US38447A - Improvement in sewing-mach ines - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. F. W. GROTE.

Sewing Machine.

Patentedl Ma)l 5, 1863.

2A Sheets--Sh-eet 2. F. W. GROTE.

Sewing Machine. No. 38,447. Patented Mays, 1863.

Fig. 1.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDlflR-ICK V. GROTEe OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T() HIMSELF AND CLAUS O. TIETJEN, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SVEWING-MACHlNES.

Spectication forming part. of Letters Patent No. 38,447, dated May 5, 1863.

To all whom it may concern 13e it known that I, FREDERICK W. GROTE, ot' the city, county, and State otNew York, have invented certain new and useful- Improvements in Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ot' this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a front view, partly in' section, of a sewing-machine constructed according to the invention and embracing thef several improvements., Fig. 2 is a top view of the saine. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view o't a portion ofthe feed mechanism. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of portions ofthe said mechanism. Fig. 5 is a vertical ,section ot a portionefthe stationary arm or bed on which the work is performed, and ot' the devices for extending the loops ot' the needle-thread and passing the locking thread through them. Fig. (i is a horizontal sectional view corresponding with Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a side view of one ot' the loop-extending devices. Fig. Sis a plan ot' the same. Fig. 9 is an elevation ot the needle-bar and feed-wheel bar at right angles to Fig. 101s a horizonal section ot' the same. Fig. llis a view ot' the take-up at right angles to Fiff. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thc several figures.

This invention consists in certain novel devices for extending the loops of the upper or needle thread on the under side or back ofthe cloth or other material to be sewed, and carrying the under or locking thread through them; also, in aJ novel construction and arrangement ofthe feeding apparatus for feeding the cloth or other material iu alldirec-A tions, and in a novel mode ofapplying the needle in combination with such feeding apparatus to keep the planes ot' revolution otl the feed-wheel always at the same distance from theline of motion of the needle.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. A B C C '1s the framing ofthe machine, consisting of a long square arm, A, which constitutes the bed on which the cloth or other material is supported in the sewing operation an upper arm, B, which contains the guides for the needle-bar E,and carries the needle-operating lever D, the shaft F, and all the upper works ofthe machine and feet() C. The needle-operatinglever is ofcurved form and works on a t'ulcrum-pin, a, secured in the arm B. Its shorterarm is connected by a sliding piece, b, and pill o With the needle-arm, and its lower ar'm has in its lower part a slot, d, which receives a crank-Wrist, e, carried by the rotatingl shaft F, which works in a bearing in the lower part ofthe arm B. This crank gives the lever the necessary movement to operate the needle.

Tile devices i'or extending the loops of the upper or needle thread andV passing the lower or locking thread through them consist ot a peculiarlyconstructed hollow upright open cylinder, G, (see Figs. 1, 5, and 6,) having an oscillating motion about its axis, a stationary hooked plate, H, arranged within and close to the bottom ot' the saidcylinder, and a spool, I, which supplies the locking-thread placed in an open cylindrical case, J, which is arranged loosely within the cylinder G and supported upon the plate H, the Whole being arranged within a suitable cavity, ff, in the arm or bed Ain such a position that the needle n, passing through the holej in the platej, whichcovers, the cavityj', may enter between the cylinder Gr and spool-case J. The cylinder G is furnished at its bottom with a concentric hollow shaft or sleeve,G, which is bored to h`t easily upon the stationary uprightv pin, g, to which the stationary plateHis secured. This sleeve h'as upon. it a pinion, K, which gears with a toothed rack, L', on a horizontal bar, L, which is arranged and titted to slide longitudinally within the arm or bed A, and which derives a longitudinal movement from the needle-oper ating lever D by being furnished with a pin, It, which protrudes through a slot, t', in the front of the arm or bed B and enters the slot l in the lever D. The longitudinal movement of this bar L causes its rack Ll so to act upon the pinion l as to produce an oscillating movement ot the cylinder G about its axis once back and forth to the extent of about seven-eights ota com plete revolution for every downward and upward stroke of the needle. The hollow cylinder G has in one part ot' its circumference an opening, 12, and one side ot' this opening is chami'ered ot'f externally to a tween the cylinder and the spool-case, and

thereby to insure its catching the needlethread for the extension ofthe loop.

