USRE5305E - Improvement in sewing-machines - Google Patents

Description

w. c. HICKS.

Sewing-Machines.

Reissued-M arch 4, 1873.

An momumcmnncw. mflmsanna'smocsss) PATENT Orrron.

WILLIAM CLEVELAND HICKS, or SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT m SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 23,557, dated April 12, 1859; reissue No. 5,305, dated March To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, WI LIAM CLEVELAND HICKS, of Summit, county of Union and State of New Jersey, and formerly of Boston, county of Sufl'olk and State of Massachusetts, 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 and specification of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing making part of this specification, similar letters indicating similar parts in all the figures.

My improvement consists in certain combinations and arrangements of mechanical devices specifically set forth at the end of this schedule.

The general character of the machine which I shall employ in describing my various improvements is that of a shuttle machine, having a needle reciprocating vertically, a roughened surface wheel-feed, and reciprocating shuttle. The bracket-arm which supports the needle-stock and spring-presser for the upper part of the feed is seen at A. The table for supporting the material to be sewed, and to w' -h also all the mechanism is attached, is she. fat B; the shuttle-race, at O; the feedwheel-,at D; and the main driving-shaft, at E. The position of the bracket-arm A is in a line parallel with the shuttle-race, instead of standing at right angles to it. The feed-wheel D is placed so as to direct the cloth in a linetoward the upright column or post supporting A, and into the bight of the overhanging bracket. The main or driving shaft is placed under the post of the bracket A, and under the table or at right angles with the overhanging part of the said bracket. The object of this arrange ment is to be enabled to transmit the motions from the cams, cranks, &c., upon E, for driving the wheel-feed and shuttle by means of connecting-rods which shall have their motions all given them in planes parallel with the shuttle-race and bracket-arm. 'Thus the table B might belengthened out to any other distance, and the feed-wheel and shuttle reby increasing the lengths of the connectingrods. The means I have adopted for trans- .xnitting the motions to the needle-bar have the its under side, as shown; these engage a piti ion-wheel, b, and this again is engaged or geared with the needle-stock c by means of like rack-teeth, as shown. Reciprocating mos tion is given tothe connecting-rod a by means of a cam, shown in dotted lines at'd, acting through a lever, c, as shown. The exact motions given by the cam at all points of its revolution are thus imparted to the needle-stock. Instead of a cam a crank may be substituted. The shuttle is driven by a connecting-rod, f, extending from the crank-pin f on the main shaft to the yoke f, by which the shuttle is embraced. The feed is driven by it connecting-rod, 9, one end of which is attached to the bottom of the lever a, and the other to the rocking lever g", by which the griping-toe on the feed-wheel is moved.

It will now begseen that the table may be lengthened out to, any required distance, and

the needle, feed apparatus, and shuttle be moved accordingly to the distant end of said table, while the driving-shaft remains at the opposite end, without requiring any new adjustment or alteration of parts other than the lengthening of the bracket-arm and the several links a, f, and g.

The devicefor controlling and drawing up the needle-thread is seen at i in Figs. II and III, and shown in a modified form detached in Fig. I'V. It consists of a lover or crank, having an eye in its end through which the thread passes on its way from the tension apparatus to the needle. The axis c" of this crank passes through the center of the axis b of the pinion b, and is made to turn with the pinion by means of a clamping-nut, t'", on the end of i, which, when screwed up, sets against the end of the axis 1), and thus the two are joined together by friction. The object of thus attaching the two is for the purpose of adj nstinzg 'the crank to its proper position for givingvolf and taking up the thread.

v Asthe pinion b does not make a complete slacken.

revolution, sothe eye in the end of the crank *"i describes aa are of corresponding extent;

and it is convenient to be able to adjust the end of the crank or lever containing the eye in reference to the guiding-eye j on the head of the bracket arm, so that the needle-thread may be directed toward the needle, and that the tightening and loosing of the thread may be properly efiected to form a strong and even seam.

Atj, Figs. II and III, is shown this guidingeye't'or the; thread to pass through on its way IIlUtlUll, it is taken up and tightened without passing through the needle-stock and entirely 'iudependent of its motion.

In former machines the needle-stock has been either the direct agent for drawing up the needle-thread and making the slack necessary to allow theshuttle to pass through, havin g some attachment to control the thread be tween the neeillestock and the needle-eye; or the needle' stock has been the indirect agent,

operating an independent lever or spring-arm through an eye in which the thread has been j passed, the labor of working this lever being performed by 'the needlestock. 7 Another method has been used, which consists in operating certain wires, combined with a tension apparatus, by a shaft and cam above the sewing-table, in lines nearly parallel to the table and bracket-arm, and at a distance from the needle-stock.

