US1953247A - Machine for joining looped fabrics - Google Patents

Description

April 3, 1934. H, MOADAMS 1,953,247

MACHINE FOR JOINING LOOPED FABRICS Filed Oct. 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W mmmnll INVENTOR Harry 1'1 flaams ATTORNEYS.

April 3, 1934. H. MOADAMS 1,953,247

MACHINE FOR JOINING LOOPED FABRICS Filed Oct. 26. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 67 a 4 Z 66 J 5 44 INVENTOR ATTORN EYS .eration. However, since Patented Apr. 3, 1934 1,953,247 MACHINE 01: JOINING oornn FABRICS Harry McAdams, Philadelphia,

Pa., assignor to The Nolde and Horst Company, Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Applicatign October 26, 1931, Serial No. 571,062

11 Claims.

My invention relates t9 a machine for joinin looped fabrics and particularly to a machine for joining pieces of fabrics, or parts pf a single piece of fabric, by means of a yarn or thread extending through registering yarn loops in the fabrics.

As an example of one of the numerous uses of my invention I shall hereinafter describe the latter as embodied in amachineutilized for'joining a turned down part of an ,extensiblestocking to the leg portion thereof, such a stocking being described in copending application of William Gosch Serial No. 555,015, filed August 4, 1931, now Patent No. 1,880,086 issued September 27, 1932. In manufacturing extensible stockings, it is customary to knit a stocking of extra length so that part of the upper portion of the stocking may be turned down to adjust the length of the stocking to the leg of the wearer. In some cases this portion has been turned down and fastened to the leg of the stocking by a removable thread, the stocking as thus manufactured being of a short, or average, length and bein g extensible to a greater lengthen removal ofthe thread by the wearer. Heretofore so far a s'I am aware it has not been possible to fasten the turned down portion of an extensible stocking to the leg portion thereof by an automatic opera tion without damaging the stocking and it has been necessary to fasten the turned "downpart with a removable thread insertedby a manual op- A .su h man a Ope a i s require the expenditure of considerable labor and are time consuming they result in increasing the cost of manufacturing extensible stockings.

An object of my invention is-to provide a machine for automatically fastening a turned down top portion of an extensible stocking to the leg portion thereof without damaging the stocking.

In describing an embodiment of myinvention .I shall illustrate the manner in whichadoubleply Welt on an extra length stocking is joined to the leg portion of the stocking for shortening the latter by means of a yarn or thread forming a chain stitch extending through the openings of a row of picot stitches at the welt foldjthat is at the open end of the extra length stocking, and the openings of a second row of picot stitches in the leg of the stocking below the ,welt; the chain stitch being readily removable when it is desired to lengthenthe .eXtensib1eistockingto. adjust it to the leg of the wearer.

In the drawings: Figural is a planview of my machine for Joining looped fabrics; i

of Fig. 1;

engages an antifriction roller mime i .3.7 .'engaging an eccentric cam 3 8 fixed to s haft Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2- 2 Figures 3, i and 5 are fragmentary perspective views illustrating various stages in the operation of the machine; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in which anextensibl'e' stocking is applied to the'machin'eJ Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 0 designates a bench orother support oriwhich an apertured bed plate 11' isrnounted. An annulus 12'secured to bed plate lljhas anloffset and undercut portion 13 providing a guide for a flange 14 on one end of a hollow, rotatable cylinder 15 whose aperture register'slwith the bedplate aperture. Cylinder 15 is intermittently operated by a spring pressed pawllo engaging the teeth of agear ring 17 mounted v intermediate the ends of cylinder 15. Pawl 16 is carried by a reciprocable rod 18 guided in a bracket 20 and'operable by an eccentric 21 fixed to a'shaft 22 so that cylinder 15 is turned one step for each rotation of shaft 22. A spring 23 secured to rod 18 and-plate 11 biases the rod in onedirection.

The cylinder 15 is provided at its upper end with a rotatablecollar 24 having a suitable bayonet lock for removably holding an ordinaryquill ring 26, the fabric holding pins or quills 2,7 of which. are substantially U-shapedin cross section and are assembledon the quill ring with the open side of their channels extending outwardly.

