US448253A

US448253A - Quilting-machine

Info

Publication number: US448253A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1891-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 1908-03-17

Description

5 Sheets-Sheet 1..

(No Model.)

F. L. PALMER.

QUILTING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

Im Mll- 5 sheets-sheet 2j (No Model.)

F. L. PALME-R. QUILTING MACHINE.

No. 448,253. Patented Mer. 17,1891.

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(No Model.) 5 Smets-sheet 3.

F. L. PALMER. QUILTING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

(No Model.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 4. F. L. PALMER. QUILTING MACHINE.

No. 448,253. Patented Mar. 1'7,A 1891.

#du e 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(N Model.)

F. L. PALMER. QUILTING MACHINE.

NimhV drames aimait vrinden.

FRANK L. PALMER, OF NFV LONDON, CONNECTICUT.

QUILTINGWEVIACl-IINE.

SPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,253, dated March 1'7, 1891.

Application filed .Tune 13,1884. Serial No. 184,735. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK L. PALMER., of New London, in the county-of .New London and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Sewing and Quilting Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

The invention consists in novel combinations of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a partly sectional elevation of a machine embodying my invention and in which the pattern rack or track is arranged in cylindric form. Fig. 2 is an irregular transverse seclion of the machine on the dotted line a? cc, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a machine embodying my invention and in which the pattern rack or track is arranged upon a flat board or plate. Fig. A is a transverse vertical section of the machine, shown in Fig. 3 upon the plane of the irregular dotted line y y,'Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents a belt or band which may be used to secure the edge of the fabric upon the annular rotary frame around which the fabric is laid; and Fig. (i is a partly sectional elevation similar to Fig. 1 of a machine embodying a slight modification of my invention, and in which the fabric-support is rotated while the sewing-machine is moved longitudinally of the cylindric fabric. Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the iigures.

The machines shown in the drawings differ from each other only in the arrangement of the pattern mechanism, and a description of other parts will apply equally to all the inachines. i

The sewingnnachine shown in Figs. 1 and 3 is stationary, and has long upper and lower arms A A. Through the upper arm A extends the operating-shaft a of the machine, provided at one end with a pulley a', around which a driving-belt may pass, and at its other end connected with and serving to operate the needle-bar a2.

At the end of the lower arm A is a work plate or table a3,in which is arranged for operation a shuttle, looper, or other stitclrforming device of any well-known and suitable kind. The stitch-forming device is operated by the shaft ai, extending along the lower I have here shown the sewing-machine as supported from above. Near each end of the upper arm A are cast brackets orlugs b, from which extend stay rods or braces b', and an intermediate and vertical column or strut b2.

The rods or braces b diverge rapidly upward and are to be secured to suitablehangers upon the overhead beams of the room wherein the machines are used. In order to still further strengthen the suspension devices, I connect the two columns or struts b2 by a tie-rod or stretcher (Shown in Figs. 1 and 31.)

I employ a carriage consisting of a rectangular frame composed of end pieces or sills B and side pieces B', and on the latter are supporting-wheels Bwhich run upon the tracks or ways c, extending` lengthwise of the machine. On the carriage-frame B B are erected standards B3, and in bearings d at their top is mounted a shaft or rod C, which may be turned by a hand-wheel d. On the shaft or rod C, near opposite ends, are screw-threads c c of reversed pitch, which are fitted to nuts formed in the hubs of non-rotary skeleton frames or spiders D. The arms fof these frames or spiders carry rollers f having their axes radial to the shaft C, and proj ections f* from the arms f carry other friction-rollersfg.

The frames or spiders D are provided with means to prevent their rotation, and the means here shown consist of pins g, extending outward from said frames and fitting holes or guides in the staiida1dsl3", as shown in Fig. 1.

The non-rotary frames or spiders D are each surrounded by a rotary annular frame or rim E, which is supported and free to rotate upon the rollers f f2. These, which constitute a cylindrical fabric-support, comprise eylindric surfaces h, on which the opposite edges of, a fabric F are laid, and, as here shown, each surface z. has in it a V-sliaped seat formed by a groove 71.. G designates a V-shaped belt IOO fitted to said seat and capable of being strapped tightly around the frame orrim and secured by a buckle (shown in Fig. 5) or other fastening device.

