US578382A

US578382A - Cloth cutting machine

Info

Publication number: US578382A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1897-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 1914-03-09

Description

(No Model.) J WOLF J 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE. I No. 578,382. Patented Mar; 9, 1897.

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J; WOLF, Jr.

cLbTH CUTTING MAGHINE.

Patented Mar.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. WOLF, Jr. GLOTH CUTTING MACHINE.

No. 578,382. Patented Mar. 9, 1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WOLF, JR., OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WOLF ELEC- TRICAL PROMOTING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CLOTH-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 578,382, dated March 9, 1897. Application filed July 20,1896. Serial No. 599,865, (No model.)

To all whom it may cancer...

Be it known that I, JOHN WVOLF, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oloth- Cutting Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to machines or devices for cutting textile fabrics and other material, but more particularly to a class of machines especially designed for cutting cloth for manufacturers of wearing-apparel.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a cutting-machine which will readily permit a series of articles of a uniform size and of any desired form to be cut from a number of superposed layers of material, without the necessity of constantly moving the driving-motor, by suspending or supporting the same adjacent to the cutter or knife actuating mechanism, whereby the weight upon the surface of the table at the point of cutting may be materially reduced and the machine readily guided through the material by the operator.

Further objects are to provide a simple, efficient, and durable machine or device which may be used in connection with the usual operating table or tables, and to so support or suspend the motor and cutter or knife actuating mechanism that the weight upon the footplate and the racking and jolting of the parts may be materially reduced, in order that the machine may be constructed as light as possible.

lVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and combination of the several parts, substantially as hereinafter described, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the'description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a side elevation of apreferred form of machine in position for use. Fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating how the knife or cutter operatiu mechanism may be moved in various and 8 are a side elevation and a vertical transverse section, respectively, partly in elevation, of a modified form of knife-bar and knife or cutter; and Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of a foot or plate adapted to be employed as a support for the machine.

In the drawings, A may designate a table of the usual or of any preferred form, upon which any suitable number of superposed layers of material may be placed, according to the number of duplicate pieces desired to be cut therefrom. .Upon this table A may be arranged one or more tracks (1, located at or near the edge of the table or intermediate the ends thereof, along which track or tracks a carriage B is adapted to travel. This carriage may be of any suitable form and may comprise a frame b and the wheels b, journaled in the forward and rear portion of the frame, said Wheels being arranged in the same longitudinal plane and grooved or otherwise formed so as to prevent the carriage from tipping over or leaving the track.

An electric motor O, of any preferred form, receiving its power from any suitable source of supply, may be mounted upon the frame of the carriage and is preferably pivoted thereto by a bolt 0 or otherwise, so as to make a part or a whole revolution, as desired, though any other suitable motor may be employed, if preferred.

Extending outwardly from the motor 0 is a shaft 0, adapted to rotate with the armature thereof, the outer portion of which shaft is journaled in the upper portion of a bracket or support D. A sleeve 61 may have one of its ends secured to the bracket and its other end secured to a portion of the motor, so as to surround the shaft 0 to protect the operator from injury by catching his clothing or otherwise and in order that the bracket, shaft, and motor may be moved laterally with the bolt 0 as a pivot or the whole moved simultaneously in line with the track a, so that the bracket or frame D may be moved in any desired direction and every portion of the upper surface of the operating-table be within reach of the operator, according to the distance between the bracket and the pivoting-point. This bracket or frame may have a box forming a bearing-surface for the shaft 0 and may be provided with a recess or receptacle d, adapted to hold a suitable lubricant, which may be constantly fed to the shaft and the bearing-surface of the box by an endless band or chain 01 the latter having rotary motion imparted thereto as the driving-shaft revolves.

For the purpose of guiding or moving the knife so as to cut sharp or other curves I preferably provide an apertured boss 01 at or near the lower portion of the bracket or frame D, in which a knife-bar guide E is arranged. This guide is preferably provided with a flange e or other portion intermediate its ends adapted to abut against the under surface of the boss d and may have its upper end screwthreaded and provided with a nut e, which abuts against the upper surface of the boss, so as to permit rotary but not vertical movement of the guide. The guide E may have a cylindrical outer surface and is provided with a preferably rectangular aperture there through in which a knife-bar E is adapted to reciprocate, a guard 6 being provided when necessary upon the lower portion of the guide in order to prevent the hand of the operator being injured by the knife or knife-bar.

