US982717A - Overseaming sewing-machine. - Google Patents

Description

I A. GRIEB. OVERBEAMING SEWING MACHINE.

. APPLIUATIOH'IILED JUI IB 26, 1909. I 982,717.- Patented Jan. 24, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

1'": NORRIS PzrxRs cm, wAsHmamn, a c

3A. GRIEB. OVBRSBAMING SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILBD JUNE 26, 1909.

Patented J an. "24, 1911.

3 EHBETBBHEET 2.

l/VVE/VTOR ATTORNEY WITNESSES? f1 5 Tilj NORRIS PIYIRS col, wAsmNa-mu, 0. t1

A. GRIBB. ov'nnsmmme SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25, 1909.

Patented Jam 24, 1911.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ITO/ME V WITNESSES.-

Tut NORRIS PETERS cu, wAsmNcnw, 0 c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED GRIEE, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

OVERSEAMING SEWING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED GRIEB, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Overseaming Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has for its object to provide a simple and effective mechanism for producing overseams along the margins of fabrics, and particularly overseams of the kind in which upper and lower loops of the same thread are concatenated upon the edge of the fabric.

In its preferred embodiment, the present improvement comprises stitch forming mechanism including a reciprocating eyepointed needle and a cooperating latch-needle or looper movable transversely of the path of movement of the eye-pointed needle and reciprocating once above and once below the throat-plate in enchaining loops of needle-thread upon the edge of the fabric. The looper is carried by a looper-bar slidingly mounted upon a vibratory guide-bar moving in a plane parallel withthe needle-path, the looper-bar having a link connection with a vibratory lever actuated by a toggle device which is driven by a crank upon the mainshaft of the machine in such manner that it is bent across its straightened or neutral po sition twice for each needle reciprocation, whereby the looper is given two reciproczv tory movements to each reciprocation of the needle, the vibrations of the looper-supporting guide-bar being such that one of these reciprocations takes place while the needle is in its lower position and the other while the needle is in its upper position. Means are provided whereby the relative strokes of the looper in its upper and lower positions may be Varied to change the action of the looper upon the needle-thread loops and thereby change the character of the stitch produced.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the present improvement, and Fig. 2 an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the lower portion of the machine looking toe ward the front. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the looper vibrating mechanism. Fig'. 5 is a detail view of the looper-reciprocating Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 25, 1909.

Serial No. 504,246.

mechanism representing the needle in its lower osition and the looper in itslower loop-seizing position, and Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are detail views showing the needle and looper in elevation and plan in different operative relations.

The machine is constructed with the base 1 having journaled in suitable standards 2 the longitudinally extending main-shaft 3 and provided with a needle-actuating ballcrank 4. The rearward standard 2 is provided with a seat 5 to which is fitted and secured the foot 6 of a bracket-arm 7 having a head 8 in which is journaled the vertically reciprocating needle-bar 9 carrying the eyepointed needle 10. Upon the needle-bar is secured the collar 11 having the lateral lug 12 connected by means of the link 13 with the forwardly extending arm 14 of a lever mounted upon the transverse fulcrum-pin 15 and having a rearwardly extending arm 16 provided with a ball-crank pin 17 which is embraced by the upper end of a pitma'n 18 whose lower end embraces the actuating ballcrank 4 of the main-shaft which thus imparts the reciprocatory movements to the needle 10.

Cooperating with the needle 10 is the latch-needle or looper 19 formed with hooked operative end 20 adapted to be closed by means of the swinging latch 21 pivoted at 22 within a lateral slot or recess in the shank of the latch-needle or looper. The looper-shank is fitted within a groove 23 in the sliding looper-bar 24 in which it is secured by means of the head 25 of a clamp-screw in a manner well-known. The looper-bar 24 is slidingly fitted within a raceway 26 formed in the front face of a vibratory guide-bar 27 in which it is confined by means of the overhanging gibs 27*. The guide-bar 27 is fixed upon the rock-shaft 28 which is journaled in bearing members 29 extending from the foot 6 of the bracket-arm.