Each frame or rotary ri m Elias or may have a belt G fitted to it, and after the opposite edges of the fabric F are laid around the cylindric surfaces h they are belted snugly thereto. In lieu of the belts or bands G the said surfaces ZL may be provided with tenter-pins or other holding devices. The rollersf bear on the inner side of the inwardly-projecting iiangej, (here shown as bolted to the other portion of the frame or rotary rim E, and having its exterior spur toothed so as to constitutea gear-wheel.) After the Opposite edges of the fabric F are secured upon the cylindric surfaces Zt of the rotary frames or rims E the screw-shaft C is turned to move the skeleton non-rolary frames or spiders D away from each other, and the rollers f acting on the rotary frames or rims, also separate them, and thus elongate the fabric-support and hold the fabric taut and in cylindric or tubular form.

I Will now describe the pattern mechanism shown in Figs. l and 2.

H designates a cylinder arranged to rotate in the carriage B B 32 B3 below the rotary fabric-support. At its ends are spur-wheels I, which are shown as of the same size as the spur-wheels j, and gear into the latter. The wheels I have quite broad faces, so that when the fabric-support is elongated, as above described, the wheelsj will still be in engagement with the wheels I. As here shown, the wheels I are fast upon each end of the cylin- V der H and the latter is journaled on a nonrotary bolt or shaft H', cxtendinglengthwise of the carriage. Upon the cylinder is formed or secured a rack or track 7a in pattern form, which I may form by driving pins into the cylinder, and adjacent to said rack or track extends a groove or guide Zt.

J designates a pinion, arranged radially to the aXis of the cylinder H and mounted on a radial shaft J as shown in Fig. 2. The shaft J has a bearing in a standard Z, and is rotated through a worm-wheel Z and worm Z2 by a shaft J2, extending lengthwise of the cylinder H, and provided with pulleys' Z3 Z", as shown in Fig. l. At the inner end of the shaft J is a pin or tracker m, Which enters the groove or guide Zt in the cylinder and so holds the track or rack Zt and pinion J in proper relation for operation. IV hen a rotary motion is imparted to the pinion, the latter forms a positively-operating engaging device, gearing into the rack and causing the cylinder to follow the course of the pattern rack or track. The cylinder being free to rotate and the carriage being free to move lengthwise of the cylinder, a universal movement may be imparted to any point on the cylindric surface, and as the cylinder and fabric-support are geared together th-e change in relative position of the fabric and needle will exactly correspond thereto.

In Yorder that the pinion J may be disengaged from the pattern rack or track, if so desired, I connect the shaft J and wormwheel Z by a feather or spline and groove *2, so that the shaft may slide through the Wormwheel to enable it to be moved back to free the pinion J and pin m from the pattern rack and guide Zt Zt. J is a set-screw m', and in the shaft are two annular grooves i if. NVhen the shaft is in the position show-n in Fig. 2, the set-screw m enters the groove 2 and vholds the shaft against outward movement. When the shaft is shifted to withdraw the pinion from the rack Zt, the screw m may be tightened up to cause it to enter the groove 2", and so hold the pinion and pin J m out of engagement with the pattern rack and guide Zt Zt.

Instead of arranging the pattern rack or track in the form of a cylinder, I may arrange it upon a flat board or plate H2, which I have shown in Figs. 3 and 4, to which I now refer. The pattern board or plate H2 is fitted 'to slideways n at opposite ends of the carriage B B, the said slideways being formed by upper and lower rollers n n2 and edgerollers n2, which are mounted in suitable frames or housings n and secured to the parts B of the carriage. Opposite edges of the pattern board or plate I-I2 are guided by these systems of rollers, and the plate or board is thus enabled to move in a horizontal plane without danger of canting.

On the pattern board or plate H2 near each end are straight racks 0, which gear into the wheelsj and thus impart a rotary movement to the fabric-support from the rectilineal sliding movement of the pattern board or plate H2.

Iu the bearing of the shaft- IOC IIO

ion J, engaging with the pattern-rack, and a pin m engaging with the guide Za. The lower end of the shaft 02 carries a pulley 03, which is to receive a driving-'belt from any suitable outside shaft arranged in lixed bearings. The shaft 02 is held up by a spring 04, applied between the pinion and bearing J o', and when desired the'shaft may be pulled down against the force of this spring to lower the pinion and pin J m out of engagement with rack and guide Za Zt. The side sills B of the carriage are cut away at p to permit the pattern board or plate to pass over them.

