US3070050A - Sewing machine with indicator means for stitch patterns - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 25, 1962 K. HGLL ETAL SEWING MACHINE WITH INDICATOR MEANS FOR STITCH PATTERNS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 25, 1958 INVENTORS KQRL H 60/177751 Dec. 25, 1962 K. HOLL EIAL 3,070,050

SEWING MACHINE WITH INDICATOR MEANS FOR STITCH PATTERNS Filed June 25, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' INVENTORS new #021,

By d/rr/xzk mews-R Dec. 25, 1962 K. HULL ETI'AL 3,970,050

SEWING MACHINE WITH INDICATOR MEANS FOR STITCH PATTERNS Filed June 25, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. K94; IVEZL 44w wai w Dec. 25, 1962 K. HOLL ETA]. 3,070,050

SEWING MACHINE WITH INDICATOR MEANS FOR STITCH PATTERNS Filed June 25, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INYENTORS 04 #0 04 qdn/r/rm Iii/ER 5095/10/54 72- Dec. 25, 1962 K. HULL ET AI. 3,070,050

SEWING MACHINE WITH INDICATOR MEANS FOR STITCH PATTERNS Filed June 25, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fi 4b aent 3,07@,@50 Patented Dec. 25, l fiz 3,070,950 SEWING MACE-ll 1E WITH ENDICATUR MEANS FOR STITCH PATTERNS Karl Hiill and Gunther Meier, Karlsruhe-Durlach, and Eugen Welte, llarlsruhe, Germany, assigners to Gritzner-Kayser A.G., Karlsruhe-Durlach, Germany, a German corporation Filed June 25, 1958, Ser. No. 744,555 Claims priority, application Germany lune 26, 1957 1 Claim. (Cl. 112-158) The present invention relates to sewing machines and concerns more particularly sewing machines constructed to turn out decorative designs and fancy stitch patterns besides straight seams.

It is one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide means affording completely automatic stitch variations even during operation of the sewing machine and simultaneously facilitating positive control and visible change-over from one stitch pattern to another selected at will by an operator.

'It is another important object of the present invention to provide means contributing to foolproof manipulations of the sewing machine by unskilled persons, teenagers, housewives and such persons, who do not like to perform operations on a machine according to prescribed instructions as the latter become unnecessary.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means conducive to a very efficacious, time-saving and highly economical sewing machine structure, which avoids in a positive manner any guesswork for a great variety of possible sewing operations, as the respective stitch pattern to be selected is readily perceivable on a dial or scale, with which an indicator or hand cooperates to determine corresponding positions of the transfer mechanism relative to the needle bar of the machine.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means redounding to a very compact sewing machine structure, which requires a reduced number of parts, is greatly simplified, necessitates only a unique manipulation for selecting a desired stitch pattern and is of highly aesthetic and balanced appearance, as numerous control knobs and levers may be omitted, which are disturbing and complicate operations in known sewing machines.

Yet a further object of the invention resides in the provision of means facilitating in a ready manner the comparison of one stitch pattern with a succeeding pattern, before same will be applied to the work piece or object to be sewn, any heretofore known separate sewing or stitch design selector charts being dispensed with.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide means ensuring the selection of a single stitch pattern among an extremely great number of stitch designs with great ease and accuracy at a minimum of loss of time and effort and rendering the possibility of carrying out the adjustment and surveying the selected stitch pattern operation in sedentary position by the operator and from its work place.

In order to produce fancy stitch seams on sewing machines, it is well known in the art in addition to the upand downward movement to impart to the needle or the needle bar also an oscillatory movement in transverse direction to the feed of the material to be sewn. A series of cam disks or rotating rollers with peripheral projections driven by the machine are used to control by means of followers or feeler fingers this oscillatory movement. In addition to this arrangement interchangeable single cam disks were employed and assembled in set formation, whereby either a special feeler element was assigned to each cam disk, or only a single feeler was provided to sweep over and engage selectively a respective cam disk of-the set. In such arrangements, an indicator device has already been used to facilitate adjusting the position of the feeler element or elements, so that the regulation of the respective fancy stitch system could be made visible or according to which the adjustment could be carried out.

As a further development Off these arrangements one has already proposed for the purpose of producing fancy stitch seams necessitating a reversal of the feed of the material at predetermined intervals, to employ a special cam disk acting upon a reversing lever for the feed of the material, whereby said special disk was included in the cam disks forming the aforesaid pack or set. This special cam disk is actuated by adjusting means for the feeler element, which in turn controls a second feeler element cooperable with said reversing member of the disk set. This arrangement is primarily intended for making buttonhole seams and leads to a single button adjustment, but limits at the same time the free interchangeability of the disks or" the assembled set of disks or requires additionally that the respective cam disk must be replaced by the reversing lever. Moreover, this special cam disk, which can be rotated by an adjustment lever, can only take up a limited number of control cam surfaces along its circumference.

he present invention contemplates in contradistinction to the aforesaid structures a novel design of fancy stitch means or appliance for sewing machines. This appliance according to the invention comprises a set of interchange able cam disks and a feeler element or follower which, upon operating a displaceable and rotatable handle knob, can be first disengaged and then moved parallel to the axis of the pack or set of cam disks.

