm 45 which results in oscillation of the lever 48. Movement of the lever 48 in one direction causes the forked projection 52 on the arm 49 to grip the rib 53 and rotate the gear 54 a small amount. Movement of the lever 48 in the opposite direction disengages the projection 52 and rib 53 and causes the projection 52 to return to its original position without rotation of the gear 54. The rotation of the gear 54 produces a corresponding rotation of the feed roll 11.

The operation of the mechanism above described rst causes the needle shaft 26 to move to the right through the work as viewed in Fig. 7. When the needle 25 begins to retract, the looper 27 has moved axially to the right'and downward and has turned to bring the looper 27 to the position shown in Fig. 8. By this time the needle has retracted and the friction on the thread in the work has formed a loop. The looper then moves to engage the loop and moves the loop over the edge of the work as shown in Fig. 9 and then downward as shown in Fig. lo. At this time the needle againmoves toward the work and through the loop and thence through the work. This sequence of operations is repeated until the defective line of stitching is completed. The operator then releases the foot treadle 45 to stop the sewing mechanism and then steps upon the treadle 23 to move the feed roll l5 from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 5, thereby permitting the work support to be moved in the same direction and permit the work to be removed therefrom.

We claim:

1. In a sewing machine having a frame, a movable arm, a pair of work feed members, one of which is carried by said frame and the other of which is carried by said arm, means for moving said arm to cause movement of said feed members relatively toward and away fromv one another, a needle and a looper, means for actuating said needle and looper, the combination therewith of a work support adapted to position work between said feed members and in the path of movement ;f

ci' said needle. meansl for mounting said work support to permit movement thereof in the direction of said relative movement of the feed members, and a pair of work guide members adapted to position the work on said support as it approaches said feed members, one of said guide members being carried by said frame and the other being carried by said arm.

2. In a sewing machine having a pair of work feed members one of which is movable toward opening to permit reoiprocation of the needle through the work and tightening of the stitch therein, and a pair of work guide members adapted to position the work on said support as it appreaches said feed members, one of said guide members being movable toward and away from A the other.

FREDERICK N. ROSS. HORACE L. JOHNSON.

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