US318470A - Machines - Google Patents

Description

(No Model. '2 Sheets-Sheeti 1.

J. K. HARRIS.

BUTTON HOLE ATTAGHMENTFOR SEWING MACHINES. No. 318,470. Patented May 26, 1885 IN'VENTOR ATTORNEYS.

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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

I J. K. HARRIS.

BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. No. 318,470. Patented May 26, 1885.

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J OHN K. HARRIS, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE HARRIS BUT- TON HOLE ATTACHMENT COMPANY, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

BUTTON-HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION 20:11 ing part of Letters Patent No. 318,470, dated May 26,1885.

Application filed September 17, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Jonn K. Hnnnrs, of Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invent-ed a new and Improved Button Hole Attachment for Sewing Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to certain improvements upon the button-hole attachment for sewing-machines patented by me September 6, 1881, No. 246,764, and also March 28, 1882, No. 255,622; also to a new device for throwing the clutch-lever back for a new bite on the feed-bar by a positi 'e movement, instead of I 5 the use of springs, as heretofore used. In the devices shown and described in said Letters Patent an oscillating movement on a central pivot is given to the cloth-clamp by a lever operated by the needle-bar of the sewing-ma 2o chine. This oscillation was utilized and made to perform a double purposeviz., producing the necessary movement for the lateral stitch and also to produce a right-line longitudinal feed movement in either direction by thesimple means of a cl utch-lever engaging the clamp or its feedbar at or near the center of oscillation and the outer end impinging against a stationary stop or resistance. These devices have been very effective in their operation,

working equally well in either direction; but as the central pivot or fulcrum on which the clamp oscillates had to beslightly moved from one side of a center longitudinal line to the other when working the ends of the button- 5 hole, and. the direction of the feed reversed when passing the longitudinal line, although this movement, as fully described in said Let ters Patent, was effectively accomplished by simply turning a hand-lever from one stop to another, it is desirable to have this movement produced automatically, and to accomplish this result and to avoid the use of a clutchspring by the substitution of a positive lever movement is the object of my present invention. As will be seen, I have accomplished this automatic result by a ratchet mechanism operated by the needle-bar lever and arranged to work only when rounding the ends of the button-hole. I have also produced the same result by utilizing for this purpose the oscillating movement of the clothclamp feedbar, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the entire buttonhole attachment embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 00 0., Fig. 2. Figs. at and 5 are plan views of the slidcplates. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the oscillating plate which carries thefeed-bar. Fig.

7 is a detail view of part of the ratchet mechanism, and Fig. 8 isa plan viewof the ratchetwheel. Fig. 9 is a diagram hereinafter explained. Fig. 10 represents a button-hole in part. Fig. 11 is a detached perspective View of certain parts to indicate their operative relation to each other; and Fig. 12 is an under side view of the forked reciprocating plate and the oscillator by which it is operated, showing the connection of these two parts.

A is the baseplate, and A is a plate to which the plate A is attached, the said plate A being adapted to take the place of the shuttlerace slide in ordinary sewing-machines.

B is the main operating-lever, hung on posts or flanges a at one end of base-plate A, and extending longitudinally with said plate for So connect-ion withthe needle-bar of the sewingmachine.

11 isa forked reciprocating plate having upward inclines c c, and attached to the bedplate by means of screws passing through slots, 8 5 so that it is free to be reciprocated laterally on the bed-plate by the oscillator to, with which it is connected. (See Fig. 12.)

(Z is a round bar, to one end of which is attached the cloth-clamp consisting of the lower plate, f, which is rigid with the bar d and the upper adjustable plate, 9, which is clamped on plate f by means of an eccentric. The other end of the bar (1 passes freely through the ears 1) p of the oscillating plate m, Fig. 6, through clutch-lever D, and through a post, a, on the reciprocating plate I). The post 6 is allowed to turn slightly in its connection to the plate 12, so as to conform to the lateral movement of rod (1, and has a screw in its upper end for forcing a plug of leather or rawhide upon the rod to cause a slight friction.

h is a slide-plate attached to the bed-plate by means of screws h passing through slots in the plate, so that the latter is capable of a slight moveme'nt transversely of the bed-plate.

tis a second slide-plate fitted in a transverse groove of the plate A, beneath plate h.

his a ratchet-wheel, formed upon its under side with two eccentrics, Z Z, reversely placed and attached upon the bed-plate by a pivotscrew, so that the eccentrics lie within slots 1?, formed in plates h z. The plate h is recessed at one side, (see Fig. 4,) and receives within said recess the center oscillating plate, m, Fig. 6, which is thus allowed to lie upon the lower plate 5, to which it is attached by a pivot-pin or screw, m.