Upon the rock-shaft 28 rearward of the guide-bar 27 is adjustably fixed by means of the set-screw 30 the boss 31 of a forked arm 32 embracing the bearing blocks 33 fitted upon the ball-crank stud 3 1 which is carried by a laterally offset lug35 extending upwardly from a yoke 36 formed at the free end of an arm 37 which is pivoted upon the fixed fulcrum-pin 38, said yoke embracing the triangular cam 39 upon the main-shaft. The cam 39 is provided with outer and inner Patented Jan. 24, 1911 for each rotation .of .the main-shaft. lever 50 is normally so adjusted upon its concentric portions, as in a certain common form of feed-actuating cam, wliereb y the arm '37 is given rising and falling movements with intermediate dwells, which are communicated to the guide-bar 27 through the ball-stud 34 and forked arm 32'.

1s uniform; the range of such movement is adjustable by circularly shifting the forked arm 32 'in relation to the guide bar27upon vthe rock-shaft 28.

The looper-bar 24,has a laterally projecting pin 40 embraced by one end of a link 41 whose opposite end is pivoted by means of the pin 42 between the spaced members of the forked upper end 43of the swinging actuating lever 44 fulcrumed .upon the stud 45carried .by a lug 46 ofthebase 1. The

lever 44 :has pivoted thereto near its fulcrum point by means of the screw-pin .47 one ,end of a :link 48 whose other end is pivotally connected by means of the screw- ;pin 49 with a vibrating lever 50 having its split hub 51 adjustably secured by means of theclamp-screw 52upon the rock-shaft 53 mounted in bearings upon the base 1,

and provided with anoppositely extending crank-arm 55 provided with a ball-stud 56 and axial guide-pin 57. The ball-stud 56 is embraced-by one endof a pitman 58 whose pivotal pin 49 together constitute a toggle device between the rock-shaft 53 and the swinging lever 44, and the parts are so arranged that-each rotation of the crank-pin 59with the main-shaft produces a vibratory motionofthe'lever 50 across the straight or neutral position of the toggle intermediate the pivotal points 53 and 47, so as to impart tothe lever 44;two complete vibrations The supporting shaft 53 fthatit moves substantially equidistantly upon each side of the neutral line of the toggle, whereby the looper receives uniform reciprocatorymove- ,ments; but such lever may be so adjusted asto. cause the. extreme position of the looper corresponding with a given position of the crank-pin 59 to be different in consecutive reciprocations, for reasons which will presently appear.

The machine is provided with the usual throat-plate 62 mounted upon one of the standards 2, said throat-plate being formed with the usual feed-dog apertures and with the needle-slot 63 and adjacent stitch-sup- \Vhile' .the extent of rising and vfalling movements imparted by'the cam 39 to the guide-bar 27 aortin ton ue 64. Risin above the throat- O G t! plate at the edge of the stitch-supporting tongue 64 opposite the needle-slot is the rearwardly extending loop-detaining finger .65 which is slidably tapered toward the back of the machine to shed the thread-loops as the work advances.

Secured upon the throat-plate by means of fastening screws 66 is the edge-guide 67 with overhanging lip 68 for insuring the proper presentation of the margin of the work to the stitclrforming mechanism with its edge in alinement with the side of the stitch-supporting tongue 64 farthest from the needle. The work is advanced to space the stitches ,by means of the usual feed-dog 69 which is carried by the feed-bar 70 receiving its operative or work-advancing feeding movements through suitable connec- .tingthepresserebar to turn for shifting the presser-foot out of operative relation for insertlon or removal of the work.

The machine is threaded by merely leading the needle-thread a from the SOUIZZYY i of supply through the usual guide-eye in the guide-lug 78 of the washer 79 and thence between the springepressed tension disks 80 upon the head of the bracket-arm and through the needle-eye, and the material m is introduced through the guide .67 68 over the feed-dog .69, and the presser-foot is lowered upon the same;

In the positions of the thread-engaging parts represented in Fig. 1, the needle is raised and the looper is in its upper and .extreme forward position, with a lower thread-loop 64 around its shank beyond the extremityof the retracted latch 21. AS the main-shaft rotates, the hook-ed extremity 20 of the looper begins to recede, seizing the thread a beneath the needle-point, and the needle begins to descend. As the looper nears its retracted position, and as soon as it clears the loop-detaining finger 65, the cam 39 commences to act through the several connections vto tilt the guide-bar2'7 into its downwardly inclined position. In this combined retractive and vibratory movement, when the looper reaches its intermediate or neutral position substantially at the level of the work, the parts assume the positions through a succeeding thread-loop.