A resilientlatch type needle is'mou'ntedon a support 3 1 secured to or integral with aslide 32 guided ,forreciproc'ative vertical movement in a groove in anupright bracket 34 mounted on bed plate 11 in spaced relation to cylinder 15.

Needle 3 .is so mounted onsupport 3,1thatflit i clines toward quillring 26 and'd'uring. theire'ciprocationof slide 32 the needle is adapted to be moved into and through the channel of a quill 2'7 for engaging andd'rawing a vyarnor thread downwardlythrough the quill toform aloop. The yarn or thread is directed for engagement by needle 30 through the use. of suitable thread guiding means, not shown.

An angularly extendin portion of a rod 35 on the'lnedl e support '31 for movingv slide 32 upwardly'ahd to control the downward movement of the slide der the action, of a spring 36 A b see g in i in. 1

in a groove oi a bracket 42 to maintain rod in a horizontal plane during its reciprocative movements by cam 38 and springs 40.

Intermediate its hook and latch and its point of attachment to support 31, the needle 30 extends into a slot in a needle guide 43 carried by a lever 44 pivotally mounted on bracket 34. Below its pivot, lever 44 has an angular extension 45 maintained in contact with a bevelled end portion (Fig. 2) of a rod 47 by a spring 48 secured to the extension and to bracket 34. Rod 47 is guided in a bracket 50 and is adapted to be reciprocated by an eccentric 51 fixed to shaft 22. A spring rod 52 is mounted on a plate 53 and has a lateral extension 54 adapted to serve as a loop holding finger, by which term the extension will hereinafter be referred to. Plate 53 is pivotally mounted on bracket 34 and has a lug 55 extending into the path of movement of the end of the angular portion of rod 35 for counterclockwise operation thereby.

A stud 56 carried by needle support 31 is adapted to engage spring rod'52 and move loop holding finger 54 away from quill ring 26 as needle 30 is moved upwardly. A spring 57 connected to plate 53 and bracket 34 biases the finger against theperiphery of quill ring 26.

The resiliency of spring rod 52 normally maintains loop holding finger 54 laterally positioned to be traversed by needle 30. An arm 58 of a bell crank pivotally mounted on bracket 34 engages rod 52 for moving finger 54 laterally away from needle 30 at a certain point in the upward movement of the needle. The other arm 60 of the bell crank is connected by a link 61 to a lever 62 intermediately pivoted at 59 on a bracket 63. Lever 62 is adapted to be engaged and rocked by a segmental camming member 64, secured to cam 38, for actuating the bell crank to move finger 54 laterally of the needle and quill ring. A spring 65 connected to link 61 and bracket 34 biases the bell crank for positioning its arm 58 to permit the resiliency of spring rod 52 to position loop holding finger 54 for traversal by needle 30.

A lever 66 having a stud 67 for engaging rod 52 is pivotally mounted on bracket 34. Lever 66 is formed toextend into the path of a cam or lug 68 mounted on gear ring 17 so that at the end of a revolution of cylinder 15 the lever is actuated to move finger 54 away from the periphery of quill ring 26; Shaft 22 has a driving pulley 70 fixed thereto and an idler pulley 71 loosely mounted thereon. A drive belt 72 is shiftable from pulley 71 to pulley 70 by a belt shifting member 73 having an operating handle 74. A rod 75 connected to member 73 is guided in brackets 76 and has a notch 77 in which a latching lever 78 is adapted to be seated by a spring 80 for retaining belt '72 on driving pulley 70 against the force of a spring 81 mounted between one bracket 76 and a collar 82 on rod 75. Latching lever 78 has an arm 83 extending into the path of a lug or cam 84 on gear ring 17 and is operable thereby about its pivot 79 on bracket 76 at the end of a revolution of cylinder 15,to release rod 75 and permit spring 81 to cause belt 72 to be shifted to the idle pulley.

The extra length stocking is shortened in applying the stocking to quill ring 26, that is, in topping the stocking. The stocking is topped by placing each adjacent picot opening of a row 87 at theitop of the welt over'adjacent quills 27 of quill ring 26, it being understood that there are as many quills on the ring 26 as there are picot openings in each row of picot stitches. The leg portion 8615 then drawn up and the picot openings of a row 88 below the welt are placed over the quills in registration with those openings of the picot row 87 which align on the stocking with the openings of row 88. The double-ply welt is normally formed by folding the upper portion of the stocking about the row 87 of picot stitches to provide a picot top at the open end of the stocking. A row 90 of picot stitches may be knitted immediately below welt 85 to provide a picot top at the open end of the stocking as shortened.

