US1983161A

US1983161A - Thread supply and handling device

Info

Publication number: US1983161A
Application number: US623386A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ashworth Fred
Original assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Current assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1932-07-19
Filing date: 1932-07-19
Publication date: 1934-12-04
Anticipated expiration: 1951-12-04

Description

Dec-V 1934- F. ASHWORTH THREAD SUPPLY AND HANDLING DEVICE Filed Ju1y119, 1932 2 sheetswsheet 1 Dec. 4, 1934- F. ASHWORTH THREAD SUPPLY AND HANDLING DEVICE Filed July 19, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wiiness Patented Dec. 4, 1934 U I ED STATES PATENT "OFFIC 1,983,161 THREAD SUPPLY AND HANDLING evice Fred"Ashworth-,Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J;, a

. i corporation of New Jersey Application July 19,. 1932,. Seria1 No. 623,386

6 Claims. (01. 9146) The present invention relates to devices for by the sewing mechanism. In connection with supplying and handling: waxed. or lubricated. this feature of the invention the supply reel is threads. tor shoe sewing: machines. provided with. a. brakeadapted to be actuated by Itiscommon practiceinwaxithreadxshoe sewing the slack thread controller so that the thread ,5; machines to setthe stitches: formed by the stitch. clamp will grip a substantially straight portion of 9 forming devicesagainst a thread clamp or' look thread between the thread controller and the act ng on an unwaxed portion of the thread and guiding means for directing the thread into the thereafter to circulate the thread througha liquid wax-pot, which portion of the thread will always wax bath. The pulleys andguides requiredtodibe maintained under a slight yielding tension. gmrrect. the thread from the supply through the thread lock andinto and out of the bath add. to the inertia of-the; threadagainst moving, and impart an irregular frictionalcomponent to resistregular intermittent movement of the thread, which is particularly-1 undesirable when the sewing devices-are operated at high speed. Further.- more, the extra length of thread between the thread-lock and the stitch forming devices which is ordinarily required to conduct. the thread to'and 12m; from the bath, due to the natural elasticity of the thread, increases the total amount of thread elongation when tensed, so that this factor also tends to prevent accurate setting of each stitch uni formly in the work. i l

The objects of the present invention are. to provide an arrangement f or supplying waxedor lubricated. thread toa sewing machine in which thelength ot thread leading to the stitch forming devicesimay be reduced to aminimum and toprovide simplified and improved devices for manipulatingi and waxing, the thread. i i With. these objects in view, the presentinvention contemplates the; provision a shoe sewingwmachine; having. avwax-pot and, means for 3'52 guiding. the thread; from a. supply; reel downwardly into'andupwardly out of the wax-pot, or. a resilientrslacltv thread; controller: acting above the ..wax-- potto guide the thread from the supply'before it. passes over the other thread: guiding means andto surrender-thread through the thread; guides when the tension is increased, thereby reducing thestotal length otthread 1 required to be 7 moved by the sewing mechanism. 4. i o i According to/another feature of the invention, a thread clamp is mounted. directlyon the struce ture' for supporting the-wax-potand. in the illus-- trated embodiment of. this feature the Wax-potconsists of a: container for holding a supply of wax diluted in: assomewhat volatile solvent so; that a sealing cover is provided toprevent excess sir-1 new andimproved wax-pot construction and other novel" combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed willbe readily understood by those skilled in the art from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view ofthe thread supplying apparatus embodying the present invention, together with so much of the sewing mechanism as appertains thereto; Fig; 2 is a viewiniront'elevation oi the appa- 7o; ratus shownin Fig. I; Fig. 3 is a View in side elevation of the same devices taken from the right; and Fig. 4 is a detail view in elevation of the threadlclamp embodied in the present inventi'om looking from: the-left side.

As illustrated in the drawings, the invention is shown as: applied to a shoe sewing machine of the McKay type similarin many respects to the; machine illustrated and" described in the applicarial-No: 16il-,20.' ,.v filed February 18,1927. In this machine the thread is drawn from a supply and, directed intoawax-pot, through a thread lock, overrvarious pulleys and thread guides, around and: upwardly into the sewing mechanism of the machine. The main frame of the machine, indi" cated at 10, supports the various devices for supplyingi and handling the thread; The take-up is? indicated at; 12, having at its free end, a thread guiding pulley 14 fromzwhich the thread passes upwardly through a hollcwyertica'l shaft supportin'ga' gear 16. The take up is actuatedthrougha system of links 18 operated by a gear 20 rotating in proper timed relation with the other. stitch forming; devices (not shown) on a shaft 22-, which gear meshes with the gear 16. i A

