US254975A - holmes - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) I

G. E. L. HOLMES.

SEWING MACHINE. ea-54,975. mmwtedfmar. 14,1882.

UNITED STATES CHARLES L. HOLMES, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,975, dated March 14, 1882.

Application filed February 14, 1881. (No model.) Patented in England March 17, 1880, in France March 17, 1880, in Belgium March 19, 1880. and in Germany March 25, 1880.

To all whom it may concern of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Sewing-Machines,of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to that class of sewingmachines, or attachments therefor, which are so constructed as to impart to the needle both vertical and horizontal reciprocating movements, whereby to make what are ordinarily termed cat-stitches, or button-hole o overseaming stitches.

My invention consists in certain devices, hereinafter fully described, whereby the desired movements are effected with little friction and with precision, such devices being so constructed that, if desired, they may be effectively applied in connection with many ordinary well-known forms of machines with but little alteration of the latter.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side view of a sewingmachine illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the arm and attachments; Fig. 3, a detached view, showing the end of the slidebar; Fig. 4, a detached view, showing the end of the needle-bar and needle; Fig. 5, a section of the end of the needle-bar Fig. 6, a perspective view,illustrating a needle and holder; Figs. 7, 8, and 9, views showing modified forms of needle bars and holders, Fig. 9 being a crosssection through the needle-bar; Fig. 10, a view in part section of the presser foot and bar; Fig. 11. a section on the line 1 2, Fig. 10; Fig. 12, a view illustrating a modification of the needle-sliding appliances.

While the devices which I have invented may be constructed for use with sewing-machines of any character, I have illustrated them in connection with an ordinary Singer machine, A being the bed'plate, and B the overhanging rrn supporting a head, 0, in which are'the resser-foot barD and needle-bar E, deriving its vertical motion from the rotating shaft F, clrrying at the end the fly-wheel G.

Beneath the plate A the shuttle is recipro cated by any suitable appliances in a line parallel to a bar, H, sliding or vibrating at i I one side of the arm B. The needle to, in place Be it known that I, CHARLES E. L. HOLMES,

of being secured to the needlehar E, is connected to acarrier, I, which is movable upon the needle-bar in. any suitable manner. As shown in Figs. 1, 2,4, and 5,the needle-bar terminates in an enlargement, B, having a horizontal socket, 00, open at the loweredge, and wider above said edge, adapted to receive a carrier, I, of correspondingform. This carrieris connected to or has its bearing upon the bar Hin such a manner that the vibration or reciprocation of said bar will impart a reciprocating horizontal movement to the needle; For instance, in Fig. 1 a rod,f, projecting horizontally from the rear of the carrier, is provided with a stop, 0, and the carrier is provided with a stop, 0, and between said stops passes a bar, d, projecting vertically from the bar H, the reciprocation or vibration of which will cause the. ban (1 to play between said stops, moving the carrier horizontally back and forth.

The stops 0 e are adjustable. thereby insuring an increased movement to the carrier in proportion as the stops are brought closer together. By the adjustment of said stops the needle may be carried to any desired horizontal position at one side or the other of the central line of the needle-bar, to be reciprocated horizontally in such posit-ion without necessarily varying the extent of its horizontal reciprocation.

The bar may be s.ottcd, as shown in Fig. 3, and the rod fmay extend through the slot. An equivalent construction is shown in Fig. 12, where the vertical rod d, instead of being fixed to the bar H, is secured fixedly or adjustably to the carrier 1, and extends upward between the screwstops e 6, adjustable upon the bar H.

Means may be employed for vibrating the bar H upon a pivot at the side of the arm B, so that it will move once to each complete vertical reciprocation of the needle-bar, or, preferably, the bar H may slide in one direction or the other once with every complete movement of the needle-bar. In either case thebar H acts directly upon the carrier, and is asimple and effective means of conveying motion from the actuating device to the carrier without the lost motion apt to result, and the irregular work caused by the employment of the usual more complex intermediate devices.

When a sliding bar is used it may be slotted to receive screws 9 g, which serve both as guides and as means of connecting it to the arm B, and in such case I prefer to communicate motion to the bar through the medium of a cam, J, secured to the shaft F, and provided with two grooves, h h, separated by a rib,j, broken at one point to receive a vibrating switch, is.

A stud, m, double-pointed in cross section, constitutes the end of a crank-lever, L, pivoted to the end of the bar H, which lever may be swung so as to carry the stud into one of the grooves of the cam, in which it will operate until transferred to the other groove by its contact with the switch It. By this means the slide is moved once at each rotation of the shaft, during which time theneedle passes once down and up.