-It is deemed desirable to top the stocking on a quill ring and then mount the quill ring on cylinder 15, extra quill rings being provided so that one stocking may be topped on a quill ring while another stocking is having the shortened portion fastened as the quill ring on which it was topped rotates with cylinder 15. However, whether a stocking is topped on an extra quill ring or on a quill ring attached to cylinder 15, the foot and leg portion of the stocking are passed through the apertures in the quill ring, cylinder 15 and bed plate 12 and a weight or other tensioning device is attached to the stocking for drawing the yarn adjacent the picot openings tautly around the fabric holding quills and into contact with the top of the quill ring so that the registering loops "of yarn on the quills are maintained spread or distended in such manner that the yarn does close the channels in the quills. I When the handle 74 is moved to operating position, shifting member 73 moves belt 72 from idle pulley 70 to driving pulley 71 for rotating shaft 22. As the rod 75 is moved with member '73, spring 81 is compressed and rod notch 77 is alined with latching lever 78 which is drawn into notch 77 by spring 80 for retaining the belt in driving position.

During the rotation of shaft 22 cam 38 acts on roller 37 to raise lever 35 in a vertical plane against the force of springs 40 while bar 41 moving in the guide of bracket 42 maintains lever 35 in a horizontal plane. As lever 35 is moved upwardly, its offset end which is in contact with the roller on support 31, moves the latter upwardly tensioning the spring 36, vertical movement of support 31 being provided for by the guiding of slide 32 in bracket 34. Since needle 30 is inclined toward quill ring 26 the upward movement of support 31 causes the end of the needle to enter and pass upwardly 27 and through two registering yarn loops on the quill; Needle 30 is moved upwardly with support 31 until'its latch is positioned above the yarn loops on the quill point and its hook extends beyond a yarn or thread 91 which is guided by any suitable thread guiding device to a point adjacent the quill 27 alined with needle 30. It is to be understood that the free end of the yarn or thread 91 is securely held by a suitable holding device.

When the. high point of cam 38 passes beyond Needle 30 moving downwardly thus forms a loop which is held by loop'holding finger 54 as the movement of stud 56 on carrier 31 away from rod '52'permits spring '57 to rock plate 53 and press finger 54 against quill ring 26.

through the channel in quill with the needle.

Eccentric 21 fixed to shaft 22 then moves rod 18 to the right, Fig. 1, causing pawl 16 to turn cylinder 15 a single step for alining the next quill with needle 30. Eccentric 51 acts to move rod 47 so that its bevelled end engaging extension 45 of lever 44 rocks the latter clockwise. The rocking of lever 44 causes needle guide 43 to move the end of needle 30 further away from ring 26 and outwardly of finger 54 which holds the loop drawn by the needle.

When cam 38- again acts to raise needle carrier 31 and needle 30, as described above, needle 30 traverses or passes over loop holding finger 54, as shown in Figure 4, and moves upwardly to enter the channel of the quill 27 which is now alined As the latch of the needle contacts the looped thread it is swung open and the loop is transferred to the shank of the needle as the latter passes upwardly through the loop held by finger 54.

Camming member 64, positioned adjacent the high point of cam 38 on which it is carried, engages lever 62 and moves the latter clockwise, Fig. 2, to rock the bell crank connected to link 61. On rocking of this bell crank its arm 58 moves spring rod 52 and withdraws the loop holding finger 54 from beneath needle 30, Fig. 5, thus releasing the loop drawn by the needle in its downward movement. Rod 45? is withdrawn by eccentric 51 and as its bevelled portion recedes, spring 48 acts to maintain extension 45 of lever 44 in contact with rod 47, thus rocking the lever counterclockwise and moving needle guide 43 to permit the end of needle 30 to enter the channel in the alined quill 2'7.

