Improvements in Sewing Machines for use in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Apr., 1898-Accepted, 3rd Sept., 1898
[Communicated from abroad by INTERNATIONAL EPPLER WELT MACHINERY CO., of 125,
Kingston Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.]
Improvements in Sewing Machines for use in the Manufacture of
Boots and Shoes.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:--
This invention relates to a curved-needle double-thread sewing-machine adapted,
for stitching outer soles to welts of welted boots and shoes. The invention has for
its object to provide certain improvements in a machine of this character, with a view
to increasing its usefulness and efficiency. The invention consists in the improve-
ments which I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,-
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a sewing-machine embodying my inven-
tion.
Figure 2 represents a side elevation of the same.
Figure 3 represents an elevation from the side opposite that shown in Figure 2.
Figure 4 represents a top plan view.
Figures 5 and 6 represent views of parts of the machine, and illustrating the take-
up device.
Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 are plan views of parts of the machine, illustrating the
operation of the thread-finger and looper.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings,
a represents the supporting frame, having bearings for the driving-shaft b, which
is provided with a series of operating-cams, and disks having cam-grooves adapted to
give motion to the various parts of the machine.
c represents the curved awl, and d the curved needle. Said awl and needle are
affixed to arms which oscillate on a fixed stud e, the awl and needle being in the same
plane and neither having any lateral movement, so that when they are oscillated the
awl follows the needle, and vice versa. The mechanism for operating the awl and
needle is or may be of any suitable construction, and are not here described, as the
same forms no part of my present, invention.
represents the looper, which presents the upper thread to the needle and is
operated in a suitable manner, by any preferred mechanism.
i represents the work-supporting channel-guide, which is preferably provided with
a protuberance i¹ (Figure 2) adapted to enter the channel in the under surface of the
outer sole of a welted shoe, said support being arranged to co-operate with the
presser-foot in holding the work in the path of the awl and needle. The channel-
guide and presser-foot have a back-and-forth motion across the path of the needle, so
that they feed the work. I have improved the mechanism, heretofore, used for
imparting the back-and-forth movements to said parts, by substituting for the head
or holder which has been used as the carrier for the channel-guide and presser-foot, a

page_text: slide movable horizontally in guides on the frame of the machine and provided at
one end with a vertical flange to which the channel-guide i is rigidly secured, the
presser-foot being attached to a lever mounted to oscillate on a stud 2 affixed to
said flange. The slide 2 is reciprocated by means of a can-groove it in a disk on the
driving-shaft, and a lever mounted to oscillate on a fixed vertical stud 2º, one arm
of said lever having a trundle-roll entering said cam-groove while the other arm
has a stud which connects the lever with a link 10 pivoted at 12 to the slide i².
The channel-guide and presser-foot are therefore given a rectilinear back-and-forth
movement, instead of an oscillatory movement, so that they can feed the work more
advantageously. The link i is preferably adapted to swing on its pivot 12 to adjust
the stud in a slot 28 in the lever 1, thus varying the length of the feed movement
imparted to the slide. A plate 3 is affixed to the frame, under an extension of the
link 10, and has a series of orifices 24. Stop-pins 15 15 are inserted in two of said
holes, at opposite sides of the link, and limit the swinging movements of the
latter.
The presser-foot is given up-and-down movements, so that it alternately grasps and
releases the work, and is pressed yieldingly toward the channel-guide during the
backward movement. The details of the presser-foot operating mechanism are shown
in Figure 2, and comprise a holding-down spring j17 adjustably secured at one end to
an arm 20 on the lever j¹, and attached at the other end to a pin ja on the slide-
flange 3, a lever j22 mounted to oscillate on a stud 23 on the said flange, said lever
having at one end a pivoted block 20 engaged with a slot j27 in the lever j¹, and a
cam groove in a disk on the driving-shaft receiving a trundle-roll 124 on the other
end of the lever 22. The presser-foot is movable in and out, to vary the distance of
the stitches from the upper of the shoe, by means of a loose eccentric collar j³ on the
stud, said collar constituting the bearing for the lever j¹. The collar may be
partially rotated to vary the position of the presser-foot, by means of an arm je pivoted
at to the flange 23 and having a gear-segment j neshing with a gear-segment j*
on the collar 3. A handle 7 affixed to the arin je plays between adjustable
stops ja j
represents the oscillating shuttle, which is mounted in a suitable carrier on a
shaft, which is oscillated by suitable connections with the driving-shaft, said
connections as here shown comprising a bevel-gear" affixed to the shaft, a gear-
segment (shown in dotted lines in Figure 3) on a lever which is pivoted at /
and has a trundle-roll 10 entering a cam-groove k¹². The shuttle oscillates in a
plane at right angles to the plane of the needle, and co-operates with the needle in
forming the stitches, the shuttle being preferably in a vertical plane.
m represents a thread-finger, which is adapted to engage the needle-thread at one
side of the path of the needle, as shown in Figure 7, and to move diagonally across
the path of the needle, as indicated by the dotted line x-x in Figure 8, thus carrying
the thread across the needle-path, and holding it while the looper moves from the
position shown in Figures 7 and 8 to that shown in Figure 9, the finger remaining in
its thread-holding position until the needle engages the bight of thread, and then
returning to its starting point and releasing the thread, as shown in Figure 10.
The means here shown for oscillating the finger m comprise a yoke m¹ (Figures 1
and 3) pivoted to fixed ears m² m², and provided with an arm m³ to which the
finger m is attached. The yoke has ears m m³, to which a connecting rod m³ is
pivoted, said rod being connected with a lever which is oscillated by a cam-groove.