represented in Figs. 6 and 7, in which the lower thread-loop a inslipping over the shank of the hook, has thrown the latch forwardly to close the hook upon the upper thread-loop a over which it has escaped, the upper thread-loop being led over the top of the loop-detaining finger (55. As the guide-bar 27 reaches its extreme lower position and the looper-bar 24L. subsequently moves to its extreme forward position represented in Fig. 5, the thread-loop a slips backwardly from the throat of the hook Q0 and after turning back the latch 21 to the position represented in Fig. 10, slips beyond the extremity of the latter.

As the needle commences to rise, the looper hook 2O seizes the thread presented by the needle and recedes with the same into the intermediate position represented in Figs. 8 and 9, carrying with it a second lower thread-loop a through the upper threads loop a which latter has slipped over the looper-shank and closed the hook 20 upon the thread-loop a preparatory to escaping over the looper point upon the last seized loop. In again risingand advancing into the position represented in Fig. 1, the looper passes slightly above the loop-detaining linger which engages the adjacent portion of the thread-loop a and causes it to slip along the looper shank to open the latch 21 which it moves beyond preparatory to the succeeding loop-seizing action, which is performed as before described. As the looper seizes needle-thread loops in both the upper and lower positions of the needle, it is evident that the looper moves in a path wholly at one side of that of the needle, or in a plane parallel with the needle.

When the looper mechanism is so adjusted that the hooked operative end of the looper crosses the needle-path to about the same extent both above and below the throat-plate the handling of the upper and lower threadloops is substantially the same, and an overseam is produced as before described in which each upper thread-loop passes through a lower thread-loop and around a succeeding lower thread-loop. hen, however, the lever50 is so adjusted upon the rock-shaft 53 (herein represented of tubular form to constitute a rocking sleeve supported by the inner shaft or arbor 5 1*) that the advance of the looper is so diiterent in its upper and lower reciprocations that in the one the thread-loop embracing its shank is permitted to escape over the extremity of the latch while in the other reciprocation it fails to clear such extremity of the latch, a stitch is produced in which an upper and an under thread-loop are simultaneously passed Thus, referring to Fig. 1, when the lever 50 is adjusted upwardly upon its supporting rockshaft 53, the upper advance movement of the looper is increased and the lower advance movement is shortened, whereby in its advance below the work, as in Fig. 5, the looper does not carry the latch 21 entirely clear of the thread-loop (L2, so that in the return of the looper, the latch is not closed by the thread-loop a and the latter returns into the throat of the hook with the newly seized thread-loop. In the advance oi the looper in its upper movement, to the position represented in Fig. 1, the looper shank has hanging thereon both the upper threadloop a? and the lower thread-loop a but in this stroke the looper advances sufliciently to cause both of these thread-loops to slip over the free end of the retracted latch 21, so that when the looper recedes to the position represented in Figs. (5 and 7, with the new upper thread-loop, the thread-loops a and a, having closed the latch 21 upon the point of the hook 20, escape over the latter upon the newly seized upper thread-loop through which the looper advances to the lower position represented in Fig. 5 as before described, after which the stitch-forming operation proceeds as before.

In practice, the normal stroke of the looper-bar 2 1 slightly exceeds that required to enable it to seize the needle-thread with certainty, the hook 20 attaining its advance position somewhat beyond the vertical needle-path, so that the adjustment of the driving toggle member 50 for slightly varying the stroke of the looper in its suecessive operative movements does not endanger the skipping of stitches. In any case, however, the difference in the traverse of the looper above and below the throatplate is comparatively small, the difference between the mean stroke and the shortened stroke being merely sufficient to permit the thread-loop upon the looper shank to in the one case just clear the end of the retracted latch and in the other case to remain upon the extremity of the same for return over the latch into the throat 01 the hook.