As the end of needle 30 is moved upwardly in the channel of quill 2'7 and through the register ing fabric loops on the quill, the stud 56 on carrier 31 engages rod 52 and moves finger 54 away from the periphery of the quill ring 26, as shown in Fig. 5, while plate 53 is rocked against the tension of spring 57. In the downward movement of needle 39 its hook engages yarn 91 and draws the yarn through the channel of the quill and the registering fabric loops thereon, the needle latch again closing on contacting these loops. Thus, the needle forms another loop which it draws through the loop which was previously drawn and which is now on the shank of the needle. As the hooked end of needle passes through and beyond the loop previously drawn this loop passes off the needle shank and is drawn taut on the quill ring and the newly formed loop is held by finger 54, as previously described.

During subsequent rotations of shaft 22 the needle 30 continues to form loops drawing each in turn through the loop previously formed thus forming a chain stitch through and between the openings of the rows 87 and 88 of picot stitches on the stocking. Cylinder 15 is intermittently advanced by pawl 26 until the cylinder has made a full revolution and the welt has been fastened to the leg portion of the stocking by the chain stitch through the openings of picot rows 87 and so. At the end of a revolution of cylinder 15 the lug 68 on gear ring 17 engages the arm 66 rocking the latter clockwise to cause the stud 67 carried thereby to engage rod 52 and move loop holding finger 54 away from quill ring 26 to facilitate replacement of the quill ring. Lug 84 also engages extension 83 of latching lever 78 moving the latter from notch 77 in rod whereupon spring 81 moves the rod and member 73 to shift belt 72 onto idle pulley 70 thereby stopping the rotation 'of shaft 22 and the operation of the machine.

On completion of the operation described above the yarn 91 is broken and the free end of the yarn is threaded in the turned down portion of the stocking. It should be noted that the folded portion of the stocking is secured to the leg portion thereof by a circular seam comprising a chain stitch formed through the fabric openings and that the stocking is not damaged in any way as none of the fabric threads were cut or split by contact with a sewing needle.

When it is desired to adjust the shortened stocking to fit a longer leg one end of the thread is released and the chain stitch may be readily removed by pulling on the end of the thread.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising; a member having a plurality of fabric retaining means adapted to extendthrough registered loops of a'fabric or fabrics; means for drawing threadloops through said retaining means in succession; and means for holding each thread loop, on drawing thereof, againstsaid member to cause interlocking of said thread loops by said loop drawing means. I

2. A machine for joining looped fabrics cornprising a rotatable quill ring having a plurality of quills mounted adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to extend through registered loops of a fabric; a needle reciprocable in a plane transverse to the plane of rotation of said ring for drawing a thread loop through quills successively alined with said needle; means for intermittently rotating said ring to aline said quills in succession with said needle; and means for holding each thread loop against said ring, on drawing thereof, to cause interlocking of said thread loops by said needle.

3. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprisinga member supporting a plurality of quills adjacent an edge thereof, said quills being adapted to extend through registered fabric loops; a needle; means for reciprocating said needle to draw a thread through said quills to form interlocking thread loops extending through said quills; a loop holding finger traversed by said needle; and means for moving said finger into contact with said edge of said member to hold a loop formed by said needle so that the end of said needle traverses said finger at one side thereof to pass through said loop.

4. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising a member supporting a plurality of quills adjacent an edgethereof, said quills being adapted to extend through registered fabric loops; a needle; means for reciprocatin said needle to draw a thread through said quills to forminterlocking thread lo0ps-;a loop holding finger traversed by said needle; means for moving said finger into contact with said edge of said member to hold a loop formed by said needle so that the end of said needle traverses said finger at one side thereof to pass through said loo-p; means for effecting relative movement of said member and needle to aline another quill with said needle; means for moving said finger relatively to said needle and member for releasing said loop; and means for moving said finger relatively to said needle and Lid member supporting a plurality of channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, said quills being adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric to retain the latter on said member; a reciprocable needle having an end movable in one direction through the channel of one of said quills for drawing a thread through said quill to form a loop adjacent said edge of said member and movable in opposite directions through a second quill to draw a second loop through said second quill and through said first loop; means for effecting relative movement of said needle and member to aline said second quill with said needle subsequent to formation of said first loop; a movable loopholding finger; and means for moving said finger against said edge of said member to engage and hold said first loop as said needle moves into the channel of said second quill.