Afnlcrum-pin,7c,extending upward from the plate 'i, extends througha slot, 0, formed transversely of plate m, into a hole, at, in plate 12. Upon plate m, and turning on fulcrum-pin 7c, is the clutch-adjusting plate a, which engages by a hole, at", at one end with a pin, 0, projecting upward from plate m. D is the clutchlever, formed tubular at one end for the passage of feed-bar (Z, and having itsouter end provided with a pin or screw, 1', which serves as a fulcrum for said lever, engaging the irregnlar slot 1'' in the end of slide-plate h.

A pin or projection, q, upon the clutch-adjusting plate it engages the clutch-lever D by means of a slot formedin the under side of the recessed or tubular end of said lever. The object of this plate a is to utilize the reverse oscillation, from the one that feeds the bar d, to set the clutch-lever D back to the center of oscillation for a new bite on bar d by a positive lever movement, instead of by the springs heretofore used. When the bar d is oscillated, it causes the plate m to swing upon its fulcrum m, and by the connection of plate at to plate a by pin 0 the plate a is oscillated upon its fulcrum h, and the pin q, engaging cl'utch'lever D, throws it back on rod (1 the instant the bite is released by the reverse direction of oscillation. This 7 adjustingplate 9b, as asubstitute for springs,

performs its functions equally well in either direction of the feed movement, but in order to prevent binding care should be taken in locating its fulcrum h. Fig. 9 illustrates the position of the fulcrum with reference to the two movements, the shorter crossed lines in said figure indicating the movements of the plate a, and the longer outer lines the movements of the clutch-lever D.

The ratchet-wheel h is engaged by a pawl, s, that is hung upon a lug, t, projecting into a T-slot, t, in the pawl from the pendent portion of the operating-lever B, and its inner end is maintained in continuous engagement with the ratchet-wheel by a spring, s, acting against a fixed guide on the bed-plate.

Upon feed-bar d is attached a block, u, on which is pivoted an arm, a, that is" bent to extend beneath the pawl 8.

Upon the bed-plate A is a fixed projection, 11, and also a projection, b, which is part of an adjustable piece, at. These two projections represent the extremes of feed movement, the piece at being adjust-able according to the length of the button-holes, and in the move ment of the feed-bar forward or back, when the projection a or b is reached thearm u is raised, and with it the outer end of the pawl s, so that the lug t comes within the shorter portion of the slot 11 in the pawl, and the pawl is thus given a reciprocating movement by the lever B. This movement occuring when the end of the button-hole is reached, the ratchet-wheel his moved the required nu inher of teeth in order to effect the shipping over of plated and parts it carries, and the pawl continues to act until the arm to, clearing the projection a or b, the pawl drops and the movement ceases.