This arrangement according to the invention further comprises an actuating lever for the reversal of the feed motion of the material, whereby said actuating lever is engageable and disengageable and is controlled by a predetermined disk of the set of cam disks. This arrangement may generally not resort to a single push button control, but nevertheless results in an essential and important simplification of the control mechanism and simultaneously afiords, if required, the interchangeability and replacement of the set of cam disks and also the change in the sequence of the various disks forming a predetermined set, which is no longer subjected to any limitation.

Accordingly the invention contemplates a fancy stitch appliance for sewing machines which may be equipped with an interchangeable set of cam disks and a feeler or follower therefor, which can be adjusted to each disk of the set by means of a movement directed parallel to the axis of the set of disks, while the feeler or follower may be retracted or moved away from the disks by an axial movement of a handle knob and can be adjusted above and coordinated to one of the disks by rotating movement of the aforementioned handle knob. The invention is further directed to a special cam disk mounted on and assembled with the set of cam disks for controlling a reversing lever for the feed motion of the material, as well as to indicating means coupled with said handle knob which provides for the adjustment of the feeler element.

The reversing lever for the material feed motion may be engaged and disengaged by means of a special gripping bar head handle. This bar head or capstan handle is preferably provided with appropriate markings indicating the position of the reversing lever, which markings register with similar indicia or markings provided on said indicating means for the control and adjustment of the feeler element.

it is therefore still another object of the present invention to provide means leading to a simplified control knob handle construction according to which the aforesaid handle knob and bar head handle are coaxially arranged to each other at one side of the sewing machine housing on which also arrangement is made for the aforesaid indicating means.

The invention is more fully explained by way of a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings which illustrate more schematically the novel arrangements according to the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial vertical section through the arm or housing of a sewing machine embodying the invention.

PEG. 2 represent a fragmentary side elevational view of the indicating means with dial or scale.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-section of the appliance according to the invention.

FIGS. 4, 4a, 41) show diagrammatically various positions of the indicator means relative to the feeler or follower and the set of cam disks.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, numeral 5i) designates the freely extending horizontal arm of the sewing machine housing which, in a well known manner, accommodates the drive shaft 6 which imparts an upand downward movement to the needle bar 51. The needle bar 51 is guided in an oscillating frame which is supported by a pivot 52. The oscillating frame 15 is coupled with a guide lever 13 via a control rod 14, the guide lever 13 being supported on a fulcrum 53, on which in turn a control lever 12 is mounted.

Transversely to a drive shaft 6, there is disposed a pack of cam disks 1 located above said drive shaft. The individual cam disks are mounted non-rotatably on a hollow shaft 54, which is supported by a removable spindle or pin 55. The arm or housing 50 accommodates in a hearing 56 at its rearward side 50a a gear 5 having a bushing 57, said gear being driven by a worm wheel 3 via a countershaft gear 4. The worm wheel 3 meshes with a Worm 2 on drive shaft 6. The retractable spindle 55 is supported in bushing 57 and is guided at its end opposite to the handle knob 58 in a suitable bearing (not shown) of the housing 50.

The gear 5 is thus driven by shaft 6 at a definite transmission ratio with respect to the number of rotations of this latter shaft. Gear 5 is further coupled with the outermost cam disk 17, by means of a screw bolt 59, so that the cam disk pack 1 is positively driven by means of gear 5.

Interchangeability of the cam disk pack 1 can be effected upon removal of spindle 55 from bushing 57, whereupon, after unscrewing bolt 59 set or pack 1 of the cam disks may be removed vertically through an opening (not shown) provided for this purpose in the housing; said opening being closable by means of a cover (not shown). The individual cam disks of the pack 1 are preferably designed to be interchangeable among each other, so as to obtain a great variety and possibility of stitch combinations. In the embodiment shown the cam disk pack 1 comprises several cam disks 1a, 1b, 10 etc. and one particular cam disk 17, so that the operator has the choice between twenty different fancy stitch patterns.

A follower or feeler 8, which is mounted non-rotatably but movably in axial direction along a support spindle 83, forms part of a tiltable or swingable frame 60. Frame 60 is swingably mounted on a supporting shaft 153 accommodated in the machine housing. A draw bar 11 is fulcrumed with control lever 12 at one free end and is coupled with the swingable frame 61 (FIG. 1).

