US2256633A - Chenille tufting attachment for sewing machines - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 23, 194l.- P. H. TURLEY 2,256,633 CHENILLE TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Aug. 20, 1938 INVENTOR Pqf'r'lck H, Fur-le Pic-1.4. BY

ATTORNEY i atented Sept. 23, 1941 CHENILLE TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Patrick H. Turley, Chattanooga, Tenn, assignor of one-half to W. E. Dellinger, Rome, Ga.

Application August 20, 1938, Serial No. 226,004

1 Claim. (01. 112-39) My invention relates to sewing machines, and more particularly to attachments for sewing machines for producing chenille tufts on fabric for use as bathmats, bedspreads and the like.

In the prior art, it has been the practice to pass a needle carrying a strand of yarn downwardly through the fabric, forming a loop below the lower side of the fabric. As the needle starts its upward travel, slack is developed in the loop, and as the needle is moved still further upwardly, a hook or finger, commonly called a looper, is passed through the loop to hold it, and prevent it from being pulled back up through the fabric, and finally the loop is severed by a cutter to form piles or tufts.

There are various combinations for accomplishing this result. However, there are certain features which are common to all. These features generally consist of a reciprocating needle for carrying the yarn through the fabric, a finger for movement across the plane of the path of movement of the needle and having a hook adjacent its forward extremity, and a cutting element pivotally or otherwise associated with the finger for cooperation with the finger to sever the loops.

Generally, this looper or finger eithermoves in an arcuate or swinging path with respect to the plane of the needle or at an angle with respect thereto. This, of course, results in uneven cutting of the loops. Such combinations are shown in Stewart 1,984,772, Warren 2,058,047, Boyce 1,963,349, and others.

The moving finger and cutting mechanism are ordinarily actuated by an oscillating shaft, Boyce, supra, or from the feed dog mechanism, Stewart, supra. In this way, the loops are never caught in the same position on the looper and are never clipped in the same way by the looper thus resulting in ragged tufts. In almost all of these constructions it will be noted that the blade is pivotally mounted upon the looper with a lower extremity pivotally mounted upon a frame or to a fixed part on the machine, so that if the blade is adjusted, at its lower end, then the looper must likewise be adjusted and. if the looper is adjusted the blade must be adjusted, and when either of these elements are adjusted, the entire tufting machine is thrown out of balance.

Furthermore, if it is necessary to remove the finger or hook, then the whole attachment must be dismantled and the same is true if the blade is to be removed. When wear takes place on the looper, it is necessary to adjust all of the parts to return the combination to operative condition. Further examples of such construction are shown in Boyce 1,880,192 and in Keeney, 1,855,916.

Another disadvantage is noted in connection with the Keeney patent and the patent to Boyce 1,963,349, in that the looper operates the blade and the cutting speed is, therefore, wholly dependent upon the speed of the looper, necessitating the use of sharp blades to obtain the proper cutting operation.

Applicant with a knowledge of all these defects in and objections to the prior art has for an object of his invention the provision of a tufting attachment employing independently actuated loopers and blades, sothat the cutting speed is greatly increasedby the separate movement of looper and blade, since the ability 'to cut is directly proportioned to the speed of the relative movement of the cutting parts.

Applicant has as another object of his invention the provision of a tufting attachment employing a looper for movement always in a direction transversely to that of the path of movement of the needle, catching each of the loops at substantially the same place giving them equal length and severing them at substantially the same point, providing piles which are even and similar.

' Applicant has a further object of his invention the provision of a tufting attachment employing a transversely moving finger or looper driven from a central shaft of the sewing machine and an independently mounted and actuated blade for cooperation with the looper in severing the loops, thereby permitting the removal of the blade and looper independent of each other and eliminating the necessity for dismantling the whole attachment when one or both of these parts are removed.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following specifications and accompanying drawing and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the annexed claim.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a fragmental end view of my improved attachment mounted upon a sewing machine. Figure 2 is a 'fragmental side elevation of the same attachment mounted on a sewing machine. Figure 3 is a plan view of my improved attachment removed from the sewing machine. Figure 4 is an end elevation of the same attachment removed from the sewing machine. Referring to the drawing in detail, I designates the head of the conventional sewing machine having a needle bar 2 carrying a reciprocating needle 3 therein and held thereby by thumbscrew 4. Mounted beneath the bed plate of the machine and carried by ears projecting downwardly therefrom and mounted in appropriate bearings 6, l are the usual feed dog shafts.

Mounted between the ears and beneath the bed plate is frame l2 having an elongated opening 1'! through which screws are adapted to pass and seat in appropriate feet 34 of the bed plate.

l5, I5 designate screws which seat in the frame,

and project into the elongated slots for adjusting the frame i2 with respect to the needle by engaging screws 8, 8. The nuts l6, is look the adjusting screws I5 in position. The frame I2 has upwardly projecting ears which are recessed on their back sides to receive a slotted bar 20,

which. reciprocates freely in the recess.

7 Carried by the bar 20 is a block 32 which is secured thereto by screws 33. Mounted on1the upper end of the blocl132 and adjustable with respectthereto and easily removable therefrom is a looper finger or hook member 38 having a hooked end. ,The finger or hook member is securedto the upper end of the block by means of screwsjl, andhas elongated slots therein for adjustment,Withrespect to the finger. V V Pivotally mounted upon'theframe [2 at, 21 is anarm 23, ,which projects upwardly adjacent the reciprocating finger 30. by the arm '23 is a cutterhblade 24 which is secured thereto by means of a .screw 25 which passes, through an elongated slot inthe arm 23 to permit adjustment of said. blade with respect to the finger. 7

.When mounted on the machine, as shown in Figure '1, the pivoted arm 23 is joined to the feed dog operating lever ,5 by means ofalink 2| which 'is pivoted atone endto the arm 23 by means Adjustably carried shaft H driven from the main needle bar shaft in the conventional manner. Mounted on the end of this oscillating shaft II is a collar [0 carrying an offset pin 9 which sits inblock M.

In its operation, the needle bar 2 reciprocates up and down in the head I. As it passes downwardly through the fabric, carried on the upper surface of the bed plate, the strand of yarn accompanies it and as theneedle reaches its lower extremity and begins its upper movement, slack is developed in the loop or strand of yarn passed down through the fabric. At this point,

' the oscillating shaft is in movement causing pin 9 to impart a reciprocating motion to bar 29, thereby moving the looper in the direction of the needle and passing the hook 30 between the needle and the strand of yarn thereby catching the loop. As the needle moves further upwardly and passes out of the fabric, the loop of yarn is drawn tighter about the looper or finger and the finger 36 moves back to its initial position. This operation is repeated over and over again and loops are passed one after another upon the finger 30. As the looper 30 moves back to its initial position with more thanone loop thereon,

the cutter blade is actuated by the movement of the feed dog bar 5, so that it clips the loop by its cooperation with the cutting edge on the looper and acts as a scissors. The relative movement of both the looper and the blade creates a largecutting speed and insures that the loop is out, even tho the blade may be dull since the cutting is proportioned to the cutting speed between the two cutting members.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A combination of the character described comprising a reciprocating needle for passing a strand of yarn down through a fabric to form loops, a frame positioned beneath thefabric and having a longitudinal groove formed in a face thereof, a looper slidably mounted in said groove for movement substantially transversely to the plane of reciprocationof the needle for engaging andiholding the loops, apivoted' cutter independently mounted from the looper upon the frame for cooperation with said looper to sever the, loops, and means independent of said looper for actuating said cutter.

PATRICK H. TURLEY.

Images