Some distancelbehindthe point 14 there is on the exterior of the said cylinder an inclined shoulder, 13, for catchingthe loop and causing one portion of it to pass over the top ofthe saideylinder and of the spool-case J and spool I, and another portion ot' it to pass under the spool-case; and in order to permit this there is an opening, 15 16, in the bottom of the said cylinder close to its inner periphery for the passage of the needle.v The general' form ofthe stationary plate H is that otacirele, somewhat smaller -than and concentric with the interior of the cylinder G, except that it has projecting from its periphery two teeth,

17 18, something like saw-teeth, and a recess,

19, in front of the tooth 17, which is so situated that the needlepasses down just in front ofit. rlhe tooth 18, which is a short distancebehind the tooth 17, has its point turned slightly downward; but the tooth 17 conforms to the general surface of the plate H. Y

vThe spool I is made of metal and is arranged to turn freely within the case J, in which it is secured by a nut,j, fitted to a screw-thread on a central pin, k, which is firmly secured in the bottom of the case, and the said spool has friction produced upon it. to prevent the lockingthread unwinding from it too freely bymeans ot' a spring, l, which is applied under the said nut within a central cavity provided in the said case, thesaid spring bearingupon atlange, m, provided at the bottom of the said cavity. The locking-thread (represented in blue color) passes from the said spool through two or more holes, a n, in one side ot' the spool-case J, being laced in and ont through the said openings to produce friction upon it. 'lh'e case J is made of an external diameter` sufficiently smaller than the internal diameter ot' the cylinder G to allow plenty ofroom between them i'or the passage of the needle and the loop oi" the needle thread. 'lhe said case rests on the stationary plate H, and in order that it may have the smallest practicable bearing thereon it is made with two small rounded bases,19 p, on its bottom. To keep the said ease out of contact with the needle, there is a small iixed guard-bar, q, attached to the. needle-platej, and entering the cylinder G between the said The operation of the cylinder G and its contained parts in forming the stitch is as follows: \Vhile the needle is descending the cylinder G turns in the opposite direction to that of the arrow shown near itin Figs. 6 and S, bringing the pointlfijust beyond the needle, and as the needle rises the said cylinder turns in the direction indicated by the arrow. As t-he needle cylinder and said ease.

commences its upward movement and the c vlindex` G its movement in the direction of the arrow, the portion of the thread on that side of the needle which is farthest from the center ot' the cylinder is left slack, and the point 14 enters betweenit and th atportion of the thread, and as the movements ofthe needle and cylinder continue the shoulder 13 catches the said portion ofthe needle-thread and extends itin the form of a loop, as shown in Fig. 6, where, aswell as in Figs. 1, 2, and 1l, the needlethread is shown in red color, after which the further-continued movement of the cylinder G carries the upper part of the so-extended loop over the top of the spool-case and spool, and the lower portion ot' the said loop under the spool-case, thelatter portion entering the cylinder through the openings 15 16, and the loop being detained close to its neel: at one side ot' the stationary plate H by means of the tooth 18 until the whole loop has passed the axis ot the spool-ease, when it has arrived in a position to pass over the tooth 17 and escape from the said plate, after which it is easily drawn over the rest of and entirely oft' the spool-case, which, having now passed through the loop ot' the needle-thread, has left the locking-thread encircled by the needle-thread. The slack ot' the loop is.drawn up by the take-up, which will be presently described. The stitch thus made is of thesame character as that made by the shuttle sewing-machine.

rEhe feeding device is what is known asa top wheel,7 M, and the whole ofthe feeding mechanisln is above the cloth or other material to be sewed. The wheel M, having a roughened made with an offset at i', (see Fig. 9,) to bring` the wheel on one side ot' the axis of the said bar, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and so enable the needle to be brought directly in line with the axis ofthe said bar N by giving the lower part ofthe needle-bar a proper bend or offset,

as shown at s in the said figures and in Fig.

