US2143681A - Tufting attachment for sewing machines - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 939- o. R. STRAIN ET AL 2, 3 81 TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Oct. 20, 1937 3 Sheet ,-Sheet l [nvcntons /0 Oscar 5. 527m WE 577QF/f6 Attorneys Jan. 10, 1939. o. R. STRAIN ET AL TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Oct. 20, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventory 0.50am ff. f/a/k W15:

By QM J arms Atiorneys TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Oct. 20, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor; Oscarfl. J f/"a/fi :51 m W15. joar/ns 7r" 4/8 48 B w a .4 iiorneys Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE Oscar Ray Strain and William Hansel Sparks,

Dalton, ,Ga., assignors to Polly Prentiss, Inc.,

Sumter, S. (3., a corporation of South Carolina Application October 20, 1937, Serial No. 170,099

6 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) This invention relates to a tufting attachment for sewing machines, the general object of the invention being to provide means for forming loops in the stitches made by the, sewing machine and for cutting the loops to form tufts, the cutting and looping means forming a unit which can be easily and .quickly attached to a portion of the bottom part of the base of the sewing machine,

vent slacking of the thread which might result in damage to the cloth and the thread.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims. I

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the acompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding 0 parts throughout the several views, and in which:---

Figure 1 is an elevation-of the head portion of a sewing machine with the invention applied thereto, parts .being broken away and parts in section.

Figure 2 is a view looking toward the forward end of thelower portion of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the unit removed from the machine. Figure 4 is a view of the knife carrier.

Figure 4a is a detail sectional view showing how the knife is held to the lever. I

Figure 5 is a sidevie'w, with parts broken away, looking toward the edges of the looper hook and theknife. Figure 6 is an edge view of the knife operating arm. v I

Figure 7 is a view of a stationary knife and its supporting member. g Figure 8 is a top plan view of Figure '7.

Figure 9 is a front view looking into the end of the head of the machine and showing the thread tensioning means associated with the needle bar. Figure 10 is atop plan view of such tensio'ning means.

In these drawings the letter A indicates the head of the sewing machine, rising from the base a and thishead rotatably supports the shaft 3 having the pulley b at one end which receives the belt or other drive means and said shaft has at its front end the rotary member C which reciprocates the needle bar D through means of the links a. A substantially centrally arranged shaft E is journaled under the base a and is actuated in any suitable manner from the main shaft B, as shown in Figure land the front end of said shaft is journaled in a depending bearing member e supported from the base a.

In carrying out our invention we provide a bearing member I which is connected by the screws 2 to the lower end of the bearing member e and we also provide a yoke-shaped bearing member 3 which is connected by the screws 4 with the parts 5 carried by the base a. These two bearing parts I and 3 rotata'bly support a shaft 6 which has 20 a sectional forked member I clamped thereto by the bolts 8 and the prongs of this member enchannel IS in one edge for receiving a part of the arm I2. Thus the block can be adjusted longitudinally on the arm. The shank of a looper hook I1 is fastened to the front face of 5 the block by a screw l8 and the pins I 9, said hook having a substantially straight part II terminating in a beak II". A lever 20 is pivoted to a sidepart of the member 3 by a bolt 2i which is carried by the member 3 and passes through a 40 hole 22 in the lever so that the lever can rock on the bolt but a coiled spring 23 onthe bolt holds the lever under friction, the tension of the spring being adjusted by the nuts 24 on the outer end of the bolt. The outer end of the lever is forked as shown at 25 and receives a roller 26 on a pin 21 carried by an arm 28 attached at one end to the front end of the shaft 6 by the nut 29. Thus the lever will be rocked by' rocking movement of the arm 28 when the arm is oscillated by the 5 shaft 6. g