When the lor)per'reciprocating mechanism is adjusted to impart to the looper movements of ditl'erent lengths above and below the tln.'oatplate, it is in some cases desirable to change the range of viln'atory movement of the guide-bar 27, constituting the carrier for the looper-bar and looper, to correspondingly alter the relation of the looper to the throat-plate, and this is readily ell'ected by loosening the set-screw 30 and circularly shifting the guidolmr 27 so as to change the position of the tli'orked arm upon the rock-shaft 28, the operation of the cam 39 upon the rock-lever 37 being-- uniform for all adjustments of the looper mechanism.

\Vhile the looper is herein represented of that type including a hooked thread-engaging end and a pivoted latch adapted to close the throat of the hook when shedding the previously seized thread-loop upon a subsequently seized thread-loop engaged by the hook, it is evident that the present improvement is not limited to any particular form of looper, as the invention is directed to looper-actuating means which is applicable to other forms of looper adapted to cooperate with the needle both above and below the work.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention what I claim herein is 1. In a sewing machine, the combination with the throat-plate, a reciprocating needlebar, a tliread-carrying needle, and means for actuating said needle-bar, of a looper adapted to seize thread-loops from said needle both above and below the throat-plate, a looper-carrier, a fulcrum therefor disposed transversely of the needle-bar, means for vibrating the looper-carrier upon said fulcrum once for each reciprocation of the needle, and actuating means for imparting to the looper operative loop-seizing movements of twice the frequency of the vibratory movements of said carrier.

2. In a sewing machine, the combination with the throat-plate, a reciprocating threadcarrying needle and means for actuating the same, of a looper adapted to seize threadloops from said needle both above and below the throat-plate, a looper-carrier mounted for movement in a plane wholly at one side of the needle transverse to the line of seam, means for imparting rising and falling movements to said carrier once for each reciprocation of the needle, and actuating means for imparting to the looper two operative loop-seizing movements with an intermediate retrograde movement for each reciprocation of said needle.

3. In a. sewing machine, the combination with the throat-plate, a reciprocating threadcarrying needle and means for actuating the same, of a looper adapted to seize threadloops from said needle both above and below the'throat-plate, a vibratory carrier upon which said looper is mounted, means for vibrating said carrier once for each reciprocation of the needle, and actuating means for reciprocating said looper twice for each reciprocation of said needle, the looper actuating means being provided with means of adjustment whereby the relative length of traverse of the looper in its successive reciprocations above and below the throat-plate may be varied.

4. In a sewing machine, the combination with the throat-plate, a reciprocating threadcarrying needle and means for actuating the same, of a looper having a path of movement upon one side only of the needle and adapted to seize thread-loops from the latter both above and below the throat-plate, a vibratory carrier upon which said looper is mounted, means for vibrating said carrier once 'for each reciprocation of the needle, and actuating means for imparting to said looper two advance loop-seizing movements with an intermediate retrograde movement for each reciprocation of said needle, the looper-actuating means comprising a toggle device and means for bending the same across straightened or neutral position for production of two operative loopseizing movements of the looper for each reciprocation of the needle.

5. In a sewing machine, the combination with the frame, a rotary shaft journaled therein and provided with a crank, a throatplate secured upon said frame, a reciprocating thread-carrying needle and means connected with said rotary shaft for imparting thereto one reciprocation for each rotation of said shaft, of a looper adapted to seize thread-loops from said needle both above and below the throat-plate, a vibratory carrier upon which said looper is mounted, means connected with said shaft for imparting to said carrier one vibratory movement for each rotation of the shaft, and reciprocating means for said looper comprising a toggle device and means connected with said crank upon the main-shaft for bending said toggle across straightened or neutral position to produce two operative loop-seizing movements of the looper for each reciprocation of the needle.

6. In a sewing machine, the combination with the frame, a rotary shaft journaled therein and provided with a crank, a throatplate secured upon said frame, a reciprocating thread-carrying needle and means connected with said rotary shaft for imparting thereto one reciprocation for each rotation of said shaft, of a looper adapted to cooperate with said needle both above and below the throat-plate, a vibratory carrier upon which said looper is mounted, means for imparting to said carrierone vibratory movement for each rotation of the shaft, and reciprocating means for said looper comprising a vibratory actuating lever mounted upon a fixed fulcrum and connected with the looper, a rock-shaft, a crank-arm upon said rock-shaft, a pitman intermediate said crank-arm and the crank of the main-shaft, a second arm upon said rock-shaft, and a link intermediate said actuating lever and the second arm of said rock-shaft and forming with the lat-ter a toggle device adapted to be bent to-and-fro across straightened or neutral position for each rotation of the main-shaft.