The center of oscillation of the finger m is in the ears m² m².
The described diagonal movement of the thread-finger across the path of the needle
enables the finger to co-operate with the looper in supplying loose thread to the
needle in such inanner that the bight of thread nearly surrounds the needle while the
barb is engaging it, as shown in Figure 9. The engagement of the needle with
the thread is thus rendered more certain than it would be if the thread-finger did not
thus cross the needle-path, and tne looper is enabled to accomplish its function by a
shorter movement than heretofore.

page_text: n represents a thread-dividing finger, which enters the needle-loop and holds it in
position to receive the point of the shuttle. Said finger is affixed to a lever n¹
(Figure 2), which is pivoted at n² to a fixed support, and has a trundle-roll n³ entering
a cam-groove n. The arrangement is such that the thread-engaging end of the
finger n moves diagonally across the path of the point of the shuttle, as indicated
by the dotted line y-y (Figures 1 and 2), without intersecting or coming within
said path, so that there is no liability of contact between the finger and the
shuttle.
The machine has an auxiliary take-up, which comprises an arm o affixed to a
rock-shaft ol, and provided with sheaves 02 03, which are separated by a space adapted
to receive a sheave of which is journalled in a slide o5. Said slide is vertically
movable in a fixed guide, and is held down yieldingly by a spring o'. The arm o is
oscillated vertically by means of an arm 8 affixed to the rock-shaft o¹, and suitable
connections between said arm 08 and the driving-shaft. A tension-wheel p is
mounted to rotate loosely on the rock-shaft o', and has a ratchet p affixed to it.
A lever p² pivoted at p³ to a fixed support has at one end a spring-pressed dog p
adapted to engage the ratchet and lock the tension-wheel. The other end of the
lever p² has a trundle-roll p bearing on a camp on the driving-shaft, said cam
being formed to alternately raise the dog pt, as shown in Figure 5, and depress the
same, as shown in Figure 6, thus locking the tension-wheel.
The thread passes from the source of supply, first through a guide p7 on the
lever p², then through a guide på on the arm o, then through another guide p³ on the
lever p², and then under a sheave p10 on a fixed support, to the sheave o², from
whence it passes under the sheave of, and over the sheave o³, to the looper. When
the arm o is depressed, the yielding sheave of is held by its spring in the position
shown in Figure 5, and when said arm is raised, the sheave of yields until the slide 05
strikes a stop which is vertically adjustable on the frame of the machine. When the
sheave of is thus arrested, the stitch is set, the tension-wheel having been previously
locked. The point at which the thread is locked in the work is therefore determined
by the position of the adjustable stop q. Said stop is formed on a slide q¹ movable
vertically in a fixed guide q² and provided with an ear q³ in which is journalled a
rod q, the lower portion of which is screw-threaded and engaged with a threaded
socket in a fixed ear 95, the rotation of the rod adjusting the stop q..
It will be seen that the take-up is composed of two sections, the arm o with its
attachments constituting a positively operated section, while the slide o³ and sheave o
constitute a yielding section.
The operation is as follows: The edge of the shoe-bottom is inserted between the
channel-guide and presser-foot, and after the formation of each stitch the guide and
foot move to the left, as viewed in Figure 1, feeding the shoe before the awl advances
to penetrate the work. At the end of the feed movement, the awl pierces the
material, and the pressure-foot then rises and moves back with the channel-guide,
while the awl is in the material. The awl then retracts, and the needle follows it-
through the same hole. While the needle is advancing, the thread-finger m moves
diagonally inward, taking thread from the supply end, and holding the thread behind
the needle. Then the looper moves partly around the needle, the finger and looper
forming a long bight, nearly encircling the needle, and insuring its engagement with
the barb of the needle. The take-up then releases the thread, and the needle is
retracted, the thread-finger at the same time swinging outward and dropping the
loop, the finger swinging out of the plane of the needle and awl. The thread-
dividing finger n then engages the loop, and carries it over the point of the shuttle,
the thread-divider moving diagonally across the path of the shuttle without inter-
secting it, so that it cannot strike the shuttle. The shuttle takes the loop while the
divider is rising. When the shuttle has carried the thread to the lowest point, the
locking device locks the thread, the locking taking place just before the take-up rises
and before the needle commences to retract. The take-up then rises and sets the
stitch, the point at which the thread is locked in the material being determined by
the position of the adjustable stop q, as above stated.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
-
1. In a sewing-machine of the character specified, the combination with a curved
needle, a curved awl, both oscillating in a given path without lateral movement, a
looper, and suitable co-operating parts, of a thread-finger moving diagonally across
the path of the needle.
2. In a sewing-machine of the character specified, the combination with the
reciprocating curved needle, and suitable co-operating parts, of a take-up comprising
a positively operated section and a yielding section, and an adjustable stop for said
yielding section.
3. In a sewing-machine of the character specified, the combination with the curved
awl and the curved needle, and suitable complementary parts, of the laterally movable
channel-guide and presser-foot, a slide carrying said guide and foot and having a
rectilinear movement, and means for reciprocating said slide.
4. In a sewing-machine of the character specified, the combination with the stitch-
forming mechanism and the channel-guide, of a presser-foot, an eccentric bearing
therefor, and means for adjusting said bearing to vary the position of the presser-foot
laterally.
5. In a sewing-machine, the combination with the needle, the shuttle, and suitable
co-operating parts, of a thread-dividing finger having a movement crosswise of the
path of the shuttle but outside that path.
Dated this 2nd day or April 1898.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.