At the time when the ratchet-wheel moves Thefulcrum-pin h of the platen is attached to the ship over slide t, and passes loosely through the slot 0 of the oscillating plate m, thus leaving the latter plate free to swing on its fulcrum' pin m as it is operated by the oscillating feed-bar d. The feed-bar d passes freely through the recessed or tubular end of the clntchdever D when the latter lever and feed-bar are at right angles to each other; but the c'entersof the offset portions of the irregular slot 1" in the plate h, into which slot the fulcrum-pin r of the said clutch-lever extends, are so placed as to be slightly to one side or the other of the centers of the pins m and h, attached to the plate 11. Thus the clutch-lever will be normally slightly displaced from a right-angular position relative to the oscillating feed-bar d, and as the latter bar swings in one direction the clutch-lever will bite or bind upon it as it swings with it. The fulcrum-pin r of the clutch lever will at this moment be braced against the outer or end wall of that portion of the irregular slot 1' in which said pin happens to be, and will thus cause the clutch-lever to move the feed-bar and its clothclamp along for a short distance. As the feedbar is reversed in its oscillating movement, carrying with it the oscillating plate m, the bite of the clutch-1ever on the said feed-bar is released, and the pin 0 on the free end of the said plate at engaging the clutch-reversing plate a will swing the latter plate on its ful-. crum-pin 7c in a direction opposite to the movement of the oscillating plate m, and the pin q in the plate a engaging the free The plate 1' in its ship-over or clutching end of the clutch-lever will re verse the latter as its hold on the feedbar is released, moving it back for a new grip. Thus the operation will continue, the feedbar being moved in one direction to work one side of the button hole, while the fulcrum-pin r of the clutch-lever is in one off set portion of the irregular slot 2" of the slide-plate 72,- but. when the ratchet-wheel it .receives a half-revolution (by means of the automatic mechanism hereinbefore described) when the end of the button-hole is reached, to shift the ship-over plate 2, and thus bring the other side of the button-hole beneath the needle of the sewing-machine, the plate h will be shifted in a direction opposite to that of the movement of the plate 02. This sliding movement of the plate It will gradually bring the fulcrum-pin r of the clutch-leverinto the other offset portion of the slot r, thereby reversing the angular displacement and biting operation of said clutch-lever, causing it to reverse the movement of the feed-bar to work the other side of the button-hole.

As the ship-over movement and the transfer of the fulcrum-pin r of the clutch-lever to a new part of the irregular slot 1- occur slowly, occupyingthetime consumed in sewing several stitches, the ends of the button-holes will be strongly barred by a series of overlapping stitches, as indicated in Fig. 10. Thus it will be apparent that all of the movements of the cloth-clamp required to form complete button-holes, both ends of which will be strongly barred, will be effected automatically.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a button-hole attachment for sewingmachines, the combination,with a cloth-clamp and an oscillating andlongitudinallymovable feed-bar,of a ship-over slide to which said bar is connected, a ratchet-wheel and eccentric for operating said ship-over slide,and mechanism for partially rotating said ratchet-wheel at intervals, substantially as set forth.

2. In a button-hole attachment for sewing machines, the combination,with a cloth-clamp and a feed-bar therefor,of clutch-lever for moving said feed-bar longitudinally, a slide-plate having an irregular or offset slot for the fulcrum-pin of said lever, aship-over slide to which said feed-bar is connected, a ratchet-wheel, two reversely-placed eccentrics, an operating-lever, and apawl loosely connected with the latler for partially rotating said ratchet-wheel and eccentrics at intervals, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the ratchet-wheel 7t, eccentrics Z Z, slide'plates h i, elutch-lever D, earplate m, and feed-bar d, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the cloth-clamp and the oscillating feed-bar, of the ship-over slide 5, the oscillating ear-plate m attached thereto, the slide-plate it, having the slotr, and the clutch-lever D, having fulcrum-pin r, engaging said slot, substantially as set forth.

5. In a button-hole attachment for sewingmachines, the combination,with a clothclamp and an oscillating and lougitudinally-niovable feed-bar, of a ship-over slide for moving said feed-bar laterally, and devices for automatically shifting said bar when an end of a buttonhole is reached, substantially as set forth.

6. In a button-hole attachment for sewingmachines, the combination,with a cloth-clamp and a feed-bar, ot a clutch-lever for moving said bar lengthwise, a pivoted adjusting or reversing plate having a connection with said clutch-lever, and positively-operating mechanism for retracting said plate in reversing said lever, substantially as set forth.

7. In a button-hole attachment for sewingmachines, the combination,with a cloth-clamp and a feed-bar therefor, of a clutch-lever for feeding said bar longitudinally, a pivoted reversing-plate having a pin engaging said clutch lever, and a pivoted oscillating plate having a pin for vibrating said reversingplate, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination,with the bed-plate having the fixed and movable stops or projections a and Z), the operating-lever B, and the pawl 8, having a T-slot at its rear end, of the ratchetwheel [6, and the feed-bar (I, having the pivoted arm a, for throwing the said pawl into operation at intervals, substantially as set forth.

9. The projections to b, the pawl s, havinga T-slot, and the arm a on the feed-bar, combined to bring the pawl into operation at the extremes of feed movement, substantially as described.

JOHN K. HARRIS.

\Vitnesses:

EDW'ARD M. CLARK, EDGAR Tit'rn.

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