Theinner end of the lever 20 at its rear face is formed with a recess 30 to receive a portion' of the knife 3| whichis held in the recess by the clamp block 32 of substantially channel shape 55 and which Is connected with the inner end of the lever 30 by the screw 33. The flanges or ends of said clamping block 32 overlap reduced portions of said inner end of the lever 20, as shown in Figures "4 and 4a and the side edges of the knife are beveled to engage undercut walls 30' and 32' of the recess 30 and the channel member 32 respectively as shown in Figure 4a. The parts are so arranged that the knife is supported in a slightly inclined position, as shown in Figure 5 with its beveled upper end engaging the looper hook, with the rest of the knife sloping downwardly away from the hook. The beveled upper end of the knife is yieldingly held against the hook by the spring 23 on the bolt 2| forcing the lever 20 rearwardly and this holds the upper end of the knife yieldingly against the hook I! as shown in Figure 5. As will be seen the upper end of the knife not only is beveled to provide a cutting edge but it slopes from one side edge to the other, the highest edge being remote from the beak of the hook so that the knife will only cut the loops of thread previously placed on the hook and will not cut the loops just placed on the hook.

The parts are so arranged that as the needle starts its upward motion a portion of the thread or yarn will form a loop through which the hook will pass between the thread and needle so that as the needle passes upward this loop is held and as the hook moves back a portion of the knife engages a portion of the loop between itself and the rear portion of the straight part ll of the hook which is beveled on its edge to provide a cutting edge for cooperating with the cutting edge of the knife in cutting'the thread.

Thus it will be seen that one shaft 6 operated from the shaft E of the sewing machine operates both the hook for forming the loops and the knife for cutting the loops. The book can be adjusted by adjusting the collar Ill on the shaft 6 through means of the set screw H and by adjusting the block I5 on the arm l2 by means of the screw l4. Also the knife can be adjusted vertically by the clamping member 32 and its screw 33. As before stated the knife has its upper end yieldingly held in contact with the hook by means of the spring 23, the tension of which can be adjusted by the nut 24.

Figures 7 and 8 show a stationary knife 3| adjustably mounted in a holder 34 which is formed with a thickened part 35 which bears against a spring washer 38.

portion of the bracket or supporting member 3' and this thickened portion is formed with a threaded stud 36 which passes through a hole in the member 3' and receives the nut 31 and a The holder is formed with a passage 39 which extends longitudinally through the outer portion of the holder and opens out into a channel 40 in the inner portion of the holder and the elongated stationary knife 3| passes through this passage and the channel. The knife is held in adjusted position by the screw 4| which is provided with a lock nut 42 and a similar screw 43 passes through a threaded-hole in the inner end of the holder and has a lock nut 44 therein for holding the screw in adjusted position. The inner end of the screw will bear against the knife to press the beveled upper end against the hook and by adjusting the screw 43 the tension of the knife against the hook can be regulated. The holder is arranged on an inclination with respect to the bight of the member 3 and of course holds the knife at the same inclination and the knife should be adjusted so that the left hand portion of its beveled upper edge will cut the previously formed loop on the part H of the hook when the hook moves away from the needle and brings this loop against the beveled edge of the knife. The upper ends of the limbs of the member 3 are formed with the countersunk holes 3" to receive the bolts which fasten the member 3' to an under part of the base of the sewing machine. It will of course be understood that the knife 3| is made flexible enough so that it can be forced away from the holder by the screw 43 as shown in Figure 8. It will, of course, be understood that when the stationary knife is to be used the lever 20 with the knife 3|, the arm 28 and the knife 3| with the screw or bolt 2| and the parts carried thereby are removed and the holder 34 substituted therefor and held in place by the stud 36 and the nut 31. However, the supporting member 3' is formed with the centrally arranged opening 45 therein which forms a bearing for the front end of the shaft 6 which operates the hook as in the first form of the invention.

The invention also contemplates means for preventing slack in the thread or yarn on the up-stroke of the needle bar and such means includes a rod 46 having an eye 41 at its outer end through which the thread or yarn passes and said rod passes through a clamp 48 attached to an intermediate part of a lever 49 which is pivoted to a stationary part of the front end of the head of the machine as shown at 50 and the other end of the lever is connected to a link 5| as shown at 52 and this link 5| is pivotally connected to a link 53 which is pivoted to the same end of the member C as that to which the link 0 is pivoted as shown in Figure 9. A screw 48 causes the clamp 48 to grip the rod 46, after the same has been adjusted.

These parts are so arranged that on the upward movement of the needle bar B the rod moves upwardly so as to apply tension to the yarn and this will prevent slack from occurring in the yarn or thread at the needle, on the upward movement of the needle which might injure the cloth which is being tufted.