1, and thereby cause the feed-wheelI to be always elose to the needle, however the direction of its planes ot' revolution may be varied by turning the bar N. rlhe feed-wheel is pressed down upon the cloth by means of a spring, 27, applied at the upper part of the bar N, the pressure being regulated by a. nut, 28, fitted to a screw-thread on the bar, and thel said bar is raised up to raise the feed-,wheel and. permit the introduction of the cloth under it, and permit the removal or adjustment ot' the same by means ot' a lever, N', attached to the bar N by a pin, t, the said lever having a cam-like end, which is brought into action on the top of the upper guide, n, by raising the other end of the said lever. The bar N is secured to keep the planes of revolution of the feed-Wheel in such direction as may be desired, and prevented from turning to change the direction of the feed until desired to do so by means of a pin, c, which is firmly secured in the said bar, and which enters any one of a series ot' notches, 2() 20, (see Figs. l and 3,) in the top of the guide u. To change the direction of the feed, the bar E is raised by the lever N high enough to withdraw the pin a from the notches 20 20, then turned to bring the said pin over another notch, and afterward allowed to descend.

The axle w, to which the feed-wheel is firmly secured, is tted to turn freely in a bearing in the lower-part ot' the feed-bar N, and the feedwheel is operated to produce thc feed b v means of a lever, P, which has one extremity constructed to forni a double-pointed dog, x, as shown in Fig. 4, one ot' the points of the said dog entering a notch in a collar, xi, whichtis loose on the axle w ot the feed-wheel, and the other entering a notch in a shoe, y', which is litted in the interior of the rim y of the feed- Y wheel. By raising the outer end ot the lever P its dog .r is caused to press the shoe y against the rim ot' the wheel, and. so turn the wheel in the direction of the arrow shown upon it in Fig. 4, and by depressing the said end of the lever it is caused to ielease the dog from the rim and move it upward thereon without movingthe wheel.

The collar x has attacned to it a spring, z, which presses against a corner on the lever P in such manner as to support the weight ofthe said lever and at the same time exert a tendency to keep the dog from pressing against the shoe y' when not desired to press against it. rlhe collar shoe y,`and lever P are kept in place by means of a plate, M', (see Fig. 9,) which is fitted loosely7 both to the axle w and to the interior ofthe rim t, and which is kept in place by being arranged between the feedwheel and the bar N. 'elhe lever I works through an opening in this plate. The said lever has its movement, by whichthe feed-wheel is operated, produced by being connected by a rod, Q, with the lower arm, R', ot' an elbowlever, R R', which is pivoted tothe bar N by a pin, 21,'and the upper arm, R, of which is partly received within a vertical slot in the said bar. A spring, 22, is applied within the slot to the upper arm, R, in such manneras to tend to throw it out from the bar N; but the said arm is pressed inward every time the needle-bar N descends by Ameans ot' a wiper, 23, attached to the needle and partly surrounding the bar N, andby this means the lower arm, R', rod Q, and lever P are raised and the feedwheel iurned.- The length of feed is regulated by a screw, 24, which is screwed through the said lever R R to come in contact with the bottom of the slot in the bar N, and thereby regulate the distance to which the arm R of the said lever is forced out .bythe spring 22;' or, in-

stead of the length of feed being regulated in this way, it may be regulated. by shifting the connection of' the rod Q along the arm 1t.