A slide finger 63 extending from threaded slide or nut 64, which is displaceably guided on an adjusting spindle 10, engages a transverse slot 61 provided in hub 62 supporting feeler element 8. This arrangement (FIG. 3) affords the possibility of moving feeler 8 in axial direction along supporting shaft 19 and upon rotating spindle 1% the further possibility of adjusting and coordinating said feeler to each of the cam disks of the cam disk pack 1 for cooperation therewith.

This arrangement has been so constructed that, with all parts in one position, the nose 8;; of the feeler 3 lies within the reach of the path of rotation of projections or cams 7 of said cam disks. During rotation of the cam disks feeler S is swung out clockwise in accordance with the shape and the number of cams 7, this motion being transmitted to the frame or rocker 15 by means of parts 60, i1, 12, 13 and 14. Thus, the frame 15 is more or less swung to the right or to the left, the angle of swing and the time interval during which the frame remains in the swung out end position depending on the shape of the respective cams or projections 7.

For the purpose of adjusting feeler 8 above the cam disk pack 1, it becomes necessary to remove feeler 8 from reaching cams '7. To this end, a bar 34 contacted by an arm 33 of a lifting lever 31 is mounted in parallel relation to the supporting shaft 19 between the side walls 6%, 6% of swing frame 6%.

The lifting lever 31 is swingable about a pivot 32 located on a bearing bracket 65 and has a control arm extension 3t which cooperates with the cone part 66 of a slidable sleeve 29.

On the front end of spindle 10 is mounted a gear 2-8 which meshes with another gear 27 which latter gear is supported by means of a clutch bushing 67 located in bearing 6% of the housing 5%. A sleeve 69 having attached to its outer end a handle knob 26 and being rigidly connected at its other end at 2611 with the slidable sleeve 29, is so guided in the clutch bushing 67 that it can be axially displaced. The handle knob 26 has clutch dogs 70 attached to its front end facing the clutch bushing 67. Counterdogs 71 are provided on the clutch bushing 67. If handle knob arranged at the front of the machine housing is axially moved in the direction of spindle 78, the coupling of this handle knob 26 with sleeve 67 is established via the engaging dogs 70, 71. At the same time, cone 66 of the sliding sleeve 29 is then moved beneath the control arm 30 of the lifting lever 31. The latter movement causes lever 31 to swing out counter-clockwise, according to arrow A (FIG. 1) so that swing frame 63 rotates in clockwise direction according to arrow B and thereby entrains feeler 8, so that the nose 8a of feeler 8 is lifted out of the reach of the projecting cams 7 of the cam disks.

By simultaneously rotating handle knob 26, spindle will be rotated via parts 70, 71, 67, 27, 28 so as to adjust and coordinate feeler 8 to any desired cam disk of the cam disk pack 1.

Gear 23 supports a second ring of gear teeth 39 meshing with the gear 4%. Gear 4A is coupled with a pulley 3'7 and mounted rotatably with this latter pulley on a supporting pin 72 journaled in housing 50. An endless band element 36 is trained over a guide pulley 38 whereby the latter is operatively connected to pulley 37. A pointer 35 is attached to endless belt 36 and is moved along a preferably glass covered dial 23 in accordance with the movement of the band element 36. The dial 23 is mounted in an interchangeable manner behind a window or recess 73 provided in the forward side or front of the housing arm 50 and bears, for example, markings or symbols 24, 25 characterizing the same sequence in which the individual cam disks are arranged in the disk pack 1. The dial 23, which extends in a straight line in the front wall of the housing 50, may be easily and readily inspected from the work place of the operator, and in conjunction with the handle knob 26 also arranged at the front of the housing but generally remote from dial 23, the feeler or follower 3 can be conveniently and perceivably adjusted by the operator to any desired cam disk, as will be apparent from the above disclosure.

Individual fancy zig-zag stitches resulting from a suitable adjustment of the follower or feeler 3 to the respective selected cam disks may be further varied by means of a reversal of the feed motion effected in predetermined alternation or change. For the purpose of making use of this possibility, the change-over lever 22 for the material feed motion, which otherwise may be designed in a conventional manner, is controlled by a second feeler or follower 9. This feeler 9 is pivotable about a pivot pin 16 and is coupled with one arm 75 of the lever 22 in such a manner that it is able to move the lever 22 from the forward into the rearward motion position. Feeler 9 has a control nose 76 which is cooperable with and coordinated to the first disk 17 of the cam disk pack 1. This control nose 76 is coupled by means of pivot 16 with a control lever 18 which is pivoted on the supporting pin 19, the free arm 77 of the lever 18 being controllable by means of a cam disk 20. The cam disk 20 is mounted eccentrically on a spindle 78 which is rotatably guided in the sleeve 69 and terminates in an adjusting handle piece 21 arranged in a recess 21a provided in the handle knob 26, whereby handle piece 21 and handle knob 26 form operable means for actuating the control means for obtaining desirable stitch patterns, as aforesaid. The cam disk 20 (FlG. 1) has two oppositely arranged flattened portions 79, 80 which upon rotating disk 20 may be alternatively adjusted to serve as contact faces for the arm 77 forming part of the control lever 18.