' Inhthemachine asshown, thread is waxed and supplied byfdevices mountedupon' a single unitary bracket or frame 24- fixed to'the main frame of Other features of the invention, including a 65;

tion for S; patent of Bernard T. Leveque, Se- 85;

a pulley on. the forward end of a take-up arm, 9o; 4

culationof air inthe container, and the thread. clamp is mounted. close tothe upper. side 1 of. the sealing; cover with means for operating the clamp extending beyond. the waxspot supporting struce turein aiposition to beloperatediin the usual way themachine by bolts 26'. A thread supply reel, indicated at 28, isrotatably mountedupon a spindle 30 carried by the rearwardly extending arm ofthe bracket 24.. The reel 28 is arranged to rotate on; the spindle 30 with a wheel 32, and a brake member 34 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 36 carried by a downward extension from the bracket 24 to retard the rotation of the wheel.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the thread extends from the reel upwardly and to a point at one side of the reel directly over a container 38 for the wax, also supported on the bracket 24. For directing the thread from the reel and above the wax container 38, an elongated resilient thread controlling member 40 is provided, secured at its lower end by means of a screw 42 to the brake member 34. The upper end of the controlling member is properly shaped to hold aside a bend of thread at a definite position above the wax container. The brake member 34 is moved against the wheel 32, and the thread controlling member 40 is maintained in raised position determined by the engagement of the brake with the wheel, by a spring 44 coiled about the shaft 36 on which the brake 34 is pivoted, the spring being bent at one end to engage the thread controlling member along its lower portion. The other end of the spring engages a slot in the end of the shaft 36 which is fixed in the bracket 24. The thread extends from the bend at the upper end of the thread controlling member in a substantially straight line downwardly into the wax pot, around a guiding pulley 46. The pulley 46 is supported within the wax pot from a downwardly extending arm carried by a cover portion 48 of the frame 24. The thread then passes upwardly in a substantially straight line through a stripper 50 in the cover portion 48 and over a guiding pulley 52, and thence downwardly to the take-up pulley 14. The pulley 52 is rotatably mounted on a screw 54 carried by a bracket 56 extending upwardly from the cover portion 48, and being secured thereto by screws 58.

In passing downwardly from the thread controlling member 40, the thread passes loosely through an opening in the cover, and through a tubular member 59 carried by the cover and projecting into the wax container 38. The thread opening in the cover and in the tubular member 59 are of sufficient size to permit considerable lateral movement of the thread without binding, and to accommodate a slight shift in the line of thread movement from the bend about the upper end of the thread controlling member as the thread controlling member yields in response to thread tension. When the tension on the thread is increased, the yielding movement of the thread controlling member 40 not only acts to deliver thread from the bend, but also causes the brake member 34 to be released from the wheel 32, permitting the wheel to rotate so long as an appreciable thread tension exists. When the tension is released somewhat, the brake is again applied, but the thread controlling member acts to take up slack thread so as to maintain the thread running through the wax container in a substantially straightened condition, thereby eliminating erratic movement of the thread and reducing the inertia of the parts contacting with the thread between the supply and the sewing mechanism to a minimum.

In the machine of the'application, the thread lock against which the stitches are set acts upon a waxed portion of thread and is positioned some distance from the container for the wax, so that a considerable length of thread is required totraverse this extra distance.

According to a feature of the present invention, the thread clamp is so located that it will engage the downwardly directed unwaxed portion of thread extending from between the bend about the thread controlling member and the pulley 46 within the container 38. The thread lock of the machine is in the form of a clamp comprising a fixed member 60 and a movable shoe 62 having ribbed thread engaging surfaces. The fixed member is secured by means of a screw 64 to the bracket 56 on the top of the cover portion 48, and the movable shoe is pivotally mounted on one arm of 'a lever 66 fulcrumed on a pivot 68 passing through the bracket 56. The other arm of the lever 66 is pivotally connected with the lower end of a rod 70 sliding in a slot formed in a projecting portion of the bracket 56. The shoe 62 is normallyheld in engagement with the braking member 60 by the action of a spring 72 coiled about the rod 70 and compressed between the pivoted end of the rod and a washer 74 engaging the slotted portion of the bracket 56.