The needle may be secured in the carrier I by means of a set-screw, a, as shown in Figs. 1,4, and 12; but I have found it advantageous to make the carrier I of soft metal, and-to cast the same directly to the shank of the needle, thereby not only securing a firm attachment, but so fixing the needle in relation to the carrier that no further adjustment is necessary. This mode of attachment is shown in Fig. 6.

To prevent the needle from being forced out of its position, the carrier should fit as tightly within its socket as possible without creating such friction as would interfere with its movement. To secure this result, as well as compensate for wear of the parts, I propose to split the needle-bar and provide it with means whereby the split end may be adjusted so in effect as to contract the socket. Thus in Figs.

' 4t and 5 the needle-bar is split at y and ascrew,

12, serves to bring the divided ends upon the carrier with any desired pressure. Figs. 7, S, and 9 show equivalent constructions where the carrier is socketed. In Fig. 7 the screw p expands the end of the bar in the socket of the carrier. In Figs. 8 and 9 the carrier is contracted upon a cylindrical enlargement on the end of the bar, the result being the same in all these cases. A like construction may be employed in securing the presser-foot M to the v presser-foot bar D, which is split and clamped by a screw, p, to a projection, 8, formed or Cast upon the presser-foot and adapted to a lateral socket of the said bar, as shown in Fig. 10; but I do not here claim this,asit mayform the subject of a separate application for Letters Patent.

1 have found that wide cat-stitches, which lie loosely upon the upper face of the cloth, are apt to catch upon the rear edge of the slot 10 of the presser-foot. To prevent this I cut away the under side of the presser-foot at the rear of the slot 20, forming a flat groove, t, through which the stitches may pass without striking the edge of the slot, while the fabric is firmly pressed at the sides against the feed device.

While I have described the modes of attaching the needle and presser-foot in connection with an overseamirig-machine, such modes are equally available in connection with other machines where the needle is to be connected fixedly to the needle-bar, and serve to secure readily the parts in place without nice adjustment by the operator.

It will be apparent that the construction of devices above described is such as will permit their ready application to a Singer or other similar machine without any other alterations than those that can be made by an ordinary mechanic, that the operation of the needle is effected positively and with accuracy, and that the various adjustments may be read-ilymade.

It will further be seen that by turning the lever L the stud m may be moved away from the cam J, and the machine instantly converted into a plain-stitch sewing-machine, and that by reversing the operation the cat-stitching may be resumed without further adjustment.

By the arrangement of the movable needle in line with the needle-bar I am enabled to se cure a more perfect action, as when the needle is set to one side of the bar there is always more or less strain tending to deflect it, and the attachments yield, owing to the greater leverage. The avoiding of any such irregularities is of special importance in this class of machines, where the needle must be brought into exact position in relation to the shuttle at whatever point it may descend. By extending the rigid bar from the cam to the carrier, and beneath the head, I am enabled to communicate motion directly to the carrier sliding upon needle-bars which extend through the heads of the machines, and can therefore secure the advantages resulting from placing the needle in line with the needle-bar. This arrangement further permits the operating parts to be covered by the head, so that the light silks and finefabrics used to a great extent in ornamental sewing are prevented from coming into contact with the oiled surfaces, which is not the case when the bar and its guides and appurtenances are at the side of the head.

I claim- 1. The combination, in a sewing-machine, of a needle-bar sliding in stationary bearings, and extending through and below the head, a needle-carrier sliding on said bar, a cam, and a rigid bar connected to said carrier beneath the head,and interposed between the cam and carrier and serving as a means of communicating motion directly from one to the other, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the slotted needle-bar carrier holding a needle in line with the needle-bar and extending through said slot, and

appliances, substantially as described for re-' ciprocating the carrier.

3. The combination, with the needle of a sew1ng-machine, of a metal head or carrier cast ICC upon the same and adapted to a socket in the In testimony whereof I have signed myname part to whichit is to be attached, and to guide to this specification in the presence of two subthe needle slidin gin said socket, substantially scribing witnesses. as set forth. 5 4. The combination of the needle-bar hav- CHAS. E. L. HOLMES.

ing a transverse socket, open at the under side, formed directly in said bar, as specified, Witnesses: and a needle-carrier adapted to said socket, CHARLES FOSTER, and appliances,substantially as described, for WILLTAM PAXTON.

1o reciprocating said carrier.

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