From the above description it will be understoodthat the fabric-support here shown constitutes a carriage capable of rotation in either direction, and that this rotation is in a plane perpendicular to the plane of rectilineal movement of the carriage B B B2 B3. Neither of these two carriages has a definite or determined movement, but both are left free, and hence the speed of either may be increased or decreased or stopped altogether relatively to the other and at any point in its travel. The support on which opposite edges of the fabric are secu red not. only has a rotary movement, but being mounted in the rectilinearly-moving carriage it has a bodily movement lengthwise of its axis.

An important advantage of the non-rotary spider D at that end of the rotary fabric-carriage on which the sewiiig-machiiie is placed is that it enables the rotary frame or rim to receive within it the lower arm of the niachine without interfering with the turning of said frame or rim. Of course the arms of the sewing-machine will never extend beyond the rotary 'frame or rim at the righthand of Figs. l and 3, and hence the fabric-support at that end need not necessarily have a non-rotary spider and a surrounding rotary rim or frame, but might be differently constructed.

In Fig. C I have represented a partly-sectional elevation similar to Fig. l, and in which the change in relative position between the fabric and the needle of the sewing-machine in directions transverse to each other is produced by the rotary motion of the fabric-support without any lengthwise movement of said support, and by the movement of the sewing-machine itself in a direction lengthwise of the fabric-support and cylindric fabric.

In Fig. G the construction of the fabric-support or rotary carriage, whereby the fabi-ic is' held in cylindric form and rotated, is similar to that before described; but the uprights or standards B3, in which the shaft C is journaled, are stationary, and wheels I, which are fast upon the shaft H', engage with the spurwheels j and rotate the rims or annular frames E. The sewing-machine has rollers or wheels d, which run upon atrack ai, and the pattern drum or cylinder H is not arranged immediately beneath the cylindric fabric, as described with reference to Fig, l, but is arranged beyond the end thereof, and has a sliding connection with the shaft Il', to which it is locked by a spline or key entering a groove q in the shaft. The shaft is supported at its outer end in a fixed bearing h5, and the pattern-drum is mounted in a carriage which has wheels or rollers B2 ruiming upon a track c.

The construction of the pattern-drum H, with its rack 7i: and grooves t, and the pinion J upon the shaft J, which engages the rack 7c and the groove 71;', is the same as before described with reference to Fig. l, and said pinion J is-rotated by a worm Z2 upon the shaft J2 engaging a worm-wheel Z upon the shaft J.

The carriage B is connected by an arm BG with the sewing-machine A A', and from the above description it will be understood that when the pattern-drum or cylinder I-I has a simple rotary motion imparted to it such rotary motion will be transmitted ,through the shaft I-I and wheels I to the rotary fabric-carriage composed of the frames E. Then directly-longitudinal motion of the patterndrum l-I is produced by the pinion J, the carriage B will run along` the track c and the pattern-drum will slide upon the shaft II',

and through the arm Il will shift the sewinginachine lengthwise of the cylindric fabric F. Either of these movements to the fabric or to lthe sewing-machine take place separately or conjointly, according to the forni of' the pattern upon the drum or cylinder Il.

It will be observed that in the example of my invention shown in Figs. l and 2 the cylindric fabric is in a carriage, which is movable lengthwise of the cylindric fabric, and in Fig. (l such lengthwise movement is iinparte'd to the sewing-machine, and the cylind ric fabric has only a rotary motion.

By the term cylindric fabric, as used herein, I mean to include the arrangement of fabric either in the form of a complete cylinder or in the form of a greater or less are of a circle, and the frames or rims E, to Awhich the fabric is secured, are always of cylindrical form, whether they be completely circular or in a greater or less arc of a circle, it being always my intention to hold the fabric in the machine so thatit is susceptible of receiving rotary motion, as can a cylinder or arc-shaped body.