The movable thread clamping shoe 62 is operated away from the fixed member 60 to release the thread intermittently by the action of an arm 76 secured to the shaft 68 and arranged to extend above and to one side of the cover portion 48. The free end of the arm is provided with a cam roll 78 cooperating with a cam member 80 projecting from the face of the gear 20 in the proper angular position. To release the thread clamp at the end of the seam, as is usual in this type of machine, the upper end of the rod '70 is provided with an arm 82 extending into the path of movement of a lever 84 pivoted on the main frame 10 of the machine. When the forward arm of the lever 84 is raised at the end of a seam, the arm engages and raises the rod to release the shoe 62 from the clamping member 60. The lever is maintained in inoperative position against a lug on the cover 48 during sewing by a spring 86 stretched' between the lever and the frame 24.

The container 38 for the wax is readily removable from the frame both for refilling and for permitting access to the guiding pulley 46. For this purpose the container is removably carried within a holding cage 88 fastened by screws 90 to the under side of a hollow rectangular support 92. The support 92 is slidable on a rod 94 projecting downwardly from the cover portion of the frame 24 and fastened in position thereon by a hand clamping screw 96, so that upon release of the clamping screw, the container 38 may be lowered and removed or swung to one side of the cover and pulley 46 about the rod 94 and clamped in its new position by the clamping screw. When in raised position the container surrounds the pulley 46 and extends into contact with a yield ing gasket 98 to prevent air circulation or drying of the wax diluent or other volatile liquid contained therein. Springs 100 are also provided at the bottom of the cage 88 to resiliently compress the container against the cover.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A wax thread supply device for sewing machines having, in combination, a frame, a container for liquid wax or lubricating fluid, a holder for the container supported on the frame, guiding means on the frame within the container for directing thread downwardly into the container, guiding means for directing thread upwardly from the container, means for rotatably supporting a wound mass of thread on the frame, and a slack thread controller yieldingly engaging the thread to hold aside a bend of thread above the wax container and to surrender thread in a substantially straight line from the bend to the downwardly directing guiding means within the container as the tension on the thread is increased between the thread mass and said guiding means.

2. A wax thread supply device for sewing machines having, in combination, a frame, a container for liquid wax or lubricatingfiuid, a holder for the containersupported on the frame, means on the frame for directing thread downwardly into the container and upwardly from the container, means for rotatably supporting a wound mass of thread onthe frame, a slack thread controller yieldingly holding a bend of thread at one side of the wound mass and above the wax container, and a releasable thread clamp mounted on the frame for engaging the thread along a downwardly directed substantially straight portion thereof between the thread controller and the container.

3. A wax thread supply device for sewing machines having, in combination, a frame, a container for liquid wax or lubricating fluid, a holder supported on the frame from which the container is readily removable, a sealing cover on the frame against which the container is secured by the holder, guiding means on the frame for directing thread through the cover downwardly into the container and upwardly from the container, a thread clamp mounted on the frame for engaging an unwaxed portion of the thread just before it passes through the cover, and means extending from the frame for actuating the thread clamp.

4. A wax thread supply device for sewing machines having, in combination, a frame, a container for liquid wax or lubricatingfluid, a holder supported on the frame from which the container is readily removable, a sealing cover on the frame against which the container is secured by the holder, guiding means on the frame for directing thread in substantially straight lines downwardly into the container and upwardly from the container, a thread clamp mounted on the frame above the sealing cover for engaging the thread along a straight unwaxed portion thereof, and means extending from the frame for actuating the thread clamp.

5. A wax thread supply device for sewing machines having, in combination, a frame, a container for liquid wax or lubricating fluid, a holder for the container supported on the frame, means on the frame for directing thread downwardly into the container and upwardly from the container, means for rotatably supporting a wound mass of thread on the frame, a brake to retard the rotation of the wound mass, a slack thread controller yieldingly holding a bend of thread at one side of the wound mass and above the container to take up slack thread payed off from the wound mass and being arranged to release the break following a pull on the thread and a releasable thread clamp mounted on the frame for engaging the thread along a downwardly directed substantially straight portion thereof between the thread controller and the container.

6. A wax thread supply device for sewing machines having, in combination, a frame having a 100 cover portion, thread guiding means to, direct thread through the cover and a rod extending downwardly from the frame, a supporting member slidably mounted on the rod and arranged with a central opening, a holder carried by the m supporting member, a container for liquid wax or other lubricant slidably received through the central openingin the supporting, member and within the holder, resilient means between the bottom of the holder and the container, and 1 means for clamping the supporting member on the rod to maintain the wax container in surrounding relation to the thread guiding means on the frame and in yielding engagement with the cover or in a lowered position at one side of 115 the thread guidingmeans and cover.

FRED ASHWORTH.