The knife-bar may be made of tubular steel or other material, and has a suitable knife or cutter e provided with a preferably lower inclined cutting edge secured to the lower end of said bar by bolts or screws e which pass through the open-ended slots e", so as to permit the knife to be readily removed, the ends of the bolts being screw-threaded and engaging threaded apertures in a block interposed between the surface of theknife and theknifebar and secured to or formed integrally with said knife-bar.

At the upper end of the knife-bar'is a plug secured thereto or formed integrally therewith, provided with a stem 6 adapted to pass through an aperture or recess in the crosshead F, and upon the outer end of which is a nut 6 adapted to rotate in a slot f in the said cross-head, so that the knife-bar may be rotatably held to the cross-head and reciprocate in unison therewith, in order that the knife may be revolved or oscillate with the knife-bar, so as to permit the operator to follow the curved or other lines marked on the goods or material. This cross-head may be of the usual or of any preferred construction, and may comprise two pieces having opposed recesses secured together and arranged to reciprocate upon the slides or guide-bars f which latter are preferably adj ustably secured to the webs or sides of the bracket or frame D by the bolts f and the lock-nutsf, arranged upon the bolts on opposite sides of said webs.

A connecting-rod G has one end pivoted to the cross-head within the recess and its other end pivoted to a crank or crank-disk G, secured to the outer end of the driving-shaft c, said connecting-rod being provided with bolts passing through lugs or projections on the boxes, so as to take up the wear therein.

The guide E may be provided with a handle 72/, either fiat or of the form shown, so as to assist the operator in rotating the guide and moving the machine through the material. By this means the knife may be reciprocated and the machine and knife guided so as to out any desired form of article.

As a means for supporting the knife and its actuating mechanism above the table A, I may provide a foot-plate H of sufficient size to offer the desired amount of friction between its lower surface and the surface of the table and to lift and hold the material in the proper position while being cut. This foot-plate is provided with a standard h, which serves to guide and protect the knife or cutter, and is provided with an opening or slot therethrough to permit the cutting edge of said knife to pass below its upper surface. The upper portion of the standard. may be angular and has an aperture in its outer end, in which the end of a bolt 77 is adapted to fit, said bolt being preferably arranged in an open or slotted boss on the guide E, so as to be readily removed therefrom, though the bolt may be held upon the guide in any preferred manner.

The standard h may be secured to the bolt or loosely arranged thereon, so as to permit its being moved upwardly upon the guide with the bolt as a pivot or to permit its entire removal, if desired, a nutor nuts 7L3 being provided on the end or ends of the bolt, so as to rigidly hold the foot-plate raised, or in the position shown in Figs. 4: and 6, or to permit its removal. An arm 71/1 has one end secured to or loosely arranged on the bolt, so as to swing downwardly on the guide, and on its outer end is a roller 72?, adapted to rest upon the fabric or material when the foot-plate is removed or swung upwardly upon the guide and to serve as a guard when employing said foot-plate, said arm and roller being adjusted so as to support the mechanism above the material when it is desired to cut auopening into the body thereof, such as neck-holes, pockets, &c., the material in this case resting preferably upon a pad of suitable construction inorder to prevent the knife from cutting or marring the surface of the table. The arm 72/ and its roller and the standard h may be secured to the bolt 7L2, so that as the foot-plate is raised the arm and roller may be simultaneously lowered, though each may be adjusted independently of the other.

The operation of the invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Assuming the. parts to be in the position shown, it will be seen if the motor is started that the shaft 0 and the crank-disk G Will be caused to revolve, and through the connecting-rod G the cross-head F will be recipro cated, so as to imparta like movement to the knife-bar E in order to rapidly reciprocate the knife 6 The goods or material being placed upon the table, so that the foot-plate H will lift the same above the surface of the table, the knife Will cut the series of layers, and as the operator moves the machine along by means of the guide E in the plane of the track the carriage and motor will travel therewith.

If it is desired to move the knife laterally, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the motor may be swung upon its pivot, or if a sharp or other curve is to be cut the operator may rotate the guide E in the boss at of the bracket, so as to move the knife-bar, knife, and footplate in line With the curve marked on the goods, as heretofore explained, the carriage and motor responding readily to each movement of the bracket, so that by the combined horizontal, transverse, and longitudinal movement of the knife any desired form of article may be out. When it is desired to cut neckholes, pockets, &c., the foot-plate may be removed or swung upwardly upon the guide E, and the arm 72. adjusted so as to rest upon the material, and the machine operated as heretofore explained. I thus provide a simple, light, and eflicient machine capable of cutting any desired form of article, which may be readily placed in position for use and which has its parts so supported or suspended that it may be readily moved by the operator in any desired direction, so as to out either straight or curved lines,without requiring the motor to be constantly moved with the footplate or to be supported thereon.