'My apparatus is not actuated bythe needlestock, nor does the thread pass through the needle-stock, and the eye in the end of the crank or lever is located nearly over the presser-t'oot, making its stroke in a plane parallel or nearly so with a plane passing longitudinallythrough the bracket-arm and shuttle-race, is .pivoted to the bracket-arm at a point in the rear'of the needle bar or stock, and is operated by a cam on a shaft under the table, so that the needle-stock is entirely relieved of the labor of actuating the thread-controlling mechanism. In the machine shown in the drawing, the thread must be fully drawn up before the needle has finished its up-stroke, and'th'e crank is set so that the eye in its end shall be at its greatest distance from the eye j when the shuttle reaches the extreme of its stroke, in order to draw the two threads into the center of the'cloth, and the needle-tl'iread is either heldtight d urin'g the continued movement of the needle-stock, or is allowed to It the latter is desirable,'the form fsho'wuin Fig. 1V may be used. This slight slackening up is important in sewing some kinds of materials.

, The operation of my machine is as follows:

The materials'being placed on the fore part of 'the' table, are advanced under the spring presser-t'oot oto, th'epl'a'ce where the sewing is to commence. This footis then let down municating motion to the several parts. As'

the needle is at, its up-stroke when the cloth is inserted,the first action from the cam d will be to push the coimecting-rod a. This,

by its rack, turns the pinion b, and this again drives down the needle-stock 0, thus sending the needle through the cloth. The threadcontroller and take-up crank 'i is also turned down, and thus throws down the slack thread ready 'for allowing the shuttle to pass through. Therespectiv'e positions of the parts will'then be as shown in Fig. I. The crank-pinj", from which the shuttle is driven, is seen to beon its center. As E turns in the direction of the arrow, the shuttle will commence to moveffiwward by itsconnecting-rodj", pushing the yoke f; the point will thus enter the loop thrown out by the slight retreat of the needle; then passing through in the usual way, the cam'd commences to draw up the needle-stock by reversing the motion of a. As the crank f approaches its opposite center, the motion ot' t he shuttle becomes gradually slower up to the dead-point ot' the crank. The cam d is so set and shaped as to cause the needle tobegin to be moved a little before the shuttle has" arrived at the end ot'its stroke, and to complete its movementa little after the commencement of its return; thus there is only time allowed for drawing up the thread and returning the shuttle. needle rises, and it arrives at its maximum height before the needle has completed its ascent, in order that the thread may be drawn up tight while the slmttle is at the end of its stroke, and is, for the instant, stationary. The pinch-nut i may be loosened, andth'e'take-up imoved around until the adjustment is accomplished. v

The shuttle being driven by acrank motion and the upper thread drawn up by alike motion, produces a very superior tension, and always insures the drawing up of the stitch so that the lock will bein the center of the materials being sewed.

It will be seen that both threads are drawn up by positive motions when the shuttle and controller have their slowest motions, andjust previous to their strokes being finished; and hence the threads are not liable to be broken by the highest speed at which the machine is capable of being run. I The other parts of the machine are as common to sewing-machines.

post tonne end'ot said table, and extending substantially parallel 'witlrsaid' shuttle-race to supportthe needle kstock and mechanism,

The slack thread is taken up as the substantially as set forth, for giving said tious of the cam or crank on said shaft may needle-stock a vertical reciprocating motion be transmitted to the pinion and needle-stock, by means of a cam or crank on the drivingsubstantially as herein set forth.

shaft; ashaft arranged at right angles to said 4. The combination, substantially as set shuttle-race, in a hearing or bearings attached forth, in a shuttle sewing-machine, of a table to the platform of the table, provided with a provided with a shuttle race or way running cam or crank which operates the feed, and parallel to its upper surface, and with abrackwith a crank which reciprocates the shuttle et-arm, fastened by its post at one end of said once forward and back at each revolution, by table, lying substantially parallel with said a continuous and positive crank motion, both shuttle-race or way, to support a vertically-relocated under the table and under the post of ciprocating needle-stock; and a shaft located the bracket-arm; a wheel-feed or other feed- (in a bearing or bearings attached to the plating mechanism under the table; and a shutform of a table) at right angles to the shuttle tle'driver. all arranged in such manner that race or way, and bracket-arm provided with r the direction in which the materials to be cams or cranks under the table, and under the sewed shall be fed and sewed shall be in a post of the bracket-arm, for actuating the line parallel with said bracket-arm, and toshuttle and feed, by means of connecting-rods,

ward and into the bight formed by the said reciprocating in the direction of their length, arm and the table. substantially as set forth; and connected,

2. The arrangement,substantially as herein through the post of the bracket-arm, to a set forth, of a partially revolving thread-con- -rod or bar running longitudinally through the trolling crank or lever, on a stud set at right bracketarm, to actuate the mechanism which angles to thc bracketarm, above and parallel reciprocates the needle-stock, substantially as with the table, and connected, substantially set forth, so that the table, the bracket-arm, as described, with acam or crank on the main and the connecting rods or bars, may be shaft under the table, in such manner that lengthened in the same direction, without the needle-thread is entirely controlled and changing the cams or cranks which actuate drawn up between the tension apparatus and the needle-stock and shuttle, or their comthe needle by said lever, actuated by the bined motions in reference to each other, submovements of said cam or crank without the stantially as set forth. intervention of the needle-stock. WM. CLEVELAND HICKS.

3, The combination, substantially as herein set forth, of the needle-stock, bracket-arm, Witnesses: pinion, connecting rod and lever, with the W. L. BENNEM, driving-shaft, in such manner that the mo- LOUIS SEAMAN.

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