6. In a machine for joining looped fabrics; a member supporting a plurality of channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, said quills being adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric to retain the latter on said member; a reciprocable needle having an end movable in one direction through the channel of one of said quills for drawing a thread through said quill to form a loop adjacent said edge ofsaid member and movable in opposite directions through a second quill to draw a second loop through said second quill and through said first loo-p; means for effecting relative movementof said needle and member to aline said second quill withsaid needle subsequent to formationof said first loop; a movable loop holding finger; means for moving said finger against said edge of said member to engage and hold said first loop as said needle moves into the channel of said second quill; and means for moving said finger relatively to said member and needle to release said first loop to permit it to be tautened by said needle as the latter draws a second loop.

7. In a machine for joining looped fabrics; a member supporting a plurality of channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, said quills being adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric to retain the latter on said member; a reciprocable needle having an end movable in one direction through the channel of one of said quills for drawing a thread through said quill to form a loop adjacent said edge of said member and movable in opposite directions through a second quill to draw a second loop through said second quill and through said first loop; means for effecting relative movement of said needle and member to aline said second quill with said needle subsequent to formation of said first loop; a movable loop holding finger; means; for moving said finger against said edge of said member to engage and hold said first loop as said needle moves into the channel of said second quill; means for moving said finger relatively to said member and needle to release said first loop to permit it to be tautened by said needle as the latter draws a second loop; means for moving said finger away from said edge of said quill member; and means for positioning said finger to be again moved against said member for engaging and holding said second loop.

8. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising; a member supporting a plurality of spaced, channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, said quills being adapted to extend through registered loops of a fabric to retain the latter on said member; a reciprocable, latch type needle; means for moving said needle in one direction through the channel of one of said quills to draw a thread through said quill for forming a thread loop adjacent said edge of said member, the latch of said needle closing during downward movement thereof to retain said thread loop in the end of said needle; means for efiecting'Telative movement of said member and needle to aline a second quill with said needle; a loop holding finger; means for moving said finger against said mem er to engage and hold said thread loop; and means for moving the end of said needle into the channel of said second quill, said needle moving means moving said needle into the channel of said second quill and through the latter, the end of said needle passing over said finger and the latch thereof opening on contacting said thread loop to transfer the latter to the shank of said needle so that a second thread loop drawn through said second quill by said needle extends through and is interlocked with said first loop.

9. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising; a member supporting a plurality of spaced, channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, said quills being adapted to extend through registered loops of a fabric to retain the latter on said member; a reciprocable, latch type needle; means for moving said needle in one direction through the channel of one of said quills to draw a thread through'said quill for forming thread loop adjacent said edge of said memher, the latch of said needle closing during down-- ward movement thereof to retain said thread loop in the end of said needle; means for effecting relative movement of said member and needle to aline a second quill with said needle; a loop holding finger; means for moving said finger against said member to engage and hold said thread loop; means for moving the end of said needle into the channel of said second quill and through the latter, the end of said needle passing over said finger and the latch thereof opening on contacting said thread loop to transfer the latter to the shank of said needle so that a second thread loop drawn through said second quill by said needle extends through and is interlocked with said first loop; and means for moving said finger relatively to said needle and member for releasing said first thread loop to permit tr e latter to be tautened as said needle draws said second loop.

10. A machine for joining looped fabrics, comprising a rotatable ring having a plurality of channelled quills mounted adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric; a reciprocable needle movable in the channels of said quills in succession to draw a thread through said quills to form interlocking thread loops; a loop holding finger, means for moving said finger against the periphery of said ring to engage and hold each thread loop as it is drawn by said needle for causing said needle to pass through said loop in drawing a second loop; intermittently operable means for rotatively advancing said ring subsequently to the drawing of each loop; and means for automatically terminating the reciprocation of said needle and the rotation of said ring on completion of a revolution thereof.

11. A machine for joining looped fabrics, comprising a rotatable ring having a plurality of channelled quills mounted adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric; a reciprocable needle movable in the channels of said quills in succession to draw a thread through said quills to form the drawing of each loop; means for automatically terminating the reciprocation of said needle and the rotation of said ring on completion of a revolution thereof; and means operable on completion of a revolution of said ring for moving said finger away from the periphery of said ring.

HARRY McADAMS.

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