Instead of the carriage being arranged upon a track on the table I may in some instances suspend a track 2', Fig. 3, a suitable distance above the table by means of curved brackets '23, suspended by wires or otherwise from the ceiling or other portion of the room, so as to permit the carriage to move readily along the track. This carriage may be similarly constructed to that shown in Fig. 1 and has a depending rod 2' one end of whichis journaled in the frame of the carriage, while its other end is arranged to clamp or hold the sleeve d between the motor and the bracket, so that said motor may serve in a measure to counterbalance the Weight of the forward portion of the machine, thus avoiding unnecessary strain and friction upon the table.

, In Figs. 7 and 8 the knife-bar J is solid or of a tubular form with a solid end and has a recess or open end in which the upper end of the knife is adapted to fit. The knife is provided with a key-shaped slot j, so as to permit its being slipped over the head of the bolt j onto the body thereof in order to be-rigidly secured to the knife-bar When the nut 7' is tightened, said nut being arranged in a recess in order that the knife-bar may readily slide within the guide E. A portion of the knife-bar is extended, as at j so as to strengthen the knife, and has its lower end secured to the knife by a button-headed or other bolt j, the knife being provided With a slot having an enlarged and reduced portion to permit the knife to be removably secured to the knife-bar.

The form of the carriage and the number and arrangement of the wheels thereon, as well as the arrangement and construction of the guide, knife-bar, and some of the other parts, may be changed, or a rotary cutter instead of a reciprocating knife or cutter may be employed in some instances.

' Instead of the roller k a plate or foot, as 'shown in Fig. 9, may be employed, and some of the parts may be dispensed With or others substituted therefor without departing from the spirit of'my invention.

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

1. In a cloth-cuttin g machine, the combination with a suitable carriage, of a motor secured thereon by a pivotal connection adapting it to be swung or rotated about said pivot as an axis, a support for a cutter, a sleeve extending from said motor to said support, and a shaft inclosed in said sleeve operatively connected with the armature of the motor and haying its opposite end connected With a cutter carried by said support so as to impart movement to the cutter, substantially as described.

2. In a cloth-cutting machine,the combination with a suit-able carriage adapted to travel back and forth along a track, of a rotary. electric motor secured to said carriage by a piv- IIO otal connection adapted to permit the motor to swing or oscillate on said pivot as a center, a shaft extending outwardly from the motor and directly connected to the armature thereof so as to be rotated thereby, a bracket or support for the outer end of said shaft, a cutter carried by said support, and connections bet-ween the cutter and said shaft for imparting motion to the cutter, substantially as described.

3. In a cloth-cutting machine,the combination with a carriage adapted to travel back and forth along a suitable track, of an electric motor pivotally secured upon said carriage so as to swing or oscillate thereon, a shaft extending directly from and connected withthe armature of the motor so as to rotate with said armature, a bracket or support in which the outer end of said shaft is journaled, a cutter carried by said support operatively connected with said shaft, and means for connecting the motor with said support so as to adapt the support and cutter to be swung laterally toward either side of the line of travel of the carriage, substantially as described.

4. In a cloth-cuttin g machine, the combina-.

a knife-bar guide carried by said support, a

knife-bar arranged to reciprocate in said guide,and connections between said knife-bar and said shaft for imparting movement to the knife, substantially as described.

5. In a cloth-cutting machine, the combination with a cutter and its actuating mechanism, of a pendent support for said cutter and a foot-plate pivoted to said support and ad apted to be swung upwardly out of the path of the cutter into a position to permit the cutter to penetrate through the body of the cloth, substantially as described.

6. In a cloth-cutting machine,the combination with a cutter andits actuating mechanism, of a support for said cutter and a footplate pivoted to said support and adapted to be swung upwardly into a position topermit the cutter to penetrate through the body of the cloth, together with a pivotally-supported arm provided with a roller and adapted to swingdownwardly so as to support the cutter and its actuating. mechanism above the material to be cut, substantially as described.

7. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a bracket or frame, a rotatable shaft having a portion thereof journaled in said bracket, means for rotating the shaft, a guide arranged on the bracket, a knife-bar provided with a knife or cutter adapted to reciprocate in said guide, means for connecting the rotatable shaft and the knife-bar so as to reciprocate the latter, and a standard provided with a foot-plate pivotally held to the guide so as to swing upwardly thereon, substantially as described.

8. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a bracket or frame, a rotatable shaft having a portion thereof journaled in said bracket, means for rotating the shaft, a guide arranged in the bracket, a knife-bar provided with a knife or cutter adapted to reciprocate in said guide, means for connecting the rotatable shaft and the knife-bar so as to reciprocate the latter, a standard provided with a footplate pivotally held upon the guide so as to permit it to be swung upwardly thereon, and an arm provided with a roller pivoted to the guide and adapted to swing downwardly so as to support the guide and cutting mechanism above the material to be cut, substantially as described.

9. In acloth-cutting machine, the combination with a bracket or frame having a knifebar guide thereon, of a knife-bararranged to reciprocate in said guide, an electric motor,

a shaft directly connecting the armature of said motor with said bracket, connections between said shaft and knife-bar forimparting a reciprocating movement to the knife, a frame-piece or sleeve extending from the motor to said bracket, a carriage mounted on an elevated track, and a depending bar connectingsaid carriage and frame-piece or sleeve, so as to portably support said motor and the knife-bar and its actuating-mechanism, substantially as described.

10. A- cloth-cutting machine, comprising a carriage adapted to travel along a track, an

electric motor pivotally mounted upon said carriage, a shaft extending. outwardly from the motor and adapted to rotate with the armature thereof, a bracket or support having one end of the shaft journaled therein, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and connecting the bracket with the motor so as to move in unison therewith, a guide provided with a guard at its lower end rotatably held in the bracket or support, a cross-head slidingly held upon the bracket, a knife-bar having one end rotatably held to the cross-head and adapted to reciprocate in and rotate with the guide, a knife or cutter secured to the knifebar, a crank-disk arranged upon the end of the shaft, a connecting-rod having its ends pivoted to the cross-head and the disk so as to reciprocate the knife-bar, and means for supporting the knife-operating mechanism above the material to be cut, substantially as described.

11. A cloth-cutting machine, comprisinga carriage adapted to travel along a track, an electric motor pivotally mounted upon said carriage, a shaft extending outwardly from the motor and adapted to rotate with the armature thereof, a bracket or support having one end of the shaft journaled therein, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and connecting the bracket with the motor so as to move in unison therewith, a guide 'rotatably held in the bracket or support, a cross-head slidingly held upon the bracket, a knife-bar provided with a knife or cutter having one end rotatably held to the cross-head and its body portion adapted to reciprocate in and rotate with the guide, connections between the shaft and the cross-head for reciprocating the knifebar, and a standard provided with a foot-plate and removably held to the guide, substantially as described.

12. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a carriage adapted to travel back and forth along a track, amotor mounted upon said carriage, a shaft extending outwardly from said motor, a bracket or support having a portion of the shaft j ournaled therein, a knifebar guide arranged upon the bracket, a knifebar provided with a knife or cutter, a crosshead connected to the knife-bar, a crank secured to the shaft, a connecting-rod pivoted to the crank and cross-head for reciprocating IIO the knife-bar, a standard removably secured tothe knife-bar guide, and means for supporting the machine above the material when the standard is removed, substantially as described.

13. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a carriage and a track along which said carriage may travel, a motor mounted upon said carriage, a bracket or support arranged at a distance from the motor, a rigid connection between the bracket and motor, a knifebar guide supported upon the bracket, a knifebar provided with a knife and means connecting the knife-bar to the shaft for reciprocating said knife-bar, a removable standard se- 7 cured to the guide, and an arm adjustably held to the guide and provided with means forming a temporary support for the machine when the standard is removed, substantially as described.

14. A cloth-cutting machine comprising a carriage adapted to travel along a track, an

electric motor pivotally mounted upon said carriage, a shaft extending outwardly from the motor and adapted to rotate with the armature thereof, a bracket or support having one end of the shaft journaled therein, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and connecting the bracket with the motor, a knife-bar guide provided with a handle and rotatably held in the bracket or support, a cross-head slidingly held upon the bracket, a knife-bar having one end rotatably held to the cross-head and adapted to reciprocate in and rotate with the guide, connections between the shaft and the cross-head, and means for supporting the knife-operating mechanism above the material to be cut, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN WOLF, JR. WVitnesses r JAMEs GUNNING,

JAMES NUGENT.