7 In a sewing machine, the combination with the frame, a rotary shaft journaled therein and provided with a crank, a throatplate secured upon said frame, a reciprocating thread-carrying needle and means connected with said rotary shaft for imparting thereto one reciprocation for each rotation of said shaft, of a looper adapted to cooperate with said needle both above and below the throat-plate, a vibratory carrier upon which said looper is mounted, means for imparting to said carrier one vibratory movement for each rotation of the shaft, and reciprocating means for said looper c0mprising a vibratory actuating lever mounted upon a fixed fulcrum and connected with the looper, a rock-shaft, a crank-arm upon said rock-shaft, a pitman intermediate said cranlcarm and the crank of the main-shaft, a second arm circularly adjustable upon said rock-shaft, and a link intermediate said actuating lever and the second arm of said rock-shaft and forming with the latter a toggle device adapted to be bent to-andfro across straightened or neutral position for each rotation of the main-shaft.

8. In a sewing machine, the combination with the frame, a rotary shaft journaled therein, a throat-plate secured upon said frame, a reciprocating thread-carrying needle and means connected with said rotary shaft for imparting thereto one reciprocation for each rotation of said shaft, of a looper adapted to cooperate with said needle both above and below the throat-plate, a vibratory carrier upon which said looper is mounted, a rock-shaft upon which said carrier is fixed, a cam upon said rotary shaft, a roek-lever having a fixed fulcrum and forked to embrace said cam and provided with a stud, a crank-arm fixed upon said rock-shaft and forked to embrace the stud 'of said rock-lever through which the operative movements imparted by said cam to the rock-lever are communicated to said carrier, and actuating means connected with said shaft for reciprocating said looper upon its carrier twice for each rotation of said shaft.

9. In a sewing machine, the combination with the frame, a rotary shaft journaled therein, a throat-plate secured upon said frame, a reciprocating threadcarrying needle and means connected with said rotary shaft for imparting thereto one reciprocation for each rotation of said shaft, of a looper adapted to cooperate with said needle both above and below the throat-plate, a vibratory carrier upon which said looper is mounted, a rock-shaft upon which said carrier is fixed, a cam upon said rotary shaft, a rock-lever having a fixed fulcrum and forked to embace said cam and provided with a stud, a crank-arm circularly adjustable upon said roek-shaft and forked to embrace the stud of said rock-lever through which the operative movements imparted by said cam to the rock-lever are connnunicated to said carrier, and actuating means for reciprocating said looper twice for each reciprocation of said needle, the looper-actuating means being provided with means of adj ustment whereby the relative length of traverse of the looper in its successive rcciprocations may be varied.

10. In a sewing machine, the combination with the frame, a rotary shaftjournaled therein, a throat-plate secured upon said frame, a reciprocating threadcarrying needle and means connected with said rotary shaft for imparting thereto one reciprocation for each rotation of said shaft, of a looper adapted to cooperate with said needle both above and below the throat-plate and formed with a thread-engaging hook and a pivoted latch adapted to close the throat of said hook, a reciprocating slide-bar upon which said looper is mounted, a vibratory guidebar in which the looperbar is slidingly mounted, actuating means for said guide-bar whereby the looper is directed toward the needle both above the throatplate when the needle is in its upper position and below the throat-plate when the needle is in its lower position, a vibratory actuating lever mounted upon a fixed fulcrum, a link connection intermediate said actuating lever and the looper-bar, a rock-shaft, means connected with said rotary shaft for imparting to said rock-shaft a rocking movement for each rotation of the rotary shaft, a crank-arm circularly adjustable upon said rock-shaft, and a link connection intermediate said actuating lever and the crank-arm of said rockshaft and forn'iing with the latter a toggle device adapted to be bent to-and-fro across straightened or neutral position for each rotation of the main-shaft to cause the looper to cooperate with the needle both above and below the throat-plate in the production of overseam stitches.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFRED GRIEB. iVitnesses II. A. KORNEMANN, J r., JOSEPH F. J AQUITII.

Images