The adjusting handle piece 21, which is designed as a capstan-head handle, carries opposite mazking points 81, 82 on its arms, the marking point 81 assuming the upper position to indicate in each case the adjustment given to the feeler lever 9. Thus, by rotating the adjusting handle piece 21 the feeler lever 9 through action of the control lever 18, may be brought into or out of its operating position with respect to the cam disk 17.

Normally, the feeler 9 may be brought info and out of its operating position with respect to the cam disk 17 in the course of any adjustment carried out for first named feeler 8. But in order to be sure that the feeler 9 is only moved into its working or operative position, when feeler 8 has been adjusted to assume its position on a cam disk which, for the production of the respective fancy stitch pattern in addition to the swinging motion of the needle requires also a change in the direction of the material feed motion, the symbols 24, 25 on the dial 23 are marked in that color, which corresponds to the operative adjustment of the adjusting handle piece 21 in accordance with the symbols 81, 82. Consequently, if the pointer or indicator 35 is adjusted to one of the symbols 25 shown in red, the red symbol 82 on the ad justing handle piece 21 must also be in the upper position, while upon an adjustment of the pointer 35 in regard to a green symbol 24 of the dial 23 which requires a change in the material feed motion, the capstan-head adjusting handle piece 21 must be rotated about 180, so that the green marking of this handle piece assumes the upper position.

The new arrangement constructed in accordance with this invention renders the possibility of a most extended variation of fancy stitches and designs without the necessity of interchanging any parts. The adjustment may be made by manipulating a simple handle assembly, and the surveillance of the adjustment made can be readily checked by the operator from his work place. The arrangement is simple in its structural set up, provides the possibility of interchanging the cam disk packs at any time and at will together with the indicating dial and without necessitating the use of special tools and above all ensures, provided that correct adjustment of the ad justing handle piece 21 is carried out, the sewing machine automatically produces always the respective adjusted fancy stitch seam without any additional manipulation on the part of the operator.

It can thus be seen that there has been provided in accordance with this invention stitch pattern control means for a sewing machine of the character described combined with dial means mounted on said machine and carrying replicas of a plurality of stitch patterns, indicator means operatively connected with said control means and movable relative to said dial means during setting of said control means to thereby simultaneously indicate on said dial means a selected stitch pattern accordingly, and operable means located remote from said dial means and said indicator means for actuating said con trol means.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and it is intended that such obvious changes and modifications be embraced by the annexed claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

An attachment for a sewing machine having a housing and a needle bar, comprising a set of cams, feeler means operatively connected to said needle bar for engaging a selected one of said cams to thereby oscillate said needle bar according to the contour of said one cam, 21 supporting pin extending from without into said housing, a hollow sleeve rotatable about said pin, said set of cams being non-rotatably mounted on said sleeve, a control knob sleeve rotatably mounted on said housing at a spaced location from said sleeve, a rotatable control knob journaled on said housing and coaxial with said control knob sleeve, respective interengageable means connected to said knob and to said control knob sleeve for coupling said control knob sleeve for rotation by said knob and for decoupling from the latter, first means for lifting said feeler means from said set of cams, second means for displacing said feeler means in axial direction of and relative to said cams to thereby register said feeler means with said one cam, motion transfer means located between said control knob sleeve and said feeler means for imparting motion to said first and to said second means, successively, upon coupling of said interengageable means by said knob, indicating means carried by said housing and including a display of a plurality of stitch patterns, said indicating means including a pointer, an endless belt mean-s operatively connected to said pointer and to said second means whereby the oscillatory movements of said feeler means via said one selected cam are imparted to said needle bar and are indicated by said pointer being aligned with a particular stitch pattern of said display.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,769,439 Lee July 1, 1930 2,005,070 Bitzer June 18, 1935 2,590,907 Van Tuyl et a1 Apr. 1, 1952 2,653,557 Casas-Robert et al Sept. 20, 1953 2,743,622 Haupt May 1, 1956 2,832,302 Gegauf Apr. 29, 1958 2,862,468 Johnson Dec. 2, 1958 2,969,756 Eriksson Jan. 31, 1961 2,971,482 Koike Feb. 14, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 548,344 Italy Sept. 24, 1956 554,764 Italy Jan. 15, 1957

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