S is the take-up lever, working.on a fixed pin, 25, which secures it to the front ot' the arm B, and having an eye, 30, atits extremity, through which the needle-thread is rove after passing through an eye, 2li, in thehead ot' the needle-bar E, and through a stationary eye, 29, secured in the arm B. rlhe arrangement ofthe thread in the take-up is shown best in Fig. 1], which is a view ot' it at right angles to Figa-1, and it.will be there seen that the thread is trebled between the eye 26 of the needle-bar E and the stationary eye 29. The lever S has applied to it a spring, 3l, which only requires to be strong enough to hold it up when unsupported by the needle-operating lever D. The said lever is drawn down by the action ot' the cylinder G in the extension otthc loops ofthe needle-thread, and is raised up to draw back the slack of the loop through the cloth by the action upon it of a pin or projection, 32, on the back of the needle-operating lever D, and owing to the trebling ofthe needle-thread between the eyes 26 and 29 a considerable quantity of thread is kept in reserve between the top ofthe needle-bar and the eye of the needle, and the depression of the lever S is caused to yield up this thread as freely as required to permit the extension ot' the loop on the under side of the cloth by the action ot'v the cylinder G, and the raising of the said lcver is caused to draw back the said thread as rapidly as required to draw back the slack of the loop, the movement of the thread through the cloth permitted and produced by the said lever being three times :s great and as quick as the movement of the eye 30 at the end ot' the lever. The large size to which the loop requires 'ro be extended, owing to the large size of the spool I, renders such a nfovement ofthe thread, as is above described, very desirable. Byusing a large spool, I, the necessity of frequently rewinding the thread is obviated, and this is one ofthe advantages ofthe within-described construction and arrangement ot the devices for extending the loops of the needle-thread and passing the locking-thread vthrough them.

VTo obtain as great as practicable a movement of the lever S, the said lever is made with a projection, 33, on its under side for the pin 32 on the needle-operating lever to act upon, and the face ot' thisrprojection, upon which the said piu 32 acts, is tangential to a circle described from the t'ulcrum-pin 25, so.

that in the movement of the pin 32 upon the said surface in raising the lever S, its distance from the fulcruxn-pin 25 increases very little, and hence the movement of the end ot' the lever becomes very little slower as it proceeds, as would be the case it' the surface on which the pin 32 acted were radial or nearly so with the fulcrum-pin.

Above the lever S there is a .fixed stop, 34, attached to the arm B to prevent the said lever from being raised bythe spring 31 higher than is necessary while the needle-operating lever is descending.

The device for producing and regulating the tension on the needle-thread is shown in Fig. 1. The spool T which supplies the said thread is placed upon a. spindle, U, and secured firmly against a fixed collar, 3S, upon the lower part ofthe said spindle by means of a nut, 35, working on a screw-thread on the upper part thereof. The lower end of the said spindle is fitted intoa bearing in a piston, V, which tits to a cylindrical hole in the top of the arm B, and theupper end of the said spindle is kept in place by the point of a center-screw, 3G, which screws through the head of a gooseneck standard, \V, secured on the top of the arm B. Under the piston V there is applied within the samecylindrieal holen spiral spring, S7, which presses the said piston upward againstl the collar 38, and produces friction between the said piston and collar, and this vfriction is nia-de greater or less hy screwing down the screw 36 more or less, and so proscrewed into the top of the arm B and a piston, Y, fitted easilyinto the top thereof. The cup has ah'ole,40, drilled transversely through it for the thread to pass through, and the piston has attached to its lower end a piece of woolen cloth, sponge, or other material which will hold a small quantity of oil and which is pressed down upon the thread hy the weight ofthe piston, so that the thread in passing' through the cup may have it surface oiled. The thread may he wound partly or `wholly round the cup, which may thus be made a means ofproducing friction upon it by turning it upon its axis to cause the thread to he wound upon it more or less.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination ot' the cylinder G, the spool-case J, spool I, and stationary plate H, the whole constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

2. The construction, combination, and arrangement of the bar N, carrying the feedwheel and the needle-bar E, substantially as herein specified, whereby the feed-wheel is enabled to be adjusted around the needle to feed in various directions, and always kept close to the needle.

3. Operating the feed-whecl by means of a dog-levend?, applied to the said Wheel, a lever, R R', attached to the bar N, which carries the feed-Wheel and connected with the dog-lever P, and a wiper, 23, attached to the needle-bar, the whole combined and arranged to operate Substantially as herein specified.

F. NV. GROTE.

Witnesses z M. S. PARTRIDGE, DANIEL ROBERTSON.

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