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

l. The combination of a cylindric fabricl support, a sewing-machine having its arms extending in a direction corresponding with the axial length of said support, and a carriage upon which one of said parts is supported and which is movable in a direction parallel with the axis of said support, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The combination, with a cyliiidric fabricsupport, of a sewing-machine having its arms extending in a direction corresl'ionding with the axial length of said support, a carriage on which one of said parts is supported, and a pattern acting on said carriage, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

The combination, with a cylindric fabricsupport comprising two separate frames having a common axis and securing devices upon said frames, whereby a fabric may be secured so as to present a curved surface, of a sewing-machine having its arms extended lengthwise of said support, a carriage acting on one of said parts to impart movement thereto, a pattern acting on said carriage, and a positively-operating engaging device acting on said pattern, substantiallyas and for the pur pose specified.

4. The combination, with a cylindric fabricsupport and securing devices at or near its edges, whereby a fabric may be secured so as to present a curved surface, of a normally IOC non-rotating screw c, a nut engaging said screw, whereby the said supportniay be extended axially, aiid a sewing-machine for operating on the fabric, substantially as herein described.

5. The combination, with a cylindric fabricly-operating engaging device, as wheel J, en-

support and securing devices at or near its edges,whereby a fabric maybe secured so as to present a curved surface, of a sewing-machine having arms which extend lengthwise of the said fabric-support for operating upon the fabric, a pattern-track connected with said rotary fabric-support for controlling its movement, and a positively-operating engaging device, as wheel J, for engaging said track, substantially as herein described.

G. The combination, with a cylindric fabriesupport having securing devices at or near its edges, whereby a fabric may be secured so as to present a curved surface, of a sewing-machine having its arms extending1 lengthwise of the fabric-support for operating on the fabric, a carriage for one of said parts, supports for said carriage permitting motion in a direction lengthwise of the fabric-support, a pattern-track connected with said carriage for controlling its movements, and a positivegaging with said track, substantially as specified.

7. The combination, with a sewing-machine, of a cyliudric fabric-support to which fabric may be secured and by which it may be rotated, a pattern for controlling the movements of said support, comprising a track in pattern form geared with the said support, and a positively-operating engaging device, as wheel J, acting on said track, substantially as 4herein described.

8. The combination,with asewing-machine and a fabric-support, of a pattern mechanism for controlling the relative position of the sewing-machine needle and fabric, consisting of a track arran ged inA pattern form, anda positively-operating engaging device, as wheel J, acting upon said track, and a carriage upon which said pattern -track is mounted and moved by the said engaging device in planes transverse to each other, substantially as herein described.

9. The combination, with two frames or spiders, one of which is non-rotary, and a screw engaging with one of them for moving it toward and from the other, of annular ro- I tary franjies or rims mounted on said frames or spiders and on which a fabric may be secured lin curved form, and a sewing-machine having its arms extending lengthwise of the fabric for operating thereon, substantially as herein described.

10. The combination, with the shaft C, having reversed screw-threads e, of the non-rotary spiders D, provided with rollers f f2, the rotary frames E, fitted to and supported by said rollers, and a sewing-machine, the lower arm A of which extends below or within the frame E above the said shaft C, substantially as herein described.

ll. The combina-tion, with a cylindric fabric--support provided. with securing devices at or near its edges, whereby a fabric may be supported so as to present a curved surface, of a sewing-machine the lower arm of which enters the fabric-support, a carriage comprising bearings for said rotary support, and movable lengthwise of said support, a pattern comprising a track in pattern form movable on said carriage and geared with the rotary support, and a positively-operating engaging device, as wheel J, acting upon the pattern-track and serving to produce the movements of the pattern and the said support and carriage, substantially as herein described.

l?. The combination, with a cylindric fabric-support, of securing devices atl or nearits edges, whereby a fabric may be secured so as to present a curved surface, a trackin pattern form, constructed in the form of a cylinder and geared with the fabric-support., a carriage whereon said rotary fabric-support and pattern-cylinder are journaled and movable lengthwise of said pattern-cylinder, a positivelyoperating engaging device, as wheel J, acting upon the pattern-track, and a sewing-machine the lower arm of which enters the cylindric fabric-support lengthwise thereof, substantially as hereindescribed.

FRANK L. PALMER. lVitnesses:

C. HALL, MATTHEW PoLLoox.