The eye of the rod 46 moves upwardly slightly in advance of the upward movement of the needle so as to keep the yarn or thread at the needle taut and prevent looping of the thread where it passes upwardly from the eye of the needle on that side opposite the side where the loops are formed by the hook.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we have provided comparatively simple means for forming loops in the thread or yarn as the same is passed through the cloth by the needle, with means for cutting the loops and all the parts are arranged in a compact manner and are carried by the members and 3 which are held to the bottom of the base of the sewing machine by the bolts and screws so that the unit can be readily put in place and removed and the adjustments can be easily and quickly made to cause the correct operation of the parts. Also, when desired, the movable knife and the means for moving the I same can be removed and the stationary knife substituted therefor and when this is done the only movable portions are the hook for form ing the loops and the means for actuating the same.

The drawings show the shaft E as being rocked from the main shaft of the sewing machine but if desired this shaft can be rotated as the sccentric 9 can be so formed and arranged that its rotary movement will impart the correct rocking movement of the shaft 6.

Of course the sewing machine is provided with the usual work feeding means for advancing the cloth F which carries the tufts and the cloth is held in place by the usual presser foot P, as

shown in Figure 2.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the constriction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:-

1. A tufting attachment for the parts of a sewing machine comprising a reciprocatory needle to carry the yarn through the fabric and produce loops and work feed means, said attachment comprising a rock shaft separate from the work feed means of the sewing machine, a carrier mounted upon the rock shaft to turn therewith, a looper vertically adjustably mounted upon the carrier, a cutter having a pivotal mounting separate from the looper and rock shaft and having a sliding rubbing engagement with the looper for producing a shearing action, and means operated by the rock shaft to swing the cutter upon its pivot.

2. A tufting attachment for the parts of a sewing machine comprising a reciprocatory needle to carry the yarn through the fabric and produce loops and work feed means, said attachment comprising a rock shaft separate from the work feed means, a collar circumferentia'liy adjustable upon the rock shaft, a looper for coaction with the needle, vertically adjustable means to mount the looper upon the collar, a cutter pivotally mounted separately from the 40 looper and having rubbing engagement therewith to produce a shearing action, and means operated by the rock shaft to move the cutter.

3. A tufting attachment for the parts, of a sawing machine comprising, a reciprocatory needie to carry the yarn through the fabric and clamp the supporting member to the rock shaft so that they turn together, a looper for coaction with the needle, means for vertically adjustably mounting the looper upon the supporting member, a cutter pivotally supported separately from the looper and having rubbing engagement with the looper to produce a shearing action, and means operated by the rock shaft to move the cutter.

4. A tufting attachment for the parts of a sewing machine comprising a reciprocatory needle and work feed mechanism, said attachment comprising a rock shaft separate from the work feed mechanism, an upstanding looper for coaction with the needle, and mounted upon the rock shaft to move therewith, a generally horizontal member pivotally mounted separately from the looper and extending transversely across the looper and having a cutting part having sliding rubbing engagement with the looper to produce a shearing action, and means operated by the rock shaft to move the generally horizontal member.

5. A tufting attachment for a sewing machine comprising a reciprocatory needle and work feed means, said attachment comprising a rock shaft, an upstanding looper mounted upon the rock shaft for movement toward and from the needle, 9. generally horizontal member pivotally mounted separate from the looper and extending transversely of the looper between the upper end of the looper and the rock shaft and having a cutting part having rubbing engagement with the looper for producing a shearing action, and means operated by the rock shaft to move the member.

6. A tufting attachment for a sewing machine comprising a reciprocatory needle and work feed means, said attachment comprising a rock shaft arranged below the work feed means, a looper mounted upon the rock shaft to move therewith V and to be shifted thereby toward and from the needle, 9. generally horizontal lever pivotally mounted between its ends separately from the looper, a cutter mounted upon one end of the lever and having rubbing engagement with the looper to produce a shearing action and separately mounted from the looper, and an arm mounted'upon the rock shaft to turn therewith and connected with the outer end of the lever.

OSCAR RAY STRAIN. WILLIAM HANSEL SPARKS.

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